YMMV / The Simpsons S 7 E 16 Lisa The Iconoclast

• Accidental Aesop: Wait until you have enough proof to back up your claims before revealing a major historical discovery. The entire first half of the episode has Lisa trying to get people to believe her when she calls Jebediah Springfield a fraud despite not readily having access to the most crucial evidence proving it's true. Aside from Homer who believes her because he knows she tends to be right about this kind of thing a lot, everyone else is quick to judge her for making (mostly) baseless accusations against a beloved icon with nothing substantial to give it legitimacy (such as the confession hidden in the fife and the silver tongue exhumed from Jebediah's grave).
• Fanon Discontinuity: Similar to "The Principal and the Pauper", some fans like to pretend this episode (or Jebediah Springfield's dark past) never happened because it messes with the continuity of much loved episodes like "The Telltale Head" and "Lemon of Troy". Both of which depict Jebediah as a benevolent figure, the former depicting Jebediah's spirit as a morality conscience to Bart and the latter showing Jebediah being repulsed by Shelbyville Manhattan wanting to marry his own cousin which kicks off the feud between the two towns. Like "The Principal and the Pauper", it's decided to keep the secret buried to maintain the status quo and it's hardly ever mentioned in future episodes, making it fairly easy for fans to ignore it.
• Franchise Original Sin: "The Principal and the Pauper" would be criticized for revealing that everything the other characters and the audience knew about Principal Skinner's past was a lie, and to this day is accused of helping cause the show to begin its Seasonal Rot. This episode did the same thing with Jebediah Springfield two seasons earlier, exposing the fact that his reputation was based on myths, but it was far easier to swallow when these retcons were made about a long-dead character the audience never knew personally (whereas Skinner's backstory was mentioned repeatedly throughout the first eight seasons, before being turned on its head out of the blue).
• Fridge Brilliance: In one scene, Hurlbut is tidying up the Historical Society, and sweeps some dust under the skirt of a gingham dress that happens to be on display. Later, he's equally happy to sweep Jebediah Springfield's real identity under the rug as well.
• Memetic Mutation: "Town cryer, I'd like to ask you a few questions: one, where's the fife? And two, gimmie the fife." Many Simpsons fans cite this as the funniest line in the whole show.
• Values Dissonance: As historiography around the world becomes more critical towards founding and national myths, deciding to cover up facts about the problematic or even cruel sides of historical figures for the sake of protecting people's hopes feels more like an outright disservice than a necessary evil. By the 2020s Lisa would probably be much more critical of someone trying to cover up Jebediah Springfield's actions.

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