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

How would you rate this episode?


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I’m of the mind that mona should of never been seen again after Mother simpson because they’ve pretty much turned her into a happy Gilmore character. Put her up against a jerkass in this case burns give her a charming characteristic her emotional supportiveness and use that to hide the fact she’s a unrepentant asshole. I expected this to be either be an example of that or another slock that pretends she’s a saint but retconing everything seems to be the best way to go for this. At the very least Abe wasn’t villianized.
 
Abe and Mona are both terrible people in different ways, Abe is verbally abusive, always putting down Homer's dreams (quit your daydreaming melon head) and Mona valued her activism more than her family and likes to guilt trip in later episodes.
 
And now we have to wait 3 weeks for A Made Maggie... I need my weekly dose of new Simpsons, damn it!
 
This episode is just reusing an older and more iconic episode because they're so desperate for ideas and even jokes like baby Bart mooning Homer. Also Jerkass Bart and Jerkass Marge, for some reason ? Bart just calls his Father a loser despite his yearning for his lost Mother and Marge carelessly jamming Bart's mug in a drawer.

Homer and Abe having some sweet moments together were nice, but that's it really.

2/5
 
Marge carelessly jamming Bart's mug in a drawer.

She did feel like a little bit of a jerk in this one, seemingly demanding to be paid tribute to on Mother's Day or she'll be in a bad mood. The joke with the mugs that the kids made I thought was kinda funny, but still kinda dark with how she hasn't appreciated them & just coldly stuffs them away into drawers (and to be honest, some of Bart's looked neat).
 
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We all know what Al Jean is worth as a showrunner, but I still think he's a perfectly competent writer, so I was hoping this one would turn out to be good. In the end, I don't really know what to make of it. I already said that at this point, I don't mind changing / tangled continuity (I mean, in this episode they show Abe at the war, and he definitely looks like he's at least in his 30s during this scene), but I'm not sure it was worth ignoring some important elements of Mother Simpson. Weirdly enough, I get what Jean meant when he said he felt like this episode was the conclusion of Mona's arc, but I don't think he goes far enough with that and it sort of feels mostly anecdotic as a result. Especially when the story is parasitized by superfluous satire (though sometimes actually decent for a Jean episode) and overly long Netflix jokes. Again, I feel like he wasn't confident enough to let the story breath while there's so much into it, and with a few tweaks, I even think he could have avoided the continuity problems.

While the episode isn't bad by any means and is filled with nice moments (Homer is very charming in this episode and surprisingly thoughtful) and interesting ideas (Homer's memories of his mother getting fuzzier each year), most of them mainly works on their own, in here they had to mellow Abe and Homer's relationship to make them work, which can be a little confusing again. But I do admit that Mona wanting to attend Bart's birth is pretty heartwarming, or I just like saccharine scenes, I don't know. Also, it does have a handful of moments that genuinely made me laugh ("That's why I don't read the papers").

In other words, this episode feels like Al Jean's writing skills are toned down by Al Jean's showrunning skills. There are hints of something fairly good, and it ends up "just" alright. 3/5
 
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As shown with the Van Houten’s and the Nahasapeemapetilon’s heck even the Simpson’s themselves a lot of the time the writes take a very black and white view to conflict. The problem is that either because the way it is initially written or because of stuff added later these conflicts are complicated. The irony being that if the writers just admitted that there is no conflict/both parties are equally in the wrong they would regain that simplicity they want. Something they refuse to do. So retconing things in order to ignore everything after Mother Simpson is the only option they’ve given for themselves. But while this doesn’t necessarily add anymore the problem, it doesn’t actually solve it.
 
This is a rehash of a superior episode. It wasn't also very good. Marge wasn't likeable and Bart was also a jerk. We get than Abe is a bad parent but we don't need to be reminded over and over. The same goes Mona. I'll stick with Mona's first couple of appearanaces and not with this one. 2.5
 
Unfortunately, this could become a big problem as the show gets renewed over and over. Treehouse of Horror are not so good, nowadays, except two or three segments, since 2009.
Also, the continuity is skipped since Homer said he never saw Mona again, as he met her two or three times after that.
I'm still curious they almost never made an episode about Clancy Bouvier, except 6.11
 
I find these flashback/forward episodes to be real lacking. They were from the 70s. The 90s. We're back to Homer meeting Marge in detention in the 70s. Lifelong fans remember this stuff. I really enjoyed "Mother Simpson" because it had a sad sweet ending. It showed Homer's vulnerable side. Side note: I also like, "How I Wet Your Mother", but not as much. I also like the song, "Dream Operator" sung by David Byrne and Glenn Close; even though Byrne is a douchebag.

-Fuck I was 16 when "Mother Simpson" was first televised. I had hair. I miss my hair. At I have a good shape head to shave.
-More jokes went on to long.
-Another Mona Simpson episode. Let it go.
-The stupid fucking writers making Bart an ass when there really wasn't any reason for him to be one. Typical.
-Bart makes the good mugs. Lisa makes the crappy mug. Bart is the artist. Plus he really cares about his mom. Again, typical.
-Lazy writers.
-Hans Moleman with hair.
-Homer didn't drive a Gremlin. He drove a Plymouth Roadrunner with a Disco Sucks bumper sticker. I know its not important but I really can't stand disco.
-Not much more to add.

