[8.5/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] The thing I like so much about episodes showrun by Matt Selman is that he roots the conflict of an episode in the characters. Sure, theoretically “Wad Goals” is about the excesses of golf and privilege vs. hard work and even tax exemptions. But it’s really about Marge worrying about her son.
At the end of the day, the episode comes down to what kind of man Marge’s special little guy is going to grow up to be. Bart finds a lucrative pathway when caddying for Springfield’s elite, and earning big tips in exchange for sucking up to them. Marge is initially proud of her son, but then witnesses his sycophantry in action and is repulsed by it.
What’s funny is that it’s difficult to articulate why Marge is so put off, and yet it feels comprehensible on a visceral level. First there’s something dishonest about it as Bart puffs up these well-heeled jerks to get in their good graces. And second there’s something a little uncomfortable about the power dynamic, where an employee paid in tips flatters their would-be masters in exchange for financial remuneration. To be frank, that’s how a lot of the world works, something Bart eems to intuitively understand (or at least take advantage of), but there’s something legitimately uncomfortable about it, and it makes emotional sense why Marge responds the way she does.
At the same time, you get Bart’s enthusiasm. He’s making his own money, able to buy things like ice cream and backyard pools and rubber bands for his ever-expanding “wad”, and he’s actually good at this job! There’s the sense of him as the famed “temporarily embarrassed millionaire”, content to play the suck-up game for now because he envisions himself one day being the guy sucked up to if he keeps climbing the ladder. The two characters’ goals, conflicts, and how the game of golf factors into both are clear and palpable.
The episode can also boast some of that sharp societal commentary that used to be the show’s calling card. The back and forth with Marge petitioning to have the golf course’s tax exempt status revoked, only for the club to transform itself into a church to maintain it, takes aim at the mercenary sort of privilege and power these sorts of old money institutions can maintain. There’s lots of good gags packed into these sequences too, including some layered jokes (Homer padding his wad with dryer sheets and storming off with socks clinging to his back was a good one), and some amusing if inevitable references to Caddyshack.
But my favorite part is how the personal and political dovetail together here. After her efforts to shut down the golf course are thwarted, Marge tells Bart that one of the things she always liked about him is that he never needed anyone else’s approval. It spurs a change of heart in the special little guy, especially when he learns from the head of the golf course (Stephen Root, stellar as always), that his goal of one day becoming part of the upper crust is a pipe dream, with Bart’s smarts and flattery leaving him used rather than rewarded by those types. His “spread the wealth” rebellion with the chums he once put himself above -- a sign of him internalizing the golf club members’ values now rejected -- is a fun symbolic rebuke of all that.
The only major ding against this episode is the ending, which sees the golf course/religion shut down for being a sex cult, which seems pretty random. Otherwise, this episode would fit comfortably in with the classic years, full of good gags, potent commentary, and a great Simpson family conflict that rests on the relationship between mother and child.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-03-03T22:58:09Z
[8.5/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] The thing I like so much about episodes showrun by Matt Selman is that he roots the conflict of an episode in the characters. Sure, theoretically “Wad Goals” is about the excesses of golf and privilege vs. hard work and even tax exemptions. But it’s really about Marge worrying about her son.
At the end of the day, the episode comes down to what kind of man Marge’s special little guy is going to grow up to be. Bart finds a lucrative pathway when caddying for Springfield’s elite, and earning big tips in exchange for sucking up to them. Marge is initially proud of her son, but then witnesses his sycophantry in action and is repulsed by it.
What’s funny is that it’s difficult to articulate why Marge is so put off, and yet it feels comprehensible on a visceral level. First there’s something dishonest about it as Bart puffs up these well-heeled jerks to get in their good graces. And second there’s something a little uncomfortable about the power dynamic, where an employee paid in tips flatters their would-be masters in exchange for financial remuneration. To be frank, that’s how a lot of the world works, something Bart eems to intuitively understand (or at least take advantage of), but there’s something legitimately uncomfortable about it, and it makes emotional sense why Marge responds the way she does.
At the same time, you get Bart’s enthusiasm. He’s making his own money, able to buy things like ice cream and backyard pools and rubber bands for his ever-expanding “wad”, and he’s actually good at this job! There’s the sense of him as the famed “temporarily embarrassed millionaire”, content to play the suck-up game for now because he envisions himself one day being the guy sucked up to if he keeps climbing the ladder. The two characters’ goals, conflicts, and how the game of golf factors into both are clear and palpable.
The episode can also boast some of that sharp societal commentary that used to be the show’s calling card. The back and forth with Marge petitioning to have the golf course’s tax exempt status revoked, only for the club to transform itself into a church to maintain it, takes aim at the mercenary sort of privilege and power these sorts of old money institutions can maintain. There’s lots of good gags packed into these sequences too, including some layered jokes (Homer padding his wad with dryer sheets and storming off with socks clinging to his back was a good one), and some amusing if inevitable references to Caddyshack.
But my favorite part is how the personal and political dovetail together here. After her efforts to shut down the golf course are thwarted, Marge tells Bart that one of the things she always liked about him is that he never needed anyone else’s approval. It spurs a change of heart in the special little guy, especially when he learns from the head of the golf course (Stephen Root, stellar as always), that his goal of one day becoming part of the upper crust is a pipe dream, with Bart’s smarts and flattery leaving him used rather than rewarded by those types. His “spread the wealth” rebellion with the chums he once put himself above -- a sign of him internalizing the golf club members’ values now rejected -- is a fun symbolic rebuke of all that.
The only major ding against this episode is the ending, which sees the golf course/religion shut down for being a sex cult, which seems pretty random. Otherwise, this episode would fit comfortably in with the classic years, full of good gags, potent commentary, and a great Simpson family conflict that rests on the relationship between mother and child.