"The Last Tempation" is the twenty-first and final episode of the fifth season of The Ren & Stimpy Show, and aired on October 20, 1996. It never aired on Nickelodeon (until 2018; 22 years later on the night time block NickSplat), but rather MTV.
Contents
Characters
- Ren
- Stimpy
- Wilbur Cobb
- Mr. Pipe as The Big Guy
Summary
Ren has a near-death experience and changes his ways. Stimpy however becomes corrupted and materialistic after Ren's redemption.
Plot
One morning, Ren is getting impatient waiting for his oatmeal. When it arrives, the oatmeal is just a big ball. Ren eats it all in one bite, but it gets stuck in his throat and he starts to choke. He cries for Stimpy's help, but Stimpy can't hear him. Ren's face starts to turn blue. He then has a flashback about he and Stimpy's friendship. After the flashback, Ren's soul drifts out of his body and up to Heaven. When he arrives, Wilbur Cobb teaches Ren not to be mean to Stimpy. Later on, Ren's soul floats down to Earth and back in his body. Ren then starts being nice to Stimpy. Ren then cremates his most prized possessions. Ren then tells Stimpy he's been stealing out of his piggy bank and gives Stimpy $1,000,000.
While Stimpy is rich, Ren starts to get jealous. Stimpy buys a lot of stuff. Later on at dinner, Stimpy swallows an entire ham, but it gets stuck in his throat and now he starts to choke. Ren decided to give up his boring virtuous lifestyle he was doing for the past few weeks and thinking of using all of Stimpy's stuff, instead of saving him from choking to death and lied about going to get help. Cobb appears to see that Ren is back doing to his old sinful ways again. Cobb then tells Ren to save his buddy. Ren goes to get help and then saves Stimpy. Wilbur Cobb is proud of Ren and rewards him to spend another 50 years with Stimpy, but takes off with Stimpy's stuff to be "confiscating" upon and the two start to cry like babies, thus ending the series.
Trivia/Goofs
- This is the last episode of the Nickelodeon version of The Ren & Stimpy Show, as it would be revived on Spike TV a few years later for an adult themed reboot.
- This episode is the last episode to be animated with digital ink-and-paint on Nickelodeon.
- This is the last episode to be 11 minutes long.
- This episode was originally going to be titled "The Last Temptation of Ren".
- This episode, along with it's sister episode "Sammy and Me", are the series finale of the original.
- This episode, along with it's sister episode "Sammy and Me" are the only episodes to air in 1996 although both of them were produced in 1995. Another episode didn’t air because the original show ended, until 2003 when it’s the start of 'Adult Party Cartoon.
- The lifestyle Ren adopts is somewhat similar to Buddhism.
- This episode finally aired on the NickSplat in 2018 (22 years later) along with the other episode "Reverend Jack" (which aired somewhere in the 1990's before the NickSplat arrived as a block on Nickelodeon).
- Despite dying in the episode "Galoot Wranglers", Wilbur Cobb comes back to criticize Ren for not helping Stimpy when he chokes and then takes away all the stuff Stimpy had.
- Ren and Stimpy have a "role switching" part in this episode like in Who's Stupid Now?. Ren, the more selfish, self-centered, greedy, sinful and psychotic of the two becomes more humble and virtuous after his near-death experience with Wilbur Cobb (who he mistakes as "The Big Guy" during his temporary visit in Heaven). Stimpy, the more humble, sweet-natured, gentle, innocent and generous one becomes greedy, selfish, corrupted and materialistic after Ren gives him $1,000,000.
- This episode shows Wilbur Cobb as a hypocrite. Cobb told Ren during his near-death experience to give up all worldly goods and live a more virtuous and selfless life, but after Ren was forced to save Stimpy's life from chocking on a whole ham, Cobb took all of Stimpy's worldly goods, which he bought by "ill-gotten gains" to be "confiscated" upon, which he really took them for himself. This makes Ren regret the virtuous and selfless lifestyle he adopted during the past few weeks.
- This is the last episode where Billy West provides the voice of Ren or Stimpy, as he would refuse to work on Adult Party Cartoon. John Kricfalusi would reprise his role of Ren from seasons 1 and 2, while Stimpy would be voiced by Eric Bauza.
