In its earliest forms, The Simpsons was a straightforward exploration of a nuclear American family, living in a somewhat odd, often contradictory world. It was a place of subversion and wry humor, but also one where the cartoonish elements didn't fully erase the real-world stakes of a collapsing family or a fatal illness.
As the show has worn on, it's become more willing to become ridiculous -- but the seeds of that dichotomy could be seen all the way towards the beginning. Released just three episodes apart, "Bart the Daredevil" and "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" highlight the emotional extremes The Simpsons has always been able to explore.
How Homer Set The Simpsons' Death Standard
The eighth episode of Season 2, "Bart the Daredevil" is one of the most referenced episodes in the series, especially within the show itself. Directed by Wes Archer with a script from Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, the episode focuses on Bart's ambitions to become a daredevil after Lance Murdock performs a dangerous series of moves at a monster truck rally. His stunts become increasingly dangerous, up to his intent to jump Springfield Gorge on his skateboard. Although Homer is successfully able to convince his son not to take the leap, Homer ends up on the skateboard, shot off the side of the gorge. Homer doesn't make the jump, and instead tumbles painfully down the gorge, effectively setting off plenty of tweaks for the show's sense of comedy and planting the seeds for plenty of fan theories.
It's one of the show's most ridiculous comedy beats -- especially when Homer ends up going down the gorge a second time because the ambulance that picks him up immediately crashes. It's also the sort of beat that only works in an animated show like The Simpsons. At this point in the show's run, the characters and their world was largely grounded. Although it wasn't hyper realistic by any stretch of the imagination, it was still a world where people could get hurt, injuries were taken seriously, and death was a serious subject. Homer's tumble down the gorge came shortly before the show shifted into a more cartoonish form during the heights of the Golden Age, which found the right balance between grounded emotional work and the more outlandish and cartoonish comedy. Only three episodes later, that balance would be challenged again, in a far more dramatic light.
How Homer Simpson Meaningfully Explores Death
"One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" is the eleventh episode of Season 2, with a script by Nell Scovell and direction by Wes Archer. The episode centers around Homer after he discovers he may have eaten tainted blowfish, and is given a prognosis of twenty-four hours to live. Intending to spend the time to best of his ability -- and while there's still a comic edge to the events -- the episode also imbues Homer's day with a heart-wrenching sense of bittersweet happiness. Homer makes sure to leave his children with nice (if buffonish) memories of him, bids farewell to his friends over one last drink, calls out Mr. Burns for his miserly ways, spends time with his father, and eventually has one last night together with Marge. Homer ends the night alone in his chair, listening to an audio-tape of the Bible as he contemplates his own morality. Luckily, Marge finds him alive but asleep in the morning, and Homer gets to continue on living.
While death and injury were turned into a ridiculous punchline in "Bart the Daredevil," it's used as a powerful motivator in "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish." It highlights the ability The Simpsons has always had to balance over-the-top comedy with cutting commentary and an often battered and bruised optimism. Homer's final goodbyes to his family remain some of the show's most powerful emotional beats. It's a reminder that for all his faults and flaws, Homer Simpson is a fundamentally good man who understands how lucky he is and wouldn't trade it for anything. Coming so close together, "Bart the Daredevil" and "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" highlight how flexible yet consistent Homer can be -- even in the face of something like death -- without losing sight of what makes him a good character. His efforts to be good result in slapstick, but his reflection on it can be a tearjerker. Even by Season 2, The Simpsons was taking the silliest setting and finding ways to draw more than just laughs out of it.