The Simpsons’ Best Thanksgiving Episode In Years Breaks A Major Series Rule

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Despite being the show’s strongest holiday episode in years, the latest installment of The Simpsons (season 35, episode 7) bent one of the series’ core writing principles. With over 800 episodes and a feature film under its belt, The Simpsons holds the record as the longest-running scripted primetime show in American television history.

It’s no surprise that the show uses familiar writing techniques honed by the creators of The Simpsons over time. These established guidelines help maintain the series’ quality, and when The Simpsons feels off – either too bleak or unengaging – it’s usually because it’s strayed from these core principles.

Sometimes, the best results come from taking risks. The Simpsons’ Thanksgiving episode from Season 35, titled “It’s a Blunderful Life,” is a great example – it deliberately ignored some of the show’s long-standing rules about consistency and ended up being one of its most successful holiday episodes in recent years. The episode worked so well because it openly acknowledged the show’s complicated history and continuity.

The Simpsons Season 35 Episode 7 Is The Show’s Best Thanksgiving Episode In Years

The episode “It’s a Blunderful Life” begins with elderly Lisa recounting the story to her family – her children and grandchildren – as the Simpsons celebrate Thanksgiving in the year 2083. Similar to the episode “Holidays of Future Passed,” this look at a future Thanksgiving is touching, charming, and surprisingly funnier than many episodes from the current, already-good, season 35.

The story truly gets going when Lisa begins to tell about a past event. She recounts how Homer was wrongly accused of causing a town-wide power outage around Thanksgiving. This happened when Mr. Burns replaced most of the power plant workers with cheaper, non-union labor.

The power outage was actually caused by Mr. Burns, who overloaded an electrical socket while happily preparing to lay off his employees and hire cheaper replacements. However, the best Thanksgiving episode of The Simpsons in recent years unfairly pins the blame on Homer, as the town already sees him as clumsy and prone to accidents.

In the end, Homer’s reputation is restored and Mr. Burns is penalized for the blackout. But the core of the episode focuses on Marge losing faith in Homer when the town blames him for the disaster, going so far as to secretly move their house miles away while everyone is asleep.

“It’s a Blunderful Life” Ignores A Major Simpsons Rule

As a longtime fan, I was surprised by something in the episode “It’s a Blunderful Life.” It seems like the writers broke one of the core rules of The Simpsons! The creators have always said the show has an “elastic canon” – meaning what happens in one episode doesn’t really affect anything later on. But in this episode, everyone in town is upset with Homer and blames him for something, and it only works because he’s always messing things up. It felt like they were actually acknowledging past events, which is usually a no-no!

The show often acts as if past episodes never happened, effectively resetting things after each installment. However, characters within the show will sometimes remind Homer of his past blunders, referencing specific events from earlier episodes – suggesting the town has a better memory than the series itself. Though truly impactful events, like the death of Maude Flanders, do have lasting consequences and become part of the show’s established history, most storylines are quickly forgotten.

This explains why the show can take big risks, like killing off Marge in the season 36 finale with minimal backlash. Likewise, the episode “It’s a Blunderful Life” features Bart dying from boredom during Lisa’s story, but this isn’t necessarily meant to be a permanent or official part of the show’s story.

Generally, The Simpsons thrives because it doesn’t stick to a strict timeline or established rules. The show can bring characters back from the dead, give Homer and Marge new careers, and tell completely outlandish stories without needing to worry about long-term consequences. But in this particular case, abandoning that flexibility is exactly what makes it work.

The Simpsons’ Best Holiday Episodes Prove This Rule Needs To Be Broken

Image courtesy of Everett Collection

“It’s a Blunderful Life” succeeds because it feels like the residents of Springfield are as familiar with Homer and his family as dedicated viewers are. This wouldn’t work if the show constantly changed its established history. For the show to make sense, the townspeople need to remember at least some of the family’s well-known past events, maintaining a sense of continuity.

The Christmas special in The Simpsons‘ 36th season also relied on past events to have an impact. It showed Ned Flanders secretly struggling with his faith after losing his two wives, a storyline that was both heartbreaking and hopeful. However, the emotional weight of this story wouldn’t have been felt without viewers remembering the earlier deaths of Maude and Edna Krabappel.

It can be confusing that The Simpsons sometimes references past episodes but other times completely ignores its own established history. However, holiday specials like “It’s a Blunderful Life” show that these episodes deserve to be different. Their heartwarming stories work best when they build on the show’s long run.

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2025-11-27 15:59