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.

This means that, although The Simpsons season 37 won’t have any trouble bringing her back without explaining what happened between seasons. The assumption is that, in the zany world of Springfield, every episode’s story is a self-contained plot where anything can happen without the events having any impact or bearing on later outings. This wasn’t always the case, with earlier seasons of The Simpsons featuring more concrete continuity between episodes.

The Simpsons Season 36 Episode 13 Ended With Marge Losing Her Vision

The Simpsons Season 36’s Ozempic Parody Cost Marge Her Eyesight

Before season 10, canonical events were commonplace. The death of Bleeding Gums Murphy was played for drama and the character never appeared again, and even throwaway storylines like Mr. Burns constantly forgetting Homer’s existence paid off years later. However, by the time The Simpsons season 36 started mocking the show’s old jokes, the series had taken another route entirely. Throughout season 36, numerous events occur that were improbable and absurd even in the heightened, silly world of The Simpsons, as the series seemingly pushed the boundaries of its wacky reality.

The darkest episode ending in The Simpsons season 36 is a perfect example of the show’s increasingly surreal tone, as season 36, episode 13, ”The Last Man Expanding,” ended its Ozempic satire with a truly shocking twist. The outing ends with Marge using the show’s Ozempic parody and losing her eyesight, only for the show to then immediately cut to black without explaining what happened to Marge afterward. This grim twist would have seemed unexpectedly dark only a few seasons ago, but such shocks have become almost commonplace by season 36.

The Ending of "The Last Man Expanding” Is The Simpsons Season 36’s Darkest Moment

The Scene Comes After A Sweet Ending For Homer and Marge

Part of what makes the twist ending of ”The Last Man Expanding” so shocking is the episode’s broader message, as Marge was the one who convinced Homer he didn’t need to take “Othinquic” in the first place. The rest of Springfield used Othinquic without many serious side effects, although they all abandoned the drug when they realized they didn’t care about skinniness as much as they thought.

The same season featured another episode that ended with an older Bart and Lisa’s immature fight getting the world blown up by Kang and Kodos.

While The Simpsons has always been inconsistent in its depiction of Marge’s personality, it was still strange to see her succumb to temptation so soon after helping Homer overcome the same insecurity. However, the same season featured another episode that ended with an older Bart and Lisa’s immature fight getting the world blown up by Kang and Kodos and, as noted above, the series finale featured Marge’s sudden death.

The Simpsons Ignored Marge’s Plight After “The Last Man Expanding”

Marge’s Medical Malady Went Unmentioned In Later Episodes

As such, it seems fair to suggest that The Simpsons has abandoned anything resembling an attempt at continuity in season 36, which is somewhat surprising considering how often the show still references the events of earlier episodes. Ignoring one episode’s absurd twist in the next is seemingly the show’s latest running gag, but The Simpsons will still bring back an obscure character from decades ago or a specific plot point from an episode that aired in the ‘90s.

While The Simpsons season 36’s Jill Sobule tribute proves that the show still maintains links to its history, the series as a whole has gone out of its way to break down any notion of continuity between recent episodes. Anything can happen on a given outing without these events having any impact on the next episode, and this provides The Simpsons with the creative freedom to follow any number of absurd plots.

Source: Matt Selman (via X)

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