Rate & Review: "Mothers and Other Strangers" (UABF02)

How would you rate this episode?


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Brad Lascelle

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Season 33, Episode 9
Original Airdate
: November 28, 2021

Writer & Showrunner: Al Jean
Director: Rob Oliver

Synopsis: Teenage Homer and Grampa go on a road trip to ease their sorrow.

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R&R Poll Average Score: 2.40 / 5 (as of September 24, 2022 / 42 votes)
IMDb User Rating: 6.3 / 10
 
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The overall impression I got from this was the following: Fuck continuity (Homer and Marge as teens in the 70s again in the same year that had the as such in the 90s TWICE) and every previous Mona episode especially Mother Simpson!

Even with that aside, it was super boring as hell

1.5/5 very kindly rounded up to a 2.
 
It was OK. I don’t have too much to say about this one. I try not to let continuity mistakes bother me anymore, and this didn’t shit on it too much; the biggest issue I had is the retcon of Abe‘s parenting; he’s been much mellower in later flashback episodes. The therapist stuff felt like some unnecessary padding, and most of the jokes related to it weren’t very good. The story was kind of sweet at times, but I wasn’t gripped by it. A fairly bland outing, but it had some chuckle-worthy moments and some decently heartfelt moments. 3/5
 
I try not to let continuity mistakes bother me anymore, and this didn’t shit on it too much
Except if does as this episode acts as though every Mona episode from Mother Simpson through Mona Leaves-a never happened and I wouldn't let Homer & Marge being shown as teens in the 70s again get to me either if they didn't bring it upon themselves by having two previous episodes this very year that portrays them as such in the 90s!

And if someone working on the show makes an arrogantly myopic response to anyone who calls the show out for this, than my response to that will be "Screw. YOU!".
 
It was okay. The continuity issues definitely bothered me a lot considering how much the Mona storyline serves to Homer's character development as to why he acts the way he does. I agree about Abe acting too mellow. They either write him too abusive or too nice, and rarely ever crack that middle combination. The story was also just very predictable, and that ending with Mona visiting baby Bart, while sweet just rang completely hollow. While I like the idea of the story, the way it was executed and written was just too simple and plain. I did have a couple of laughs here and there, but nothing that could save the story. 2/5.
 
Except if does as this episode acts as though every Mona episode from Mother Simpson through Mona Leaves-a never happened and I wouldn't let Homer & Marge being shown as teens in the 70s again get to me either if they didn't bring it upon themselves by having two previous episodes this very year that portrays them as such in the 90s!
Okay, I'll ask: where did it show Homer and Marge together "in the '70s"? There was no date specified for the detention scene. Also, it takes "30 years ago," so it couldn't have been before 1991 (which is when Marge started college, and, IIRC, also when Maggie was born, but that's another story or two).

I did notice a couple of callbacks: Flowers By Irene, from Bart the Murderer (and also from The Simpsons: Hit & Run), and the coyote from El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer.
 
It's not bad. Although, this episode is kinda a teeny bit emotional (I did not cry), because of the part where Teenage Homer and Grampa drove together, I guess. 3/5
 
Look, I don't mind when the show breaks continuity. I'm one of few people who actually defends That 90's Show. But at least do something interesting with it. This episode was a slog from start to finish. There was one good joke (the scene between Abe and the waitress), but good lord. A solid 1/5.
 
Ah dear. I have only myself to blame for the disappointment I feel. You'd think I'd learn, wouldn't you? I really wanted to like this one - love it, even, if possible. Alas, it falls short and I walked away from my first viewing with a sense of emptiness. Even a Jean solo writing credit and Rob Oliver as director can't elevate this one. How is it I felt more for Smithers at the conclusion of last week's episode than anything that occurred this week? It wasn't awful and it had its moments, but the whole thing was undercut by the therapy stuff in the wraparounds. I also found the mismash of retaining certain continuity elements while disregarding others very strange and off-putting. My thoughts are jumbled at the moment, but I'll probably score the episode a tentative 3 rounded up from a 2.5. As it stands, season 29's Forgive and Regret remains by far the best use of Mona since her death.
 
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I have no issue with year/time-related flexible continuity, given the characters always stay the same age. But the way this one negates "Mother Simpson" rubbed me entirely the wrong way. Grampa told Homer that she died, up until they met in "Mother Simpson." I just don't think this episode was worth throwing all that away.
 
