Rate & Review: "Werking Mom" (XABF21)

How would you rate this episode?

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Brad Lascelle

Brad Lascelle

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Season 30, Episode 7
Original Airdate: November 18, 2018
Writers: Carolyn Omine & Robin Sayers
Director: Michael Polcino
Showrunner: Al Jean
Synopsis: Marge wants a job, and stumbles into becoming a plastic food storage container-selling drag queen. Meanwhile, Lisa tries to make the world better in the style of "Amelie".

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R&R Poll Average Score: 3.26 / 5 (as of September 25, 2021 / 39 votes)
IMDB User Rating: 5.7 / 10
 
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Reposting from the Season 30 Information thread:

ataeaf said:
Werking Mom is a double-bluff Jean episode. Next week is the moment of truth. Is Krusty the Clown a Selman one, or are there really only three XABF Selman episodes?
Click to expand...

Anyway, this one was a surprisingly solid episode; way better than it had any right to be.

Also Manjula and the octuplets made a surprise appearance in this one.
 
This wasn’t too bad, actually. I enjoyed people thinking Marge was a man dressed as a woman, and Marge finding acceptance from others in the community was nice. The subplot with Lisa doing good things for others to feel better was sweer too, and the end of that plot was sweet with the adults letting her sit with them. I wish the episode hadn’t become a marriage crisis, though. Luckily that conflict didn’t last too long, but like most of these, Homer does one thing and she’s back with him. They portrayed the drag queen characters as kind, understanding people, too. Overall, this was just a sweet episode. The marriage crisis makes it lose some points, but it wasn’t a train wreck by any means. 3/5
 
4/5 - the only problem I had with the episode with, it seemed like neither of the storylines really went anywhere; the main plot was just a setup for a song and then yet still even another marriage problem quickly resolved.

Tubberware? Whatever happened to Supperware?

Why does a punch bowl need a lid?

Tubberware Party, Apt. 1A - Lemon Party, Apt. 2C

Inbetween the floors of the Simpson house: the creature from The Shape of Water, holding an Oscar

See & Says haven't had strings in decades...well, except for the "retro" one, apparently

Here's a story they didn't link: a Tupperware drag queen lost pretty much all of his business when he had a sex change

Special Guest Voice: Raja/Sutan Amrull

In Loving Memory of Stan Lee
 
Just terrible, as I expected. On par with Lisa Goes Gaga and Every Man's Dream. One of the worst episodes to date, and I normally like new simpsons episodes. 0/5
 
It was ok. Like it a little more than I thought. Here is a few things I took from it and a couple of questions:

1. Women can have it all. Even Penises. Now that was funny.

2. Mel hides his bone between his legs. Ha!

3. Marge having the stones to tell off Helen, about fucking time!

4. Keep the booze Bart. Lisa observation really meant shit.

4. Wondered if Lisa was doing this for herself in the beginning trying to get enjoyment off her meddling, sin of pride and all that.

4. Skinner is to anal to not use semicolons.

5. Is Mel now out and proud or just likes to dress up?

6. What was the big joke about Marge doing this behind Homer's back with Kenny and Carl?

7. Why should Homer have to apologies for really doing nothing?

8. Why didn't Marge tell Homer?

9. How the hell would they not know that was Marge? They all know who she is and find it surprising a woman with that hair could fool anyone. Then again it's Springfield.

10. Bart having a key and blueprint to Skinner's house; not suprising. He over feeding his cat, kind of wrong.

11. I don't think Shuana is that much depraved. Who would be for Kirk? Really Kirk?

In the end it was a funny episode with Marge as the premise. Homer screwing it up is although brought the score down. Homer would never have done anything deliberately to wreck it if he had known what she was doing. Why would he? Also, Homer screwing up and Marge getting hurt like this is getting old and I'm sure this premise was done before a few times in the last 30 years. This cost it some points. Lisa sub-story was ok.

