Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 3
Two episodes ago, Bert Kibbler was just the harmless geologist everyone took for granted in a show where giant moths were the most terrifying thing around. But after one demon exposure, one wizard battle, and one rampaging Bernadette, he may well be the most dangerous being in the whole multiverse. The show Stuart Fails to Save the Universe has finally arrived in the “anything goes” portion of the series, and episode 3, “Spoiler: Bert is Magic,” doesn’t waste any time showing it.
For anyone who’s playing catch-up before getting started, here’s the complete recap of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 3, the summaries of episodes 1 and 2, and our predictions of what might come next in episode 4.
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 1 Recap: How It All Started
Newcomers to the series will learn that for Stuart Bloom, owner of a comic book store and one of the most unfortunate individuals in the entire multiverse, life in post-apocalyptic Pasadena has already become the reality by the time episode 1, “Spoiler: Gary Dies,” starts. An alternate universe Stuart arrives in his comic book store to tell him what caused the mayhem: the quantum interference device that Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard created started malfunctioning.
The difficulty lies in getting there. Stuart and Bert team up with Denise, Stuart’s former lover, who is dating Gary and whose boyfriend gets killed trying to create a distraction for their heist. The rest of them get captured and imprisoned in a cell along with a surprising prisoner, Raj Koothrappali, who has been incarcerated for years due to the death of his wife, who has been eaten by a giant moth. The city is ruled by an evil alternative of Barry Kripke surrounded by soldiers.
Silently, Raj figures out how to repair the machine, but before he does, Kripke kills him to defend his kingdom made from the apocalypse. Stuart and Denise attempt to repair the machine themselves and do so incorrectly. Nevertheless, the machine turns on, sucking Stuart, Bert, and Kripke into a black hole while leaving Denise behind. The group finds themselves somewhere that is surprisingly ordinary, except for one thing – all people, including the three of them, have a glowing green implant behind their ears.
Complete Episode 1 Recap: https://theblinkreview.com/stuart-fails-to-save-the-universe-episode-1-recap-the-big-bang-theory-spinoff-just-killed-off-a-fan-favorite-and-were-still-not-over-it/
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 2 Recap: A Little Too Happy for Comfort
In episode 2, “Spoiler: Zack’s in This One,” we learn the function of the implants. Stuart, Bert, and Kripke are now in an alternate reality Pasadena which looks like a perfect place at first, until Bert loses his cool when Caltech shuts down the geology department and he gets shocked in the neck for this reason. It appears that this reality is ruled by an AI system that has “saved” mankind by taking control.
Stuart finds this alternate universe’s Denise, who is dating Gary, yet again, unhappily married, drinking to forget, and unable to end the relationship since it will make him mad and shock him. On the other hand, Bert and Kripke are arrested for having too many public scenes while trying to extract information from Ramona, the uncooperative Caltech receptionist. Stuart gets arrested shortly thereafter, and the whole gang finds itself in a re-education facility, where a recording explains the AI takeover in this universe.
Therein lies the place where the resistance truth is revealed – Penny, Zack, and Denise from this universe are conspiring against the AI. Denise opts to stay with Stuart and others, taking the quantum machine with her, leaving Gary alone. The device goes off again amidst the chaos and the entire team is teleported into somewhere else entirely. Stuart and Denise end up somewhere quiet while Bert gets captured amidst the chaos by people who are shouting “burn the scientist.” Kripke does the run at the end of the episode when he sees this happening.
Complete Episode 1 Recap: https://theblinkreview.com/stuart-fails-to-save-the-universe-episode-2-recap-penny-return-ending-explained/
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 3 Recap: Bert Is Magic, Apparently
“‘Spoiler: Bert is Magic'” begins right where you left off in that one and it’s not joking around. You see, Bert is tied to a stake and is going to be burnt at the stake because he performs “science” in a world where that is blasphemy. He, in utter desperation, asks for it to rain. Well, it does rain, and apparently, what’s even more surprising, Bert is not just a geologist in the wrong dimension but actually an extremely powerful wizard.
And yet, what is coming next is something that is both exciting and slightly unsettling. Bert realizes that he can do more than just perform party tricks and transform his ordinary Coke into Diet Coke. He can also make a real puppy materialize. Of course, the natives get right over the burning of witches and decide to worship him instead. They become his acolytes and follow every single thing he does as a gospel. And Bert takes some time to settle scores with Kripke by turning the poor man into a penguin with his hair intact as punishment for leaving him to be burned at the stake. It is quite a turnaround for someone who existed mainly harmlessly in the original series.