Well..

It does kinda ruin everything that happened in Mother Simpson.

There's a lot to nitpick about what this episode does to the canon. I think most fans don't need every instance of it pointed out. It bothers me that Clancy is thin and already a cop. This is just a weird episode in terms of canon. I find it weird that they respect the timeline. I guess that is Al Jean's seniority showing.

The intro was a little weird too, I'm not mad at it but I thought it was weird how they introduced the Mother's day element. They also spent so much time on the Muttflix joke

Bart and Lisa were at their worst in this episode.. Lisa explaining the joke and Bart basically acting like a feral child.

There was a touching episode in this, bookended by fodder, but I feel like we already got closure on the subject of Mona.. this just seemed superfluous

2/5
 
I dont really care about the continuity, and I dont even really care that it wasnt necessary (you can argue How I Wet Your Mother and Forgive and Regret werent either but they were good so it doesnt matter as much). That being said I thought this was just kind of lame. The story just needed to be more focused because there were good individual parts, but it felt like the episode was giving us too many meandering detours.

And the most annoying of them all was the whole framing device. Im beginning to realise that the framing device of the flashback/flash forward episodes really are more important than I used to think, and I mostly dislike the ones that keep cutting back to the present. So far none of them has beat Holidays of Future Passed, where we just get a few minutes in the opening, a great montage to the future and then we stay there for the rest of the runtime. While it's a funny gag that they all go through therapy and need to resort to something cheaper, they really should have pulled back from making jokes about the app so constantly, especially right after an emotional scene.

Also, to comment on something I noticed with this and the difference between Al Jean and Selman, when CBG was throwing a lampshade on the conventions of the story in A Serious Flanders it at least made sense to his character and the scene eventually progressed the story. Abe throwing a lampshade on how a revelation would make him immediately quit drinking makes no sense to him and was ultimately pointless since later in the episode showed he wasnt even telling the truth, so both on a character and story level it fails, and only works as a gag in isolation.

Despite all my complaining about the framing device I liked pretty much everything related to the mothers day stuff, from the kid's lame presents to them being jealous of Maggie to the explanation as to why they all cant make her breakfast to the end where Homer actually did get a nice reservation. Definitely elevates the episode. 3/5.
 
They also spent so much time on the Muttflix joke
Forgot to mention, yes just give us a screen with show titles for us to pause on, it isnt the 90's anymore where you have to linger on the screen for people to read things, everyone will be able to pause and rewind the episode within days now. The gags dont need to go on so long and on top of that be explained by Lisa.
 
First, I don't matter by years-bending at all and never was:rolleyes: However, there is still problem with continuity here: it's too much. I mean, Jean added too much references to past (modern and very old) episodes, and they (references) often didn't work.

As for the story itself, it's really beautiful, great director work from Oliver (dog TV montage angle at the start, Utah canyon animation).
The episode is really emotional with hard inner choice😢, as Matt Selman has said. Both Rachel Bloom and Glen Close did the best, BUT AJ wasn't AJ if not added unnecessary elements: Wiggum and donuts, too sudden Homer's tragedy, that app and others.
Spoiler alert (who haven't seen yet): the final act (in present times) is the weakest part.

I guess, it still gets 4/5 from me (of course up from 3.5)

P.S. For me, it's the best Jean's HD solo effort (Daddicus Finch was also fine, but there is personal problem - I haven't studied nor read To Kill a Mockingbird before☺️)
 
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Notes:
-Dog humor in general is pretty played out, but I did think "Fox News" was cute.
-Weird time of year to have a Mother's Day episode.
-I laughed at Lisa and Bart's terrible mugs.
-"I just don't know if we can afford more mental health" Excellent line.
-I'm going to talk more about the continuity issues in my wrap-up, but yeah, the idea that Homer discovered Mona was alive during his childhood and not during his adulthood doesn't work for me.
-I don't remember seeing inside Lard Lad before, now twice in one season.
-Lot of sight gags in this episode. "Lonely Man Chili", "What to Expect When You're Expecting Nothing".
-To me, Grampa is mostly in character in this flashback. Yes, he's mellowed out over the years, but at least they showed him as an unpleasant drunk up to the point that he and Homer begin looking for Mona.
-Baby Bart is adorable.
-That "closure" disclaimer. :lol:
-This black and white scene must be a reference to something, but I don't know what.

