YMMV / The Simpsons S3 E23 "Bart's Friend Falls in Love"

• Accidental Innuendo: Mrs. Krabappel’s comment about how her ex-husband “chased something small and fluffy down a rabbit hole” may imply she split up with him for different reasons.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The famous opening scene playing homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark. As hilarious as it is, it connects to nothing else in the episode. Furthermore, Bart doesn't even use the jar of pennies he stole.
• Fan-Preferred Couple: Milhouse/Samantha. Not only is the episode quite a bit of a Throw the Dog a Bone moment for Milhouse, it's beloved due to how authentic the two's affection really was. With future seasons portraying him as a hopeless dork unable to get with any girl (with Lisa only liking him when he's acting completely different from his usual self), and a lot of Kick the Dog by portraying him fated as a hopeless loser.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Bart and Milhouse's friendship failure in this episode (as well as the magic 8-ball saying that they won't remain friends into adulthood) is almost prophetic, as the episodes set in the future have them either having no interaction ("Lisa's Wedding", "Bart to the Future", "Holidays of Future Passed the latter in which Milhouse is married to Lisa, making them brother-in-laws"), or having a major argument ("Future-Drama", "Barthood"). Notably, they have no positive interaction past age 18, and Bart's main friendships are Ralph and Nelson.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Not only could Samantha Stanky have been the one true Love Interest for Milhouse (and end Milhouse's embarrassing attempts to win Lisa over), but she could have been a second best friend for Bart, making the three of them a trio, and by possible association, the first true friend Lisa would ever have. Sadly, Samantha's prudish father sent her to an all-girl convent school, where she is locked away from the outside world, and hasn't been seen or referenced since (her being played by a guest-star is the likely culprit here). On an analytical note, Samantha also could have been one of the rare glimmers of purity in a lackluster town full of jerks.
• Unintentional Period Piece: Bart sliding under the garage door and Homer crashing into it was possible when this episode aired in 1992, but as of 1993, all automatic garage doors must come with a sensor that reverses whenever anything breaks its connection. As Bart reaches under for his lucky red hat, a modern door would have reversed before Homer smacked into it.

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