The Simpsons
Summary
monition : This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 35 , installment 13
WhileThe Simpsonsseason 35 , episode 13 took a large stylistic risk with its aliveness shift , this gambit prove successful for the long - running series . The Simpsonshas been around for longer than any other scripted television series , so it pee gumption that the show feels a little tired and formulaic from meter to time . The Simpsonsseason 36might cast off the rule book when it comes to the show ’s routine but , as of season 35 , the serial publication has a relatively reliable structure that most episodes succeed . Despite this , some experimental attempt still abstract their mode into the show .
In time of year 34 , The Simpsonsattempted its first full - duration Treehouse of Horror installment with a twenty - one - moment parody of Stephen King’sIT . The same time of year featured a close that took billet entirely in the few seconds between Homer crashing his car and landing on the ground , a surreal odyssey whose lessonHomer quick forgot in time of year 35 . time of year 35 has maintain this trend alive with episode 2 , “ A Mid - Childhood Night ’s Dream , “ which illustrated Marge ’s interior creation through trippy pipe dream sequences . As if this were n’t enough , The Simpsonsseason 35 , episode 13“Clan of the Cave Mom , ” took this approaching even further .
The Simpsons Season 35 Episode 13’s Stone Age Scenes Aren’t Comedic
Flashes of Marge’s internal world were taken surprisingly seriously
Large segments of “ Clan of the Cave Mom ” abandoned the typical visual aesthetic ofThe Simpsonsin favor of a different animation fashion . After Marge view a 4D moving picture about the Stone Age , the episode used vignettes set in the era to fetch Marge ’s worked up landscape to life . When Luann Van Houten criticized Bart , Marge ’s primal brainiac jumped into protective mode and visualise Luann as a mat saber - toothed cat . inhale by the novelClan of Cave Bearand its movie version , “ Clan of the Cave Mom ” tie some surprising comparing between Marge ’s plight and her prehistorical ascendent .
In a fascinating , risky decisiveness , the episode ’s entr’acte were n’t comedic in spirit . The Simpsonsseason 35 ’s margarin - centric plotfeatured only two visual joke in the lengthy Stone Age scenes , and even these rare joke were dark . One gag pore on how long it took a grunting Homer to die after he was spike on a sway , while another find out Grampa attain with a mass of Baron Snow of Leicester as he sacrifice his life to feed in the Simpson nestling . These raw , brutally dark jest were few and far between , which made the Stone Age sequences feel authentically spectacular and compelling .
Why The Simpsons Needed To Take This Subplot Seriously
Treating Marge’s reveries as real events heightened the episode’s stakes
It was well-fixed to see why Marge was overreact to Luann when her internal world was so vividly , genuinely dark . If Marge ’s Stone Age fantasies were full of incessant joke like the episode ’s main plot , then her reaction could have seemed excessive , and the plot of land would have suffer its stakes . Instead , by taking the prehistoric scenes seriously , The Simpsonsmade Marge ’s anger matter . The bold number of jokes featured inThe Simpsonscan sometimes strangle the strength of its more striking moments asYoutuberSuper Eyepatch Wolf noted . Stripped - back episodes like time of year 33 , installment 12 , “ Pixelated and Afraid ” stave off this exit .
That outing saw Homer and Marge resist for themselves in the wilderness against a carcajou , much like time of year 35 installment 13 pitted Margeagainst a likewise redoubtable enemy in her Stone Age plot line . In both pillow slip , the stakes of the story were clear , since the series did n’t make light of Marge ’s plight . Thus , when Marge careened through a set of traffic cones and hopped a certificate fence to get Bart into a concert in “ Clan of the Cave Mom , ” it was easy to see why she saw this as a life - or - expiry struggle . Inevitably , the episode ’s termination fancy her return to normal .
The Simpsons Season 35 Episode 13 Continues A Positive Series Trend
Cutting back on gags is a surprisingly good choice for the show
The Simpsonsdoesn’t cram as many gags into season 35 as the show did into time of year 28 - -32 , but this allows for better tempo and more introspective storylines . TheGolden Age ofThe Simpsonswas filled with constant jape , but the show ’s humour typically came from its graphic symbol rather than zany desktop occurrences or random gags . In contrast , seasons 30 - 33 ofThe Simpsonsfailed to find the right balance between madcap cartoony havoc and character - centric storylines . While time of year 35 has cut back on the sheer mass of jokes , this has open up the show to plot that feel more impactful .
As a result , The Simpsonscan get off with dark storylines like the Stone Age scenes of “ Clan of the Cave Mom . ” If these setting have a downpour of gags , the episode may have become overstuff and its key play would n’t have been compelling . However , by contrast a dour subplot with a lighter , slaphappy story , The Simpsonsmanaged to make Marge ’s home engagement engaging while also offering a wild , strange take on an otherwise familiar story . witness have seen Marge sweep in fights with other mothers before , but never in the way of life thatThe Simpsonsseason 35 brought this plot to life .
