YMMV / The Simpsons S 8 E 18 Homer Vs The Eighteenth Amendment

• Aluminum Christmas Trees: While the episode is largely a spoof of the Prohibition Era, there are a few "dry counties" in the United States where selling alcohol is illegal to this day.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Did Banner's fellow cops, especially the more sane Lou, really not notice the crowd at Moe's "Pet Shop" accidentally showing off their beers to them when Banner had turned around, or were they in on the whole scheme and bribed, or just simply not want to enforce the law over both their own love of beer and hatred of Banner. It is pointed out that the cops were all drunks with Banner as the real threat. Of course, the two were shown to be bribed by Fat Tony at the start of the prohibition period so it's likely the two are still being paid to keep quiet by him in that scene.
  • Would Banner really kill everyone who looked at him in a funny way if there were no laws against it or was he just making it up to make a point?
• Ass Pull: The town clerk discovering more lines on the parchment that reveal the Prohibition law was repealed a year after it was enacted. The writers even admit it in the DVD Commentary.
• Catharsis Factor: If you're watching the show in order and just came off "My Sister, the Sitter," most of which Bart spends torturing Lisa with little consequence, watching her egg the other students on as they pinch him for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day is very satisfying.
  Lisa: No one's pinchin' his legs!
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • This wouldn't be last time Homer illegally smuggled food products. Five seasons later, we had "Sweets and Sour Marge", although in that episode, Marge's and Lisa's roles were reversed.
  • During the COVID lockdowns of 2020, a Brazilian speakeasy actually disguised itself as a pet shop so it could operate under restrictions.^note Pet shops were listed as essential businesses, while bars were not.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "Well that's the end of me", usually used when a corporation makes a decision that either leads or is predicted to lead to its utter ruin such as Tumblr and OnlyFans banning adult content (the latter of which was reversed before going into effect).
  • Homer's famous ending line ("Here's to alcohol—the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems!") is very commonly quoted.
• Strawman Has a Point: As discussed, Lisa feels that the prohibition law should be followed even though it is unpopular which gets her sent to her room. But one needs to keep in mind that she is eight years old and very vulnerable to what would happen if her father and brother get caught by Banner: they could be catapulted to their deaths or at best, injured to a severe physical impairment that could have an effect on Homer's job at the Nuclear Power Plant (he is also the main breadwinner), the trauma of seeing your father and brother catapulted, and the family going into dire straits financially as a result of Homer having a crime record or his disability/death. She probably didn't feel all that possible trauma or misfortune was worth getting beer into Springfield.

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