Rate & Review: "The Many Saints of Springfield" (OABF06)

How would you rate this episode?


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Brad Lascelle

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Season 34, Episode 13
Original Airdate
: February 19, 2023

Writer & Showrunner: Al Jean
Director: Bob Anderson

Synopsis: When Ned Flanders falls on hard times, Fat Tony makes him an offer he can't refuse. But when Flanders realizes he accidentally partnered with the mob, and wants the relationship to end, Fat Tony ominously warns there's only one way for that to happen.

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R&R Poll Average Score: 3.09 / 5 (as of September 25, 2023 / 43 votes)
IMDb User Rating: 6.4 / 10
 
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I don't know how to say this, but... Tonight's new Simpsons episode was a good one. For example, I enjoyed the parts where Ned Flanders was working for the mob, I also enjoyed the final scene with Fat Tony and Louie arguing about something before the closing credits rolled, so... You know what? I guess I'll go for 5/5, despite it's a Jean showrun episode this time
 
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Not too bad. I will never be a fan of the long couch gags, but this one was at least slightly interesting. But for the actual episode, I liked that we actually received an explanation for Flanders no longer being Bart’s teacher (even if it was recycled from Baadasssss Song). I was a little confused for a bit about Flanders’ misfortune and wasn’t sure if it was a result of Fat Tony and his gang or if that was part of the reason Flanders sought them out, but it was clarified for me at the end of act 2.

A lot of the episode felt pretty run-of-the-mill, but I did like the end where Ned revealed that he’d been hired as a snitch. Otherwise, not too much to say about the rest of it. Some decent jokes in it, such as Homer going to various places to eat and Flanders getting a Democratic Party fundraiser in the mail. It mostly avoided having jokes that went on too long, besides the couch gag, of course.

3/5
 
Loved the couch gag. Thought it was truly inspired... although putting ALF on an inanimate object that WASN'T a pog was truly a missed opportunity. Those things get lost in between the couch cushions so easily, too.

As for the episode proper, well... it leaned a little too heavily on the mob being pyromaniacs and a good chunk of the humour was long in the tooth and of the "we're just going to inundate you with recycled gags non-stop" variety at the expense of crafting a substantive story.

I do find it amusing that the show always goes out of its way to map out an extensive continuity for Ned's journey through wives/jobs while treating continuity like a dirty word for pretty much everything else in the show not named Sideshow Bob. So putting a capper on the "Ned was Bart's teacher" chapter hardly comes as a surprise.

Speaking of which, Ling remains an afterthought. At this point I get the impression Jub-Jub ate her. Either that or the Chinese authorities retrieved her and sent her back to her homeland.
 
I'm going to have to watch it when I feel like sitting through it, I'm afraid I'll judge this one very harshly at the moment.

as a side note.. Ned said CADF12 ? but I think he meant XABF12
and is it just me but is Ned's voice bad this episode?
 
First "My Fare Lady" (season 26), then "The Incredible Lightness of Being a Baby" (season 31) and now this episode is the third where Bart doesn't have any spoken dialogues. Bart is not Maggie, lazy writers!.
 
That was a lot better than I expected it to be. I think the best part about this is that it stays focused on the interactions between Flanders and Tony, and as a result, is able to take advantage of their chemistry. It doesn't meander with a B Plot just to have the Simpsons do stuff for the sake of doing stuff, and it shines as a result. The scenes with Flanders and Tony are really good and I find Flanders' conflict compelling and well set up. His conflict works especially well because Al Jean is...actually keeping up with the continuity of Flanders' jobs? Holy shit, say it ain't so. Other than the main two characters, though the Simpsons do take a backseat (I was surprised to find out y'all weren't lying about Bart not having a line in this), I think the time that is allotted to Homer and Marge is used well. They get some nice moments with Flanders, and I especially love that Homer acts a lot kinder to him in this episode

