4x04 Lisa the Beauty Queen

[8.7/10] Such a sweet and funny Lisa and Homer episode. This one sets things up nicely, establishing how the same school carnival can give Homer a ticket to ride the Duff Blimp that means the world to him and also make Lisa self-conscious about her appearance after she sees an unflattering caricature. The show nicely crosses those two things, with Homer selling his ticket to pay the admission fee for Lisa to enter a local beauty pageant in a misguided attempt to raise her spirits, with Lisa hating the idea at first, but being so touched by the gesture that she goes through with it.

What follows is some great humor, both in the prep for the pageant and the event itself. Bart getting very into the “tricks of the trade” is a great strain of humor, and the blank stares he gets from Marge and Lisa are superb. Plus, he even gets a sweet moment of his own when he tells Lisa she’s “not ugly” -- one of the kindest things an older brother can say (played, naturally, for both its heartwarming and humorous qualities as a compliment). Krusty’s mercenary hosting of the Little Miss Springfield pageant and its banal proceedings are all big laughs. And Marge is particularly funny here, with her conflicted backing water over trying to sing the Ugly Duckling song to Lisa, and her touched reaction to Homer speaking sweetly about gouging someone else’s eyes out.

The third act is fun too, with arch references to historical events and a nice line of satire as Lisa uses her bully pulpit to reject her title’s tobacco-stuffed corporate sponsorship and promote causes she actually believes in. The fact that it’s her fight, and not her looks, that brings her down feel true to character, and there’s a fun irony to the fact that Homer’s dumb mistake on her application is what gave the powers that be the excuse to oust her from their otherwise craven operation.

But that’s the great thing about this episode. Even when Homer and Lisa lose -- they win. The point of Homer entering his daughter in the competition wasn’t really for her to become Little Miss Springfield, it was to make her feel better about herself. And Lisa reassures her dad in the closing moments of the episode that she does. It’s a testament to the sweetness of their relationship, where Homer isn’t exactly equipped to support his complex little girl whom he doesn’t really understand, but who gives it his all anyway and sometimes, against all odds, lifts her up and proves his love in the process.