this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2025
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Futurama

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We tuned in expecting jokes and space hijinks.

What we got… was Seymour.

This wasn’t just a cartoon episode. It was a punch to the soul.

No dialogue. No manipulation. Just one dog… waiting.

Futurama showed us that animated stories could hit harder than real life.

Some of us still aren't over it.

#JurassicBark #FuturamaFeels #SeymourForever #SignalPost

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[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 1 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (1 children)
[–] Threaded@lemmy.world 2 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

It’s wild that racism had to be parenthesized—as if it was just a side note. That word shaped decades of “normal” entertainment. This isn’t just nostalgia; it’s unmasking the blueprint.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 1 points 20 hours ago

No, it was just the convention of putting (nsfw) after a link to avoid getting banned, except that specific abbreviation didn't seem like the right one.

[–] ericatty@infosec.pub 10 points 1 day ago

I never watched Futurama again after this one. I didn't trust them to not randomly destroy my soul.

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago
[–] 100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I dread the day my dog won't be by my side. She made me tap into a wealth of caring and nurturing I didn't know I had.

[–] aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 day ago

same, but my cat instead.

[–] samus12345@lemm.ee 39 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

"I'll never forget him. But he forgot me a long, long time ago."

If it takes forever

I will wait for you

For a thousand summers

I will wait for you

[–] Threaded@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This was the first time a cartoon made silence feel louder than any scream. No dialogue… just loyalty.

Curious—did this scene ruin you instantly, or was it one of those slow ache moments that hit after the episode ended?

[–] samus12345@lemm.ee 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Ruined instantly, and still gets me to this day. While they retconned it, the Seymour we see clearly never saw Fry again, so even if that timeline was erased, it still happened at one point!

[–] Threaded@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

Exactly. The retcon doesn’t undo the experience we had watching Seymour wait. That pain existed. That version of reality played out—and it wrecked us. Canon might shift, but memory doesn’t.

[–] phx@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago

I always refer to this as the "I need to hug my dog again" episode

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 8 points 1 day ago

They shit all over this episode with the return series episodes that basically retcon everything in this one.

[–] tacobellhop@midwest.social 7 points 1 day ago

When Fievals dad dies.

When Little Foots mama dies.

Mufasa.

[–] son_named_bort@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (2 children)

This episode did not make me want to walk on sunshine.

Although the movie where Lars takes care of Seymour kinda makes this ending a little more hollow.

[–] Threaded@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Facts. That Lars twist softened the blow a little—but didn’t fully patch the trauma. It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a hole in time.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

I felt it was a bad choice. It cheapened the soul-crushing ending.

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[–] DireTech@lemm.ee 20 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Yeah....don't watch Grave of the Fireflies if you think this was bad. Futurama has drinking and other adult topics, surely a Ghibli film is safe.....right?

[–] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago

'the flower we saw that day' is just as bad... only over an entire mini series.

[–] Threaded@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Grave of the Fireflies was emotional terrorism. I watched it once and aged ten years.

Any other “safe” animated films that emotionally ambushed you?

[–] thallamabond@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Threaded@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Oh god, Up didn’t even give us a warm-up. Just “Hi, meet Ellie—now feel everything you’ve ever lost.

[–] CitizenKong@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

In it's original run in Japan it was shown together with My Neighbor Tororo, probably the happiest Ghibli movie, as a counterweight.

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Happiest Ghibli Movie:

Mom's going to die and Dad doesn't know what the fuck he's doing half the time. A giant monster lives in the ghost tree behind your ash-haunted house.

Bonus: You may have killed your little sister when you left her in the dust crying because her toddler legs couldn't keep up with you.

[–] fishos@lemmy.world 24 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (6 children)

I'll die on the hill that Luck of the Fryish is sadder. One is a relationship between a human and a dog. The other is a relationship between two brothers. You really trying to say the dog is worse?

I'll also put Game of Tones above Jurassic Bark. Fry getting to actually say goodbye to his mom and tell her how much he loved her? No contest.

Besides the fact that they totally retconned Seymore anyways and he doesn't die alone anymore. It's the first movie. He lives out the rest of his life with Fry when he returns back in time.

