Last night, we finally got to say goodbye to America’s favorite and long-running TV family. Remember Mr. Plow? Or that time Marge Simpson had a feud with Barbara Bush? Who could forget that time Mr. Burns got shot? Of course, there’s no need to get too misty-eyed, because The Simpsons series finale is, thankfully, yet another joke.
Season 36 kicked off September 29 with another conceptual episode much in the vein of season 11’s “Behind the Laughter” or season 8’s “Simpsons Spin-off Showcase.” This very special episode was hosted by an animated Conan O’Brien, who wrote a few of the best episodes of all time, including “Marge Vs. The Monorail” and “Homer Goes to College.”
What Happened on The Simpsons Finale?
The former writer introduces the show, which he claims was written by an AI called HackGPT. As the show is happening, O’Brien argues with this AI, often coming down on the losing side. The episode is full of last episode cliches. Comic Book Guy and his wife Kumicko are assisted in giving birth by Cena. Principal Skinner talks about leaving Springfield to have adventures in Sacramento (possible spinoff?), all with the running gag of multiple characters uttering the line “I’m going to miss this place.”
This star-studded goodbye also has special appearances by John Cena, Joel McHale, Amy Sedaris, Tom Hanks, Seth Rogan, and the return of Danny Devito as Homer’s half-brother Herb Powell. As heartfelt as the show was, the end is capped off with O’Brien commanding HackGPT to write 800 more episodes.
The Simpsons is thankfully, not ending, at least not yet. The “Simpsons finale” is another in a long line of episodes with floating canon. After all, how many times have we heard the story of how Marge and Homer met? In one particularly embarrassing version, Homer was a marginally popular grunge band leader. I’ll take barbershop quartet Homer, any day.
The Simpsons finale is a great reminder that The Simpsons will likely always be here. After 36 seasons, the vibe has shifted a handful of times, with varying success. But it’s still making headlines, and it’s still providing the world with laughs.
No matter what era you love, it’s nice to know Bart, Lisa, and the rest are still out there, as a wise man once said, “taking her easy for all us sinners.”
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