‘Simpsons’ Fan Floats Flabbergasting Theory About Homer, Series

A while back we posted about Simpsons producer/showrunner Al Jean’s idea for the eventual end of the show: in the very last episode, the family arrives at the Springfield Elementary School Christmas pageant, as they did at the beginning of the pilot episode, thus making the entire series one big loop. Neat, huh?

Well, Reddit user Hardtopickaname has a theory about the show, or an eventual ending, that will blow Al’s out of the water:

Homer has been in a coma for almost the entire series.

If you’re anything like me you had no idea that girl was a hooker and that hooker was a police officer you probably think this is rather far-fetched. But bear with me; it gets pretty interesting.

Homer has had many brushes with death throughout The Simpsons’ 25-plus years, but none more serious than the time he was in a coma for seven weeks.

Pay no attention to the fact that he’s smiling; it was serious.

In season four’s “So It’s Come To This: A Simpsons Clip Show,” Bart attempted to prank his father on April Fool’s Day by shaking a can of beer for an insanely long amount of time. The resulting pop of the top created a ginormous explosion (that somehow didn’t level the house) and left Homer in a vegetative state. He eventually woke up – or so it seemed – and continued on with his normal abnormal life. Or did he?

Going back a little bit further, to season four’s “Homer the Heretic,” Homer has a conversation with God after temporarily deciding to stop going to church. The following exchange took place at the end of the episode:

Homer: God, I gotta ask you something. What’s the meaning of life?
God: Homer, I can’t tell you that.
Homer: C’mon!
God: You’ll find out when you die.
Homer: I can’t wait that long!
God: You can’t wait six months?
Homer: No, tell me now!
God: Well, ok. The meaning of life is…

The amount of time that separated the two aforementioned episodes? Six months. The first aired October 8, 1992, and the second on April 1, 1993.

But the “evidence” doesn’t end there.

“I propose that Homer didn’t actually wake up from his coma,” Hardtopickaname explained. “He is still in a vegetative state and every single Simpsons episode afterwards is in Homer’s imagination. This is why the characters don’t age. Homer remembers Bart, Lisa, and Maggie as 10, 8, and 1 year old, so they will always appear that way in his dreams. He is subconsciously aware of time passing, so his mind will often “update” his memories so that the year they occurred matches up with the age he thinks he is (eg. [season 19’s] “That 90’s Show” contradicting other flashback episodes).”

In addition, HTPAN (my own abbreviation, because his name is too long to type each time) points to the fact that the episode storylines following the clip show became “far more zanier” than the ones that preceded it.

Plot Examples Before April 1993
Bart cheats on an IQ test
Homer tries to give up drinking
Marge considers cheating on Homer
Lisa has a crush on her teacher

Plot Examples After April 1993
Homer goes into outer space
Principal Skinner is revealed as an imposter
Mr. Burns captures the Loch Ness Monster
Homer works for a supervillain who takes over the eastern US
Bart and Homer buy a racehorse and discover the secret land of jockeys
Also, celebrity after celebrity after celebrity

HTPAN: “This is clearly Homer’s imagination running wild. With no real world restrictions, Homer’s mind is able to dream up scenarios of him and his family in fantasies involving him winning a Grammy, his father fighting his boss for buried WW2 treasure, his wife getting breast implants, his infant daughter saving him from drowning, etc.”

“The massive amounts of celebrity appearances are easily explained as well. People in comas can sometime hear what people in the same room are saying. While Homer wouldn’t physically react, his mind processes that information and includes it in his dreams.”

“His family visits and talk with each other about the new Mel Gibson movie they’re going to be seeing after leaving the hospital. Next thing you know”:

Sure, there are holes in this theory, which is pretty silly to begin with – but dammit if it isn’t intriguing. And now that you know about it, it will be hard to forget. You may even find yourself trying to prove/disprove the idea while watching future episodes.

In the end, it’s not likely that a comedic show like The Simpsons would take such a serous twist at the end. What kind of show would do that to their viewers? (Other than M*A*S*H, Cheers, Roseanne, How I Met Your Mother…)

If you’re looking for a positive ending to Hardtopickaname’s theory, he suggests that Homer did indeed find the meaning of life:

“Life can have different meaning for different people and a purpose or reason for one’s existence can be as unique as their fingerprints. For Homer, his grand purpose is obvious – he is here to entertain. His dreams, his imaginative adventures, have provided billions with amusement and will continue to do so for decades.”

Thanks for the memories, Homer. Now WAKE THE FUCK UP.

[via Reddit]