The transition in and out of the prisoner scene is shown through hollow black rectangles filling the screen with the characters inside. Key objects are highlighted by rectangles appearing around them. The prisoner room is based off of (or maybe is) the set from the music video. The episode title and much of Billy Quizboy and Pete White’s interactions with St. Cloud are references to the song. There’s probably even more references to the song that a Duran Duran fan (or anyone watching MTV in 1983) would notice. Pop culture is the alpha and omega of The Venture Bros. which is why Billy has to go on his journey to save the red ball. Although Billy disagrees at first that the prop from the music video is the key to all his power, he eventually realizes how important it is to him. The red ball, and the New Romantic movement in music that it represents, is magic for Billy. To him, it’s not JUST a prop from a music video; like Henrietta Pussycat* it’s a part of our collective history. Failure is such an intrinsic part of The Venture Bros. that Billy was bound to lose his company anyway. The Venture Bros. takes its ideas from larger than life characters, but most of the people on the show are rather human. Pete, Billy, and St. Cloud view themselves as grand heroes and villains, but their actions and causes are at such a small scale they come across as ill-prepared LARPers. They put a teeth whitening appointment before finding a secret mountain hideaway (yet another Duran Duran reference). They would rather be captured at the start of the mission rather than break through a driveway gate. They misestimated arrival time and were still in the shower when guests arrived. Billy may view his mission as saving the world, but it’s actually the most disappointing version possible of the Wu-Tang Clan stealing back their album from Martin Shkreli. There they discover Redusa, an elderly hoarder that just wants to be left alone. Her pitiful home and lifestyle factored in with her being ranked higher on the Guild’s list than The Monarch highlights just how low he’s sunk in his field and career. Pete, Billy, The Monarch (and most of the characters on the show) all think they are or can be big shots, but really, they’re a 3. Maybe next year Billy and Pete will be heroes, maybe no go. Maybe next year Rusty will make the company profitable, maybe no go. Maybe next year The Monarch will get his life together, maybe no go. Maybe next year, maybe no go.
