Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 1
Although its biggest twist suddenly re-framed all of these events,The Simpsonsseason 36 premiere included numerous series-shaking twists and revelations.The Simpsonsseason 37 renewalhas not yet been announced, but it certainly seems like the series will remain a TV staple for a lot longer. After hitting a critical nadir around seasons 32-32,The Simpsonsturned its fortunes around with tighter, funnier seasons 34 and 35. These character-centric outings were lauded as a return to form for the series, prompting think pieces from everywhere fromYouTubetoVultureabout whetherThe Simpsonswas finally good again.
The Simpsons' Series Finale Explained: Was That Really The Last Episode?
The Simpsons season 36 episode 1 began by revealing that the outing was the long-awaited Simpsons series finale, but was this announcement real?
It seemed like,The Simpsonsseason 36’s ratings problems aside, the show was poised for a comeback in 2024. As such, it was a major shock when season 36, episode 1, “Bart’s Birthday,” began with late-night host and formerSimpsonsscribe Conan O’Brien breaking the fourth wall to celebrate 35 years of the show and announcing that “Bart’s Birthday” would beThe Simpsonsseries finale. This dramatic shock was reinforced by the episode’s plot, which saw Springfield and its citizens changed completely by a string of shocking twists. However, the biggest shock was saved for the ending.
10Principal Skinner Retired In The Simpsons Season 36 Premiere
Skinner’s New Job Clearly Set Up A Spinoff
Shortly after O’Brien introduced “Hack GPT,” the AI technology that scripted “Bart’s Birthday” in-universe, the episode’s plot began in earnest. Bart handed out birthday party invitations at school, discovering to his delight that Uter was still alive despite his prolonged absence in recent seasons. However, things soon took a turn for the strange asPrincipal Skinner announced he was leaving his job and moving out of Springfield. The Principal was moving in with Groundskeeper Willie, a new adventure that sounded suspiciously like a hacky attempt to set up a spinoff series. Things only got stranger from here.
9The Simpsons Season 36 Premiere Killed Off Mr. Burns
Mr. Burns Fell In A Vat Of Nuclear Waste
In a gag straight out ofThe Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials,Mr. Burns died gruesomely in a nuclear power plant accident early in “Bart’s Birthday.”Smithers announced that Burns had died and left his fortune to be divided among the power plant’s workers, an unexpectedly generous gesture that earned whoops of overjoyed applause. Burns then emerged to laugh at his gullible workers, mocking them for falling for his cruel prank. Seconds later, he fell into a vat of nuclear waste with Homer’s help, and his lawyer announced that Burns' prank will would hold up after all.
John Cena Delivered The Couple’s First Child
After Homer’s co-workers learned their evil boss’s fortune would be divided among them, they heralded their obvious colleague as a hero. Bart was perturbed by this bizarre occurrence but sought refuge in a place that never changed. Arriving at Comic Book Guy’s store, The Android’s Dungeon, Bart was shocked to find his wife in labor.Kumiko gave birth to her and Comic Book Guy’s child with the help of John Cena, resulting in Comic Book Guy closing his store for good to become a full-time father. This latest disturbance drove Bart straight to his oldest and most reliable friend.
7Milhouse Is Moving To Atlanta
Kirk Got A Recording Contract
Unfortunately, arriving at Milhouse’s house didn’t help matters at all. In one ofThe Simpsonsseason 36’s weirdest twists,Milhouse’s parents revealed that his father, Kirk, had gotten a recording contractand the family was moving to Atlanta. As anyone who recalls Kirk’s demo tape from season 8, episode 6, “A Milhouse Divided,” can attest, this hardly seemed like a likely turn of events. Nonetheless, the Van Houtens whisked Bart’s oldest friend away and Bart was forced to face the reality that his life was changing faster than he ever imagined possible. This fear was soon further reaffirmed.
6Moe Sold His Tavern In The Simpsons Season 36 Premiere
Moe’s Subplot And Future Received No Further Explanation
As Bart walked through Springfield in “Bart’s Birthday,” numerous iconic businesses from the long-running show shut down and advertised their sale. Most notably,Moe turned off the lights in his famous tavern one last timebefore hanging a “Sold” sign on the door. Ordinarily, this would have been an event that would have disturbed Homer more than Bart. However, upon his return home, Bart discovered that his father had gotten to the root of his anger management issues and drinking problem in therapy and was now ready to embrace gentler parenting. Bart was less than pleased by this twist.
Bart was so horrified by Homer’s sudden personality change that he didn’t even hang around long enough to hear Maggie utter her first words. They were the cringe-worthy one-liner “Sooo, that just happened,” but this wasn’t the only surprise this scene had in store.The Simpsonsseason 36’s storytelling tricks continuedas Bart passed the weddings of Aunt Patty and her partner Evelyn, Ned Flanders and the long-forgotten Simpson family neighbor Ruth Powers, Aunt Selma and the one-joke character Yes Guy, and Duffman and Ms. Hoover. By this point, it was clear that something strange was going on.
