Forgive and Regret
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"Forgive and Regret"
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Episode Information
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"Forgive and Regret" is the eighteenth episode of broadcast season 29 of The Simpsons and the six hundred thirty-sixth episode overall. It originally aired on April 29, 2018. The episode was written by Bill Odenkirk and directed by Rob Oliver. It guest stars Glenn Close as Mona Simpson.
This episode marks the show as TV's longest running primetime scripted series, surpassing Gunsmoke, which had 635 episodes.
Contents
[hide]Synopsis[edit]
- "Grampa makes a confession to Homer while on his deathbed. He tells Homer that after Mona left him, he threw away the recipes she left to Homer. After Grampa's recovery, he comes to realize that this issue will not be easy to reconcile."
Plot[edit]
At Moe's Tavern, Homer tries to win a bet by eating 30 pickle eggs from Moe's jar but loses when he spits them all out. Enraged, he crashes the car into a light pole. A man who witnesses the scene approaches him and offers $500 for the car. Homer agrees and, once home, tells Marge that he sold it—revealing its fate: it was taken to the Springfield Demolition Derby.
The man gives Homer tickets to the show, and Marge drives the family there. When Grampa begins rambling, Homer silences him with a divider; he does the same to Marge when she starts talking.
At the derby, after introducing the new and improved Truckasaurus, Truckasaurus II, it is immediately destroyed. A memorial video plays, honoring those lost at the derby over the past week. The derby begins, featuring Homer's car and Car-Rak Obama, the affordable healthcare mobile. Just as it starts, Grampa experiences symptoms of a heart attack, prompting Homer to rush him to the hospital. As they leave, Car-Rak Obama's head flies next to them, symbolizing Homer's victory.
Dr. Hibbert informs Homer that Grampa's condition is serious and that he wants to see him one last time. On his deathbed—right next to the Old Jewish man, separated by another divider—Grampa asks for forgiveness for something terrible he did in the past. Homer agrees, honoring what he thinks are Grampa's last wishes.
Shortly afterward, Dr. Hibbert announces that Grampa has recovered thanks to a new drug that blocks the hormone responsible for triggering merciful death during extreme pain. This revelation upsets Homer, who realizes his forgiveness was premature. In a fit of rage, he destroys a box of cotton balls, costing him $75,000.
Homer refuses to reveal what Grampa confessed but says he can't look at him the same way again. Wanting to avoid him, he heads to Moe's, only for Grampa to show up as well. They sit at opposite ends of the bar. Moe tries to help by suggesting they use the jukebox and the Love Tester machine together, but it doesn't resolve their tension.
Lisa suggests taking them to The Escape Zone to calm down. There, they're "trapped" in a Medieval Dungeon setting to encourage reconciliation. However, Grampa, aware of the gimmick, tricks Homer into inserting a sword into a hole, which electrocutes him.
Back at the Springfield Retirement Castle, the argument continues. Homer decides to tell the family what Grampa revealed: when Homer was a child, Grampa was building model World War II airplanes. After Homer accidentally broke some, Grampa became furious and let Mona take care of him. She gave Homer a box full of her recipes. After Mona left the family, Grampa threw the box and everything associated with her off a cliff, then lied to Homer, claiming she had taken the box with her.
At lunch, the family discusses confronting Grampa at the Retirement Castle. Lisa suggests giving him the silent treatment, but when they arrive, he is gone. He leaves a letter saying he went to Springfield Forest to retrieve what he threw away.
They find him climbing down a mountain, and Homer follows using the same rope. Both fall, but a tree breaks their fall. They find the box, and as Grampa cuts his section of the rope to retrieve it, Homer tells him he loves him and begs him not to do it. Grampa is happy to hear it. Luckily, Mona's old bed is at the bottom to break his fall—but the box is empty.
At The Timberlog Diner, the family eats together again. Homer realizes the pie tastes just like the one Mona used to make. The owner explains that she found the recipes that flew out of the discarded box and saved the diner using them. She returns the recipes to Homer, and he and Grampa share a heartfelt hug.
At the end, Homer buys back his car from a used car lot and discovers he left Snowball II inside during the derby. The cat jumps on him and scratches his face.
Production[edit]
It was scheduled to be episode 634th, but "King Leer" aired as 634th instead.[1][2]
The long opening sequence parodying the one from Gunsmoke was cut, only showing the part till the title screen.[3]
Gallery[edit]
References[edit]
- Jump up ↑ Al Jean's Twitter (account closed)
- Jump up ↑ The Futon Critic
- Jump up ↑ "Gunsmoke Opening Parody"
Promo videos[edit]
Gunsmoke Opening Parody at YouTube- The Simpsons Is Breaking Records at YouTube
- Lisa Suggests The Silent Treatment at YouTube
- Homer Raises The Divider at YouTube
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Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Forgive and Regret". |
