Simulcast On Crazy People's Filings
Bender gets the job of a lifetime—working for the Robot Mafia. His loyalties are tested when their next heist is robbing a crate of expensive cigars from Planet Express.
Tropes:
- Ace Pilot: Fry actually manages to fly the Planet Express ship better than Leela, while at the same time having a gunfight with the Robot Mafia. Using string.
- Acting for Two: In-universe with Bender in this episode.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Bender tries scamming the Donbot, and as Joey Mousepad and Clamps advance, Donbot laughs, impressed by Bender's ball-bearings.
- Ax-Crazy: Clamps is a bit weird about clamps.
- Bait-and-Switch: When asked to help out with the heist, Bender stares off into the distance, declaring "it's funny, until now I always wanted to be a gangster..." and then says he'll help.
- Blind Mistake: Once blinded, Leela makes a few of these... which would be hilarious, if they didn't continue while she was piloting.
- Bowdlerization: Once again, Cartoon Network and TBS cut out one of the professor's lines. This time, it's "Holy Zombie Jesus!" after he sees the restaurant bill. And similar to "The Deep South," Cartoon Network muted out the "Jesus" part while TBS just cut the entire line while the DVDs, Netflix, Hulu, the original FOX version (
if anyone managed to see it), Comedy Central, and SyFy Channel have it uncut. - Brief Accent Imitation: Bender gives himself a British accent in order to make sure the blindfolded Fry and Leela don't recognize him.
- Captain Obvious: Joey Mousepad, on seeing Leela flying toward the Robot Mafia's car.Joey: They's headed toward our general proximity! Maybe you should give 'em the clamps, Clamps!Clamps: Gee, ya think? Ya think I should use these clamps, that I use every day, at every opportunity? Yer a freaking genius, ya idiot!
- Comically Missing the Point: Bender goes to the door and finds Tinny Tim waiting. He believes the Robot Mafia has sent a helpless child to finish him off, and kicks the kid's leg off. Tim's just there to deliver his cut from the heist.
- Covert Group with Mundane Front: The robot mafia operate out of a freezer of a local butcher shop.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Joey declares that the heist "may involve some death killin'". He also recommends the Mafia "shoot bullets out of our guns."
- Dine and Dash: Elzar thinks this is what the Planet Express crew want to do after they refuse to pay the expensive bill (even though he said it was his treat) so he had them arrested. Bender works in the kitchen in order to pay off their debt.Smitty: The old dine-and-dash, huh? My daddy owned a restaurant and it's punks like you who kept it from going regional. That's why I became a cop.URL: Now it's payback time. Aw, yeah!
- Disproportionate Retribution: Poor Fry.Smitty: He's making a break for it! Get 'im.Fry: No, no, I was just picking my nose.Smitty: He's picking his nose! Get 'im.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: Under normal circumstances, Leela would likely have beaten the Robot Mafia singlehandedly in a fight or easily escaped using her piloting skills. Thus, she's blinded early on to make sure she can't use either of her abilities.
- Easily Forgiven: Despite the main characters racking up a $1,200 bill at Elzar's, he doesn't seem to care too much when Bender walks away from working off the debt after what's implied to only be a half-day or so of menial jobs. Though this can probably be justified as Elzar not wanting to cross the Robot Mafia, since Bender leaves him to work for them (either that, or Elzar just pays his staff obscenely well). It's also possible he found Bender hanging around so annoying that he decided to let the whole thing go.
- Everyone Has Standards: Bender has no qualms about doing all manner of illegal things under the Robot Mafia but draws the line at killing Fry and Leela.
- Eye Scream: Leela gets spice weasel spice Bammed into her eye, blinding her for days.
- Halfway Plot Switch: Exaggerated. Though Leela's blindness factors in predominantly in the second half, the Elzar plot is quickly abandoned the moment the Robot Mafia arrive on the scene. How quickly?Bender: Hey, Elzar! I quit!!!Elzar: (off-screen) 'Kay!
- Have a Gay Old Time: Upon being asked if he wants to work for the Donbot as a hired goon, Bender happily exclaims "I have always wanted to break into gooning!" That, uh, doesn't quite mean the same thing 20 years later.
- Honor Before Reason: Leela insists on doing her usual Ace Pilot job despite being blind. This causes a number of Blind Mistakes.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction:Bender: Hey, who are they?Elzar: Let's just say they're very good customers and I'm not answering any more questions.Bender: Are they the Robot Mafia?Elzar: Yes.
- Kick the Dog: After Leela inadvertently destroys the roof of the Planet Express building, Hermes looks at the damage, then turns to Zoidberg and says, "That's coming out of your pay!", reducing Zoidberg to tears.
- Kill It with Fire: The Donbot's idea to deal with Planet Express after stealing the cigars: Burn down the ship and burn down the crew.
- Major Injury Underreaction: The poor sap who can't pay his rent gets shot full of holes as a warning... and then walks away. Justified because he's a robot.
- Misplaced Retribution: When Leela smashes the Planet Express ship through the ceiling shutters, Hermes takes the repair charges out of Zoidberg's pay.
- Multiple Gunshot Death: Subverted. The poor robot that couldn't afford the week's payment gets riddled with bullets but survives because he's a robot.
- Not So Above It All: Leela usually serves as Fry's voice of reason whenever he lets something go to his head. However, when blinded she practically thinks she's Daredevil (with the expected but not unwelcome chaotic results).
- Oddly Small Organization: "We're the Robot Mafia. The entire Robot Mafia."
- Overly Long Gag: Bender's oil Spit Take when he sees the Robot Mafia's next target is the Planet Express ship. It lasts about 10 seconds.
- Paper-Thin Disguise/Newspaper-Thin Disguise: Smitty and URL hanging out on a street corner in plain clothes over their normal uniforms, reading Non-Cops News.
- Pet the Dog: Donbot lets his client off with just a warning after he was unable to pay the monthly protection fees. Yes, he had his goons riddle the sap with bullets but being a robot, was no more effective than a verbal reprimand.
- Police Brutality: Smitty and URL give Fry a good beating for no reason and pull Bender over for an "illegal search".
- Refuge in Audacity: Bender's attempt to pocket The Donbot's change outrages his goons at first, but when Bender tells the guy, to his face, that he's trying to steal from a dangerous mafioso, The Donbot considers it funny.
- Riddled and Rattled: The Robot Mafia inflicts this on a poor robot who can't afford his protection payments. Being a robot, having dozens of holes shot into him isn't enough to kill him, nor is that even the intention. While he topples over as soon as the shooting stops, he just gets straight back up again afterwards. To the Robot Mafia, that act was simply a warning.
- Shaped Like Itself: The Donbot tells Bender that they'll be committing "crimes that may be illegal".
- Sophisticated as Hell: Bender's British accent doesn't change his vocal patterns, resulting in "I say, get the hell off."
- Spit Take: After realizing that the ship the Robot Mafia is going to attack is none other than the Planet Express Ship, Bender does a full ten second spit-take after drinking some oil up until the commercial break. On the DVD commentary they say that if they had been able to, they would have still had him doing it after coming out of the commercial break.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: The sign on the wall of Fronty's Meat Market reads, "Not a front since 2997."
- Took a Level in Dumbass: Leela, on being blinded. It's not in the sense that she actually becomes less intelligent, but because she stubbornly insists on still trying to fulfil her usual duties despite being blind, something that proves beyond her typical hyper-competency.
- Work Off the Debt: Even though it was supposed to be as restitution for blinding Leela, Elzar charges the crew a small fortune for the meal, with Bender volunteering to work it off.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Averted. "You flatter me, kind goon."