3 of 5
 
Financial Panther said:
This wasn’t too bad, actually. I enjoyed people thinking Marge was a man dressed as a woman, and Marge finding acceptance from others in the community was nice. The subplot with Lisa doing good things for others to feel better was sweer too, and the end of that plot was sweet with the adults letting her sit with them. I wish the episode hadn’t become a marriage crisis, though. Luckily that conflict didn’t last too long, but like most of these, Homer does one thing and she’s back with him. They portrayed the drag queen characters as kind, understanding people, too. Overall, this was just a sweet episode. The marriage crisis makes it lose some points, but it wasn’t a train wreck by any means. 3/5
Click to expand...

I was wondering why should it have been a marriage crisis too when really Homer didn't do anything. All this could have been avoided if she told him this is what she was doing. Then when his friends were making fun of him, which I really don't understand why they were, he could have said, "Yeah, so?" Why would Homer care. It kind of wrecked the episode a little. There was no reason to make Homer the heel again, but I guess it needed a bad guy and the writers went with good old Homer. Typical.
 
Well it's a good sign when it starts following the trend of "better than the premise has any right being" it's kinda like Season 27 in that way. While certainly stereotypical, it's nice enough that the drag queens were at least portrayed as supportive and decent. And also that the thing with Marge was more of an accident than deliberately invading their space.

Speaking of S27 trends, probably one of the better moments for Lisa here too. And heck, in spite of what Gil said, it actually makes a change that she wasn't doing it for selfish reasons. Though I thought that during S27 especially during Halloween of Horror and then no sooner than the very next season we had her at her absolute worst outside of On a Clear Day... and that's only because the latter is fully canon. So nope, no plans to lighten up on her at all still. :D Already made that mistake once.

Oh and he may not be a fave in particular but between this ep and the last, it's so nice to see Barney again.
 
The episode was a pleasant surprise seeing how shitty the premise seemed to be. Once again, it was decently paced. Hopefully, the writers can keep this up for the rest of the season. The drag characters were actually alright characters. I wasn't a big fan of the marriage crisis at the end but the main plot was still sweet. I liked the subplot. The ending where the people Lisa made happy decided to do something to make her happy too was also sweet.

3.5/5(B)
 
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This episode was fairly decent; it wasn't all that great nor was it all too bad so I did like it. With a plot about Marge becoming a drag queen as a means to sell food storage products I thought they would make it come out wrong but they handled it pretty well all things considered with sympathethic portrayals of the drag queens and the other LGBT folks and avoided becoming too stereotypical and troublesome & integrated Marge and her plight well. The subplot with Lisa trying to bring joy to people was okay and while it wasn't necessary it was likeable with Lisa being selfless (even getting some help from Bart) and had an kinda sweet ending. I didn't have any real expectations but the episode was certainly a little better than I thought it would.

So the main plot with Marge started out pretty okay with the failed attempt at selling tupperware, getting help from Julio to host a tubberware party and to get a makeover which inadvertedly makes her look like a drag queen to the guest (which is a role she ends up sticking with after some advice from Julio). It progressed well and I liked the scene where Marge met the drag queens and participated in a musical sequence as well as Marge getting more tough and confident (enough to give Helen a sick burn) but the Moe gives an address for Homer where to find about Marge, he confronts her and accidentally outs her infront of the party guests, which leads into another marriage crisis. Luckily, it was late in the game (and no scenes of the two fighting) and it was wrapped up nicely with Homer making it up to her by dressing up like a drag queen and dancing with her to the joy of her group of gay friends (who knew she was a fake but still accepted her). Lisa's subplot was fine but I think it tried too hard to be an 'Amelie' parody and maybe overdid it, but it was pretty decent and the ending was neat and made it come together.

