After Phineas & Ferb’s Season 5 Trailer, I’m Worried A Big Part Of The Original Finale Is Being Totally Ignored

Phineas and Ferb is returning in the summer of 2025 with all the characters we know and love, but this has me worried about one of their arcs as it was brought to a conclusion in the original 2015 series finale. Phineas and Ferb focuses on the exploits of inventor stepbrothers Phineas (Vincent Martella) and Ferb (David Errig Jr./Thomas Brodie-Sangster), while the older sister Candace (Ashley Tisdale) tries and always fails to show their creations to their mother. Meanwhile, the family’s pet platypus Perry (Dee Bradley Baker) engages in a battle of good vs. evil with Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (show co-creator Dan Povenmire).

Everyone adores the formula, which Phineas and Ferb season 5 will continue. However, Phineas and Ferb‘s timeline does have this new season set up to take place the following summer, meaning that the episode that previously served as the series finale has already happened. “Last Day of Summer” (season 4, episode 30) sees the boys and their friends attempt the ultimate invention for the end of summer, while Candace ends up in a time loop trying to bust them, and Doofenshmirtz is prompted to give up evil once and for all. The showrunners are now undoing this surprisingly poignant character development.

Phineas And Ferb’s Trailer Includes Doofenshmirtz’s Status Update To “Evil Again”

After a heart-to-heart with his daughter Vanessa (Olivia Olson), Doofenshmirtz bands together with her and Perry to save the world from the constricting time loop. The series had already implied that Doofenshmirtz would eventually give up evil, and this finale serves as a transition into that. A one-off episode set during the school year depicts him doing a community service sentence as a high school science teacher; later, in the episode that shows the characters 10 years in the future, it is said that this placement was a turning point for him, and he is no longer building evil inators.

Important Doofenshmirtz Episodes
Episode Title	Episode Number On Disney+	Summary
“Agent Doof”	Season 3, episode 22	Doofenshmirtz has an epiphany that he’s not good at being able and joins O.W.C.A. as Perry’s partner. After a series of mishaps, he decides he’s at least better at being evil than being good, and goes back to his usual routine.
“Doof 101”	Season 4, episode 21	Doofenshmirtz teaches a high school science class including Vanessa for community service, and accidentally turns a student into a lizard hybrid. Takes place sometime after the original summer.
“Act Your Age”	Season 4, episode 34	In the future, Doofenshmirtz is retired and only builds an inator to trigger his own midlife crisis. He and Perry regularly go bowling together.
“The O.W.C.A. Files”	Season 4, episodes 32 & 33	Perry trains some new recruits, including Doofenshmirtz, and they save O.W.C.A. from a takeover. Takes place after “Last Day of Summer.”
“Last Day of Summer”	Season 4, episodes 35 & 36	Vanessa tells her dad she wants to do an O.W.C.A. internship and that she doesn’t think being evil is making him happpy, so he gives up evil.

As “Act Your Age” is also one of the last episodes of season 4, it was written according to the plan that this would be the final season. There is no reference to Doofenshmirtz essentially relapsing into evil. However, in Phineas and Ferb season 5’s trailer, he has changed his social media status to “evil again,” implying that after the time-loop incident and accompanying epiphany, he is now back to his old shenanigans. However, it also isn’t necessarily set in stone when the high school episode takes place, which means he could have done this after the summer that will be depicted in seasons 5 and 6.

Doofenshmirtz Returning To Evil Makes Everything Vanessa Said In The (Old) Finale Meaningless

Vanessa Made A Lot Of Good Points When Talking To Her Dad About The O.W.C.A. Internship

The problem is that everything Vanessa said to her dad to prompt his “redemption” was actually really great, bringing his story to a strong ending. Whatever Doofenshmirtz’s flaws are, he has always been a great dad. One of the reasons that he gives up evil is that Vanessa has been offered an internship with O.W.C.A. (the organization Perry works for) and she can’t do it if she is living with Doofenshmirtz while he is actively fighting them. Rather than Vanessa going to live with her mother full-time, he decides to make amends with O.W.C.A.

But the trailer for the new season suggests that they are completely ignoring this resolution.

Vanessa also points out some reasons for Doofenshmirtz to give up evil for himself that are surprisingly meaningful for such a goofy series. She says that he’s “basically a nice guy who’s pretending to be evil and […] it seems like it’s all out of obligation to [his] backstories, not something that truly comes from [his] heart,” finishing with that she doesn’t “think this lifestyle choice is making [him] happy.” It’s a lot of personal revelation that the show takes pretty seriously, and seems like it should have a lasting impact on Doof.

Phineas and Ferb season 5 full cast jumping in the air, looking joyful

Phineas And Ferb Is Returning After 10 Years, And We’re Also Getting A Long-Awaited Sequel Episode In 2025

Phineas and Ferb will return alongside their friend Meap in 2025, who was given a trailer to a sequel we never saw more than 10 years ago.

But the trailer for the new season suggests that they are completely ignoring this resolution. Vanessa has probably finished her internship by now and maybe has enough standing with the organization on her own that they don’t hold it against her for still living with him, but this would logically have a negative impact on their relationship. Her dad essentially disregarded everything she said before; while there is sometimes a disconnect between the two, they have always had a loving relationship — and changing this would also break the tone of the show.

Phineas And Ferb Only Has Loose Linear Arcs, & Continuity Might Not Even Matter

Does Anyone Care If Doofenshmirtz Goes Back On His Character Development?

Ultimately, Doofenshmirtz is “evil again” only so the writers can get back to the usual status quo and produce more episodes that follow the exact same formula as before, providing us with more feel-good adventures. Just as Vanessa having a frustrating but sweet relationship with her dad is a pillar of the story, so is Doof fighting Perry with “convoluted and ultimately pointless” inventions. Phineas and Ferb carrying on as it always has is the right choice for season 5 and has a lot of appeal for people who simply want more comfort TV, when this show is one of the best offerings.

Phineas and Ferb strikes a very fine balance between there being actual arcs and remaining rooted in its repetition and floating timeline.

If this is what people want, they might not even care about the show rolling back on Doof’s development. Phineas and Ferb strikes a very fine balance between there being actual arcs and remaining rooted in its repetition and floating timeline. Candace has gone through multiple adventures that should have convinced her to give up on busting the boys, but she never does. It all feels a little off and untrue to the characters if you think about it too much, but a certain amount of suspension of disbelief may be in order to enjoy the series’ continued strengths.

Phineas And Ferb Already Gave Doofenshmirtz A Perfect Ending, But Maybe Not The Flynn-Fletcher Family

Phineas, Ferb, & Candace Are Probably All Still Doing Their Usual Routine

Candace and Phineas in Dude we're getting the band back together episode of Phineas and Ferb

However, what bothers me about the state of Doofenshmirtz’s character arc is that it broke the unsaid rules of the show in a way that only really works for a finale. It will always be plausible that Candace decides not to bust her brothers because she has a nice moment with them and lets it slide, but she will still rally again tomorrow. At least, if she has a concern that her schemes are resulting in time collapsing in on itself, she will probably tell someone now. She doesn’t necessarily believe that her desire to bust them was the problem.

How The Phineas And Ferb Showrunners Tried To Create A Perry The Platypus Replacement

The Phineas and Ferb creators tried to replace Perry the Platypus with Diogee the Dog, a Milo Murphy’s Law character who has good qualities.

Vanessa points out things that we, to some degree, always knew about Doofenshmirtz, and leaving them unsaid was essential to maintaining the status quo. “A nice guy pretending to be evil” is a pretty apt way to describe Doof, when his inventions are ridiculous and never really harm anyone, he and Perry are basically best friends despite their battles, and he is often pushed into doing the right thing. Whether this lifestyle was making him unhappy was more up for debate, because I think he does enjoy inventing and play-acting at evil.

This is why the old finale was a pretty definitive, perfect ending for Doofenshmirtz, ringing the bell on him being the figure that makes the show’s formula happen and sending him off into a new arc of self-discovery (some of which we see in Milo Murphy’s Law). On the other hand, the activities of the Flynn-Fletcher family are probably still happening the way they always do. Phineas and Ferb still has some mileage left because people will love to see more wacky adventures from the title characters, perhaps leading to a more conclusive fate — while Doofenshmirtz’s is the disappointing one.