Episode - Season 4, Episode 12 (Production Code: 4-51)
First Aired - October 3, 2010
Dr. Venture and Sgt. Hatred are preparing to fly Dean to New York City to begin his summer internship. Venture is giving a list of commands to Hank, including telling Hank to have a job by the time Venture returns. Dermott arrives and Venture sarcastically suggests that Dermott will help Hank find a job.
Fast forward a few days, and Hank has started a cafe/store/notary/detective agency in the X-1 hangar as his "job" along with Dermott. Venture tells Hank this isn't exactly what he had in mind and is upset to learn that the things Hank is selling all of their things from inside the compound, including a lot of Dr. Venture's belongings. The Alchemist and Dr. Orpheus arrive, revealing that Al has been kicked out by his boyfriend and forced to move in with Orpheus, who has a spare room now that Triana has moved out. They seek to get their lease agreement notarized by Hank. Dermott interrupts, needing a ride home after being unable to reach his mom and his sister unable to pick him up. Hank tells Dermott to meet him at his "detective agency" desk where Hank will take on the case for Dermott's missing mom.
Hank puts on a fedora, and the color scheme of the world turns to black and white, with the tone shifting to that of a classic crime noir. Hank learns that Dermott believes Brock to be his father. While Hank is lost in detective noir land, Dermott leaves with his mother. The Alchemist, playing along with Hank out of boredom, notes this as Dermott's sister, Nikki, arrives to pick him up, unaware that their mother already did so. Hank tells her that the case is "too dangerous" for her to be involved and agrees to take the case of Dermott's missing father. Nikki finds Hank funny and charming while he is in detective mode. He says that he'll make Dermott apologize to her or else Hank will buy her flowers. Knowing Dermott won't apologize, Nikki suggests that Hank be ready to bring over the flowers later. As she leaves, Al commends Hank for being so smooth. Hank says it's all the hat and that he has had a crush on Nikki forever.
Hank and Al, playing detective, first go to Brock. Brock denies having ever slept with Dermott's mom. A montage plays of the duo interviewing other suspects, including at the local strip club and the Monarch's henchmen. However, they are unable to get anyone to cop to sleeping with Dermott's mom. Finally, they confront Dermott himself as he takes out the trash (and some stolen video games) at his real job at a big chain store. Using tough guy detective techniques, including having Al punch Dermott in the stomach, Dermott gives them a key to the Venture compound his mom says belonged to his dad.
Back at Hank's store, Hatred has taken over and turned the cafe into a Greasy Spoon that only serves eggs and ketchup. Hank and Al are approached by Billy Quizboy (in a lousy disguise) who tells them that he has information on Nikki. It turns out that Nikki runs an online collectables store and knows more than she is letting on. Hank goes to talk to Nikki.
Al, meanwhile, goes to visit Orpheus. One of Al's powers is that he can tell when someone is telling the truth, and so far, everyone they've questioned has been, which doesn't add up.
At the Fictel residence, Hank brings Nikki the flowers he previously promised, and questions her. The room is filled with merchandise from the old Rusty Venture cartoon. Nikki, seducing Hank, says she is a big fan of the show, and that Hank reminds her of Rusty, the adventurous cartoon character, not the "washed-up has-been" that Dr. Venture has become. They make out as the scene ends.
Dr. Orpheus and the Alchemist cast a spell on the key the received from Dermott, giving them a vision of the key's origin. The scene flashes back to a young and obviously pregnant Nikki crying and arguing with her mom. Nikki's mom explodes at Dr. Venture, screaming that he had sex with the 15 year old president of his fan club. Venture, who seems to be genuinely upset, says that she told him she was 20 and he didn't card her. Ms. Fictel threatens to call the cops while Venture offers payment out of his estate for her not to do that. He leaves Nikki the key to the compound, but Ms. Fictel takes it and says that he'll never see her again before kicking him out. She tells Nikki to keep the child and that she will raise it as her own. The scene flashes back to Orpheus and the Alchemist, who are disgusted by what they saw.
Hank, back in his detective "office," is visited by the Alchemst who tosses the key onto the desk. Al says he is off the case, but noticed that Hank is aglow with excitement. Hank explains what just happened in noir detective lingo, so Al asks him to take off the hat to explain it. Hank does, and exclaims "I GOT LAID!!" He goes to touch grab the key and, because Al and Orpheus forgot to discharge the spell, Hank is given the same vision they received. Hank is greatly disturbed and throws up into his hat.
