The Silent Partners

"The Silent Partners"

"The Silent Partners" is the 54th episode of the American animated television series The Venture Bros.

Plot

The episode begins with Billy Quizboy walking through a hospital, when he is stopped by a fellow physician. It is shown that he has developed rather remarkable skills as a surgeon under the guise of Dr. Phil Donahue, but is told that Johns Hopkins University doesn't have his credentials on file. Nervously covering his mistake, Billy states the he misheard; he did not go to Johns Hopkins but rather Stanford, where he studied under a Dr. John Hopkinsburg. Realizing he is in trouble of getting caught he quickly runs into a patient's room, where he witnesses three suited men stealing the heart of an ailing King Gorilla and disappearing through the floor; the final one appears to recognize Billy, as he waves and smiles before he vanishes.

In the next scene Billy is seen talking with Pete White, frantically saying they must give back all the money they received. This upsets Pete, who purchased lots of interesting and unusual items including Robo Bo, a robot "man servant" with the appearance of Bo Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard. Billy says that he must give everything back because the money he received came from vampires and he fears reprisal. As they argue, the three men arrive outside their trailer. Billy goes out to confront them, screams, and suddenly vanishes.

Pete White then goes to SPHINX and attempts to pay them to rescue Billy, they refuse (even after being reminded of how the OSI used Billy previously to infiltrate the Guild of Calamitous Intent and Phantom Limb) until they notice that the $50,000 check Pete is trying to pay them with belongs to The Investors, a group that apparently has killed everyone they've "helped" before and Sphinx finally sees this as a key to go after them.

Billy awakens to find Monstroso and the investors standing over him. After a brief conversation it is revealed that Monstroso has also accepted The Investors' help for a proposal he made that happened to involve Billy. Before leaving, Monstroso says that the next day he will receive the true gift of immortality.

Sphinx is shown investigating the trailer; they find that the soil near the trailer contains salt from the mid-Atlantic and go out to acquire a boat. Before they leave they drop White off at the Venture Compound, where he is locked in the panic room with Sergeant Hatred, who was put there for his own protection (Hatred can even be seen going to sleep next to him later while holding a combat shotgun). The two inhabit the Venture Compound's panic room, where Hatred torments White with disgusting foot problems and tear-filled love songs to Princess Tinyfeet. They try to visit Jonas Venture Jr. on Spider Skull Island to request use of the X-2, but he is unavailable and parts for the ship were taken for use in the construction of Gargantua 2. The Captain, however, says he would help provide a ship if he can come along.

Back at the location of The Investors, Monstroso and Billy appear to be bonding, enjoying their time before the agreement can proceed. When asked what more he would like to do, Billy mentions that he is still a virgin. While SPHINX is tracking Billy's location on a makeshift pirate ship, it is revealed that the check from General Consolidated Insurance is connected with the Guild of Calamitous Intent and Monstroso.

Monstroso is seen signing papers apparently ready to fulfill his end of the contract with The Investors, while at the same time Billy is seduced and played with by women claiming to be vampires, still under the assumption the deal involves turning him and Monstroso into vampires.

Back in the panic room, Hatred confronts Pete about how he neglects Billy in favor of Rusty Venture because of Billy's lack of fame. This is based on the fact that White does not claim Billy as his best friend despite doing so much together and living under the same roof.

Brock and Shore Leave arrive at Billy's location, a gigantic catamaran-hulled motor yacht, and infiltrate it to find and kill The Investors and Monstroso. Finally, the true nature of The Investors and their deal made with Billy and Monstroso is revealed: Monstroso is dying of heart failure and requires a transplant, namely the heart taken from King Gorilla by an agreement he made with The Investors to rescind his life sentence. Billy Quizboy was chosen because of his skills, and The Investors would return the favor by forging documents signed by Billy to "officially" give him credentials to be legally recognized as a doctor. Monstroso explains the women Billy slept with were merely prostitutes roleplaying as vampires and the immortality he promised wasn't a result of becoming a vampire, but from his recognized fame as a great surgeon.

Billy begins the surgery at the same time Brock and Shore Leave begin their assault. They come face to face with The Investors, but the battle is short lived as they disappear as quickly as they arrive. Brock enters the room where Billy is performing surgery and tries to convince Billy with a "cowboy speech" that Pete White cares for him, and also to stop the procedure (and kill Monstroso) because of the crimes he committed. Billy cannot do so, claiming the Hippocratic Oath prevents him from doing so and he must ensure his patient's survival. Brock agrees and allows Billy to continue.

In the post-credits scene, Monstroso appears to be recovering from his surgery, although he appears to be unaware that he is no longer on his boat but actually at the SPHINX headquarters on the Venture compound. Brock then asks if Monstroso is well enough to be killed.

