Line #117 VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/season_3_box_clean.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:250:PsychicPowers, {{Killer Space Monkey}}s, {{Eldritch Abomination}}s. Just a normal day for the Freelance Police.]]
3
4	->''"Over the next five chapters, you will witness things that baffle you, horrify you, even disgust you''. But you must not look away! ''Pay close attention to everything you see and hear! Because when our story reaches its bowel tingling climax, only'' you, ''my friends, will possess the ability to save the entire universe"''.
5	-->-- '''TheNarrator'''
6
7	''Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse'' is the third and final season of Creator/TelltaleGames' ''Franchise/SamAndMax'' adventure game series, starting on April 2, 2010, and concluding on August 30, 2010. In here, the Freelance Police are embroiled in a plot to collect "Toys of Power" that grant those with the ability to wield them (including Max, conveniently enough) awesome psychic powers. Said plot involves [[KillerSpaceMonkey evil gorillas from space]], [[EldritchAbomination eldritch horrors]] and mole-men.
8
9	Following up the remasters of the first two seasons, a group of former Telltale Games developers, who banded together as Skunkape Games and acquired the rights to Telltale's ''Sam & Max'' games following the studio's closure, are set to release a remastered version of ''The Devil's Playhouse'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOJaPDmzUV0 in Spring 2024]], with further details still to come.
10	----
11	!!''Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse'' features the following tropes:
12
13	* ADayInTheLimelight: "They Stole Max's Brain!" is something like this. The first part of the game is Sam having a solo [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Noir-ish Rampage]] as he tries to get Max's brain back. The second half [[spoiler:has Max as OnlySaneMan trying to things back to normal after [[EnfanteTerrible Sammun-Mak]] takes over his body and rewrites reality so that he rules the world.]]
14	* AdorablyPrecociousChild: Averted with Baby Amelia Earhart in 302. She may look like a cute little scamp but she's a MotorMouth that fails at being a HyperCompetentSidekick. [[spoiler: And then she leads Sameth and Maximus on a wild goose chase to get the Devil's Toybox [[IJustWantToBeSpecial because she wants to be taken seriously]]. [[TakeThatScrappy She doesn't get long to gloat thanks to the Sexo Rejecto Curse flinging her off the Toybox]].]]
15	* AffablyEvil:
16	** General Skun-ka'pe is surprisingly polite and friendly in casual conversation. Not so much when angered, but Max comments early on in "The Penal Zone" that it really is hard to stay mad at the guy.
17	** And [[spoiler:Yog-Soggoth/Dr. Norrington]] from 304. Age has mellowed him; all he wants is to find a way to get home without too much fuss.
18	* AlwaysNight: Episodes 304 and 305, the ZombieApocalypse episode and the [[{{Kaiju}} humongous rampaging]] [[EldritchAbomination Cthulhu]] episode respectively. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when Sam admires how the city looks at night.
19	* AndTheAdventureContinues: Depending on which of the slightly different MultipleEndings you get, the season (and, seemingly, the franchise in general) ends with either [[spoiler: Sam and the alternate timeline Max [[RidingIntoTheSunset walking off into the New York sunset]] to fight more crimes, or using the TimeMachine from the previous season's ''Chariots of the Dogs'' to go off on more adventures.]]
20	* AnimatedActors: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QplgWcQs2a4 The entire cast is this for]] the HilariousOuttakes.
21	* {{Animorphism}}: : In ''The Tomb of Sammun-Mak'' Maximus is transformed into a cow and [[spoiler: Sameth ''milks'' him]].
22	* {{Antimatter}}:
23	** In Episode 301, [[spoiler:an antimatter bomb destroyed the titular Penal Zone.]]
24	** In Episode 305, Flint Paper straps an antimatter bomb to one of the Samulacra to destroy the entire cloning facility in one swoop. [[spoiler:Except he intended to deactivate it once he defeated the villains.]]
25	* ArcVillain: Each episode has its own BigBad, all of them using the Devil's Toybox in their scheme:
26	** The ''Penal Zone'' has Skun-ka'pe, a KillerSpaceMonkey EvilOverlord who seeks the Toybox to conquer the world.
27	** The ''Tomb of Sammun-Mak'' has Monsieur Anton Papierwaite, [[spoiler:using Sameth and Maximus to get the Toybox and summon Yog-Soggoth]].
28	** ''They Stole Max's Brain'' has [[spoiler:the [[NephariousPharaoh evil ancient pharaoh]] Sammun-Mak himself, using the Toybox to rewrite reality and be its ruler]].
29	** ''Beyond The Alley of The Dolls'' has the Clone Master, [[spoiler:aka DemonicDummy Charlie Ho-Tep, one of the Toys of Power and specifically your ventriloquist ability, who wants to summon Junior and play with him at the expense of reality]].
30	** ''The City That Dares Not Sleep'' has [[spoiler:the Narrator, also known as Max's never-used [[AllPsychologyIsFreudian superego]], using the memories of the Toys to keep Sam away until Max finally explodes and takes out himself, [[DeathSeeker the Narrator]], and half of the US as well]].
31	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
32	-->'''Agent Superball''': Statistical analysis stated that Max becoming [[spoiler:a gargantuan hell-beast]] was the second most likely outcome.\
33	'''Sam''': What was the most likely outcome?\
34	'''Agent Superball''': Imagine a scenario that involves the worst aspects of the [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse Legends of Ragnarok,]] [[Literature/TheBible The Book of Revelation,]] and ''Film/WeekendAtBernies''.
35	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: In Episode 305, [[spoiler:Giant Eldritch Max!]]
36	* AsYouKnow: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in "The Penal Zone", when Grandpa Stinky complains about Sam doing this.
37	-->'''Sam:''' Max is all short term memory; I occasionally have to bring him back up to speed.\
38	'''Max:''' Aah! GIANT TALKING DOG!
39	* BadassDecay: In-universe example: [[spoiler:[[EldritchAbomination Yog-Soggoth]] once ruled the Earth and feasted on the terror of mortals; the Molemen, immune to their powers, rose up against him and his kind and banished them all to the Dark Dimensions. Nowadays, Yog-Soggoth is little more than a talking tumor grafted to Mr. Papierwaite -- a surprisingly affable one, at that -- and the Molemen are mostly a bunch of kooky subterranean cultists.]]
40	* BadSanta: Played with in "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak": The stereotypical Corrupt Capitalist businessman, who made a fortune in the ''Toy Business'', is called ''Nicholas St. Kringle'', and he employs (elf) immigrants from the ethnic neighborhood known as ''Little Arctic Circle''. Plus he looks exactly like Santa from Season Two's "Ice Station Santa".
41	* BaitAndSwitch:
42	** A few times in "The Penal Zone". For example, [[spoiler:on one occasion Sam and Max open a deep manhole and set a banana peel in front of it, presumably to set up the familiar gag for one of Skun-ka'pe's minions. The small snippets of future Max's Future Vision picks up supports this conclusion.]] What ''actually'' transpires is that [[spoiler:instead of slipping, the minion picks up the banana peel and lectures Sam for littering... only for Max to slip up behind the minion and clobber him with a pair of garbage can lids, causing him to fall down the manhole anyways.]] It may have been a case of XanatosSpeedChess, but all the same...
43	** Earlier, Max has a vision of Flint receiving a hatchet to the back of his head, so Sam persuades him to wear a miner's hardhat to enjoy his spaghetti. The helmet's headlight reveals peanuts in the spaghetti sauce, so Flint turns to angrily accuse Girl Stinky as a hatchet flies over his shoulder into the seat across from him.
44	* BeardOfSorrow: Sam grows one in ''seconds'' after he discovers [[spoiler:[[TitleDrop They Stole Max's Brain!]]]]
45	* BerserkButton: In "The Penal Zone", you learn why you should never call make fun of Max's height.
46	** In Episode 303, we find out just exactly how Sam would be if he lost Max; he turns into an extremely rough-edged CowboyCop, willing to resort the the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique to receive information, even gaining PermaStubble while going without his jacket and hat.
47	* BigNo:
48	** In "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak", Sameth does this when Nefertiti casts the Holstein Hex on Maximus in Reel 2. Afterwards, he doesn't seem to care as much, [[spoiler:since Nefertiti is inexperienced, and her hex wears off inside of a minute.]]
49	** Sam does this at the beginning of "They Stole Max's Brain!"
