The Simpsons has officially wrapped up Season 37 with its final episodes, and now it’s time to look back on every episode of the season to find out which is the best of the best. The Simpsons kicked off the first of a massive four season renewal last year as it showcased a lot of new episodes that offered up fun twists on the status quo and other character dynamics after 800 episodes. It was an experimental season of the series for sure, and that’s really clear now that it has wrapped up its run.
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The Simpsons Season 37 is a lot shorter than previous seasons thanks to the changes in Fox’s schedule and the probable release of more exclusive specials with Disney+ in the future, and that means it’s already time to look back on all of the episodes and figure out which really were the strongest offerings overall. Read on below for our ranking of all of The Simpsons Season 37 episodes, and let us know which was your favorite.
15). Seperence
“Seperence” might technically be the most “timely” episode of The Simpsons when compared to the rest of the season, but that’s also what makes it the weakest overall. It’s a full on parody of the Apple TV+ series Severance, and ultimately doesn’t really find a new angle on it to take. While it does have a fun joke revealing that this workplace is just as draining as any other job, and the “second person” effect is just a result of being dead tired, it’s just not that entertaining. It’s jokes many others have made about the Apple TV+ series before, and it doesn’t really elevate the materials in any way. It just feels so flat compared to the rest of the season.
14). The Day of the Jack-Up
“The Day of the Jack-Up” unfortunately also falls into the same pattern as it’s a close parody of M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap. This one has a bit more fun as Bart ends up becoming an online grifter buying all of the tickets for the dome show that opened up in town, and ultimately is able to escape with his crime unlike the end of its source material. It’s a fun episode for Bart, and while it doesn’t really do anything special compared to its influence, there are some fun visuals as a result of the way it decides to come to an end. It’s a fun Bart being rambunctious story.
13). Keep Chalm and Gary On
Superintendent Chalmers has been a secret weapon for The Simpsons over the years. Some of the most surprisingly effective episodes have followed Chalmers as they explore new aspects of his personality, and this one sees him being fired from the school before becoming a beauty product mogul (by using the radioactive snail slime hidden in the Power Plant’s pipes).
It’s an episode that ultimately puts him through a crisis of faith thanks to his success, and he ultimately realizes that he does want to help children in his career when everything is returned to the status quo at the end of it all. It’s not the best Chalmers focused episode as he doesn’t really have a close dynamic with the Simpsons as seen in those other episodes, but it’s a cute one.
12). Men Behaving Manly
All kinds of shows have used the idea of the “Alpha Male” camps that have popped up in the last few years, and “Men Behaving Manly” is The Simpsons‘ own take on it. Although it brings back Albert Brooks as the voice of its main counselor to great effect, it ultimately does follow the same kind of pattern we’ve seen from these kinds of stories elsewhere. The men in Springfield learn to be less of a jerk to their significant others, and the women ultimately run town much better without the men around.
It’s not necessarily groundbreaking for the show, but it does have some fun status quo shout outs such as the return of Moe’s own significant other, Maya, who had been missing for years.
11). Sashes to Sashes
“Sashes to Sashes” initially seems like it’s going to tread previous ground as Bart runs for Student Council President again, but the real hook of the series is a new look into the Quimby family past. They have always been a big deal in Springfield, but we’ve never actually gotten a full story about their family history. This reveals how the Mayor eventually became the Mayor, and even revealed a secret aunt that Marge had who had never been mentioned before.
It might not be the funniest episode of the season, but it makes it this high on the list for what it does for the ultimate status quo of the series as fans have never gotten this kind of flashback before. It gets quite a bit done within its short runtime.
10). Aunt Misbehavin
Speaking of status quo shifts, fans probably weren’t expecting any long running characters to Patty and Selma to come out of this season. “Aunt Misbehavin” digs into their relationship for the first time in quite a while, and actually results in a big shake up for the duo. Patty got a makeover that was later confirmed to be permanent in a future episode, and even moved out of their shared apartment.
This is another case of the episode not necessarily being the funniest of the season, but got this high on the list for how much it actually does within its runtime. It was a big change to some of its longest running characters.
9). Guess Who’s Coming to Skinner
Much like Chalmers, Principal Skinner is a great side character that has gotten a lot of fantastic focus episodes over the years. “Guess Who’s Coming to Skinner” takes this further when he ends up running into a boy who had been secretly living in the school. Skinner becomes very attached, and ends up acting as a substitute parent for the kid. It doesn’t really go the way you’d think when it all comes to an end, but it’s the first close look at Skinner in this way we’ve had for quite some time. It’s just a fun and breezy time, and helps in this era where Skinner has largely taken a backseat compared to before.
8). Parahormonal Activity
“Parahormonal Activity” is an interesting experiment for The Simpsons as it heads to a point in time that has never been explored before. Focusing on when both Bart and Lisa are in their early teenage years, the series tells a story about how Marge is falling apart thanks to all of the chaos around her as she and Homer take different hormone therapies to deal with getting older.
