The Simpsons' Latest Treehouse Of Horror Called Back To One Of The Show's Most Famous Episodes
This post contains spoilers for "The Simpsons" 2023 Treehouse of Horror episode.
Say what you will of latter-day "The Simpsons," but the Treehouse of Horror episodes are still a reliably fun time. Although this year's trio of segments don't quite match up to last year's — an impossibly high standard — it was still far better than a usual episode. The first segment was "Wild Barts Can't Be Token," which takes what should be a played-out premise about NFTs and turns it into a delightful "Snowpiercer" homage. The third segment was "Lout Break," which serves as a spiritual successor to the "Send in the Clones" segment from way back in 2002. But the middle segment ("Ei8ht") was clearly the best. Although with the title you might assume it's a straightforward "Se7en" parody, the story is instead most memorable for its early call out to one of the show's greatest episodes: "Cape Feare," from way back in season 5.
The 1993 episode served as perhaps the definitive Sideshow Bob story: Bob spends the whole episode chasing Bart down, only to get foiled by an insane amount of surprise obstacles thrown in his way. It's the episode that brought us that delightfully drawn-out rake sequence, as well as the absurd joke where Sideshow Bob gets trampled over by a surprise parade that's improbably filled with elephants. When you think of Sideshow Bob, "Cape Feare" is usually the first thing to come to mind.
Friendly reminder: Sideshow Bob is still evil
"Cape Feare" was a uniquely goofy, cartoonish episode, which was a fitting choice considering how dire the stakes were. The silliness helped us forget that, if Bob did get his way, he would've butchered Bart like a slasher in a horror film. If Bart was indeed stabbed to death on that boat while the rest of the family were trapped, tied up in the other room, this would've been a horrifying, traumatic situation that would've stuck with them for the rest of their lives.
And that's exactly what happens in this middle Treehouse sketch. It starts off with Sideshow Bob doing his famous one-man performance of "H.M.S. Pinafore," but this time he realizes that Bart's trying to distract him, and gets back on track. So begins the brutal sequence where Lisa's forced to watch her brother's gory murder right in front of her, Sideshow Bob laughing as he does it.
This isn't the first time Sideshow Bob's been successful — just check out "Treehouse of Horror XXVI" — but it is the first time we watch him kill Bart with Bart's sister in the room. It makes for a moment that's funny just for how surprising it is, but also dark enough to still give you that momentary sinking in your stomach, which all good horror stories are wont to do. The segment keeps up the horror even when it flashes forward to adult Lisa, who's now trying to catch a serial killer who keeps murdering his victims in increasingly deranged, nightmarish ways. I once believed the most disturbing Treehouse segment was the season 6 one where the Springfield Elementary staff started eating all the children, but "Ei8ht" gives it a run for its money.
Letting Lisa have fun for once
The segment's big twist is that the serial killer Lisa's been looking for is none other than ... Lisa herself. Whereas part of Lisa's consciousness coped with the trauma of Bart's death by studying the minds of serial killers, the other part of Lisa's consciousness coped by plotting her revenge against Sideshow Bob. The segment ends with Lisa locked in Bob's cell, gleefully murdering him while the security guard (adult Maggie!) keeps watch outside.
It's a fun role for Lisa, even if the montage of her committing all those gruesome murders is perhaps a little too stomach-churningly depraved. Although Lisa isn't exactly ignored in most Treehouse segments, she does usually get trapped in the familiar voice of reason role. She's usually a victim or observer of whatever horrors are going on; rarely does she get to take part in them herself. And even when she does, like last year's delightful "Death Note" parody, she's still typically wracked with guilt by the end.
So there's something satisfying about watching Lisa get to be unapologetically evil for once, joining the ranks of "good for her" horror villains like Mia Goth's Pearl or Isabelle Fuhrman's Little Esther. Some may say Lisa went too far in her revenge plan against Sideshow Bob, but frankly, we're just proud of her for taking the initiative. Sideshow Bob's been terrorizing her family for nearly 35 years now; it's about time someone took care of him.