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| "Come on in! It's your master bedroom!" |
A hurricane is coming towards Springfield. Apparently, Springfield is at a spot where that can happen. After the mad rush for emergency supplies occur, Homer has everyone go into the cellar to hide (aka the "Grampa" drill). After some time, the hurricanes finally passes though. Miraculously, the Simpson home is left mostly unscathed, as is the case with nearly every other home in town with one notable exception: Ned Flanders, whose home was completely demolished, with only the family and the family tombstones surviving the devastation.
The house wasn't insured, as Ned considers insurance 'a form of gambling', so that's a major loss. As the Flanders family heads to a rescue shelter at the church, they learn to their dismay that robbers and looters and focused their attention on Ned's Leftorium shop, creating another major loss. Ned can't even flip a page in the Holy Bible without cutting his finger. Ned wants to scream out, but finds himself unable to.
The next day, Marge visits the Flanders with big news: the townsfolk has pitched in and worked together to rebuild Ned's home. At first the family is impressed and grateful, however as they tour the home it becomes apparently, especially upstairs, that the house (built by Springfield townspeople, mind you) is poorly constructed and barely livable. After the tour is done and everybody is outside the house, it collapses upon itself. Its the last straw for Ned, who goes on a tirade against any and everybody he comes in contact with. He then leaves angrily, driving away on his own to a mental institution to have himself committed.
A nurse catches wind of this and contacts one Dr. Foster, who is familiar with Ned. When the two meet again, some backstory is shown: Ned's parents, previously revealed as beatniks, refuses to punish a young Ned, who as a result is a violent, unruly child. Having tried nothing and running out of ideas, the two seek Dr. Foster's help, who comes up with an experimental plan: spanking Ned non-stop for eight months. The method works too well: Ned is no longer capable of expressing anger, speaking gib-diddly-berish whenever he would otherwise be upset. Realizing Ned needs to healthily release his anger, Dr. Foster brings in the one person Ned can't stand the most: Homer.
The doctor prepares some statements for Homer to say to Ned, including "past instances in which I professed to like you were fraudulent" and "I engaged in intercourse with your spouse or significant other", but Ned isn't bothered by this. Instead, Homer tries to get Ned to admit he just likes everything, but after a short ramble, Ned blurts out that he hates the post office... and also his 'lousy beatnik' parents. Realizing that Ned is now capable of expressing anger without expressing too much anger, Dr. Foster proclaims Ned 'cured', and Ned meets a joyous town outside, though this new Ned won't be taking anybody's nonsense anytime soon.
Quick Review
This is one of Season 8's best episodes. The hurricane bit that started the show, the showing of Ned's shoddy new home, Ned's meltdown on everybody including poor Lenny, and Homer's 'conversation' with him were all excellent moments in this episode, providing a hilarious stream of jokes from beginning to end.
Final Score: 10
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