The City That Dares Not Sleep

From Sam & Max Wiki

“The City That Dares Not Sleep”
Telltale episode
Episode #	305
Designed by	Chuck Jordan
Written by	Chuck Jordan
Directed by	Derek Sakai & Jake Rodkin
Villain	The Narrator
Release date	Aug 30, 2010
The Devil's Playhouse ← Previous Next → "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" –

The City That Dares Not Sleep is the fifth and final episode of The Devil's Playhouse created by Telltale Games. It has been a week since Max's transformation into an elder god, so Sam must defeat and save Giant Max.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Characters 2.1 Protagonists 2.2 Neutral 2.3 Antagonists 3 Notes

[edit] Synopsis

The Narrator appears at the start of the episode, claiming "one of the characters [on screen at this time] will betray Sam and Max.

Max has been transformed into a giant monstrosity for reasons yet unknown. Who will save the city from the imminent peril? Will Max be able to regain control of himself? Who is behind the events of this season?!

The episode opens as Sam plans to lead a strike team into Max to help reverse the changes that have taken place. He enlists the help of Papierwaite and Dr. Norrington and also Sybil Pandemik who makes a sudden return from her honeymoon. Sam successfully constructs a giant corn dog to tempt the beast and the three enter Max's body.

Inside, they make their way up to the brain where they encounter a giant tumor. In order to cut it out, Sam will need to short out the electricity. He tries to enter the door to the main brain but the trio are teleported away. Momma Bosco informs them that they must completely override Max's body in order to get inside. Sam takes control of the legs by convincing Sybil that he understands parenthood by adopting a tiny baby cockroach.

In order to control the arms, Sam searches for someone who is literate and can resist radiation. By using the legs to approach Boscotech Labs, he successfully abducts Sal who agrees to help him. However, the cockroach finally has enough after being poisoned by radiation and dies on the couch in Max's brain. Sam uses his loss to direct Max to Battery Park where he electrocutes him and disables the powers.

Sam approaches the door and goes inside where he meets Max's superego, a.k.a The Narrator. The Narrator informs Sam that he plans to blow up Max's brain along with himself, destroying the entire east side of the United States. Sam vows to stop him and shuts off power to the tumor. Meeting up with Papierwaite and Sybil outside, Sam learns that he must find the Cthonic Destroyer again to destroy the tumor.

Sam gathers some of Max's memories and then uses the astral projector in the Narrator's office to take control of the clones on board General Skun-ka'pe's Flagship who he believes to have the destroyer in his possession. Sam breaks out from a cell and talks to Sammun-Mak whose brain is now being used to power the ship. He then talks to Skunkape's main henchman; Gra-pea'pe; who has swapped brains with Grandpa Stinky. Sam learns that Skunkape and Girl Stinky have gone to the Cloning Chamber.

Sam takes control of a clone in the Cloning Chamber where Flint Paper is fighting hoards of henchmen which have been newly cloned by Skunkape. Girl Stinky's plan is to trick Flint into offing Grandpa Stinky by placing his brain in one of the millions of clones. Then, Flint will kill the clone and get rid of Grandpa Stinky as well. Skunkape is willing to go along with the plan but Sam succeeds in tricking him into giving him the Cthonic Destroyer by disguising some granite as the Devil's Toybox. Sam stops Flint from killing Grandpa Stinky and Skunkape is outraged when he realizes he has been tricked.

Now with the Cthonic Destroyer, Sam gives it to Sybil to complete the operation on the tumor but she is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of her baby. Sam and Papierwaite are conflicted over whether to help her or destroy the tumor but suddenly, the Max spores begin chanting that they should save Sybil. The Narrator emerges from the office and is shocked to see that Max has committed a selfless act. He has an apparent change of heart and agrees to help by getting rid of the tumor. Sam, Sybil and Papierwaite escape down Max's tear duct while the Narrator stays behind.

Outside, Sam sees a Maimtron pierce Max's chest and the giant Max teleports away. In outer space, Skunkape and Girl Stinky are attempting to escape on board General Skun-ka'pe's Flagship but their flight is brought to an end as Max teleports to where they are and explodes, presumably killing Skun-ka'pe, Stinky, Sammun-Mak, Gra-pea'pe and the Sam Clones located over there.

On the planet below, Momma Bosco attempts to clone a new Max but the plan fails and no Max is created. Sam walks out to the docks sad and looks out towards the Statue of Liberty but is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of the Mariachi time machine. Inside, the Max who was in Chariots of the Dogs reunites with Sam, telling him that his Sam was lost in the same way as the giant Max. If the player chooses the "crime-fighting" dialog option when talking about the tumor in a previous scene, Sam and Max walk back into the city as the sun sets. However, if the "adventuring" option has been chosen, the two head into the time machine and off for another adventure...

[edit] Characters

The Director briefly appears when The Narrator at the start of the episode, shows the people who will betray S&M in the episode.

Peeper's voice also makes a brief cameo.

