Whether you’ve been watching Futurama from the very beginning or you discovered it more recently, chances are your obsession has returned just as strongly with the premiere of the Hulu and Disney+ reboot.
Created by Matt Groening, Futurama first aired all the way back in 1999 and the story began with Fry finding himself cryogenically frozen while the citizens of Earth were ringing in the new millennium.
How did it happen? Fry was leaning back on his chair and it fell, plunging him into one of the cryogenic tubes that was set to end its cycle in 1,000 years. When he emerges from the tube, he meets Bender and the Planet Express crew, encouraging him to embark on a brand new life in a time so different from the one he’s used to.
However, season 4 episode 10—titled The Why of Fry—revealed that Fry being frozen wasn’t an accident at all, but instead, it was all part of a plan that was orchestrated by Nibbler, Leela’s pet.
It turns out that Nibbler knew that Fry was the only person capable of destroying the Brainspawn, therefore the only one who could save the universe. So, he traveled back in time and was the one to tip Fry’s chair and set the freezing time accordingly.
You may think “Hmmm, then where was Nibble in the very first episode? Space Pilot 3000′. Actually, he’s right there. When Fry tips into the tube, we cut to a shot of the floor next to the desk in the room, and right there is Nibbler’s shadow, as clear as day.
Armed with this key piece of season 4 information, revisiting the pilot episode is never the same, and knowing that Nibbler is there completely reframes the way we think of what happened to Fry.
Including the image of Nibbler’s shadow is a testament to how well Futurama as a series has been mapped out by the writers, with so many exciting details and easter eggs to keep an eagle-eyed lookout for.
In The Why Of Fry, the Brainspawn offer Fry the chance to go back in time and stop Nibbler from freezing him. Taking the opportunity, he finds Nibbler under the desk and seizes him before he begins persuading Fry that he must go back into the future.
How does he tempt him? Leela. Nibbler tells him that he can’t give up on her, and as the fandom knows, Fry never does.
Futurama is now streaming on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (UK).
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