It’s been true the past few years, and it is still true today: “The Simpsons” is still good, people! Even 36 seasons in, the cultural phenomenon has proven to be the one truly reliable American institution left, a staple of television, a titan of pop culture, one of the most influential animated shows of all time.
In season 36 we saw great episodes featuring pairings we don’t see that often anymore, like an episode where Homer and his dad create a sport, or one where Bart and his grandpa bond over baseball, and an episode that parodied “The White Lotus” (and killed a character we hadn’t seen in decades). And yet, the best two episodes of the season were all about Marge Simpson (Julie Kavner). The first one is titled “P.S. I Hate You” and deals with Marge’s need to be liked and the chaos that ensues when her secret hate letters she’s been writing to everyone in Springfield for years are stolen. Then we have the season finale, “Estranger Things” which deals is all about how Bart (Nancy Cartwright) and Lisa (Yeardley Smith) bonded over “Itchy & Scratchy” and how they drift apart in a possible future where Marge dies before Homer (Dan Castellaneta).
Yes, you heard that right. Marge dies before Homer. Somehow.
It’s a big change to how “The Simpsons” had portrayed things in the past, leading to lazy writers and fans online who have not watched the show in years to jump to conclusions and speculate that Marge Simpson is officially and unequivocally dead for good. At least, the noise got loud enough that executive producer Matt Selman had to confirm to Variety that Marge Simpson is not actually dead.
“There is no canon,” Selman said, responding to a question about whether Marge’s death is canon for the future timeline of the show. ‘The Simpsons’ doesn’t even have canon!”
The Simpsons is always in flux
“Obviously, since ‘The Simpsons’ future episodes are all speculative fantasies, they’re all different every time,” Selman said. “Marge will probably never be dead ever again. The only place Marge is dead is in one future episode that aired six weeks ago.”
Indeed, the speculation around Marge’s death came from the fact that this is the very first time an episode of “The Simpsons” showed a future in which Marge died before Homer. Though every episode of “The Simpsons” ignores what’s come before it, the episodes set in the future have — for the most part — followed a relatively streamlined continuity. Lisa is always successful, if not outright the President of the United States. Bart is a loser, and Homer died young. Sure, there have been variations, including the great episode “Barthood” (one of the best parody episodes on the show), which shows future Bart finding success owning a bicycle modification shop, but it’s still mostly the same big events and the same character fates.
Having Marge die suddenly and leaving Homer as a widower is shocking, which helps the episode stand out (like having Marge be involved in an affair with Ringo Starr in Heaven or Bart run an underground elder care facility for Homer and his friends at their childhood home). But it does not mean every future episode from here on out will follow this timeline, otherwise that’d break the single most important rule of sitcoms — things can’t change forever and you can’t set anything in stone. Still, it is true that Julie Kavner is not getting any younger, and her performance as of late has certainly shown the years in her voice. Should anything happen to the beloved voice actor, “The Simpsons” already has a way out.