So...let's talk about continuity:

It isn't that "continuity" matters per se in a show with a floating timeline. I really don't care if Homer grew up in the 90s in one episode and the 70s in another or that Grampa will always be a WWII veteran, no matter what else changes. A show with a floating timeline has some freedom to play with the timeline like this and it does not need to keep one consistent "canon". That said, my biggest problem with this episode isn't just that it acts like a major series of plots never happened, it's that this is just a re-tread of something that's already been done. So in this episode we find out for the first time the story of Homer's mother and how Homer actually found her but then lost her again despite the fact that this is literally the plot of Mother Simpson? It would be one thing if they simply ignored the canon and revealed that Homer discovered that Mona was alive as a teenager, but to actually re-do the plot of Mother Simpson is just absurd. Why not do an episode where Lisa becomes a vegetarian again then? "Continuity" becomes an issue when an episode tries to make me feel emotional about a situation that's already been done and doesn't fit with what we've learned about a character.

3/5
 
That said, my biggest problem with this episode isn't just that it acts like a major series of plots never happened, it's that this is just a re-tread of something that's already been done.
Exactly! That scene where Mona enters the car with the hippy is just a copy and paste from Mother Simpson. As much as this episode tried to be sentimental and sweet it just came off as doing past episodes featuring Mona as though they never happened. Despite being too coincidental to Homer's obsession with crosswords I liked the twist of Mona writing Homer notes in the Word Jumbles in My Mother the Carjacker. Here she just randomly sends a letter after 10 years of being gone. There are so many problems with this part of the plot, I won't even try to get into them. The FBI Agents also were just so stupid. Why not just track the letter instead of letting Homer do it? It'd make more sense. Santa's Little Helper's Mother is here with a quick line about her absence saying something around the lines of she was brought over for the day. Just don't mention where she came from at all because I have so many problems with this quick line. Didn't the Simpsons adopt her? Who owns her now? Is it that guy that the Simpsons all slapped in the S31 finale? Possibly the worst script Jean has written, and shows so many problems with his showrunning style.
 
-Weird time of year to have a Mother's Day episode
Ironically, The Way of the Dog where She Biscuit first appeared, aired a bit after Mother's Day, which was a Christmas episode. :D

How Jean just said…
Oh, I'm silent about recent Manger Things. Anyway, this "holiday time mishmash" isn't for the first, second or third time:P

Another topic: Jean made a justify for "canon fans" about Wiggum's weight…
 
Gosh! For some reason I hadn't thought about "Mother Simpson" timeline refusing until I read other reviews, and forgot about it writing my review. 😦Perhaps, I should sorry for such hasty "canon state" in all the fans. It looked really silly outside😟

I understand, 30 years ago could be anywhen, in 1990s, 1970s etc - again I don't mind on year-bending (actually, when The Simpsons will reach season 40 (over Homer's age) they definitely will be out of season 1 events, but now not about it:P). But this was just stupid for Jean to forget about Mother Simpson history - until then Homer really hadn't seen his mother after she left, he had believed Mona is dead. You don't need to be any "Simpsons expert" to see something is wrong.

And now I also realized, Al Jean had just forgotten about Wiggum's fat in his youth days had been showned before in various flashbacks. Realizing it (read fan comments, complaints) Jean quickly wrote that Twitter post👆 with possible explanation, as the best he came to mind. In the MH countinity case, I'd personally write justification like "after these events, Homer had so much haf traumas, his mind just forgot this trip" (what anyway sound silly, because Homer himself now talks this story)… Ohh, why Simpsons fans can't just live simply?🙃

Would this mistake(s) affect on my review? Maybe. Anyway it was written just after 1st watching, and definitely I'll rewatch, reestimate (out of 100, traditionally) and write another review on the episode… somewhere in the far future.
 
Yeah...this wasn't great. I already was on the fence since this was a "flashback" episode. (I don't really care for past or future episodes) not to mention it messed with the continuity again. But at the same time, it was a touching episode, especially with that last part with Mona visiting newborn Bart. Plus my new user title which honestly should not have made me laugh as much as it did.

3/5
 
This episode was... something. It has a lot of issues and some odd choices they made. For example the way they did the coach gag where it had a rather awkward transition to start of the episode, wihch I thought was also going to be part of the coach gag until this gag of Bart zapping through the TV ended (and one of the programs showing actual footage of the Alien movie, not something that the show is used to).

