The Simpsons Just Took On a Modern Shyamalan Hit Movie (But Had a Much Better Ending)

Warning! Major spoilers for Trap to follow! The Simpsons just took on a modern M. Night Shyamalan hit with its newest episode, but it ended up having a much better ending than the original movie. The Simpsons Season 37 has kicked off a whole new era of the long running series, and the episodes seen thus far have been giving fans a new look into each of the characters so far. It’s been especially great for Bart as the series has really emphasized just how smart he can actually be when he decides to apply himself to some kind of trick or scheme.

That was the case for the newest episode as it turns out that Bart has crafted an entire secret online ring to buy tickets online and scalp them at obnoxious prices. He’s become such a pariah that the town has enlisted help from the FBI to catch him, and before long the episode starts to enter into a full parody of M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap when Bart ends up trapped in a concert and trying to find a way out. But unlike that movie, Bart gets a much better ending.

The Simpsons Takes On M. Night Shyamalan

The Simpsons Season 37 Episode 8, “The Day of the Jack-up” sees Mr. Burns decide to build an expensive new concert hall dubbed the “Circulus.” Much like the Las Vegas Sphere, this giant sphere hosts major concerts with visual effects and flair. But while people around town try and buy tickets, much like how Homer was trying to buy some for a Korean pop group (the “Kneesock Dolls”) for Lisa, everyone finds out that a mysterious online reseller known as “SeatMiser” has been able to buy all of the tickets to every single show.

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It gets to such a point where Mayor Quimby recruits an FBI profiler to figure out who’s behind it all, and it’s revealed to be Bart during a Kneesock Dolls concert. He figures out that the concert has been set up as a trap to catch SeatMiser because the FBI knows that he likes to gloat over the fact that he’s screwed so many people over. Then from there, it takes cues from Trap as Bart tries different things to escape from the building without being caught. It just plays out better than that movie, however.

Why It’s Better Than Trap’s Ending

Trap sort of breaks out into chaos with its third act as its own trapped killer, Cooper (Josh Hartnett), ends up making it out of the concert venue himself but does so in a very messy manner. His true identity is revealed when he’s cornered, and thus he’s able to make his way out. He’s ultimately caught by the end of the film (but maybe not for long), but it was clear that the film would have been much better off if he was able to get out of the titular “trap” successfully like Bart is able to.

Because while they do figure out that Bart is SeatMiser, he’s able to escape from this trap through some clever trickery of his own. The FBI profiler tries to nail Bart with the crime by unlocking his phone with Face ID, but it doesn’t work and Bart is able to get away. It turns out that he’s been using his butt to unlock his phone the entire time, so his face wouldn’t be recognized anyway. It’s a small change, but it’s where he never gets discovered compared to Trap‘s version of events.

It makes for a much better and tighter story for Bart that not only allowed him to be sloppy much like Cooper was in Trap, but without any of that nonsense seen in the original. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!