Luck of the Fryish ≥ Game of Tones > Jurassic Bark

[–] Threaded@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (3 children)

You’re spitting pure logic and I respect the hill you chose. But there’s something primal about Seymour’s wait—it taps into the kind of loyalty we wish people had for us.

That said: “He named his son after me” in Luck of the Fryish still punches me in the soul every time.

Real question: what’s the most underrated emotional Futurama episode?

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[–] dwemthy@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Luck of the Fryrish is about a human connection that becomes more meaningful after Fry disappears. Yance honors his brother's memory and Philip becomes the first person on Mars, possibly because of the influence of Fry's memory. It's a story of triumph and victory, although also sad.

Game of Tones is a victorious story too.

Jurassic Bark takes a look at Fry in a low point of his life and the joy that Seymour gives him. The reward for that joy is tragedy. Seymour is left on his own, waiting for Fry. Retcon be damned, the story contained in that episode is devastating. There's no reunion, no understanding of old relationships that enrich them, just a long slow sad end.

[–] fishos@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

In regards to Jurassic Bark: I'll give you that, absolutely. It is pretty devastating and I don't want to deny that. Blind, trusting loyalty. It's really beautiful and crushing that he doesn't get closure. I'll even give you the retcon not counting since it probably only exists as a fan service.

That said, I disagree that Fryish is 100% triumph. Yancy has missed his brother for years at this point. He still keeps around the drawing Fry did. He doesn't have to say the name and his wife already knows. He mentions that he still thinks of his brother every day. He clearly carrys a deep weight. Naming his son after Fry was symbolically giving Fry a life Yancy thought he didn't get. There's a lot of pain there in my opinion.

I will absolutely give you that Game of Tones is a victory, but honestly, that one always makes me tear up. That one just feels.

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I buried these feelings beneath metric tons of Star Trek memes, how dare you resurface them.

[–] fishos@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

So then you don't want me to remind you that Bender has no backup unit and only exists in the first place because young Hermes spared him? Cus that would probably crush you. Like a platform falling down a canyon.

[–] monarch@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I may be a little weird in this respect but the loss of a pet has always hit me harder than the loss of a family member. I lost my great grandmothers and my grandfather and felt much less upset than when I had to BE my dog.

[–] fishos@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I actually addressed this very point in a different comment. But basically I actually agree. I'm being dramatic with "this is my hill to die on". My hill is probably more "all of these episodes are very emotional and not just Jurassic Bark should be mentioned every time." I think your family and pet experiences play a lot in determining which episode hits you harder.

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[–] Mustakrakish@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Never forgive Fry for not defosilizing him after he eaited.

[–] sploosh@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

If you watch the Comedy Central episodes, Seymour had a good long life with Fry's time travel paradox twin before he was flash-fossilized.

[–] Threaded@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Eaited” lives in my head rent-free. And yeah, Fry really said “nah, I’m good” and just walked away like Seymour wasn’t a whole monument. Defosilize my boy

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[–] Rappe@sopuli.xyz 42 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Why would you remind me of this on a Monday morning. Haven't I suffered enough :(

In all seriousness, great episode, definitely still makes me sad every time even when I know it's coming. Unpopular opinion, I think Futurama was on par with the best Simpsons seasons, and way better than most Simpsons seasons.

[–] Yondoza@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago

That's an unpopular opinion??

[–] Shawdow194@fedia.io 17 points 2 days ago
[–] PrincessKadath@ani.social 19 points 2 days ago (2 children)

While Jurassic Bark was sad, I still think Game of Tones was the one that hurt the most. I remember it made me sob uncontrollably.

Most fry-focused episodes are quite emotional.

Luck of the Fryish.

[–] flicker@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 days ago

"I've dreamed about you a lot since you disappeared."

Absolutely brutal. A mother whose son has vanished.

I know Lars undid all these things, but we didn't know that was going to be the case at the time.

[–] Damage@feddit.it 14 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I grew up on Don Bluth cartoons, I knew already

[–] Threaded@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Bro, if you survived The Secret of NIMH and All Dogs Go to Heaven, you’re basically emotionally vaccinated. Don Bluth made sure we grew up with trust issues and artistic trauma.

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[–] rosco385@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago

Right in the feels every time up until you know that fry went back so he could become Lars. Fry is the paradox. He is is own grandfather.

[–] dan69@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This one and Lelas birthday episode 🥹

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