The Simpsons Season 35's Barbenheimer Moment Missed A Major Opportunity

The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons Season 35 Episode 16, "The Tell-Tale Pants," now streaming on Hulu

Summary Season 35's "The Tell-Tale Pants" combines elements from previous episodes but lacks emotional depth.

The focus on the Springy Awards detracts from the potential exploration of Marge and Homer's relationship.

A more grounded take on "The Tell-Tale Pants" could have been emotional, but the episode needed to streamline its storyline.

The Simpsons has never been afraid to utilize ideas that were explored in previous episodes in service of new storylines, but season 35's "The Tell-Tale Pants" fails to match its predecessors. Over the years, The Simpsons has been able to approach well-trodden ground from a new perspective. This has allowed them the chance to showcase how the characters have evolved across thirty-five seasons while still remaining true to their core characteristics. The best examples of this flip The Simpsons stories to highlight the fluid and ever-adaptable nature of the series.

Sometimes though, the new approach can't match the earlier entries. This is the case with "The Tell-Tale Pants," which utilizes a similar set-up and central plot to two earlier episodes of the show. In melding the concepts together, "The Tell-Tale Pants" ends up muddled and loses sight of the emotional core of what could be a compelling exploration of Marge and Homer's relationship. It even fits well into The Simpsons season 35's focus on Marge, but lacks the emotional heft it could have zeroed in on.

Related The Simpsons Season 35 Brought Back A Tired Show Trend & I'm Over It The Simpsons season 35 episode 16 was strong, but the outing fell victim to an unnecessary, irritating late-season trend that is becoming exhausting.

The Simpsons Season 35's "The Tell-Tale Pants" Combines 2 Older Episodes Of The Show

What "The Tell-Tale Pants" Has In Common With "The Mansion Family" & "Million Dollar Maybe"

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"The Tell-Tale Pants" utilizes very similar beats to previous episodes of The Simpsons, specifically season 11's "The Mansion Family" and season 21's "Million Dollar Maybe," but this divided focus costs the episode its emotional potential. "The Tell-Tale Pants" opens with Marge's dream about the Simpsons family attending the Springy Awards, celebrating citizens around Springfield. This is markedly similar to the opening of "The Mansion Family," which introduced the Springfield Pride Awards. In "Tell-Tale Pants," this sets up the emotional divide between Homer and Marge that only grows when she sells a pair of his pants for $2,595.

Marge ultimately keeps the money to buy herself a diamond ring, but must wrestle with the subsequent guilt of hiding it. This is similar to the premise of "Million Dollar Maybe," where Homer wins the lottery but keeps the money a secret from Marge due to winning the prize while missing Marge's cousin's wedding. The emotional core of "The Tell-Tale Pants" is similar to "Million Dollar Maybe," albeit far less over-the-top. The season 21 episode saw Bart manipulate Homer's windfall for his own benefit, while "The Tell-Tale Pants" wants to explore a more grounded story.

Related The Simpsons: 10 Background Characters Who Deserve Their Own Solo Episodes After 35 seasons, The Simpsons still has many incredible background characters whose stories deserve to be told in a solo episode.

The Simpsons Needed To Cut One Of "The Tell-Tale Pants" Storylines

A Tighter Focus Could Have Elevated "The Tell-Tale Pants" To Its True Potential

There's an engaging story at the heart of "The Tell-Tale Pants." In theory, the episode could have delved into Marge's perspective on the often one-sided nature of her relationship with Homer. The end of the episode even does a good job of this, with Homer enraged by the truth but quickly tempered and ashamed as he realizes everything else she does for the family that he routinely ignores. However, the Springy Awards and other comic digessions distract from the set-up for too long, with a handful of solid jokes failing to justify its place alongside the more grounded emotional plot.

Doing a more grounded take on "Million Dollar Maybe" is a compelling idea. Sadly, the emotional potential is blunted by a splintered episode that loses the time needed to delve into Marge and Homer's relationship as much as it should. A surprising amount of season 35 has focused on Marge, highlighting Homer's worst qualities while reinforcing how much they love each other. A more focused version of "The Tell-Tale Pants" could have been an emotional highlight of this underlying plotline of The Simpsons, but it needed to cut an ultimately pointless first act to make room for stronger emotional beats.