'Stuart Fails To Save The Universe' Episode 9 Recap: Are They In A Void?

In episode 8, Stuart and the gang went to the war world in the hopes that they’d meet the version of themselves that had a version of a device which had a steering wheel in it. Of course, they didn’t find their war world versions, and they ended up getting recruited in a civil war between Americans. The first time they were sent to the frontlines, they literally killed Lt. Gary’s second-in-command to avoid following him onto the battlefield. When they were about to be chucked onto the frontlines a second time, they tried to desert their platoon and were arrested. They were put on trial for not only desertion, murder, and mutiny, but also for espionage because the army believed that the quantum entanglement device was some kind of a communications device which Stuart and the gang were using to leak confidential information to “the enemy.” For all these crimes, Stuart and the gang were put in front of a firing squad. That was when Major Penny gave them an offer: use the device to send fake information to the enemy and get hard labor as punishment instead of death. Stuart accepted that offer and used that opportunity to teleport them out of the war world and into the centaur world. There, they stranded Major Penny, headed over to Cowtown (specifically at the moment when the lab coats and the “regular” versions of Stuart and the gang were there discussing how a different Stuart had duped them all), and stole the device with the steering wheel. However, when they activated it, they got trapped in a literal comic book by something called the Adversary, who ordered Trevor and Kyle to not sell the comic book Stuart and the gang were in. What happened next? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

Stuart And The Gang Are In Gotham City

In episode 9, as Kyle and Trevor discuss comic book rules and whatnot, we see Stuart and the gang coming to the realization that they are trapped in a comic book that’s been put on display alongside Marvel and Vertigo’s new releases. Kripke blames Stuart for their predicament just because “his name is in the title.” Given the pose she’s stuck in, Denise makes a sly critique against comic book artists who draw women in suggestive positions, while giving the guys regular postures, in the name of selling more issues. A few moments later, we see Trevor reading Stuart Fails to Save the Universe: Trapped, which irks Kyle because they have been specifically told by the Adversary to not meddle with that particular comic. Trevor argues that the Adversary told them to not sell the comic; it didn’t say anything about not reading it. Trevor and Kyle briefly get into an argument about the Adversary’s gender, after which Trevor puts down the comic. Once neither Trevor nor Kyle is looking at them anymore, Stuart and the gang start devising ways to exit the comic, while also discussing who might have done this to them (as per Stuart, the Adversary is responsible for everything wrong that has happened since he was trapped in the mental asylum). All of a sudden, they see that Bert has exited the cover. So, all of them do the same, thereby allowing them to leave the cover page and move freely inside the comic. Stuart thinks that that’s perfect because, as a comic book store owner, he knows everything there is to know about comics and he can easily steer them out of this mess. Kripke challenges that claim by asking Stuart where they are, geographically speaking. It takes Stuart a few seconds to decipher that they are in Gotham. Bert wonders if they can just ask Batman to help them get out of this comic book universe, but he’s quickly given a reality check by Denise, who says that Batman doesn’t come to people’s aid on a whim. Stuart says that they should go to Flash because he has a Cosmic Treadmill, and that can help them re-access the multiverse. Bert thinks that they should just go to Superman and ask him to help them out. Stuart reminds Bert that A-list characters aren’t that “gettable,” probably because they are busy dealing with more important problems; Flash, however, is relatively “gettable” because he is known to make time for a supermarket opening. Once the gang agrees that they will target Flash, they realize they have to travel from Gotham to Central City; and that’s easier said than done because flight delays are a thing in comic book universes as well.

Mr. Freeze Tries To Kill Stuart And The Gang 

As Stuart and the gang wait in the Gotham Air lounge (with Denise eating sushi and getting diarrhoea), the focus of the episode shifts to Trevor, who informs Kyle that Stuart and the gang have moved out of the cover and are traveling from Gotham to Central City within the comic. Kyle starts panicking and blames Trevor for this development because they were told to not meddle with that comic, which is clearly supposed to be a prison created by the Adversary for Stuart and the gang. The Adversary shows up in the store and kills Trevor by essentially evaporating him. With that out of the way, the Adversary summons Mr. Freeze inside the comic and orders him to kill or capture Stuart and the gang (it’s not clear what the Adversary’s orders for Freeze are because he just says “you know what to do”). After Freeze goes off to do his job, Kyle tries to make small talk with the Adversary, who makes angry warbling sounds to express its anger because its “perfect plan” has started to go off-track. Going back to Stuart and the gang, they finally reach Central City and hail a cab from the airport, whose driver is Gary. As they are discussing where they should go to find Flash, the superhero whizzes past them. Stuart and the gang tell Gary to go after Flash, which brings Gary to his breaking point because how can he possibly keep up with Flash, and he tells all of them to get out of his cab. Soon after that, Freeze crushes Gary and his cab with his giant frozen fist; in a way, Gary saves Stuart and the gang because if they would have been in there with him, they would have died. Gary unknowingly sacrifices himself to give them a second chance at life, and they use that opportunity to run into the underground parking lot, where they are cornered by Freeze. Just when it seems it’s “game over” for Stuart and the gang, the Jay Garrick version of Flash shows up to save them (the costume and the casting of Andy Ridings is pretty good). As Garrick and Freeze engage in a fight, the “show, don’t tell” method of storytelling dies several times as Stuart narrates the whole battle because the makers of the show either don’t have the budget to shoot that stuff or they are just too lazy to do it. Also, isn’t the car that Stuart and the gang are hiding behind a little too modern for the era they are supposed in? Car experts, please, voice your opinions on this.

