Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss unfortunately didn’t add much to the show other than being the vessel for HoJu, although there were lots of laughs in the elevator delivery scene between Gretchen’s labor reminding Homer of a scene from Alien (not the one you think) and answering yes to the question “do you have a cell phone?” before adding, “Mine’s at home.” The whole elevator scene played quite well as it reminds us that while Homer can be oafish, he can also be quite sweet. At this point I must also credit the seemingly increased complexity of Homer’s brain, running through a complete simulation of Marge’s reaction to the news of Gretchen and HoJu before coming up with a lie. It was definitely a bad lie that was completely suspicious, but still, give credit where credit is due.
Lisa’s adventure this week wasn’t as emotionally impacting as Homer’s, but it was a good time just the same. Of course, a lot of that came at the expense of poor Milhouse, still hopelessly in love with Lisa and trying to spin them into a relationship whenever the opportunity presents itself. Lisa teaches the cheerleaders that collective bargaining will allow us to secure concessions, like getting a piece of all that lucrative Springfield Atomettes merchandise that’s advertised at the end of the episode, but something tells me the crummy replacement cheerleaders including Patty, Selma, Nelson’s mom, and the Crazy Cat Lady had something to do with it too. Also, I love the bit where the striking cheerleaders are so antsy about being unable to cheer that they’ll venerate anyone, including Grandpa.
As for HoJu, Homer’s attempt to integrate him with the rest of the Simpsons clan lead to a disastrous trip to the zoo, a potential rivalry between Maggie and HoJu, and ultimately more therapy for Bart and Lisa. Despite any monkey antagonizing, it was refreshing to see a Homer story that has little to do with him being stupid, ignorant and childish and instead deals with him genuinely trying to help a stranger. Granted, he put his own family on the backburner to be a stand-up guy for Gretchen, but it’s hard to deny the very touching bond that he and the baby developed over the course of the episode. As the saying goes, charity begins at home, but no one ever says which home.
And regardless of any other considerations, HoJu will be held up forever as one of two things named after Homer, the other being a by-law banning the use of air horns after 3 am. Talk about accomplishment.
What did you think of this week’s episode of The Simpsons? Let us know in the comments below.