Meanwhile, Bert is getting used to his role as a wizard, while Stuart searches for advice from one of the most powerful sorcerers in this universe, with the hope that a truly experienced person will clarify the laws of the place and help the group to repair the quantum device. This is where the darkness in the best sense begins to manifest itself for this series, which is based on increasing chaos. Bernadette appears as a demon that was kicked out of the Wizards Guild of America and deprived of her magic power. She talks Stuart into helping her perform the reversal spell, which requires “the blood of an innocent.”
There is more fallout from that choice as well. Wil Wheaton shows up as an ambassador of the Wizards Guild tasked with punishing Stuart for his assistance to Bernadette in transforming back into her demon self and doesn’t hesitate to confront Stuart with a fireball. Bert jumps between him and Stuart, and soon enough, the duo is locked in magical battle, which culminates in Bert making the “sign of the horns” gesture while fighting in the fashion reminiscent of a heavy metal rendition of lightsaber fight in the Star Wars movies. The wizard wins the battle and dies in the process – a development which has been confirmed by the cast during the interviews. Meanwhile, Denise, who hasn’t been in much of the action recently, spends her time mulling over her own emotions at the bar. In what is arguably the episode’s climax point, Bernadette undergoes the final transformation and becomes a sixty-feet tall demon that goes on rampage through Pasadena, searching for Stuart and the quantum device.
Why Episode 3 Might Be the Series’ Best Twist Yet
“Bert Is Magic” works because it embraces the idea wholeheartedly. It doesn’t look at the magic world as just a passing gag but entrusts its biggest character development to the one least likely to embrace it, and then lets him enjoy it, even with the acolytes. Combining that with a genuine and frightening demon introduction, a real death, and Denise coming to terms with her feelings, episode 3 has a range that the first two episodes have been building up to. It’s a series that’s learned that it can do both funny and scary within the same 10-minute timeframe and is embracing it completely in this third episode.
It also creates a fundamental structure problem for the rest of the season: will Bert keep his magic when the group moves universes or is each reality going to reset his powers when they leave?
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 4 Predictions
“Episode 4: Spoiler: Stuart Makes a Wallet” will air on August 13th on HBO Max. As of now, no official synopsis has been revealed for the fourth episode, but considering the title and the cliffhanger, there is a lot that can be worked out.
1. There is a lot of comedy in that title. “Stuart Makes a Wallet” is the most peaceful and homely activity that is likely to occur to the man amidst the last three episodes that consist of apocalyptic, dystopian, and demonic themes. Considering the style of the show, expect the wallet making to be something very ordinary amid some cosmic catastrophe.
2. The group will need to face demon Bernadette directly. It’s hard to see a sixty-foot tall demon running rampant through Pasadena being an issue that can be solved with a neat little portal. Count on the group finding themselves in a situation where they need Bert’s new-found abilities to live through the encounter.
3. Will Bert’s magic work in another universe? If the group makes it into a new universe, the first thing we’ll have to determine is whether Bert’s magic works in that new universe or whether his time as a wizard was a one universe occurrence. Either way, it’ll create a lot of interesting possibilities for storylines involving “Bert loses his magic” or “Bert becomes too powerful for everyone else.”
4. The character of Denise is given more screen time. She has been subtly left aside throughout episode 3, drinking alone and obviously having a problem with Stuart. It seems unlikely that a show sets up such a scenario without the intention of following up on it, and episode 4 looks like the right moment to do so.
5. The era of Kripke’s penguin is not over. After having been transformed into a penguin and leaving Bert tied to a stake, there are quite a few things that Kripke needs to make amends with the newest wizard of the group. Their relationship may provide for some additional laughs.
6. Yet another face from Big Bang Theory shows up. In only three episodes the show has already brought in Raj, Penny and Zack, then Bernadette and Wil Wheaton. Given this rate, episode 4 will definitely have to introduce a new character – be it Amy, Howard, or a different version of an existing one.
Final Thoughts on Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 3
By the third episode of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, this show has already managed to include an apocalypse, a dystopia run by AI, and now magic-based demonic hell, and somehow managed to make all of them fit in with each other. Bert going from an incidental character to an unwilling wizard may well be the greatest surprise of this show yet, and with a demonic Bernard now released upon Pasadena, there is plenty for the fourth episode to sort out. From what we know about this show, “sort out” is more likely than not to mean making things even worse in a fascinating new way.
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