History Recap / TheSimpsonsS8E9ElViajeMisteriosoDeNuestroJomer

* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The Electronic Automatic Robotic Lighthouse.

* FunWithAcronyms: Earl, who Homer believes is the lonely lighthouse keeper, actually is a automated lighthouse system called E.A.R.L., short for Electronic Automatic Robotic Lighthouse.

* GratuitousSpanish: The episode title. Oddly, the parenthetical English translation omits the affectionate use of "our" (which is what "nuestro" means in Spanish) before Homer's name. His name is also rendered incorrectly -- in Spanish Creator/{{Homer}} is called "Homero", with a silent "H". The Latin American Spanish dub of ''The Simpsons'' uses that version of the name, and although his name is pronounced in a similar fashion to how it's written in the title in the European Spanish translation, it's still spelled the same as in English.

* GratuitousSpanish: The episode title. Oddly, the parenthetical English translation omits "our," which is what "nuestro" means in Spanish, and Homer's name is wrong (it's "Homero", with a silent "H", in Latin American Spanish -- although his name is pronounced in a similar fashion to the title in the European Spanish translation, so there is that).

* MushroomSamba: After eating some of "the Merciless Peppers of Quetzlzacatenango" at a chili cookoff, Homer starts hallucinating wildly (which Marge mistakes for Homer breaking his promise about getting drunk) and goes on a journey to find his soulmate.

* SpiritAdvisor: Spoofed. Homer hallucinates after eating "the Merciless Peppers of Quetzlzacatenango". His Spirit Advisor is a coyote, the trickster spirit of a number of Amerindian tribes. The distinctive voice of Homer's spirit guide is provided by Music/JohnnyCash. This sequence eventually leads to the infamous line "In your face, space coyote!"

* AlphaBitch: [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk Helen Lovejoy]]. She mocks Marge's trust in Homer, and later gossips about his behavior at the festival to Marge, not knowing [[ItAmusedMe or caring]] that he was under the influence of strong peppers, causing Marge to believe he broke his promise to her, and ended up being embarrassingly drunk at the festival causing friction between the two of them.

** Captain [=McCallister=] says: "Jonathan Livingston Seagull! We're on a collision course!", in reference to ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull''.

* MagicalNativeAmerican: Though devoid of actual Native American people, the dreamland has a distinct Aridoamerican feel.

* AndYouWereThere: After he stops hallucinating, Homer finds himself in a golf course, and starts recognizing elements of his vision.
-->'''Homer:''' Maybe the desert was just this sand trap. Oh, and I bet that crazy pyramid was just the pro shop. And that talking coyote was just a talking dog.\\
'''Talking Dog:''' Hi, Homer. Find your soul mate.\\
'''Homer:''' Hey, wait a minute! There's no such thing as a talking dog!\\
''[dog barks]''\\
'''Homer:''' Damn straight!

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Homer's entire experience balances between a hallucinatory dream or a real encounter with a magical coyote who can talk and offer spiritual advice.

* BlazingInfernoHellfireSauce: The Merciless Hot Pepper of Quetzalsacatenango, also known as the Guatemalan Insanity Pepper. They're "grown deep in the jungle primeval by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum." Homer has to lacquer his mouth and esophagus in order to eat one, and is ''still'' driven temporarily insane by its spiciness.

Marge reluctantly takes Homer to the town's chili cook-off, on the grounds that Homer doesn't drink and make an ass of himself like he did the previous year. This year, however, Chief Wiggum has a secret ingredient to defeat Homer's discerning taste buds during the chili contest: Guatemalan insanity peppers, which cause Homer to lose his mind...and end up on a spirit quest (led by a space coyote voiced by guest star Music/JohnnyCash) to find his soulmate.

[dog barks]\\

-->''(The camera pans to other patrons.)''

-->Well, I was sure you'd be on foot because you always say public transportation is for losers. And I was sure you'd head west because Springfield slopes down that way. And then I saw the lighthouse and I remembered how you love blinking lights, like the one on the waffle iron.

