Line #9 Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E20TheWarOfTheSimpsons


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/simpsonswar.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[Music/{{Queen}} "I am the champion! I am the champion! No time for losers, 'cause I am the champion...of the woooooorld!"]][[note]][[OhCrap "Uh-oh..."]][[/note]]]]
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4	'''Original air date:''' 5/2/1991
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6	'''Production code:''' 7F20
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8	When Marge throws a dinner party, Homer gets drunk and makes a fool of himself (even going as far as tricking Maude Flanders into digging for nuts so he can ogle her cleavage) and Marge forces Homer to explain to Bart what he did and go on a marriage retreat (which Homer wants to abandon so he can go after a legendary catfish). Meanwhile, after their babysitter freaks out over memories of Bart trying to run her over with the family car, Grampa Simpson steps in to care for the kids -- and Bart and Lisa take advantage of the old man by making him do whatever they want (eat ice cream instead of dinner, smoke cigars, drink coffee, and have a wild party).
9	----
10	!!Tropes:
11	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Marge lists off everything that bothers her about Homer: self-centeredness, forgetting birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays (religious ''and'' secular), gambling, excessive drinking, hanging out at Moe's every night with bums and lowlifes, keeping her up all night with his snoring, not helping out at home, neglecting the kids...and ends it with ''scratching himself with his keys''.
12	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: When Marge and Homer go to couples counseling, another couple is shown bickering, and throwing mean, petty insults at each other. Then Lovejoy asks them to look into each others' eyes...
13	* BabysittersNightmare: Homer and Marge try to hire a babysitter while they go to a couples retreat. She runs off screaming at the sight of Bart ("Hahaha, come back for more, eh?"), so they decide to have Grampa babysit instead.
14	* TheBore: Even if she obviously was given free rein to say whatever she needed to say (to Tim Lovejoy's eventual regret), Marge still managed to drive everybody to boredom by just not ''stopping '''for a whole afternoon''''' with her rant of what she hates about Homer.
15	* BreakTheMotivationalSpeaker: Downplayed example, but still there. Lovejoy's couples retreat is mentioned to work well, and to provide an example the Reverend manages to help a couple (an {{Expy}} of [[Film/WhosAfraidOfVirginiaWoolf George and Martha]], to boot) in a few seconds. Marge drives the whole group to despairing boredom in the first day of the retreat by giving off the absurdly LongList of flaws Homer has.
16	* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
17	** It's odd to see Grampa with so much self-awareness; he regularly shows suspicion about the kids' intent. Within a season or two he'd be [[{{Flanderization}} flanderized]] to the point of being almost 100% senile.
18	** The thought of ogling another woman, even while drunk, would be anathema to modern Homer.
19	* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
20	-->'''Marge:''' ''(trying to lift a drunk Homer off the floor)'' I've never been so embarrassed in all my life!\
21	'''Homer:''' Why? Whatcha do?\
22	''[aggravated, Marge drops Homer who then passes out]''
23	* CompressedVice: Homer's obsession with fishing pretty much begins and ends in this episode.
24	* ContrivedCoincidence: At the climax, Homer gets to the lake's pier and gets doubts about fishing... but he gets hold of a kid's fishing rod as the kid goes off to do something else. It is then that the General bites the kid's bait, dragging Homer into a boat, which breaks from its mooring ropes and is pulled offshore.
25	* CouchGag: Homer pushes the family off the couch to have it all to himself while the rest of the family sits on the floor.
26	* DisneyDeath: General Sherman is fished and knocked out by Homer and looks legitimately dead in the long period until Homer throws him back in. As Homer and Marge reconcile however, General Sherman suddenly pops out the water and winks at the screen.
27	* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: During Bart and Lisa's party, Nelson gives Abe a hot foot, and Abe attempts to intimidate him by taking his belt off. Cue ComedicUnderwearExposure.
28	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
29	** This is the first use of Nelson's heckling laugh, though here it is ''three'' long drawn "Hah's" instead of two.
30	** Homer and Marge's wedding is implied to be an elaborate party, rather than the hasty ShotgunWedding at a cheap church that it would be shown to have been [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E12IMarriedMarge the following season]].
31	** Flanders mixes up a highly alcoholic beverage, when he later becomes {{Flanderized}} as a teetotaling churchgoer.
32	* EasilyForgiven: While it's subverted ''hard'' in Marge and Maude's case, after Homer is caught ogling Maude, Ned is shown sternly backing him off, though in their next interaction at the retreat, Ned is back to talking quite cheerfully to Homer.
