Other dub names: Destination Frustration (4Kids)
Sometimes it happens that things lose their meaning. Wally is in such mood right now. Everything seems meaningless to him; there is no sense in objects or actions. It's not clear if life has always been so meaningless or if it just got lost somewhere. Carlin tells him that he needs to find Kuzinatra, which will give him the meaning. Wally begs him to take him to Kuzinatra, and Carlin hesitantly agrees. While walking into the mountains, Wally wonders why Carlin never used Kuzinatra despite knowing about it. He replies that it's better to know less.
Next day, they continue moving along the mountain path. Wally is happy and excited to understand the meaning of all his actions soon. He gets so carried away that he almost falls into the abyss, but Carlin pulls him out. He eventually gets more and more tired, eventually loses his consciousness in a blizzard.
Wally sees stars and Carlin, flying among them. He wonders where they are, and his friend replies that they are at home. Wally wakes up in his bed. Carlin explains that they got lost in a blizzard and made a detour, suggesting to try again later, but Wally claims that he already found the meaning he was looking for.
Tropes:
- Bookends: The episode begins and ends with Wally lying in his bed and the camera flying around his house.
- Empathic Environment: The weather changes depending on Wally's mood:
- When he's sad about the lack of meaning in life, the sky is overcast and the wind blows.
- When he's excited and cheerful, the sky brightens and the sun appears on it.
- When he gets tired, snow starts falling from the sky.
- When he runs out of strength, a severe snowstorm begins.
- When he falls asleep in his bed, satisfied with what he found, the snow falls again, but there are no separate clouds in the sky.
- Fauxlosophic Narration: Wally and Carlin spend most of the episode talking about the meaning of life.
- Opening Monologue: The episode begins with Wally's monologue about the lost meaning of life.
- Shout-Out:
- The motives and musical accompaniment of the episode refer to the film Dead Man.
- The camera slowly sliding around the room, the leitmotif of the search, the vague image of Kuzinatra, numerous philosophical dialogues between the characters, the lack of a direct path to Kuzinatra, Wally's failure to achieve the goal, and the end of the episode are all reference Stalker (1979).
- Wally's dream with a flying Carlin is a reference to the Dude's dream from the film The Big Lebowski.
- Kuzinatra itself is a reference to Trumps of Doom, or more specifically, a mistake in its Russian translation. The book at one mentions Cuisinart, a cooking brand that became synonymous with "food processor" in US, but was obscure in Russia. The word was transliterated into "Kuzinatra", which became infamous with readers for making no sense.
- Soup Is Medicine: At the end of the episode, Carlin feeds Wally with broth, after he wakes up from a snowstorm.
- The Meaning of Life: The name of the episode, and for a good reason. Wally loses the meaning and wants to find it. His friend Carlin suggests to visit Kuzinatra, a certain something that has all the meaning you could ask for, and agrees to bring him there. They ultimately return home before being able to reach their destination, but Wally says he already found what he needed without Kuzinatra. The episode ultimately claims that the meaning of life is in epicureanism— an everyday trifles such as a warm broth and a cozy bed, which you start dreaming about as soon as you lose them.