* SequelEpisode: This episode gets one in the comic book "The Simpsons Summer Shindig #2" (having first been mentioned in the The Simpsons/Futurama Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis) with the story "Chili Chili Bang Bang". It takes place immediately after Homer storms out of the Chili Cook-off Festival and due to a incident involving Snake, Chief Wiggum gets humiliated, accidentally eats his own chili and goes through a spirit quest with Wiggle Puppy. This could also count as KarmaHoudiniWarranty seeing as Wiggum gets a comeuppance for the way he treated Homer in this episode that kicked off the plot. Also, the comic reveals the Coyote's name is "Johnny".

** When Homer arrives with a chilli spoon in hand the music quotes from Music/EnnioMorricone's soundtrack for ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''.
** When Homer starts hallucinating, Mrs. Krabappel's voice sounds like the trombone sounds used when adults talk in the ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' animated specials.
** Jasper's voice sounds like "Goo-Goo-Ga-Joob", similar to the refrain of Music/TheBeatles' song "I Am The Walrus" from ''Music/MagicalMysteryTour'', while Ned Flanders' "Gabba Gabba Hey" references Music/TheRamones' catchphrase.

** Bart's conversation with Lisa, "[[https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/57/messages/447.html#:~:text=In%20this%20instance%2C%20Matt%20Groening,Fitzgerald So I says to Mabel, I says]]", is references Creator/FScottFitzgerald's ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby''.

** Captain [=McCallister=] says: "Jonathan Livingston Seagull! We're on a collision course!", in reference to ''Film/JonathanLivingstonSeagull''.

"'''El Viaje Misterioso De Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)'''" is the ninth episode of the eight season of The Simpsons.

Marge reluctantly takes Homer to the town's chili cook-off, on the grounds that Homer doesn't drink and make an ass of himself like he did the previous year. This year, however, Chief Wiggum has a secret ingredient to defeat Homer's discerning taste buds during the chili contest: Guatemalan insanity peppers, which cause Homer to lose his mind...and end up on a spirit quest (led by a space coyote who is voiced by Music/JohnnyCash) to find his soulmate.

* AppleOfDiscord: Marge spends the episode angry at Homer because Helen Lovejoy made her think he got drunk rather than trip out on peppers.

* ArtShift: One of the most famous in ''Simpsons'' history, when Homer hallucinates in being in some fantasy world. Reportedly, David Silverman did that sequence's animation himself rather than outsource it to Korea as usual, in order to get the precise look he wanted.

* DerangedAnimation: Homer's hallucinatory DreamSequence due to the effects of eating chili and candle wax offers the animators many opportunities to show off surreal animation sequences. Creator/DavidSilverman insisted on animating this sequence in-house instead of normally outsourcing it to Korea to ensure it came out exactly how he wanted.

* SpiritAdvisor: Spoofed. Homer hallucinates after eating "the Merciless Peppers of Quetzlzacatenango." His Spirit Advisor is a coyote, the trickster spirit of a number of Amerindian tribes. The distinctive voice of Homer's spirit guide is provided by Music/JohnnyCash. This sequence eventually leads to the infamous line "In your face, space coyote!"

* ThoseWilyCoyotes: Homer's spirit animal, voiced by Music/JohnnyCash.

** When Homer starts hallucinating, Mrs. Krabappel's voice sounds like the trombone sounds used when adults talk in ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas''.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Ralph Wiggum, [[DumbassHasAPoint of all people]], warns Homer that he's about to accidentally drink hot wax from a candle.

* AmbiguouslyBi: downplayed, but it's notable that Homer doesn't seem to care what gender his soulmate is, even searching among his male friends.

* KarmaHoudini: Chief Wiggum due to his actions kickstarting the plot... see SequelEpisode for details.

* AmbiguouslyBi: downplayed, but it's notable that Homer doesn't seem to carw what gender his soulmate is, even searching among his male friends.

* SpiritAdvisor: {{Spoofed}}. Homer hallucinates after eating "the Merciless Peppers of Quetzlzacatenango." His Spirit Advisor is a coyote, the trickster spirit of a number of Amerindian tribes. The distinctive voice of Homer's spirit guide is provided by Music/JohnnyCash. This sequence eventually leads to the infamous line "In your face, space coyote!"