The Serfsons
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This episode is considered non-canon and the events featured do not relate to the series and therefore may not have actually happened/existed.
The reason behind this decision is: Completely set in the alternate reality of Springfieldia. If you dispute this, please bring it up on the episode's talk page. |
- For the character collection in The Simpsons: Tapped Out, see The Simpsons: Tapped Out characters/The Serfsons.
"The Serfsons"
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Episode Information
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"The Serfsons" is the first episode of broadcast season 29 of The Simpsons and the six hundred nineteenth episode overall. It originally aired on October 1, 2017. The episode was written by Brian Kelley and directed by Rob Oliver. It guest stars Billy Boyd as "The Perfect Tale" singer and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Markery.
Contents
Synopsis
- In the kingdom of Springfieldia, Homer is tasked by Marge to raise the money to buy an Amulet of Warmfyre for her mother to stop her from succumbing to an Ice Walker disease. Lisa uses magic to get the money for the amulet but gets the attention of the king's wizards as a result.
Plot
In the Serfsons House, Marge prepares dinner for the family. Rainier Wolfcastle then breaks through the wall on his horse and makes Homer kiss the horse's hooves in apology for the hovel getting in the way of it, before he leaves through the other wall. Lisa complains about their lives since they are starving while nobles are feasting, jousting, and posing for tapestries. However, Homer tells her off because he loves feudalism. A Goblin Milhouse then runs into the house to tell Bart that they put new severed heads up on the city walls. The family decides to go see them and decides to pick up Marge's mother too.
After picking up Jackie from The Webs at Giant Spider Acres, they go to see the heads. Marge then notices that her mother's hand is freezing over. They go to Barber Hibbert where Hibbert tells them that an Ice Walker bit her, and she reveals that she briefly dated one. Hibbert tells them that she will be frozen solid in a week's time, but an Amulet of Warmfyre could save her life. The Serfsons go to see the amulet at Amulet Hamlet, but Homer is shocked to see it is worth 100 gold pieces. Back at home, the Serfsons discuss how they can raise the money to save Marge's mother. Homer tries to argue that they should just let her die because she is old and 100 gold is a lot of money. However, Marge calls Homer a selfish jerk and tells him that she should have listened to the witch and married her twin brother, Markery.
Homer goes to Moe's and complains about needing to get the money. Later, while working at the Springfieldia Human Power Plant, Homer sneaks away to talk to Lord Montgomery about getting an advance on his salary, and to also ask about getting a salary in the first place. Lord Montgomery tells Homer that he has everyone in town suffering because it creates misery, which can be ground into a powder to give the rich tiny wings that do nothing. Back at home, Azzlan visits Marge to try and convert her to his religion, but she shuts him down.
In town, Lisa takes Homer into a side alley and uses magic to convert his lucky lead nugget into gold. Homer asks Lisa why she never told them that she can do magic, and Lisa explains that the king would take her away and force her to become one of his evil wizards if she was found out. They then buy the amulet for Jackie. However, she rejects it, saying that she wants to die as she has lived a full life. However, Marge tells her that she cannot bear the thought of saying goodbye to her, so Jackie reluctantly agrees to wear the amulet. Later, in town, the townspeople discuss the afterlife and what each of them believes happens after you die.
As the family sit around at home, Sorcerer-intendent Chalmers and other wizards magic themselves into the house to take Lisa away after they find out she knows magic. To save his daughter, Homer decides to rise up against the nobles and fight against the very system of feudalism that he loves. He goes into town and starts a peasant uprising to take Lord Montgomery's Castle over and get his daughter back. As they get to the castle, the castle gates are shut, halting the attack. A group of Ents, with Treestache among them, then approach the mob and offer their help. The peasants cut down the Ents and create ladders to get over the castle walls. They then start fighting the knights until Wolfcastle flies in on the Dragon of Springfieldia. As the peasants start to lose the battle, Jackie decides to sacrifice herself to take down the dragon. She removes the amulet and freezes over before walking towards the dragon. Jackie enters the dragon's mouth, which kills it.
As the peasants celebrate their victory, Homer is happy that he can get Lisa to use magic to make their lives better. Lisa then points out that dragon's fire is what powers magic, and now that the last dragon is dead, the magic and magical creatures will fade away. Horrified by the thought of living in a world without magic, Homer starts a fire in the dragon's mouth to try and bring it back to life. He is successful, causing the magical creatures to stop fading away. The dragon then flies over the town, burning it down.
Production
- See also: The Serfsons/Music.
Showrunner Matt Selman described the episode as "a love letter to the fantasy genre of books and movies and TV shows". Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played Jaime Lannister, voiced the character of Markery, Marge's twin brother. Selman described the character as "not unlike Jamie".[1]
This episode marked the final speaking appearance of Apu in The Simpsons.[2] Apu has only had cameo appearances since the episode.
"The Serfsons" is also the first episode composed by Bleeding Fingers Music after Alf Clausen was let go from the show.[3]
Reception
In its original airing, The Serfsons was watched by 3.26 million people with a 1.4 rating and a 5 share, making it Fox's second highest-rated show of the night.[4]
Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B- rating. He called the episode a "limply unnecessary stunt episode" and referred to the main plot as a "shoehorned emotional journey of a character no one really cares about". He ends his review by saying that the episode "doesn't really do much wrong" and that "it's amusing enough, but it's also entirely inessential."[5]
Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 out of 5 rating. He says that the episode is "steadily paced, the laughs come regularly and there are a few that really deliver".[6]
Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave the episode a 6.2 rating. He says that he was "torn over whether the writers would have been better off focusing on spoofing one particular fantasy franchise rather than the 'one size fits all' approach", referring to the mix of fantasy parodies in the episode. He also says that "it never really felt like the writers were clear on what story they were trying to tell".[7]
The Serfsons was nominated for a 2018 Writers Guild of America award in Animation, but it lost to "Time's Arrow" from BoJack Horseman.[8]
As of April 2025, the episode has a 6.8 rating on IMDb.[9]
In other languages
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International airdates
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Gallery
References
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly - "Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to guest on The Simpsons"
- ↑ The Hollywood Reporter - "As 'The Simpsons' Silences Apu, South Asian Creatives Hope for Character's Authentic Revival"
- ↑ Variety - "'The Simpsons' Hip-Hop Episode Cued Curtains for Composer"
- ↑ TV by the Numbers - "'NCIS: LA' and '60 Minutes' adjust up, 'Wisdom of the Crowd' and 'Ten Days in the Valley' down: Sunday final ratings" (archived on Wayback Machine)
- ↑ The A.V. Club - "The Simpsons gets pointlessly medieval all over its season 29 premiere"
- ↑ Den of Geek - "The Simpsons Season 29 Premiere Review: The Serfsons"
- ↑ IGN - "The Simpsons: "The Serfsons" Review"
- ↑ IMDb - "Writers Guild of America, USA 2018 Awards"
- ↑ IMDb - "The Serfsons"
- ↑ NLO TV announce
Promo videos
Bart Pranks Moe at YouTube- Lisa Turns Homer's Lucky Lead Nugget Into Gold at YouTube
- Homer And Bart Talk About The Afterlife at YouTube
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Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "The Serfsons". |
