In the episode “Estranger Things,” the matriarch passes away unexpectedly in a flash-forward scene that takes place thirty years in the future.
The most recent instalment of “Estranger Things” continues a trend of episodes frequently featuring unexpected and dramatic turns, such as character deaths, to revitalise the now ten-year-old show.
As they get older, the siblings start to watch different shows and become more apart from one another.
Marge becomes worried, but Bart and Lisa assure her that they will remain close. After 35 years, it is shown that her concerns have come true: Bart has an unhealthy, chaotic existence, Lisa is a successful WNBA commissioner, and Marge has died.
When Lisa returns to a transformed Springfield, she discovers Homer involved in a fraudulent retirement plan. Later, she discovers a touching video from Marge in which she expresses her love and hopes that they will meet again in the afterlife.
Moved, Bart and Lisa devise a plot based on Itchy & Scratchy to save Homer from being sent to Florida.
As the episode closes, Marge watches from Heaven, content and making jokes about being able to get married again in the afterlife, while the family is reunited and enjoying a rebooted Itchy & Scratchy.
The Simpsons’ Stranger Things episode centres on Bart and Lisa’s relationship, examining how their mutual love of the cartoon Itchy & Scratchy helped to forge their closeness before they both stopped watching it.
As her children grow farther apart, Marge worries that they may eventually become strangers. The narrative leaps ahead 35 years, to a time when Bart operates an illegal retirement home and Lisa is now a prosperous professional.
Although it’s never made clear when or how Marge died, Lisa makes reference to her “late mother” right from the start of the show.
Social workers move Homer to a facility in Florida after Lisa complains about the substandard living conditions her father is experiencing.
Soon later, Lisa discovers a letter that reveals Marge’s Will and was written to be read after her passing. A younger Marge appears on film at an emotional moment, considering ironically that she might have passed away before Homer.
Eventually, Bart and Lisa can get their father out of the house in Florida. As a result of the event, the siblings become closer and watch another episode of Itchy & Scratchy together, exactly like they used to.
The show ends with a bizarre and nostalgic touch as Narhe is seen observing from a cloud before climbing into the sky with Ringo Starr.
All of The Simpsons’ episodes are currently available to stream on Disney+.