33	* {{Expy}}: The feuding couple at the marriage retreat are caricatures of George and Martha from ''Film/WhosAfraidOfVirginiaWoolf''.
34	* FailedASpotCheck: Homer struggles to find Marge at church despite her trademark hairdo standing out prominently.
35	* FishingEpisode: Homer wants to skip the retreat to go fishing, hoping to land the legendary General Sherman. He agrees not to, but as he holds a fishing pole a kid left behind, General Sherman snags the line and drags Homer into a boat and onto the middle of the lake. Homer ends up catching General Sherman after a long struggle, but when facing an angry Marge upon his return, he lets the fish go and begs for forgiveness.
36	* FlyInTheSoup: Homer puts a fake ice cube with a fly inside on Dr. Hibbert's drink. Hibbert lectures Homer on the dangerous chemicals in the plastic cube, noting that a ''real'' fly would have been safer. Though Homer doesn't listen because he's too busy laughing at how much he fooled Dr. Hibbert.
37	* ItsAllAboutMe: Homer felt he didn't need marriage counselling as he tried to stop Marge from signing them up (either because he genuinely believes he doesn't need it or is just plain lazy to bother doing so). He also tried to use the retreat as an excuse to go fishing. When he gets caught, he lamely tries to make excuses.
38	** Marge also qualifies. Given that the couples are supposed to be learning to compromise, Marge could have met Homer halfway and allowed him to go fishing in the morning as long as he agreed to focus on their marriage during the activities. Instead, she demands that he focus on their marriage for the entire weekend without allowing Homer to partake in his hobby. Unsurprisingly, Homer doesn't go along with that.
39	* JerkassHasAPoint: A minor example for Homer, but during the first group therapy session at the couples retreat Reverend Lovejoy asks the Flanders' why they are there and the reason that Ned gives is that Maude underlines passages in his bible because she can't find her own, to which Homer makes a [[SarcasmMode sarcastic]] comment that it's lucky that they don't keep guns in their house. While Homer was being rude, he is right that the Flanders' are [[SeriousBusiness taking such a small issue and making it out to be worse than what it is.]]
40	* LampshadeWearing: Homer briefly wears a lampshade at the party.
41	* LongList: Homer and Marge go to Reverend Lovejoy's marriage counseling retreat, and Marge is asked to share with the group her husband's flaws.
42	-->'''Marge:''' Well... I-It's not that I don't love the guy. I'm always sticking up for him. It's just that he's so self-centered.\
43	'''Homer:''' ''(gasps)'' Wait! Oh!\
44	'''Rev. Lovejoy:''' Now, Homer...\
45	'''Marge:''' He forgets birthdays, anniversaries, holidays both religious and secular, he chews with his mouth open, he gambles, he hangs out at a seedy bar with bums and lowlifes.\
46	'''Homer:''' ''(sobs)'' It's true! It's all true!\
47	'''Rev. Lovejoy:''' Homer don't interrupt.\
48	'''Homer:''' Sorry.\
49	'''Marge:''' He blows his nose on the towels and puts 'em back in the middle!\
50	'''Homer:''' I only did that a couple of times!\
51	''(following a cut to another scene with the kids taking advantage of Abe, we cut back to the retreat hours later; Marge is still ranting)''\
52	'''Marge:''' ''(hoarsely)'' He drinks out of the carton. He never changes the baby. When he goes to sleep, he makes chewing noises, and when he wakes up, he makes honking noises. Oh, oh, and he scratches himself with his keys. I guess that's it. Oh no, wait, he kicks me in his sleep and his toenails are too long and yellow. That's all I can think of right now. I guess you're all tired, and I want to thank you for letting me get some things off my chest.\
53	''(Homer groans)''
54	* NoodleIncident: A drunken Homer tells Bart to do that "cute thing". Bart doesn't know what that is, so Homer tells him to go to his room.
55	* NotInFrontOfTheKid: The morning after the dinner party, Marge drags him out to the car and turns on "The Mexican Hat Dance" so the kids don't know about them arguing. However Bart Lisa, and even Maggie are very well aware of what's going on. [[OhNoNotAgain Lisa even comments how that song always sends a chill down her spine.]]
56	* OhCrap: Homer lets off a meek "uh oh" when he realizes an angry Marge standing on the dock behind him after he had spent the whole day fishing instead of attending the marriage counsel retreat.