I think my main issue with this one is that it could've been a lot funnier, I honestly didn't laugh at a ton of jokes in this episode. Plus, I think it's a bit odd that the stakes of this episode only really surfaced in the third act. Before that, Flanders was working for the mob, but there wasn't much of an end goal to strive for and as a result, all the scenes felt too loosely connected for me to really jive with them. I was kinda impatiently waiting for Flanders to realize the mafia kills people for a lot of the second act. Once the third act got going, I had a lot of fun, and I especially loved the twist that Flanders was hired as a snitch. But yeah, the first and second acts are definitely not as good as the third, and it will probably make this one a harder rewatch

All in all, a pleasant surprise! 7/10
 
Huh, maybe it's because I had low level expectations but, I liked this episode... And I have very little problem with this episode given what it set out to do. The plot was somewhat thin and it definitely stings a bit for the lack of stakes, but it's mostly held up by the Fat Tony pairing which I thought was, well, unexpectedly enjoyable! Even if they didn't do anything new with him, I can forgive him since I really liked his bond with Ned and actually thought they had some chemistry. I also appreciate that the family wasn't wedged into the plot just because the show is named after them (which was one of my fears when I saw the first promo images for this episode).

The humor was also pretty decent and the episode has a certain level to it. of energy and enthusiasm that I don't usually see in Jean episodes (something like 'Marge the Meanie'), I also liked the explanation of why Flanders stopped being a teacher and it was nice to see the return of the Leftorium and Flanders' father. I also loved the twist that Flanders was hired as a snitch and I appreciate that on this occasion there weren't as many tired jokes/satires on the mob.. All of that was put together in a light way and for an episode of Jean I'll stick with that. Screw it, 4/5. This was Jean's best effort as a showrunner in quite some time.
 
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and is it just me but is Ned's voice bad this episode?
It's not just you, I also thought it was off. Lou's too.

Also, I didn't think that anything would top Homer smashing his hand through the jukebox as the worst instance of pointless bloodshed on this show, but Louie accidentally slicing his neck with his fingernail takes the cake!
 
I thought it was fine. I'd probably say a little more than fine actually. A couple things were a little clunky, the scene where everyone was laughing at homer went on a beat too long (though I did like homer laughing at himself) and while cutaways arent inherently bad it felt like this had a lot of them. Still, the story was clear and straightforward and honestly, despite the very end feeling rushed I didnt mind the pace either. I found the time it took to get from Ned feels sad from losing his teaching gig to ending up with Fat Tony was used well, and Im happy they actually addressed that and at least explained what happened there, though some of the jokes about it also felt a tiny bit off.

It felt like giving us a little update on Ned's life since I Wont Be Home for Christmas and whatever the episode he was teaching in was called, and I liked that they show that times have been tough to the point of feeling desperate and questioning his beleif, to show he has an actual reaction to the stuff the character has had to go through.
 
That was so bad! It's like Al Jean saw the positive feedback of A Serious Flanders and thought "yeah, I could do that". So many out-of-character moments, plotholes and flat jokes.
 
I thought it was fine. I'd probably say a little more than fine actually. A couple things were a little clunky, the scene where everyone was laughing at homer went on a beat too long (though I did like homer laughing at himself) and while cutaways arent inherently bad it felt like this had a lot of them. Still, the story was clear and straightforward and honestly, despite the very end feeling rushed I didnt mind the pace either. I found the time it took to get from Ned feels sad from losing his teaching gig to ending up with Fat Tony was used well, and Im happy they actually addressed that and at least explained what happened there, though some of the jokes about it also felt a tiny bit off.

It felt like giving us a little update on Ned's life since I Wont Be Home for Christmas and whatever the episode he was teaching in was called, and I liked that they show that times have been tough to the point of feeling desperate and questioning his beleif, to show he has an actual reaction to the stuff the character has had to go through.
Well said indeed my friend.
 