50	*** ...and at the end of "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" as some sort of RedHerring. Sadly, what happened next was ''worse''.
51	* BittersweetEnding:
52	** Episode 304 ends with [[spoiler: the Devil's Toybox destroyed, but... Max ate Junior, thus turning into an EldritchAbomination that might destroy the city.]]
53	** The finale of 305, [[spoiler:where the Max died in the efforts to stop his eldritch form. An attempt to bring him back didn't work... but thankfully, Max's alternate past self shows up to have new adventures with Sam]].
54	* BloodlessCarnage: In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", with Max and Grandpa Stinky shooting, killing, and gutting countless Samulacra.[[note]]'''Max:''' Dogglegangers![[/note]]
55	* BookEnds: The very first thing we see Max use his psychic powers for is to teleport to Girl Stinky's cell phone to escape a prison cell. [[spoiler:This is also the very ''last'' thing we see him use them for, but in the latter case it's for a very different reason.]]
56	* BrainBleach:
57	** In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" Flint Paper declares he need to kill some neurons after seeing Sam [[spoiler:being French kissed by Girl Stinky]].
58	** In "The City that Dares Not Sleep", when Sybil begins explaining to Sam how she managed to get pregnant with Stone Head Abe Lincoln's child, the screen cuts to an old style TV Test Pattern for a few seconds before cutting back to Sam with a blank stare on his face before shortly returning to his senses and stating to Sybil that his brain has a defense mechanism in which it shuts itself off temporarily in order to avoid knowing something truly horrifying.
59	* BrainInAJar:
60	** In "The Penal Zone", the duo comes across one being used by Skun-ka'pe for his bid in galactic domination.
61	** Naturally, this also happens to [[spoiler: Max in "They Stole Max's Brain!"]]
62	** And later, in "The City That Dares Not Sleep," we learn that after Max got away, Skun-ka'pe took the next best thing and [[spoiler: made Sammun-Mak his new brain slave.]]
63	* BrainTheft: "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" ends with Sam discovering someone has stolen [[spoiler:Max's brain]]. The following episode, "They Stole Max's Brain", has Sam go on a quest to recover it.
64	* BrainWithAManualControl: In "The City That Dares Not Sleep", we have Sam and a bunch of experts ([[spoiler:Sybil, Mr. Paperwaite and Yog-Soggoth]]) team up to enter the body of a giant monster ([[spoiler:Max who turned into a giant EldritchAbomination]]) that is destroying the city. They access various parts of his body (which, incidentally, looks like a well-decorated house) and manage to take control of the monster's arms and legs using the devices found in them; with the outside help of Momma Bosco, they can manually make the monster move in the desired direction.
65	* BreakingTheFourthWall: Early on in ''Beyond the Alley of the Dolls'', Sam turns on the radio while Stinky's is being swarmed by [[spoiler: a horde of Sam clones]], prompting Max to say this:
66	-->'''Max''': Hey, good idea! Maybe we can turn this horrific siege into some sort of half-assed [[UnexpectedGameplayChange rhythm based minigame!]]
67	** At the end of the demo, some repurposed dialogue from the Narrator (along with new voice lines) are used in a way to advertise the full game.
68	-->'''Narrator:''' I'll see you in the coming chapters to answer all of these questions, and more...''IF'' you feel you're up to the challenge, of course. The choice is yours; run away, and live a life of quiet obscurity...or use Sam and Max's strange psychic gifts to battle a host of villains bent on destroying the entire universe!
69	* BrickJoke:
70	** Inverted in "The Penal Zone". [[spoiler: The game starts with you defeating the villain after breaking free from his prison. Then the game goes back to the actual beginning of the episode. When you get captured, the original plan fails because he got the Toy of Power that lets him see the future. Time for plan B!]]
71	** Remember when you told Harry Moleman [[spoiler: where his Uncle Morty's stamp collection was hidden]] in "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls"? Dawdle a moment during the finale, up top. You'll hear a familiar voice...
72	** The useless ink ribbon from Season Two's episode 203 reappears in episode 305 as [[spoiler:part of Max's inventory stash]]. It's as useless as ever.
73	* BringHimToMe: In Episode 303, when Max is talking to Skun-ka'pe, he asks him to please not kill Sam. Skun-ka'pe then reassures him that his minions have strict orders not to kill him, but to instead [[KneelBeforeZod drag Sam beaten and bloodied to his feet]] so that he can witness his triumph when he finally conquers the entire galaxy. Max doesn't care, as long as Sam can still act as his designated driver.
74	* CallBack: Many. For instance, in the 304 boss fight, you can accuse [[spoiler: Charlie-Hotep]] of being crazy. He responds that he's not evil, crazy, [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial OR illiterate]]. You had nearly the exact same conversation with Brady Culture all the way back in the first episode of Season One.
75	* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:Yog-Soggoth was summoned, just not in an ideal situation given he was glued to Papierwaite.]]
76	* CerebusSyndrome: While it retains the trademark humor the series is known for, the game is the most serious installment of the whole franchise. As such, the episodes get progressively darker and grittier, until you finally reach the [[TearJerker strangely emotional finale.]]
77	-->'''Jurgen:''' Sam, what happened to you to make you so cynical?[[note]]Then again, the term ''does'' derive from the Greek word for dog....[[/note]]
78	* CharacterDevelopment: Back in Season One, Sam and Max started out as immature, selfish [[ManChild man children]] who could only be bothered to care about each other, with their careers as freelance police essentially a game they play as an excuse to do what they want. By the time of Season 3, though, they [[CerebusSyndrome mature considerably]] in comparison to the previous games in the franchise. Max in particular goes from being an [[ItsAllAboutMe id-driven]] [[HeroicComedicSociopath maniac]] to showing genuine signs of loyalty and heroism towards his friends.
79	* ChekhovsGag: [[RunningGag The place Max stores things being "none of your damn business"]] becomes an actual ''gameplay mechanic'': he now has his own an inventory for the Toys of Power, and unlike Sam's items they can't be confiscated by normal means unless Max is holding one because no one knows where to look.
80	* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:Past Max]] from "Chariot of the Dogs" abruptly reappears at the end of "The City that Dares Not Sleep".
81	* ChekhovMIA:
82	** Sal, the unseen cook of Stinky's Diner in Season 2, appears in ''The Devil's Playhouse'' — specifically, "They Stole Max's Brain!"
83	** It's also revealed as of "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" that [[spoiler:Girl Stinky is dating him, and doesn't think her grandfather would approve because he's a giant cockroach]].
84	** While he doesn't appear in "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" [[spoiler:Sammun-Mak himself become the Big Bad of the following episode, "They Stole Max's Brain!"]]
85	* ChekhovsSkill: Many might not realize it for awhile, but something you commonly do throughout all 3 seasons comes in handy at the tail-end of "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls". Sam's skill for [[spoiler:knocking Max into the air when he gets in your way]] allows Max to [[spoiler:reach the corrupted tablet of the Statue o' Liberty, to climb up and attempt to rescue Sam]].
86	* TheChosenOne: Subverted in "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak": Sameth tries to pull this one, saying his pal Maximus is "The One", to the Guardians of the Tomb. For once, there's no prophecy.
87	* ColorCodedSpeech: The game just uses color coded subtitles instead of just having the character icon alongside it.
88	* CompanyCrossReferences: A billboard visible behind the pawn shop in "The Penal Zone" is an ad for Scoggins Erasers from fellow Telltale series, ''VideoGame/NelsonTethersPuzzleAgent''.
89	* ControllableHelplessness: Sam gets hit with this in 304, when he's [[spoiler: controlled by Charlie Ho-Tep, as attempting to do anything, including ''opening the notebook'', will result in Sam struggling and Ho-Tep mocking him.]] In fact, the only things you can interact with in any meaningful way during this sequence are [[spoiler: Charlie and the piano's sheet music, although you're also given full control of Max for this segment.]]
90	* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: In "The City That Dares Not Sleep," Sam's dancing is so horrible that the threat of it causes one of Skun-ka'pe's minions to sing like a canary.
91	* CrapsackWorld: The world got even crapsackier than in the past games, or at least looks more that way because [[ArtEvolution the graphics engine got upgraded]] and most of the damage to the block from Seasons 1 and 2 still persists.
