 |
| Beating up a guy dressed as Doctor Octopus is much more fun with a friend! |
Nelson attempts to force everyone to go to his birthday party again. Bart has enough and convinces everyone not to go. At home, Bart brags about this accomplishment, but Marge overhears and chides Bart for his mean act, forcing him to go to that party. There, Bart realizes that the party actually has a nice setup, with edible food and actual entertainment, but as expected nobody else is there. Nelson greets Bart, panicked that no one else has shown up, but the two end up having genuine fun. The next day, Bart is ready to move on as normal, however he's stunned to find Nelson asking Bart to sit next to him, as Nelson considers Bart his new best friend.
Bart initially tries to opt out, but after he's saved from Jimbo by Nelson, realizes that by sticking with Nelson he'll have some protection. The two quickly become best friends, with Bart even receiving a vest like Nelson's to wear. One day, though, Milhouse confronts Bart over recent events, pressuring Bart into flying kites with him. Nelson witnesses Bart doing this, and confronts Bart over it a short time later angrily. Nelson soon apologizes for his behavior, but Bart isn't interested in this kind of relationship and ends his friendship with Nelson, which basically means Nelson's going to annihilate him at some point now.
Meanwhile, Lisa forces Homer to read her a bedtime story. Homer reads a tale about Angelica Button, a story rather similar to another famous wizard story, but he quickly becomes entrenched in its story. He wants to read further on his own, but Lisa makes him promise to only read the book with her. Still, Homer can't resist, and as Lisa is off at a friend's house, Homer reads ahead, where he learns that Greystash (whom he had inserted himself into in scenes), dies in the book's climatic battle to save the young Button. Homer is devastated by the ending, even more so when he realizes he'll have to read the ending to Lisa, likely ending her childhood. Not willing to let that happen, Homer makes up a new ending as he reads to Lisa, one where Greystash lives and wins, and Button is freed somehow, and the two have a happy ending. Lisa appreciates Homer reading the entire book, and after reading the real ending afterward she still prefers Homer's version.
The 4th grade class goes on a field trip to some tide pools for some reason. In a cave nearby, Nelson confronts Bart once more. Bart expects a few punches, but instead Nelson lectures Bart over how bad of a friend he's been, interested in Nelson's protection but not his friendship. Bart tries to defend himself, but the cave is flooded by the tide. Nelson is able to save Bart, but their friendship is officially over, and the status quo is returned. Still, Bart will treasure that wonderful week he and Nelson were friends.
Quick Review
This episode is one of the best ones thus far early this season. Both the main plot and the secondary plot have good moments, with Homer and Lisa's sidestory particularly endearing, and while the quantity of jokes still isn't what it was, this time around the quality was there, and it makes for a good episode.
Final Score: 7.4
No comments:
Post a Comment