The Netflix gags are really overused by now but I do like how wholesome Santa's Little Helper and his mom get to watch ''Muttflix''. Kinda fun how his programs play out from a dogs POV. Apparently it is Mother's Day and Lisa is giving Marge mug... well I counted all the mugs and apparently Lisa gave her 34 in total, and that while she is eight years old and mother's Day is only once a year. For some reason i wanted to ruin this gag for myself. I really like how Maggie got to outshine Bart and Lisa by just giving her a kiss. Homer gives Marge a picture frame instead and somehow it reminds me of his mother.. didn't felt believeable to me. The calls to the therapist from an app are pretty fun.

Then we get to the flashbacks and boy did I have to convince myself not to get bothered by all the continuity changes. In a way we do get much more of a different dynamic between a young Homer and Abe which is kinda interesting to watch. Abe doesn't act as much of an neglecting asshole of a father and is much more supportive, which made the road trip also bearable. I like the gag with Abe and the waitress being done dating in like 10 seconds.

I liked seeing Mona back despite not having her reunite with her son after all. It was a rather powerful moment for Homer to stick with Abe over Mona, though not a fan of how blatant Mona just ends up joining up with a hippy as it was originally the case. Mona visiting Bart's birth was also a great scene. The episode ended alright with Homer taking advantage of a restaurants way of doing brunch.

Despite its issues, this episode did have some bright moments. The continuity can be bothersome but considering how long this show has been airing its not really that much of an issue. Though I do find that they should have done way better to make it worth doing so which is not something that this episode accomplished. Its fine bringing back Mona but considering how often she gets brought back makes me wonder if they regret killing her off too soon. It would have been interesting to have seen more of an alive Mona with the Simpson family instead of cnstantly in flashbacks. Also I find that Homer gets way too many flashbacks as a child while I would like to see more of a young Marge instead. Other than that I'd say the humor was alright, characterisation was mostly on spot, pacing wasn't that great and the overall story could have been way better. Maybe I'm too generous giving this a 2.5/5, and then rounding it up to a...

3/5
 
The continuity was weird. Mona left thirty years ago so that would be the Nineties but Abe looks like he's fighting in World War II instead of Vietnam and Dr. Hibbert has a Mr. T hairstyle.
 
(I posted a review a couple of days back, but didn't feel satisfied with it so I deleted, retooled & add some things after a rewatch, as on the first viewing it did leave me a little confused and conflicted so I figured another viewing could be good. It gave me some more thoughts that I had overlooked the first time so I'm posting the re-do now).

This was not nearly as good as I hoped, but was still okay. I don't oppose to the show doing another flashback story about a young Homer and his missing mother Mona (and I generally don't mind the retconningin the HD era as it is just the show utilizing the flexible timeline which doesn't really bother me) but here they stretched things pretty far at times, feeling confused as it both want to be a sequel to previous Mona plots but alsowanting to remake it (by taking a lot of creative liberties and mixing & matching prior stor aspects). The plot itself of Homer's telling the story of how he was missing her mother and going to look for her (along with Abe when a postcard arrives) and the FBI being on the case, but much felt like retread and the revisionism was a little much at times. Not terrible, but still kinda meh and partially kinda disrespectful to canon (even being kinda hostile toward 'Mother Simpson').

I didn't especially care for the opening with Bart channel surfing (surprised they included a clip from that one gory scene from 'Alien') and settling for "Muttflix" (a streaming service for dogs) was just lame enough to not be funny (and Bart really felt off here, acting like a dog and kind of like an idiot). Nice to see Santa's Little Helper's mother Shebiscuit again, but her described as just visiting for Mother's Day was confusing (didn't the Simpsons take care of her?). I like the joke about Lisa and Bart having given Marge a lot of self-sculpted cups (and she just coldly stuff them into drawers) and Maggie one-upping them with a hug and boasting about it was hilarious. Homer depressed as Mother's Day reminds him of his mother was a little sad, I liked the gag with Bart's tasteless joke & the framing story with Homer using a therapist app was pretty so-so, but the app satire was honestly a little amusing.

Interesting with a bit of a look at how Homer & Abe took Mona leaving (and this seem to be set in the early 70's, which means the continuity snapped back to its original place instead of setting it in the 1990's in the 'PizzaBots' episode from last season). Abe now having been a raging alcoholic in the past was a little much (but understandable as he obviously misses Mona at this point and felt like something new, at least) and Homer's interactions with him were pretty well voice acted (the scene where Homer confronts his father about her mother by the table was pretty good and I liked the drama with Abe coming to admit it was much his fault she left). Homer grieving his mother and trying to move on I liked fine, even though it already started to feel like it was rehashing old material with some re-doing instead of doing something really new and fresh with the premide, but it was never anything awful.

