While the men are with their children on a trip, Moe sends them a letter telling them he’ll be leaving Springfield with one of their wives. As the men ponder, they wonder what went wrong in their relationship.
Tropes of this episode:
- As Himself: Don Pardo has brief cameo appearance to comment on Moe's narrating.
- Bland-Name Product: Moe has a Zii console set up in his tavern, which Manjula and Gheet have fun playing with.
- Continuity Nod: Apu doesn't really have to wonder what went wrong in his relationship the moment he remembers he cheated on his wife.
- Crappy Carnival: Weasel Island's amusement park is the quality you'd expect from any Krusty-endorsed product. The attractions are not only disturbing, such as a Civil War prison, they're outright dangerous, with Ralph being flung off one and Lisa getting stuck inside a carousel horse. The ride operator also appears to be under the influence.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The Itchy and Scratchy short in this episode is a parody of A Trip to the Moon. It's in black-and-white, and the characters move their mouths without speaking, with subtitle cards in French appearing right after.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Moe's narration briefly becomes derailed when he spots Marge in a towel.
- Everyone Has Standards: Moe seeing the wives of other men not being respected got him upset.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Apu says his wife wouldn't cheat on him like he cheated on her and then he gets worried.
- First-Person Peripheral Narrator: Moe plays an important role in the episode, while also narrating it. During the narration, the camera focuses on Moe as he describes how handsome he is; he then notices and shoos it away to focus on something else.
- Funny Background Event: As the fathers worry about one of their wives being taken by Moe, their kids suffer several misfortunes at the rundown amusement park that they don't notice.
- Gilligan Cut: Homer says he was at Moe's "being my usual, effervescent self." A Flashback Cut shows him passed out at the bar.
- Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Implied for Krusty. Krusty's Mother's Day sketch features Mr. Teeny in a Krusty hat while Krusty dresses as, presumably, his mother. He screams, "I destroyed my body to give birth to you?!"
- Holiday Episode: This episode takes place on Mother's Day. Homer decides to go on a cruise with the kids to give Marge some time alone.
- Hypocritical Humor: Manjula berates Apu for forgetting one of their kids at Moe's but she also forgot him and, when she goes back there to pick him up, she has to read his name tag to know which son he is.
- Incredibly Lame Fun: Rather than going to bed with Helen, Tim Lovejoy prefers to paint the mustaches on his train conductor figures.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Moe had to do something to make Homer, Apu, and Reverend Lovejoy realize that they've been treating their wives like garbage.
- Literal-Minded: After being told by Reverend Lovejoy "think back" on how his relationship with Marge could've been strained, Homer thinks all the way back to when he was an infant.Reverend Lovejoy: Not that far back!
- Pet the Dog: Jacqueline tells Marge that Homer's outburst during her birthday party was provoked by Patty and Selma.
- Photo Montage: The episode ends with a montage of photographs of characters and their mothers, ending with Homer and Mona, as "I'll Always Love My Mama" plays over it.
- Pre-emptive Declaration: From a ride operator at Weasel Island.Operator: You had that scar before you got on.
Bart: What scar?
Operator: Oh, you'll find out. - Red Live Lobster: Before Homer boards the cruise, we can see a live lobster snapping its claws, even though it's bright red.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: When Bart inserts money inside a fortune-telling machine, he got a card saying "you'll lose all your money". He reacts by inserting more money inside the machine.
- Smarter Than You Look: For someone with as terrible a dating history as Moe, he sure knows his way around fixing a relationship.
- The Voiceless: Jessica, the Lovejoys' daughter, is seen when Tim arrives home at the end of the episode, but she doesn't speak.
- Whole-Plot Reference: To A Letter to Three Wives.
- You Should Have Died Instead: At the start of the episode, Skinner's car has broken down, and he pushes it from behind. In the front seat, Agnes asks, "Why couldn't you have died instead of the car?"
