Flandereses Did It!: “Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?”

So, here we are with another episode of The Flandereses.

Wait, that doesn’t sound right.

Yes, we have a Flanders-centered episode, though the Simpsons all play a role.  The real focus here is young Todd Flanders.  He can’t remember what his mother’s face looked like anymore, and even home videos seem to be interrupted rather frequently by Homer.

So, it may be a bit of a dismaying point for Ned when Todd says he doesn’t know if he believes in God anymore.  In church.  In front of the whole congregation.

Lisa gives Todd a thumbs up, but she spends the rest of the episode trying and failing to convert the boy to Buddhism.

Ned is at a loss, so he does the only thing that makes sense and forces Todd to live with the Simpsons.  That turns out to be problematic.  Bart doesn’t like sharing a room with a sad little boy.  Lisa finds her own spiritual belief to be as disrespected as Ned’s.  Homer and Marge can’t snuggle because Ned always did so silently and Todd has really, really good hearing.

Homer eventually takes the boy out for ice cream, where Todd’s dead mother woes remind Homer of his own dead mother woes.  Plus, his ice cream melted.  Depressed, he runs off to Moe’s, and Ned joins him.  The two get drunk and get hit by an Uber.  Hans Moleman was driving.  Because of course he was.

So, while Homer and Ned get to visit Heaven temporarily, Ned seeing both of his dead wives and Homer getting everything he wants as well (sloth is now a virtue, so he easily got into Heaven).  Will Todd pray to get his dad back?

Well, Marge suggests he should pray even if he has doubts, so he can at least help himself in the process.  And that works.  The prayers go to Heaven, Ned goes back to Earth.  Homer does too, but not until after he gets a hug from his dead mama (returning guest star Glenn Close).

So, Todd believes in something again.

As for Rod, he’s fine.

Will I remember which boy is which next time?  Probably not.