We Still Don’t Know the Answer to This ‘Simpsons’ Christmas Mystery

Whereas not as beloved because the “Treehouse of Horror” episodes, The SimpsonsChristmas episodes are nearly at all times a deal with, like “The Combat Earlier than Christmas” or “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Hearth,” which launched the ever-faithful Santa’s Little Helper. However there have been lumps of coal as properly. Take “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace.” In equity, it isn’t a horrible episode. It is not a Yuletide “Moe’s Bar Rag,” for instance. However what sends it straight to Santa’s naughty record are the actions of Springfield’s residents in opposition to the Simpsons. Merciless, harsh even, and it is a thriller why they acted so out of character.

Christmas Goes Up in Flames in ‘The Simpsons’ Episode “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace”

“Miracle on Evergreen Terrace” begins at bedtime on Christmas Eve. Earlier than being despatched to mattress, Marge (Julie Kavner) makes it clear that nobody will get as much as open presents till 7:00. Shockingly, Bart (Nancy Cartwright) ignores Marge, and wakes up properly earlier than then. He unwraps his items. discovering a remote-controlled fireplace truck. Bart begins enjoying with it, however sprays water on an overloaded electrical socket, setting off a fireplace that melts the plastic tree and presents. Trying to evade punishment, he drags the smoldering mess out to the entrance yard and buries it beneath the snow. As soon as he is executed, Bart goes again inside, solely his timing could not be worse. It is 7:01, and the household is downstairs in shock. Pondering quick, Bart makes up a narrative about seeing a burglar in the home taking the tree and presents.

The police are referred to as in, and Kent Brockman (Harry Shearer) arrives together with his information crew to cowl the story. The information travels quick, and shortly everybody in Springfield comes collectively to tug off an It’s a Wonderful Life second, gifting the Simpsons a brand new Christmas tree and $15,000. Homer (Dan Castellaneta) makes use of the cash to purchase a brand new automobile, which, in true Homer trend, he drives onto a frozen lake, the place the automobile promptly cracks the ice and sinks (after passing the Plow King, a pleasant nod to “Mr. Plow”). Nevertheless, the guilt he feels forces Bart to admit to the household. After a touching group strangulation of Bart, they choose to maintain the fake story alive when Brockman arrives to do a follow-up.

Springfield’s Residents Make the Simpsons Pay in “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace”

This is the place the “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace” thriller begins. A cameraman finds the tree’s stays, forcing the Simpsons to admit. Springfield’s residents are, rightly, indignant, and proceed to shun the household and ship letters demanding retribution. Solely there was no insurance coverage on that brand-new automobile that now sits in Lake Springfield, so no cash to pay them again. Marge will get on Jeopardy!, hoping to win some, solely she finishes with detrimental $5,200. When the Simpsons arrive dwelling, the individuals of Springfield are on the garden ready, which Marge sees as a gesture of forgiveness. Nope. Forgiveness comes with a worth, which is paid when the individuals file into the home and ransack every little thing, together with the pets, leaving solely a tattered washcloth.

Whereas the anger of the city is comprehensible, their act of retribution will not be, therefore the thriller. Bart’s solely actual crime right here was mendacity, and there is not a 10-year-old that will instantly confess to an analogous act. The act wasn’t purposeful, and Bart has 36 seasons of moments the place he is been mischievous on goal that did not get the identical response. The remainder of the household had solely found the reality moments earlier than the city and reacted as probably any household would, hoping to brush it beneath the rug till they assessed their subsequent steps. In addition to, it is Christmas. What occurred wasn’t proper, however a household was nonetheless robbed of Christmas, and taking away every little thing they personal, leaving nothing is uncharacteristic and reprehensible.

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Or is it out of character? The story considerably mirrors “The Telltale Head,” the place Bart saws the pinnacle off of Jebediah Springfield’s statue and solely confesses later. When he and Homer go to return the pinnacle, a vengeful mob approaches. Solely on this case, the city is fast to forgive. They aren’t so forgiving in The Simpsons Film, the place the townspeople descend upon the Simpsons’ dwelling and raze it after Homer’s actions put Springfield beneath a dome, with the household escaping hurt due to a sinkhole beneath Maggie’s sandbox. “Itchy & Scratchy & Marge,” “At Lengthy Final Go away,” and “Mayored to the Mob” additionally characteristic Springfield’s indignant mobs. So far as the cash, the hypocritical townspeople have pulled scams of their very own, as in “Radioactive Man,” the place worth gouging by the city forces the film’s manufacturing to go bankrupt. This is able to all counsel that the thriller is not a thriller in any case.

“Miracle on Evergreen Terrace” and different episodes of The Simpsons can be found to stream within the U.S. on Disney+

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