'Stuart Fails To Save The Universe' Episode 6 Recap: Is Everyone A Telepath Now?

In episode 5, Stuart and his friends found themselves in a utopian but primitive society where people spoke in English despite not being colonized, they shared literally everything with each other, and they were pretty progressive without technology. But instead of being thankful for lucking out amidst all this universe-hopping nonsense, Bert and Kripke started messing with the status quo of the place. While the folks over there believed in polygamy, Bert introduced monogamy just because he fell in love with Chana and wanted to marry her. Kripke didn’t want to share his bowl and he found it odd that the people of that society didn’t have any concept of currency; so, he essentially taught them to be capitalists. That led to a lot of discord between the folks of that village and turned it from a utopia to a dystopia. Meanwhile, Stuart and Denise were focused on fixing the quantum entanglement device. The red quartz that seemingly powered it had lost its spark; hence, they needed a new one. Gavel, one of the villagers, had a red quartz as a necklace pendant, but he refused to part with it because Kripke had taught him to be selfish. However, during the commotion at Bert’s wedding, the quartz fell off, and Stuart, without wasting another second, used that stone to power up the quantum entanglement device and hop to another universe. When they got there, as usual, things seemed normal, but then Denise started chewing on Stuart ficus plant. What happened next? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

Stuart And The Gang Are Cows Now

In episode 6, it’s revealed that the humans in that world are descendants of cows. Hence, they have four stomachs, they eat leaves and grass, and yes, they chew the cud. It sounds disgusting, but since Stuart, Denise, Bert, and Kripke’s physiologies change according to the universe they are in, they start to think this dietary preference and digestion process is pretty normal. The gang heads to a restaurant, where Bert tells them that this universe is quite similar to the one they were in before the apocalypse happened, except for the cow thing. That prompts Stuart to wonder if they should retire the quantum entanglement device and just stay in this universe. Denise reminds him that he is supposed to save the universe, not give up on it because he didn’t figure out the solution. To be fair, the alternate version of Stuart that visited this Stuart and sent him on this whole quest didn’t exactly explain what Stuart should do to save the universe. He glitched out and then never re-appeared in front of him to clarify his message; he has probably been sending Stuart some subliminal messages but they are too cryptic for anyone to comprehend. So, instead of throwing themselves in harm’s way in the hopes that they will find a solution to an unsolvable problem, Stuart thinks that they should give up for a change and see where that takes them.

Bert And Kripke Fall Into A Bottomless Abyss

Denise wonders what they are going to do in that universe if they choose to stay. Stuart says that they will play the roles that they had in their original universes (yeah, I think it’s important to remember that  this Denise isn’t from the same universe as Stuart, Kripke, and Bert). And he wonders if he and Denise can finally get married and settle down. Denise accepts this odd proposal and they choose to celebrate this moment by sleeping together. As they are talking about how their life is going to be like in this new reality, Bert and Kripke barge into the bedroom because they want to leave this universe. Why? Because, compared to the lives they lived in all the other worlds, Bert and Kripke are not as successful here. Therefore, they want to try their luck somewhere else. Stuart turns to Denise and tells her that if he gives away the quantum entanglement machine, and they leave with it, then he and Denise will truly be stuck in this reality for the foreseeable future. Once Denise says that she is okay with that, Stuart gives away the device to Bert and Kripke. While Denise and Stuart get freaky with each other, Bert and Kripke go to the comic book store, activate the device, and travel into the multiverse. They hit a major snag as they are transported to a reality where there’s no reality at all. The world that was supposed to be there has been wiped away, which is why Bert and Kripke find themselves falling endlessly in a bottomless abyss.

