The Venerable Series Delivers an Episode to Stand Amongst the Classics
The Simpsons is my favorite TV show of all time, but I'm well aware that it's glory days are at least 15 years behind it. I watch all the new episodes with modest expectations, knowing that I'll enjoy the characters and get some entertainment value, but I'm always optimistic that the new episode waiting on my DVR will fire on all cylinders like the episodes of yore. This past Sunday's "Halloween of Horror" did just that.
Though The Simpsons and Halloween usually result in another enjoyable entry in the annual "Treehouse of Horror" anthology, this year fans of the show are being treated to two doses of the October holiday. Written by Carolyn Omine and directed by Mike B. Anderson, "Halloween of Horror," follows the Simpsons as they prepare for Halloween. Homer sets up his "Everscream Terrors" decoration display as Bart and Lisa look forward to a terror-filled night at Krustyland's themed extravaganza. The uninitiated Lisa (who it's easy to forget is just 8 years old) is terrified, driving her to need an old comforting aide, Tailee the plush raccoon tail. Meanwhile Homer contends with a trio of slackers he got fired from the local Halloween pop-up store when they swear vengeance for his actions.
The episode is very funny, packed with clever jokes about Halloween theme park events, cool trick or treat neighborhoods (the ones with the best candy), adult Halloween goings-on, and the political over correction of kids' costumes at school. One particularly good line comes when Homer tries to comfort a nervous Lisa upon arriving at Krustyland, telling her, "You were looking forward to being scared by things you know aren't real. Unlike the money I spent on this, which is very real."
Though the jokes nearly all work—the fourth-wall breaking humor is kept to a minimum—what makes "Halloween of Horror" truly standout is the emotional core of the episode. Too frequently the newer Simpsons episodes seem to muddle or fail to provide any heft emotionally, and that's why episodes like season two's "Way We Was" resonate. "Halloween of Horror" focuses its A-story on Lisa and Homer, a pairing not used often, but almost always fruitful. It's a father daughter episode that has room for Lisa's emotional growth to feel real, especially late in the episode when Homer and Lisa must reckon with the Halloween store slackers. In that moment, the fear is real, and the decision made to resolve the situation is real.
Without spoiling anything, when Lisa does what she does in the third act (you'll know it when you see it), I thought, "Wow, this is a great episode."
Just about everything works in "Halloween of Horror", and for a show in its 27th season, that's all you can ask for.