The Simpsons Episode 800 Answers A 37-Year-Old Question

The following contains spoilers for season 37, episode 14 of "The Simpsons."

In case you are unaware, "The Simpsons" is good again. This is an iconic cultural institution, the longest-running American sitcom of all time, and the most influential animated show of the past 50 years. Though the show has had a couple of rough seasons, the last few years have produced some truly outstanding half-hours of television. With the benefit of 36 years' worth of stories and audience familiarity with the characters, "The Simpsons" has recently been experimenting with stories, character dynamics, and even format and canon. Beyond just the usual future-set episodes, "The Simpsons" has done horror-themed episodes outside of "Treehouse of Horror," as well as a parody of "Fargo" where a bunch of characters die horrible deaths.

We've also got some unexpected lore reveals in recent seasons. There was the time "The Simpsons" casually revealed just how Homer hasn't been fired for incompetence, or the time we got an origin story for Bumblebee Man. To commemorate the show's 800th episode to air on Fox, "The Simpsons" just dropped a new reveal, showing the aftermath of the iconic couch gag that starts most episodes.

The new episode begins with the traditional extended couch gag, featuring Bart in detention, Lisa kicked out of music class, and Marge driving home. Except things are different this time.

After Homer is run over by Marge and the family gathers on the couch, Homer hobbles into the living room covered in splinters and blood. The rest of the family tries to look away and ignore his pleas, while Homer complains that Marge just ran him over through a thick oak garage door, and no one seems to care. Worse, he asks Marge why Maggie was sitting in the front passenger seat.

Is this a groundbreaking reveal that will impact the show going forward? Absolutely not, so stop writing your angry comments right now. This is but a neat little way to keep the couch gag fresh after 800 episodes. Nowadays, the couch gag is often cut to make room for the actual story, which is a pity considering how rare TV intros are these days. The couch gag is a significant part of the history of "The Simpsons," so to see it play out in full, and even with this fun little epilogue, is a treat.

It's also just a bit of fun at the expense of the show's extremely long history, that audiences haven't really stopped to think about the consequences of Homer being run over and pushed through a door.

Still, this is enough to make us wonder what other tidbits "The Simpsons" might address down the line. There's a non-zero chance we'll one day get a throwaway gag showing the long-lasting effect of radiation on Homer (Dan Castellaneta). After all, we do see Homer get a radiation rod stuck on his shirt in every couch gag — there's no way that would be good for his health. This is the benefit of "The Simpsons" having an elastic continuity where nothing gets retconned; you can't really contradict anything if nothing matters. Yes, Homer has somehow been an astronaut, a boxer, a trucker, a plow driver, a mayor, a food critic, a beer baron, a voice-over actor, a navy reservist, and so much more despite only being 39. Does it make sense? Absolutely not, yet it also 100% does make sense.