Warning! The following contains spoilers for Disenchantment. Read at your own risk!
Part 2 of Disenchantment Season 1 (a.k.a. Season 2) has finally arrived, and so have more fantastic references to the other works of Matt Groening. Surprisingly enough this batch of episodes is relatively light on nods to The Simpsons, and tends to lean much heavier on the Futurama easter eggs and references.
Some just feel like references, although when put up against one of the bigger references at the bottom of this list, seem to point to something much bigger potentially happening in Disenchantment. Have all the references to this point been just that, or is this Netflix original about to pull off the awesome crossover that fans have been hoping it would since what happened in Season 1?
The Holophonor In The Castle Storage Room
The Holophonor is a device fans of Futurama should know well, and can be spotted in the Dreamland storage room. It's a musical instrument of the 30th century that shows images that represent the mood of the notes as well as emitting sound. In Futurama, Fry became a master of the instrument briefly thanks to some parasites and another time with help from the Robot Devil.
Of course, the question Disenchantment fans are asking right now is why is a 30th century instrument doing in a medieval storage room? Did one of the Planet Express crew give it to King Zog as a gift from the future, or are we sticking with the theory that Disenchantment is actually a second Medieval period after a big event post Futurama causes the world to lose a bulk of its technology?
It could really go either way, and Disenchantment fans want answers. Here's hoping they get them, because the Matt Groening series is dropping so many references that it could create some real issues if it all just amounts to easter eggs with no real payoff. To be fair, it does certainly seem like all these references will eventually lead to something; we just have no idea when to expect it.
King Zog's Bender References
For those unaware, voice actor John DiMaggio is the voice of Futurama's Bender and Disenchantment's King Zog. The Netflix original has had some fun with this, as many pointed out this season had Zog put a clever twist on Bender's most iconic line: "Bite my shiny metal ass." Later on, he dropped a more subtle Bender reference by saying "Let's go already," though one could make an argument that's a line any character could be known for.
Both are cool as a reference to Futurama, but wouldn't it be cool if Zog was actually inspired by hearing Bender say it once before? Maybe the two crossed paths at some point in the past, and Zog copped some of that classic Bender style that helped him gain the confidence he needed to be king.
Here's an even crazier reference fans can have some fun with, ever notice that jewelry on Zog's crown that resembles an antenna? What if that actually is an antenna, and Zog is some robot relative of Bender's? Zog actually being a robot would be quite a twist, but with all the crazy things this series has done so far, it doesn't seem like the least likely thing in the world. Especially when taking the other easter eggs into account!
Farnsworth Boulevard
Just outside the headquarters of Gunderson Airships is Farnsworth Boulevard, which is a name that carries some weight in the Futurama universe. It's the last name of Professor Farnsworth, who is a very distant descendant of Fry. Does the Farnsworth family have a presence in the world of Disenchantment, or is this again some side effect of potential time-travel by the Planet Express crew?
Also, Farnsworth Boulevard is located in the Transpo district, which is short for the "transportation" district. Once again, a pretty big nod to Futurama, and the fact that Planet Express was a business that specialized in the transport of goods and other services. Did we mention the building itself looks very similar to the Planet Express building?
It's an especially curious reference given the character of Sky Gunderson, and the similarities he has with the dear old professor. Plus, what are the odds this road name would be so close to a building that specializes in flying machines? Again, something is very fishy about all of this, though we're no closer to getting the answers now than we were after the first batch of references in Part 1.
Sky Gunderson
As we touched on earlier, there's a lot of Futurama references that surfaced when Sky Gunderson came into the picture. Gunderson bares a striking resemblance to a younger version of Professor Farnsworth and, as mentioned before, his business in Steamland is right off of Farnsworth Boulevard. It's enough to make one wonder where the line is between reference and legitimate teases that build to some relevant connection in the future.
The references didn't stop inside the shop either, as Sky Gunderson had an actual model of the Planet Express ship, and even a drawer that had various lengths of wire. Both are nods to the Futurama franchise, and potentially a big clue that Gunderson has some connection to the Farnsworth family. Is he an ancestor though, a descendant, or just someone who had an encounter with the good professor and picked up some of his habits?
For the record, the name Gunderson could also point to a reference to The Simpsons. Gunderson is the same last name as the franchise's down-on-his-luck character Gil, and while there isn't a lot else that points to Springfield, there's a chance Matt Groening could be using Disenchantment to bridge a gap between all of his original animated shows. I wouldn't count on any Simpsons characters appearing though, especially now with the family under the Disney umbrella.
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Disenchantment fans, do you think the series will cross over with Futurama? Share all thoughts in the comments below, binge Season 1 Part 2 on Netflix all over again, and be sure to stick with CinemaBlend all this fall for all the latest news in television and movies.
