Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
It's a Blunderful Life
My most common recurring dreams are that I missed an entire semester of class. Weirdly, these dreams seemed to stop when I started school again but I believe they come from not a place of real academic anxiety but the fear that I'm just... an irresponsible dude. Someone who doesn't think before he acts and that can cause people to get hurt. I can be forgetful and while I try to keep promises, sometimes I just space on things. I'm not proud of it and I try to work on it but part of it will always be with me, I think.
In this episode, Marge is getting fed up with Homer's absentmindedness and promise-breaking. Meanwhile, Burns throws a party for the plant workers when he accidentally causes a near meltdown. The town is completely without power and because the event happened when Homer was putting away some garbage and he's known for being accident prone, Homer gets the blame. Homer is hurt but even more so that Marge doesn't believe him. Soon Homer goes from persona non grata to literally being driven out of town; his house is put on top of a mountain while the family is sleeping. Marge eventually decides to believe Homer when he shows he did something rather thoughtful and responsible and eventually Burns is caught and arrested.
After such a strong outing, this is a big disappointment. First, it's a pretty dull variation on a story we've seen before: At Long Last Leave, the episode where the Simpsons are kicked out of town. The town's turned on Homer before and usually for something he's done but even him being falsely accused really didn't add much interest to the proceedings. Even writer Elisabeth Keirnan Averick, who has written three episodes so far and one was pretty good, doesn't seem to have a new take on Springfield's mob mentality. And the fact it's a thanksgiving episode means little because whatever the episode has to say doesn't really tie in to the holiday on any level.
There is a kernel of a good idea in here that Marge verbalizes; the fear of believing in someone who disappointed you before because you don't want to feel like a fool. That is an interesting idea but I feel like the solution isn't a leap of faith or an act of love but a conclusion jumped to; when Homer reveals he is responsible for saving the family's thanksgiving meal, she assumes he's completely telling the truth. It doesn't even seem like an emotional truth for her. The episode treats it like a logical leap that makes sense. But it doesn't.
But what makes less sense is the finale. Lisa then jumps to the conclusion the responsible party is Burns. Oh, but how to catch him. They must have a plan so diabolical that-- oh. They just went to his house and said he did it. And the police arrest him. No evidence. No logic. Just... time's up, let's arrest Mr. Burns. This episode just makes me angrier the more I think about it. Some of the Holiday episodes have the Simpsons lose everything but they have each other, like Miracle on Evergreen Terrace where the family is literally left with an empty house (except a dish towel). It would be more interesting to see the episode not end with an easy fix but Homer does get his family to trust and support him, no matter what. But instead, there's no cleverness, it's just the bad guy is punished barely because time runs out. Season 35 has been OK, but I feel like the hit rate has been going down a bit after the strength of 34. Hopefully we'll see a more consistent success rate with the rest of the season.
My most common recurring dreams are that I missed an entire semester of class. Weirdly, these dreams seemed to stop when I started school again but I believe they come from not a place of real academic anxiety but the fear that I'm just... an irresponsible dude. Someone who doesn't think before he acts and that can cause people to get hurt. I can be forgetful and while I try to keep promises, sometimes I just space on things. I'm not proud of it and I try to work on it but part of it will always be with me, I think.
In this episode, Marge is getting fed up with Homer's absentmindedness and promise-breaking. Meanwhile, Burns throws a party for the plant workers when he accidentally causes a near meltdown. The town is completely without power and because the event happened when Homer was putting away some garbage and he's known for being accident prone, Homer gets the blame. Homer is hurt but even more so that Marge doesn't believe him. Soon Homer goes from persona non grata to literally being driven out of town; his house is put on top of a mountain while the family is sleeping. Marge eventually decides to believe Homer when he shows he did something rather thoughtful and responsible and eventually Burns is caught and arrested.
After such a strong outing, this is a big disappointment. First, it's a pretty dull variation on a story we've seen before: At Long Last Leave, the episode where the Simpsons are kicked out of town. The town's turned on Homer before and usually for something he's done but even him being falsely accused really didn't add much interest to the proceedings. Even writer Elisabeth Keirnan Averick, who has written three episodes so far and one was pretty good, doesn't seem to have a new take on Springfield's mob mentality. And the fact it's a thanksgiving episode means little because whatever the episode has to say doesn't really tie in to the holiday on any level.
There is a kernel of a good idea in here that Marge verbalizes; the fear of believing in someone who disappointed you before because you don't want to feel like a fool. That is an interesting idea but I feel like the solution isn't a leap of faith or an act of love but a conclusion jumped to; when Homer reveals he is responsible for saving the family's thanksgiving meal, she assumes he's completely telling the truth. It doesn't even seem like an emotional truth for her. The episode treats it like a logical leap that makes sense. But it doesn't.
But what makes less sense is the finale. Lisa then jumps to the conclusion the responsible party is Burns. Oh, but how to catch him. They must have a plan so diabolical that-- oh. They just went to his house and said he did it. And the police arrest him. No evidence. No logic. Just... time's up, let's arrest Mr. Burns. This episode just makes me angrier the more I think about it. Some of the Holiday episodes have the Simpsons lose everything but they have each other, like Miracle on Evergreen Terrace where the family is literally left with an empty house (except a dish towel). It would be more interesting to see the episode not end with an easy fix but Homer does get his family to trust and support him, no matter what. But instead, there's no cleverness, it's just the bad guy is punished barely because time runs out. Season 35 has been OK, but I feel like the hit rate has been going down a bit after the strength of 34. Hopefully we'll see a more consistent success rate with the rest of the season.