The Simpsons Finale Time Skip Jumps 35 Years Into the Future

The Simpsons has brought Season 36 of the long running animated series to an end, and with its final episode jumped 35 years into the future with a new time skip that opens up all sorts of questions about the potential future for the series. The Simpsons has been running for such a long time that, funny enough, it has also had its fair share of episodes looking ahead to the future for the Simpson family. Although one of them is the closest to a potential “canon” future for the series overall, The Simpsons has now offered a much grounded, and more possible take on Springfield’s actual future.

The Simpsons Season 36 ends with the episode “Estranger Things,” which sees Bart and Lisa drift apart after they lose interest in watching “The Itchy & Scratchy Show” together. As Marge gives them one final warning that they should find a way to stay in each other’s lives despite their new interests, Bart and Lisa instead go on to lead very separate lives and don’t really talk to each other anymore. After jumping forward 35 years into the future, it’s revealed that Lisa has become a success, and Bart and Homer have formed a surprising connection.

The Simpsons Season Finale Time Skip Offers New Look at Future

The Simpsons Season 36 finale reveals that 35 years in the future, Lisa has become the head of the WNBA (which has since been renamed the NBA, and the men’s NBA renamed as the MNBA) and Bart hasn’t gone on to much success. She sends him the money to pay for Homer to keep living at the retirement home, but one day decides to head back home when Springfield Elementary is honoring her with a special award. Upon getting back home, she discovers her childhood home still has Bart living in it and partying together with much older versions of Homer, Carl, Lenny and Comic Book Guy.

Lisa first thinks Bart is a screw up, but it’s soon revealed that Bart did this to save all of them from the retirement home. Homer and the others were miserable there, so Bart has done all of this (and kept it a secret from Lisa) so that he could support them in their later years. He wanted Homer and the others to live happy lives, and though they party all the time he was ultimately doing it for the right reasons. So while Bart also seems like he’s unsuccessful at first, this really is one of the more favorable looks into his future.

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This Might Be the Best The Simpsons Time Skip

The episode ends with Bart and Lisa saving Homer from being imprisoned in Florida (after Lisa mistakingly calls Senior Protective Services), and the two once again bond over watching a reboot of The Itchy & Scratchy Show. All the while, Marge is sitting above them in heaven and has married Ringo Starr in the afterlife. There might be more famous time skips for the series that could have even been the finale, but this is the most grounded look at their potential future ever seen in the series overall.

Both Lisa and Bart are moving on to relatively successful futures, and although Marge died before Homer, it’s clear that the rest of the family has gone on to live happy and successful lives. Lisa and Bart reconnect, Homer gets to spend his late years together with his son and friends, Maggie accomplishes her dream of being an auctioneer for farm equipment and more. So there’s a good chance this one becomes their “actual” future in The Simpsons‘ official timeline.