Still have to watch the episode, but from what I've seen on Twitter, the episode itself is pretty crazy, seems like on I'll be eating positively.

Regarding Ned, I did notice a few people wandering if Ned had a new VA due to his voice sounding different.
 
Yeah, I'm with @Sandboy, this was a bit better than expected. Not great by any means (very thin and lightweight), but watchable. Perhaps my rock-bottom expectations when it comes to Jean episodes helped. I wasn't expecting to get an explanation of how Ned lost his teaching gig so I found that fairly satisfying. Also nice to see the Simpson family take a backseat once again. Harry Shearer sure sounds off lately though. 3/5 at this stage.
 
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For starters, I'll address the elephant in the room, which is the stop-motion couch gag with the adventures of yarn Homer inside the couch: That was a pretty fun opening, entertaining & amusing for sure (and even though it might've been a little lengthy & I wished there was more time to the actual episodes, I actually didn't mind it as it was done quite well. Good job by Seth Green and his crew).

Well, I thought this episode was pretty decent. I didn't have much expectations for it at all, but in the end, I can without a doubt say that it was better than I had expected it to be, especially for an episode both written & showran by Jean himself). The premise of Ned Flanders, at a time of self-doubt, going into business with Fat Tony's mob (not knowing they are criminals) is a pretty simple one but yet it's also an interesting one with a lot of promise & I think it was done pretty well and a decent amount of justice: Sure, it wasn't anything complicated and pretty straightforward (even though it did have some interesting twists and turns) but to be honest, I don't think it needed to be anything more than that (and for a relatively short running time at approx 17-18 minutes (not counting the couch gag intro & the end credits) I think it was surprisingly decently paced (albeit a little rushed in the end, but nothing too bad at all). Not too shabby at all.

I liked the opening sequence with Ned suffering multiple more or less violent & dangerous misfortunes (pretty amusing little segment, actually) and I enjoyed the explanation behind it being the main glut of the plot (or at least a majority of, told by Ned to Marge (and later the rest of the Simpsons) as a flashback story: Nice to see them bringing up how Ned was Bart's teacher (and finally we got to see why he lost that job; should've known it was due to Chalmers finding issues with Ned's religiousness... again) and it being utilized as the reason Ned by chance ended up working under Fat Tony was kinda inspired. I can also buy Ned not knowing Tony's crew are bad news (as he as usually sees the best in people, even when not completely sure). Also, the snippet of thematic music that first played when he went into the catholic church was a piece from The Simpsons Movie (I think it might be Ned's theme, as it here played during many of his scenes).

The flashback storytelling format worked well, with the interesting and fun (usually decently well-staged and directed) sequences of Ned & Tony's partnership scenes (some really good lighting work done in those; really adds to the crime movie flair) being interspersed with the wraparounds of Ned telling his story of how he got to the point he was in the present. There were wonky moments that felt a little forced, such as the bit where they laugh at Homer for being stupid (Homer also laughing at himself did help), Luigi having a pointless monologue with himself & a couple of the usual unneeded Jean background gags (at least a bit of Johnny Tightlips disapproving of some pasta sauce, but it wasn't awful), but as a whole most of it worked fine, had some nice jokes here and there (that Rod & Todd cutaway was hilarious) & a few solid sequences (Homer being tailed was one). I also liked the return of the garage attic from 'Manger Things'.

I also found the usage of the Simpsons to be pretty good & I enjoyed how they weren't shoehorned into the story but written into it well: Homer had some pretty funny moments (and I also liked the bit with Patty & Selma; Maggie having a tea party with Jub-Jub was a cute gag), I liked how Lisa's moment of selling cookies for the marching band (referencing 'Girls Just Shauna Have Fun') & giving Ned a reality check became important & I found them likeably portrayed (though Bart was almost non-existant). When the story caught up, it was not as interesting, but they still did a good job with it, having some good enjoyable suspense bits of the mob continuing looking for Ned & even having his house blown up, plus some decent jokes (kinda liked the dumb meta bit of Johnny commenting on the "Ugly guy, hot wife" trope & Lovejoy's train set being burnt down; a little lengthy but still funny). Ned going to confront Tony was a good scene & with a twist (him being a FBI snitch). It was a little rushed but a satisfying end (with a nice epilogue of Ned's house being reconstructed).

