Liars and Saints

  After a long hiatus, Nell Scovell returned to "The Simpsons" with "Sorry Not Sorry"--an exploration of power and entitlement. Lisa has to complete a project, an explanation of "what inspires me." Her answer is the work of Gladys West, who invented GPS. Lisa writes a stirring rap--so creative, it causes Superintendent Chalmers to breakdance. But--having exceeded the time limit--Lisa finds that her grade is a B-. And she retaliates by publicly accusing Miss Hoover of being a hack. The situation escalates until Lisa is thrown into detention. "It's Miss Hoover who should be in detention," she says. And Bart points out that "Miss Hoover is a teacher, which is permanent detention. It's a life sentence." Trying to learn about her nemesis, Lisa follows Miss Hoover home from school. The trip involves several janky trains, a long interlude with a greasy triangle of pizza cardboard (a "sled"), and a final exchange with a cat. M...

 "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" is about randomness. You make a plan, then life intervenes. Homer--convinced that he is living out his last day on Earth--gets into an argument with some cops. "I pay your salary," he says impatiently. "I'm not afraid of you. Just write a ticket and move on." The cops respond by throwing Homer in jail. Barney--who lives directly behind the jail--finds fifty dollars "in rusty coins"; this can be bail money. But Homer fails to make good use of his freedom; he finds a cassette tape of Larry King reading from the Bible, then falls asleep during an especially boring passage about genealogy. Oddly, this makes me think of "Bagman" from "Better Call Saul." Like "Blowfish," "Bagman" asks how closely anyone, in any situation, can "stick to a plan." Like "Blowfish," "Bagman" profits from high stakes. Both Saul and Homer also have great loves ...