The letter plot with Homer & Abe following its directions to meet Mona in Utah was a decent one and had some nice scenes (the diner bit & spending the night on the hood of the car) & jokes, though the FBI plot felt silly (on both the first and second viewing); why do they need Homer to flush her out? Made no sense. I did like Abes' WWII story and the dog tags that he forgot about and gave Homer (whom in the present passes them to Bart); a filler detour but amusing. The PA joke with Mona was okay, the chase between the rocks was nice (but it makes Mona look even worse as she abandons Homer again and is being selfish) & Homer choosing to stay with Abe was admirable. Then it all feels like the end of 'Mother Simpson' with Mona's escape in the hippie's van and the FBI doesn't even try to pursue (which was pretty dumb, but eh, it is a foregone conclusion that she needs to get away in the end).

As said, I generally don't mind the retconning in the HD era, but this one was a little much at times: It felt like a grab bag of various old and new moments and actually kind of started to step on 'Mother Simpson'. Sime of the retcons were kinda annoying & Mona sneaking into the hospital to see newborn Bart was egregious (Homer seeing her in Utah in her youth was a lot but I can overlook it, but this hospital bit was a little too much): her wanting to see her first grandchild is sweet, but it felt excessive (though I liked the jokes with Homer preceeding her appearance). The rest of the wraparound scenes with the app therapy was okay, but that listing joke being fell flat (though Lisa changing the therapist midway when the guy blamed Homer for Mona leaving was good).

All in all, it wasn't so bad and I like the interactions between teenage Homer and Abe in the flashbacks (plus the wraparound story had its moments, despite the poor start) but it felt really kind of flat, going through the motions (with some bright spots) but several moments feeling poorly handled and/or artificial (or just unnecessary), some scenes dragging or feeling too long & the retconning being a little too agressive and all over the place at times (especially that hospital scene being too much to accept) and felt like a sequel and remake at the same time, and some scenes dragged, but at least I enjoyed it fine despite its flaws. Not a bad premise, sporting fine direction & some good moments, but the script needed to be more (and less regarding the retconning).

3/5 (up from 2.5/5). This really should have been better than it ended up being (and, again, the rampant retconning was a lot & thinking about the inconsistencies makes my head spin), but it was OK as a whole and those aspects that didn't fall flat weren't that bad (with the Homer & Abe scenes mostly being rather well written despite everything). I think with more consistency, restraint & respect to the earlier Mona stories, it could've been really good and on par with 'Forgive And Regret' (maybe the gold standard of HD flashback tales with your Homer), but this was what it was. I understand why some hate it, but I felt that nothing was either terrible or upsetting enough that made me angry & the good moments were nice so I cannot be harsh to it in the end.
 
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Kinda puzzled as why nobody posted these yet, but the viewership prelims:
The Simpsons received a rating of 1.2, with an viewership of 3.677 million. Still no news on the final ratings, but they certainly won the AniDom block.
Thanksgiving weekends🥱
Here is a schedule of ratings output, if you're interested
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend will cause delays for daily national ratings (live+same day cable and broadcast) for several days. This is how the ratings should roll out the next week or so. (All times Pacific.)

Wed 11/24 nationals available Mon 11/29 by 2p
Thu 11/25 nationals available Tue 11/30 by 8a
Fri 11/26 nationals available Tue 11/30 by 2p
Sat 11/27 nationals available Wed 12/1 by 8a
Sun 11/28 nationals available Wed 12/1 by 8a
Then for a few days, broadcast ratings will follow cable ratings.

Mon 11/29 nationals
Cable available Wed 12/1 by 9a
Broadcast available Wed 12/1 by 2p
Tue 11/30 nationals
Cable available Wed 12/1 by 2p*
Broadcast available Thu 12/2 by 8a
Wed 12/1 nationals
Cable available Thu 12/2 by 2p*
Broadcast available Fri 12/3 by 2p
Thu 12/2 nationals
Cable available Fri 12/3 by 2p*
Broadcast available Mon 12/6 by 8a
From Showbuzz daily.
 
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