5Nelson’s Father Came Back
The Absent Simpsons Supporting Star Finally Returned
As Bart rushed to return home, he was faced with increasingly unlikely moments that paid off ancient setupsThe Simpsonsestablished years and even decades earlier. Nelson’s father, who abandoned his family under the auspices of going out for a pack of cigarettes before the show began, returned and embraced his estranged son. Bart ran away from this event, growing increasingly unhinged as his world fell apart around him. Later, Bart discovered that the rest of Nelson’s gang of bullies were raising a baby together while living withlegendarySimpsonsone-off guest star Hank Scorpioin an equally outlandish twist.
4Lisa Won A Juilliard Scholarship And A MacArthur Genius Grant
Lisa’s Future Seemed Bright In The Show’s “Ending”
Bart began to unravel the mystery of the episode’s events when he sabotaged the taping of Krusty’s final show by mooning the audience. However, instead of breaking him out of this bizarre reality, this stunt just got Bart predictably arrested. From his jail cell, Bart pleaded with his little sister to help him uncover the mysterious forces that were rewriting reality around them. Lisa initially seemed compelled by Bart’s claims that things were changing alarmingly fast and in increasingly unlikely ways, but, inevitably, these changes had already reached her and given her a more important plan to focus on.
Bart was aware that this was just another case ofThe Simpsonsneatly wrapping up another major character’s arc before the show ended.
Lisa was awarded both a scholarship to Juilliard and a junior version of the MacArthur Genius Grant, effectively securing her whatever future she wanted. Although this seemed like great news for his sister, Bart was aware that this was just another case ofThe Simpsonsneatly wrapping up another major character’s arc before the show ended. He grew even more desperate to escape this waking nightmare when Police Chief Wiggum informed him that he would typically punish Bart’s misbehavior by sending him to military school. However, the chief had a change of heart thanks to his own ambitious future plans.
3Police Chief Wiggum Left The Force
The Simpsons Supporting Star Moved To Chicago
In a twist that shocked everyone but the increasingly irritated Bart,Police Chief Wiggum announced that he was moving out of Springfield and joining the Chicago Police Department. His sidekicks Lou and Eddie were shocked to discover that he would be dealing with grisly crimes in his new job and Wiggum sheepishly admitted that his prospective spinoff would be more dramatic than comedic. This was one of the few meta moments in the episode that explicitly acknowledged what was happening in Springfield.The Simpsonswas ending the show’s story by giving every supporting star an appropriate sendoff, much to Bart’s chagrin.
The Simpsonspreviously teased a non-existent spinoff for Skinner and Wiggum in season 8, episode 24, “The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase.”
The audience was privy to more than Bart thanks to the framing device of “Bart’s Birthday,” an audacious meta-gag that treated the outing as the show’s series finale. It was clear from the context that onceBart’s age changed inThe Simpsonsseason 36 premiere, the show’s universe would reset. Bart did all that he could to avoid going home and meeting with his family again, aware that the result of accepting his aging and blowing out his birthday cake’s candles would be the end of the show. Still, the series came surprisingly close to this monumental twist.
2The Real Principal Skinner Finally Returned
The Simpsons Brought Back Martin Sheen’s Controversial Character
On the topic of family reunions, Agnes Skinner welcomed the real Seymour Skinner with open arms. Despite Agnes and the rest of Springfield deciding never to address Seymour’s existence after his first appearance in the series, his mother seemed delighted to have her son at home again in this outing. Martin Sheen’s character hadn’t been seen in the series since season 9, episode 2, “The Principal and The Pauper,”a controversialSimpsonsepisodewhose events were swiftly retconned.
1Bart Finally Turned 11 In “Bart’s Birthday”
Danny DeVito’s Herb Powell Returned For The Party
When the show’s young hero returned home,The Simpsonsseason 36, episode 1 revealed Bart had finally turned 11 after spending 35 seasons of the series stuck at the age of 10. Homer’s long-forgotten brother Herb Powell even returned for the celebrations, as did numerous characters who previously died, including Rabbi Krusofksy and Bleeding Gums Murphy. Fortunately, Bart managed to reset the reality of the series when Homer strangled him and the AI-generated episode’s story fell apart around them.
Bart’s age reverted to 10, his birthday party became a small gathering again, and all the absurd events of the episode were undone in an instant.
“Bart’s Birthday” ended with Conan O’Brien celebrating the fact thatThe Simpsonswasn’t ending after all, as disgruntled celebrities left the premiere in annoyance. Meanwhile, in the world ofThe Simpsons, Bart’s age reverted to 10, his birthday party became a small gathering again, and all the absurd events of the episode were undone in an instant. While this self-referential outing could have been a surprisingly good series finale for the show, “Bart’s Birthday" ultimately proved that the more things change in the world ofThe Simpsons, the more they stay the same.
