Homer and the rest of the town (save Marge, Reverend Lovejoy, Flanders, Mr. Burns, Smithers, and Groundskeeper Willie) are brainwashed into joining a cult. Meanwhile, Mr. Burns creates a cult of his own to get tax-exempt status.
Tropes:
- Army Of Lawyers
- Church of Happyology: "I should have stuck with the promise-keepers..."
- Deprogram
- I Take Offense to That Last One: One attempt to brainwash Homer has him being subjected to harsh criticism by several people at once. After gleefully agreeing with insult after hate-filled insult, Moe finally mentions Homer's armpit smell; Homer is about to object, but he gets a whiff himself and promptly changes his tune.
- Jerkass: This episode is the first time Homer uses the word ("Outta my way, jerkass!"), but the online fans are the ones who used the word to describe Homer's change in personality (in the early episodes, he was dumb and a little mean, but still did the right thing when he needed to. Now, he's a childish moron with no regard for his or others' feelings).
- The Quisling: Kent Brockman, unsurprisingly.
- Shout Out: Deciding that a catchy theme tune was the best way to convert Homer, the cult members chanted the one to Batman with "Leader" instead of "Batman". Rover from The Prisoner also shows up.
- Too Dumb to Fool: Until the cult recruiters realized that's what kept them from converting Homer.