Raj Informs Stuart About The Death Of The Universe

Denise and Stuart stroll through the streets of Pasadena, enjoying all the vegetarian pleasures that this world has to offer. That’s when they run into Raj, who has taken up a street corner to tell the people that the universe is collapsing and they need to do something about it. Denise and Stuart approach Raj and ask him what he is going on about. Raj says that entire galaxies are getting erased from existence; GN-z11, the Triangulum Galaxy, and the Hyperion proto-supercluster are all gone. This apocalypse is currently at the edges of the known universe and eventually it’s going to reach them. And by “eventually,” Raj means in the next three to four hundred years. That puts Stuart’s mind at ease because he doesn’t need to worry about a future that he won’t be living in. Raj is appalled at Stuart’s selfishness but since he doesn’t know what to do to save the universe, he just expresses his disappointment over Stuart and Denise’s myopic view of life, bids them farewell, and goes back to his doomer speeches. Stuart and Denise head to the comic book store and they are surprised to see it open for customers even though the former had locked it. Well, it’s open because the alternate version of Stuart (let’s call him Stuart 2) has unlocked the store and has been waiting for Stuart to arrive. Stuart 2 wants to know why Stuart has given away the quantum entanglement device to Bert and Kripke, and he is understandably shocked to learn that Stuart has decided to live in “Cowtown.”

Stuart 2 And Stuart Get Into A Tiff 

Stuart 2 explains that since all of this mess started when Stuart knocked over the quantum entanglement device, he is the only one who can fix the breakdown of the multiverse. Again, Stuart 2 is very vague about how this “saving the universe” mission is supposed to be pulled off. He just wants Stuart to keep at it (by the way, during this conversation, it’s revealed that Stuart 2 is a digital projection from a collapsing universe, which explains the glitching). Stuart says that he isn’t interested in that endeavor because it’s too taxing, and on top of that, he doesn’t have the device anymore. Stuart 2 tells him to simply order another one and start universe hopping again. Stuart finds that easy fix to a problem that he has created to be annoying and he walks away. Stuart 2 tries to go after him but Denise stops him from doing so and she assures him that she will convince Stuart to do the right thing. Later that night, Stuart initiates the conversation on whether or not he is right for bailing on the mission to save the universe. Denise urges Stuart to answer his own question. Stuart’s reasoning is that it’s a duty that has been thrusted upon him; he didn’t sign up for it. Hence, he thinks he has the choice to abandon the project, especially since the collapse of the multiverse won’t affect him in his lifetime. However, as Stuart keeps talking about it, he realizes that the blood of billions, probably trillions, of lives will be on his hands if he doesn’t save the multiverse. 

Stuart Decides To Save The Multiverse

Stuart is old but he has a long way to go and Denise compels him to think if he will be able to spend the rest of his life knowing that he could have done something to grant a future to all those people in the multiverse but he didn’t because he didn’t want to sacrifice his own comfort. To give him some additional motivation, Denise assures Stuart that no matter how sticky things get, she will be by his side. So, the following day, Stuart orders a quantum entanglement device (this is quite possibly the worst way to solve the problem of misplacing or giving away the device), which is delivered to the store by Gary. Stuart and Denise gather around it and as soon as they activate it, they find themselves in the spot that Kripke and Bert have been in for the past few hours. The device that was used by Kripke and Bert merges with the one that Stuart and Denise have brought into the abyss. They realize that this abyss is the space between two universes and they have to hop again to get to a universe that exists. Why have they been transported to this abyss in the first place though? The working theory is that Stuart is kind of the Neo of this multiverse and only if he operates the device, he and the people around him will be able to hop to a universe that exists; if he isn’t involved in the universe-hopping process, things will go wrong.

Everyone Is A Telepath Now

In episode 6’s ending, Stuart takes everyone to a new universe by activating the device. As per usual, things seem pretty normal there. But they eventually realize that they can read each other’s minds. It is kind of like Chaos Walking where everyone can hear what they are thinking. So, they have to control what they think or risk freaking out the person before them. How is this going to help them solve the multiversal problem? Well, it won’t; it is only going to hinder the universe-saving mission and Stuart and the gang have to find a workaround. As teased in the trailer for episode 7, they need a “steering wheel” for the device to traverse through the multiverse. I guess they have been kind of randomizing the universe-hopping process, which is why they have been landing in places which don’t hold the solution to saving the multiverse. If they have this “steering wheel,” they can pinpoint the location they need to go to, thereby saving the hassle of dealing with uncalled problems. How will they do this pinpointing? That’s a bridge they will cross later. For now, Stuart and the gang have to control their telepathic powers, because if they don’t, they will not be able to get into Caltech and get that “steering wheel.” What are the odds that they will succeed? Let me know in the comments section below.

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