Originally aired: December 1, 2019
When Todd blames God for the death of his mother and rejects his faith, Ned sends him to live with the Simpsons in an attempt to scare him back into God's arms.
This episode has examples of:
- Abusive Dad: Ned puts his faith before his own son, who's having a crisis of faith due to losing memories of his mother. He kicks him out of his home so he'd be scared by the Simpsons so much he'll have no choice but to believe in God again.
- Aside Glance: Ned gives two to the audience when he first condemns Rod for the sin of Pride, and later when Marge's last idea to read Todd "Everyone Poops" is turned down.
- Ned: Not me! (squicks at the audience)
- The B Grade: When Moleman hits Homer and Ned, Lindsay Nagle calls it "the worse Uber ride" and proceeds to give him 4 stars. Moleman reacts with a drawn out "Nooooooo...." Justified as Uber drivers will be disciplined for three or fewer stars, so four stars is actually only barely passing.
- The Blank: Todd's dreams of his mother has her without a face, because he's forgetting what she looked like.
- Black Comedy: Most of Springfield sets a vigil for Ned. Next to them is a vigil for Homer consisting of Moe, Lenny, and Duffman holding a picture of Homer.Duffman: Vigils are a surprisingly large part of this job. Oh yeah! So sad!
- Brick Joke: Moe charges Ned $24 for each glass of beer and eventually puts on a fur coat that has a price tag of $2,400. When Homer and Ned wake up in the hospital, Dr. Hibbert is wearing a fur coat that costs $24,000 and says they both owe him $12,000.
- The Bus Came Back: Homer reunites with his mother in Heaven.
- Christianity is Catholic: Although, Homer and Flanders are Protestant, it turns out Catholics are right about Mary. We get to see angels kneel before her in heaven.
- Couch Gag: The Flandereseses opening doesn't have a couch for them, because Ned happily donated it to the homeless, much to his kids' joy.
- Crazy-Prepared: During the first chorus scene, one gets a package delivered. It's an umbrella, which the guy uses when Homer, who was watering his lawn, turns the hose on them.
- Crisis of Faith: Todd stops believing in God because he can't comprehend a God who would take his mommy away.
- A Day in the Limelight: This episode is centered on the Flanders, particularly Todd.
- Dream Within a Dream: Subverted. Todd has a nightmare about Maude being faceless and goes to Ned. Then Rod walks in seemingly with no face, either, but he's just wearing a sleep mask.
- Felony Misdemeanor: When Ned sends Todd to live with the Simpsons, Rod asks if Ned loves him more now. Ned says that merely asking is the sin of pride. Later, he asks Marge to read Todd a good bedtime story. Marge says she'll read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". Ned says that celebrates gluttony. Marge suggests "Clifford the Big Red Dog". Ned calls Clifford a satanic abomination.
- Flashback: Homer remembers being a child and overhearing his parents screaming at each other right before Mona left.
- Greek Chorus: A choir of Christmas singers functions as this throughout the episode.
- Hidden Depths: Dolph turns out to be rather devout.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Bart prays for Homer to recover, though he claims he only asked for a new bike.
- Hypocrite:
- Ned disowns Todd for having a crisis of faith over the death of his mother, despite Ned having the same crisis of faith when Maude died. Then again, he may have considered it his shame, since he immediately drives to church while repeatedly saying "sorry" to God.
- Lisa praises Todd for renouncing his faith but later on she tries to convert him to Buddhism, a completely different faith. Todd calls her out on it.Todd: Maybe I'll reconsider your stupid beliefs when I come back as a worm!
- Hollywood Atheist: Everyone in church gasps when Todd states that he doesn't believe in God... except Lisa who gives him a thumbs up.
- Hypocritical Humor: After Homer and Ned fall down drunk on the bar's floor, Barney observes them from his stool and says he now understands what it feels like to look down on someone. He then lets out a drunken burp.
- I Have No Son!: Or rather, "I Have Only One Son", as Ned kicks out Todd to scare him into believing in God again.
- In Vino Veritas: Homer and Ned bond over a few beers at Moe's. They get so drunk even Barney looks down on them.
- Irony:
- Ned banishes Todd to the Simpsons in order to scare him into believing in God, but it's actually Marge who convinces Todd to pray again. To drive this point further, it's Ned's near-death experience that scares Todd into listening to Marge.
- Homer may have bonded with Todd over the loss of their mothers, but he was also responsible for Maude's accident.
- Jerkass Ball:
- Ned tries to emotionally manipulate Todd into believing in God again since he's having a crisis of faith due to Maude's death, then disowns him and kicks him out when it doesn't work.
- Lisa doesn't hesitate to take advantage of Todd's faith crisis to try and convert him over to Buddhism. Todd rightfully calls her out on it.
- Karma Houdini: Hans Moleman hits Homer and Ned while driving and his only punishment is getting only 4 out of 5 stars from his passenger. Given what kind of Karma poor Moleman usually gets inflicted with, this was practically a Karmic Jackpot for him.
- Lack of Empathy: Ned disowns Todd for having a crisis of faith over the death of his mother, despite Ned having the same crisis of faith when Maude died.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Ned disowns Todd and sends him to live with the Simpsons in the hope that they'd traumatize him into believing in God again. Later on, it's Ned's near-death experience that scares Todd back to believing in God, not the Simpsons. Adding onto that, in the epilogue, while Maude's ghost kisses both Rod and Todd goodnight, Edna's ghost just laughs at Ned.
- Magical Realism:
- Homer and Ned actually meet God in Heaven. While God has appeared before, there is little to suggest it's a dream sequence. It's also implied that Todd and Bart's prayers helped them to recover.
- In the stinger, Lisa meets with Buddha...he threatens her with the loss of Nirvana after she fails to convert Todd. Ralph Wiggum later blows his mind.
- Multiple-Choice Past: This episode made it sound like Mona left Abe over a bad marriage when in her debut episode, she left Homer and Abe because she was a fugitive.
- Missing Mom: The episode deals with both Todd and Homer grieving over their dead mothers.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: One of Homer's biggest shames about his mother is that he never got to bid her farewell before she died, but he gets his wish when he meets her in heaven.
- Only Mostly Dead: Homer and Ned end up in Heaven, but their bodies are still on life support. As such, the passes that God gives them indicate they're just visitors.
- Personalized Afterlife: Played with. Heaven is one place, but people see what pleases them. Ned hangs out with Maude and Edna. Homer gets suckling pigs.
- Pet the Dog: The bullies don't harass Todd.
- Scare 'Em Straight: Ned does this by banishing Todd to the Simpsons until he regains his faith.
- School Play: Ned calls Reverend Lovejoy while he's at his daughter's ballet recital. The kids are stumbling all over the stage, and the parents, Lovejoy included, are desperate to leave. Dr. Hibbert's wife goes so far as to pull the fire alarm only for the handle to break.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Ned prays for God to scare Todd back to his faith and even banishes Todd to the Simpsons, hoping he'd regain his faith through fear. Instead, Todd doesn't regain his faith until Ned has a near-death experience after being hit by a car.
- Special Edition Title: This episode has an alternate version of the opening, centered on the Flanders family (or as the title puts it, The Flandereseses).
- Swear Jar: Ned has one and uses it. He also 3 other jars for impure thoughts, pants too tight, and untrimmed mustache.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Todd rightfully calls Lisa out when she tries to take advantage of his Crisis of Faith to convert him to Buddhism.
