Rate & Review: "My Octopus and a Teacher" (UABF11)

How would you rate this episode?

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Brad Lascelle

Brad Lascelle

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Season 33, Episode 18
Original Airdate: April 24, 2022

Writer: Carolyn Omine
Director: Rob Oliver
Showrunner: Matt Selman
Co-runner: Carolyn Omine

Synopsis: Bart can't control his feelings when he gets a new teacher. Meanwhile, Lisa befriends an octopus.

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R&R Poll Average Score: 3.55 / 5 (as of June 8, 2024 / 53 votes)
IMDb User Rating: 6.6 / 10
 
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If I have to be honest, I actually enjoyed this episode tonight, I especially enjoyed the Lisa subplot as well. 4/5
 
Not great. This biggest problem was the new teacher. She appeared to be a “Mary Sue,” i.e., a character who has no flaws and is perfect in every way. I get the feeling she won’t be the next Krabappel and lose her passion for teaching because of Bart. Bart definitely behaved oddly in this, and I thought the teacher crush angle was a bit cliché. I can understand Bart’s frustrations with the teacher having a husband; I too have been irrationally angry when seeing people in relationships. At least he had another reason to go alongside it.

The Lisa plot with the octopus didn’t really capture my interest too much. I did like the twist at the beginning that the octopus was alive, but most of that plot was just Lisa trying to keep it in captivity, which is quite odd for Lisa. I’m not sure what really drove her to be such good friends with an animal that she’d abandon her PETA-like values.

Overall, it wasn’t a standout to me. I’ll give a 2/5.
 
Also, just the heads up that Broti Gupta is now a new Producer as of this episode. And Carolyn Omine is once again a co-runner for tonight's episode
 
I thought it was a decent episode.. Bart acting weird had its funny moments. I liked Homer telling Bart about the crush he had on the school nurse, I laughed when he repeated in a hushed tone that he'd fall off the monkey bar on purpose.

The new teacher was interesting, I didn't hate the dynamics between her and the other staff. I didn't hate her character either, She seemed a little too perfect, I'm not sure I would compare her to a Mary Sue. They do tend to give voice actors good characters, at least when it comes to modern Simpsons. I still think it's better than having them play themselves without any layer of humility.

So she wasn't the most interesting character but I did enjoy that she'd start by bad mouthing something and trying to say something positive. There's this weird mid-western quality to her that I thought was a little unoriginal or too original, that might just be my bias speaking.

Lisa's side story was okay, it did feel like the lesser of two stories, I thought they did a good job converging the two plots at the end.

I thought Marge sounded really rough in this episode, Seymour didn't sound quite right either.

I would give to episode a 3.5/5 but I feel like it missed a couple of beats so I will round it down to 3/5 for the poll
 
Frankbags said:
I thought it was a decent episode.. Bart acting weird had its funny moments. I liked Homer telling Bart about the crush he had on the school nurse, I laughed when he repeated in a hushed tone that he'd fall off the monkey bar on purpose.

The new teacher was interesting, I didn't hate the dynamics between her and the other staff. I didn't hate her character either, She seemed a little too perfect, I'm not sure I would compare her to a Mary Sue. They do tend to give voice actors good characters, at least when it comes to modern Simpsons. I still think it's better than having them play themselves without any layer of humility.

So she wasn't the most interesting character but I did enjoy that she'd start by bad mouthing something and trying to say something positive. There's this weird mid-western quality to her that I thought was a little unoriginal or too original, that might just be my bias speaking.

Lisa's side story was okay, it did feel like the lesser of two stories, I thought they did a good job converging the two plots at the end.

I thought Marge sounded really rough in this episode, Seymour didn't sound quite right either.

