I Won't Be Home for Christmas (The Simpsons)

"I Won't Be Home for Christmas" is the ninth episode of the 26th season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, and the 561st episode of the series. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 7, 2014. It is the thirteenth Christmas episode of the show.[1]

"I Won't Be Home for Christmas"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 26
Episode 9
Directed byMark Kirkland
Written byAl Jean
Production codeTABF03
Original air dateDecember 7, 2014 (2014-12-07)
Episode features
Chalkboard gagReindeer meat does not taste like chicken.
Couch gagThere is a message that reads: “Now for obligatory Frozen reference”, before cutting to a snow couch, where Lisa, appearing as Elsa, is sitting. Bart as Kristoff hits her with a snowball and she immediately creates a giant ice palace, with Bart stuck at the top. Homer appears as Olaf, and bites his own nose, disappointed to discover it is simply a carrot.

Plot

The episode begins with Comic Book Guy and Kumiko Albertson watching the Cosmic Wars Special, with Comic Book Guy expressing shock and outrage that the special actually gets worse the more he watches it, and Kumiko stating he has every right to be angry.

Homer plans to fulfill Marge's Christmas Eve wishes by leaving work on time and arriving home to celebrate Christmas with his family. However, after suffering a car accident on the way home, he stops for a quick drink at Moe's, and when he tries to leave, Moe convinces him to stay there by honestly telling Homer how lonely and depressed he is. Homer loses track of time and when he finally gets home, Marge is enraged and kicks him out, saying she does not want him in the house on Christmas. Homer then leaves on an odyssey through a deserted and chilly Springfield, with Moe inadvertently compounding his sadness by being preoccupied with karaoke when Homer shows up to try and talk to him, and to add insult to injury, Homer's car gets towed with his cell phone frozen inside it.

Meanwhile, Marge becomes depressed without Homer, but tells Bart and Lisa that she does not plan to forgive him. At that point, Moe, having found Homer's wallet that he left in the tavern, climbs down the 742 Evergreen Terrace chimney and tells Marge the truth about why Homer was out late on Christmas Eve. Marge immediately tries to call Homer and ask him to come home, but as he lost his phone, she ends up going out to look for him. Homer ends up at the miserable local movie theatre to watch a depressing Life is Beautiful-type of film alongside other lost souls like Kirk Van Houten, the Crazy Cat Lady and Gil.

After Marge searches through the city and Homer ends up at a depressing party for mall workers, they each have epiphanies: Homer says that being without his family at Christmas is much worse than being with them, and Marge says that she should not always assume Homer is doing stupid things for no reasons. The two finally find each other at the party, reconcile and look forward to a happy new year.

The final scene shows footage from the next episode "The Man Who Came to Be Dinner".

Reception

The episode received an audience of 6.52 million, making it the most watched show on Fox that night.[2]

Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B-, saying "The moderate pleasure to be gleaned from ‘I Won’t Be Home for Christmas’ comes from a show trying to wring some heart and laughs from a quarter-century of well-trod territory. The pleasures aren't inconsiderable, but they're effortful."[3]

This episode was nominated for an Annie award for outstanding achievement in writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production in 2016.

References
  1. "Al Jean on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  2. Bibel, Amanda (December 9, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'The SImpsons' & 'Family Guy' Adjusted Up, '60 Minutes' Adjusted Down & Final Football Numbers". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  3. "Review: The Simpsons: "I Won't Be Home for Christmas"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
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