[8.6/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Anybody fool enough to follow my reviews here has probably already heard me gush about Matt Selman as the scribe-to-beat among late era Simpsons writers, but it’s still striking how much better he’s able to channel the vibe of the golden years of the show than his contemporaries. Not all of the jokes here are home runs, but they’re all solid, flow from an emotionally impactful and logically progressing story, and have the sorts of fun homages and little touches that marked the show when it was at its best.
I liked the A-story about Bart and Nelson’s tempestuous friendship. For one thing, there was just a lot of solid comedy. Everything from the Goodfellas homage to Lisa being the one to “hah-haw” to Skinner telling Nelson to “hold his buddy tight” whilst oblivious to Nelson’s menacing were good chuckles. But I also like the psychological element of the whole thing.
I’ll admit, it’s a little awkward to put Bart and Nelson in the elementary school chum equivalent of an abusive relationship, replete with a “look what you made me do” moment. But I did like that Bart is right to be wary of Nelson given that he can “admittedly be a jerk” and go kind of crazy with jealousy in a scary way, and yet Nelson’s right that Bart wasn’t a good friend either, hanging with Nelson for the spillover benefits rather than appreciating Nelson for who he is. There’s a complexity there that the show doesn't elide, which I always admire. And the ending resets things to the status quo, while giving Nelson a moment of redemption and giving Bart something to think about, Brokeback-style.
The B-story is a lot of fun too. Riffing on Harry Potter is pretty easy, but I like how Selman and company frame it around the father-daughter element, namely Homer trying to figure out how Lisa will deal with a major character deaths. The little gags about J.K. Rowling’s naming conventions and overinvested adult fans (not that such jokes could ever apply to me, naturally) are fun, and yet I really appreciate the sweetness of Homer’s excitement to read to Lisa and concern about how she’ll take Greystash kicking the enchanted bucket. Lisa deciding that she likes Homer’s hastily-cobbled together happy ending better is a sweet button (no pun intended) to put on the story.
Overall, this is an eminently enjoyable episode, with a complicated but funny A-story, and a silly but sweet B-story. It’s another late season entry from Selman that makes me wish he had the opportunity to take over the show.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2019-04-17T05:50:03Z
[8.6/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Anybody fool enough to follow my reviews here has probably already heard me gush about Matt Selman as the scribe-to-beat among late era Simpsons writers, but it’s still striking how much better he’s able to channel the vibe of the golden years of the show than his contemporaries. Not all of the jokes here are home runs, but they’re all solid, flow from an emotionally impactful and logically progressing story, and have the sorts of fun homages and little touches that marked the show when it was at its best.
I liked the A-story about Bart and Nelson’s tempestuous friendship. For one thing, there was just a lot of solid comedy. Everything from the Goodfellas homage to Lisa being the one to “hah-haw” to Skinner telling Nelson to “hold his buddy tight” whilst oblivious to Nelson’s menacing were good chuckles. But I also like the psychological element of the whole thing.
I’ll admit, it’s a little awkward to put Bart and Nelson in the elementary school chum equivalent of an abusive relationship, replete with a “look what you made me do” moment. But I did like that Bart is right to be wary of Nelson given that he can “admittedly be a jerk” and go kind of crazy with jealousy in a scary way, and yet Nelson’s right that Bart wasn’t a good friend either, hanging with Nelson for the spillover benefits rather than appreciating Nelson for who he is. There’s a complexity there that the show doesn't elide, which I always admire. And the ending resets things to the status quo, while giving Nelson a moment of redemption and giving Bart something to think about, Brokeback-style.
The B-story is a lot of fun too. Riffing on Harry Potter is pretty easy, but I like how Selman and company frame it around the father-daughter element, namely Homer trying to figure out how Lisa will deal with a major character deaths. The little gags about J.K. Rowling’s naming conventions and overinvested adult fans (not that such jokes could ever apply to me, naturally) are fun, and yet I really appreciate the sweetness of Homer’s excitement to read to Lisa and concern about how she’ll take Greystash kicking the enchanted bucket. Lisa deciding that she likes Homer’s hastily-cobbled together happy ending better is a sweet button (no pun intended) to put on the story.
Overall, this is an eminently enjoyable episode, with a complicated but funny A-story, and a silly but sweet B-story. It’s another late season entry from Selman that makes me wish he had the opportunity to take over the show.