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"Leela and the Genestalk" is the 22nd episode of Season 7, and the 136th episode overall.

Synopsis[]

Leela learns she's infected with squidification and goes on a quest to cure herself.

Plot[]

When Bender steals a cowboy hat, the Planet Express crew decide it is a good time to spend the night at a "redneck bar" and travel to Tex 1138's. Inside is a mechanical buggalo. Bender rides it first, declaring that he will set a new record or "eat his hat" -- he succeeds by setting a new lowest record of 0.4 seconds. Dr. Zoidberg eats the hat anyway.

When Leela takes her turn, she is thrown off but unable to let go, causing her to thrash about. The off switch also malfunctions and the mechanical buggalo apparently achieves consciousness. Moments before it crushes a little girl, one of the bar patrons shoot it. Still, Leela can't let go. Zoidberg inspects her hand and notices her hand has broken out in suction cups.

The Planet Express crew take her to see Doctor Tenderman who reveals that she is infected with Squidification, a genetic disease that sometimes affects mutants and that it is incurable, dooming her to be turned into a slithering mass of tentacles. The doctor reveals that the only treatment is an "incredibly expensive" procedure that only slows the process. Fry declares that no matter what, he will continue to love her.

Leela visits her parents Turanga Morris and Turanga Munda who tell her she's free to move in with them.

At Planet Express, Fry decides that he will do anything he can to raise the money for Leela's surgery. Professor Farnsworth agrees and tells Fry to sell Old Bessie (the Planet Express ship) for funds. Fry takes the ship to Parts 'N' Crafts where he finds a street peddler who scams Fry by selling him "magic beans" that "fell from the sky" in exchange for the ship. When Fry returns with them, Farnsworth slaps them out of his hand and through a window, where outside they begin to grow into a massive beanstalk.

Realizing that her squidification is rapidly accelerating, Leela decides to move to the sewers. She packs up her things and leaves a note for the Planet Express crew to find, but as she leaves the building she finds the massive beanstalk that stretches up to the clouds. Figuring she has nothing to lose, she climbs it instead of descending to the sewers.

The beanstalk collapses and Leela grabs onto a cloud, finding a luxury castle in the clouds, discovering that it is populated by unicorns and other fantastical animals. Just when she thinks her luck has turned around, she's captured by Walt, Larry, and Igner.

She's brought to Mom, who reveals that the castle is Momsanto, a legal loophole that allows MomCorp to conduct genetic modifications. It turns out that it was Mom who created the "Magic" beans, but she is frustrated because the giant plants keep collapsing under their own weight. Mom is very interested in Leela's weird condition and tells her that she will be checking out her DNA.

Three weeks later, Fry tells the crew that he ate an entire box of taco shells because he misses Leela so much. He determines to go down into the sewers to see her when Munda calls them through "Leela's wrist thingy" and tells them that Leela is not there. Fry and Bender travel up to the clouds (by using some sort of jetpack) after Leela's boots fall down from the sky.

They arrive at Momsanto and see Leela at a window on one of the castle's towers. She lets down her hair (which has turned completely into tentacles) and tells them to climb up. They climb up and see Leela hiding behind some big machine, and she then reveals herself as being almost completely squidified.

Bender bends the door open and they escape down to a big room, where they come across a giant man hooked up to a bunch of wires. Leela feels bad for the giant and unhooks him, but he starts chasing them. They fall through the drain in the giant's sink and come out through a pipe next to Mom and her three sons.

Leela is determined to stop the things that Mom is doing and grabs the steering wheel to crash Momsanto. As they fly over the Planet Express building, Leela grabs on to it with her tentacles and takes all three of them into the building. They are greeted with shocked expressions seeing how Leela has turned out, except for Zoidberg who says that she has become beautiful.

Later, Leela tells Fry that she doesn't think that what they had can really continue, seeing how she has changed. Fry responds that he doesn't care how she looks, because she will always be Leela, the woman he loves. Leela, clearly touched, thanks him and he kisses her to confirm his love for her.

Suddenly, Mom flies down from Monsanto in a small tower and thanks Leela for helping her make the perfect bean with the squid DNA she took from her. Now the beans have suction cups to keep them from collapsing. Then the giant man steps out of the tower, but he isn't giant anymore. He tells them that he suffered from hereditary gigantism, until Mom cured him using genetic engineering (that's why he was hooked up in the lab).

Leela still does not approve of this but changes her views when Mom tells Leela she can change her DNA to cure the Squidification. After Leela is cured, she and Fry walk hand in hand down the street as the beanstalks with suction cups completely cover the city.

Ongoing Themes[]

Fry and Leela[]

When Leela is stuck on the mechanical buggalo, Fry is relieved that she's alright. When she's diagnosed at the hospital with squification, Fry assures her this won't change his feelings for her. Leela smiles, touched by this.

When Munda suggests Leela move into the sewer with them where she would fit in, she tries to set her up with their mailman. No doubt she's aware of Leela's relationship with Fry so this could mean she assumes they'll break up or she doesn't like their relationship as it is rather unstable.

Fry tries to kiss Leela goodnight when she's sad due to her condition. She doesn't ignore this but she uses one of her tentacles on her cheek rather than her lips.

After Bender and Fry find Leela at Momsanto, Fry tries to get her to come out of hiding by saying he won't be shocked by her body. When she pulls off the sheet, he is unable to hold back a blood-curdling scream. Despite this, they do all manage to escape.

When Leela and Fry are swinging together (her using her tentacles to hold to the different walls of the Planet Express hanger) Leela attempts to end "whatever it was they had together" as she sees no possibility that Fry would actually want to spend his life with her. She probably feels very low, like a hideous monster. Fry doesn't care and promises her he'll love her no matter what. Clearly touched, she thanks him. He then kisses her to confirm his devotion to her. This kiss she returns passionately, even popping a few tentacles like a foot pop.

After Leela is cured of her squidification and returns to normal, she and Fry are seen walking down the street holding hands and lovingly gazing into each other's eyes.


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