Fearing that she will end up like Marge, Lisa pledges to focus solely on her academics and not get distracted by other things; Bart puts Nelson in his place and unintentionally earns the title of school bully.
Tropes featured
- Bad Boss: The owner of the gas station steals money from his own register.
- Basement-Dweller: Bart anticipates that he'll be this, asking Lisa to greet him in his "basement bachelor pad" when she stops by her childhood home to reminisce.
- Bland-Name Product: The Happy Little Elves are this for The Smurfs.
- Blind Bag Collectables: The episode begins with the family driving out to a gas station just to get Maggie a very specific Happy Little Elf figurine found inside a blind box that is given away with every 10 gallons of gasoline purchased. Homer wastes half the day burning off half a dozen gallons of gasoline just to get another box, but fails to get the one Maggie wants. He later returns at night and just breaks into the gas station until he finds the right one.
- Brick Joke: Homer is told that there is no glass protecting the attendant from being attacked. At the end of the episode, he uses this fact to steal the last doll Maggie needs.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Lisa throws out her saxophone while trying to remove distractions. Considering how much she loves her saxophone, it's a sign that she's taking her academics very seriously.
- Product Placement: Bart doesn’t recognize McDonalds.
- Retcon: Marge somehow never took Nelson for a bully, despite the fact she herself was against Bart spending time with him for being a bad influence before.