So yeah, a decent little uncomplicated episode. It was an all right crime story with Ned & Tony (who both shared a lot of nice dialogue and had good enjoyable chemistry) and a good usage of the flashback storytelling format, nice animation work, nice bits of humor here and there (even though a lot fell flat) & some enjoyable moments of suspence. I also liked to get some focus on Ned and insight on what he has been doing recently. As for the voiceacting, it was good overall, with Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony being a highlight & even though Harry Shearer as Ned felt a little bit off, I didn't have a problem with it (and I think the vocal dissonance worked in this plot, due to the troubles Ned found himself in within the episode, first fired from being a teacher and then being subjected to revenge by Fat Tony and then on the run. It's not exactly been a good time for ol' Neddy). Overall, not great but still nice. I was all right with this one.

I'll give it a 3.5/5 (rounded down to a 3/5). It is understandably one of those episodes that viewers have wildly varied opinions on, but I'm on the more positive side. Was better handled than I thought it would be (to my big surprise) so technically one of Jean's better writing efforts, even with its fair share issues including an uninspired script, the Jean-isms, plot issues and other things that didn't quite work like they should have had (such as many of the jokes). Iwished it had more meat on its bones as it felt like they could've made it even more dramatic and intriguing than it was in the end (which was pretty thin), but still an alright & interesting episode.
 
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Certainly an enjoyable episode, it was interesting seeing Flanders & Fat Tony's dynamic, not sure what to give the episode as I'm thinking of giving it either a 9/10 or a 10/10 (either a 4/5 or a 5/5 on the poll), as I did feel like there were flaws.

First, I liked the couch gag, but I do wish it ended differently and was a bit shorter. As for the episode itself, it felt kinda like a "Serious Flanders Part 3" in a sense. I feel like all the characters are written well, although I do wish we kinda got a joke from Chief Wiggum & maybe a scene of Timothy reacting to his train burning down, maybe pinning the blame on Jessica, or they could of subverted the joke of the mafia doing it with it showing either Helen or Jessica burning the train set down, as Helen can do it out of jealously and Jessica could do it just to get her Dad's attention similar to "Bart's Girlfriend". Loved Nedward's cameo too, and his reaction to Rod & Todd was perfection honestly.

I also think the joke about Homer been stupid was uneccesary (although it did get a chuckle out of me). It felt kinda forced when Bart, Lisa, Grandpa & SLH just appear out of nowhere and laugh...its kinda too meta honestly (and I don't mind meta jokes majority of the time). A;sp. while I do feel like there might of been too much cutaway gags, I didn't mind them.

Speaking of Lisa, while I can see why she was the one selling Band Candy, I do wish they had Ned becoming a snitch happen differently, I just feel off how the FBI basically use an 8 year old to scout the FBI. Marge & Homer on the other hand are written well in the episode, and I like how Homer wasn't really a jerk to Flanders in the last act, showing genuine concern for him alongside Marge. Not much to say about Bart as he doesn't say anything in the episode, although it does show a noticeable trend of the writers not using him much in recent Seasons.

As for the Springfield Mafia, I just love how menacing they are in this episode, it honestly reminds me of Mr. Burns back in the classic era. It was nice to see Don Vittorio again too, don't remember when we last saw him. There are two nitpicks I do have with the Springfield Mafia thou, one of them in this episode and that been Louie accidentelly cutting his neck, that...was slightly disturbing. As for the 2nd nitpick, its more of a Modern Simpsons nitpicks, that been while I do like how menacing the Springfield Mafia can be, I do wish Mr. Burns would be more menacing in recent seasons, instead of been a joke villain.

