REVIEW: The Simpsons Episode #419: Mona Leaves-a

I have been a huge fan of The Simpsons since its first season, although I do not recall if the first post-Tracey Ulman show episode, Simpsons Roasting On an Open Fire, was the initial episode I had viewed. Even after many fans have abandoned the series, I have continued to attentively watch every and every episode multiple times.

This past Sunday's episode was a bittersweet addition to the series' canon (or what can pass as canon); the return of Mona Simpson, mother of Homer - and her subsequent death. Yes, The Simpsons still proves it's as ballsy as every, by killing a main character's mother on Mother's Day.

The story opens at Springfield Mall, where after Marge tricks Bart and Lisa into becoming the recipients of incredibly uncomfortable sweaters. Bart, Homer, and Lisa pressure Marge into going to three separate locales within the mall before leaving, but Marge decides to do something Maggie would like: go to the "Stuff and Hug", a thinly veiled parody of the "Build-A-Bear Workshop" franchise. Following an adventure in which Bart angers Homer by recording rude taunts onto talking plush hippopotamuses, the family returns home to find their front door open.

Equipping "The Defender" (a makeshift weapon made from a chain and a cinder block), Homer attempts to get the drop on the burglar... until the smell of apple pie piques his interest, and he realizes the intruder is his own mother.

Mona attempts to reconcile with her son, but Homer declines her gesture of goodwill, hurt after the decades of her absence. When he decides to make amends, it is unfortunately too late; Mona has passed away. The scene in which Homer discovers that she has died is possibly the most sad and touching moment in Simpsons history.

Mona's funeral is attended by Seth and Munchie, the hippies from "Do'h-in in the Wind", and an elderly man of whom I did not catch but a glimpse. Abe delivers one of the better lines of the episode, in which he indicates he had always planned to dance upon his estranged wife's grave, but does not feel the urge to do so any longer.

Unfortunately, this is where the episode begins to dip in quality. Upon viewing her video will, the family is left with specific possessions: Bart gets a Swiss Army Knife, Lisa is given the intangible gift of her grandmother's rebellious spirit, and Marge is left a hemp handbag. Homer, however, is charged with the task of spreading his mother's ashes upon a specific mountain at a specific date and time. Upon doing so, her ashes clog the launch mechanism within the mountain, which is to launch a missile Mr. Burns is planning to aim at the Amazon Rainforest. To Homer's dismay, Mona had recruited him to help her pull "one last hippie mission". Homer is captured by Burns' guards, but the family uses the gifts Mona left behind to help him escape (Lisa uses the rebellious spirit, presumably, to swipe a diamond earring of Mona's that was left behind on a nightstand - which is also used in this rescue mission).

Following his escape, Homer comes to terms with Mona, and a montage of scenes involving her plays to the song "Mother and Child Reunion" by Paul Simon - a song which deals with a mother and her child, separated by death, who hope to be reunited in the afterlife.

Despite its lulls in storytelling and humor, Mona Leaves-a handled the death of a character much better than season eleven's "Alone Again, Natura-Diddly", which, although was a more humorous episode than this one, was very tepid in the manner of Maude Flanders' death. Mona Leaves-a also gives us two very genuinely touching moments - Homer's realization of his mother's passing, as well as the ending montage. Serious, sad moments are more common in Groening's other series, Futurama, so their inclusion in The Simpsons was a pleasant surprise.

Strangely enough, as of this writing, Mona Leaves-a is the Simpsons episode with the lowest viewership ratings - despite it being one of the best of the season.

Final Verdict: B-