Fry and Leela's meeting with the gangs did have a couple funny moments -- namely, the catastrophic "self-shootout," with the gang members blasting the curved weapons back at themselves. However, Leela's stilted use of ebonics was somewhat awkward and very nearly came off as offensive. Thankfully, this sequence didn't last long, and soon the story shifted over to Bender, who's entire body had been looted by criminals while Fry and Leela were gone.
Here, I think, is where the episode flourished, as Fry, Leela and Bender (or what was left of him anyway) had to scour the 'verse for each of Bender's missing parts, tracking down clues and following leads. In addition to the treasure hunting aspect, these scenes featured several fun character cameos including Hedonismbot, the human-horn dealer, the Borax Kid and the fratbots of Epsilon Rho Rho (along with some Easter eggs peppered in like The Jetson's Rosie, Power Rangers' Alpha 5 and Speedy Gonzales.) I think my favorite pitstop, though, was the crew finding Tinny Tim with Bender's legs, freshly attached to the boy-bot's crippled body, and Bender immediately sawing them off and reclaiming them as his own (as well as Tinny Tim's cart).
But who is Bender, really, without his shiny, metal ass? Admittedly, this is where the episode began to slow down comedically, as the crew ventured into the treacherous "Sargaseous" Sea. The salty lighthouse keeper Tarquin was for the most part an uninteresting character -- basically, an amalgam of every nautical grouch in the history of ever (but, you know, made alien). Still, I did chuckle at his line, "Storm's a brewin' -- I can feel it in my Weather Channel app."
As for the "ass of destiny" subplot, it seemed only fitting that Bender's rear end was fated to become the "brightest object in the known universe," and I was unexpectedly smitten with the beautiful piano cue that played as Bender left his ass behind. That said, the ending here felt a bit contrived. Obviously, the ass had to get back home somehow, I just wasn't expecting it to suddenly attain sentience and travel through space on its own. But hey, future is as future does.
While "Assie Come Home" certainly wasn't perfect, it was noticeably better than the last few Bender-centric episodes (particularly "Forty Percent Leadbelly"). And as far as episodes go that largely deal with Bender's ass in particular, this was definitely a good one. Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.