In “Portrait of a Lackey on Fire,” garish and loud disposable fashion threaten to make Black Friday a daily reality. In that episode Waters saved Homer from ravaging reindeer by unleashing a garish and loud wind-up toy replica of their cruel taskmaster Santa. But it still has stiff competition from the episode “Homer’s Phobia,” which guest-starred John Waters. Comic Book Guy might declare “Portrait of a Lackey on Fire” as the “Gayest Episode Ever,” which happens to be the podcast showrunner Matt Selman credits for recasting gay Cuban character Julio from Hank Azaria to Tony Rodriguez. An old school self-loathing closeted lesbian from the old country learns to love the freedoms in the new world, except not to swipe on Grindr. The episode owns the cliches the community has claimed for themselves, and satirizes the stereotypes with empathetic alternatives. The Simpsons presents a nuanced LBGTQ cross-section. Together, these two sentiments capture the heart of the Simpson family. Marge’s best line of the installment comes when a very smitten Smithers asks when she knew Homer was the love of her life? “After he got me pregnant, I just knew he was someone I’d have kids with,” she says. It’s the best, because the conditions will kill you. Homer’s best and most astute line of the evening has to do with unconditional love. As ebullient as Marge can be, she is also a master of grand understatement. She’s waiting for Homer when he gets in his car, switches to her car, and winds up on the bus to work in a sequence so infectious, it could have added one more payoff without going overboard. It grows from barely-contained curiosity to full-blown mania. Marge’s thirst for gossip is a fantastic bit. He compares Marge’s sisters to the ladies of Grey Gardens, who had a look as opposed to the Bouviers’ “don’t look.” Don’t get him started on Milwaukee. Michael, also well-known as a judge on “America’s Got Fabric,” whose catchphrase can bestow stardom, as his putdowns can topple civilizations. Enough to hire Christine Baranski to sing the soundtrack to Mamma Mia! for a simple brunch, or cancel a trip to Milan to fall in love in Springfield. Michael DeGraff, voiced by Victor Garber, a Fortune 500 fashion designer who not only has wealth and riches, but money. Homer outdoes himself, giving the series a nuanced love interest, and Smithers’ the pick of the litter. But Homer’s glee in trying to find Waylon’s Man-Marge is moving. The conversation which leads to the romantic set-up is enhanced by the characters’ histories, even as the words have little relation to it. Smithers once wept as he gave the order to have Homer’s legs broken for saving Burns’ life, and they have saved and cost each other their jobs in equal measure. Homer and Waylon have always maintained a wary respect and admiration for each other, as co-workers, co-conspirators, and occasional friends. Homer is reassigned from Sector G to be the attack dummy during training, giving him some alone time with Smithers. Smithers trains the puppies to be to be murderous enough to be doled out as guard dogs to whichever of Burns’ richest allies sent the most flamboyant bribe. We see his mansion and his hounds’ McMansion, and learn of his new litter of priceless Louis Dobermann puppies, apparently descended from Karl Friedrich himself. Here he is gifted with the most fashionable accessory, a fully realized episode. In earlier seasons, Smithers’ personal life barely intruded into the office, unless you had to get past his network firewall to see his introductory screensaver. Burns, includes some of the cleverest writing of the series. The innuendo-laden repartee with his boss, Mr. For years, Waylon Smithers did time as an all-too-standard bearer of hidden identity in a workplace where labels stick with the half-lives of atomic residue. The Simpsons season 33 episode 8, “Portrait of a Lackey on Fire,” is a celebration of the long-running series’ most closeted icon. This The Simpsons review contains spoilers.
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