It’s not exactly the best future episode we’ve gotten overall as it’s not a look into Bart and Lisa’s future, but best fits with the current identity of the series. Each character feels like a natural extension of their current selves, and their are a lot of fun sequences like when Marge destroys their fridge. It’s a fun episode revealing a point in the timeline ripe for way more stories in the future, so hopefully this is the first of more to come.
7). Irrational Treasure
As the 800th episode of The Simpsons overall, “Irrational Treasure” has a suitably epic story to tell. The episode sends Marge and Homer to Philadelphia after Santa’s Little Helper does well in dog shows, and then they get wrapped up in the hunt for Ben Franklin’s secret hidden treasure. But while it’s so big in scope, it’s an episode that’s also very emotional as Marge reveals her true feelings for the family dog.
It’s a heartbreaking reveal that shows how close she is with Santa’s Little Helper, while also revealing how scared she is of losing him. There are some fun guest spots here, and some fun jokes about Philadelphia, but it separates the family outside of one fun scene. It just had too much to do to get it all in a single episode.
6). Bart ‘N’ Frink
“Bart ‘N’ Frink” takes a Bart and Professor Frink and turns them into one of the most compelling friend duos that The Simpsons has had in years. Frink realizes how smart Bart actually is, and gets him to believe in himself for the first real time. At the same time, Bart helps Frink to stand up for himself amongst his peers and the two end up sharing a lovely episode with one another.
The two of them grow through their friendship together, and it’s such a fun pairing that the series needs to bring this dynamic back again for another round someday. There is clearly a lot of potential that’s only been touched on with this episode.
5). ¡The Fall Guy-Yi-Yi!
“¡The Fall Guy-Yi-Yi!” is another great episode with a pairing that works so well, it’s a wonder that’s never been done before. Homer becomes a secret stunt man for Bumblebee Man, and fans get to see more of Bumblebee Man’s side of it all. It’s revealed how close the two are with one another in terms of personality (even casting Homer’s Spanish voice actor as the official voice of Bumblebee Man for the episode), but that they also have a super fun dynamic that The Simpsons would be smart to revisit someday. The scope of the episode’s ending seems to tease this is likely a one-off idea, however, but it’s a very strong adventure nonetheless.
4). Thrifty Ways to Thieve Your Mother
“Thrifty Ways to Thieve Your Mother” is a rather fun sliding of The Simpsons‘ overall timeline in a sneaky way. Lisa is inspired by Marge’s old school clothes, and is popular in school thanks to these 90s designs (even if Marge attending elementary well before that point). It leads to some great designs for Lisa, and even results in her and her friends starting a crime ring where they steal nostalgic clothes from around town.
It’s the only episode this season that really dives into Marge and Lisa’s dynamic, and it’s certainly one of the best episodes this season. The series has needed a great Lisa story for a while, and thankfully this one is it.
3). Bad Boys…for Life?
“Bad Boys…for Life?” is another episode that focuses on a new point in the timeline not seen before with Bart at six years old, and Lisa at four. This episode dives into Bart’s first pranks, and with it reveals that he was in danger of being taken away by social services. It’s a lovely look back into Bart and Homer’s earliest years, and wraps up with a moment that serves as a reminder that Homer truly is a father that cares at the end of the day.
It’s definitely the strongest Bart focused episode from the season, and its a flashback that feels fresh despite just how many flashbacks we’ve gotten over the years on the animated series’ floating timeline.
2). Treehouse of Horror XXXVI
“Treehouse of Horror XXXVI” is the strongest Halloween special that The Simpsons has had in years. It’s three very strong segments, and each of them feels both unique and scary in terms of their ideas. You’ve got a mass of fat that massacres the town, the Devil kills a crowd of kids during a taping of the Krusty the Clown Show, and an awesome CG animated segment that turns the world into plastic.
It’s just one banger after another without a weak segment to be found, and ultimately it’s just very fun. It’s so strong that it beats out so many regular episodes, and that really says something considering all of the fun character work we’d seen throughout this season overall.
1). Homer? A Cracker Bro?
This might be recency bias, but The Simpsons Season 37 finale is the best episode of the season. “Homer? A Cracker Bro?” brings Kirk VanHouten back to the spotlight when he’s inspired by Homer to invent a crumb-less cracker, and it’s soon revealed that he’s actually manic depressive and has been taking medication for years in order to hide it. It’s an idea fans might have seen in other shows, but it’s actually well realized her as the VanHoutens do find a lot of success from the idea.
The core of the episode is about the growing friendship between Homer and Kirk, and uses their history for a good result. There’s a scene where the two of them go through their long past together, and hope that their future is much better than their past failures. It’s got a lot of heavy emotions to work through, and it does so with a lot of care when Homer and Kirk say goodbye to each other at the end. It’s the best Homer has been in years, and has what end up being the biggest laughs from the season. In a season where we’d get a lot of unexpected pairings, it turns out this pairing was the strongest.
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