The Simpsons Makes Major Change to Patty and Selma After 36 Years (And Includes a Big Makeover)

The Simpsons has made a major change to Patty and Selma Bouvier after 36 years, and it’s one that completely changes their status quo moving forward. The Simpsons has had a few key characters who have been a part of its dynamic from its very beginning, and two unsung heroes of this have been Marge’s sisters, Patty and Selma. Though the two have had a lot of focus episodes over the decades, and have made many changes to their personalities in that time, there had still yet to be an episode that truly focuses on their home life as sisters with all of these changes.

The Simpsons Season 37 has been offering lots of shake ups with all of its episodes thus far as it has been experimenting with new kinds of character dynamics, and the newest episode focuses on Patty and Selma. With the two of them suddenly at odds when Selma gets a promotion at the DMV, the twins ultimately figure out that their lives are moving in different directions and decide to split up. As the episode ends, the two of them actually move into different apartments from one another after all this time.

The Simpsons Splits Up Patty and Selma With Season 37

The Simpsons Season 37, “Aunt Misbehavin’” sees Patty and Selma at odds when Selma is promoted to supervisor at the DMV and starts to treat Patty terribly as a result. This leads to Selma outright firing her sister (when Patty enacts their secret plan to declare Homer as legally dead), and Patty decides to move away to Palm Springfield. Patty gets a new haircut in order to further distance herself from her sister, and Selma starts to sleep with a new guy to make Patty even angrier.

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As the episode comes to an end, the twin sisters resolve their issues and realize that they just had a brief falling out. While they love each other as twins, they figure out that they really haven’t been paying attention to each other as sisters and people. So as a way to move forward from this, Patty fully moves out of the apartment. Only to then reveal she’s actually just moved next door. So while this is indeed a major change for the twins after all this time on a character level, mechanically they’re still quite close in a literal and emotional sense.

What Does This Mean for Patty and Selma’s Future?

The only curious thing about this move, however, is whether or not it’s going to stick. The Simpsons can be a bit odd when it comes to changing its status quo. While it’s got no issue making sweeping changes in any given episode, it often resets them soon after. There have been a few major shifts that have stuck around over the decades in terms of retiring characters and more, so this is a rather grey area for Patty and Selma.

It’s possible that they will likely still live in different apartments as it’s not super important of a detail, but the more curious thing is whether or not Patty’s makeover is going to stick around. The twins have had makeovers in the past that were written out by those episodes’ ends, but this one seems like a significant enough moment for Patty that the series should keep the look around for future appearances. The show has gone to great lengths to differentiate the two over the years, but we’ll see if they decide to fully change one of its characters designs moving forward.

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