The Simpsonsis best known for its comedy and satire, but 35 years ago, the show’s darkest episode aired, and it hasn’t been topped yet. Created by Matt Groening,The Simpsonshad its beginning as a series of shorts that were part ofThe Tracey Ullman Showin the late 1980s. These short stories were developed into the show everyone now knows, and soThe Simpsonsmade its debut in 1989. At the time of writing,The Simpsonshas ended its 36th season and has beenrenewed for four more seasons.
AlthoughThe Simpsonscontinues to be quite popular, not even the most die-hard fans can deny that the show’s quality has been in decline for years now. The show’s best seasons continue to be those that came before the show’s infamous “The Principal and the Pauper” episode, considered the one whereThe Simpsonsjumped the shark. However, looking back at the show’s first seasons, it’s wild to see how much the show’s tone has changed and how dark some episodes were, but none can compare to this season 1 episode that aired 35 years ago.
“The Crepes of Wrath” Is One Of The Simpsons’ Darkest Episodes
“The Crepes of Wrath” Is The 11th Episode Of The Simpsons’ Season 1
Bart Simpson has been a troublemaker since the veryfirst episode ofThe Simpsons, but the show took things too far in its 11th episode. Titled “The Crepes of Wrath”, the episode begins with Homer injuring his back after tripping on Bart’s skateboard and falling down the stairs. Marge makes Bart clean his room as punishment, where he finds a cherry bomb he flushes down a toilet in the boys’ restroom at school the next day. However, Principal Skinner’s mother is using the adjacent girls’ restroom, and the explosion blows her off her seat, further enraging Skinner.
Bart ends up in a dilapidated farmhouse owned by two shady winemakers named Cesar and Ugolin.
Skinner comes up with a different type of punishment and convinces Homer and Marge to enroll Bart in the school’s student exchange program, which will send him to France for three months. Bart is told he will stay in a French château, so he agrees – however, the reality is completely different, and while the Simpsons host a student from Albania, Bart ends up in a dilapidated farmhouse owned by two shady winemakers named Cesar and Ugolin. The winemakers confiscate Bart’s belongings and force him to collect and crush grapes, sleep on the floor, and taste wine adulterated with antifreeze.
Bart is turned into a slave and goes through physical and mental abuse, but when the winemakers send him to town to buy more antifreeze, he sees a chance to escape. Bart approaches a policeman, but as the latter doesn’t speak English, he simply gives him a piece of candy, as Bart looks like a homeless kid. Frustrated, Bart eats the candy, only to realize he’s complaining in French, which he has learned through immersion. Bart goes back to the policeman and tells him about the winemakers, who are arrested, and Bart is sent home.
Watching Bart go through all that abuse and walking down the street in rags looking for help is heartbreaking.
“The Crepes of Wrath” addressed topics like slavery, and more specifically, child slavery, abuse, and adulterated substances, just to name a few. Watching Bart go through all that abuse and walking down the street in rags looking for help is heartbreaking, and no kid, no matter how much of a troublemaker they are, deserves to go through something like that.
The Simpsons’ First Season Was The Show’s Darkest & Most Serious
The Tone Of The Simpsons Season 1 Was Very Different
Given the show’s success and legacy, it’s hard to imagineThe Simpsonsbeing anything but funny and occasionally emotional, but the show’s first season was completely different from what the show is now. The first season ofThe Simpsonswas pretty dark and serious, and though it did have its comedic moments, even these were more towards dark humor and borderline cruel humor (such as Bart being a slave in France).
It’s possible thatThe Simpsonswas still trying to find its perfect tone and mix of comedy during its first season.
The Simpsonsseason 1 saw episodes like “The Crepes of Wrath” and “Some Enchanted Evening”, the latter about a dangerous criminal posing as a nanny. It’s possible thatThe Simpsonswas still trying to find its perfect tone and mix of comedy during its first season, but some storylines were too dark, tragic, and serious.
Despite Its Tone, “The Crepes of Wrath” Is Regarded As One Of The Simpsons’ Best Episodes
“The Crepes of Wrath” Was Still Praised
Surprisingly, “The Crepes of Wrath” has been regarded as one ofThe Simpsons’ best episodes, especially from its first seasons.The episode was praised for its “audacity”, “jaw-dropping” and strong storyline, and some even celebrated that Bart was finally punished for his pranks and behavior. Some critics have called “The Crepes of Wrath” the episode where the writers ofThe Simpsonsbegan to find their “groove”, but it can’t be denied that it has the darkest and cruelest storyline that Bart has been given.
