Review: The Simpsons “No Good Read Goes Unpunished”

Why didn’t they go with the obvious title of “Bart of War” for this episode?

Overview:

After a never-ending Itchy and Scratchy marathon, the Simpson family finally seems tapped out on TV. Marge encourages more family time by initiating a trip to the bookstore.  Bart chooses a book that will help him get his way with Homer, Sun Tzu’s Art of War.  While Marge pushes her childhood favorite on Lisa.

Bart learns some valuable lessons about manipulation and puts them into practice.  After having Homer give in to his demands, the father catches on that Bart has been having some help.  To give Bart a taste of his own medicine, Homer aligns himself with his other arch nemesis, Ned Flanders.  All out war rages.

Meanwhile, Marge continues her attempts at sharing her girlhood literature with Lisa. Unfortunately, the aging book no longer holds the same relevance, worse, it is full of racial degradation. Marge attempts to edit the text, but of course, it loses its message in the process.

Our Take:

I quickly resonated with this episode, as I will often combat my own families screen time addiction with trips to the bookstore and forcing my children to read.  The Simpson kids acted realistically, as I know from experience children will be hesitant at first, but quickly fall into the stories and adventure.

The battle of wits between Bart and Homer was one more than just entertaining; it offered some real lessons.  They managed to transform the source material of Art of War into a well-developed episode of The Simpsons.

The trouble Marge faces with the outdated literature is a more profound commentary on issues the series faces after running for so long.  The episode seems to be a message towards the recent documentary The Problem with Apu from Hari Kondabolu.  A valid argument is made that what worked as entertainment 20 years ago is no longer socially acceptable.  An issue many entertainers and creators have been facing over the last few years.  Kudos to the writers who added this to the episode in a sincere, apologetic manner.

Fans who were awaiting the guest appearance of Daniel Radcliffe will feel disappointed.  The fan favorite Harry Potter actor only appears for a short scene, with not much more than a line.  Surprising that they would not want to get more screen time for the celebrity.

Overall, the episode was full of great social commentary and was intellectually driven.  From start to finish there were many messages about the world today that everyone can gain something from.  I would say this was a return to form for The Simpsons, but this episode went above much of their past successes.  A well-rounded episode that had me intrigued and opened the wheels of thought on some relevant topics.