92	* CueTheSun: Bitterly subverted at the end of two episodes of AlwaysNight, after the terrors have finally left the city. The sun rises to light [[spoiler:Sam's defeated and weary trudge along streets still infested with violent crime]].
93	* DarkerAndEdgier: Way less cartoony (there are actually textures), rats and roaches everywhere, skeletons, dissected brains, [[spoiler:another clue that Sam and Max will die]]. Kinda goes towards where the print comic went. Also, Sam and Max do actual detective work!
94	** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Max saying this is the result of the new Mayor of New York's "This is a City, not a Day Care Center" campaign, and importing New Jersey's surplus supplies of grime.
95	** This is especially prevalent in "They Stole Max's Brain!", at least during the first half, in which Sam channels the typical CowboyCop, roughing up and intimidating suspects, although he does still become spontaneously cheerful and polite when the player chooses a response that makes no sense in context and the person he's interrogating says so. Sam does revert back to normal after finding Max's brain, [[spoiler:Sammun-Mak still hijacks Max's body and manages to brainwash everybody but Max and the molemen]].
96	* DeadAlternateCounterpart: [[spoiler:At the end, Max had died and it is impossible to revive him. Fortunately, a Max from a parallel universe shows up to befriend Sam, explaining that his Sam had similarly died.]]
97	* DeadForReal: Word from Telltale indicates that all of the on-screen deaths in "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" were real. The problem is, no one's exactly sure what constitutes as an on-screen death. Here's the current body count. [[spoiler: Sal (but only as of Episode 305; he survived the long fall in the preceding episode), Sammun-Mak, Skun-ka'pe, Girl Stinky, Sam Jr. (if you don't save him first)]] and [[spoiler:Max.]]
98	* DemonicDummy: [[spoiler:Charlie Ho-Tep]]. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] of course.
99	-->'''Sam''': "Wow, a crazy evil [[spoiler:ventriloquist dummy]]. Way to perpetuate the stereotype, [[spoiler:Charlie]].
100	** Also, when [[spoiler: Charlie]]'s discussing his plan to destroy the world by [[spoiler: bringing about a time of eternal darkness and torment through bringing Junior to Sam and Max's dimension.]]
101	-->'''[[spoiler: Charlie]]''': When my spell is complete I'll use the power of the Toybox to tear down the walls between your realm and mine, dragging both realities into an eternity of torment and despair!\
102	'''Sam''': "Okay, but how will that be different from any other [[spoiler: ventriloquist act?]]"\
103	'''Max''': "Hey-ohhh!"
104	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment:
105	** A few of Max's future visions occur immediately after he finishes viewing them.
106	** "A trap so deadly, it would cause you to die!" "That ''is'' deadly."
107	* DevilInPlainSight:
108	** [[spoiler:Monsieur Papierwaite]]. That hairdo pretty much gave him away...
109	** Everyone believes Skun-ka'pe to be a [[BenevolentAlienInvasion Benevolent Alien Invader]]. Even with precognitive evidence, Sam and Max aren't initially positive he's evil.
110	* DiabolusExMachina: [[spoiler:The ending for "The City That Dares Not Sleep." The BigBad for the season is unveiled and thwarted and Sam now has the means to finally save his little buddy and get everything back to normal. But they take just a wee bit too long, and Max is killed.]]
111	* TheDogWasTheMastermind: No, not Sam, but the culprit behind the army of Sams in "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" turns out to be [[spoiler:the ventriloquist dummy Max has been reluctantly toting around]].
112	* DoingInTheWizard: At the conclusion of Season 2, it was revealed that Girl Stinky was actually [[spoiler: a demonic cake cooked by Stinky]]. The conclusion of Season 3 retcons this into having been Sal and Stinky [[spoiler: using a fog machine and other special effects to trick Stinky into ''thinking'' that she was the cake as part of their assassination attempt]].
113	* DuckSeasonRabbitSeason: Sam pulls a similar trick in "The City That Dares Not Sleep". He even pays homage to the TropeNamer by using "rabbit season" as his line. To elaborate; [[spoiler:Sammun-Mak]] is now piloting Skun-ka'pe's ship as a BrainInAJar, but is having difficulty controlling his thoughts enough to stay focused on steering. Sam is trying to get into the mole processing chamber, and distracts him by repeating "mole men" again and again, then suddenly declaring "rabbit season." Confused, [[spoiler:Sammun-Mak]] asks why he didn't say "mole men", and inadvertently opens the door to the chamber.
114	* EldritchAbomination: Yog-Soggoth, [[spoiler:his grand-child, Junior, and ''Max'', when his Psychic Powers finally awaken.]]
115	* EmotionEater: The Spores from "The City That Dares Not Sleep" feed off of the psychic energy produced by nightmares. It tastes like Pepsi (among other things).
116	* EnemyMine: Skun-ka'pe and Papierwaite team up to take out Sam in "They Stole Max's Brain!".
117	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: "They Stole Max's Brain" is about - spoiler alert! - someone stealing Max's brain.
118	* ExactWords: At the beginning of "The City That Dares Not Sleep," The Narrator says that "one of the characters you see before you" will betray Sam and Max. [[spoiler:He's not talking about any of the characters in the portraits -- he's talking about ''himself,'' as Max's superego, trying to prevent Sam from saving his partner.]]
119	* ExpoSpeakGag: Everything is described in TechnoBabble or TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow. Even when it's made clearer that ItRunsOnNonsensoleum, it still goes over Sam and Max's head.
120	-->'''Sam''': ''I wonder if we'll ever find out what Momma Bosco's "Dimensional Destabilizer" does.''\
121	'''[[TheComicallySerious Agent Superball]]''': ''It's a device used to coerce a transient resonant integration of the subquantum harmonic vibrational frequencies between this and adjoining dimensional membranes.''\
122	''[[{{Beat}} Sam and Max stare, bewildered]].''\
123	'''Sam''': ''I wonder if we'll ever find out what Momma Bosco's "Dimensional Destabilizer" does.''\
124	'''Max''': ''I hope it makes pie!''
125	* ExtremelyShortTimeSpan: Characters later on referencing events from the start of the season as being "a few hours ago" and the fact that "The Penal Zone" is set during the daytime while the episodes from "They Stole Max's Brain!" onwards are set at night implies that the first four episodes all happen in one very, very long day. There's about a one week gap between them and "The City That Dares Not Sleep", but even then various circumstances mean that none of the characters have actually slept since the season started.
126	* FanDisservice: Yay, Sybil's Cleavage....and her [[spoiler:pregnant]] midsection, ohhhh.
127	* FantasticVoyagePlot: Episode 305.
128	* FelonyMisdemeanor:
129	** Max apparently loves this trope, in "The Penal Zone":
130	--->'''Max''': "OK that's it! Destroying the world, conquering the Galaxy, whatever; but driving a gas-guzzler is where I [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking draw the line!]]"
131	** Apparently, the most uncivilized act that can be committed in mole-man culture, particularly those of Egyptian heritage, is ''cutting a cucumber lengthwise''.
132	* FissionMailed: In "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak", any time Sam and Max's ancestors, Sameth and Maximus, die before the end of the game the film reel merely backs up to right before they died, allowing you to try the puzzle again correctly.
133	* FluffyTheTerrible: The most horrible and feared of the [[EldritchAbomination elder gods,]] whose birthing wails shattered the great continent of Pangaea. His name...is ''Junior.''
134	** Max can't get over the name.
135	*** ''"JUNIOR?!"''
136	* ForYourOwnGood: For Max's good in "The City that Dares Not Sleep", Sam [[spoiler: hijacks his body, takes control of his arms and legs, and forces him to electrocute himself in Battery Park in the hopes that the shock will disable his psychic powers.]] He sort of half-succeeds... but [[spoiler: the electrocution also damages Max's brain so that he loses most of his memory.]]
137	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Episode 1, in an optional conversation with Momma Bosco, [[spoiler:states that it's possible that Max has a brain tumor that grants him psychic powers, which will soon or later explode and kill him]]. This plays a major part in the final episode.
138	** Future Vision, of course, is used for this a lot. This is especially true in "The Penal Zone", where almost every time you use it on Sam when it's not required for a puzzle has him say or do something that foreshadows what will happen in the following episodes.
139	** In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", you need to have Sam visit the correct dimension in order to get the Cthonic Destroyer, using hints from a parchment. One hint is that you need to set it so that Sam's future involves being devoured by a massive beast. [[spoiler:In the next episode, that's exactly what happens.]]
