Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 5, “Treehouse of Horror XXXV”
Bizarrely,The Simpsonsseason 36’s Treehouse of Horror Halloween special was the second episode in a row to bring back a random character pairing the series abandoned for almost two decades.The Simpsonshas produced38 Treehouse of Horror Halloween specialsin the last 36 years, and all of these horror anthologies take place outside the show’s usual canon. However, that statement has changed its meaning in the last few years, as the show’s grip on its continuity has loosened significantly.The Simpsonshas always had a playful relationship with consistency, but season 36 proves it often ignores canon.
Why The Simpsons Season 36 Is Releasing A Halloween Episode In Late November
The Simpsons season 36 features not one, but two Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials, but why is the second not arriving until late November?
According to current showrunner Matt Selman onX(formerlyTwitter),The Simpsonshas an “Elastic canon” that changes to accommodate new storylines and gags. This means that every new episode is roughly as wedded to the show’s old canon as aTreehouse of Horror episode, since the show can change the past, present, and future of every character without warning.The Simpsonsseason 36, episode 4, “Shoddy Heat,” and episode 5, “Treehouse of Horror XXXV,” provided proof of this with a wild throwback to an earlier outing. The two episodes confirmed an unlikely romantic pairing from the show’s past.
Agnes Skinner and Mr. Burns Date In Two The Simpsons Season 36 Episodes
“Shoddy Heat” and “Treehouse of Horror XXXV” Pair The Two Characters
In both “Shoddy Heat” and “Treehouse of Horror XXXV,”Mr. Burns and Agnes Skinner are romantically linked.The story ofThe Simpsonsseason 36 episode 4focused on Grampa’s hitherto-unmentioned career as a private investigator during the ‘80s, which once again calls Homer’s constantly changing birthdate into question. The episode revealed that Grampa got romantically involved with a young Agnes Skinner when she was dating Burns, and Grampa suspected Burns of killing his former partner. In the end, it turned out that Grampa’s former colleague had simply taken a payment from Burns and retired to an island paradise.
Agnes briefly referenced her affair with Mr. Burns in season 17, episode 7, “The Last of the Red Hat Mamas."
Since “Shoddy Heat” was busy with this twisty plot, the episode barely mentioned how surprising a pairing Agnes and Burns were. In “Treehouse of Horror XXXV,” Agnes plays Burns’ bitter ex-wife in a segment set during the 1800s. Burns and Skinner are both alternative versions of themselves, but their romance apparently transferred to this new canon in the episode’s Edgar Allan Poe parody. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time the pair have ever been romantically associated with each other. Agnes briefly referenced her affair with Mr. Burns in season 17, episode 7, “The Last of the Red Hat Mamas,” but she never mentioned it again.
The Simpsons’ Bizarre Agnes Skinner/Mr. Burns Romance Highlights A Late-Season Strength
The Simpsons’ Longevity Allows The Show To Adapt Its Canon
The Simpsonshas truly stopped caring about consistency, which makes these sorts of unexpected callbacks increasingly common. Since the show isn’t worried about presenting a united front in the form of a cohesive lore that viewers can follow,The Simpsonsseason 36 is free to play around with obscure details mentioned decades earlier. TheEdgar Allan Poe parody in “Treehouse of Horror XXXV”benefits from this, much like season 36’s earlier murder mystery brought back a long-forgotten background character just to kill them off. This allowsThe Simpsonsto toy with its canon without worrying about consistency.
New episodes ofThe Simpsonsair at 8 pm on Sundays on Fox.
