Free of Pointless Command

"Free of Pointless Command" is the fourth episode of season two of the Disney+ streaming television series The Mysterious Benedict Society and the twelfth episode of the series overall. It was released on November 9, 2022.
==Synopsis==
Constance gets the kids closer to finding the compromised Mr. Benedict by using her gift.
==Plot==
The Society are in the back of the taxi trying to figure out what to do, but the cynical Cabbie continues to interrupt them. While Reynie suggests that they let the Gray Men take them, they all agree to try and hide from them for now. When it comes time to pay the fare, the group do not have enough money and the Cabbie threatens to call the cops. Kate offers some objects, but when the Cabbie asks that he have her entire bucket, she refuses. Constance decides to give the Cabbie her oyster necklace and he accepts. The kids enter the train station to find the locker, but Constance begins to feel that something is wrong with Mr. Benedict.
Back at the compound, a delighted Mr. Benedict congratulates Dr. Curtain on his new method and admits that he is proud of him. Dr. Curtain then suggests that they try the method on Number Two, who has just arrived in a nearby village, which Mr. Benedict wholeheartedly agrees with. Following the Inverness landing, Rhonda and Milligan are trying to collect their belongings, or lack thereof. Just as Rhonda begins to doubt Ms. Perumal's importance, she suddenly shows up on a motorcycle which she "borrowed" from a farm, having left compensation for it, and made a compass that will point them in the direction of Lisbon.
The kids find the locker at the station and read the next clue. When it mentions that Constance has "the gift" needed to solve it, she realizes that the oyster necklace was part of the clue and Kate recruits Reynie to get it back from the Cabbie. At the compound, a concerned Jackson and Jillson reveal to Dr. Curtain's assistant Marlon that Sebastian and another member Paula are now both completely immobile and have no expression on their face. He tosses it up to being meditation, but then suggests calling a doctor just to be safe. Reynie and Sticky find the Cabbie who is cautious to their plans, but ultimately gives up the necklace in favor of one of Kate's items, though she later claims that it was a con.
As Number Two fails to get any help from the police, the motorcycle that Rhonda, Ms. Perumal and Milligan are using runs out of gas. Using Ms. Perumal's idea, Milligan finds a nearby village, siphons gas, leaves compensation and returns to fill their tank. The kids realize that the oyster necklace has a pearl inside that when looked through reveals a map that highlights Germany, their next destination. Number Two returns to the house on the compound to inform Mr. Benedict what she has learned, but she soon deduces that he has been subjected to Dr. Curtain's treatment. As the doctor checks on the immobile people, Jackson and Jillson find a third person who has also succumbed.
The kids reread the clue that Mr. Benedict left and Reynie realizes that it is filled with palindromes. With that in mind, they conclude that they must go to Burggrub, Germany, with a train due to leave in five minutes. Rhonda, Ms. Perumal and Milligan arrive, just as the kids escape the Gray Men and hop aboard the train. They spot the poloists, but they apparently ignore the Gray Men, making the kids realize that they are not working together. They decide to take turns staying awake in case the poloists find them. As soon as Sticky takes his turn, he dozes off to sleep. Upon awakening, he is shocked to find that Constance is gone.
==Cast==
*Tony Hale as Nicholas Benedict/L.D. Curtain
*Kristen Schaal as Number Two
*MaameYaa Boafo as Rhonda Kazembe
*Ryan Hurst as Milligan Wetherall
*Gia Sandhu as Ms. Perumal
*Mystic Inscho as Reynie Muldoon
*Seth Carr as Sticky Washington
*Emmy DeOliveira as Kate Wetherall
*Marta Kessler as Constance Contraire
===Guest-starring===
*Katherine Evans as Jillson
*Ben Cockell as Jackson
*Jed Rees as Jeffers
*Reece Noi as Marlon
*Lex King as Ilsa
*Tom Beyer as Dr. Van De Berg
===Co-starring===
*Rubén Guevara as Sebastian
*Malak Dabcha as Bauer
*Thomas Fiscella as Police Officer
*Elise Berggreen as Second Officer
*César Gamiño as Cabbie
==Trivia==
*The episode's title comes from Constance during her birthday flashback with Mr. Benedict, when she explains that that is her wish.
*This episode does not have a featured song as part of the soundtrack
*This episode covers the second half of chapter 10 to chapter 12 as well as parts of chapter 6 and 20 of the second book.
==Book comparisons==
*Constance gets her necklace in flashback from Mr. Benedict, Rhonda and Number Two. In the book, she gets the necklace during the ongoing events from Rhonda and just before the Society leave on their journey.
*Number Two mentions calling her family. In the book, it is firmly established that she has no family other than Mr. Benedict.
*In the book, Cannonball stays with the children until they reach St. George's Castle before having to hastily depart back to the ship. In the series, the children are all by themselves.
*In the book, the Cabbie is only a minor character, while in the series he is given a major role by trading items with the kids.
*In the book, the children's clue leads them to a castle where they search an item by a cannon, only to encounter Jackson and Jillson. They make a quick getaway where they discover that the next clue is at a locker at the train station. In the series, their clue on the boat already tells them to go to the train station after getting a key.
*Jackson and Jillson are not in Lisbon in the series and are only at Dr. Curtain's compound. In the book, the children have another run in with them when they arrive in Lisbon. Their roles are taken over by Jeffers and the Gray Men in the series.
*Both the book and series have the children realize that the next clue is in Constance's pendant, but in the series they have to get it back from a cabbie after initially trading it.
*The children's next destination is changed from Thernbaakagen to Burggrub.
*In the book, more time is spent on the train as they also use the dining car, before collectively getting off at Naansemegen to enter Thernbaakagen.
*Reynie mentioning that he does not trust Captain Noland or Cannonball as he fears that they will report the police to them is deleted from the series due to both characters exiting after the third episode.
*Sticky tries to keep himself awake while on the train. In the book, this happens much later while Sticky is trying to keep guard atop a silo.
*Constance is not kidnapped in the book.
*All the subplots involving the adults are made up for the show.
==External links==
*Free of Pointless Command at The Mysterious Benedict Society Wiki
Category:The Mysterious Benedict Society episodes