Draft:The Past and the Furious

"The Past and the Furious"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.	Season 36 Episode 14
Directed by	Mike Frank Polcino
Written by	Rob LaZebnik
Production code	35ABF19
Original release date	February 12, 2025 (2025-02-12)
Guest appearance
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as young Mr. Burns

"The Past and the Furious" is the fourteenth episode of the thirty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 782nd episode overall. It was released exclusively on the streaming service Disney+ on February 12, 2025. The episode was written by Rob LaZebnik and directed by Mike Frank Polcino.

In this episode, Lisa attempts to return plant life to Springfield by trying to change the past. Joseph Gordon-Levitt guest starred as young Mr. Burns. The episode received mixed reviews.

Plot

In an alternate reality, Lisa is trying to find a place where plants can grow, but Mr. Burns stops her. Her parents take her to a therapist, who gives her EMDR stimulators. When they activate, Lisa experiences being transported into the body of Edith at the Little Moose Club in 1923. Lisa performs on the saxophone with a young Mr. Burns. She learns the club is named after the tiny moose that live in town but everyone wants to kill. Lisa and Burns commemorate the experience by writing his initials and drawing a saxophone into wet cement. Lisa wakes up and takes the stimulators home. She discovers the club really existed and Edith was her ancestor. In front of Moe's, Lisa finds the cement drawing and concludes that she traveled through time.

Lisa discusses her experience with Professor Frink, who believes the universe wants her to change the past. She learns the moose became extinct in 1925, which led to the collapse of Springfield's ecosystem. She uses the stimulators to return to 1923 to try to save the moose. She finds young Burns in a greenhouse, tending to orchids that look like his mother. He wants to sing and grow orchids instead of being a tycoon. He helps Lisa convince the townsfolk to save the moose by creating a sanctuary for them. Waking up, Lisa learns that the moose now became extinct in 1923. However, Marge, worried that Lisa is becoming delusional, takes Lisa's stimulators, which prevents her from trying again. After Bart gives them back to Lisa, she returns to 1923. She tries to rally the townsfolk with a megaphone, which scares the moose into destroying Burns' orchids. Angered, Burns vows to be a tycoon and pave over the town.

At the power plant in the present, Lisa tries to reason with Burns but fails. At Homer's workstation, she tries again in the past, but present Burns takes Lisa's stimulators to inhabit his younger self. Present Burns convinces young Burns to stay on the evil path after Homer wakes Lisa up, and Burns destroys the stimulators. Later, Lisa finds a message from young Burns that tells her to go to Moe's basement. She finds a letter from young Burns, who purged his good by leaving her some orchids seeds and funding for a park. One year later, Lisa has created an orchid garden that Burns secretly enjoys.

Production

In August 2024, it was announced that four original episodes of the series would be released exclusively on Disney+ with this episode announced as one of them. Executive producer Matt Selman described the episode as a "time travel adventure" and "genre experimental".

Joseph Gordon-Levitt guest starred as young Mr. Burns.

Reception

John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave the episode a 7 out of 10. He liked the performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as young Mr. Burns but thought the plot involving a young Burns had been done many times. He preferred the scenes set the present because it involved more characters rather than the scenes in the past due to his adverse reaction to Lisa's voice.

Mike Celestino of Laughing Place liked the episode and thought the setting in an alternate reality made the changes in continuity acceptable.

External links

• "The Past and the Furious" at IMDb

Category:2025 American television episodes Category:The Simpsons season 36 episodes Category:Television episodes written by Rob LaZebnik Category:Television episodes directed by Mike Frank Polcino