Sam & Max Episode 106: Bright Side of the Moon

Sam & Max Episode 106: Bright Side of the Moon is the final episode in Season One, and the detective duo finally face the one who was behind all the previous cases, Hugh Bliss. Hugh Bliss has set up a mass hypnosis ray on the moon to hypnotize the entire earth, and Sam and Max are the only ones who can stop him.

Through the red door
Sam is preoccupied with piecing together the commonalities of the first five cases, and with Max's helpful interjections he finally realizes who is behind the rash of recent hypnosis—Hugh Bliss, the magician and self-help guru. A call from the Commissioner lets you know that Hugh Bliss has a lair on the moon, so you head out to put a stop to evil machinations. On the moon you'll find you way into the Blister of Tranquility is blocked by Superball, who will only let level red Prismatologists through the door. You'll need to undergo spectrum analysis to see your current level, and Superball lets you have a rubbing unicorn for this purpose. Somehow you need to increase your Prismatology level so you can get in to see Hugh Bliss.



Now that you're level red, show Superball the unicorn and enter the Blister of Tranquility. Here you'll find a bunch of old friends who are now Prismatologists studying under Hugh Bliss. They're all working on reaching enlightenment in different ways, with the help of certain talismans. Since they seem rather useful, you'll want to help everyone achieve their goals so they'll let you have their talismans.

Gather the talismans
You'll find Lincoln, now just a head, has been working on the power to induce vomiting with his mind. Unfortunately, he swallowed his talisman and on top of everything else, he's depressed about his love life.



With the power to make people throw up, you're one step closer to sealing Hugh Bliss' fate. Next, head over to the COPS to find out about the super AI they're working on. They have the power to look inside themselves, but won't give it up until their AI is perfected.



Once you've helped show their AI is indeed superior, they will have no use for the talisman and you can have it. The last talisman is back up on the surface, in the gift shop. There are plenty of barriers to obtaining spoon-bending powers, such as a virtually indestructible display case and Harry Moleman frisking you on the way out of the shop.



With all talismans in your possession, it's time to confront Hugh Bliss and finally put a stop to his plans. Take the rainbow elevator in the Blister of Tranquility up to his control room and use your powers on the lead door and bowling ball holder on the other side to gain entry.

Put Max back together
You get into Hugh Bliss' control room just in time to see him put his plan into effect by entering a large prism and shooting his hypno-beam down to Earth. Hugh Bliss is only worried about Max's psychotic personality, so he pulls out the body parts containing Max's vices. This turns Max into a blissed out drone who won't help you take down Hugh Bliss. You'll need to get all the vices back to restore Max and unleash him on the hypnotist. The pieces of max have been attached to embodiments of Max's vices, so you'll need to find them all and retrieve the body parts.

You'll see the first clone, Violent Max, as soon as you go back down the rainbow elevator. The red Max is on shooting spree over by the butterfly rollercoaster ride. You can't quite hit him with your own gun as he's always moving around, and he won't let you get close enough to get a better shot.



The next Max clone is right outside the red door when you go back up to the surface. Appropriately, Slothful Max just lies there, however he's too heavy to turn over so you can get at Max's bunny tail. You'll need something very powerful to flip the blue Max over.



The last Max clone is gorging himself at Bosco's. He'll eat anything he sees, including Sam and Max, so keep your distance. If you do get eaten don't worry; you'll just use the gastrokinesis talisman to have him regurgitate you.



Now that Max is whole again, you can confront Hugh Bliss and take him down.

Destroy Hugh Bliss
Things don't always work out how you plan, and this time Max gets stuck in the hypnosis prism, beaming his own personality down to Earth while Sam ends up on the Rainbow Wheel of Death while Hugh Bliss watches and laughs. You'll need to get out of your immediate predicament, but even when you do you'll find that Hugh Bliss has a whole slew of entertaining ways to kill you lined up. If you escape all four of his death traps, he'll just start over at the Rainbow Wheel of Death, so you'll need to do something unexpected to break the chain and turn the tables on him.



You've finally taken out the cause of all the hypnosis you've been dealing with throughout all cases in Season One. An unintended consequence of Max being in the hypnosis chamber is everyone on Earth has been imprinted with Max's personality. You'll have to spend some time saving humanity by knocking humanity out with a boxing glove, but when you're done, you'll have more cases in Season Two, starting with Episode 201.