"101 Mitigations" is the fifteenth episode of the thirtieth season of the American animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', and the 654th episode overall. The episode was directed by

Mark Kirkland Mark Kirkland (born ) is an American animation director. He has directed 84 episodes of ''The Simpsons'' since 1990, more than any other director. Career At the age of 13, Kirkland began making Super 8 mm film, super 8 films and working for his ...

with a story by Rob LaZebnik and teleplay by Brian Kelley and

Dan Vebber Dan Vebber is an American writer best known for his television work on animated shows such as ''The Simpsons'', '' Space Ghost Coast to Coast'', '' Futurama'', ''Daria'', ''Napoleon Dynamite'' and ''American Dad!''. He was also a writer on '' Buffy ...

. It aired in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

on March 3, 2019. In this episode, Homer is arrested for stealing Comic Book Guy's car, and he seeks forgiveness from both the judge on the case and Comic Book Guy. Filmmaker

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

guest starred as himself. The episode received mixed reviews.

Plot

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Bart Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

and

Maggie Maggie or Maggy is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret, or Marigold. People Maggie * Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician * Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist * Maggie Alderson (born 1959), ...

are eating at The Gilded Truffle, where they used a misprinted coupon good for 100% off. Meanwhile, with the saved money,

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret. Notable Marges include: People * Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist * Marge Anderson (1932–2013), Ojibwe ...

gets a

Swedish massage Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pa ...

. Outside the restaurant, Homer warns the kids to not hustle to get ahead in life. The

valet parking Valet parking is a parking service offered by some restaurants, stores, and other businesses. In contrast to "self-parking", where customers find a parking space on their own, customers' vehicles are parked for them by a person called a '' va ...

attendant Raphael hands Homer the keys to the wrong car, a fancy 1957 seafoam Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible. They drive away with it, having fun on the road. When they go back to the restaurant,

Comic Book Guy Jeff Albertson, commonly known as the Comic Book Guy (CBG), is a Recurring character, recurring fictional Character (arts), character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and Eisner Awards, Eisner-nominated Spin-off (media), spin-o ...

accuses them of

stealing Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal short ...

his father's car, and when he notices his

mint condition Mint Condition is an American R&B band from St. Paul, Minnesota. The band is focused on diverse genres such as jazz, hip hop, funk and dance. Mint Condition has also been nominated for one Grammy and three Soul Train Awards. The group is cr ...

copy of ''

Radioactive Man Radioactive Man may refer to: *Radioactive Man (comics) Radioactive Man is the name of several Supervillain, supervillains appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Radioactive Ma ...

'' #1 was damaged, he presses charges and Homer is arrested. In court, Judge Snyder finds Homer guilty, even after a touching apology letter written by Lisa. With two weeks before Homer's sentencing hearing, Marge goes to The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop to negotiate with Comic Book Guy, who says the issue is about getting respect. At home, Lisa discovers sentencing mitigation videos, including one employed by

Mr. Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by Ch ...

for one of his crimes against Springfield, portraying him in a more sympathetic light as a product of a neglected and

bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

childhood. The family's efforts to produce a mitigation video for Homer fall short but Lisa is able to splice together the work using her

Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro (often abbreviated FCP or FCPX) is a professional non-linear video-editing application initially developed by Macromedia, and, since 1998, by Apple as part of its pro apps collection. Final Cut Pro allows users to import, edit, a ...

skills. In court, Snyder is initially open to setting Homer free but Comic Book Guy delivers an impassioned courtroom speech, the best Snyder has ever heard. He will deliver his verdict the next day. Lisa finds a replacement ''

'' #1 online in a nearby Ogdenville

comic book shop The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of: * three major comic distributors: ** Lunar ...

, though it fails to quell Comic Book Guy's grudge against Homer. However, he notices Homer's 1975

season one Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: ...

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class nicknamed the Sweathogs. Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the ser ...

'' keychain, a "precious

totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...

" to Homer, the only gift his father ever gave him. To make Homer feel how he felt with his beloved car and comic, Comic Book Guy smashes the keychain with

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

's hammer

Mjölnir Mjölnir ( , ; from Old Norse ''Mjǫllnir'' ) is the hammer of the thunder god Thor in Norse mythology, used both as a devastating weapon and as a divine instrument to provide blessings. The hammer is attested in numerous sources, including t ...

, then agrees to drop the charges. He also befriends Homer and invites him to come to

Comic-Con A comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention emphasizing comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book Fan (person), fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events h ...

with him. In the

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the ...

, Bart is shown in detention at school being supervised by

Principal Skinner Principal Seymour Skinner is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, and is constantly enga ...

. Bart shows Skinner a

prank A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...

sentencing mitigation video with Milhouse extolling Bart's transformation, while the video plays Bart escapes from the room.

Production

Filmmaker

guest starred as himself, directing a video about Mr. Burns. Del Toro previously directed the opening sequence of the twenty-fifth season episode " Treehouse of Horror XXIV."

Reception

"101 Mitigations" scored a 0.8 rating with a 4 share and was watched by 2.25 million people, making ''The Simpsons'' Fox's highest rated show of the night.

Tony Sokol Tony Sokol (born March 23, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York, United States) is an American playwright, writer and composer, best known for writing the theatrical horror series La Commedia Del Sangue: Vampyr Theatre in New York City. As a musician, So ...

of ''

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...

'' gave the episode 4 out of 5 stars, stating "What did we learn from this episode? Certainly not the intended lesson that moments of pure joy always have consequences, it is German is earth's closest language to Klingon. The episode is funny and revelatory, though not always tummy rumbling funny. '101 Mitigations' contains a good mix of the clever and the silly, with a moral compass set on cruise control." Dennis Perkins of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' gave the episode a C+, stating "For Homer to finally understand the pain his wacky weekly nonsense causes to another person could be a loaded moment, dramatically. But the episode fudges it. The brisk running time—truncated more by del Toro's time-consuming but attention-grabbing cameo—leaves Homer and CBG's rapprochement hanging unsatisfactorily, pawned off on the joke that Homer regards CBG's invitation to Comic-Con as barely preferable to prison. ''The Simpsons'' has room for its characters' signature misbehaviors to be deconstructed in a meaningful way. It's a shame '101 Mitigations' doesn't."

References

External links

* {{The Simpsons episodes, 30 The Simpsons season 30 episodes 2019 American television episodes Television episodes about comics Television episodes written by Rob LaZebnik Television episodes written by Brian Kelley (writer) Television episodes written by Dan Vebber Television episodes directed by Mark Kirkland