I would give to episode a 3.5/5 but I feel like it missed a couple of beats so I will round it down to 3/5 for the poll
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I wonder if we'll get to see her Husband, we never got to see Mr.Krabappel

and yeah let's not forget the voice actors are aging I'm not looking forward to when Bart doesn't sound like Bart anymore or Homer doesn't sound like Homer or Lisa doesn't sound like Lisa (perhaps Melissa Altro could voice Lisa if Yeardley can't do it anymore, heck in the promo for Arthur's final episodes I thought that Muffy was starting to sound a little bit like Lisa at least I though she did
https://twitter.com/x/status/1490737038471188486
 
So, they've officially retconned "Ned was Bart's 'permanent' teacher"? At the end, Bart mentioned that the chalkboard punishment was something "my previous teacher" did.
 
Okay so once again, probably need to watch again to get a full idea of how to feel but... je-sus Bart was not done well at all. Like, it'd make sense if he was just acting weird because of embarrassment over being saved and feeling guilty for yelling at the teacher but then turning into a violently jealous monster? What?

I mean, that goes so far against how he's been in any other love interest ep. And there's been plenty. The kid's a dork when he's not completely oblivious.
 
Just hated it. The flashback plot was stupid. No mention of Flanders leaving. He was not depicted as a substitute teacher in my memories. Also, Bart acted like a spoiled brat and regarding Homer, even if he was depicted good, he also gave him some basic advice he gave in 20.17

Lisa's plot was a total piece of shit. I just wasted my time.

@Brad Lascelle , so i followed your advice and gave it a chance, but it was really disappointing. Note that i don't have a personal grudge or judgment against or towards you :-) But this episode was , according to me, lame.
 
Financial Panther said:
Not great. This biggest problem was the new teacher. She appeared to be a “Mary Sue,” i.e., a character who has no flaws and is perfect in every way.
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She had plenty of flaws. She's in denial about her husband's job, she's desperately wanting to be liked and she can be manipulative to get what she wants (the scene with Skinner and Chalmers). I loved the new character and hope she's here to stay.

This episode was great. I feel the good episodes are outnumbering the crap ones this season. 5/5.
 
Basically echoing Financial Panther's comments, though I enjoyed Lisa's subplot. Still a 5/10 though.
 
I was really anticipated for this episode a long ago. Actually, I was the most anticipated for this episode.

So, the Lisa's story of saving the [intelligence] octopus was fine. II liked the documentary background, and, OMG, I loved the animated camouflage of Molly. Plus I really loved all the animation work in the plot (these ocean views, the Molly's movements and different change of perspective). However, sometimes Lisa was too obscene with this octopus (as expected). And as a result, there was a mash of nice tear-caused scenes and a bit of "Lisa the self-fish:rimshot:"

Bart's plot was weird as I thought, and more complicated. First, if there is a real desire of using mrs. Peyton in further, why they put too much of her? I mean in one episode she told all the backstory and showed own "different sides"? She is a really nice character (let's objectively said: better than Flanders, but a bit worse than Edna). However, I was unclear: is she such because of desire to have a good opinion on ownself?

Talking about the story, I didn't like typical Bart the jealous kid with weird behavior (in fact, he deserves better), but I liked the flashback (connected the Lisa's plot, by the way), why he acts so.

Also, I liked the ending of this story, but... Just for me there could be another plot twist: when mrs. Payton clear the board she founds some old Edna related punishment writing Bart had made (maybe "We'll miss you mrs. K"). Bart opens to Payton (with her psychological analyze help), that he liked Edna, and now he liked her the same, but scared Payton also would leave him (as other teachers would do). But she reveals she liked Bart and she doesn't have a desire to leave him, and agrees to teach him in further (but without weirds). The two hugs. Then Bart exclaims: "I... hugs my teacher. Bleh!" (reference to Bart Gets an F). Fin.

Ok, I'm becoming too long - well, as I copy and paste here said I was the most anticipated for this episode in the season. I think overall I'll give a 3.5/5 3.3 for myself (rounded down to 3) as an outcome (4 for Lisa's plot and 2.5 for Bart's, if you're interested).
 
Venomrabbit said:
je-sus Bart was not done well at all. Like, it'd make sense if he was just acting weird because of embarrassment over being saved and feeling guilty for yelling at the teacher but then turning into a violently jealous monster? What?

