[7.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Sometimes I don’t know what to do when it comes to The Simpsons and continuity. I don’t mind the shifting timeline, and minor snarls like Marge making Bart butterscotch chicken in one episode despite declaring that he’s allergic to butterscotch and imitation butterscotch in another. The show’s always had a “waistband” reality, and I don’t mind that.
But when the show does a direct sequel to another episode, it feels like continuity should be more of a factor. I was enthused at the prospect of Moe reuniting with Maya, the woman he dated and lost in “Eeny Teeny Maya Moe” all the way back in (gulp) season 20. But “The Wayz We Were” never really addresses the reasons they broke up in the first place.
In short, Maya bailed because Moe couldn’t see past the fact that she was a little person, even if he cared for her. This episode does nothing to show that Moe’s grown or changed or otherwise learned from the experience and truly sees Maya for who she is now. At best, there’s some subtext that in the time apart, the two realized they missed one another and so have a new impulse to make it work. Moe doesn’t make any jokes or comments about Maya’s size, which is good, but it feels like a cheat for the show to basically just skip over the major issues that broke the two characters up in the first place.
Still, if you can forgive that, there’s a decent emotional throughline here, namely Moe’s fear of abandonment or loss whenever something good happens. It’s the relatable sort of anxiety a lot of people grapple with, so it works as the main arc here, especially for someone unlucky in love like Moe (even if that lack of luck is often his own fault, see also: Renee).
I like the songs here. Dramatizing Moe’s insecurities through visions of him as various villains, reworking “Walkin’ on Sunshine” for his joys, and capturing some sweetness from “The Way We Were” all make for entertaining, albeit not especially deep sequences. My problem, though, is the resolution to it all. Moe’s answer to a fear of abandonment isn’t to talk through his worries with Maya or otherwise come to some personal epiphany about why he fears this and why this time is different. He just...proposes, and it basically solves everything. As Marge herself once put it, “that’s a pretty crappy lesson,” and more to the point, shabby storytelling.
The B-story is a little better. I appreciate the well-observed humor of routing apps like Waze creating trouble for neighborhoods that turn into detours. There’s some good gags about the vicissitudes of trying to get assistance through byzantine tech company apps and phone trees. There’s also a nice throughline about the Simpsons in general, and Homer in particular, being reviled by their neighbors (the Laura Powers cameo got a particular laugh out of me), only to get back in their good graces once he solves the traffic problem. People getting too appreciative of Homer’s efforts is a little silly, but enjoyable, with the only catch being that there’s no real resolution to the subplot.
Overall, I wanted to like this one more than I actually did. There’s some good laughs and gags in the B-plot, and Moe’s reunion with Maya is sweet. But I’m still a little miffed at the way this one glosses over the good work the show did in the previous Maya episode, and how unsatisfying its resolution to Moe’s romantic insecurities is here.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-11-17T06:01:35Z
[7.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Sometimes I don’t know what to do when it comes to The Simpsons and continuity. I don’t mind the shifting timeline, and minor snarls like Marge making Bart butterscotch chicken in one episode despite declaring that he’s allergic to butterscotch and imitation butterscotch in another. The show’s always had a “waistband” reality, and I don’t mind that.
But when the show does a direct sequel to another episode, it feels like continuity should be more of a factor. I was enthused at the prospect of Moe reuniting with Maya, the woman he dated and lost in “Eeny Teeny Maya Moe” all the way back in (gulp) season 20. But “The Wayz We Were” never really addresses the reasons they broke up in the first place.
In short, Maya bailed because Moe couldn’t see past the fact that she was a little person, even if he cared for her. This episode does nothing to show that Moe’s grown or changed or otherwise learned from the experience and truly sees Maya for who she is now. At best, there’s some subtext that in the time apart, the two realized they missed one another and so have a new impulse to make it work. Moe doesn’t make any jokes or comments about Maya’s size, which is good, but it feels like a cheat for the show to basically just skip over the major issues that broke the two characters up in the first place.
Still, if you can forgive that, there’s a decent emotional throughline here, namely Moe’s fear of abandonment or loss whenever something good happens. It’s the relatable sort of anxiety a lot of people grapple with, so it works as the main arc here, especially for someone unlucky in love like Moe (even if that lack of luck is often his own fault, see also: Renee).
I like the songs here. Dramatizing Moe’s insecurities through visions of him as various villains, reworking “Walkin’ on Sunshine” for his joys, and capturing some sweetness from “The Way We Were” all make for entertaining, albeit not especially deep sequences. My problem, though, is the resolution to it all. Moe’s answer to a fear of abandonment isn’t to talk through his worries with Maya or otherwise come to some personal epiphany about why he fears this and why this time is different. He just...proposes, and it basically solves everything. As Marge herself once put it, “that’s a pretty crappy lesson,” and more to the point, shabby storytelling.
The B-story is a little better. I appreciate the well-observed humor of routing apps like Waze creating trouble for neighborhoods that turn into detours. There’s some good gags about the vicissitudes of trying to get assistance through byzantine tech company apps and phone trees. There’s also a nice throughline about the Simpsons in general, and Homer in particular, being reviled by their neighbors (the Laura Powers cameo got a particular laugh out of me), only to get back in their good graces once he solves the traffic problem. People getting too appreciative of Homer’s efforts is a little silly, but enjoyable, with the only catch being that there’s no real resolution to the subplot.
Overall, I wanted to like this one more than I actually did. There’s some good laughs and gags in the B-plot, and Moe’s reunion with Maya is sweet. But I’m still a little miffed at the way this one glosses over the good work the show did in the previous Maya episode, and how unsatisfying its resolution to Moe’s romantic insecurities is here.