Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 14, “P.S. I Hate You”
Although Marge has a hard time explaining herself inThe Simpsonsseason 36, episode 14, the outing does a good job of explaining how the show has managed to last for so long. No one expectsThe Simpsonsseason 37to feel as fresh, original, and daring as the show’s first outing. With over 780 episodes and a feature film to its name,The Simpsonsis now the longest-running scripted primetime American TV show in history. Everything fromBob’s BurgerstoFamily GuytoSouth ParktoRick and Mortyowes a creative debt to the series.
As such, it is fair forThe Simpsonsto occasionally feel tired or repetitive.The Simpsonsseason 36 even borrowed a plotfromSouth Park’s 2024 special,The End of Obesity. However, fromYouTubecreator SuperEyepatchWolf toVulture, cultural critics across the Internet are united in one surprising claim. Despite some outdated satire, some gags that don’t work, and occasional lazy writing,The Simpsonsis good again. It might not live up to the heady days of the show’s Golden Age, but seasons 34, 35, and 36’s best outings rival anything from seasons 13–15.
The Simpsons Season 36, Episode 14 Shows A New Side of Marge
Marge’s Secret Hate Letters Voice A Previously Unseen Anger
A big part of what allowsThe Simpsonsto thrive in its fourth decade is the show’s fresh approach to old stories. For some time,The Simpsonshad mixed luck in devoting entire episodes to the backstory of Moe’s dishrag and other Springfield minutiae. However, the best episodes from recent seasons instead take classic plots and revisit them with fresh eyes, withThe Simpsonsseason 36 proving Homer and Ned’s decades-long inability to see eye to eye came about because both men were secretly content with their passive-aggressive dynamic.
“P.S. I Hate You” is one ofThe Simpsonsseason 36’s best outings as its story centers on Marge who, until recently, rarely received her deserved share of the show’s spotlight.
In season 36, episode 14, “P.S. I Hate You,”The Simpsonsseason 36 once again proved it has more stories to tell with Marge’s letter-writing plot. Marge’s secret box of hate letters that she wrote to vent her anger was stolen, and she spent the episode trying to retrieve them, terrified of what the townspeople would think of her if they read her angry outbursts. “P.S. I Hate You” is one ofThe Simpsonsseason 36’s best outings as its story centers on Marge who, until recently, rarely received her deserved share of the show’s spotlight.
Putting Marge Back At The Center Of Its Storytelling Proves The Simpsons Still Has More Years Left
The Simpsons Star Was The Primary Focus Of Season 35’s Best Episodes
“P.S. I Hate You” focuses on Marge’s internal world, much like many ofThe Simpsonsseason 35’s standout episodes. Outings like season 35, episode 2, “A Mid-Childhood’s Night Dream,” episode 14, “Night of the Living Wage,” and episode 13, “Clan of the Cave Mom,” all succeeded in proving Marge contained multitudes under her cheery veneer.TheSimpsons’ recent focus on Marge overcomes a late-season problem by proving that, despite its unprecedented longevity, the long-running series still has fresh stories to tell.
Primarily because the show under-served characters like Marge for years, episodes like “P.S. I Hate You” can redress this balance while also keeping the series going. AsBoJack Horsemancreator Raphael Bob-Waksberg’sTwitterthread about Marge Simpson noted years earlier, it was hard to even tell who her best friends were until recent seasons. Thus,The Simpsonsstill has plenty more to explore in the internal lives of its main characters.
