The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons season 36 episode 18, "Estranger Things," now streaming on Hulu k7334

Although The Simpsons has always featured some wild plot twists, season 36’s darkest episode ending highlighted a strange recent trend. Since The Simpsons is the longest-running scripted primetime American TV show in history, it is hardly shocking that the show’s continuity isn’t exactly airtight. As executive producer Matt Selman put it in an X post, The Simpsons has an “Elastic canon” wherein the origin stories, birthdates, abilities, and personalities of any given character can change on a dime to facilitate a gag.

The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons season 36 episode 18, "Estranger Things," now streaming on HuluThe Simpsons' latest trip to a possible future changes one major element of Lisa's other flashfoward storylines. Although the static setting of the animated show has never allowed the characters to age in any drastic way, The Simpsons has always been good about slowly peeling the layers away from ing characters. One of the most interesting ways The Simpsons does this is by visiting potential futures, depicting what a grown Bart and Lisa might do with their lives.

The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons season 36 episode 18, "Estranger Things," now streaming on HuluThe Simpsons' latest flashforward episode gives Bart the perfect future job. The Simpsons has remained a relatively static show for the last 36 seasons, with the characters never aging even as the world alters around them. However, some episodes of The Simpsons explore future events, revealing the potential fates of the titular family if the show were to let them grow up. Some of these futures build off one another, while others are their own divergent timelines that contradict the events of other ones.

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 18, “Estranger Things”

The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons Season 36, now streaming on HuluThe Simpsons made some pretty wild changes to their established canon in season 36. The Simpsons has always enjoyed the benefits of having a flexible continuity, which allowed for personal growth and character arcs while also allowing the characters to retain their static ages or tweak their backstory to fit into modern times. So long as the characters remain faithful to their core personalities, these ret-cons usually fit well into the framework of the show (even if they do raise questions about the canon status of certain older episodes).

Warning: SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 18, "Estranger Things."After decades of The Simpsons exploring so many storylines that even they repeat one from time to time, season 36 just managed to study Marge's character from a new angle by putting a simple spin on one of her most memorable episodes. The Simpsons season 36 finale is a time-skip episode, one of many throughout franchise history that explores how the relationship between Bart and Lisa may change over the course of their future. But it leads into this storyline with a novel concept that could be skillfully reused in The Simpsons season 37.

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 18, “Estranger Things”

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 18, “Estranger Things”

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 18, “Estranger Things”