Jay Garrick Helps Out Stuart And The Gang

While Garrick fights Freeze, Bert does ask an important question: Why is Freeze trying to kill them when he is supposed to be going after Batman or, I don’t know, Ferris Boyle? Stuart says that that doesn’t matter anymore because the writer of the comic they are in has made them the “A” story, thereby putting them in Flash’s focus; so, now they can get the superhero’s attention and ask him to help them. Unfortunately, once Garrick has defeated Freeze, and he is done checking on Stuart and the gang, he leaves the scene. So, Stuart and the gang have no choice but to walk all the way to Garrick’s house. When they ring the doorbell, Amy answers; which I guess is supposed to be a super meta reference to Sheldon’s love for Flash, but also, this is just so horrible. Eventually, Garrick arrives at the door and he tries to claim that Stuart and the gang are wrong for assuming that he’s Flash. After a lot of back and forth, Amy tells all of them to just come into the house because it’s obvious that Stuart and the gang know that Garrick is a superhero. Stuart and the gang then proceed to give Garrick the lowdown on everything that they have been through. Once Amy joins the conversation, Garrick reveals that Stuart and the gang want to use his Cosmic Treadmill to get back to his universe. Amy immediately says that Garrick should allow that; not because she cares about these displaced people, but because if Stuart and the gang take the Treadmill, she’ll have more space in the garage. However, Stuart and the gang can’t operate the Treadmill without Garrick; so, he kind of has to go with them. And yeah, Stuart and the gang can’t keep the Treadmill because Garrick has to use it to get back to his universe; so, there goes Amy’s plan of making more space in the garage. Garrick steps on the Treadmill and advises them to hold onto it once he starts running. Freeze finds them and as he is about to ruin their plan, Garrick takes Stuart and the gang and travels into the multiverse, thereby thwarting Freeze for the umpteenth time. Garrick drops them off in a version of Stuart’s comic book store and jets off back to his home. When Kyle sees them, he starts to panic because he says that if the Adversary finds out that Stuart and the gang have exited the comic book, then he’s going to be very angry. Kripke says that they won’t hang around there long enough to find out.

Stuart And The Gang Are Stuck In A Void

Kripke attempts to walk out of the store in the ending of episode 9 and he discovers that the store exists in a void. The only thing worse than that is that there’s a laughter track playing in the background that only he can hear. In the teaser for episode 10, the finale, Kyle tells the gang that they are literally in the middle of nowhere. Denise asks if that means that they will be stuck there forever, to which Kyle says that “We’re here always,” which probably means that time doesn’t pass in this void; hence, they won’t age or die, they’ll just exist. While going through the comics in the comic book store, they notice that it’s filled with Stuart Fails to Save the Universe comics. At one point, even the Adversary shows up to haunt Kyle, maybe when Stuart and the Gang aren’t paying attention. But why would it need to do that when it’s an all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful entity? Does that mean that the Adversary is not actually very dangerous and can be defeated by Stuart and the gang? Then there’s the laugh track, which only Kripke can hear. So, what’s up with that? Okay, the laugh track is obviously a reference to the laugh track in The Big Bang Theory, and this show is kind of making fun of the fact that it’s really absurd to have a laugh track in a show. Because it seems like the characters in that universe are going about their life, doing normal things, only to get laughed at by unseen people; and these characters are either ignoring the laughter or they just can’t hear it (which is somehow more miserable). How does that explain the void in which that store exists? I don’t really know. All the sets in a show kind of exist in a void with no roads and streets connecting each other. Maybe this universe is treating that concept in a literal way to make the characters understand how absurd the logic of a sitcom is. Why, though? I have no clue. Also, why can only Kripke hear the laugh track? Is the Adversary an evil version of him? It’s totally possible and the Adversary wants to destroy all these “fictional” universes so that it can create something “real.” By the way, going back to the Jay Garrick stuff, do you realize that he doesn’t actually save Stuart and the gang. He hinders their escape plan and brings them back to their prison. We are supposed to see Freeze as the villain, but this version of Garrick is the actual villain of this episode because he’s essentially an extension of the Adversary; which makes Garrick’s marriage to Amy feel less offensive. Anyway, those are my thoughts on the episode. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments section below.

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