Simpsons Did It!: “A Milhouse Divided”

For this episode, Marge decided she wanted to host a dinner party.

I guess she forgot how badly the last one went.

The monotony of marital life is getting to Marge.  Missing stimulating adult conversation…or any conversation at all, really…Marge decides she wants to host a dinner party.  This one is smaller than the last big Simpson house gathering, as she’s mostly invited other married couples.  Yes, there’s the Lovejoys, the Flanderses, the Hibberts, and the VanHoutens.

Man, they really should not have invited the VanHoutens.  How well do they know the VanHoutens?  Later in the episode, when Luane tells Marge to forget everything Marge knows about Luane, Marge tries to say she doesn’t know much of anything about Luane.  But Luane was busy burning a box full of Kirk’s shirts, so she wasn’t much listening.

I think I got a bit ahead of myself.

See, the VanHoutens are sniping at each other like something out of a less cultured version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?, and that means that some sort of Pictionary game goes horribly awry.  Reverend Lovejoy is told to cram it, and gets called “churchy” to boot.  Homer’s best advice involves a comic strip called “Love Is” which apparently is about two naked eight year olds who are married.  That doesn’t sound very helpful.

It isn’t, since Luane decides she wants a divorce in the Simpson living room.

Things escalate from there.  Luane’s life seems to get better since even the act of burning Kirk’s shirts makes her feel a deep sense of satisfaction.  She’s even dating an American Gladiator.  Kirk, meanwhile, moves into a sad apartment complex for older, single men, loses his job, his car, and his demo tape.  “Can I Borrow a Feeling”?  Seriously?  Homer was right to laugh.

As for Milhouse, Bart sees him getting plenty of support from Nelson, whose own parents split up, and Kearney, who had an ugly divorce himself.

All this leads Homer to realize that stuff can happen unexpectedly.  Some warning signs that he probably misinterpreted are there, like hot dogs thawing in the sink.  Clumsy attempts at being sweet go really wrong, and Lisa assures Homer that Marge is well aware Homer has a secret poker shack out in the swamp.  His wedding day was a disaster.  Homer realizes Marge deserves better, and a chance to start over.

That actually means a second wedding.  Surprise!  And its real since Homer got a divorce finalized in town earlier that day.  Everything goes well for Marge and Homer.

Well, except for the realization that Homer can get a divorce without even telling Marge about it.

Then Kirk sings his awful song to try to get Luane back.  It fails miserably and her large boyfriend escorts Kirk out.

Well, that looks like a more permanent change than we’re generally used to.