[edit] Protagonists

• Sam - Main leader of the Max Rescue Team trying to save Max.
• Momma Bosco - An assistant of the Max Rescue Team who helps Sam control Giant Max. Resides at the lab.
• Superball - Another asisstant of the team who also resieds at the labs, but provides info to Max.
• Anton Papierwaite - An initiative member of the team, currently fused with Yog-Soggoth helping Sam.
• Yog-Soggoth - Currently using Papierwaite at his host since his rebirth. Assists Sam in controlling Max.
• Sybil Pandemik - Married to Abe Lincoln, now is much larger being a prengant women. A member of the Max Rescue Team.
• Sal - Girl Stinky's love interest who gives his life in order to assist Sam in controlling Max.
• Alternate Past Max - For all intents and purposes, replaces the original Max at end of episode.
• Sam Jr. - A roach who Sam has an apparent father-son relation with.
• Samulacra - Clones of Sam who can be controlled by Sam.
• Flint Paper - Another ally of Sam on his mission.

[edit] Neutral

• The C.O.P.S. - Machines sitting at BoscoTech labs being generally useless.
• Mr Featherly - Also sits at the lab being basically useless.
• Abraham Lincoln - Apparent commander in chief of controlling Maimtron 9000's.
• Maimtron 9000 EX - Upgraded Maimtron 9000's who now can fly and are explosive. Used against Giant Max.
• Satan - Briefly at start of game, appears in documentary claiming he has no connection to Max's attacks.
• Jurgen - Apparently is the head of Hell's public relations.
• Grandpa Stinky - Supplier of food during war, also target of a murder plot by Girl Stinky and General Skun-ka'pe.
• Sammun-Mak - A brain left to control Skun-ka'pe's ship while he is in the clone chamber.

[edit] Antagonists

• The Narrator - The main antagonist of the episode who is actually Max's superego.
• Max as a elder god - The beast of the rabbity thing destroying the city.
• Gra-pea'pe - One of Skun-ka'pe's minions disguised as Grandpa Stinky.
• Sammun-Mak - A brain left to control Skun-ka'pe's ship while he is in the clone chamber, which is his role in Skun-ka'pe's plot to assist Girl Stinky.
• Girl Stinky - Tries to kill Grandpa Stinky (presumably after he fired Sal) in the clone chamber.
• General Skun-ka'pe - Assists Girl Stinky in her plot (unknowingly).

[edit] Notes

• One of the nicknames of New York City (where almost all of The Devil's Playhouse takes place) is The City That Never Sleeps, also the title of a classic movie. Furthermore, Cthulu is often referred to as a beast so powerful and terrible that some people "Dare not speak it's name". In a sense, the title is a fusion of the two sayings.

• Several hints to this episode were shown in The Penal Zone which pointed to the events in this episode. The first is using future vision on Sam after General Skun-ka'pe lands his ship to see Sam crying out to Max not to destroy the Chrysler Building. The second is from the prophecy from the Mole Mens' cave that said that Max would "get a bunch of magic weapons (throughout the whole season), merge with the collective unconsciousness to become one with infinity (the end of Beyond the Alley of the Dolls), and then destroy the universe (The City that Dares Not Sleep). When in the sewers, after teleporting across to the Mole-People Shrine for the first time, Sam makes a comment on how he's getting disturbed by how Max's twisted fantasies often end with Sam being eaten by Max in some way. Momma Bosco and Harry both suggest that Max's psychic powers are the result of a deadly tumor. During Beyond the Alley of the Dolls, after Sam uses Momma Bosco's Dimensional Transporter, one of the possible futures he can get is being eaten by a giant Max; for the game to move forward, it is the future that is required. Additionally,using Future Vision on Sam in the final battle between Max and Charlie Ho-Tep, you'll see a quick frightening image of large teeth possibly devouring Sam.

• It's hard to tell, but the episode icon actually depicts Max (in his gigantic monstrosity form).

• Max's "Storage Room" contains artifacts from previous adventures, including the Bucket of Fish, the Ted E. Bear head, a Snuckey's Rut Log, a shrine to Maximus, the Max statue from Hell, a giant business card for Max (when he was president), and the Cockroach Farm (this ends up playing a major role in the story).
  • It also contains an assortment of Season One things, which both Sam and the Max Spores fail to remember.

• The phrase "Dr. Norrington as Yog-Soggoth", found in the opening credits, is a parody of a popular cliche- an actor portraying himself in a movie.

• The opening credits are an homage to 50's/60's era action-spy films. This particular style was popularized by the James Bond franchise, which began around that same era.

• The opening credits are a parody of the intro to the TV show, Space: 1999.

• Sam names various mole men Sam and Max have encountered when speaking to Sammun-Mak's brain, including Harry, Shuv-ool (from Hit the Road), his nephew, Doug, Warren Burroughs, Mole Men Prime Minister (unmentioned up to this point unless he was referring to the mole leader from Big Trouble at the Earth's Core), and, apparrently, Patton Oswalt.

• Max's movements and pose in the scene after his arms and legs can be controlled by Sam mimics that of the transformation sequence of the titular character in Sailor Moon.