140	* ForgetfulJones: Sammun-Mak has a short-term memory even more pathetic than Max, and is fickle as hell to boot. One puzzle requires you to exploit this by making him hate something (prompting him to demand it and everything like it be destroyed), then make him love it again so you can exploit it's rarity value.
141	* FreezeFrameIntroduction: For every returning character, they get their own freeze frame that share trivia about the prior seasons or little details meant for a quick gag.
142	** Sam & Max themselves are both introduced in two different manners: Sam's listing his likes/dislikes and being one half of the freelance police, while Max's... a little more straight to the point.
143	** Sybil's particular freeze frame intro lists [[NewJobAsThePlotDemands all her previous job titles]]. The list runs so long it goes past the borders of the screen.
144	* {{Futureshadowing}}: Plenty of it through the Season.
145	* GenerationXerox:
146	** The Main Characters of "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" are Sameth and Maximus, the Great-Grandparents of Sam and Max. As you expect, apparently their only difference is they aren't Freelance Police, they don't have a car[[note]]Though Sameth has a pony that Maximus is itching to get his hands on -- same new story this generation.[[/note]] and they don't have guns. Also, Sameth has a moustache and Maximus has clothes.
147	** Most of the rest of the cast in that episode is the same way. Justified in some cases in that it may actually be the same person (Jurgen, for example).
148	* GenkiGirl: Baby Amelia Earhart, also a MotorMouth and LittleMissBadass.
149	* GenreRoulette: Despite being predominately Comedy, the series has a different genre for each episode:
150	** 'The Penal Zone': Science-Fiction
151	** 'The Tomb of Sammun-Mak': Adventure
152	** 'They Stole Max's Brain!': Noir, [[spoiler:before a genre shift takes it to Mystery/Adventure]].
153	** 'Beyond the Alley of the Dolls': Horror
154	** 'The City That Dares Not Sleep': [[spoiler:Monster Movie]]
155	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Defied, as Yog-Soggoth is rather surprised that Sam and Max didn't go mad from just looking at him. But then again, this ''is'' [[HeroicComedicSociopath Sam and Max]] we're talking about here.
156	* GrandFinale: "The City That Dares Not Sleep" is this for the whole series. Pretty much every character who is still alive ([[{{MyFriendsAndZoidberg}} and Jurgen]]) come back to try to stop [[spoiler: a giant mutated Max from destroying the city.]]
157	* GreaterScopeVillain: Junior. He is even more powerful than Yog-Soggoth, the Devil's Toybox, and those with the Gift and is the reason the Devil's Toybox is in Sam and Max's dimension in the first place. However, due to his botched summoning, he never has a chance to make it to BigBad proper and only has indirect influence on the plot through [[spoiler: Charlie Ho-Tep, who seeks to bring him to the plane of Earth, and Giant Max who thanks to ingesting an essence of Junior is part Dark Dimension creature.]]
158	* GunsAreWorthless: "''[[LampshadeHanging Really]]'', [[LampshadeHanging Sam?]] [[InformingTheFourthWall That's the best you can think of for "use gun with gorilla"?]]"
159	* GutFeeling: Sam and Max have never openly disliked a character that hasn't later turned out to be truly evil. [[spoiler: This includes Skunkape, Charlie Ho-Tep, and Girl Stinky.]] Even if a character is [[DesignatedVillain intended to be a villain,]] if Sam and Max seem comfortable or friendly with them, then there's a good chance they'll pull a HeelFaceTurn later on (as ends up being the case with [[spoiler:Papierwaite]].
160	* HaveANiceDeath: Unusually for a (pre-''[[VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame Jurassic Park]]'') Telltale game, "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" features [[TheManyDeathsOfYou numerous ways to die]] (indeed, the [=PS3=] version has a trophy if you see them all). However, the game is being told as a cinematic flashback to Sam and Max's ancestors, who aren't supposed to die [[spoiler: until the very end of the game]]. Thus, every time you perish, you're sent back to just before you screwed up and got killed, so you can try again without any hassle.
161	* HeartbrokenBadass: "Noir Sam" is basically a parody of this: He's imitating resident badass Flint Paper, but he also has the option to go into random "Noir" Speeches, which is basically Angst.
162	* HeroicSacrifice: Ohhhhh boy....[[spoiler:Gordon the Alien Brain, Sal, Max's Superego, and the lovable lagomorph himself.]]
163	* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
164	** You know those psychic powers that were SO useful? In the finale, not so much - in fact, they're actually used against you.
165	** [[spoiler:Jurgen]] seems to have severe Hoistee's Syndrome in Episode 302. [[spoiler:He's quite freaked out about his recently acquired vampire curse; to wit, his room is stocked with ridiculous measures of garlic, crosses, and wolfsbane. However, when (falsely) informed of where the curse's remedy can be found, he leaves the safety of his room-- providing the perfect opportunity for a vampiric elf to catch him.]] To add insult to injury, [[spoiler:he is then kept out of his room by his own vampire deterrents, leaving him powerless to prevent Sameth and Maximus from searching his steamer trunk. He even laments at the irony.]]
166	** In "They Stole Max's Brain", the salutes [[spoiler:Sammun-Mak rewired everyone to perform reflexively when a specific phrase is said]] are key to his defeat.
167	** In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", [[spoiler:Charlie Ho-Tep]] gets a double dose of petard-hoisting. He is ultimately destroyed when [[spoiler:Max tricks him into destroying the Devil's Toybox]]. He was only able to destroy it because he transformed into [[spoiler:the Cthonic Destroyer]] to fight Max. In addition, he was tricked into attacking [[spoiler:the Toybox]] by way of Max using the [[spoiler:Psychic Ventriloquism power]]. That happens to be [[spoiler:''Charlie Ho-Tep's own power'']].
168	* HolidayMotif: Introduced in episode 2 is Nicholas St. Kringle, a ruthless early-20th century toy magnate with a red wardrobe, a love of cookies, and a workforce comprised of elves. To drive the point home, the character's appearance is modeled off of Santa's as seen in the previous season.
169	* HowWeGotHere: Subverted in "The Penal Zone", when [[spoiler:Max uses the future-vision goggles to figure out how he and Sam are going to defeat Skun'ka-pe. Skun'ka-pe discovers the goggles and uses them to realize their plan and promptly throw a spanner in the works.]]
170	* HumanOutsideAlienInside: Inverted, Dr. Norrington said that The Great Old Ones are identical to humans, and by extension animal life on the inside. "We save the weird stuff for the outside".
171	* IAmTheNoun: In a strange twist on this trope, The Narrator declares that "I am [[spoiler:Max's Brain]]!" If you think about it, though, it's a legitimate trope example [[spoiler:because he's really only the superego]].
172	* IdiotBall: General Skun'ka-pe in "The Penal Zone" is essentially defeated by an Idiot Ball [[spoiler:-- by reaching out for a piece of toy that Max claims to be magical, but Skun'ka-pe already knows isn't.]]
173	* InsistentTerminology: The Sam clones are ''Dogglegangers!''
174	* TheInsomniac: [[spoiler:The entire city of New York falls into this during "The City That Dares Not Sleep", desperate not to succumb to sleep and [[EmotionEater allow the spores to feed on their dreams,]] making Monster Max even stronger. The government even starts giving out chocolate-covered espresso beans. Sam manages to go eight days before passing out]].
175	* IResembleThatRemark
176	-->'''Sam:''' I wouldn't trust that [[ObviouslyEvil General Skun'kape.]]\
177	'''Mama Bosco:''' You two don't trust anybody, do you?\
178	'''Sam:''' What do you mean by that?\
179	'''Max:''' Yeah, what are you trying to pull!?
180	* IronicNurseryTune: In the finale to "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", the songs being played are actually being sung to the melodies of various children's songs, like "Pop Goes the Weasel" and "You are My Sunshine." Knowing that doesn't really help, though; the chanting is still creepy as hell. It makes sense, though, since it was part of [[spoiler: Charlie Ho-Tep's effort to resurrect Junior, who's the youngest of the elder gods.]]
181	* ItsAllAboutMe: Sammun-Mak [[spoiler:overrides ''all of reality'' to be about him]]. To call him self-centered would be an understatement.
