The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons season 36 episode 19, "Abe League of Their Moe," now streaming on HuluThe Simpsons' ing cast with plenty of minor characters who can take the reins of an episode and drive a plotline.

Season 36 of The Simpsons has been particularly fond of unlikely pairings, with duos like Homer and Ralph or Lisa and Todd Flanders showcasing the storytelling potential for various character pairings. This continues in "Abe League of Their Moe," which pairs up two characters for one of their first actual plotlines together (excluding a memorable and silly non-canon story from season 8). The episode uses their similarities to great effect and highlights why they make a good pair, even if those same common elements make it unlikely for the two to be paired up too often.

The Simpsons Season 36 Pairs Abe & Moe Up For An Episode

"Abe League of Their Moe" Highlights Moe And Abe's Common Traits

The Simpsons season 36 just found a clever way to pair up Abe Simpson and Moe Szyslak for a surprisingly emotional storyline, almost three decades after their last prominent (and far more wacky) storyline. "Abe League of Their Moe" focuses on the Springfield Isotopes, the perceptually faltering Springfield baseball team. Moe and Abe discover they are among the last loyal fans of the team, quickly forming a genuine and sweet friendship through this shared ion. This pushes them to reach out to incoming baseball superstar Walkov, convincing him to come play for the Isotopes.

Serving as the Macedonian Walkov's translator, Moe quickly becomes enamored with the benefits of his position and allows himself to be absorbed into the more aggressively capitalistic modern version of pro sports. This drives a wedge between him and Abe, who is enraged with the way the sport he grew up loving has transformed in the modern day. The pair of misanthropes make surprisingly good foils, bringing out a layer of empathy in one another while also ensuring they both remain characteristically quick to anger. It's a surprisingly effective pairing that the show hasn't really explored too often.

Abe & Moe's Biggest Pairing Was In A Non-Canon Season 8 Anthology Episode

"The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" Turned Abe Into A Ghost (And Romantic Guide To Moe) As Part Of A Parody Of TV Spin-Offs

Previously, the most notable Abe and Moe team-up storyline was in season 8's "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase." The anthology episode was a parody of potential TV spin-offs of the show, giving characters like Wiggum and Moe their own individual storylines largely removed from the titular family's direct orbit. Moe's short focused on his bond with Abe — with the twist being that Abe had finally ed away but was stuck possessing the Love Tester game in Moe's Tavern. This set up Abe to become Moe's guide to the world of romance.

Even compared to the cartoonish nature of The Simpsons, the storylines in "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" were purposefully ridiculous. The Moe and Abe partnership was a continuation of that, a bizarre pairing that never made sense in the regular canon of the show. Similar to the pairing of Chief Wiggum and Seymour Skinner in one of the other shorts, the unlikely nature of Abe becoming a surprising mentor to Moe (and the necessity of serious changes to the show's world to make it work) was part of the joke. However, season 36 proves it's actually a pretty solid pairing.

Abe And Moe Are Quietly A Great Pairing (That Shouldn't Happen Too Often)

"Abe League of Their Moe" Highlights What Makes Abe And Moe Similar

That's what makes Abe and Moe's friendship in "Abe League of Their Moe" all the more surprising. It's a sweet connection that doesn't retread older arcs like Abe's tendency to bond with surrogate sons or Moe's pursuit of women. Both characters are defined in part by being lonely, so it's nice to see them solve that problem for one another. The episode explores the loneliness both men feel and the joy they bring to one another's lives as fellow fans — only for Abe and Moe to turn on one another over their differing views on how baseball is changing.

While it would be fun for The Simpsons to reference this surprisingly effective pairing down the line, it's not one that should become central to the show.

However, that's not to say the two should always be paired up. Abe and Moe's orbits don't often intersect, as they both operate more typically in their own corners. Their typical arcs are usually similar, so they may not work together in too many different stories. There aren't many places to take their connection, while their relationships with other characters, like Homer, are more fruitful storytelling directions. While it would be fun for The Simpsons to reference this surprisingly effective pairing down the line, it's not one that should become central to the show.