Al takes Hank to the SPHINX memory wiper to remove that scarring event. Hank wants to remember the sex, but forget the details, which Shoreleave explains is impossible as you can't be selective with the memory eraser. As Hank climbs into the machine, Al says that SPHINX probably wants to put him in next so he forgets all the SPHINX stuff he saw. Shoreleave says that it would be the second time he got his memory erased, revealing that the two had a sexual encounter but Al got "possessive," breaking up with his boyfriend and trying to move in. As Brock turns on the machine, Hank exclaims "I GOT LAID!!" once again.
The Stinger shows Hank sitting in his bedroom watching a video of himself on his communicator watch from before he got his memory wiped. Pre-memory wipe Hank wanted to make sure he knew that he lost his virginity, but not all the other gross details. Dean walks into the room, back from his summer job which apparently didn't go well. He asks Hank if he has seen their father, as Dr. Venture left New York without saying goodbye. Suddenly, a portal opens up in the room and a more confident looking Dr. Venture (with a full head of hair) steps out of it as the show ends.
Tropes:
- Baguette Beatdown: While chasing Dermott from the mall, Al finds a mobility scooter filled with ISO-Standard Urban Groceries and throws a baguette at him while in hot pursuit (he misses).
- Brain Bleach: When Hank finds out that Dermott's older sister—to whom he lost his virginity—is not only Dermott's mother, but Rusty is Dermott's father, he goes to Brock at SPHINX headquarters to have his recent memories erased.
- Child by Rape: Dermott, via statutory rape. The sex itself was consensual.
- Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: The scene of an adult Rusty accidentally getting 15 year old Nikki pregnant is unambiguously presented as a horrible and uncomfortable, but Nikki having sex with the teenaged Hank is presented much more lightly, with Hank elated that he managed to lose his virginity to an attractive woman. Though the fact that he lost his virginity to the mother of his half-brother is also portrayed as disgusting enough to warrant a mind-wipe.
- Family Relationship Switcheroo: Rusty got Nikki Fictel pregnant years ago, and her mother Mrs. Fictel decided to raise the child (who would grow up to be Dermott) as her son.
- Film Noir: The black-and-white segments with "detective Hank" are a parody, with him attempting to speak the vernacular and look the part, like wearing a fedora (that came with a "detective's whip"). Al plays right along with it.
- Greasy Spoon: Hank (later Hatred's) "cafe" or "diner."
- Mama Bear: Mrs. Fictel towards Nikki. She kicks Rusty out, takes his hush money, and raises Dermott as her own so Nikki can still have a relatively normal life.
- Love Father, Love Son: Nikki explicitly tells Hank that he reminds her of Rusty just before putting the moves on him. Given that her trailer is full of Rusty Venture memorabilia it's pretty clear that her attraction to Hank is at least partially due to the lingering feelings she has for his father.
- Mrs. Robinson: Nikki. She must be in her early 30s and has sex with Hank, who is in his late teens.
- Note to Self: Hank does this prior to a memory wipe so he'll know he lost his virginity, leaving out the part that it was with Dermott's mother (who he thought was his sister) who had been knocked up by Rusty.
- Older Than They Look: Based on the timeline, Nikki must be in her early 30s but doesn't appear much older than Hank or Dermott.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Billy at the "diner." Everyone sees right through it.
- Parody Magic Spell: Al decides to have a little fun with the spell incantation he and Orpheus are using on the key. Orpheus is less than pleased, but it still works.
- The Reveal: Dermott is not Brock's son like everybody thought, but rather he's Rusty's. And his mom is his grandmother.
- Rewatch Bonus: Way back in S3E5 The Buddy System, Dermott's mother (now revealed to be his grandmother) asked if Dermott met his father at the day camp, implied to be Brock. Turns out she meant Rusty Venture.
- Shout-Out:
- Pre-memory wipe Hank jokes in his message to current Hank, saying "get your ass to Mars!" This is a reference to Total Recall (1990).
- The Alchemist asks Dr. Orpheus a question about the morality of using their magic to help in every day life, calling it the "Bewitched Question."Orpheus: Oh yes, why didn't Darrin let Samantha just make them magically rich so he didn't have to be a work-a-day whipping boy? ... I would make Darrin filthy rich, turn Mr. Tate into a donkey, tell Endora to get a life, and BLIND that nosy Mrs. Kravitz!
- Dermott's family situation is exactly like that of Jack Nicholson, who grew up believing that his grandparents were really his parents, while his older sister was actually his biological mother.
- The episode title comes from an unpublished play called Everybody Comes to Rick's, on which Casablanca was partly based.
- Hank's fedora hat (which came with a "detective's whip,") is a reference to Indiana Jones.
- Dr. Venture's appearance and dress in the Flashback makes him look a lot like Woody Allen.
- Synchronous Episodes: With Bright Lights, Dean City.
- The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Pre-memory wipe Hank is able to guess his future self's reaction to his story.
