"Bart’s Brain" is the eighteenth and final episode of the thirty-fifth 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 768th episode overall. It aired in the United States on

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 May 19, 2024. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino and written by

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 ...

. In this episode, Bart finds a

human brain The human brain is the central organ (anatomy), organ of the nervous system, and with the spinal cord, comprises the central nervous system. It consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. The brain controls most of the activi ...

and begins to care for it, which makes his family worry about his reputation.

Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Karen Walker in the NBC sitcom '' Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outst ...

and

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fil ...

guest starred. The episode received positive reviews.

Plot

The Simpson family moves Grampa into a smaller room at the retirement home to save money.

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 ...

and

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 ...

help him get rid of his excess belongings that cannot fit in his new room. Bart takes Grampa's war memorabilia and trades it at Herman's store for credit. He finds a

in a jar and buys it with the credit, so he can prank people. At the cafeteria at

Springfield Elementary School Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an unknown state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundings ...

, he tells the children that the food is made from the brain, which causes the children to vomit. Instead of punishing him, Ms. Peyton makes Bart take care of the brain and journal his experiences while the other children take care of eggs. Bart quickly tires of caring for the brain. Wanting to take a break, he asks

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 ...

to care for it while he plays with Milhouse. Homer takes the brain to

Moe's Tavern Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an unknown state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surrounding ...

. Meanwhile, objects at Milhouse's home remind Bart of the brain, so he decides to go home. When Homer returns, Bart sees that Homer brought home a jar of pickled eggs. Bart searches for the brain and finds it with Kearney, Jimbo, and Dolph who plan to blow it up. Bart takes it back and names it Buddy while giving it a persona similar to his own. Bart begins to dutifully care for it even after completing his school assignment. His family begins to worry that the brain is ruining his reputation. After Homer overhears the townsfolk talking about Bart and the brain, the family decides to isolate Bart at home. When Bart sees them sneaking off to church, they lie and tell him that he can stay home as a reward. Later, Bart arrives at church with the brain and sits with his family. Hearing the people and his family judge him for caring for a brain, Bart goes to the front of the church with the brain and declares it his best friend. Suddenly, the label on the brain jar falls off to reveal that brain belonged to Corbin Everly, an accountant who donated his body to Springfield University. Realizing the brain belonged to an actual person and is not the persona he gave it, Bart decides to return the brain to the university.

Professor Frink Professor John I.Q. Nerdelbaum Frink Jr. is a recurring character in the Animated cartoon, animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria, and first appeared in the 1991 episode "Old Money (The Simpsons), Old Money". Fr ...

finds the brain and takes it, telling it that he missed it. Before skating away, Bart calls Frink a weirdo.

Production

Due to the

2023 Hollywood labor disputes From May 2 to November 9, 2023, a series of long labor disputes within the Cinema of the United States, film and Television in the United States, television industries of the United States took place, mainly focused on the strikes of the 2023 W ...

, this season consisted of 18 episodes, which is shorter than most seasons. As a result, this episode became the season finale. Executive producer

Matt Selman Matt Selman (born ) is an American writer and producer. Early life Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts. He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. Career After considering a car ...

described the episode as "classic ''Simpsons''."

guest starred as Sarah Wiggum, and

guest starred as Rayshelle Peyton.

Cultural references

The final scene of Bart returning the brain is a parody of the ending of the 2015 film ''

Furious 7 ''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006) and the seventh i ...

'', including the song "

See You Again "See You Again" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa featuring American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth. Produced by Puth, DJ Frank E and Andrew Cedar, who also co-wrote the song with Khalifa, the song was commissioned for the soundtrack of ...

" from the soundtrack of the film playing in the background. Bart is depicted as being a fan of the

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

MeatCanyon, who was happy for the show's acknowledgement of him.

Reception

Viewing figures

The episode earned a 0.14 rating with 0.62 million viewers, which was the most-watched show on Fox that night.

Critical response

John Schwarz of ''Bubbleblabber'' gave the episode an 8 out of 10. He liked that the episode took the classic "take home egg" story and increased Bart's obsession with caring for the brain. He also highlighted the sight gags throughout the episode. Mike Celestino of ''Laughing Place'' thought the episode was "funny and very strange." He was also not sure if the episode was trying to depict Marge's worrying about Bart as right or wrong.

References

External links

* {{Fast & Furious 2024 American television episodes The Simpsons season 35 episodes Television episodes written by Dan Vebber Television episodes directed by Mike Frank Polcino