I was really looking forward to this episode. My old roommate, Jason, is just as big a Simpsons fan as I am, and he claims this is his favorite episode (He says his favorite line in the whole series is "Lisa, you stay away from that jazz man!"). Having not seen it in years, and knowing it is in the notably weak first season, I have always been fairly skeptical. And after watching it... Sorry Jason, it's not the best episode of the show. But for season 1, it is pretty outstanding. First and foremost, we finally get an episode that doesn't focus on Homer and Bart. Lisa finally takes the spotlight, and as a result, the episode is much more thought provoking than any others so far.
The main issue I was struggling with while watching this episode is what is really making Lisa sad. From the very start of the episode, her sadness is very ambiguous. The episode opens with Lisa looking at herself in the mirror, Homer pounding on the bathroom door, and Lisa quietly sighing. Clearly something is wrong, but we really have no idea what it could be - I really love that opening. Later in the episode, Homer sits Lisa down on his lap to find the source of the problem and she gives him a very vague answer about the world being a hard place. It's a problem that any angsty elementary school could have; especially one who doesn't fit in with anyone else. As a side note, it's pretty remarkable that Lisa doesn't have any friends at school - even once the series establishes more of its universe. I think this makes Lisa's stories far more diverse. Telling a story about Bart's relationship with Milhouse or one of his other friends is an easy fallback and has been done countless times. Lisa has had the occasional guest star friend, but she has never had a regular character as a safety net for slow weeks in the writers room.
Anyways, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that Lisa's real issue is the same one the other members of the family have been dealing with: she doesn't know how to accept being a Simpson. Her song to Bleeding Gums Murphy is all about Homer, Bart, and even Marge neglecting her at home. We quickly realize that small sigh at the start of the episode was about starting another day in a house with her father banging on her door. She wants to be more than a Simpson. Homer dealt with this problem in Homer's Odyssey and There's No Disgrace Like Home. The resolution to both of those episodes was something along the lines of "it could be worse, make the best you can out of it." In one episode, Homer happily accepts a slightly better job, and in the other, the family embraces their dysfunction and gets a new tv for doing so. I really like how in this episode, Lisa doesn't fix her problem. By the end of the episode, she's slightly less miserable because Marge gave her some support, but nothing else has really changed. It will actually take work for Lisa to accept being a Simpson and find her place in the family, and future episodes continue to address this point (e.g. Lisa the Simpson).
Marge continues to be a really great character. You can see that in this episode because she really believes in the terrible advice she's giving Lisa. That scene has always stuck with me because Marge cares so much for her daughter but doesn't know how to help her. It shows that Marge is fallible and doesn't really know what she's doing.
For the first time there is a recognizable B story in an episode. So far every episode has been one continuous story about a single character or a group of characters. In this episode, Bart and Homer's videogame duel has nothing to do with Lisa's story. As is to be expected with a B story, there was very little character development other than showing Bart and Homer can hang out with each other. Other than that, there were some ok jokes (Bart beating Homer by the age of 4) and the resolution was unexpected. Can't complain too much.
Springfield Characters:
Mr. Largo: To be honest, I didn't even know that this was the music teacher's name even though he is in many episodes. He's a pretty terrible character. Generally grumpy, mean and unfunny. Later they make him gay, but its pretty inconsequential. I think the writers just wanted to have a regular character around if they ever needed to two or more gay characters in a scene (the first always being Smithers).
Bleeding Gums Murphy: Unlike Mr. Largo, Bleeding Gums rarely appears and is a great character. I can only think of one other episode that he appear in (although I have a pesky feeling that I'm forgetting another one) and in that episode he serves as a great mentor to Lisa.
Other things I liked:
I feel like this episode was the prettiest one so far. Some of the shots of Lisa riding on her bike in the moonlight are really beautiful. The tone of the episode definitely dictated the art style.
Out of all the family members, Maggie is the best at embracing the Simpson in her. I love the scene where she chooses the tv
Oh yeah, Lisa plays the saxophone! We've seen that in the title sequence, but this is the first time it's actually shown up in the show.
Lisa episodes are always pretty outstanding until the end of the golden age (season 9? 10?). This one was my favorite episode so far
7/10
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