I mean, that goes so far against how he's been in any other love interest ep. And there's been plenty. The kid's a dork when he's not completely oblivious.
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The episode tries to justify this as him being jealous of her having a husband. But it was still very poorly thought out and the point where the episode lost me.
 
The Lisa plot was simply perfect. Lisa might come off as selfish for keeping the octopus captive but given the fact that she interfered with the shark eating it, thus saving it's life, it's a little justified? Well the point is she lets it go in the end and seeing her fight off the shark was low-key badass. Not to mention just how adorable the octopus was.

The Bart plot on the other hand.....eh not that much. Isn't this like the third time they've had him crush on a teacher already? Honestly, it was kinda weird and uncomfortable but the Lisa subplot was so good I'll overlook Bart's subplot and give this a 5/5
 
So, I was going into this expecting to hate on it, but surprisingly, I rather enjoyed the episode.

The Lisa B Plot was probably the main highlight of the episode for me, the Octopus was adorable, and Lisa did have some badasss moments in kicking the shark to defend the Ocotpus (which is interesting, given her focus on animal rights, that she would kick a predatory animal to save another animal that is said predator's prey). Thinking about it, Lisa kicking the shark is interesting as it shows that while Lisa is a massive animal rights activist, she does have her moments of weakness in those rights, showing that 1. She isn't a Mary Sue and 2. She isn't a PETA Preacher. Also, the "Future Nature Documentarians" club is interesting, and its nice to see that it isn't filled with just the smart kids, as Lewis's look-alike (who I headcanon to be Lewis's brother, Henry Clark) and Janey Powell part of that group too.

As for the main plot itself, which I was expecting to hate, I rather enjoyed it. The whole "has a crush on a teacher" stuff was rather minor imo. The only time I really noticed it is when Peyton's husband Darryl arrives and Bart takes out the Water Fountain in rage. I will say, it is that moment that makes me rate the episode a 9 and not a 10. Aside from that, its nice to see that Nelson & Milhouse care for Bart's wellbeing.

Also, there's some interesting lore in this episode, mainly:
1. Miss Hoover has taught Bart before when the latter was in 2nd Grade
2. Springfield Elementary School has 6 Grades (which was stated before in "Mathlete's Feat" iirc).

Anyway, like I've already said, I give this episode a 9/10: Enjoyable, with the main flaw been the Water Fountain scene.

Update: Almost forgot so state my opinion on Ms. Peyton. I like her, and I do hope we see more of her, I remember seeing someone complain about her been a Mary Sue, and honestely, I can see where that person came from. I don't see her as a Mary Sue thou, but as I said, I do hope we see more of her so her character can be built more. I will always prefer Ms. Edna Krabappel thou, not sure about you guys, but I don't think anyone will ever replace her legacy on the series.
 
This episode was...interesting.

When Homer first suggested that Bart had a crush on Ms. Peyton and Bart revealed the truth, that he had an regretful encounter with her and the tension around his fear of her eventually recognizing him and disliking him because of that encounter, I was relieved that this wasn't just a "crush on the teacher" plot. Then we have a scene of Bart screaming like a madman when he sees that she's married. So...that was a little disappointing because I liked the more esoteric explanation for Bart's erratic behavior. Though it did lead to a nice moment between Homer and Bart (that also applied to Lisa) and I did like that. But we've seen Bart have a crush on an adult before (thinking of The Fabulous Faker Boy) and he's never behaved like this, so this was just kind of weird to watch. I like more depth being given to Bart's character but watching him on the edge of madness the whole episode wasn't my favorite thing to watch. That said, I liked the moment between Ms. Peyton and Bart at the end of the episode. The whole thing about Springfield Elementary is how terrible it is and how the teachers don't care even if they have the occasional good moment with a student*. I'm okay with a "good" teacher finally being part of the school plots, even if Ms. Peyton herself was a tad bland (I wouldn't say Mary Sue, but I understand where that's coming from, especially in comparison to the others who work at the school, who manage to be hilarious from time to time. Ms. Peyton not so much. What we know about her from this episode is that she really cares. Fine, but let's hope there's a bit more to her). Maybe this is a step in the right direction for Bart?

