Should they stop with the flashback/backstory episodes?

[714MatchesFound]

After this weeks episode, I’ve finally had enough of it. From contradicting previous origin stories, to moving up the time period of their upbringing, I just can’t deal with it anymore.

If it’s untapped territory, like the comic book guy episode from January, that’s one thing. But to constantly keep going back to Homer’s youth, which we already know was miserable and lonely, there’s no point in adding stuff we’ve never seen before in Homer’s life, like robot performers and fireworks, and moving it to the 90s.

IMO, they should’ve just kept it to one of each like in the classic era: Homer and Marge meet, Homer and Marge get married, Homer and Marge have each of their kids. Boom. Done. The one shining exception is “Lisa’s Sax” because it’s brilliant in its own right, and it’s actually in line with Lisa and Bart’s character arcs throughout the whole show.

To keep going back and add little elements that wouldn’t make a difference anyway is just frustrating to me. Homer and robot musicians in a pizza place?? This isn’t like Star Wars where you have an entire universe and years in between to add side characters and new stories.

I bet this has been stated before, and if it has, then I apologize. But shouldn’t they leave the original backstories alone and just move forward?

 

[sandurt]

lisas sax is a 0/10 they should've stopped after maggie makes three. and yes they should stop even though it's already completey disjointed

 

[Trab Pu Kcip]

They need to stop with it for a few seasons. I'm mainly moaning about the origin stories which have been a common presence in the show this season, and while character devlopement is good, there's just too many and they need to ease on them for a bit.

 

[Financial Panther]

They have seemed to go heavy on them lately, with flashbacks two weeks in a row. I get that exploring new territory in the present is hard in season 32, but this is a show that’s set in the present, so flashback episodes should be few and far between lest they lose their novelty..

 

[OldSchoolerSimpsons]

My biggest problem is how lazy they are about them. 99% of the time it will be about a family member, even though there are loads of other characters they could explore. The Way We Weren't was the first sign of desperation, and after that it's only gotten worse. How many times do we need to see Homer and Marge's relationship as young or some detail from Abe's past becoming relevant again? Show some originality, will you...

 

[Szyslak100]

Well, it's a bit shocking when they change anything from the golden tetralogy of flashbacks, which includes The Way We Was, I Married Marge, Lisa's First Word, and And Maggie Makes Three. I would prefer that the new flashbacks are located on a determined date. Do Pizzabots Dream of Electric Guitar? would've worked better if they excluded any element from the 90s and if they made it atemporal. As it was, it's impossible to feel that the Homer we saw was not our Homer. Although I try to make an effort to conceive the floating timeline, episodes like Homerpalooza come to mind, where we know Homer doesn't understand the music and style of the 90s. After those memories, the entire experience is a bit worse. When they try to rewrite the story of The Simpsons, it is inevitably confusing (like in That 90s Show, Dangerous Curves, or Three Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage).

I don't agree with the statement, though. There are plenty of post-classic flashbacks I have enjoyed: The Blunder Years, The Way We Weren't, To Cur, with Love, and Fland Canyon, for example. But none of them are contradictory to what we have learned about the characters in the past, none of them have an expiration date, and all of them tell a particular story from a specific moment. I loved Barthood and Mr. Lisa's Opus too. And I will like it if they close the trilogy with an episode about Maggie in the future.