I can’t say I’m sorry that this is my last essay on a “Treehouse” episode – these were always a pain in the ass to write about, despite being so fun to watch. As if to allay my frustration, this episode seems to neatly divide into a character study of Homer, Bart, Lisa, and Marge, with Bart and Lisa sharing a section. “The Homega Man” plays being the last man on Earth as a joyful fantasy, and there’s no better character to enthusiastically play into that than Homer – he, of all the family, could embrace the sheer hedonism one can indulge with no pesky civilisation in the way. In my childhood fantasies, everyone just went away, but the episode has a lot of fun playing with dead bodies; aside from the fact that we know many of the bodies, the sight of Homer obliterating bones into dust slays me every time (“Down in front!”). I’m amused by the fact that the apocalypse is sparked by Mayor Quimby picking a fight with the French – aside from riffing on a classic aspect of American culture, I enjoy the implication that French leaders bombed this one American town and nobody cared. The shift to Homer’s war against the mutants isn’t much to write home about, though the rest of the Simpson family surviving due to the lead paint on the house is a funny dig at the standards of American craftsmanship.
“Fly VS Fly” finds a funny new spin for Bart’s particular childlike imagination; it absolutely tickles me that even in a wacky scifi story, his expectations are too high, and I love that he still manages to make the best of it anyway – he only ends things when he’s offended by the fly taking his place in the family. I feel like the fact that Bart has to rely on Lisa to get him out of this is a good encapsulation of their relationship, too. The basic plot of the Fly is also wonderfully gross. Despite his kicking off and ending the plot, this feels like the ultimate example of Homer only becoming funnier as he’s pushed to the background; he’s in full-on Jerkass Homer mode, but I feel like “Treehouse” episodes give a little leeway on that kind of behaviour. My favourite part is his superior bargaining skills when he buys Frink’s teleporter.
The final section, “Easy Bake Coven”, is also the most interesting in concept; I absolutely love the fake-out of Marge seemingly being targeted by a literal witchhunt, only for her to turn out to be an actual witch. I always love the writers throwing Marge a bone, and turning her into an evil witch confers a level of power and malice on her that tickles me to bits. It’s on the level of Ned Flanders playing Satan – a real “it’s always the ones you least suspect”, and somehow it makes sense that she’d comfortably slip from one classic female archetype to another. The fact that everything leading up to it was pushing your classic anti-witchhunt jokes – something that works perfectly in the world of The Simpsons – only makes the reveal that much funnier. I also enjoy the second punchline of the story turning out to be a fake origin of Halloween. It’s almost a dual punchline structure.
Chalkboard Gag: N/A
Couch Gag: The family sit down and are electrocuted.
This episode was written by Mike Scully, David X Cohen, and Ned Goldreyer, and it was directed by Mark Kirkland. Ironically, the opening segment parodying network censors was itself censored, with a cutlass replacing a dagger and different sound effects. This was the last episode Brad Bird worked on before leaving to direct The Iron Giant.
“The Homega Man” is a parody of the movie The Omega Man. Homer runs over Johnny and Edgar Winter, mistaking them for mutants. The name of “Fly VS Fly” is a reference to Spy VS Spy, and it parodies The Fly. The animators referenced The Crucible for many of their designs in “Easy Bake Coven”, and Edna is wearing a scarlet A in reference to The Scarlet Letter.
Iconic Moments: 2. “I don’t get it. I don’t get it. I don’t get it. I don’t get it. I… don’t get it.” | “Oh, I’ve wasted my life.”
Biggest Laugh: “That better not be the mutants!” got a big laugh out of me, but this won:
