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| Barely even chewed it. Surprised Bart didn't croak. ...sorry. |
At church, Bart actually feels bad when told of a story of an Indonesian boy who acts like him that has since become ill. Bart pleads with Homer to give him money to donate to the boy's well being, and Homer does give Bart $20 for that purpose, but Homer insists Bart pay him back as soon as possible. Almost instantly, Homer continuously bugs Bart to get his money back. Desperate for money, Bart decides to let other kids at school feed him whatever for money. Eventually, Jimbo tells Bart he'll pay $20 if Bart eats a dissection frog from the science lab. Bart's need for the money outweighs every other concern and Bart quickly, and without regard, gulps down that frog. Bart earns the $20, but gets sick right away as the frog was filled with poisonous formaldehyde. Homer gets back his $20 (which at this point he'd forgotten about), but now has a hospital bill of $4000 to worry about.
Well enough to leave the hospital, Bart's return to school is less than joyous, as the other kids in school no longer want to associate with "that kid who ate the frog", something Lisa had warned Bart about earlier. Not even Milhouse wants to deal with Bart now, especially since Milhouse would've given Bart the $20 anyway. Worse yet, now Bart is about to be attacked by Jimbo and his gang even though it was Jimbo who set Bart up. However, the three are shooed off by a falcon and its caretaker, an older boy named Diggby, or Diggs for short. Bart quickly befriends Diggs, who is a rather eccentric fellow, and the two begin to spend time training and playing with Diggs' falcon. One day, though, Diggs, out of nowhere, attempts a stunt by jumping out of a tree, injuring himself in the process.
At the hospital, Bart learns that Diggs was really hoping he'd start flying and that perhaps the ability to is something humans have simply forgotten. Bart is then led out not just by Dr. Hibbert, but by a second doctor, who plans on transferring Diggs to what Bart later learns is a mental institution. Doubting that Diggs could actually be crazy, Bart is shocked to find Diggs back at the school, who was given a one-day pass to leave the institution so he could compete in a falconry competition. The two attend, but Diggs instead enlists Bart's help to release all of the falcons at the competition so they can fly free. With that plan successful, Diggs is aware he probably won't be able to leave the institution again, and bids farewell to Bart. Feeling alone for a moment, Bart is met by Milhouse, who feels bad for ditching Bart earlier on, and the two renew their friendship.
Quick Review
This episode was your typical "start strong, finish poorly" fare that plagues many episode. The whole arc involving Bart getting money to pay off/shut up Homer was an excellent start to the episode, but once the focus shifted to Diggs (voiced by Daniel Radcliffe) and the falconry stuff, the episode loses a lot of humor. Add in just enough Lisa to be irritating, and the episode is mostly disappointing, especially after a good start.
Final Score: 6.6
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