While the humor wasn't plentiful there were some jokes and gags that I liked, such as Julio's "Behold, your rump is now a booty, baby!", the reveal of Homer's take-home lasagna leftovers, "She's not a female impersonator, she's just a personator!", Bart having overfed Skinner's cat with tuna & Barney's moment of doing like Homer and running out of Moe's without paying as well as his ending line on women as he's drinking alongside drag queen Homer. The animation was pretty good and had some nice bits, especially some parts of the subplot (which had more a focus on the visuals) and most of the characterizations were nice, especially Marge and Homer. However, was a little haphazard with Lisa's plot feeling a little forced and it's narrator butting into the main story; I think it was a little distracting and over the top (this episode should just have had Marge's story). The marriage crisis was a little annoying and pausing the episode after Julio tells Marge about drag queens selling tubberware to point out to the viewer that it's true and listing sites was kinda lame (it could've been a good end credits thing, though).

All in all, it certainly wasn't at all the disappointment I believed it would be. It didn't come together perfectly with the main story sharing the runtime with an nicely enjoyable subplot that maybe unnecessarily bled into it with the narrator and the marriage crisis and it's obvious "Could have avoided this plot" thing with Marge unnecessarily keeping a secret from Homer so I can't say I liked more than the previous two but as it did it's main story justice, avoided some pitfalls and had good character portrayals and nice jokes it was pretty good. An nicely okay episode by modern Simpsons standards.

3/5
 
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Not a lot to say about this one. The premise was mildly interesting, and I was pleased with the relative lack of shock jokes related to the drag queens, but making the episode a marriage crisis felt very contrived and sloppy, especially because Homer had nothing to do with the main plot until then. The resolution was also very easy to predict, if you've seen, I don't know, maybe any episode of tv ever. The Lisa subplot was a bit syrupy and the parody was a bit belabored, but it was hardly unwatchable and had a few funny scenes. All in all, the episode was well-paced and watchable, but a bit recycled and obvious. There's not a lot to come back to if you've seen these elements done before in better episodes.

2.5/5
 
When I first saw its premise I expected this to be a really bad episode, but it actually turned out to be somewhat decent. It did a good job of giving both Marge and Lisa a proper spotlight in seperate plots. This is probably one of those episodes where I don't mind a lengthy sub plot, because I don't expect Marge's plot to get any better if it were to be longer. As it turned out both plots were an enjoyable watch.

Marge's plot starts off well with Homer looking in all the tubberware and revealing her new business. Her failed attempt of selling tubberware reminds me of how she was failing her pretzel business. I liked seeing Julio again who was willing to help out by organising his own tubberware party. Funny joke with Homer being told to go to Moe which he happily accepts ''I just can't stay sober at you!''. I like Marge's new look as a drag queen and her loosening up while selling a lot of tubberware. Didn't like how Julio also went as a drag queen for Mr Burns, though I liked Marge high-fiving a bowl. The dinner scene with Homer and Marge had some funny gags with Luigi calling his mom back from bingo and that note from ''yesterdays Homer'' who ate all the lasagne. Marge had a nice musical performance with the other drag queens, something that even Mel decides to dress up for as a drag queen aswell. Sick burn to Helen that came afterwards. Then Homer enters the plot who is apparently completely unaware of what Marge has been doing, I was actually surprised that she didn't told him at all at this point. Guess that would somewhat justify that Homer ''accidently'' exposes her. Moe's bar had some funny gags with Moe's visiting cards and people walking away without paying their beer. Apparently the other drag queens already knew about Marge actually being a woman? I didn't really care for the marriage crisis part but it had a somewhat decent ending. And while not explained, I guess that Marge's tubberwae busienss is now over aswell.

Lisa's plot was quite decent. I like the French narrator and the montage that starts off her plot. Its rather sweet that she gives Jasper his box of memories back, while she keeps herself hidden. Then she decides to do this for others aswell, starting with bringing Kirk and Luann closer together (though I don't see why Shauna would even want anything to do with Kirk, but I guess Luann just doesn't know her well enough). Bart is apparently willing to help Lisa with Gill, not something I expect him to do but I can see why he would help with Skinner instead (for messing around with a fake diary). It was fun to see her trying to help Skinner and Agnes, though it revealed that it was her doing. The ending was rather sweet with everyone she helped sitting with her on a roof table.

