athomed

While I'll readily admit the sixth season of The Simpsons has funnier episodes than Homer vs. Patty and Selma, this one still remains one of my favorites from the season. Both Homer and Bart develop throughout the episode. We know more about the characters by the end of the episode than we did at the beginning. That rarely happens in the current, in the 24th, season of The Simpsons.

So Homer invests his money into pumpkins before Halloween and then neglects to sell them off in time to make a profit (or before they rot). This leaves him with a mortgage payment due and no money to pay it. That predicament leads him to Patty and Selma's door for a loan. Many of the episode's laughs come from Homer forcing himself to be nice to his wife's sisters after they make it clear they'll tell Marge about the loan if he isn't. This includes a lot of foot rubs.

Homer goes to these great lengths because he doesn't want to look like a failure who can't provide for his family in front of Marge. I think it would be hard for a man to not sympathize with Homer in this one. In the episode, Bart's manhood (boyhood?) is also questioned as he's forced into ballet and ends up liking it.

The resolution to the episode is especially satisfactory. It's hard for me to find a fault with this one. And why should I? Let's just enjoy it. This is the golden age of The Simpsons as it should be watched.