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Better Off Ned

Wikisimpsons - The Simpsons Wiki
Season 31 Episode
677 "Screenless"
678
"Better Off Ned"
"Highway to Well" 679
"Better Off Ned"
Better Off Ned promo 6.png
Episode Information
Episode number: 678
Season number: S31 E16
Production code: ZABF11
Original airdate: March 15, 2020
Title screen: Leprechaun and Northern Irish Leprechaun fly across the screen, fighting
Billboard gag: Drink till you're green: St. Patrick's Day at Moe's
Chalkboard gag: Lisa writes "Bart is at a Doctor's appointment"
Couch gag: A person is tracking the family trip home on Uber, then rates the trip 1 star and doesn't tip the driver
Showrunner(s): Al Jean
Written by: Story: Al Jean
Teleplay: Joel H. Cohen
Jeff Westbrook
Directed by: Rob Oliver


"Better Off Ned" is the sixteenth episode of season 31 of The Simpsons and the six-hundred and seventy-eighth episode overall. It originally aired on March 15, 2020. The story was written by Al Jean and the teleplay was written by Joel H. Cohen and Jeff Westbrook. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver.

"Better Off Ned" was dedicated in memory of Max von Sydow, who died on March 8.

Synopsis[edit]

"Bart bonds with Ned Flanders, which leaves Homer jealous, so he retaliates by mentoring Nelson Muntz. Then, a heroic act by Homer makes Bart look up to him again."


Plot[edit]

At the Springfield Retirement Castle, after telling him a war story and pranking him with it, after Grampa falls asleep Bart takes the dud grenade. Bart takes it to a school assembly and pranks them the same way Grampa did, scaring everyone away.

Ned, however, puts himself on top of the bomb to sacrifice himself to save the school and Bart reveals the prank. Ambulances and fire workers were also called and Mrs. Muntz reveals she slept with one of the fire workers.

Homer and Marge got called and Superintendent Chalmers wanted to suspend him from school, but Ned intervenes volunteering to supervise Bart to the right way with the three P's: persistence, prayer and persistent prayer. Chalmers agrees, while Lisa and her friends make fun of him.

At Flanders' House, Bart pranks him and so Ned takes him fishing. Bart manages to catch a fish, and Ned teaches him how to roast it on a fire.

At the church, Bart also joins the choir and everyone congratulates Ned for the work, and Homer gets jealous. When Marge takes Homer to bring a pie as thanks, Homer finds Lisa there too, supervising Bart's math work.

Homer tries to help him too, by throwing the paper at the dog so it can eat it, but the dog presents the paper intact back to him. Homer feels useless and walks away, walking sad around the city till he reaches the Springfield City Dump and finds a sad Nelson, crying due to his situation at home.

Homer brings him to Krusty Burger and proposes to Nelson to become his mentor and making Bart jealous of it. Seeing the distraught that's causing, Lisa asks Homer to seek counseling, paying for it.

Homer goes to the therapist that disagrees with his method. Homer goes then to see Nelson but finds his mother, which asks him if he's going to leave them too like all the other men have in the past, breaking Nelson's heart.

When Homer explains to Nelson the truth behind it, Nelson prepares a plan to get even with Bart at the Christian Pride Parade, trying to activate the mechanism that Bart and the Flanders built, the praying hands, when Bart passes through instead of after.

Homer spots him using the slingshot and activating it, and pushes Bart away in time, getting squashed by them. The two ride the ambulance together, before Homer goes to the Dump to say sorry to Nelson and guiding him to Ned, which has Nelson and his mother joining them and takes him to a baseball game, where Homer throws him a rock to answer Bart why they traded places in mentoring.

Production[edit]

Reception[edit]

Nancy Cartwright was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance in the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards for voicing Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, but she lost to Maya Rudolph for Big Mouth.[1]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]


Promo videos[edit]


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Better Off Ned".
Season 31 Episodes
The Winter of Our Monetized Content Go Big or Go Homer The Fat Blue Line Treehouse of Horror XXX Gorillas on the Mast Marge the Lumberjill Livin La Pura Vida Thanksgiving of Horror Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? Bobby, It's Cold Outside Hail to the Teeth The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson Frinkcoin Bart the Bad Guy Screenless Better Off Ned Highway to Well The Incredible Lightness of Being a Baby Warrin' Priests: Part One Warrin' Priests: Part Two The Hateful Eight-Year-Olds The Way of the Dog