The animation & art in the episode looks amazing, I will say that with the recent episodes, I do feel like there has been an art style change, at least when it comes to the lighting.

Now to the Continuity, and I love me some good continuity in The Simpsons which is rare cause...well, Simpsosn ain't caring about continuity. I'm glad we did get a reason as to why Ned was fired, although the reason is esseentially the same to "Seymour Skinner's Badassss Song", an episode I would rank higher than this for sure. I do feel like the flashback showing Nelson causing Ned to get fired could of easily had a line from Bart, maybe helping Nelson or telling Nelson to stop, or feeling conflicted about it, even if it was the only line Bart would have, at least he does have a speaking line for those that want Bart to have a speaking line (again, I didn't mind him not having one in the episode).

Seeing this continuity does slightly make me irritated thou, as unless its a character death or Sideshow Bob, they rarely seem to care about it. I know this ain't a serialised story or anything, but even other Slice of Life series like Futurama, The Loud House & countless others have had continuity to some degree. Also, does anyone think Marge forgetting that Ned was Bart's teacher might of been a jab of some kind, or is that just me?

Before I list my pros & cons, I do want to talk about the voice acting. Ned, for the most part was alright, but there were times, mostly in the beginning where he sounded deeper than usual. As for Lou, he was way worse, its more deeper than usual which personally, I don't think fits him that well. Maybe I'll get used to it, who knows, or Lou's current VA was available so they probably had to get Kevin Michael Richardson or someone else to voice him.

Pros:
- Animation & Artstyle
- "Action" sequences (if you want to call it that)
- The Simpsons family been side characters
- Springfield Mafia been menacing
- Continuity on why Ned is no longer a teacher (Even if its a rehash of a previous & better episode)
- Seeing Nedward & Don Vittorio again

Cons:
- Forced laughing joke
- Lou's Voice
- Lisa working with the FBI

Also, I'm gonna headcanon Ned as Bisexual, or at least Bi-curious.

Finally, one more thing I want to say is that I kinda compare this episode to "The Fat Blue Line", as both episodes had Fat Tony in it with The Simpsons Family acting as pure side characters (don't even think Lisa speaks in that episode, but I might be wrong, and I also think Bart only has one line).

After writing this, I'm gonna give the episode a 9/10 (4/5 on the poll). While I did enjoy it for the most part, there were noticeable flaws and moments I didn't like. Not sure where I would rank it overall due to my current rewatch of The Simpsons, but I think it'll probably be in the middle somewhere among the other 9/10 episodes. As for the Seasonal ranking, I rank it at 4th place out of the 13 already aired episodes.
 
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Certainly an enjoyable episode, it was interesting seeing Flanders & Fat Tony's dynamic, not sure what to give the episode as I'm thinking of giving it either a 9/10 or a 10/10 (either a 4/5 or a 5/5 on the poll), as I did feel like there were flaws.

First, I liked the couch gag, but I do wish it ended differently and was a bit shorter. As for the episode itself, it felt kinda like a "Serious Flanders Part 3" in a sense. I feel like all the characters are written well, although I do wish we kinda got a joke from Chief Wiggum & maybe a scene of Timothy reacting to his train burning down, maybe pinning the blame on Jessica, or they could of subverted the joke of the mafia doing it with it showing either Helen or Jessica burning the train set down, as Helen can do it out of jealously and Jessica could do it just to get her Dad's attention similar to "Bart's Girlfriend". Loved Nedward's cameo too, and his reaction to Rod & Todd was perfection honestly.

I also think the joke about Homer been stupid was uneccesary (although it did get a chuckle out of me). It felt kinda forced when Bart, Lisa, Grandpa & SLH just appear out of nowhere and laugh...its kinda too meta honestly (and I don't mind meta jokes majority of the time). A;sp. while I do feel like there might of been too much cutaway gags, I didn't mind them.

