Bender goes on an odyssey of self-discovery and retribution when a gambling binge leads him to discover he was built without a free will unit.

This is one cheeky episode. It has plot elements recycled from ‘Hell is Other Robots’, though this time out it’s more of a linear addiction plotline Bender trawls through.

But we’ve seen him meet rock bottom and turn to religion before, only to reject it for further hedonism, and this time out only the barest hint of something unique is added to the plot (And it is hilarious – ever wanted to see Bender try to rob a bunch of girl scouts?). It takes a good chunk of time to bypass Bender’s addiction plot to finally get to the main thrust of the free will unit section, and the dawdling is somewhat funny but unfortunately sucks up too much running time. Yet the plot’s resolution is a fun one, and contains an unusually jerkassy Professor Farnsworth.

Free Will Hunting is an average episode of Futurama, and especially worth watching if you’re a Fry/Leela shipper for reasons I won’t reveal.

LETTER GRADE: C