182	** Max, as usual. [[spoiler:Until episode 305, that is.]]
183	* IWasQuiteALooker: Momma Bosco. [[spoiler:And now she's back to being a looker. That is, if the lack of real hair doesn't bother you.]]
184	* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Employed by Noir Sam.
185	* KickTheDog: During "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", Sam and Max witness one of the Sam clones finding a small, plush rabbit and hugging it affectionately. This same clone [[spoiler: reappears at the Statue of Liberty and is the first victim of Max's rampage after he absorbs a portion of Junior's essence.]]
186	* KirbyDots: Appear when Max uses his psychic powers.
187	* LactatingMale: In ''The Tomb of Sammun-Mak'' Maximus is transformed into a cow and Sameth ''milks'' him.
188	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", [[spoiler:Charlie Ho-Tep]] tells Sam that he is the perfect StraightMan to his act/plan, because he is pretty easy to control and has spend much of his life taking orders without thinking any stray thoughts.
189	* LethalJokeWeapon: More like lethal joke [[spoiler: ''dialogue option''. For most of the Noir Sam sequence in "They Stole Max's Brain", the Noir option is mainly just an excuse to hear some ''really'' funny dialogue from Sam and the people he's interrogating. It's also the only way to get the Sign Spinner to hand over the Rhinoplasty toy]].
190	* LevitatingLotusPosition: Max levitates in this pose in "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" after discovering his MagicFeather, which is even more difficult to do with rabbit feet.
191	* LickedByTheDog: Stinky is a lazy, scathing, and probably murderous individual, and yet Sal, her browbeaten, long suffering, but all around nice guy chef, likes her enough [[spoiler:to start a relationship with her]], so she can't be ALL that bad. Except in ''The Devil's Playhouse'' [[spoiler:we learn that Stinky is just using Sal to try and kill Grandpa Stinky, and when Sal becomes indisposed she moves onto Skun-ka'pe]]. So she really is ''that'' bad.
192	* LittleStowaway: [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Amelia Earhart]] in the episode "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak".
193	* LonelyPianoPiece: The ending credits for "The City That Dares Not Sleep". Didn't think a Sam and Max game could [[TearJerker make you cry?]] Just listen to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMjqi2MrCjU this.]]
194	* LooseCanon: While the complete canon of the series could qualify, more specifically, ''Sam and Max Secret Origins: Skun-ka'pe'' is canon ''In a way that will never be referenced again''.
195	* LovecraftLite: Part of the recurring shtick of this series, given a [[spoiler:mellower Yog-Soggoth]] and other elements of the Eldritch.
196	* LoveTriangle: Curt, Chippy and Carol.
197	** There's also a really bizarre one implied between Sam, Max and Momma Bosco. Momma Bosco fell for Max and accused Sam of being jealous, but she lost interest as soon as Max showed any; and now Max is lusting after her, even though she doesn't seem to care anymore, and actually seems to be interested in ''Sam.'' Hopefully nothing comes of this, and it really ''is'' just implied. ''[[spoiler: VideoGame/PokerNight2]]'' [[spoiler: hints that this may have come to fruition, as Sam states when asked that he's "Off the market"]].
198	* MacguffinDeliveryService: The episode "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" is basically one of these.
199	* MagicFeather: For once, played completely straight; in the finale to "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", [[spoiler:Max bemoans how useless he is. Then Yog-Soggoth/Dr. Norrington tells him that since he has the Gift, the power he yearns for will always be inside him, with or without the toys. For once, this is uttered without a hint of sarcasm, and gets by without any LampshadeHanging or snark from any of the characters. Cue Max's personal SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.]]
200	* MaliciousMisnaming: Girl Stinky continues to never addresses Sam and Max by their names, but picks a random moniker every time. If you use psychic ventriloquism on her in Episode 304, Max tries to imitate her, but acknowledges that it's harder to come up with those names than it looks.
201	* MeaningfulName: You first find [[spoiler:the psychic ventriloquist dummy]] in an ancient Egyptian tomb, so his name doesn't really look out of place. Later in episode "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", [[spoiler:you'll realize that ''Charlie Ho-Tep'' sounds suspiciously similar to a certain other elder god with connections to Egypt... namely, ''Nyarlathotep''.]]
202	* MoodWhiplash: "They Stole Max's Brain!" It starts with a gritty noir theme, then goes to a part more befitting of the point-and-click gameplay we know. [[spoiler:Then the REAL twist comes when a NephariousPharaoh who happens to be inhabiting Max's body (ItMakesSenseInContext) uses the power of the Toy Chest to planeshift the entire world into an alternate reality where he is ruler of everything, and only Max, Dr. Norrington, and the molemen are aware that anything is wrong.]]
203	** And let's not forget TheReveal and conclusion of ''Beyond the Alley of the Dolls.''
204	* MostDefinitelyNotAVillain Also General Skun-ka'pe when you first meet him.
205	* MotorMouth: Baby Amelia Earhart in 302
206	* MultipleEndings: [[spoiler:"The City That Dares Not Sleep" has two slightly different endings, depending on whether Sam's fondest memories of his life with Max (as chosen by you, the player) are of adventuring or crimefighting.]]
207	** [[spoiler:If the player picks adventuring as the fondest memory, Sam and Past Max decide to go back in time to do some adventuring in the past.]]
208	** [[spoiler:If the player picks crimefighting as the fondest memory, Sam and Past Max will go back into the city to bust the next major threat to the city.]]
209	** [[spoiler:The ending is further modified if you remembered to return the baby cockroach to Sam's inventory before leaving Max's mind for good.]]
210	* MythologyGag:
211	** Using Mind Reading with the Newspaper Rack? in "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls". According to Mike Stemmle, he wanted to do this gag since he read a review of ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxHitTheRoad'' in when the Reviewer was comparing the game humor with watching Creator/PennAndTeller, as a some sort of Backhanded Insult. Which is weird, because they love Penn and Teller. The joke is the standard Penn and Teller "3 of Clubs" trick and he wanted to put it in a game for nearly two decades. And he did. In a Sam and Max game.
212	** If you use Charlie Ho-Tep at the Stinky's jukebox in "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", Max will sing the first line to Conroy Bumpus's song from ''Sam and Max Hit the Road''.
213	** In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", looking out on the clone-infested streets in one area will cause Sam to note that they probably won't be ''hitting the road'' any time soon.
214	* NeverMessWithGranny: Out of all people, [[spoiler: Nefertiti, the mole girl who fell in love with Jurgen in "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak", becomes a badass in "They Stole Max's Brain!", even using Ninja Acrobatics.]]
215	* NiceGuy: Sal, to the point that ''Max'' can't actually bring himself to make fun of the giant cockroach.
216	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Sammun-Mak was capable to return to power thanks to being in Max's Body]]. Now, who put him there in first place? Exactly.
217	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Sal, the 6-foot cockroach, whose laid-back speech mimics of Creator/PatrickWarburton, as well as Dr. Norrington, who sounds suspiciously similar to Creator/TonyJay.
218	* NonindicativeName: [[ArtifactOfDoom The Devil's Toybox]] has absolutely nothing to do with the [[{{Satan}} Devil]], who shows up in the final episode of Season 3 to clear up this misunderstanding and boost his public image. In fact, it belongs to something much worse. That's right, in this universe, the Devil is not the most evil thing around.
219	* NonSequiturThud: Happens in "The Penal Zone", [[spoiler: as the Alien Brain begins to let himself die, his memories fade and more comedically, his telepathic speech begins to become more incoherent. "Donut button, Sam and Max! Donut button until we meet again in the plaid!"]] This is actually a reference to the fact that one of the voice actors for a previous episode refused to curse, and so for some lines that were bleeped out, the actor was saying "donut button" rather than anything offensive. The Bleeps are in the script, so the voice actors have to improvise what's going to be bleeped out. Some Actors have fun with the Bleeps and create extremely foul streams of words, while others just say something that maybe sound offensive if those are bleeped out. The most memorable is one when the voice actor was saying "Donut" and "Donut Button" instead of actual curse words.
220	* NotMeThisTime: In "The City that Dares Not Sleep", TheDevil himself shows up to refute any claims that the [[DoomsdayDevice Devil's Toybox]] is in any way related to him. In fact, the Toybox predates the Devil by an order of magnitude and the object was named this way by mistake.
