[4.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] This is a pretty embarrassing follow-up to “Holidays of Future Passed”, another future-set episode which was an unexpectedly heartening and quality outing from the show, one that was earmarked to be the series finale if necessary.
This is a trash pile by comparison. “Days of Future Future” tries to follow the same approach, but zigs where the prior episode zags, and in all the wrong directions. It again gives us three stories, one for Bart, one for Lisa, and one for Marge & Homer. But while its predecessor focused on parent/child relationships, this one focuses on relationships between partners.
That’s a weak move that does no one any favors. We’ve done Homer/Marge relationship drama so many times that the well’s been trapped dry to begin with. Even if it hadn’t been, Marge throwing Homer out because he’s stupidly died so many times that now he’s just a digital head in a screen is so weird and relatable that it has no force.
Oddly, the best of them is Lisa and Milhouse, and even that’s pretty meh. Milhouse gets a case of zombieism, and Lisa finds the new Milhouse more dashing and attractive than in his wussy, pre-zombie state. It too is a weird premise, but it’s basically the C-story here that exists just for laughs, which gives it some cover, even though it hits some retrograde, sitcom-y, and even toxic masculinity-embracing tropes.
The A-story centers on Bart having to get over his ex, Jenda. (First seen in “Future-Drama”.) It’s a weak story to begin with, especially when it too devolves into retrograde sitcom tropes, especially when Bart and Jenda get back together. The existence of Jenda’s condescending new boyfriend is another tepid trope, even when the show makes him a xenomorph. And the “it was all a dream to get you to an emotionally satisfied place” ending not only renders the events the audience watched all but pointless, it’s a Groening self-ripoff from a similarly-premised Futurama episode.
Plus the endings to all these stories are so grim and/or confusing, rather than the heartwarming endings in the last Future installment. Marge kills herself to join Homer in a digital space and maybe they both die together in the digital world? What the hell? The show undoes Lisa transforming Milhouse back from being a zombie. And the less said about Bart’s ending, the better.
Plus, the humor in this one is really bad. While the last “____ of Future ____” episode had some good bits about how life has changed thirty years down the line, all this episode has to offer is Candy Crush gags, lazy Terminator/Star Wars references, and nigh-nonsensical hybrid-animal jokes. There’s a couple decent gags (the “Now I know why they call you Miss Hoover” fake-out is a good one), but overall, there’s scant laughs here.
On the whole, this is a bad episode on its own, but it feels even worse considering it’s a follow-up to one of the best post-classic episodes we’ve had.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-01-01T21:43:00Z
[4.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] This is a pretty embarrassing follow-up to “Holidays of Future Passed”, another future-set episode which was an unexpectedly heartening and quality outing from the show, one that was earmarked to be the series finale if necessary.
This is a trash pile by comparison. “Days of Future Future” tries to follow the same approach, but zigs where the prior episode zags, and in all the wrong directions. It again gives us three stories, one for Bart, one for Lisa, and one for Marge & Homer. But while its predecessor focused on parent/child relationships, this one focuses on relationships between partners.
That’s a weak move that does no one any favors. We’ve done Homer/Marge relationship drama so many times that the well’s been trapped dry to begin with. Even if it hadn’t been, Marge throwing Homer out because he’s stupidly died so many times that now he’s just a digital head in a screen is so weird and relatable that it has no force.
Oddly, the best of them is Lisa and Milhouse, and even that’s pretty meh. Milhouse gets a case of zombieism, and Lisa finds the new Milhouse more dashing and attractive than in his wussy, pre-zombie state. It too is a weird premise, but it’s basically the C-story here that exists just for laughs, which gives it some cover, even though it hits some retrograde, sitcom-y, and even toxic masculinity-embracing tropes.
The A-story centers on Bart having to get over his ex, Jenda. (First seen in “Future-Drama”.) It’s a weak story to begin with, especially when it too devolves into retrograde sitcom tropes, especially when Bart and Jenda get back together. The existence of Jenda’s condescending new boyfriend is another tepid trope, even when the show makes him a xenomorph. And the “it was all a dream to get you to an emotionally satisfied place” ending not only renders the events the audience watched all but pointless, it’s a Groening self-ripoff from a similarly-premised Futurama episode.
Plus the endings to all these stories are so grim and/or confusing, rather than the heartwarming endings in the last Future installment. Marge kills herself to join Homer in a digital space and maybe they both die together in the digital world? What the hell? The show undoes Lisa transforming Milhouse back from being a zombie. And the less said about Bart’s ending, the better.
Plus, the humor in this one is really bad. While the last “____ of Future ____” episode had some good bits about how life has changed thirty years down the line, all this episode has to offer is Candy Crush gags, lazy Terminator/Star Wars references, and nigh-nonsensical hybrid-animal jokes. There’s a couple decent gags (the “Now I know why they call you Miss Hoover” fake-out is a good one), but overall, there’s scant laughs here.
On the whole, this is a bad episode on its own, but it feels even worse considering it’s a follow-up to one of the best post-classic episodes we’ve had.