28x13 The Great Phatsby (2)

6.9/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale. The second half of this two-parter is more or less what I feared we get when I heard the Simpsons were doing an Empire-themed episode. It still carries over some of the narrative momentum from the (much better) Part 1, but that grinds to a halt as the episode devolves into shoehorned-in and unfunny cameos from a cavalcade of celebrities, and it never really recovers. As nice as it is to have a performer like Taraji. B. Henson on the program, or to have a trio of talented rappers, they're wasted in one-off gags that are lacking in humor or cleverness that weigh everything down.

When the episode gets back to business vis-a-vis Burns and Jay G, it's a little better. The reveal that Jay G only dethroned Burns because it's what Burns said to do in his own book is a nice touch, and the attempted theft of Goosius (and the general design and animation of the cantankerous goose) leads to some amusing moments. And having Smithers's enjoyable ice-capades end up saving the day is a nice touch.

But despite the entertaining reference to Dr. Dre's boy band beginnings, the whole idea of Burns trying to get back at Jay G, bringing in his old running buddy and Bart, and Homer's waffling over loyalty falls flat pretty quickly, especially mixed in with the Look At These Guest Stars portion of the episode.

The B-story of Marge owning a knick-knack shop in Middle-Hampton does the episode no favors either. The parody is to specific and isolated to feel compelling in the kind of observational humor the episode seems to be going for, and the bits aren't funny enough on their own to overcome that.

Overall, this one was a drag that only starts to become good when it finds the Gatsby-Hip Hop throughline again, which is far too late in the proceedings. Despite my reservations, I appreciate The Simpsons getting ambitious and trying for their first hour-long episode in ages, but they only produced enough quality to fill half of it.