It has been a decent watch overall. Its not as good as the previous 2 episodes that had better pacing and more jokes, which is something that this episode lacked a bit. I didn't like the premise at first with Marge and Homer turning into drag queens, but it did have a lot of good moments despite the coming of yet another marriage crisis. I don't like Julio that much but he was in a good spotlight in this episode. I liked that some other Springfielders (Sideshow Mel, Smithers and maybe Largo) acted like drag queens aswell. The musical sequence was really good, though afterwards this plot went into the wrong direction because of the forced marriage crisis. Lisa's plot was rather sweet and a good watch alongside the main plot, but lacked in jokes. I also didn't like how upset Marge got at Homer, considering that she didn't even tell Homer of what she was doing at all. It kinda annoyed me that this wasn't even brought up in the episode. Yet Homer is the one as usual who has to make up for it. Despite all this, the episode gets an overall rating of:

3/5
 
Another strong episode for season 30. I agree with others here in that this is how a Lisa episode should be. She acts like an eight year old trying to do the selfless thing and help others, and it was truly refreshing to see. I think I sometimes come off that I dislike Lisa (especially when comparing how Bart is treated to how she is treated) but in actuality I do like her, but only when she acts in character. It is very difficult to like a character that comes off as a snide know it all that always must be right, but an eight year old acting like an actual little girl is far more believable and thus more entertaining to me. It was also pretty sweet to watch the townspeople do something nice for young Lisa. Too often the people of Springfield are made out to be a cruel, impetuous and potentially violent group of individuals (particularly towards the Simpson kids) so it was nice to see them do something nice for Lisa. The Marge plot was less meaningful to me but still fairly interesting if a bit strange. I enjoyed the few Bart scenes that were present. Him having the key to Skinner's was was a good one, though I am not sure I buy him wanting to overfeed an animal (unless he didn't understand the consequences of his actions.) I hope the whiskey joke was a throwback to when he got his hands on some whiskey in the movie, instead of a sign that our favorite ten year old is already an addicted to alcohol...

Another enjoyable episode. I find myself actually looking forward to new Simpson episodes this season. 4/5
 
"They're still garnishing your wages after that garnish war you waged." That was pretty laboured and Julie Kavner's peformance doesn't really help, but I'll still pay it. I respect the wordplay.

Lisa's subplot was the definitely the highlight of the episode for me. It was nice without being overly saccharine, and there were some funny moments too. I liked Bart helping her out with the key and plans to Skinner's house, and the fat cat did make me laugh out loud. Lisa has sometimes been portrayed as extremely jaded and cynical in recent years and it's been off-putting, so it was refreshing to see her kind-hearted side. The end of her subplot was quite sweet with a couple of good jokes - Nelson getting expelled via the tater tots and Gil getting interrupted as he's yammering on about never being listened to - effectively cutting through the treacle.

Marge's plot was OK. Her being mistaken for a drag queen reminded me of an episode King of the Hill did (and did better), but it led to a decent story about her finding her confidence. I really enjoyed her sassing and shutting down Helen Lovejoy, and how it made Bart put down the liquor he was planning on stealing. Unfortunately, it came off the rails as it devolves into another marriage crisis episode that is quickly resolved through a grand gesture (of course). It was a decent premise with some good moments for the most part, but the conflict and resolution were rushed, contrived, and something we've seen too many times before. Homer's friends also seemed a little too mean-spirited with their involvement in the disagreement, which again led to it feeling contrived.

However, the better jokes and Lisa's subplot made up for it. Some other highlights include the joke about Mel's bone, Moe giving Homer the tavern's address before actually telling him where to go, the banter between Skinner and Agnes, Julio dropping his accent to underscore the importance of what he had to say, Marge high-fiving the Tubberware (yes, calling it Supperware would've been a nice continuity nod), and Barney's disappointment in the stinger. Some of the quips in the voiceover were amusing as well.

I did enjoy it, but the main plot definitely petered out to a weak ending with a conflict we've seen too many times, and one that felt especially contrived here. I'll say 3.5/5, and round down to three in the poll because the conflict and resolution of Marge's plot left something to be desired. Lisa's subplot was quite strong though, and it pulled the episode together.
 