Cultural References

• Billy's alias is a reference to former talk show host and media personality Phil Donahue.
• The scene involving the three "vampires" is a reference to Dracula. The female vampires materializing and rising from the bed specifically alludes to the 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula.
• The robot servant Pete White purchased is a combined parody of the ASIMO robot from Honda and Bo Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard. RoboBo is also available in David Starsky, James "Sonny" Crockett , and J. L. "Fatman" McCabe models, depicting other main characters of popular 80's television shows (Starsky and Hutch, Miami Vice, and Jake and the Fatman, respectively).
• When Pete calls for Robo Bo to get the cycle, it plays the infamous horn noise to the car featured in The Dukes of Hazzard, The General Lee.
• The plane that the SPHINX members are working on during Pete White's visit seems to incorporate features from both the B-2 Stealth Bomber and F-117 Stealth Fighter.
• White's "I have that Malfoy/Spike thing" is a reference to either Draco or Lucius Malfoy of the Harry Potter series, and Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The former is in reference to White's pallor, while the later is an actual vampire with bleached hair.
• The Pirate Ship is named after Manny Santos, a character on Degrassi: The Next Generation.
• Sergeant Hatred angrily refers to Pete White as a "Starfucker", a derogatory term for a groupie.
• Monstroso makes a reference to Charlie's Angels when he revealed the lady vampires were really prostitutes.
• Just before performing Monstroso's surgery, Billy says, "Alright Baby Fae, it's Billy time. Let's make history." This is a reference to Stephanie Fae Beauclair, the first infant to undergo a xenotransplant procedure. In much the same way that Stephanie Fae Beauclair received the heart of a baboon, Monstroso receives the heart of a talking, homosexual gorilla.
• Shore Leave makes a reference to Jack and the Beanstalk after setting out to find the gigantic Monstroso before Brock does by saying, "First one to find a talking harp, wins."
• Pete White is seen playing the video game "6-String Warrior" using a guitar-shaped controller in the second scene while talking to Billy, a reference to the popular music video game series Guitar Hero. The song White is playing is Jasper McVain's "Revv Me Up", previously used in the episode "Mid-Life Crysalis" as Brock Sampson's workout music.
• When Pete White tries to convince SPHINX to help him, one of the SPHINX agents mentions having had an erotic dream about Henry Rollins, despite being heterosexual. There have long been rumors of Rollins himself being homosexual

Connections to Previous Episodes

• This is the second time that hospital has been shown, the first being in "The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-Glider".
• This episode carries on the ongoing theme of the relationship between Pete White and Billy Quizboy, played upon in episodes such as "The Invisible Hand of Fate" and "Every Which Way But Zeus". Though White loyally seeks SPHINX's aid to rescue Billy, he refuses to admit to Sergeant Hatred's conviction that they are 'best friends', claiming that they are mere work partners.
• Pete White mentions how Billy helped Hunter try to infiltrate the Guild as shown in "The Invisible Hand of Fate". This implies that, as stated in "Pinstripes and Poltergeists", SPHINX refuses to wipe his memory as he is still not seen as a viable threat to their security.
• Billy's medical abilities - displayed in episodes such as "The Revenge Society" - are revealed to be auto didactic. Likewise, Dr. Venture himself lacks a Ph.D, perhaps providing a reason for Billy's affection for Rusty.
• The men from the General Consolidated Insurance are officially revealed to be a front for the Guild of Calamitous Intent. The investors first appeared in the background at the state university in "Pomp & Circuitry".
• Monstroso is revealed to be alive, having seemingly survived his fight against Henchman 21 and Brock in the episode "Pinstripes and Poltergeists".
• King Gorilla is near death, having been released from his life sentence (in "The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-Glider") due to a deal he made with the Investors, but requests they proceed to take his heart after he dies.
• It is finally revealed how Billy and Pete were able to get the insurance money they had amassed in "Handsome Ransom". Billy attempts to use the neck brace from that episode to ward off being bitten by vampires.
• It is mentioned that Dr. Jonas Venture Jr. is still constructing Gargantua 2, first mentioned in "Handsome Ransom" and again in "Bright Lights, Dean City".
• Billy may have lost his latent virginity, first revealed in "Escape to the House of Mummies Part II". Sergeant Hatred mentions that when he appeared to have slept with Billy at the end of "The Revenge Society", he only "cuddled" with him out of sympathy for how lonely he seemed, implying he may not have had sex with him considering he learned that Billy was an adult in "Handsome Ransom". This also proves that Hatred was able to resist his pedophilic sexual urges despite lacking medication and being under severe stress at the time.
• Shore Leave mentions that the Sphinx Sub is still not working after becoming damaged in the events in "The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-Glider".
• Billy comments that he has "once again" been kidnapped to perform an illegal surgery is a reference to the episodes "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean" and "The Revenge Society".
• The captain is shown wearing his pirate outfit he wore when he first appeared in "Ghosts of the Sargasso" and also wore it at Dr. Venture's day camp in "The Buddy System".
• After Billy is kidnapped by the investors, White tells Robo-Bo to get the Conjecture-Cycle, the high-tech motorcycle the two used the insurance money to buy, first shown in "The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-Glider".
• Each time Hunter says "Sphinx" in this episode Shore leave immediately repeats it, this is a reference to "Pinstripes and Poltergeists", where every time the word is said a chorus in the background would repeat it as well.
• Hunter exclaims that he "misses his breasts", which were transplanted onto him in "Assassinanny 911" so that he could go undercover as a stripper. Later, he revealed that he had them removed in the episode "Blood of the Father, Heart of Steel" in order to become head of SPHINX.
• Mistakenly believing Jonas Venture Jr. to be dead, Hunter takes off his military beret in respect. This is the first episode in which Hunter can be seen without headgear, revealing that he is balding. In all other appearances — even while comatose — he is seen wearing a hat and/or a wig, possibly in order to disguise this potentially embarrassing fact.