221	* ObviouslyEvil: Skun-ka'pe. And Stinky, once you talk to her.
222	* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Implied by an intertitle in Episode 302; supposedly, after arriving in Egypt, Sameth and Maximus had a series of unlikely grand adventures with Baby Amelia Earhart in tow before abandoning her and heading for the tomb of Sammun-Mak. We don't see them, of course.
223	* OhCrap:
224	** Sam and Papierwaite's absolutely horrified downward look at [[spoiler: Sybil's water breaking.]]
225	-->'''Yog-Soggoth:''' ...Pennies?!
226	** At the end of "The City That Dares Not Sleep," when Stinky's phone starts to ring.
227	-->'''Skun-ka'pe:''' Didn't I tell you to get rid of that cellphone?\
228	'''Girl Stinky:''' Who could ''possibly'' be calling me?\
229	'''Skun-ka'pe:''' (Eyes widen in horror)
230	* OminousLatinChanting: Parodied in The Tomb of Sammun-Mak with [[spoiler:The Pig Latin "omecay onninway the aterways inefay" Spelled differently in subtitles making it just that much more confusing.]]
231	** Played straight in Beyond the Alley of the Dolls. See IronicNurseryTune above.
232	* OnlySaneMan - Max, ironically enough, during the second half of "They Stole Max's Brain!" [[spoiler:He seems to be the only one, save the molemen, who hasn't been affected by the [[RealityWarper reality rewrite]], and consequently is the only one who seems to recognize that he hasn't always been a disembodied brain in a jar, and that Sammun-Mak hasn't always been absolute ruler of the world.]]
233	* ParanormalMundaneItem: The storyline centers around the mystical Toys of Power which are actually very ancient, but for some reason look like ordinary toys that may be found in a modern-day toy shop (like a toy telephone that allows its user to teleport and a wacky putty toy that gives him the ability of transformation).
234	* PersonOfMassDestruction: As per the past games, Max continues along this way, also including the fact that [[spoiler:with his psychic powers, he can become one with infinity and destroy the universe]].
235	* PetTheDog:
236	** [[spoiler:Stinky]] trying to save Sal from a humongous monster.
237	** Just before [[spoiler:Max dies]], the [[spoiler:Max spores]] made a request to Sam when [[spoiler:Sybil was in labor and still inside the monstrous body]]:
238	-->[[spoiler:SAVE. SYBIL.]]
239	* PoirotSpeak: Hubert Q. Turis, the European Tourist from "They Stole Max's Brain!", has a tendency to drop really long faux-German words into his sentences. What makes this even funnier is that he is voiced by a Creator/TelltaleGames intern from Germany.
240	-->'''Hubert:''' I was about to give [Frankie The Rat] a tip for the help, when all of a sudden a [[PoirotSpeak weltraumliebwachetzaubreikrieg]] erupted in the middle of one of your asphault fjords!
241	** To elaborate, a [[PoirotSpeak weltraumliebwachetzaubreikrieg]] is Hubert's people's word for a stunning battle between a strangely-garbed man and an alien space gorilla carrying a brain in a jar![[note]]The German ''could'' be translated a few different ways, including "space adorable war".[[/note]] Maybe it's a common occurrence in Europe.
242	* PowerBornOfMadness: According to Mr. Papierwaite, the only ones capable of using the Toys of Power (besides an EldritchAbomination, at least) are "the insane, the simple and the defective." In other words, Max and Sammun-Mak have the Gift because they're mentally unstable.
243	* PoweredByAForsakenChild: [[spoiler:"It's Mole Men! General Skun-ka'pe is sweating Mole Men!]]
244	* PowerGlows: When Max unlocks his full psychic potential, his body radiates white light. It almost looks holy.
245	* PresidentEvil: Carrying over from the past games, it's implied in "The Penal Zone" that Max got himself re-elected by [[spoiler:causing an outbreak of Bubonic Plague]]. Though the fact that [[spoiler: Hell literally froze over probably helped as well]].
246	* ProductionThrowback: In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls," one of the Samulacra finds a bunny plush and gives it an affectionate hug. The rabbit was [[WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit Gromit's]] from previous Telltale project, "Wallace and Gromit: The Grand Adventures."
247	* PronouncingMyNameForYou:
248	** Skun-ka'pe's preferred pronunciation of his name, which everyone [[DevilInPlainSight blind to his villainy]] uses. No one seems to notice Sam and Max's pronunciation of "Skunkape" except for Sal, which strikes him as witty.
249	** Papierwaite pronounces his own name as 'Pa-pi-er-weight', but it's pronounced by everyone else as 'Paperweight'.
250	* PrivateEyeMonologue: [[HardBoiledDetective Flint Paper]] has his own inner monologue, which Max can hear after he gains the power of mind reading in Episode 4.
251	--->'''Flint:''' The Dame was a symphony of ice and sarcasm, and I was the out-of-tune sax player trying to horn in on her action. The rabbit listened to the music and wondered if he'd tuned into the wrong station...
252	--->'''Sam:''' Wow, Flint even THINKS in barely applicable metaphors.
253	* PuffOfLogic: In "The Penal Zone", Sam notes from the readings on a bank of monitors in Bosco-Tech Labs that it's scientifically impossible for him and Max to exist, and they promptly fade out of existence. [[spoiler:They then fade back in when Sam realizes he'd misread the data.]]
254	* PutOnABus:
255	** In "The Penal Zone", Bosco and Bluster Blaster are in Vegas spending all of the money from Season 1, while Sybil and Abe are still on their honeymoon. Jimmy Two-Teeth and The Bug are also missing, but they aren't properly explained. One could assume that they're one of the many vermin now infesting the city.
256	** It's heavily implied that Jimmy and his family are [[spoiler: living it up on money Max secretly paid them to spread Bubonic Plague over the country to get himself re-elected.]]
257	** In Episode 304, [[spoiler: Bluster Blaster [[TheBusCameBack returns,]]]] and in 305, [[spoiler: Sybil and Abe do, as well.]]
258	* PsychoSupporter: [[spoiler:The cast becomes supporters of Sammun-Mak after he [[RealityWarper rewrites reality]]]] in the third act of "They Stole Max's Brain!" [[spoiler:Only Max, the Molemen, and the mysterious Dr. Norrington remain to oppose him.]]
259	* QuipToBlack: Curt gets these by the boatload in "The City that Dares Not Sleep". The "PREE-YOW!" bleeps that follow from Chippy must be his way of going '''''[[AscendedMeme YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!]]'''''
260	* RealityWarper: In "They Stole Max's Brain!", [[spoiler:Sammun-Mak is able to rewrite history with the Devil's Toybox so that he rules the world. The molemen and Max's disembodied brain are the only people who remember the original version of history.]]
261	* ReplacementGoldfish: [[spoiler:Max is dead, but Sam meets up with the Past Max]] from "Chariots of the Dogs." According to [[spoiler:Past Max, he comes from a world that almost exactly mirrored the events of The Devil's Playhouse, but which culminated in Sam dying, instead]]. They decide to team up.
262	* RedHerring
263	** [[https://youtu.be/L4Lw312RrXk?t=96 The trailer]] for the season shows a shady photograph of a number of characters with the commentary "Use Sam & Max's strange psychic gifts to battle a host of villains bent on destroying the entire Universe". The photograph does indeed show some of the season's major antagonists, namely Skun-ka'pe, [[spoiler:Papierwaite]], Sam's clones, and [[spoiler:Charlie Ho-Tep]], alongside with minor villains like [[spoiler:Jurgen]], [[spoiler:Nicholas St. Kringle]], and [[spoiler:Girl Stinky]] - but it also demonstrates non-villainous characters like Sal, Grandpa Stinky, Baby Amelia Earhart, and the Molemen.
264	** Momma Bosco became a Red Herring in ''Beyond the Alley of the Dolls'', as she was the only one capable of engineering a Night of the Living Sams, and was revealed to have at least [[PerverseSexualLust one motive]] for doing so. [[MoneyDearBoy Or two.]]
265	** In ''The City That Dares Not Sleep'', the Narrator throws ''everyone'' up in the air as Red Herrings. [[spoiler: It's because when he says 'one of these people will betray Sam and Max' while showing pictures of all characters seen in the game so far, HE'S also in the collection of people.]]
