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Recap / The Simpsons S 28 E 10 The Nightmare After Krustmas

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Krusty and his daughter spend Christmas with the Simpsons. Meanwhile, Reverend Lovejoy seeks converts to boost church attendance, and a Christmas toy scares Maggie.

Tropes:

  • A Day in the Limelight: Maggie gets her own small subplot involving being terrified of the elf toy and having nightmares about what it will do to her. While Homer and Marge instigate it, the majority of it focuses on her.
  • Bait-and-Switch Comment: The Parson's superior tells him they only have one boss, the viewers believe he's talking about God. However, it turns out he's talking about a higher authority figure within their congregation.
  • The Bus Came Back: Sophie Krustofski reappears, sixteen years after her debut in Insane Clown Poppy.
  • The Cameo: Sideshow Bob appears at the end of the crowd Krusty sees as he drowns in a frozen river, holding a sign saying "Die clown".
  • Crossover Cosmology: Ahura Mazda coexists with God and apparently Christian God and Jewish God exist as two separate entities.
  • Description Cut: Right after Reverend Lovejoy claims Springfield is a good Christian community, the next scene shows a pagan festival being held in town.
  • Humanoid Abomination: The Gnome in Maggie's nightmare.
  • Hypocritical Humor: After berating his daughter for not knowing Jewish traditions, Krusty is revealed to have ordered a sandwich with non-kosher animals.
  • Instant Ice: Just Add Cold!: When Lovejoy is resuscitating Krusty, water sprays out of Krusty's squirt flower and freezes instantly.
  • Left the Background Music On: When Maggie hears scary music, it turns out to be Lisa playing the violin. It is fittingly enough "Psycho" Strings.
  • Mythology Gag: Maggie's story emulates one of the early shorts, where Marge singing "Rock-a-Bye Baby" incites fear of falling from a tree from the infant Maggie. Here, Homer talks of the elf nibbling on her fingertips and she imagines the elf spewing severed fingertips into the crib.
  • Negative Continuity: At the Parson's debut episode, Reverend Lovejoy describes him as being to their congregation what The Pope is to his, suggesting the Parson to be their congregation highest-ranking member. This episode reveals the Parson as not being even the second-highest-ranking member.
  • Sexy Santa Dress: Marge wears one as a present for Homer.
  • Shout-Out: Apu denounces Lovejoy's attempt to convert him, holding up a statue of one of his gods saying it's good enough to be a superhero on Pixar, referencing the "Sanjay's Super Team" short.
  • Status Quo Is God: Krusty eventually returns to Judaism.
  • Take That!: Maggie's subplot is a big one to Elf on a Shelf, with the "Gnome in your Home" scaring her and eventually drives her to butcher the gnome and his Distaff Counterpart with a paper guillotine, and later run over a bunch of them with a riding mower.
  • Uncanny Valley: In-universe. The Gnome in your Home gives this impression on Maggie.

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