Entertainment
‘The Simpsons’ Best Homer and Marge Episode Is Still Untouchable 35 Years Later
In terms of sheer longevity, Marge (Julie Kavner) and Homer (Dan Castellaneta) may have one of the most enduring marriages in television history. The Simpsons has now passed its landmark 800th episode, but the relationship between Homer and Marge has remained at the center of the series since its earliest days. Even as the show has repeatedly reimagined their history, future, and occasionally the very reality they inhabit, its best episodes have always understood that there is genuine affection underneath all the bickering.
That remains true even in 2026, with the Disney+ exclusive “Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition” once again putting their marriage under the microscope as Marge imagines different versions of her imperfect husband. But Season 2’s “The Way We Was” remains the definitive explanation of why Homer and Marge chose each other in the first place, and more than 35 years later, it is still one of The Simpsons’ most romantic episodes.
“The Way We Was” Is One of the Best ‘Simpsons’ Flashback Episodes
Trying to keep track of the fictional timeline of The Simpsons is bound to send any viewer down the rabbit hole. There have been countless changes, contradictions, and other issues with the canon, particularly when Maggie has remained a baby for more than 35 years. Flashback episodes would later become a crutch that The Simpsons would use when it was in need of a quick fix to the story.
However, early flashbacks within the first few seasons of The Simpsons added actual nuance to the characters. These were particularly entertaining because any time Homer or Marge tried to sit down to tell an intimate story, Bart (Nancy Cartwright) and Lisa (Yeardley Smith) would offer enough biting commentary to prevent the story from ever getting too serious. This all begins with “The Way We Was,” where Homer decides to tell his children about his first date with Marge after their television cuts out unexpectedly.
It’s easy to forget that before it became the inspiration for other adult cartoons like Family Guy and American Dad, The Simpsons was intended to be a parody of the “family sitcoms” that had dominated the 1980s. While it was definitely less idealistic in its depiction of small-town life than something like Leave It To Beaver or The Cosby Show, The Simpsons had a degree of heart and sincerity that its later seasons would forget. It’s important that in the very first episode of Season 1, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” Homer is a sad sack trying to provide for his kids on Christmas; the episode ends with him reflecting on his family values. This is carried over into Season 2 when Homer sheds light on a very different time in his relationship with Marge.
More than three decades later, The Simpsons is still finding new ways to interrogate that relationship. The 2026 Disney+ exclusive “Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition” revolves around Marge’s frustration with her husband, prompting her to imagine several different versions of Homer who might better suit her. That the series can still build stories around the question of why these two people belong together only makes “The Way We Was” more important: it established the emotional foundation that every subsequent Homer and Marge story has been working from.
“The Way We Was” is a parody of the 1973 film The Way We Were, which starred a young Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand as a couple whose loving relationship declines over time as a result of their political differences. Ironically, this was one of the rare cases in which The Simpsons version of events is actually less cynical than what it’s parodying. “The Way We Was” uses the basic concept of “opposites attract” to examine how Marge and Homer first became attracted to each other when they were in high school. They meet in school detention; Marge gets in trouble for burning a bra at a feminist rally (in a more direct reference to The Way We Were), and Homer has occupied the detention hall for quite some time.
“The Way We Was” Explains How Marge and Homer Fell in Love
While later seasons made it feel like Homer was taking his relationship with Marge for granted, he actually has something to prove in “The Way We Was.” Abe (Castellaneta) warns him that he’s aiming too high by trying to date Marge, but Homer defies his father’s taunts and decides to commit himself to improving. He joins the debate team to spend time with her and even fakes his ineptitude in French class so that she can serve as his tutor. The lazy, stupid “jerk Homer” version of the character that emerged later on is completely nonexistent here; Homer is actually working hard to win Marge’s heart and only feigns his lack of intelligence in order to spend more time with her. Homer would later become trademarked by the idea that he was unable to accommodate anyone else, but in “The Way We Was,” he goes out of his way to change his lifestyle because he’s so smitten with Marge.
It would have been easy for The Simpsons to make Marge’s reason for choosing Homer as simple as “he makes me laugh,” but “The Way We Was” gets surprisingly deep. While Marge is initially touched to find Homer crying in the hallway after confessing his love for her, she has already committed herself to her seemingly more suitable suitor, Artie. It’s only at the end when Artie attempts to make a move on her that she realizes that Homer was always the “good guy.” Of course, the episode never risks being too sappy, as Bart is there to feign gagging in classic The Princess Bride-style. While he’s clumsy and at times incoherent, Homer is a good person and has more sincere values than the average high school boy who is simply looking for a short-term relationship. Marge realizes that while Artie’s good looks and seemingly promising future might give her a more stable future, she’s willing to accept one that’s a little more tumultuous with the knowledge that Homer is everything he appears to be.
This is solidified in an ending moment where Homer and Marge’s independent telling of the story coincide. Not only is it the most romantic that the show has ever gotten, but it explains the unique tone that has made it so enduring after such a long time. Homer and Marge are both outsiders defying their parents’ expectations, and as a show, The Simpsons has never fallen within a standard model of either sitcoms or animation. However, The Simpsons was still presenting a version of love, family, and the stories that endure that people could relate to. Even if no one will ever know exactly where Springfield is located, it still feels like a real place.
The Simpsons is available to stream on Disney+.
The Simpsons
- Release Date
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December 17, 1989
- Network
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FOX
- Directors
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Steven Dean Moore, Mark Kirkland, Rob Oliver, Michael Polcino, Mike B. Anderson, Chris Clements, Wes Archer, Timothy Bailey, Lance Kramer, Nancy Kruse, Matthew Faughnan, Chuck Sheetz, Rich Moore, Jeffrey Lynch, Pete Michels, Susie Dietter, Raymond S. Persi, Carlos Baeza, Dominic Polcino, Lauren MacMullan, Michael Marcantel, Neil Affleck, Swinton O. Scott III, Jennifer Moeller
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Homer Simpson / Abe Simpson / Barney Gumble / Krusty (voice)
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Julie Kavner
Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice)
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