266	* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: In "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak":
267	-->'''Maximus:''' Why can't we all get along, Sameth?\
268	'''Sameth:''' Because most of us are (''[[SoundEffectBleep bicycle horn]]''), little buddy.
269	* SassyBlackWoman: Momma Bosco
270	* SceneryPorn: The final scene for the crimefighting ending in "The City That Dares Not Sleep" - specifically, the music fading away on a triumphant note as the camera pans upwards, settling on an absolutely breathtaking shot of a sunrise over New York as our two heroes return to the city, the Sam & Max logo appearing onscreen. Visually stunning.
271	* ScryVsScry: In "The Penal Zone", you get a toy that allows you to see into the future, starting with the end of the episode, [[spoiler:which the episode's BigBad changes when he gets a hold of said toy]].
272	* SelfDeprecation:
273	** When offered with the suggestion to make a point-and-click adventure game for Christmas by Sameth and Maximus in "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak," the elves respond thusly:
274	-->'''Sameth''': Point and click adventure games! (music stops)\
275	'''Elf''' (shocked): {{beat}} You've gotta be kidding me!
276	** In "The City That Dares Not Sleep," Sam finds a game of "Car Bomb" in Max's inventory, and mentions that it's from their immature, self-consciously politically-incorrect phase. When [[spoiler:one of the nightmare spores]] asks when that ended, Sam says he'll "let them know when it does."
277	* SequelHook: Each episode ends with a potentially NightmareFuel cliffhanger, including [[spoiler: Sam and Max finding their own skeletons]], [[spoiler: Sam walking in on his truly brain-dead partner]], [[spoiler: a hoard of Sam clones attacking the museum]], and [[spoiler: Max transforming into a horrific EldritchAbomination.]] Not to mention [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFD8sSUDcpE the ending to "The City That Dares Not Sleep"]].
278	* ShaggyDogStory: Ultimately, after everything Sam goes through [[spoiler:in "The City That Dares Not Sleep," he fails to save Max by ''a single minute.'']]
279	* ShoutOut:
280	** "The Penal Zone":
281	*** Skun'ka'pe claims the brain in his ship is named "Gordon", in an outright lie. Though it [[BrickJoke comes back]] after Sam and Max bring it back to life.
282	---->'''Skun'ka'pe:''' [[Film/FlashGordon1980 Gordon's alive?!]]
283	*** [[Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes "I can't wait to get my stinkin' paws on that damn, dirty ape!"]]
284	** "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls":
285	*** When Max reads Sam's mind in Stinky's Diner Sam is thinking [[Film/SupermanTheMovie "Can you read my mind? Do you know the things I'm thinking of?"]]
286	*** Sam, Max, Skunk'ape, Stinky and Grandpa Stinky are trapped in a restaurant, surrounded by [[spoiler: Zombie Maxes]] and someone suggests playing the jukebox. [[Film/ShaunOfTheDead What does that remind us of?]]
287	*** When Max uses the Cthonic Destroyer to destroy some eldritch tentacles, he yells "[[PreMortemOneLiner Unholy THIS!]]". When Sam questions the strange choice of one-liner, Max claims that he "saw it in [[VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland a video game]]".
288	*** When Sam looks at a BigRedButton on a control panel in the cloning facility and wonders what it's for:
289	---->'''Max''': ''[[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger (in a certain Teutonic accent)]]'' [[Film/TotalRecall1990 "You have what you vant! Now give zem zer air!"]]
290	*** When you explore the cloning facility, you find a mysterious [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 Dispenser]], containing "health, ammo, cupcakes, clues, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and]] [[InvertedTrope enlightenment]]" (except it's empty). If you examine it twice, Sam will pull a wrench from no-where and whack it. If you examine it repeatedly until Sam has whacked it eight times[[note]]the minimum number of wrench-hits required to upgrade a Dispenser in Team Fortress 2[[/note]], it opens and dispenses a bottle of [[RunningGag Banang]]. Max unplugs the thing to keep the [[BerserkButton Banang]] from Sam.
291	*** When you examine the tunnel next to the Dispenser, Sam notes that there are [[http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Payload cart tracks]] in the tunnel. Max speculates that there might be [[http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Goldrush gold]] at the end of it.
292	*** When you examine those purple tentacles at the cloning facility, Max will remark that he'd prefer the [[VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle green tentacles]] because he heard that they were the friendly ones.
293	*** In the finale, [[spoiler: Monster Max [[Film/{{Cloverfield}} knocks the head off the Statue of Liberty]].]]
294	** "The City That Dares Not Sleep"
295	*** The unique intro for this episode is a reference to Series/{{Space1999}}'s style, [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2RF1E3zT6YU complete with a character lineup and sizzle reel of everything that just happened in the episode.]]
296	*** You encounter another one of Skun-ka'pe's minions, named Gra-pea'pe. If you remove all the PunctuationShaker elements, (the same method Sam uses to turn the name Skun-ka'pe into "Skunkape" or "Skunk Ape"), you get "Grapeape", or "[[WesternAnimation/TheGreatGrapeApe Grape Ape]]". Similarly, another one of his minions' is named [[WesternAnimation/MagillaGorilla M'gila]].
297	*** When you're ready to take control of Monster!Max, he'll make a pose like a [[Manga/SailorMoon certain magical girl show]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tNbUs3ilk0 Here's the comparison]].
298	* ShownTheirWork: In "The City That Dares Not Sleep", Agent Superball briefly mentions the 28th Amendment. There are currently only 27 amendments to the Constitution.
299	* SoLongSuckers: Done twice in "The Penal Zone". Gets its due lampshade the second time:
300	-->'''Max:''' "We've been hearing that a lot lately.''
301	* SomeCallMeTim: Yog-Soggoth goes by a much simpler name of [[spoiler:Doctor Norrington]].
302	* SoUnfunnyItsFunny: Egyptian Molish humor.
303	-->You see, it's funny because ''no one'' cuts the cucumber lengthwise, so... so... you Americans have no sense of humor.
304	** To be fair, cutting the cucumber length-wise is apparently a huge social taboo to them. That joke is their version of a Dead Baby joke.
305	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The C.O.P.S. recruit Carol in episode 301 and she is their only female member.
306	* SpoiledBrat: The reason of why the Toys of Power were created in first place was [[spoiler:for stop the tantrums of Junior, Yog-Soggoth's grand-child. I repeat, Yog-Soggoth's ''grand-child''.]]
307	--> '''Paperwaite:''' Unfortunately, when the elder gods were banished to the Dark Dimension, Junior's Toy Box was lost during the move. And in the millennia since, ''[[SeriousBusiness he just will not STOP whining about it!]]''
308	** Sammun-Mak was also a massive brat as well [[spoiler: which led to his people rising up against him.]]
309	* StartOfDarkness: "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" reveals [[spoiler: exactly how and when Jurgen became a vampire. Not surprisingly, Sam and Max's great-grandparents were the ones ultimately responsible.]]
310	* StealthPun: When you put Sam and Max (or rather, their great-grandpas) inside a can, you get a Can O'Nuts.
311	* TheStraightMan: This is the main reason [[spoiler:Charlie Ho-Tep]] creates an army of Sam's Clones; because, [[spoiler:as a Dummy, he needed a straight man and Sam is perfect for that job.]]
312	* StrawFeminist: Bosco's mother. She is not very obnoxious though, and merely wants to make babies without a man, preferring the baby to be an angelic little ''she''. That being said, she still cares very deeply for her son.
313	* TheStinger: "The City That Dares Not Sleep" has at least two of them that can be triggered after the credits roll, [[spoiler:both covering how Max is still there when/if another season comes out]].
314	* StrippedToTheBone: [[spoiler:The great-grandpas of Sam and Max are skeletonized by moleman magic at the end of Episode 302.]]
315	* SummoningRitual: The "boss fight" in Episode 302 is to [[spoiler:thwart a summoning ritual of Yog-Soggoth]].
316	** And in 304, [[spoiler:The "boss fight" is to thwart a summoning ritual for Yog-Soggoth's grandson, Junior.]]
317	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute:
318	** Frankie the Rat in season 3. Pretty much the only reason they didn't just re-use Jimmy Two-Teeth is because his voice actor was gone.
319	** At the end of Season 3 [[spoiler:after Max dies, Sam encounters Past Max from "Chariots of Dogs", who, ironically, just came back from a mirror adventure of what just happened, only with Past Sam dying instead of him. After talking, they decide to be each other's substitutes.]]
