Mel Brooks’ “History of the World: Part II” released its final two episodes on March 9, 2023. The first six episodes do bring a lot to the table in terms of giving the audience a unique and bizarre experience of dark humor, exploring different historical events mixed with a modern touch. The Hulu series is not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like dark comedy series like “Family Guy” and “The Boys,” you must have been following this series or definitely added it to your watch list. Throughout the first six episodes, the Civil War segments shine brightly, but a few segments just fell short of delivering something great. Now that the final two episodes are being released let’s have a detailed recap of episodes 7 and 8 of “History of the World: Part II.”
Spoilers Ahead
Episode 7: Recap
Episode 7, or “History of the World: Part II,” starts with the historical event of the agreement to a real and everlasting peace accord between Israel and Palestine, which took place in the courtroom where the representatives of other countries were present to witness the signing of the treaty. Interestingly, a feud gets started, and it gets intense when representatives fight over clamming up the land of Hummus. After a lot of disagreement between Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, and Palestine, the accords eventually get signed, and the segment ends with everyone approaching other representatives to have lunch in their respective embassies.
Shirley’s Sitcom
The first segment of “Shirley!” starts with Shirley (Wanda Sykes) and Conrad (Colton Dunn) enjoying their anniversary at the Watergate Hotel. Gloria, portrayed as the most famous feminist in the world, shows up and asks Shirley if she is there for Gloria’s conference or not, and Shirley says yes despite telling her husband that she won’t do any work-related things and will just enjoy their anniversary. Then Reverend Jesse Jackson appears and asks Shirley the same thing, assuming she is there to attend his conference. Shirley again agrees to create a chance to make her campaign great.
The second segment starts with Shirley seeking the opportunity to get support from Jesse Jackson for the election. Jesse does ridiculous rhyming in a classic sitcom manner to establish himself as a great fit for the segment. Shirley then manages to appear in both Gloria’s and Jesse’s respective conferences by changing her dress multiple times and desperately trying to deliver a speech and click pictures with Gloria. Unfortunately, she struggles to get the speech in Jesse’s conference and also fails to click a picture with Gloria, as the segment ends with a disappointed Shirley.
The third segment starts with Shirley confessing to both Jesse and Gloria that she wants their endorsement to get to a better position at the election, but they refuse to endorse her. An upset Shirley blames herself for ruining the anniversary, but Conrad manages to brighten her mood as the segment ends on a happy note.
The Mongolian Empire
This particular segment starts with Kublai Khan’s (Ronny Chieng) appearance and Mel Brooks’ narration as he quotes hilariously that “behind every great man is ten thousand women,” which follows the introduction of all the wives of Kublai Khan. The continual segment of The Real Concubines of Kublai Khan with host Andy Khan is a brilliant talk show parody.
Jesus And The Apostles
The Last Supper Sessions are back, with one day left until the sermon. With Judas’ (Nick Kroll) absence, Jesus (Jay Ellis) and the Apostles are struggling to create good music. But Lazarus comes into the rehearsal room and joins the band. Now, with Lazarus’ help, the band finished the sermon. Surprisingly, Judas comes back into the band, and Jesus forgives him to mark the end of the segment.
The conclusion of the Last Supper Sessions starts on the day of the sermon. The people of Jerusalem go crazy and enjoy themselves when Jesus and the band start performing “Give Back.” But the show ends with Judas betraying Jesus and handing him to the Roman soldiers.
Episode 8: Recap
The eighth episode of “History of the World: Part II” starts with a very short segment of “The Fall of the Berlin Wall,” bringing down the wall to discover that it’s just Nick Kroll sitting in his toilet seat.
The Story Of Jesus: The Council Of Nicaea
This segment starts in Nicaea in the period of 325 A.D. in Turkey. In the year 325, the church gathered its most powerful bishops at the Council of Nigeria in order to solidify the story of Jesus. Their goal was to make the Bible an international blockbuster. The posters of Jesus holding the guitar in the Last album and Jesus kissing Mary in the poster of “The Notebook of Mary,” which is a clear reference to the movie “Notebook,” are just hilarious.
The council then decides several things about forming Christianity, including how they must portray Jesus as fair-skinned and Mary as a prostitute, along with changing other important aspects in a totally ridiculous manner.
Teddy Roosevelt
The mini-segment of Teddy Roosevelt focuses on Roosevelt’s parody, where he guides everyone through the methods of bodybuilding and promotes his “T. Rose’s Gut Buster.”
Shirley’s Sitcom
The first segment of “Shirley!” episode 8 starts with Shirley getting rejected to give a speech in the election ceremony, but Muhammad Ali (Blake Griffin) surprisingly appears in the scene and tells her that he admires her and also gives her advice to go to the podium and give her speech.
The second segment of Shirley starts with Shirley’s speech, but no one seems eager to listen to her, so instead of giving a speech, she starts a musical performance to establish her point. However, the winner was decided even before her performance.
The Most Bizarre Trailer You’ll Ever See
It is 33 A.D. in Jerusalem, and the council of Nicaea presents one of the most entertaining and bizarre trailers of “The Jesus Christ Resurrection.” There are a plethora of funny elements in the two-and-a-half-minute-long trailer. From Jesus being ripped, Mary is portrayed as a prostitute and hacker, “Back in Black” by “AC/DC” playing in the background in the action sequence, intense voiceover, and Jesus is portrayed at the end of the trailer as Marvel’s “Ironman,” everything is going on in the trailer, which elevates it to a whole new dimension of parody.
Ending
Conrad leaves Shirley to have his own show to conclude Shirley’s sitcom. Mel Brooks then comes back with his narration for the last time in this series, sarcastically telling the audience that there will be a second season for “History of the World: Part II” and showing footage of random parody scenes. The final episode ends with Mel Brooks appearing in space as Jesus in a superhero-like avatar.
The eight-episode series offers a unique experience in satirical dark comedy. Although the series aims to establish something great and spectacular, many segments of the series just fall flat. “History of the World: Part II” is definitely a good one-time watch if you like dark humor, but many would be disappointed if they thought about the possibilities and range of the series compared to the final product.