Dr. Hibbert (now voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) tells Homer he needs testosterone replenishment. This leads Homer to get a truck with great torque.
The high-torque truck comes with a free subscription to Slapify, which leads Lisa to discover the music of Quilloughby (Benedict Cumberbatch), a depressed British singer from the 1980s who becomes her imaginary friend.
Tropes:
- Bland-Name Product: Slapify is an obvious stand-in for Spotify. However, Slapify would presumably have something by Miles Davis, whose music "Mypods and Boomsticks" established Lisa does like.
- Broken Pedestal: Lisa discovers that the real Quilloughby has not only renounced veganism but is also incredibly racist. Imaginary Quilloughby then tells her not to let herself become bitter like him.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Marge flashes back to being a frustrated teenager, when she at one point told her mother that she'd planned on breaking up with Homer but realized there must be something to him if her mom hated him so much.
- Daydream Surprise: When a riot breaks out at the festival, Homer drives his truck through traffic and uses it to haul a Ferris wheel to save Lisa. Cut to him asleep at the wheel while Lisa is safe with Marge.
- Deadpan Snarker: Deconstructed; Lisa at first enjoys the sardonic attitude imaginary Quilloughby teaches her about, but she's gradually alienating everyone close to her with her blind dismissal of anything positive. When she sees the real Quilloughby, his sour attitude has made him a bitter jerkass that unceasingly infuriates everyone around him with nonstop disdain. Even Imaginary Quilloughby is horrified at what his real self has become: greedy, hateful, and a face that looks like a syphilitic moon.
- Future Me Scares Me: Imaginary/Younger Ouilloughby is scared of what his future self has turned into.
- Head Desk: As Homer shows off the truck's infrared rear view camera, it shows Marge banging her head on the other side of the door.
- Hipster: Lisa refuses to listen to music that is even a little mainstream.
- Hypocrite: The real Quilloughby hates foreigners despite being one himself in America.
- I Ate WHAT?!: Lisa convinces Lunch Lady Doris to make vegan mushroom tacos. She's just taken her first bite when Doris mentions that she put bacon on the mushrooms, which gives her a Freak Out.
- Imaginary Friend: After the incident at the cafeteria, Lisa starts seeing Quilloughby. He starts giving Lisa advice on how to become sardonic and jaded like him.
- It Amused Me: Bart kills time in traffic by bringing up Homer and Marge's current Apple of Discord (Homer's new truck) and enjoying the resultant shouting match.
- Jerkass: The real Quilloughby is a completely unrestrained asshole that mocks his fanbase for cheering him on at his comeback concert, is only doing the concert because he squandered his money suing over truthful reports of his terrible actions, mocks their veganism and chose a song complaining that there's too many refugees as his opening number.
- Laser-Guided Karma: As a teen, Marge was difficult toward her mom:
- Teen Marge: (wearing blue mascara) Blue Mascara is who I am, Mom! *slams door*
- Teen Marge: You’re just jealous because you can’t pull off hot pants (shows shorts and slams door)
- Teen Marge: For your information, I was going to break up with Homer, but if you hate him, he must be great *slams door*
- Now Marge is living the difficult life she lives after marrying Homer.
- Little Miss Snarker: Under the influence of Quilloughby (or at least her imaginary version of him), Lisa becomes cutting to the point where Skinner calls her parents in to talk to them about it.
- Money, Dear Boy: In-universe. Quilloughby is performing at the concert only because he squandered his money suing over truthful reports of his terrible actions.
- Negated Moment of Awesome: Homer saves Lisa by switching his truck to a "festival riot" setting, rolling over the traffic, and (referencing his newfound understanding of torque) dragging the entire Ferris wheel she's on out of the festival. Or so he thinks: he actually fell asleep in the traffic jam, after which Marge went and easily retrieved Lisa herself.
- Negative Continuity: While arguing that he's not a "truck guy," Marge claims Homer has never been camping. He has, it just hasn't gone very well.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Quilloughby is a parody of Morrissey; his old band is even named the Snuffs.
- Soapbox Sadie: Lisa tries to force vegetarianism/veganism down people's throats with the mushroom tacos, which backfires big time because Lunchlady Doris added bacon to them.
- Take That!: The real Quilloughby being an unrepentant Jerkass who sued over truthful reports on his behavior is a huge one to Morrissey over his own controversies (such as him being accused of racism after comments about British identity vs. immigration).
- Testosterone Poisoning: The episode opens with Homer having a check-up, where Doctor Hibbert diagnoses him with low testosterone and wants to prescribe him a hormone supplement. Homer gets distracted by a truck ad playing before the informative video on the product, and decides to buy the truck for being so manly instead of the medication. He becomes so obnoxious about his new high power truck that Marge eventually calls him out on knowing nothing about being outdoorsy or even truck stuff like what torque is.
