TL;DR: The Simpsons just pulled off one of the most meaningful callbacks in its history. In “Bad Boys… For Life?”, Homer finally sees himself in Bart, echoing the show’s first-ever episode and completing a 37-year emotional arc. It’s smart, sentimental, and a perfect farewell for Al Jean’s legendary run.
The Simpsons Season 37
Let’s be honest: at some point over the past two decades, The Simpsons went from “must-watch cultural lightning rod” to “that show still airing, huh?” Like a once-great band that just wouldn’t hang up its guitars, Springfield’s finest family seemed destined to live out eternity on auto-pilot, endlessly looping through couch gags and celebrity cameos.
But recently — and I say this with the cautious optimism of someone who’s been burned by The Simpsons before — it’s… good again. Really good. Season 37’s latest episode, “Bad Boys… For Life?”, is proof that Matt Groening’s yellow empire still knows how to tug at our heartstrings, land a punchline, and deliver the kind of storytelling magic that made us fall in love with it in the first place.
This episode isn’t just clever; it’s emotional alchemy — blending nostalgia, humor, and a callback so subtle and so heartfelt that it connects all the way back to The Simpsons’ very first episode in 1989. Yes, thirty-seven years later, Homer and Bart finally complete a character arc that started when I was still learning how to spell “D’oh.”
At its core, “Bad Boys… For Life?” is a flashback episode — and not the cheap “remember this thing from the ‘90s?” kind. Instead, it’s a character-driven rewind that explores how Homer came to truly understand his relationship with Bart.
The story kicks off with a familiar scene: the family stuck in streaming purgatory, scrolling endlessly through their options (truly the most relatable hell of our time). Lisa finally suggests they skip the binge and listen to one of Marge’s stories instead — and just like that, we’re transported back four years to a time when Bart was a pint-sized chaos engine and Homer was… well, Homer.
In classic fashion, Homer tries to bond with his son the only way he knows how — through misguided parenting. There’s a whiteboard, there’s duct tape, there’s yelling about left-handedness (because of course there is). Bart retaliates the way only Bart can: with pranks escalating from harmless mischief to full-on “call the insurance company” chaos.
Eventually, Marge — ever the exhausted emotional janitor of the Simpson household — suggests therapy. Enter Dr. Stern, a psychiatrist voiced by Matthew Modine, who threatens to take Bart away with the help of social workers. But just when you think the story’s headed for full melodrama, Homer has a rare moment of self-awareness — the kind that reminds us why, beneath all the idiocy, he’s one of TV’s most complex buffoons.
So here’s the moment that floored longtime fans: Homer and Bart are hiding out, eating donuts in the car. Bart reaches for the last one, drooling like a Pavlovian pup. Homer pauses. The narration kicks in — “He’s a pain in the neck. He’s uncontrollable. He’s… He’s me!”
If you’ve been with The Simpsons since “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” that line hits like a freight train of nostalgia. Back in that very first episode — the one that launched the entire series — Homer said nearly the same thing when Bart asked to keep Santa’s Little Helper: “But he’s a loser. He’s pathetic. He’s… a Simpson.”
It’s the same rhythm, the same structure — but now it’s inverted, recontextualized, and so much deeper. Thirty-seven years later, Homer has gone from rejecting his own flaws to recognizing them in his son — and loving him for it. It’s a line that closes the circle between the show’s chaotic heart and its emotional soul.
For Al Jean, who served as showrunner for 25 years and co-wrote that original joke, it’s more than nostalgia; it’s personal legacy. This is his swan song, and he chose to end it not with a gag, but with grace.
Here’s the thing: nostalgia is the easiest drug in modern media. Every reboot, remake, and “legacy sequel” wants to sell you a hit of it. But what The Simpsons nails here — and what so many others miss — is that nostalgia only works when it deepens the story, not when it distracts from it.
“Bad Boys… For Life?” doesn’t shove your face in references like “Hey remember THIS?” Instead, it weaves them into the emotional DNA of the episode. The infamous clown bed makes a comeback. Dr. Hibbert rocks a hilariously outdated hairstyle. Even Reverend Lovejoy drops a meta Bible gag about Bart’s misdeeds (1 Corinthians 6:1-11, because apparently even Springfield’s clergy can’t resist a deep cut).
But the show never loses sight of its emotional core — that messy, sincere, donut-scented bond between father and son.
There’s a reason people are saying The Simpsons has rediscovered its spark. The writing has loosened up, the self-referential humor feels earned rather than lazy, and the show finally seems comfortable embracing its own absurd longevity.
In an era where Family Guy feels like an algorithm wrote it and South Park is still chasing the next cultural controversy, The Simpsons has pivoted back to its roots — storytelling with heart, wit, and just the right dose of surrealism.
This is a show that once gave us everything from existential satire (Homer’s Enemy) to gut-punch emotion (Mother Simpson), and this episode sits somewhere in that golden middle — warm, weird, and deeply human.
If you’ve been sleeping on The Simpsons, now’s the time to wake up. “Bad Boys… For Life?” isn’t just another nostalgia play — it’s a full-circle moment that reminds us why this yellow family changed television forever.
After nearly four decades of donuts, Duff, and disastrous decisions, Homer Simpson finally learns the lesson that’s been staring him in the face since 1989: love means accepting the chaos.