Speaking of Lisa, while I can see why she was the one selling Band Candy, I do wish they had Ned becoming a snitch happen differently, I just feel off how the FBI basically use an 8 year old to scout the FBI. Marge & Homer on the other hand are written well in the episode, and I like how Homer wasn't really a jerk to Flanders in the last act, showing genuine concern for him alongside Marge. Not much to say about Bart as he doesn't say anything in the episode, although it does show a noticeable trend of the writers not using him much in recent Seasons.

As for the Springfield Mafia, I just love how menacing they are in this episode, it honestly reminds me of Mr. Burns back in the classic era. It was nice to see Don Vittorio again too, don't remember when we last saw him. There are two nitpicks I do have with the Springfield Mafia thou, one of them in this episode and that been Louie accidentelly cutting his neck, that...was slightly disturbing. As for the 2nd nitpick, its more of a Modern Simpsons nitpicks, that been while I do like how menacing the Springfield Mafia can be, I do wish Mr. Burns would be more menacing in recent seasons, instead of been a joke villain.

The animation & art in the episode looks amazing, I will say that with the recent episodes, I do feel like there has been an art style change, at least when it comes to the lighting.

Now to the Continuity, and I love me some good continuity in The Simpsons which is rare cause...well, Simpsosn ain't caring about continuity. I'm glad we did get a reason as to why Ned was fired, although the reason is esseentially the same to "Seymour Skinner's Badassss Song", an episode I would rank higher than this for sure. I do feel like the flashback showing Nelson causing Ned to get fired could of easily had a line from Bart, maybe helping Nelson or telling Nelson to stop, or feeling conflicted about it, even if it was the only line Bart would have, at least he does have a speaking line for those that want Bart to have a speaking line (again, I didn't mind him not having one in the episode).

Seeing this continuity does slightly make me irritated thou, as unless its a character death or Sideshow Bob, they rarely seem to care about it. I know this ain't a serialised story or anything, but even other Slice of Life series like Futurama, The Loud House & countless others have had continuity to some degree. Also, does anyone think Marge forgetting that Ned was Bart's teacher might of been a jab of some kind, or is that just me?

Прежде чем я перечислю свои плюсы и минусы, я хочу поговорить об озвучке. Нед по большей части был в порядке, но были моменты, в основном в начале, когда он звучал глубже, чем обычно. Что касается Лу, то он был намного хуже, он был более глубоким, чем обычно, что лично, я не думаю, ему подходит. Может быть, я к этому привыкну, кто знает, или текущий VA Лу был доступен, поэтому им, вероятно, пришлось попросить Кевина Майкла Ричардсона или кого-то еще, чтобы озвучить его.

Плюсы:
- Анимация и художественный стиль
- Последовательности «Действия» (если хотите так называть)
- Семья Симпсонов была второстепенными персонажами
- Спрингфилдская мафия была угрожающей
- Преемственность в том, почему Нед больше не учитель (даже если это перефразировка предыдущего и лучшего эпизода)
- Снова увидеть Недварда и Дона Витторио.

Минусы:
- Вынужденный смех шутка
- Голос Лу
- Лиза работает с ФБР

Кроме того, я собираюсь объявить Неда бисексуалом или, по крайней мере, бисексуалом.

Наконец, еще одна вещь, которую я хочу сказать, это то, что я как бы сравниваю этот эпизод с «Толстой синей линией», так как в обоих эпизодах был Жирный Тони, а Семья Симпсонов выступала в качестве чистых второстепенных персонажей (даже не думайте, что Лиза говорит в этот эпизод, но я могу ошибаться, и я также думаю, что у Барта есть только одна реплика).

