Review: "Bendin' in the Wind" (Season 3, Episode 13)

"Hey, the blues! The tragic sound of other people's suffering! That's kind of a pick-me-up." - Bender.

Airdate: April 22nd, 2001
Written By: Eric Horsted
Plot: An accident involving a can opener and whale oil leaves Bender disabled below his neck. While in hospital, he comes across Beck, who not only convinces him to take up being a washboard player (with the power of his mind), but also encourages him to join his jam band. Thus, he and the PlanEx crew go out onto the road!

Review:

Well, this episode is more interesting than "Route of All Evil". And that's not a stab at the fact that a test pattern would be more interesting than "Route of All Evil". It revolves around an interesting character and, albeit not atypical of shows that dabble in a certain story structure, explores how his fatal flaw can be interfered by being brought down to his knees.

Metaphorically speaking, of course, since this episode actually disables him for a bit.

Bender's ego has probably become the domineering aspect of his personality. Yes, he's a rampant kleptomaniac, a general law-breaker, and all but abuses his friends. Ultimately, however, it's his quest to be remembered - constantly and all the time - that generates a lot of the character's comedy.

So what if we disable him? Take his ability to move around flamboyantly and draw attention to himself away? Well, ironically enough, he does just that... by trying to show he isn't afraid of the can opener and doesn't like folk music. Pride cometh before the fall... even with folk songs in tow. With every professional writing him off, he truly feels disgraced.

Enter Beck.

Beck serves as Bender's inspiration - partially because of his fame, and partially because he offers Bender a way back to "grace". His portrayal, though, is that of a man who, while inspirational in relatively vague ways ("Use the power of mental thinking!), is also prone to his own bouts of ego. He's a genuinely nice guy, just a bit odd. He's nowhere near The Simpsons's take on Lady Gaga, thankfully - the writers here at least seem to know their limits.

Out on the road, Bender makes a name of himself by being the washboard operator on Beck's cross country tour - the fame that has eluded him for so long, he finally gets a small taste of. He proves a hit with one demographic in particular - that of broken robots. Being an inspiration to the damned, the forgotten in robot society, serves to ultimately rescue his own ego - because he was once close to the trash pile just days prior.

All Bender wants is to be appreciated - but he goes too far, and applies it in the wrong areas, which is what makes him such a legendary character. For him to apply his ego for good - creating a song and charity concert for broken robots - is actually an intriguing scenario for him, even if there is a selfish motive for him, that of personal fame.

Of course, some level of status quo exists for Futurama, so it's not like Bender is disabled forever. Indeed, at the end of act two, just as Bender is getting ready to go on stage for the benefit concert, he begins moving again. Oh, the ironing. This actually makes me wonder if his disability was, in part, generated by his ego getting shattered - that it was more psychological than anything. I mean, he did get torn up by that can opener and had his desire to sing folk songs exposed (again).

Now he's becoming an icon for singing folk songs alongside Beck. He's recovered... and at the worst possible time - on the eve of said concert. Naturally, he fakes it as long as possible, but his fatal flaw kicks in, and he's forced to leg it. Smooth move, Bender. It's actually incredible - for being the most recognizable and beloved character in Futurama, he's actually a relatively pathetic character when you think about it - his own worst enemy.

As far as the side characters go, they mostly serve as tagalongs. Which works - after all, Fry's our general 20th Century Man, bringing his friends into a little bit of his 20th-century life, that of the jam band. Hey, by the way, Zoidberg can cough up some mad money - in the form of pearls. While his financial status doesn't shift much as the show goes on, it still is intriguing to know. It combines the disgusting with the opulent, and hey, isn't that part of the world of Futurama?

Still, this episode does seem a tad bit dated. Not that Jam Bands no longer exist, but this episode seems to be the most "90s" of all them all. The jam bands, the overall source of optimism... in hindsight, this might be among the last gasp of that particular era, given that the September 11th attacks occured mere months later.

But hey, we got a funny, quirky satire of the jam band scene, a deconstruction of charity concerts, and character insight. Can't complain too much.

Tidbits:

• "Is this one of those 'Led Zeppelins' I've heard about?" Ah, just a reminder that our pop and rock music might be cosigned to the dusbin of history. Cherish your pop music.
• The burn on Patch Adams here was vicious. I don't think a biopic has ever botched it's subject as much as that movie did.
• Lastly, might I just say... GLAD TO BE BACK! May there be a review posted next month... in some capacity.

Wrap-Up:

Favorite Scene: There's something oddly hilariously tragic about Bender's paralysis... as he's singing a folk song. "It's toe-tappingly tragic!"

Best Character: By default, Bender.

Memorable Quote: "Odelay is a word. Look it up in the Becktionary." - Beck. If anything represents just how the writers made this particular potrayal entertaining, it's this quote.

Score: 7.5