This time I'll probably be brief, especially since you guys have pretty much already say all about this episode. I had no expectation about Werking Mom. And actually, it turns out decent. There are some misses in Marge's plot, but overall it's pretty well written, despite a bit of cringe moments, and I liked the portrayals of the drag queens here, they avoided the debasing stereotypes and the new characters are enjoyable. Besides, I liked seeing Julio again as a friend of Marge, it's been a while. And the musical sequence was nice.

But the main problem is the last part with Homer discovering Marge's new personality (and of course the last one to know that), saying out loud in front of others people she's not a drag queen (even for joke's sake, it's dumb) and therefore, having once again a marriage crisis. Fortunately the cringe stuff with Homer as a drag queen (you know, the jokes there were in all this episode's promo) wasn't long, but yeah, once again, he do a nice thing and all's well that ends well. Such a shame.

Lisa's subplot was a nice little subplot, not really necessary and too obvious as a parody (and I don't liked the omnipresence of the narrator, at the point it overflows on Marge's plot), but pretty sweet. I always like when Lisa does 8 year old stuff, and it's a kind-hearted plot. And I also liked seeing Bart helping her.

Add a number of good jokes (Julio dropping his accent because what he's about to say is important, Marge high-fiving the tubberware, Bart having the key and a floor plan of Skinner's house, Moe's addresses and Barney's "All the good ones are either married or Homer") and you obtain an enjoyable episode. Maybe Krusty the Clown will be a pleasant surprise too ? You know, the next Ryan Koh's episode with Krusty almost killing Homer... Yeah...

3/5
 
What exactly did Marge say right before she said she couldn't possibly forgive Homer, in front of the drag queens? I kept going back to that scene, but I just couldn't make out Kavner's dialogue or pronunciation. Specifically, the reasoning behind her believing Homer is simply uncaring.

Otherwise, this is a very solid episode, with a surprisingly effective joke (Moe with the shotgun) and a great, nuanced and unprejudiced take on the drag queen concept. Carolyn Omine has delivered some surprising out-of-left-field efforts in recent seasons. Plus, we get some superb animation, with great framing, character designs and creative use of colors and lighting. Mike Polcino's best effort since Fland Canyon.
 
Szyslak100 said:
It is a pleasant surprise that, apparently, Werking Mom has been a good episode. In fact, Dennis Perkins and Phil Payton rated it as the best of the year for now.

- The A.V. Club - Dennis Perkins - B+
- Phil Payton (youtube) - A-

Also:
- Den of Geek - Tony Sokol - 3.5/5
- Bubble Blabber - Jesse Bereta - 7.5/10
Click to expand...
No surprise at the solid scores this ep received. I'm in the highly favorable camp as well.

For the record, I will be updating the last few OPs with comprehensive review breakouts and consensus scoring in due time. My schedule has tightened up of late so it's likely something that won't happen until the brief December hiatus... but it will get done.
 
How strange was this. And surprising, too. The truth is that I did not expect anything from this episode, but it was a very pleasant and enjoyable to watch. Carolyn Omine is in a state of grace. She is the only one in the team that knows and wants to give prominence to the women of the Simpson family. I'm very happy for your success.

Like I said, I did not expect any of this. Marge as a drag queen was visually unpleasant to see in the preview. Homer, even more. But when you understand that there is an understandable pretext for this, that initial rejection disappears. Marge's interactions were all beautiful to watch. There is a very good use of the female secondary repertoire. We see Manjula, Sarah, Hoover. We see Marge answering classily to one of Helen's acid comments. And we have, I think for the first time in history, a good use of Julio. If you continue to use it in such a way, I think it would be interesting to see a further development of your friendship with Marge. I like the artistic design that was used in the character of Marge. And there are also several jokes about transsexuality that I liked, and that were not offensive.

