D’oh! Spoilers ahead for “The Simpsons” Season 38, Episode 4, “Treehouse of Horror XXXVII.”
When it comes to TV marriages, Homer (Dan Castellaneta) and Marge Simpson (Julie Kavner) have one of the most enduring and recognizable ones. Sure, they’ve been through some troubled times (there was that much-advertised “Simpsons” separation episode a whole decade ago), but for the most part, they have never had much trouble.
However, there’s a popular fan theory that Marge has deep feelings for one of Homer’s friends. No, not Moe (Hank Azaria), I mean Lenny (Harry Shearer). The theory was inspired by the Season 11 episode “Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder,” in which Homer lies to Marge about missing a tea party date with Maggie by claiming there was a breakdown at the power plant, and Lenny is in the hospital, much to Marge’s visible distress. We later see her cross-stitching a get well message for Lenny next to a framed photo of him with a lit candle and a rose.
Since then, “Simpsons” fans have joked that Marge may have a bit of a crush on Lenny. Heck, even the Simpsons kids seem to consider Lenny more of a father than Homer, judging by how they, too, respond to Homer’s lie. From there, Season 16 pushed the theory further by having Homer pull a framed photo of Lenny from Marge’s hair.
Now, Season 38’s “Treehouse of Horror XXXVII” has made that fan theory a reality by actually having Marge marry Lenny … kind of. Indeed, in one of the episode’s segments, Marge inadvertently builds a shed that reimagines the life of whoever goes in. When Homer enters, Marge wakes up the next day suddenly married to Lenny and finally embracing the best would-be relationship from the show’s long history.
The Simpsons explores Marge’s alternate reality marriages in Treehouse of Horror XXXVII
This particular “Treehouse of Horror” segment was inspired by Holly Gramazio’s book “The Husbands,” which centers on a woman who wakes up one day married to a man she’s never met before. Here, though, it happens more than one time, as Marge goes from being married to Lenny to being married to Moe, Comic Book Guy (Hank Azaria), Principal Skinner (Shearer), “Survivor” host Jeff Probst (as himself), and even Kang and Kodos (Harry Shearer and Dan Castellaneta). Call it a consolation prize for Kang and Kudos being cut from “The Simpsons Movie.”
It’s a fun segment that ultimately leads to a classic heartwarming Homer and Marge moment, but before that happens, it’s very funny to watch “The Simpsons” finally embrace silly fan theories and actually explore a world where Marge and Lenny are a couple. Unsurprisingly, the Leonard/Simpsons household is much more orderly and successful, based on the more modern house decorations we see in their reimagined home. And while we don’t spend much time in this imagined reality, it does make you wonder what else is different in a world where Marge married Lenny. Eventually, we see Homer is married to Lunchlady Doris (Tress MacNeille) and has a full head of hair (!), but what else is different? Is Carl (Alex Désert) still close friends with Lenny when he’s married to Marge?
Somehow, after 38 seasons, “The Simpsons” keeps finding ways to address decades-long questions in interesting and funny ways, like what, exactly, happens to Homer when he gets run over by Marge in the show’s opening couch gag. It’s things like this that allow the show to engage in meta commentary without having to break its already nebulous continuity.
