"Flanders' Ladder" is the twenty-first and final episode of the
twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'', and the 639th episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
on May 20, 2018.
The episode was dedicated in memory of author
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...
who had guest starred on the show in the episode "
". He died from an infection on May 14, 2018.
Plot
On a stormy night,
Bart
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
tricks
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer
* Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
into playing ''
The Scary Maze Game'' and posts photos of her having been scared into knocking over his laundry hamper and covered in his dirty clothes on the Internet. After dinner, the power line gets hit by lightning, cutting
the family off from the Internet.
To pass the time, the family digs up their old VHS player, but when it breaks, Bart and
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
go to
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, ch ...
' house to steal his router. Bart climbs the ladder to the attic, but as Homer is distracted by his phone, Bart loses his balance, gets hit by lightning and falls into a coma.
Dr. Hibbert
Dr. Julius Michael Hibbert, M.D. is a recurring character on the television animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is Springfield's most prominent medical professional. Although he has a kind and warm persona, he is also often characterized as gree ...
says that Bart will be fine as long as the family talk to him and reassure him. However, Lisa is left alone with Bart, and because he scared and shamed her earlier, she gets revenge on him by giving him nightmares.
He wakes up in his bed as the ghost of
Maude Flanders
The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...
arrives, scaring him. Next,
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'' voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade clas ...
enters while he decorates Bart's treehouse with crosses to keep ghosts out, though that does not work as Maude's ghost returns, but Bart scares her off with Homer's dirty socks. Milhouse suggests Bart talk to his psychiatrist Samuel Elkins, but it turns out he is a ghost too, having committed suicide five minutes before Bart's appointment, intending for his patients to blame themselves for his death.
Elkins then informs Bart that he has a gift for seeing and communicating with the dead, and requests his help with revenge against a rival doctor. Bart responds by tricking the rival into playing ''The Scary Maze Game'', causing a heart attack, allowing Elkins to move on to the afterlife. More ghosts of the show's deceased characters appear asking Bart for help, which he does. Lisa, though, continues to give him nightmares until Hibbert advises her to stop, as this could give him permanent brain damage.
As Lisa apologizes to Bart for her actions, Homer walks in with a Krusty Burger meal for Bart, exhausted, saying he is dead, which only digs Bart deeper into this nightmare, much to Lisa's horror. At this same moment, Bart agrees to help Maude, who wants revenge on Homer for
causing her death. Bart then arranges for
Jimbo Jones
The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...
,
Dolph Starbeam
The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...
and
Kearney Zzyzwicz
The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...
to ambush and scare Homer by firing shirts at him. While Maude happily moves on after this, Homer's spirit rises up from his body. This is not what Bart wanted, as he did not mean to kill him. Bart then pleads for Homer not to go to Heaven, while Lisa pleads for Bart to stay with her, as he apparently begins to flatline.
As Homer begins to ascend into Heaven, feeling there is nothing left for him, Bart, not wanting the accidental murder of his father hanging on his head, shoots a shirt to the light of Heaven, shutting it off. This causes Homer's spirit to fall and land back in his body, restoring him to life. An enraged Homer strangles Bart for ruining his opportunity. Lisa continues to apologize to a flatlined Bart, admitting that she loves him and wants him back, unknowingly restarting his pulse. Bart wakes up, much to Lisa's relief, and when asked, Lisa admits to giving him nightmares, but he is not angry at her about it and instead asks her to teach him how to do that to other people, which she agrees to.
Later, while the family celebrates Bart coming out of his coma, Bart tells Lisa he has discovered how everyone will die, though Lisa does not want to hear it, in a parody of the closing montage from the
''Six Feet Under'' series finale:
*
Waylon Smithers Jr commits suicide at age 50 by jumping into the Power Plant cooling towers after
Mr. Burns marries
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
.
* Homer dies at 59 by getting shot by police after exiting a food bank with a sandwich where they thought he was robbing it.
Clancy Wiggum
Chief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the chief of police in the show's setting of Springfield, and is the father of Ralph Wiggum and the husband of Sara ...
dies at 62 after eating the sandwich.
*
Marge dies at 84 peacefully next to Ned, who appends a picture of her on the wall with his many other dead wives including
Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel-Flanders ( Krabappel; ) is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Marcia Wallace from 1990 until her death in October 2013. She was a 4th-grade teacher, who taught Bart Simpson's class a ...
.
* Bart explodes fireworks in
Seymour Skinner
Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, ...
's direction, saying "Skinner Sucks." Skinner dies at 119 from a heart attack after that, but his powered wheelchair rolls over Bart with his body on it, killing him at 80.
* Lisa dies at 98, realizing that her lifetime of meditation has been a waste of time.
*
Ralph Wiggum
Ralph Wiggum is a recurring character on the animated series, ''The Simpsons.'' He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Ralph, The son of Police Chief Wiggum, is a classmate of Lisa Simpson and is noted for his frequent non-sequiturs and humorous beh ...
dies at 120 as an evil king, poisoned by his descendant.
*
Maggie is depicted as a galaxy, and "never dies".
Reception
"Flanders' Ladder" scored a 0.8 rating with a 3 share and was watched by 2.10 million people, making it Fox's highest rated show of the night.
Dennis Perkins of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave this episode a C−, stating, "’Flanders’ Ladder’ is a piddling mess of an episode, peppered with a laugh or two, that never commits either to going for real emotional resonance, or comically undercutting it. So it just bobs along, occasionally landing on a funny idea but built on a disastrous foundation of mischaracterization and glibness. So when the ending comes, only the least discriminating would feel its montage of character deaths as anything but a cheap gambit to close out a truly disappointing episode (and season) with unmerited weight."
Screen Rant called it the best episode of the 29th season.
References
External links
*
{{The Simpsons episodes, 29
2018 American television episodes
The Simpsons (season 29) episodes
Television episodes about death
Television episodes about nightmares
Television episodes set in hospitals