In times when most of the premises are recycled, it was nice to have a totally original one. In this case, there is nothing of marital problems, no new friendships for Bart or Lisa, no other generic story in which Moe feels alone or Krusty loses his work on television. Here, Comic Book Guy sue Homer for a car theft. It's a good idea from LaZebnik that, fortunately, fell into the right hands. Because, although it does not seem an easy task to develop 20 minutes with the idea of stealing the car, Kelley and Vebber knew how to shape the episode, through good characterizations, an engaging plot and several fun jokes.
The start was effective. It was fun to see Homer and the children share beautiful moments in The Gilder Truffle and in the Comic Book Guy car without anyone trying to see the consequences of the stupidities they did. Parallel scenes of Marge enjoying a massage session were also good. The conflict begins when one of those inevitable consequences come true, and Comic Book Guy tells Homer that he will sue him for stealing his car. Since then, he and his family will look for a way to not go to jail. Homer tries with an emotional speech that judge Snyder dismisses immediately, and Marge looks for trying to reason with Jeff Albertson, but both fail. Lisa suggests that a good way to avoid sentencing is through mitigation, as Mr. Burns did with the help of Guillermo del Toro. I would like to dwell a bit on this. I have read that the scene of del Toro's short is too long, or that it is out of place. I can not disagree more with this. I think it was one of the high points of the episode. It makes a masterful use of the guest star, there are beautiful cultural references, it reveals the judicial tool to those who did not know it, and it is visually impeccable. It is an excellent remake to the opening of Treehouse of Horror XXIV.
After this, the Simpsons try to do the same with the case that corresponds to them, giving rise to some scenes that I loved. We see that nobody says something good about Homer, although Marge tries to use her wit with editing to make it look like she does. I thought they would use that video before the court, which would have been rushed for the development of the episode. Luckily, they tried another video, this time starring babies and dogs, which Lisa calls the only things that people still believe. That phrase is very realistic. The scene in which they reverse the theft of Homer to Flanders was epic. My problem with development is in the end. I would have liked Snyder to make a decision, and not that Comic Book Guy simply lift the charges. In addition, his 'revenge' has no relevance to us, since we had never seen that keychain that Homer appreciated so much. And I'm not a fan of seeing Homer in the comic-coon either. I enjoyed the epilogue with Bart playing a joke on Skinner, at least.
My other 'complaint' is based on not having used Kumiko. It was an excellent opportunity to see her again as a secondary character. Maybe he could have been the one to make Comic Book Guy reflect. Or, on the contrary, who convinces him to carry out a trial. But the two scenes in which she appears as a servant of her husband and without words. And, well, you know that I'm always eager for the female characters to evolve. The opportunity was wasted. Still, I enjoyed the dynamic between Comic Book Guy and Homer, and the latter with his family. All have chord characterizations. I also liked the appearances of some secondary characters, such as Sideshow Mel, Skinner, Gil, Milhouse and, especially, Patty and Selma. And, as always when Albertson appears, the references to pop culture were very good. To finish, a fun facts: we heard Burp Lisa for the first time in the whole series. He had only done it in the Tracy Ullman's shorts. Dedicated to those who say there are no new things to do (?).
4/5. Second best episode of the season so far. Now, to prepare for the Westbrook episode.