7. Bart vs. Thanksgiving

Episode Title: "Bart vs. Thanksgiving"
Episode Number: 20
Original Air Date: November 22, 1990

Plot Synopsis: It's Thanksgiving and the Simpsons are all getting ready to have a nice holiday dinner. Marge is in the kitchen, preparing a feast. Bart is in the kitchen, annoying Marge. Homer is watching football and dreading the fact that Patty, Selma and Marge's mother are coming over. Maggie is in there, somewhere. Lisa has spent countless hours completing her "labor of love" - a centerpiece honoring important female historical figures. During dinner, Bart sort of accidentally but at the same time not really accidentally throws the centerpiece in the fire. Lisa, appropriately, freaks out. Homer and Marge send Bart to his room, which he thinks is total bullshit. Marge says that Bart ruined Thanksgiving which, to be fair, he totally did.

Bart really, really doesn't feel like apologizing so he decides to run away. When Homer kicks Santa's Little Helper out of the house, they team up and head out onto the streets together. Bart tries to steal food from Mr. Burns' mansion but is chased away by the hounds. Bart, trying to get money for food for him and the dog, gives blood and ends up passing out. Some bums wait for him to come around and take him to a homeless shelter, which is also where Kent Brockman is giving one of those "be thankful for what you have" reports on live TV. Brockman ends up interviewing Bart, which the family sees at home and freaks out about. They call the cops and try to get them to go get Bart from the homeless shelter, but he's long gone.

Instead of going back home, Bart hangs out on the Simpson roof. Bart hears Lisa through some type of air vent, crying in her room because she misses her stupid brother. Bart reveals himself to Lisa and she climbs up onto the roof. Through just a little bit of prodding, Bart realizes that what he did was wrong and wholeheartedly apologizes. They then go back inside and enjoy leftovers from the meal that Bart ruined earlier.

Overall Thoughts: Well, this was a total surprise. I've seen this episode before, probably a bunch of times, but I totally didn't remember how great it is. When I looked over the list of episodes for this season before starting my reviews, this wasn't one of the ones that stuck out to me as a classic. In re-watching it, though, I quickly found out that that's exactly what it is. It may not be the best episode of the season, but that says more about the rest of the season two than it does about "Bart vs. Thanksgiving." This was an absolute joy to watch from beginning to end.

What Works: This episode is a great exploration of Bart and Lisa's relationship. We haven't yet gotten to see a lot of interaction between the two beyond typical sibling fighting stuff, and while "sibling fighting stuff" is pretty much the catalyst of this episode, it still takes a great look at just what they mean to each other. 

Even though Bart totally destroyed Lisa's centerpiece, she still misses him terribly when he runs away to the point where she starts to blame herself. When Bart finally figures out WHY everyone is upset, he apologizes immediately. Lisa and Bart spend a lot of time apart in this episode and it's still successful in what it sets out to do. It also ends on an incredibly sweet moment where Bart and Lisa realize that they love each other and Homer and Marge realize that they're good parents.

This episode is also a terrific look at the concept of "Bart the troublemaker." Bart describes his behavior late in the episode in a very real, honest way: "I don't know why I did it, I don't know why I enjoyed it and I don't know why I'll do it again." He seems almost frustrated by this, which is totally fascinating to me. 

Bart's arc over the course of the episode is wonderful. He actually grows as a person (albeit in a small way) over the course of this half hour. After Lisa's centerpiece goes up in the fireplace, Lisa sums the situation up best: "You don't even care!" By the end of the episode, though, he actually does care. Or, perhaps more appropriately, he realizes that he already cared and just didn't know it. It's a shocking amount of growth for an animated television show.

Self referential humor continues with a Bart Simpson balloon seen on the Thanksgiving Day parade that the family is watching on TV. Now, this is getting dangerously close to the kind of self referential humor I'm not a massive fan of - the kind that breaks the fourth wall in a really obnoxious way. I don't think this gag crosses the line, though, as it's essentially self deprecating. But for my tastes, it gets close.

What Doesn't Work: Bart has a flashback towards the end of the episode that is kind of dumb. He thinks that his family will make fun of him and blame him for literally everything ever if he goes inside, so he goes up on the roof instead. It doesn't make a ton of sense, and it seems like just an excuse to get him up onto the roof.

Also, I've never liked the "Hello? Operator? Get me the number for '911'!" joke. This may very well be the first time it's ever been used for all I know, but it's one of the easiest most obvious jokes in the whole world.

Honestly, It's getting more and more difficult to find legitimate things to put in this section.

Closing Thoughts: Lisa's scream while watching her labor of love burn in a fire will forever haunt me.

The cops Eddie and Lou appear in this episode, but their voices are reversed. Which is weird.

It was really nice to find this little gem hidden in the second season. I really didn't expect it to be as good as it is, and I've always held season two up pretty highly. A wonderful episode all around.

Final Grade (out of 10): 9