После написания этого я поставлю эпизоду 9/10 (4/5 по опросу). Хотя по большей части мне понравилось, были заметные недостатки и моменты, которые мне не понравились. Не уверен, где бы я оценил его в целом из-за моего текущего повторного просмотра Симпсонов, но я думаю, что он, вероятно, будет где-то посередине среди других эпизодов 9/10. Что касается сезонного рейтинга, то я ставлю его на 4-е место из 13 уже вышедших в эфир серий.
Isn't Lou voiced by Alex Desert?
 
Isn't Lou voiced by Alex Desert?
Yeah, he is, but sometimes Voice Actors aren't available to voice a character so someone else has to, its happened before in the series, pretty sure Artie Ziff & Fat Tony have both been voiced by other people at least once. However, seeing the credits on Wikisimpsons, it seems like Alex was indeed present for this episode
 
I see thank you for the information, so it happens, because in the life of actors, too, there are situations where they can not voice a character, and they are replaced by others!
 
Yeah, he is, but sometimes Voice Actors aren't available to voice a character so someone else has to, its happened before in the series, pretty sure Artie Ziff & Fat Tony have both been voiced by other people at least once. However, seeing the credits on Wikisimpsons, it seems like Alex was indeed present for this episode
I see thank you for the information, so it happens, because in the life of actors, too, there are situations where they can not voice a character, and they are replaced by others!
 
Yeah, he is, but sometimes Voice Actors aren't available to voice a character so someone else has to, its happened before in the series, pretty sure Artie Ziff & Fat Tony have both been voiced by other people at least once. However, seeing the credits on Wikisimpsons, it seems like Alex was indeed present for this episode
If this actor is on the list, it means he voiced the character as I understand it.
 
Certainly an enjoyable episode, it was interesting seeing Flanders & Fat Tony's dynamic, not sure what to give the episode as I'm thinking of giving it either a 9/10 or a 10/10 (either a 4/5 or a 5/5 on the poll), as I did feel like there were flaws.

First, I liked the couch gag, but I do wish it ended differently and was a bit shorter. As for the episode itself, it felt kinda like a "Serious Flanders Part 3" in a sense. I feel like all the characters are written well, although I do wish we kinda got a joke from Chief Wiggum & maybe a scene of Timothy reacting to his train burning down, maybe pinning the blame on Jessica, or they could of subverted the joke of the mafia doing it with it showing either Helen or Jessica burning the train set down, as Helen can do it out of jealously and Jessica could do it just to get her Dad's attention similar to "Bart's Girlfriend". Loved Nedward's cameo too, and his reaction to Rod & Todd was perfection honestly.

I also think the joke about Homer been stupid was uneccesary (although it did get a chuckle out of me). It felt kinda forced when Bart, Lisa, Grandpa & SLH just appear out of nowhere and laugh...its kinda too meta honestly (and I don't mind meta jokes majority of the time). A;sp. while I do feel like there might of been too much cutaway gags, I didn't mind them.

Speaking of Lisa, while I can see why she was the one selling Band Candy, I do wish they had Ned becoming a snitch happen differently, I just feel off how the FBI basically use an 8 year old to scout the FBI. Marge & Homer on the other hand are written well in the episode, and I like how Homer wasn't really a jerk to Flanders in the last act, showing genuine concern for him alongside Marge. Not much to say about Bart as he doesn't say anything in the episode, although it does show a noticeable trend of the writers not using him much in recent Seasons.

As for the Springfield Mafia, I just love how menacing they are in this episode, it honestly reminds me of Mr. Burns back in the classic era. It was nice to see Don Vittorio again too, don't remember when we last saw him. There are two nitpicks I do have with the Springfield Mafia thou, one of them in this episode and that been Louie accidentelly cutting his neck, that...was slightly disturbing. As for the 2nd nitpick, its more of a Modern Simpsons nitpicks, that been while I do like how menacing the Springfield Mafia can be, I do wish Mr. Burns would be more menacing in recent seasons, instead of been a joke villain.

The animation & art in the episode looks amazing, I will say that with the recent episodes, I do feel like there has been an art style change, at least when it comes to the lighting.