The biggest problem I find with this story is that, as usual, it includes a brief conflict of marital problems between Homer and Marge. Seriously, how long will we continue with this? We were facing a theme that had never been explored. All roads were available. Why approach the most repetitive and exhausting path? Why not make a less worn out outcome? I must admit that they gave a good twist with Homer being a drag queen and that Julio's phrase that refers to the most romantic thing he has seen is good. Within the worst possible topic, they found a good solution. But it could have been better. Oh, and it's not exactly a problem, but the guest stars did not add much to the episode. Only avoidable appearances and now.

Lisa's subplot I loved it. There is a parody very well achieved. There is a sublime direction of Polcino (you have to recognize the merits, no?). There is, again, a good use of secondary characters (Jasper, Kirk / Luann, Gil, Doris). There is a good start and a good ending. There is a great characterization of Bart. It was really good. It was nice to see Lisa carefree, supportive. And I also emphasize that Bart has offered to help her. And of course, we also have a great scene of Maggie, which serves as a great transition from plot to subframe. How great it is to use the baby.

Not sure, but I'll give it a 3/5 so far. At least, until I re-watch the episode. It could be an 4/5 easily.
 
So why is the episode called "Werking Mom"? What's the significance of the odd spelling? Maybe it's obvious and I'm just missing something.

Anyway, I enjoyed this one overall. Amélie is one of my favorite movies, so it was nice to see it parodied. I enjoyed seeing Lisa find some joy in life and work together with Bart. I also thought the drag queens and gay characters were handled well; we all know this show is not always the best with this material ("fisting" joke, anyone?). The problem with the "marriage crisis" this episode is that it didn't start out as one. Homer and Marge are allowed to have a conflict every now and then and not every one is a "marriage crisis". The initial conflict seemed reasonable; Marge's reaction was appropriate for what Homer did. But then at the end when Marge approaches the drag queens to tell them that she's realized how selfish Homer is, we're back to the usual problem with marriage crises. Homer didn't do anything wrong until the moment he burst into the party and "outed" Marge (and his motivations for doing so weren't really made clear either. Why did he feel he had to come in there and ruin everything?) And Marge is acting like Homer's been awful the whole episode and it just seems undeserved. Marge's issue was lacking confidence, but we weren't led to believe it was Homer's fault that she did. I don't mind Homer realizing why selling Tubberware and the confidence it brought was important to Marge, but it shouldn't be portrayed as though he was opposed to it the whole episode. Clearer motives on the part of Homer would've made this seem less like a tacked-on crisis that really had no business being in this episode.

Still, that's a relatively minor gripe in what was otherwise a fun episode. 4/5
 
Max Power's Review


Quotes
- "In 2007, King of the Hill made an episode focused on the confidence and security of the mother of the family under the premise of the drag queen."

- "On this occasion, beyond some jokes, sexual identity took a back seat, the focus was confidence and self-esteem."

- "Marge had already participated in business, but not offering a product door to door."

- "Seeing Smithers as a drag queen shows that there are no longer subtleties with his character."

- "As for Mel Patiño as a drag queen, they probably decided to change their character."

- "It's always entertaining that Helen Lovejoy receives her deserved."

- "The main story is unusual for the series, has good jokes and is on the right track."

- "However, they went back to using the matrimonial conflict wildcard."

- "My biggest problem is that Marge gets mad at Homer, would not you feel strange if your wives did this without telling you?"

- "Barney flirting with Homer is not out of the ordinary (callback Simpson Tide)."

- "The part of Lisa imitating Amelié was quite endearing."

- "The French narration in the subplot and the special animation gave a special touch."

- "This is the Lisa we need, Happy Lisa is the best Lisa."

Note: 7/10
 
Erm. Didn't dislike that one by any means, in fact I even laughed a few times, but I just don't think it was for me and the plotting fell apart in the last act - as others have said, wouldn't Homer at least have good reason to find the whole thing weird? ​C
 
I found the entire episode kindoff bland... both the Drag Queens A plot and Lisa B plot... It felt like they had ideas but didn't spent much time trying to make them funny. Not a fan of this one and I think it was very forgetable...
 
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