While Venture Bro. spends most of its time exploring failure, this season brought a different perspective. Season Four gave the characters the chance to get better and then to live with the consequences one way or another. In “Self-Medication”, Doc had his finest hour when he realized that, while life may have dealt him a crummy hand, he couldn’t wallow in self-pity. Yes, he had the worst father in the world. But Doc’s decisions are his own, and he can’t keep blaming everything on Jonas. Acknowledging that, and starting to take responsibility for his life, made him a better person in some small measure. And with the last of the clones used up, Doc actually has to keep Hank and Dean safe – he can’t replace them anymore, and now he has to learn how to be a father. We see his attempts to bond with his sons throughout the second half of the season. And while he’s still weak and petty, he’s trying. I think “Assisted Suicide” is one of the most revelatory pieces of character writing ever attempted on TV. We actually saw how Doc’s mind works, the repressed guilt and the sexual trauma. What we saw at the end of that episode was Doc really being honest with himself, and it’ll really be interesting to see where his character goes next season.
