Futurama Season 12 calls for continuing the Leela issue, which I really hope ends

Below are spoilers for Futurama season 12 “Beauty and the Beast” streaming now on Hulu.

Summary

• Leela is out of character in Beauty and the Bug because she does not engage in wildlife activism.
• The episode focuses more on Amy and Bender, a departure from Leela's usual animal rights activism.
• Fans can only hope that Futurama episodes in season 12 will give Leela more focus and character development.

Futurama Season 12 with Leela is entertaining itself for its challenge and I really hope that things will change in the new episodes. Leela is one of the main characters Futuramaintroduced in the first episode of the show and plays a major role in the series as a whole. I would argue that Leela is the third most important character in the show and often the most emotionally resonant. Leela's love story with Fry, moral stances, and determined personality make her one of the show's main characters, unlike the more silly episodic adventures Bender usually embarks on.

As a result, Leela has gotten many episodes focused on her over the years. However, he hasn't really gotten that much of a turn in the spotlight Futurama's Hulu revival. Instead, one of my favorite characters on the show was relegated to secondary roles that kept him important but not central to the story. This trend continues in Beauty and the Bug, which feels like a huge missed opportunity given that it would have fit perfectly with its past episodes.

Leela feels very out of place in Futurama's Beauty and the Beast

Leela Is Not A One-Time Activist And She Feels Weird

Lila is strangely absent from the central plot of Beauty and the Beast, which is surprising given her past characterization. For many FuturamaLeela is partly defined by her activism on behalf of wild animals. Several great episodes centered their plots around this activism, including the Omicronian-heavy season 2 episode “The Problem With Popplers” and the season 5 episode “Into the Wild Green Yonder.” However, he offers no protection from the Buggalo In a decision that struck me as out of character in Beauty and the Beast.

Although Leela has never been identified as a vegetarian, she often speaks out against the mistreatment of the natural world. This makes his insignificance in Beauty and the Beast all the more surprising. In season 9's 31st Century Fox, even Lila protested the act of foxhunting, which is functionally similar to the Buggalo fights at the center of the episode. What surprises him even more is that the show recognizes this. Amy brings up the same points and asks Leela why she doesn't get involved. Leela claims that she doesn't care about idle calls for the character.

Why Beauty and the Beast is More About Amy Than Lila (Despite Futurama's Past Animal Stories)

Amy's History and Bender's Romance Keeps Any Focus on Beauty and the Beast Away from Lila

Despite Leela being one of the main animal activist characters of the show, the plot of “Beauty and the Bug” explains why Leela is not the focus of the episode. Amy's previous relationship with Buggalo justifies placing her at the center of the episode, fulfilling the activist role I would normally expect Leela to play. The rest of the episode is devoted to Bender, giving him a really interesting romantic subplot. Overstuffing the episode with extra focus on Leela would have detracted from the episode's strengthsso I can understand pushing him aside.

Still, it's a surprising decision. Many previous episodes highlighted Leela's desire to protect animals, and many of them were among the best episodes of the show. Episodes such as “The Problem With Poppler” and season 3's “The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz” made this activity a staple of the character. Although he often subverts expectations in this regard by eating animals or pretending to hunt for robots, Leela's attachment to animals has been a long-running aspect of the show. That's why I was surprised that they didn't center the animal activist plot around her in season 12.

I really hope Futurama gives Leela a bigger focus after Season 12 Episode 4

Despite being a main character, Leela Did Not Take Center Stage in Season 12

Leela really hasn't been in the spotlight much in season 12 so farit's a shame. as one Futurama's protagonists, it's surprising to see him relegated to supporting roles. Four episodes into the ten-episode season, Leela was a supporting character in The One Amigo and had supporting roles in Beauty and the Bug. His relationship with Leela and Fry does get strong material, though Futuramaof Squid Game Parodied in Quids Game and The Temp, he is in the service of Fry-centric storylines. Leela has not yet become the main character of the 12th season.

The synopsis for the next series, One Is Silicon, The Other Is Gold, suggests that it will focus on Leela and her personal life, which hopefully should give the character some of the focus she's been missing. It's still a strange decision not to give Leela a more prominent role in the animal activist episode, especially given the previous storylines focused on her. Until now It's as if season 12 is doing Leela little service. when equal Futurama indulges himself for this out-of-character shot, which clearly feels like a missed opportunity.