The Venture Bros./I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills

I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills
Season 2, Episode 10
Airdate	September 24, 2006
Written by	Doc Hammer Jackson Publick
Directed by	Jackson Publick
← 2x09 Guess Who's Coming to State Dinner?	2x11 → ¡Viva los Muertos!
The Venture Bros. — Season Two

I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills is the tenth episode of the second season of The Venture Bros., and the twenty-fifth episode overall. Hank and Dean are kidnapped by a woman who claims to be their mother.

Voice Talent: James Urbaniak (Dr. Venture), Patrick Warburton (Brock Samson), Chris McCulloch (Hank Venture/The Monarch/Dr. Henry Killinger/Henchman 24), Michael Sinterniklaas (Dean Venture), Doc Hammer (Henchman 21/Dr. Girlfriend), Steven Rattazzi (Dr. Byron Orpheus), Joanna Adler (Myra Brandish), H. Jon Benjamin (The Master)

Plot Overview

The Monarch and his henchmen attack a busy office, killing everything in sight until Henchman 21 points out that they are not at the Venture Compound, but have attacked the Monarch's accountants instead.

Dr. Venture walks into Dr. Orpheus' apartment, followed by a Japanese oni. Dr. Orpheus tries to remove it to no avail. Orpheus goes to talk with the Master, who decides to demonstrate a lesson about "biting off more than you can chew."

The Monarch has all his men gather for a meeting to discuss what went wrong in the last raid. The henchmen have no useful ideas, annoying the Monarch. They are interrupted by the appearance of Henry Killinger, who offers to become the Monarch's strategist and second-in-command. Killinger quickly takes over, having the Monarch execute some of the Henchmen and installing his own Black Guard.

Hank and Dean are practicing for their road test at the compound when they come across a stalled car with the hood popped. They think Brock set it up as a test. The boys get out of the car, and find a woman prone on the ground. When Hank goes to check on her, she turns and gasses both of them.

Brock goes out to look for the boys, but only finds the abandoned car. Dr. Venture and Dr. Orpheus come out, following the oni. It jumps into the car and starts to drive when Dr. Venture closes the door, dragging T.S. along unwillingly. Orpheus suggests they get in the car. Eventually they stop at a motel, and Orpheus suggests they spend the night there, but Venture accuses him of being gay and trying to hit on Venture.

Brock is driving in his Charger along with HELPeR, tracking the boys' wristwatch signal. He finds the signal, but the watches have been attached to a bomb that explodes. The only clue was a message across the face of the watches: "The boys are mine." Brock knows it was a woman named Myra.

Henchman 24 finally speaks out against Killinger, so the Monarch has him taken away. Killinger offers to speak with Henchman 24. Later, Henchman 21 goes to see Henchman 24, only to find that his opinion of Killinger has completely turned around. That night Henchman 21 tries to attack Killinger in his sleep, but is stopped and drugged by the Black Guard.

Myra has the boys tied up, and tells them that she is their mother. Relating her story, she says that she was an OSI agent assigned to their father, and that the two fell in love (though it actually appears one-sided). They had sex once, and she gave birth to Hank and Dean as a result.

Henchman 21 is being led to his room by a Black Guard, who turns out to actually be Henchman 24. 21 runs away and leaves the compound, returning in the blue Stanza with Dr. Girlfriend.

HELPeR gives Brock an air lift, while the two converse about Myra. At the motel, the oni bangs the car against the wall of the hotel room to get Dr. Venture to get up. Dr. Orpheus goes to the front desk to check out while Dr. Venture waits in the car. It turns out that Myra is running the hotel, and when she talks to Dr. Orpheus, she sees Venture in the car and attacks Orpheus. She manages to get away, loading the boys into the car behind Dr. Venture. Brock arrives as she drives off, and manages to get inside the car and knock her out.

Dr. Girlfriend sneaks into the compound, leaving Henchman 21 behind. She reaches the war room where the Monarch and Killinger are discussing strategy, and Killinger tells her that the Monarch loves her, gives her the Monarch's journal, and tells the both of them that they have to work things out. Killinger flies away with his umbrella (but gets stuck on the way up).

Brock drives the family home, and Dr. Venture and Brock first deny that Myra is related to the boys, saying she was just crazy. After Brock almost lets slip the boys are cloned, Dr. Venture says he did have sex with her.

The oni finally leaves the car, floating up to Henry Killinger. It appears that it was sent to reunite the family.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Hank and Dean are kidnapped by Myra. She tells them she's their mother, and tries to run away with them, but Brock tracks her down and saves them.

• Henry Killinger shows up at the Monarch's cocoon, becoming the Monarch's second-in-command. After taking control, he leaves when Dr. Girlfriend returns. It appears that his entire goal was to reunite the Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend.

Characters

• Myra: Myra is a crazy woman who believes that she is Hank and Dean's mother. She claims to have been an OSI agent assigned to protect T.S. Venture, and that they entered into a romantic relationship. Brock says that she used to be Powercat on American Gladiators, went crazy, and now occasionally appears to terrorize the Venture Family. She has kidnapped the boys in the past, and once burned down the Venture's house.

• Hank and Dean were once molested by Sergeant Hatred. Dean doesn't remember due to be being passed out drink from wine.

• Hank and Dean may actually be nineteen, if Myra is correct. Because they keep getting cloned by their father, they no longer age normally (if at all).

• Henchman 24: His herpes was supposedly cured by Henry Killinger.

Trivia

Allusions and References

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings:
• Quicktime:
• Henry Kissinger:
• Catherine the Great:
• Tekken 3:
• Mr. Belvedere:
• Magic Mountain:
• Spin Art:
• Shel Silverstein:
• Maya Angelou:
• Mary Poppins:
• American Gladiators: