On the other hand, Perry is used to keeping a tight rein on his emotions he values professionalism above all and has to be able to maintain his composure around his family, his boss, and his nemesis. In broad strokes, Doofenshmirtz flourishes under anyone’s daily attention, starved as he has been for affection of any kind, but Perry in particular provides a patient, steady presence that won’t disappear–after all, it’s literally his job to listen. Phineas and Ferb takes on the challenge of creating interesting character development within its very fixed, episodic structure, and the relationship between Doofenshmirtz and Perry is the best, most dramatic example of how, even with the status quo of their battles carefully maintained, the personal changes in their relationship have huge, lasting consequences on the universe–and, of course, on each other. Perry breaks Doofenshmirtz’s machines, or Doofenshmirtz breaks them himself, and they start over again the next day, no better or worse. The equilibrium of Danville is very, very delicate, and it seems that the safest way to protect it is to keep Doofenshmirtz “busy” with minor problems that give him an outlet for his frustrations that are still easy for Perry to “reset” by the end of the day. In “Across the 2nd Dimension,” a crueler version of Doofenshmirtz has enacted a similar plan and managed to neutralize Perry as a threat by converting him to his cause.
PHINEAS AND FERB OWCA FILES LET WORK TOGETHER FULL
When Candace messes with the timeline in “Phineas and Ferb’s Quantum Boogaloo,” one of Doofenshmirtz’s inventions puts Perry in a full body cast on the first day of summer, creating a new future where Doofenshmirtz has turned the tri-state area into a dystopian hellscape. OWCA’s fears are justified, as we see in multiple alternate timelines and alternate dimensions.
At times throughout the series, Perry is temporarily reassigned to more high-level threats (The Regurgitator, “Oh, There You Are Perry,” Phineas and Ferb), but a combination of Doofenshmirtz’s creativity and the volatile tragedy of his past makes him a big question mark for OWCA, and so Perry is tasked with keeping up the status quo and making sure Doofenshmirtz continues to fail, on the off-chance he could do real harm. Perry the Platypus is OWCA’s best agent, relegated to thwarting Doofenshmirtz’s petty schemes and preventing any harm from coming to himself, Doofenshmirtz, or the city at large when Doofenshmirtz’s inventions inevitably backfire.
Heinz Doofenshmirtz, he is a lonely, frustrated, bitter divorcee and evil scientist whose primary social interaction comes through daily fights with a secret agent who is trying to prevent him from fulfilling his dream of ruling the tri-state area.
“The Chronicles of Meap,” Phineas and Ferb He’s a really good listener he even put up with me going on about how great you were! Ha! It’s clear to me now that my real best friend is Perry the Platypus.” “ Well, I don’t even need you anymore! Yeah, I’ve got an even better best friend. 4,398 words of meta, spoilers through S2E6 “Sick Day” of Milo Murphy’s Law