Sorry for my lateness.

2/5

@GlitterCat thank you. I think you might be the only person on here who I've read that thinks Mona is a bad person. I was in High School when I first saw "Mother Simpson" and not sure how exactly how I felt about her but in all honesty she is a selfish person. The writers put her on this pedestal that she great and they push aside that she abandoned her child. She probably wouldn't have done much time or any at all and still could have been a mother to Homer if she would have just took responsibility for what she did. If the roles were reversed, we be calling Abe a "deadbeat dad."
I also agree about Abe. "Homer, you're dumb as a mule and twice as ugly. If a stranger offers you a ride, I say take it!" Who says that to their kid.
 
@GlitterCat thank you. I think you might be the only person on here who I've read that thinks Mona is a bad person. I was in High School when I first saw "Mother Simpson" and not sure how exactly how I felt about her but in all honesty she is a selfish person. The writers put her on this pedestal that she great and they push aside that she abandoned her child. She probably wouldn't have done much time or any at all and still could have been a mother to Homer if she would have just took responsibility for what she did. If the roles were reversed, we be calling Abe a "deadbeat dad."
I also agree about Abe. "Homer, you're dumb as a mule and twice as ugly. If a stranger offers you a ride, I say take it!" Who says that to their kid.
Ultimately Abe and Mona are two very flawed people who tried there best but ultimately failed. Homer's Paternity Coot and Mona Leaves A are what ultimately ruin her character. the former because it turns Mother Simpson into a self serving memory of her being this put upon wife when really abe had just stopped caring after months/years of holier then thou hypocricy. and the later her actions are just flat out irredemable. the fact that every episode after that she is still on that pedestal confirms that she is an aweful person that just gaslights her family. the first had homer blaming himself and the next does go into how the manipulative will was wrong only once again you make abe the bad guy and her the saint. as i stated retconing everything away the only option they had left.

 
Ultimately Abe and Mona are two very flawed people who tried there best but ultimately failed. Homer's Paternity Coot and Mona Leaves A are what ultimately ruin her character. the former because it turns Mother Simpson into a self serving memory of her being this put upon wife when really abe had just stopped caring after months/years of holier then thou hypocricy. and the later her actions are just flat out irredemable. the fact that every episode after that she is still on that pedestal confirms that she is an aweful person that just gaslights her family. the first had homer blaming himself and the next does go into how the manipulative will was wrong only once again you make abe the bad guy and her the saint. as i stated retconing everything away the only option they had left.

I have always noticed that continuity adds more character to the cartoon characters we see and love, but it often ends miserably when you have episodes like 'Mona Leaves A' which is possibly one of the the worst James Bond parody I have seen; it doesn't fit at all.
 
I'll give it a 2/5, rounded from a 2.5/5.

I didn't really enjoy the continuity issues, but when the show is riddled with them, and has been going on for years, it's no use complaining about it. Other than that, the Jokes kept the episode from being a failure.
 
I have no problem with the floating timeline element of the show that makes sense but when you completely undermine the events of one of the most beloved and important episodes of the series that's a step too far, even worse it wasn't..... funny. 1/5
 
For me, it's a 2/5

Al Jean said that the episode's story was less of a retcon and more to see if Homer ever searched for Mona in his adolescence. But to seemingly retcon EVERYTHING about "Mother Simpson" and "My Mother the Carjacker" (I don't even know about "Mona Leaves-a" anymore) was a disgrace to the show that's even worse than making Homer and Marge now grow up in the 80s/90s instead of the 60s/70s. Now Homer has apparently never reunited with his mom in his adult years, and that's just WRONG

I really wouldn't mind if this episode (despite still being emotional at points) was non-canon.
 
Man, this episode is terrible, and a MASSIVE retcon if you ask me. Why could they not just leave Mona alone after her death, or at least after "How I Wet Your Mother". The only really positive thing about this episode was the credits, as it was random, but in a good way. I do like the idea of Mona in a disguise visiting Homer, and Homer thinking it was a dream, but I feel like if they were to do that, they should of put it in "Mother Simpson" (of course, at the time they probably didn't think about it, but still).
 
Weep, another Mona episode. By far the worst of them as expected, but let's see how far of greatness was it.

Something I disliked here were the callbacks to classic episodes. That's great in small doses but here it looks like a weak resource to call our attentions in the only way they could. From Bart watching SimpsoncalifragilisticexpialaD'ohcious and The Simpsons Movie on TV (very weird moment, if you ask me), to the the recycled joke of Flowers By Irene from Bart the Murderer (and all the copies, because using it once was not enough), to the HD re-do of the iconic scene of The Way We Was, to the variarion of the ending of Mona Simpson where Homer stares at the stars, an episode we are doing like if it wouldn't exist because what happened there is contradictory with what happens here.

