The Simpsons Has Completely Erased A Member of the Extended Family (But Fans Might Have Missed It)

The Simpsons has seemingly erased a member of the extended family with its newest episode, but it might have gone under fans’ noses. The Simpsons has gone through a number of changes over the decades, and many of these changes have remained permanent within the status quo of the animated series. But while the franchise is no stranger to shaking things up, there have been some seemingly permanent additions to the family that have been since taken off the board. But while one had gone missing, it seems now the show has written her out of its events entirely with the latest episode.

The Simpsons Season 37 brought Patty and Selma closer together than ever before as it focused on their bond as sisters after 36 years of the animated series, and introduced a major shift as the two moved into two different apartments during all this time. But during all of this, Selma’s adopted daughter Ling was not only nowhere to be seen but wasn’t mentioned at all during all of this chaos. It seems like The Simpsons might have written her out of the series entirely this time around.

What Happened to Ling Bouvier?

Ling was first introduced to The Simpsons with the Season 16 episode, “Goo Goo Gai Pan.” The episode saw Selma head to China for the chance to adopt a child, and by the end of it all she officially adopts her daughter, Ling. The years since have sporadically featured Ling here and there with a very loose interpretation of how long she’s been a part of the Bouvier family. Some appearances had her as a baby like Maggie, and others had seen her growing to toddler age. She even spoke in her final major appearance with Season 24’s “Changing of the Guardian,” when it’s revealed that Patty and Selma are forcing her to learn multiple arts at a young age.

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While she’s been seen in background shots together with Selma in the years since, that was the final time she was truly important in an episode. But The Simpsons Season 37 episode “Aunt Misbehavin’” seems to have taken her out of the equation entirely. Patty and Selma fight throughout the episode, and we get to see their apartment multiple times. Selma even mentions how it’s all impacting her pet iguana Jub Jub, but there’s not a single mention or sighting of her daughter throughout it all.

What Does This Mean for Ling?

While it’s possible for an episode of The Simpsons to make such a shift with Patty and Selma without bringing up Ling’s role in it all, this is just another example of these recent seasons forgetting her entirely. Season 36 just had an episode where Patty and Selma take a trip out of town with Lisa, and Ling was never mentioned or seen there either. Even Jub Jub’s return seems like another nail in that coffin as it was important to bring up the iguana but not Selma’s own daughter.

If The Simpsons has indeed retconned Ling out of the animated series, it’s definitely one of the stranger additions and subtractions from the long franchise. The character was brought in as some sort of major event, but then was completely taken off the table in order to keep Selma from her happy ending. It was a shift in status quo for her that ultimately was just ignored, and maybe removing Ling from the series is for the best in that case.

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