Warning: This artcile contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 3, “Desperately Seeking Lisa”
AlthoughThe Simpsonsseason 36, episode 3 isn’t perfect, the outing did take a big risk that paid off handsomely for the show’s creators. WhileThe Simpsons’ season 37 renewalhas not yet been announced, it seems like a pretty sure thing. After over 35 years on the air and over 760 episodes, it is hard to imagineThe Simpsonsfacing cancelation. This hasn’t necessarily been good for the show’s reputation, as the series has become such a pop culture mainstay that it is tough to seeThe Simpsonsas a daring, provocative show in its current incarnation.
The Simpsons Season 36 Brought Back The Show’s Controversial “Homer Strangles Bart” Gag - But AI Is To Blame
The Simpsons season 36 premiere brought back one of Homer and Bart’s most controversial gags, but there was a good justification for this twist.
The Simpsonscould reasonably be accused of coasting in its fourth decade, but this isn’t quite fair. Although seasons 30-33 were notably weak, the writing of seasons 34 and 35 took some impressive risks that elevated the show’s critical standing.The Simpsonsseason 36’s premierecontinued this approach with a bizarrely ambitious meta episode that purported to be an in-universe “Series finale.” This episode showed that the series still has fresh ideas, even if the next episode ofThe Simpsonsseason 36 brokethe show’s promising trend of killing off irrelevant recurring characters to keep viewers on their toes.
The Simpsons Season 36 Episode 3 Focused Entirely On Lisa
Marge Bart Homer and Maggie Barely Appeared In ”Desperately Seeking Lisa”
The Simpsonscontinued the show’s hot streak of experimental episodes with season 36, episode 3, ”Desperately Seeking Lisa.””Desperately Seeking Lisa” barely featured members of the Simpson family other than Lisa, a daring approach that allowed the outing to truly center Lisa’s unique perspective. This was a fun experiment, but ”Desperately Seeking Lisa” wasn’t rooted entirely in novelty. Ignoring the rest of the Simpson family was necessary to give Lisa’s character arc sufficient screen time, and dropping the rest of the Simpsons allowed Lisa to prove just how independent she could be when she ventured into Capitol City alone.
”Desperately Seeking Lisa” began with the Simpson family dropping Lisa off at the train station to spend the weekend in Capitol City with Patty and Selma. Lisa and Marge were embroiled in a fight, but this turned out to be less relevant to the episode’s story than it seemed. In a surprising twist, the Simpson family members didn’t appear again until two-thirds of the way through the episode. Even then, they only featured for a few seconds as Lisa attempted to call home and no one noticed. The rest of the episode’s entire runtime was devoted to Lisa’s misadventure.
The Simpsons Rarely Centers Only One Family Member
The Simpsons Typically Incorporates The Rest Of The Family Via A B-Story
Almost every episode ofThe Simpsonsfocuses on one family member over the rest of the clan,as evidenced byseason 36’s premiere “Bart’s Birthday”focusing primarily on Bart’s internal journey. However, it is less common forThe Simpsonsto center on one character so heavily that the rest of the family scarcely appears in the episode. This has happened on occasion, asThe Simpsonshas attempted all manner of ambitious experiments during its decades on the air. For example, season 8, episode 9, “El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer),” primarily centered on Homer.
“Homer’s Adventures Through the Windshield Glass” saw Homer’s out-of-body experience during a car crash dominate the episode’s action.
Homer’s hallucinatory vision quest took up almost all of that acclaimed outing and, in a more recent example, season 34, episode 22, “Homer’s Adventures Through the Windshield Glass” saw Homer’s out-of-body experience during a car crash dominate the episode’s action. However, these two outings have one thing in common. Both episodes focus on Homer, the show’s unofficial main character. It is less surprising forThe Simpsonsto dismiss Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie in favor of its de facto protagonist than it is for the series to center on Lisa for an entire outing, yet “Desperately Seeking Lisa” did just this.
”Desperately Seeking Lisa” Proved Lisa Is Central To The Simpsons
Lisa’s Search For Purpose Was Surprisingly Compelling
Most of the episodes thatcould have beenThe Simpsonsseries finalehave the same thing in common. From season 23, episode 19, “A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again,” to season 19, episode 9, “Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind,” these outings typically prize one family member’s perspective over the rest.The Simpsonsexcels when the show focuses on one character, since this allows the series to delve deeper into their story and flesh out their motivations further than the show can usually manage within its twenty-minute episode’s runtime. In these episodes,The Simpsonstranscends its limitations.
The Simpsonshas given viewers contradictory glimpses into Lisa’s future before.
“Desperately Seeking Lisa” achieves this with a warped parody of director Martin Scorsese’s black comedyAfter Hoursthat doubles as an insight into Lisa’s uncertain future.The Simpsonshas given viewers contradictory glimpses into Lisa’s future before, but her experience of hanging around with pretentious artists and finally feeling at home was a poignant reminder of her struggles with small-town Springfield. The revelation that the artists were using her for funding was a brutal twist, and Lisa’s ingenuity in outsmarting them was a brilliant reminder of her appeal. Despite her pretensions, Lisa has always been a daring iconoclast.
The Simpsons Season 36 Keeps The Show’s Best Recent Trend Alive
”Desperately Seeking Lisa” Is The Show’s Latest Oddball Experiment
By rejecting the allure of these poseurs and returning home to Springfield,Lisa asserted her independence and her authenticity in “Desperately Seeking Lisa.”The episode was a perfect standalone showcase for the character that proved she has never been the one-dimensional know-it-all the show’s lesser seasons sometimes depict her as. Moreover, ”Desperately Seeking Lisa” reaffirmed the show’s commitment to its new, inventive approach to storytelling. Season 34 of the series featured the first full-length Treehouse of Horror special, wherein the show parodied Stephen King’sIt, and an entire episode of meta “Unaired scenes” that mocked various fan theories about the show.
Meanwhile, season 35 turned its focus to Marge with two trippy outings, “A Mid-Childhood Night’s Dream” and “Clan of the Cave Mom,” that realized her internal world in vivid terms. This same season killed off a recurring character for the first time in years, and season 35, episode 7, “It’s A Blunderful Life” jumped ahead into the future to depict Homer and Bart’s deaths.The Simpsonsseason 36 premiere keptthis exciting trend alive, and now ”Desperately Seeking Lisa” is further proof thatThe Simpsonsrefuses to rest on its laurels as the show continues into its thirty-sixth year.