320	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial:
321	** "The Penal Zone":
322	-->'''Skun-ka'pe:''' I bring all the mole men on a wonderful off-world vacation they're ''never'' forget! (I don't kill them.)
323	** "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls":
324	*** You can read Sam's mind in Bosco-tech, and he's thinking something along the lines of: "Some people might be ''afraid'' to be tied to an id-driven psychopath with psychic powers, but not me. And I'm not just thinking this because Max is reading my mind right now."
325	*** In the same episode, while talking to [[spoiler: Charlie Ho-Tep during the finale]], Sam accuses him of being evil and crazy. He angrily retorts that he's not evil or crazy, OR illiterate.
326	*** In the Featureless Warehouse District is the Not-Clone-Related Industries Building, on the corner of Dopple and Gang.
327	* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Max]] goes out with a bang, but he doesn't do it alone.
328	* TemporalParadox: One of these is used to explain how [[spoiler:Max is alive]] at the end of "The City That Dares Not Sleep". Every other instance of time travel ends up as a StableTimeLoop.
329	* TakeThat: In "The Penal Zone":
330	-->'''Sam:''' I wonder what would happen if I open this wardrobe...\
331	'''Max:''' Don't do it, Sam! It'll probably lead to [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia a land of whimsical characters and thinly-disguised religious allegories!]]\
332	'''Sam:''' Good point. We already had that kind of trouble when we went into that [[Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth tollbooth.]]
333	* TelephoneTeleport: Max gets this ability.
334	* TheThreeTrials: Averted in "The Penal Zone". Since the episodes aren't isolated incidents, it follows more of a narrative sense, usually only having one trial at a time. Maybe two.
335	* TimeTravel: "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" plays with this. On the surface, Sam and Max are just changing the reels on the projector to skip to different parts of the movie. But the way Sammeth and Maximus use clues from later reels to solve puzzles in earlier reels - for example, [[spoiler: their toy idea]] - definitely draws a parallel to straighter uses of time travel. Maximus's menu of psychic powers ''does'' refer to the movie reel as "Astral Projection", so there's definitely ''something'' going on...
336	* TitleDrop: Done in EVERY episode in Season 3. Lampshaded in ''The City That Dares Not Sleep.''
337	-->'''The Narrator''': Sam, Sam. They say idle hands are the devil's playthings, but there is something far, ''far'', worse. An idle mind is ''the devil's playhouse''. A stage for the most vapid, horrible, and destructive stories to be made real...\
338	'''Sam:''' Deep... and curiously insulting.\
339	'''The Narrator:''' (''[[AsideComment to the audience]]'') Didn't think I'd be able to work the title in, did you?
340	* TrouserSpace: In "The City That Dares Not Sleep", Sam can [[spoiler:visit precisely where Max stores his gun while the latter was a giant EldritchAbomination.]].
341	* TWordEuphemism: From "The Penal Zone":
342	-->'''Sam:''' Spider-webs and spooky houses go together like well-dressed dogs and naked bunnies.\
343	'''Max:''' How many times have I told you not to use the "b-word", Sam?
344	* UndercoverAsLovers: In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls." When Flint Paper demands to know who Girl Stinky's mysterious Mr. S is, she claims that it's Sam and that they've been carrying on a torrid love affair for years, all before Sam can come up with a different story. Since he's trying to figure out what Stinky's actually up to, he [[EmbarrassingCoverUp has to go along with it.]] Cue [[FakeOutMakeOut what may qualify]] for the SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment\|s}} of that episode.
345	-->'''Flint Paper:''' I don't know what kinda game you're playing here, Sam, but now that I've seen you and Stinky smooching, all I really wanna do is [[INeedAFreakingDrink climb into a bottle]] and [[BrainBleach wipe out a few brain cells.]]\
346	'''Max:''' Y'know, Sam, that whole Stinky-kissing thing kinda made ''me'' wish for he sweet release of death, too.\
347	'''Sam:''' I know, little buddy, but it'll be worth it if we can track Stinky to the REAL Mr. S who's controlling all these Sam clones.
348	* VampiresAreSexGods: Jurgen:
349	--> '''Jurgen''': You clearly know nothing about the teenage girls! She thinks I'm even more tragically sexy than before!
350	* VideoGameGeography: The Disorient Express in Episode 302 runs between New York and Egypt. Don't ask how it got over the Atlantic Ocean. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] if Sameth talks to Maximus and chooses to talk about the journey; Maximus asks when they're going to arrive, and Sameth's answers all have the train passing over a body of water (the Denmark Straits, the North Sea, etc.).
351	** It's referenced in a throwaway line that it's the first ever train to go ''under'' the Atlantic Ocean, but it's easy to miss.
352	* VillainDecay: Skun-ka'pe. For most of Episode 301, he's a force to be reckoned with, [[spoiler: especially after using Future Vision to see how he would be defeated and working things accordingly.]] And then [[spoiler: he's tricked back into the Penal Zone by a toy he knows is fake.]] In every appearance thereafter, he just gets more and more pathetic. [[spoiler: Specifically, his team up with Papierwaite falls apart, he is defeated by Sam and a bunch of Mole Men, is dragged off by a zombie-esque army of Sam clones, and gives up the last Toy of Power for an obviously fake Devil's Toybox.]]
353	* VoicesAreMental: Averted in "The City That Dares Not Sleep", [[spoiler:not even Grandpa Stinky's accent makes it over when he's brain-swapped with Gra-pea'pe]]. Played straight in "They Stole Max's Brain!" with the disembodied brains of Max and Sammun-Mak.
354	* WhamEpisode:
355	** "The Penal Zone": [[spoiler: Finding the corpses of what appears to be you.]]
356	** "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak": [[spoiler: We find out that aliens may not be the only thing to worry about, and Max gets his brain stolen.]]
357	** "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls": [[spoiler: Max turns into an EldritchAbomination.]]
358	** "The City That Dares Not Sleep": [[spoiler:Several characters '''die'''. ''Including Max!'' He doesn't get better, either, but fortunately, his time-travel-created duplicate shows up out of nowhere at the last minute.]]
359	* WhamLine: "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls": As Sam and Max prepare to find out where all the Sam clones are going and who their master is;
360	--> [[spoiler:'''[[DemonicDummy Charlie Ho-Tep]]''']]: ''I don't think so.''
361	* WhamShot: Just as Sam's about to enter [[spoiler: Max's brain, the Narrator takes us away from the action so he can give us one last chance to guess who the traitor is... and then a door opens in the background; the very ''same'' door Sam was about to open.]]
362	* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: Played with in "The Penal Zone," when Max asks Sam what could possibly go wrong by following the crime-tron's directions.
363	** [[NoKillLikeOverkill "...and then we get cancer."]]
364	*** Of course, Sam's answer only excites Max who declares it's impossible to feel down in a city that has mutant sewer sharks and roving packs of cannibal gangsters.
365	* WhatTheHellHero: By the C.O.P.S. to Sam at the end of the first part of "They Stole Max's Brain!"
366	-->'''Bob''': [[LargeHam Audiences across the country say; you're a monster, Sam!]]
367	* WhatTheHellPlayer : In "The City That Dares Not Sleep", if you try put "Sam Jr." in the food processor, Sam will look at you, the player, and say "How dare you even think about putting my sweet little angel in there!"
368	* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Often in Season 3, when Max has one or two psychic powers, all puzzles will be solved with the same power, ie, the Teleporter through most of "The Penal Zone", the Can o Nuts in "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak".
369	* WhyAmITicking: Max in "The Penal Zone".
370	* WoundedGazelleGambit: In "The City That Dares Not Sleep," Sam claims that he's never seen Max cry on his own except to lure his prey into a false sense of security.
371	* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler:Charlie Ho-Tep]] isn't crazy, evil [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial or illiterate.]] He's [[IJustWantToBeLoved LONELY.]]
372	* ZeroEffortBoss: Near the end of "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak", [[spoiler: Amelia Earhart reveals herself as the one who stole the Devil's Toybox, and mockingly asks if Sameth has any parting words... except Sameth is under a curse that causes members of the opposite sex to go flying when he talks to them. You can probably guess what happens next.]]
373	* ZombieApocalypse: With a bunch of Sam's Clones, just for a change.

Context VideoGame / SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse