Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 14, “P.S. I Hate You.”
AlthoughThe Simpsonsseason 36, episode 14 subtly pays off a setup from almost exactly a year earlier, the satisfaction of this story detail is short-lived.The Simpsonsseason 37may change this but, right now, Springfield’s most famous family is enjoying something of a late-career renaissance. Yes,The Simpsonsis now the longest-running scripted primetime American TV show in history, but that doesn’t mean that the show can’t keep producing some surprising, interesting storylines with its new episodes.
As noted byYouTubecreator SuperEyepatchWolf in a 2023 video,The Simpsonsis officially good again, or at least as surprising, subversive, and fun as it was back in seasons 13-15. WhetherThe Simpsonsseason 36 is confirming dark fan theories, bringing back forgotten characters, or jokingly acknowledging the issues with the show’s own longevity, the series has begun to embrace its aging and treat this as a feature rather than a bug. Years earlier,The Simpsonsset up a joke seven seasonsbefore it paid off, and the show is now using its cancellation-proof status to repeat this.
The Simpsons Season 36, Episode 14 Dubs Marge “The Nicest Woman In Springfield”
This Gag Was Set Up In Season 35, Episode 16, “The Tell-Tale Pants”
Early in season 36, episode 14, “P.S. I Hate You,” Marge receives an award from Mayor Quimby for being “The Nicest Woman In Springfield” at her birthday party. This scene is so ideal that it almost seems like a dream, which is no surprise since Marge dreamed of almost this exact situation in an episode that aired almost exactly a year earlier.
Early in season 35, episode 16, “The Tell-Tale Pants,”Marge dreamed of herself winning an award for being the “Most Underappreciated Person”before she woke up and realized this was just her imagination talking. WhileThe Simpsonsseason 36 paid off Homer and Ned’s longstanding feuda few episodes earlier, the callback from “P.S. I Hate You” was a lot more specific. In both episodes, Marge wins a bizarre award for her selfless behavior and is rewarded for putting other people first.
Both awards are secretly just set up for the rest of the stories from their respective episodes, wherein Marge must learn that external approval isn’t the most important thing in her life.
Both Marge’s real “Nicest Woman In Springfield” accolade and her imagined “Most Underappreciated Person” award focus less on her successes and more on her willingness to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of others. As such, it should be obvious that both awards are secretly just set up for the rest of the stories from their respective episodes, wherein Marge must learn that external approval isn’t the most important thing in her life.
Marge Dreamed She Won “Most Underappreciated Person” In The Simpsons Season 35
Marge’s Season 35 Dream Comes True In Season 36’s “P.S I Hate You”
Obviously,the big difference is that Marge’s “Nicest Woman In Springfield” award is real, but it is not long before her dream comes true and turns into a nightmare. In a bizarre riff on Shirley Jackson’s seminal social horror story “The Impossibility of Evil,” Marge reveals that she has a secret box of hate letters hidden in the closet that she pens whenever she is annoyed by someone in her life. Superintendent Chalmers’ rebellious daughter Shauna steals these while babysitting during Marge’s birthday party and threatens to expose her mean side to the entire town.
Like Marge’s “Most Underappreciated Person” award, her “Nicest Woman In Springfield” award doesn’t last long.The Simpsonsseason 36’s Marge-centric storysees her almost retrieve the letters from Shauna but, when forced to choose between setting the letters free and allowing Shauna to fall off a tall building, Marge can’t bring herself to sacrifice the young girl. As a result, the townspeople end up reading her vitriolic opinions of them and Marge is quickly stripped of her “Nicest Woman In Springfield” title.
Sadly, Marge’s Big Victory Is Short-Lived In The Simpsons Season 36, Episode 14
Marge’s Letters Expose Another Side of Her To Springfield
It is a little heartbreaking to see Marge, who constantly puts others ahead of herself, pilloried in public due to her poison pen letters. However, Marge’s refusal to share any of her repressed anger does reek of self-imposed martyrdom, and Springfield’s collective reaction proves that sharing the letters might have been a blessing in disguise. In a sweet twist,Marge is eventually dubbed “The Most Three-Dimensional Woman In Springfield”to show that, although no one anticipated her hidden rage, no aspect of her multifaceted personality is unwelcome in the community.
“P.S. I Hate You” proves that Marge never needed to safeguard her public reputation so closely.
Much likeThe Simpsonsseason 36’sSouth Parkhomageended without Homer using weight-loss drugs to alter his appearance, “P.S. I Hate You” proves that Marge never needed to safeguard her public reputation so closely. Everyone in Springfield is shocked by her letters, but they are quick to admit that everyone needs to vent once in a while, and they all accept this new, edgier version of Marge with open arms. Thus,The Simpsonsproves that, as much as Marge wanted to be Springfield’s nicest and most underappreciated person, there is more to the sitcom heroine.