The subplot was cute. Not a whole lot to say about it, but I liked it. Yeah, Lisa should've known better than to try and keep the octopus in captivity, but it's also perfectly understandable that the bond she formed with Molly while filming the documentary would lead her emotions to cloud her better judgment.

*Perhaps the writers recognize that with the increased attacks on the public school system in this country, portraying public schools as soul-sucking child prisons with apathetic miserable teachers has aged poorly.
 
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I had some time to think about it and the things I liked and the things I thought could have been improved. Like I mentioned in my previous post I really liked the exchange between Homer and Bart about the crush, it was a throwback to homer liking stories, it didn't top the exchange in "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" about the catcher's mitt and holding his breath but I like that characterization of homer, I preferred Homer's characterization to Bart in this exchange.

As others have pointed I don't think the crush on the teacher was fully exploited, Bart ripping the water fountain from the wall was a little much. I think they did infatuation so much better in "The Last Temptation of Homer" or "Bart's girlfriend". I didn't get too bogged down in the details, to me the fact that Bart was probably ashamed of the encounter sort of satisfied me enough. I think if something even more shameful had happened to Bart, maybe a floater in the pool I think that might have been harder to swallow for other forum patrons.

I liked Lisa's characterization as well, too often in modern simpsons she's the voice of reason or the go-to nerd plot device. They push her into Frink territory sometimes, not quite as nutty professor but they try to make you think they hooked lisa up to a big computer and she was so smart it caught fired.
 
Y'all should look up what a "Mary Sue" actually is, and realize only reactionary assholes use that term in earnest :)

Ms. Peyton's faults are apparent from the get-go. She's a tad neurotic and vain, but well-meaning, especially when juxtaposed with the other faculty. I don't think she's an especially funny character, but kudos to the staff for trying a different dynamic! I didn't mind this as much as the other YA flavored shows this year, maybe because it stayed firmly within the usual milieu instead of wandering into the woods for some crazy crap. It's been awhile since anything with the kids felt like it came from a real place.
 
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I haven't seen the episode yet, but the usage of the term "Mary Sue" in this thread even more furthers my belief that the term has lost all meaning and feel truly cheap. As soon as there's a competent character who's good at what they are doing & are generally well liked there's alway some "She's such a Mary Sue" complaints sneaking into discussions and it has gotten pretty annoying and lazy at this point with to the rampant overusage (as often it doesn't even feel apt, also coming across as sexist).

Like I've said, I haven't seen the episode, but I doubt that Ms. Peyton is a "Mary Sue". She's literally just been introduced and she seem to have character flaws (judging by that preview clip) so I really wouldn't be hasty.
 
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I do think part of this is simply due to the fact that we don't know her very well. All we really learned in this episode is that she's nice and she's competent, which is not a problem (though as I admitted it makes her less comedic, but again, not saying that's the be-all end-all priority especially as the show shifts--or appears to be shifting under Selman--away from being joke-oriented to more affecting character-driven plots). I'm just hoping that there's more to her than that if she's going to have a more significant role. What'll develop her character further is her interactions with other characters. I don't expect we're going to see much more of Bart having a crush on her, so I'm curious to see what else they will do with her and the kids in Bart's class.

And in the end I'd rather have a character whose primary trait is that she's a good and competent person rather than a one-note character who exists just to be a gag (Otto, Ralph, Gil).
 
@CousinMerl Yeah she's not really a Mary Sue. If anything I like her being a competent teacher in contrast to the rest of Springfield Elementary (which is even highlighted in one scene where she interacts with them in the teacher's lounge). But so far she does leave a little bit to be desired which maybe they'll improve on if they actually commit to making her a recurring character and not treating her like they did with Her.
 
