“The History of the World: Part II” begins with a bang while taking shots at important historical events to turn it upside down and establish some characters as menaces, some as extraordinarily psychopathic, and some as intentionally bizarre. The back and forth between several events, while establishing each one as a comedic personification of Mel Brooks, makes the series one-of-a-kind. Although the dark humor and satire fall flat in many instances, as the series progresses, the prolonged events seem a lot more interesting. Episodes 3 and 4 of this series were released on March 7, 2023. Both episodes continue to showcase some of the brilliant events in an absurd and hilarious manner, which can make this Hulu series engaging for the audience. Here’s a detailed recap of episodes 3 and 4 of “History of the World: Part II.”
Spoilers Ahead
Alexander Graham Bell
The episode starts with Alexander Graham Bell (Ike Barinholtz), showing Bell making the first phone call in history in 1876 with the help of his assistant Thomas Watson (Sam Richardson). Watson pranks Bell and makes a phone call, saying he is Bell’s mother, with the audacity of telling Bell to show his penis. Satirically, Bell actually shows his penis and even follows Watson’s instruction to insert his penis into the phone, literally f*cking his own invention. The scene is extremely bizarre.
The Russian Revolution
The segment starts with the premise set. In 1918 Moscow, Vladimir Lenin (Rob Corddry) and his men discussed how to form the Soviet Union. Stalin (Jack Black) gets constantly shamed and mocked by the members and finds himself in a very awkward position. Then the Schmuck (Nick Kroll) arrives with the lunch, and every member goes to wash hands only to leave Stalin alone for a dramatic song in which Stalin sings he will rule the world someday, by hook or by crook.
The second segment of the Russian Revolution starts with the Social Revolutionaries, led by Schmuck’s wife Fanny (Pamela Adlon), where they talk about protest and revolution against Lenin. Schmuck then appears in the scene and tells them that when he takes lunch for Lenin, he is unguarded. Then the son of Schmuck, Josh (Charles Melton) appears, and everyone gets impressed with his charm and physique. When Josh gets sent by his father to Mrs. Fedarov, everyone in the Social Revolutionary Party develops the idea of attacking Lenin.
The 3rd segment of the Russian Revelation showcases Josh finding Princess Anastasia, the last Romanov, and engaging in a ridiculous song addressing the norms, which other significant characters of episode 3 join, and the episode comes to an end.
The Civil War
In episode 3, the first segment of Civil War starts with the troop members being given a secret mission to go to Rock Ridge, situated in west Virginia. Lieutenant Henry Honeybeard (Tim Baltz), Mason Dixon (Tyler James Williams), and Mingoes (Zahn McClarnon) get selected for the task and make a move to find the place. However, they go in a completely different direction.
The second segment showcases how the search party continues to search and finds a secret place to get to the destination after paying a fine.
Noah’s Ark
The segment of Noah’s Ark focuses on a stormy night where Noah (Seth Rogen) ridiculously shows his sons and their wives how he brings different breeds of dogs instead of different species of animals, as instructed by the gods. Moreover, when Noah’s son asks what they are going to eat, Noah points his finger at his son’s wife, Sarah (Jessica St. Clair), which comes as a shock, but while everyone enjoys adoring the dogs, Sarah mentions she is a cat person, and then everyone starts to stare at Sarah dramatically and eventually eats her flesh in the very next scene to wrap the segment.
Sigmund Freud
The segment starts with Sigmund Freud (Taika Waititi) saying the human brain is the most exquisite machine that has ever been built. Between constantly referring to his masterclass as “mommy class” and “masturbates” and labeling it “Sigmund’s Slip,” which clearly indicates “Freudian Slip,” the segment shines impeccably in episode 3.
Meso America
Episode 4 of “History of the World: Part II” starts with a scene of a girl who gets tied and is assumed to be a virgin set to be sacrificed for a ritual, but she mentions that she is not a virgin and if the two executioners execute her, they will face the consequences. Interestingly, the exact moment they get a signal from God, she hilariously spreads the message that even God knows she is not a virgin.
The Russian Revolution
Lenin asks Trotsky (Ike Barinholtz) to showcase his presentation regarding marching, and Trotsky demonstrates marching into a pop song in an absolutely hilarious manner. Lenin then calls for Schmuck to have lunch, but surprisingly, Schmuck’s wife uncovers herself by getting out of the food cart and shoots Lenin. Stalin ridiculously helped Lenin die, and the whole segment ended absurdly.
The Story Of Jesus And Mary Magdalene
The segment starts with Mary having a conversation with her granddaughter about her past experiences of going to New York City, where she saw Rachel, Ross, and other friends drinking coffee from soup bowls, which is a clear reference to the iconic series “F.R.I.E.N.D.S.” Mary then dramatically tells the story of her love story with Jesus, which happened in 33 A.D. in Jerusalem. The second segment brings a conclusion to the love story and showcases how Jesus says goodbye to Mary in a dramatic fashion.
Ending
The back and forth of the events continues as, back in Moscow, Josh introduces Anastasia as his fiancee to Schmuck and Fanny. After Anastasia gives her diamond to the family, they decide to go to America. Dramatically, Fanny refuses to go to America and stays a few days in Russia for the revolution. Episodes 3 and 4 do produce some laughable moments, and it will be very interesting to see what Mel Brooks presents in the next episodes.