10x14 I'm with Cupid

[7.3/10] Honestly, this one was a lot better than I’d remembered. I think I fixated on the trademark Mike Scully third act wacky action scene, where Homer goes full on cartoon character, dropping out of the sky and fortuitously ending up surprising Marge with a bunch of roses. It’s endemic of the problems with the series at this point and left a real sour taste in my mouth.

But up until that point, it’s a damn solid episode. There’s plenty of good jokes, even if Homer is a little too dumb even for him through most of them, and Apu upstaging the rest of Springfield’s men on Valentine’s day, while they plot to thwart him is a good plot to power the episode. There’s plenty of good jokes in the Simpsons’ interactions with Apu and Manjula; Apu’s gestures are generally amusing and the jealousy it provokes in the women of Springfield and resentment from the men is pretty funny too, and while it ends poorly, the guys’ stalking Apu has some fun moments as well. Hell, even Elton John playing himself got a few chuckles out of me.

Overall, the fight with the skywriter really hurts this one, but there’s a lot of good humor and a solid progression in the story that keeps the episode moving. One of the highlights of Season 10, even.