CousinMerl said:
I haven't seen the episode yet, but the usage of the term "Mary Sue" in this thread even more furthers my belief that the term has lost all meaning and feel truly cheap. As soon as there's a competent character who's good at what they are doing & are generally well liked there's alway some "She's such a Mary Sue" complaints sneaking into discussions and it has gotten pretty annoying and lazy at this point with to the rampant overusage (as often it doesn't even feel apt, also coming across as sexist).

Like I've said, I haven't seen the episode, but I doubt that Ms. Peyton is a "Mary Sue". She's literally just been introduced and she seem to have character flaws (judging by that preview clip) so I really wouldn't be hasty.
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Honestly, I feel like the term "Mary Sue" has lost its meaning since at least 2013 the earliest
 
Mary Sue has its place. It has become a blanket insult/statement for female characters. I understand its use to describe a lazily written character who is perfect and has no character growth. I am well aware of the origin of the term from fan fiction. I didn't agree with calling her a Mary Sue.

That being said I'd rather be a reactionary asshole than a toxic troll

I don't know what word best describes the roles they give guest stars sometimes. It wasn't always that way, Kirk Douglas voiced Chester J. Lampwick and seemingly didn't care about the show or the gig. Can someone remind me of a recent guest appearance that wasn't a brown nosing creation? I don't count minor guest appearances. I guess Beck Bennett's character wasn't all that great in every aspect but I thought it was a rather boring performance in a rather boring episode.
 
CousinMerl said:
I haven't seen the episode yet, but the usage of the term "Mary Sue" in this thread even more furthers my belief that the term has lost all meaning and feel truly cheap. As soon as there's a competent character who's good at what they are doing & are generally well liked there's alway some "She's such a Mary Sue" complaints sneaking into discussions and it has gotten pretty annoying and lazy at this point with to the rampant overusage (as often it doesn't even feel apt, also coming across as sexist).

Like I've said, I haven't seen the episode, but I doubt that Ms. Peyton is a "Mary Sue". She's literally just been introduced and she seem to have character flaws (judging by that preview clip) so I really wouldn't be hasty.
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Can I go back to my Warrin' Priests review and start referring to that self-insert Bode Wright as a Mary Sue? Because if the term applies to anyone, it's that waste of a character. Beloved by all and perfectly virtuous except for that one time he burned a bible.

And yet somehow I bet it never came up because he's not a woman. Hmmm...
 
Brad Lascelle said:
Can I go back to my Warrin' Priests review and start referring to that self-insert Bode Wright as a Mary Sue? Because if the term applies to anyone, it's that waste of a character. Beloved by all and perfectly virtuous except for that one time he burned a bible.

And yet somehow I bet it never came up because he's not a woman. Hmmm...
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I have heard the term Gary Sue before when it comes to male characters, although I don't know how much its used compared to Mary Sue
 
My thoughts on the episode are still gestating (particularly with regards to Bart's characterization), but I quite enjoyed watching it. Homer was absolutely kickass in this (he's been used to great effect all season actually) and I agree that Peyton isn't at all a 'Mary Sue'.
 
@Brad Lascelle, Oh yes, Bode Wright. He's like a caricature of a Mary Sue (or rather a Gary Stu, the male variant) and I don't think there's a better example to use the term for on the show, at least of the characters I recall at the moment. It's still shocking they didn't realize they were creating a stereotypical sue when making that episode, but then again his voice actor wrote it...

I'd say the term itself has its legitimate uses here and there, but I still find that I cannot overlook how it's been used to death as lazy criticism of female characters (and to reply to @TheIrishJackomon's statement of how the term lost its meaning in 2013. I'd rather say it started to lose credibility around 2015 and on with the advent of the 'Star Wars' sequel trilogy and how those toxic trolls beat a dead horse with it until it was pretty much ruined as any legitimate form of criticism on character writing).

I don't blame anyone around here for using it as it's not done maliciously and in some hater/troll-like manner (Don't worry, @Frankbags, I don't see you as a reactionary asshole nor as a toxic troll) but I cannot get over the fact that to me, at least, the term doesn't really work as well as maybe it once did. It's just so tired.
 
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