YMMV / Futurama S 8 E 7 Rage Against The Vaccine

• Accidental Aesop: One moral this episode accidentally taught even though it was relevant to the Covid pandemic, was that it is never a good idea to go into another country (or in Futurama’s case, another planet) during a pandemic, even if it’s to conquer it. Lrrr and Ndnd had to learn this lesson the hard way.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: It is assumed that Zoidberg is immune to the virus, as he is never shown coughing or participating in the street fight when everyone else gets infected during the Omnicronian invasion.
• Crosses the Line Twice: All the real-life vaccine conspiracy theories turn out to be true in Farnsworth and Wernstrom's vaccines, and they boast about them as if they're features. Wernstrom confirms that his vaccine causes infertility, which is actually a bonus because nobody really wants children anyway. And the crowd agrees!
• Genius Bonus: LaBarbara and Hermes's explanation of how the voodoo potion works is a stand-in to how vaccinations actually work. Particularly the inoculation causing the immune system to produce "anti-jujus" (antibodies) attacking the spike proteins of the virus, preventing future infections. Bonus points for when it is contrasted with Farnsworth and Wernstrom's phony vaccines, which are based on vaccine conspiracy theories.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Jrrr. He only appears in just one scene briefly and only has one line after it’s revealed that he is posting online misinformation at the behest of his parents. The episode could have elaborated on why he is actually posting inaccurate things online and also could have shown his reaction to the moment his parents were infected with Explovid. However he does not appear in any other scenes.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The pandemic originating from the sewers only serves as an excuse for Leela to be Patient Zero for the surface. Once the infection spreads to the surface, the mutants don't show up again, with no questions raised as to why EXPLOVID originated there or how this and the enforced mutant quarantine, coupled with the Hate Plague already fueling conspiracy theories and undue spite, affects the long-established Fantastic Racism against the mutants (particularly as the use of "sewer flu" in the episode draws parallels to how COVID-19, first identified in China, was controversially dubbed "China flu" in some circles).

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