57	* OminousLatinChanting: During the babysitter's flashback of baby Bart nearly running her over.
58	* RefuseToRescueTheDisliked: Discussed. When Dr. Hibbert leaves the party, he notices the position Homer is laying down and tells Marge how to change it if she wants him to live. Dr. Hibbert then reiterates that he means "if".
59	* ReluctantFanserviceGirl: Maude Flanders sports good-looking cleavage in her [[LadyInRed low-cut red dress]]. Indeed, a drunk Homer tricks her into digging for nuts so he can [[EatingTheEyeCandy ogle her cleavage]]. The next day, in church, when Maude sees Homer looking for Marge, she hastily checks to make sure her blouse is fully buttoned.
60	* RuleOfThree: Counting Homer and Marge, three couples visit the retreat. Reverend Lovejoy points out it's the biggest number of couples to ever attend the retreat.
61	* ShoutOut: Homer's battle with General Sherman is similar to ''Literature/TheOldManAndTheSea''.
62	-->'''Homer:''' ''(punching General Sherman)'' I love you! But I must kill you!
63	** Homer's memory of the party parodies Al Hirschfeld's drawing of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algonquin_Round_Table Algonquin Round Table]], a celebrated group of Magazine/TheNewYorker writers known for their witty repartee.
64	* ShroudedInMyth: Homer becomes a local legend for almost catching General Sherman, and starts getting this treatment.
65	* SignatureLaugh: Arguably the first usage of Nelson's iconic "ha ha!", though it's a little bit different here.
66	* SignsOfDisrepair: Bart rearranges the finger sandwich platter Marge laid out for the party, which are arranged to read "Enjoy our party snacks", so that it now reads "Boy, our party sucks."
67	* StealthInsult: Bart's response to Homer explaining his drunken behaviour of the previous night.
68	--> '''Homer:''' I'm sorry it happened, and I just hope you didn't lose a lot of respect for me.\
69	'''Bart:''' Dad, I have as much respect for you as I ever did or ever will.\
70	'''Homer:''' Awww. (''pats Bart's head'')
71	* TallTale: Zigzagged. Everything the old men in the bait shop say about General Sherman is actually true. However, their description of Homer ("seven feet tall, with arms like tree trunks, and hair red as the fires of hell") is obviously false.
72	* TheCatfish: It turns out that General Sherman is not only real, he's every bit as big as the legends claim.
73	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Marge is rightfully angry when she caught Homer after he finished fishing for the whole day instead of attending the marriage counselling retreat. She calls him out that she's trying to save their marriage, but Homer was too preoccupied with trying to fish for a local legend. He lamely tries to defend himself that he "did it for the both of them". Marge doesn't accept his excuse and simply states that all the catching of the fish represents is how [[ItsAllAboutMe incredibly selfish he is]].
74	* TherapyBackfire: Reverend Lovejoy invites Homer and Marge to a couples' retreat to try to help with their marriage. Homer is completely disinterested in getting help, and Marge wastes ''an entire day'' of the retreat giving off the ''absurdly'' LongList of things that bother her about Homer (and Lovejoy, before telling people to go to bed, can just say that it's the first time he's agreed 100% with only one member of the couple, that being Marge).
75	* TrustBuildingBlunder: The trust-fall exercise is part of a marriage retreat run by Rev. Lovejoy, but Homer is out fishing instead. Lovejoy tells Marge, "Even if he were here, I wouldn't recommend it."
76	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: At the party, Ned offers to serve as bartender, and prepares Homer a "Flanders Planter's Punch", a drink that has "three shots of rum, a jigger of bourbon and a little dab-a-roo of Crème de Cassis for flavor.", which seriously intoxicates Homer, embarrassing everybody, especially Marge, setting the stage for the episode's conflict.
77	* WhatTheHellHero: Marge wakes up to find Homer sneaking out to go fishing. She angrily calls him out on it, telling him they're trying to save their marriage. She then asked if he's ''still'' thinking about fishing even while she's berating him.
78	-->'''Homer:''' Is it the time to be honest?\
79	'''Marge:''' ''[[MeatOVision (imagined as]] [[FishPeople a fish person)]]'' Yes!
80	* WoundedGazelleGambit: Grampa finally gets the kids to behave and clean up their mess by pretending to cry so that they'll feel sorry for him.
81	-->'''Lisa:''' Way to go, Grampa.\
82	'''Bart:''' I'll never trust another old person as long as I live.

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS2E20TheWarOfTheSimpsons