"Blood Feud" is another solid episode of The Simpsons. There are some quality gags and character moments in this one, with Homer pretending to be Mr Burns being one of the funniest moments in the show so far. However, I can't help but note how out of character Mr Smithers seems in this one. In "Simpson and Delilah", it is shown that Mr Smithers dislikes Homer. However, in this episode, Mr Smithers has an emotional breakdown when Mr Burns wants Homer beaten up. I can understand him being upset about it, given that Bart saved Mr Burns' life, but an emotional breakdown? Out of character, in my opinion. In saying that, he and Mr Burns going out to buy Homer a gift was a funny little scene.
Overall, a pretty good finale to an improved season of The Simpsons.
[7.3/10] It's been a long time since I watched this episode, and I definitely forgot how funny it is. For one thing, I like the symmetry of the episode's story, which I never really notice before. Both Homer and Mr. Burns fly off the handle, get mad, and nearly do something rash, but their better halves (Marge and Smithers, respectively) help calm them down and balance them out. It's some of that under the hood stuff I didn't notice in the umpteen times I've watched this episode in the past, but which helps make it work.
On top of that, there's just some pure great comedy. Homer butchering the tale of "Hercules and the Lion," both claiming that it's (probably) a bible story and explaining that the lion had riches because it was "olden times" is a knee-slapper of a scene. Similarly, him and Bart scheming to retrieve their angry letter leads to no end of comic gold, including Homer claiming to be Mr. Burns but not remembering his own first name. And my god, the way Homer describes why destroying other people's letters is no big loss, complaining about "dear some guy I never heard of" and "sincerely, some bozo" is a laugh riot.
In addition, there's fun humor elsewhere in the ep, with Lisa training up Maggie on flashcards, an obliviously self-satisfied Mr. Burns writing a memoir about his experience (with the nicely cheesy title of "Will There Ever Be a Rainbow?"), and Otto acting as the world's least qualified drawer of blood.
Plus, there's the fun meta-wink of an ending, where the Simpsons debate the moral of the story, declare that there might be no moral because it's "just a bunch of stuff that happened" but remark that it sure was an interesting few days, in the classic style of a show poking fun at classic sitcom conventions like the end of show wrap-up.
On the whole, it is, like most of Groening-Simon-Brooks years, a little more low key than the show would later become, but still packed with comedy and a well-told story. Well-deserving of being part of the classic era of the show.
You know his blood type? How romantic.
Shout by Caleb PetersBlockedParent2022-02-24T09:01:24Z
Damn, we didn't find out what happened to his book.