Now to the Continuity, and I love me some good continuity in The Simpsons which is rare cause...well, Simpsosn ain't caring about continuity. I'm glad we did get a reason as to why Ned was fired, although the reason is esseentially the same to "Seymour Skinner's Badassss Song", an episode I would rank higher than this for sure. I do feel like the flashback showing Nelson causing Ned to get fired could of easily had a line from Bart, maybe helping Nelson or telling Nelson to stop, or feeling conflicted about it, even if it was the only line Bart would have, at least he does have a speaking line for those that want Bart to have a speaking line (again, I didn't mind him not having one in the episode).

Seeing this continuity does slightly make me irritated thou, as unless its a character death or Sideshow Bob, they rarely seem to care about it. I know this ain't a serialised story or anything, but even other Slice of Life series like Futurama, The Loud House & countless others have had continuity to some degree. Also, does anyone think Marge forgetting that Ned was Bart's teacher might of been a jab of some kind, or is that just me?

Before I list my pros & cons, I do want to talk about the voice acting. Ned, for the most part was alright, but there were times, mostly in the beginning where he sounded deeper than usual. As for Lou, he was way worse, its more deeper than usual which personally, I don't think fits him that well. Maybe I'll get used to it, who knows, or Lou's current VA was available so they probably had to get Kevin Michael Richardson or someone else to voice him.

Pros:
- Animation & Artstyle
- "Action" sequences (if you want to call it that)
- The Simpsons family been side characters
- Springfield Mafia been menacing
- Continuity on why Ned is no longer a teacher (Even if its a rehash of a previous & better episode)
- Seeing Nedward & Don Vittorio again

Cons:
- Forced laughing joke
- Lou's Voice
- Lisa working with the FBI

Also, I'm gonna headcanon Ned as Bisexual, or at least Bi-curious.

Finally, one more thing I want to say is that I kinda compare this episode to "The Fat Blue Line", as both episodes had Fat Tony in it with The Simpsons Family acting as pure side characters (don't even think Lisa speaks in that episode, but I might be wrong, and I also think Bart only has one line).

After writing this, I'm gonna give the episode a 9/10 (4/5 on the poll). While I did enjoy it for the most part, there were noticeable flaws and moments I didn't like. Not sure where I would rank it overall due to my current rewatch of The Simpsons, but I think it'll probably be in the middle somewhere among the other 9/10 episodes. As for the Seasonal ranking, I rank it at 4th place out of the 13 already aired episodes.
Could it be that the actor had problems with the voice, but the voice of the character, still had to?
 
- Lou's Voice

I didn't think Lou's voice was all that bad this time, considering Alex Desert has always sounded different than Hank Azaria as the character (as well as Carl, for that matter). Also, I don't think he has had a lot of opportunities to appear as the character as opposed to Carl (which could explain how he has not gotten the perfect voice down) so I'm guessing that's why some reacted negatively to his performance here.
 
A 3.5/5 for the couch gag, which had a neat look and nice shot compositions, but also felt oddly unexciting with it's slow pacing and dull delivery. The couch exploring part could've been more mysterious, and the action part more action-y. I didn't watch whatever came after it
 
Strong plot, without much "deviations". The mob was pictured at their bests in years - not just one scene gag, but full characters. Ned was also good [pictured]: a believer-optimist, who, as synopsis had said, find good in everybody.

Luckily, the show finally put a point over "Flanders the teacher" thing. But, as I understood right, Ned has again leftorium market?

I really liked, the episode had some deep emotional scenes: Flanders in misery string in the start, and [almost] convincing Fat Tony to good. However, the solution with mafia they choice (bet not permanently;)) was sorta… wtf-ish.

I didn't like that long "Homer is stupid" laughs (didn't work at me).

Oh, and as it's has become traditionally to mention - the couch gag was fine.

3.5/5, going… up to 4. Not great, but pretty nice.
 
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