YMMV / The Simpsons S9E5 "The Cartridge Family"

• Accidental Aesop: The writers admitted there was no message in the episode beyond "Idiots like Homer Simpson should not own guns" (which is a sound argument in of itself). However, many have found their own Aesops from the narrative.
  • The importance of gun safety. Whether or not you like guns, there's no denying that they're dangerous, and handling them irresponsibly (or even just allowing irresponsible people to have them) can lead to messy and even fatal consequences.
  • The questionable ending of Marge deciding to keep the gun because she looks so cool with it also shows how easily someone's better judgement can be affected by the prospect of wielding power.
• Angst? What Angst?: Marge tells Patty and Selma she's leaving Homer in front of the kids, but Lisa and Bart are completely unbothered and have fun fooling around in their motel room until Homer inevitably shows up to make amends.
• Awesome Music: The montage of Homer sitting in the front yard, waiting to go pick up his gun, is perfectly scored to "The Waiting" by Tom Petty.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • Homer brings his gun into the Kwik-E-Mart, which causes Apu to believe that he is going to rob him. He denies this, but then fantasizes what life would be like if he did rob the store, which somehow leads him to become a State senator (sitting in a rocking chair and sporting a monocle, no less) and for Marge to be a go-go dancer as a 60s-inspired jaunty tune nonsensically plays. Just when Homer does decide he'll rob Apu, he's already back in his car eating the sandwich he just bought.
  • During the soccer riot as various fights are seen, one of them is of two karate guys, both wearing a gi, fighting each other. Even better, unlike most of the others, they're actually on the field.
• Captain Obvious Aesop: The actively intended message that people like Homer, the Idiot Hero of the series, shouldn't have guns is basically this.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  • Bart and Milhouse playing "William Tell" with the apple in Milhouse's mouth (and then jinxing Bart).
  • Marge's remark about how it's hard to believe that the soccer stadium used to be an internment camp.
  • The Sarcastic Middle-Aged Clerk's gun shop also carrying sympathy cards.
  • The montage of Homer waiting for his gun, showing all the things he could be shooting right now: bunnies, baby ducks, a truck carrying merchandise for Target, his sisters-in-law (Patty and Selma) on a tandem bike, and his overly-cheerful neighbor ("Stupid Flanders!") on a riding mower.
  • Homer using his gun to open a can of beer and turn on his television (the latter of which even shows a man fall over after getting shot).
• Harsher in Hindsight: There's a gag early on where someone gets thrown off a sports stadium. Funny, right? Not so funny two seasons later, when Maude Flanders met her demise from falling off a sports stadium.
• Paranoia Fuel: The scene at the dinner table. To allay Marge's fears, Homer puts the safety on. The gun goes off and shoots a photo of Marge in the shoulder. Guessing it was already on, Homer tries again. The gun goes off again and shoots the photo in the chest. Homer decides to just put the gun down. After a Beat, it goes off without any provocation whatsoever, the bullet ricocheting off a saucepan and hitting a knife, which flies through the air and lands right between the photo's eyes.
• Unintentional Period Piece: The fact that the gun shop owner refers to George H. W. Bush as simply "George Bush" instead of "George H.W. Bush", "Bush Sr.", or "Bush 41", dates this episode to before 2000, when his son George W. Bush was elected president.
• Values Dissonance: An episode like this certainly wouldn't be made today with the rate of mass shootings and calls for gun control reform skyrocketing.
• Values Resonance: The episode makes it clear that while not all gun owners are crazy or bad, there are some people (like Homer) who are too reckless and irresponsible to be allowed to own, much less use, firearms. This episode was new in 1997, predating Orlando, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, and even Columbine.
• Woolseyism: In the Latin American Spanish dub, the Spanish soccer announcer is Brazilian, using the equivalent of El Spanish "-o" used towards Brazilian people.
  Brazilian announcer: ¡O defensinho la pasa al centrinho! ¡Este al extreminho! ¡Este al centrinho! ¡El centrinho la retiene! ¡LA RETIENE!

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