Another problem I had here were the extremely clumsy satire of virtual therapy. We got lots of unfunny jokes there that weren't on the same page as the flashback story was. The commentaries were predictable and obvious, the psychologist were extremely bland characters... and why is the family listening to a private session? I also thought the use of Santa's Little Helper and She Biscuits was filler and not good filler, to be fair.

Also, I have to say it was hard for me to be involved into the story. Not only because the plainly bad framed story. Also because it's the fifth time we see Mona returning in some way to Homer's life and then disappearing and unlike other episodes this one doesn't make an effort to be different enough to other episodes. And also because it ignores an important piece of continuity, one of those that shouldn't be ignored in my opinion (Mother Simpson tells a precious story that must be kept exactly as it was conceived).

Were there good stuff in this mess? Well, yes. And not minor ones. While overshadowed by previous episodes that did the same thing much better, the interactions between Homer and Grampa, Homer and Mona, and also between Grampa and Moma were mostly good. That's a huge compliment to make because there were many of them. I particularly enjoyed the scene in the hospital even though it was hard to believe the option that it didn't happen since both Grampa and Homer saw it. It was very sweet and touching and the line of Grampa was great. The emotional moments felt genuine even if, again, it felt like a worse version of older episodes.

2.4/5, it could've been higher but ultimately I realized it has all the problems a modern Jean episode has and only the tricky fact it's a Mona story makes it a bit more tolerable.
 
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I didn't like this episode because of the way it interfered with the continuity established in "Mother Simpson." I was an active poster in ATS and in the episode capsules (anybody remember them?) back in the heyday. I have no problem remembering the plot of "Mother Simpson." Why can't the people who produce the series?

And how can Lisa have produced three drawers of Mom mugs when she's only in second grade?
 
And how can Lisa have produced three drawers of Mom mugs when she's only in second grade?
It hadn't necessary to be "school task". Just a kind present to mother, when she was 5 or what, with own wish.

Or even if you stand on that must be school task only, remember the American school system, when before 1st grade there is also K-grade (5-6 years), which comes after preschool. Here is where the 3rd mug could come from.
 
It was going to be really beautiful episode…

Ok, let's forget. Let Mother Simpson never was. Homer thought his mom was dead until My Mother the Carjacker, where he for the first met her. Wait a minute… this doesn't make sense too.:banghead: The problem in the story itself. According to this episode, Homer DID know Mona's alive for all years. What-a hell?!:barf: I understood there could be continuity drops in episodes, run by Matt Selman, who doesn't really bother about it, but from Al "never-forget" Jean?! To finally end this issue - this is just the biggest writer's retcon of icon story (even if by that time - season 7 - Al Jean left the Simpsons for The Critic for a while).

Now, the good left. Hypothetically, if you didn't see The Simpsons until this, 33rd, season or retcon any continuity, timeline at all like Matt Selman ("The Simpsons episode can be watched from random episode without bother about its history, just remember the basement"), this episode was fine for you. Really good, not portending trouble, act 1, good animation, sometimes funny gags, lines - that was OK.

Well, in all ways, acts 2 and 3 are much worse than the 1st. Useless lines (Bart's "joke"), dialogues, repeated for some reason Abe alcohol problem, silly "what actually happened AFTER?" scene, mediocre references to early flashbacks, the meh ending with unclear credit scene (I discovered what was that, but still didn't get why it needed).

There are really much emotions here, delivered… let's say, good, though. But the story basement and curving (I even wrote apologies for missing them) ruined this episode to be bad criticized.👎

plot 14/25
absurdity (the possibility of what is happening and whether I liked it) 21/25
comedy 16/25
originality (level of references and whether I liked them) 19/25

TOTAL 70/100 (strong 3/5, with rounding, or C+) DECENT!
 
I don't know if it was just that I woke up in the right mood this morning, but I found myself having really enjoyed this one. In the grander scale of the timeline of Homer's life it's a bit of a tough pill to swallow, but treated as its own thing I thought it was a really cute entry overall.

This episode feels like one they'd do in the early years of Al Jeans tenure as solo showrunner. The whole family sitting on the sofa listening to Homer's story made for a weirdly nostalgic framework to me. Initially, I thought it was going to be tough to go through another story about Mona leaving Homer and Abe, but I was glad to see they focussed less on that event and more on snippets of time after it happened. I liked the writing a goodbye letter to Abe on his bottles of Vodka and I thought the road trip to Utah, while a little subdued, had some decent jokes in there, mainly in the FBI disguises and Mona shouting over the gas station intercom. I laughed at baby Bart mooning Homer too.

Only part I'm not sure about is Mona coming into the hospital at the end in disguise. I think it ends up stepping on the heels of Mother Simpson so I prefer to think of this part as just a dream in Homer's head. Otherwise, enjoyed this episode. Liked the family talking on the couch, thought the Utah road trip was uneventful but harmless and the snippets of life after Mona left were interesting to me. Plus, a sweet wee end credits sequence. I had a good time.

4/5
 
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