Righto! All caught up. Season 2 is probably my favorite, but 3 was damn fine too.
That episode is why Venture Brothers is so great. Those guys could write a top notch serious action/adventure show, and they leverage that to make up the backbone of a top notch comedy. I wonder what they'll do after Venture Brothers.
This. ORB was possibly the smartest episode of the series to date (though not the funniest); they've gone and managed to create a really compelling element of mystery to the backstory, and have been slowly teasing it out since -- well, since the second episode, really, but Past Tense was where they really cranked it up. And of course season 3 gave us not only ORB, but also the previously-teased origin of Billy Quizboy and Phantom Limb. I expect we'll finally get the explanation on why the Monarch hates Dr. Venture next season.
(Speaking of Phantom Limb: no body = not dead. Yeah, he got some bits blown off him, but I don't remember seeing a corpse. Correct me if I'm wrong.)
ORB had some really fun steampunk/clockpunk stuff going on, teased the origins of both OSI and the League, and gave us an outline for how and why Jonas Venture died. The ending also made for a brief but quite complex examination of Rusty and Brock as characters.
(FROM THIS POINT ON THERE WILL BE UNTAGGED SPOILERS. Because the finale aired a month ago.)
Doc, for all that he's a self-centered egomaniac, shows prudence and restraint, and utters about the nicest thing he's ever said about his father. Brock, meanwhile, shows how dedicated he is to the mission, that he'd kill Rusty without hesitation if it came down to it. (The question is, why? Honor? Saving the world? It's certainly not out of loyalty to OSI.)
I quite liked part 1 of the finale but thought part 2 was a little flaccid. The twist ending that OSI had had Brock's back all along was weak, though 24's death and Brock's departure were pretty good and bode for an interesting next season.
Which is another great thing about the show -- while it maintains a certain status quo, relationships change and evolve -- the Monarch's relationships with both Dr. Girlfriend/Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and Dr. Venture are the chief examples. If I had to guess, I'd say Brock won't be back at the Venture Compound by the end of the next premier, and Doc's going to have to find a new bodyguard for the time being.
Also: they totally stole
Mr. Clean as a superhero from Brad.