The Crepes of Wrath

This is the episode that was penned by the 4 people who would define the show particularity in the first four seasons(Simon/Vitti/Swartzwelder/Meyer) and it really shows. while it isn't as hilarious as earlier episode Bart the General it does a great job at showcasing humor, the family, secondaries and political satire.

The episode starts off with what I think is the first memorable Homer pain gag. I usually rag on pain gags but in the earlier season they're actually done well. There is no blood and it's not carried out for a long drawn out period of time. Homer falls down the stairs and is crippled. I love the Krusty doll slowly dying as Homer can't get up and no one helps him until Marge and Lisa get home. Bart while being punished finds a unused firework and decides to pull a prank at school with it. A classic early Bart prank. The scene at the school is one I actually really like with Skinner and Agnes (making her first appearance he voice is a bit off too) walking through the school. Agnes calling him Spanky and his conversation with Bart is really well done. It is a nice touch to what would later come to be one of the best dynamics/relationship in the show. But Bart of course ruins what was a pleasant visit for Agnes as he blows up the cherry bomb in the toilet as Agnes is on it in the other washroom. After that moment is where I think the episode gets especially Simpsons esque.


Skinner brings Bart back to Bart's house and the interactions between Homer/Marge and Skinner are great. They decide for Bart the most reasonable punishment comes in the form of the student exchange program. Homer is ecstatic at the idea of getting a new boy and so is Skinner. I really do enjoy Bart's trip in France. I fell it's quite different than other travel episodes as there is almost no interactions with the people of France rather the conflict is situated right in one beaten up old wine making shack. There are some great references to artwork on the way to the Chateau and when Bart arrives there it's a great gag as he thins the place will be much nicer and the gag itself is a nice sight gag. Bart's journey takes a deep spiral as he is forced to work all day for nothing and it's filled with darker gags then we are accustomed to with Bart. But Bart almost taking the reversal of the rule that every one time character who enter Springfield is usually smarter than the average Springfieldian is trusted by his dimwitted "parents" to go to the store to get more anti freeze for the wine. He of course runs for help. This is when the episode gets at its funniest that Bart is absurdly able to speak fluent French to save his life at the last second and the top moment is when Cesar and Ugolin(there names are great film references in themselves) are arrested not for being abusive to Bart but rather for putting anti freeze into wine. A great satirical touch.


But I do think overall that the plot involving Adil is much stronger and and really funny. The scene at the dinner table is the best scene of this plot. It is in many ways a classic Simpsons moment and it really shows. It has Lisa battling intellectual wits with an outsider who are mainly smarter than most Springfield residents and one of Homer's pseudo intellectual moments where he settles the debate between Adil and Lisa. But the great parts of this plot revolve around Adil taking advantage of Homer and the fact that Adil is the sort of son Homer wanted. Adil is of course a spy for Albania and in true Simpsons form he is found out at the end by Homer accidently alerting the police that he is in the tree house. homer was of course oblivious that Adil was a spy. But the end of this plot again is what i love about this episode. Adil instead of getting in any trouble is just trde for another American kid who was doing the same thing. A great satirical look at foreign diplomacy etc. The very end of the episode is a good way to end the episode. With Bart calling Homer a buffoon in french and Homer showing his affection for Bart because of his new "cultured" way. Overall this episode is a great attempt at a multilayered story and it gags are really well done. But it obviously isn't the strongest of episodes.

Grade: B+