36 Years After The Simpsons Began, Its Bleakest Ending Ever Just Changed The Canon

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 16, “Stew Lies.”

While The Simpsons season 36, episode 16 featured a sweet subplot shared between Bart and Lisa, the episode also included the show’s most egregiously bleak ending ever. The Simpsons season 37’s arrival may change things for the series, but the show is currently enjoying something of a critical renaissance. The Simpsons is now the longest-running scripted primetime American TV show in history, so with over 780 episodes to its name, it would be tough for its latest offerings to feel truly fresh and original.

Despite this unprecedented longevity, The Simpsons season 36’s new Disney+ special proves that it refuses to rest on its laurels. Whether the show is pulling off a special with none of its usual main characters or attempting another weird, experimental idea in the next episode, The Simpsons season 36 has repeatedly proven that the show is not finished surprising viewers. Season 36, episode 16, “Stew Lies” kept this streak going with an absurdly dark, but undeniably funny ending.

Bart and Lisa’s Fight Destroys The World In The Simpsons Season 36 Episode 16

Kang and Kodos Destroy The Planet Upon Observing Bart and Lisa Arguing

As “Stew Lies” began, the outing initially centered on a protracted prank Bart pulled on Lisa. Lisa momentarily imitating Bart led him to repeat everything she said and did for a staggering six months. This odyssey of imitation annoyed Lisa at first before it soon drove her to despair. However, the mockery eventually resulted in transcendence for Lisa. When she started using Bart’s antics to her benefit, she taught him Mandarin Chinese and the saxophone, used his repetition to amplify her activism, and eventually revealed that the audacious prank had improved their relationship immeasurably.

While this subplot was unexpectedly sweet, it received a hilariously dark post-script later in the episode. After “Stew Lies” ended, the mid-credits sequence saw an older Lisa standing in a control room with a group of scientists. Much like Marge’s The Simpsons season 36 story, this Lisa plot soon took a dark turn as the scientists announced that they were ready to establish communication with alien life forms for the first time in human history.

A fight between the siblings eventually resulted in the wholesale destruction of the earth thanks to Bart and Lisa’s bickering.

Lisa began to speak to the aliens, only for Bart to start repeating everything she said. This led to a fight between the siblings, eventually resulting in the wholesale destruction of the earth thanks to Bart and Lisa’s bickering. Kang and Kodos heard Bart and Lisa fighting and assumed that this meant humans were inherently violent, resulting in them obliterating the earth with a ray as the siblings continued to argue over who was to blame for this predicament.

The Simpsons Episode 16’s Ending Highlights Its Changing Canon

Bart and Lisa’s Futures Have Changed Countless Times

Kang and Kodos assuming that Bart and Lisa’s immature fight means humanity has a war-like nature was a goofy gag, but it still made the episode’s ending the darkest in the history of the series. That said, the ever-shifting canon of the show means that even The Simpsons’ darkest jokes never seem too bleak or harsh. As executive producer Matt Selman noted in an X post, The Simpsons changes its canon constantly and often contradicts the events of earlier episodes. This is never more evident than in episodes set in the future.

The “Elastic canon” of the show means this apocalypse isn’t as sad as it otherwise could be, since it will likely be forgotten by the start of the next episode.

So far, Lisa has been the President and Bart has been a Supreme Court judge, while in other episodes, Bart was a burnt-out slacker and Lisa was a college student in England. The “Elastic canon” of the show means this apocalypse isn’t as sad as it otherwise could be, since it will likely be forgotten by the start of the next episode and contradicted the next time the show depicts the future of its famous family. This makes The Simpsons season 36, episode 16’s ending shocking, but not as grim as it would otherwise seem.

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