The Simpsons focuses on Bart and Lisa's relationship in tonight's episode, The Cad and the Hat.
The episode begins Lisa discussing how Bart and her like each other better than ever after finding their way. Lisa begins to tell her story, and it begins at Springfield Bay, with the mayor declaring the waters safe to swim in. We find out that the waters are only safe now because the safety standards have been lowered. We then see Lenny in the water with a bunch of hypodermics poking him. This was a pretty funny gag. The Simpsons then head to the beach, and the kids are building a sand sculpture while Homer is buried in sand. Bart drops something onto Homer's head, which causes some beachgoers to laugh at Homer. A homeless man has a great line calling it the "most disgusting thing I've ever seen on the beach", despite the fact that he lives in a dead whale. At a shop, Lisa has a dream sequence, the funniest part of that being her unicorn turning Donald Trump into a troll. There's also a great scene involving Homer "watching sports", which ends in him hilariously naming chess pieces (incorrectly of course). It turns out that Homer is actually a very skilled chess player, and it leaves everyone shocked. When Bart throws something at a seagull, it attacks him, prompting Nelson to declare that Bart is getting beat up by a "beach turkey". This was very funny. At Krusty Burger, Bart takes Lisa's beloved hat and throws it out the window as she sleeps. Later on, his "Guilt" appears, and it kills his "Denial".
Lisa, in the middle of her sleep, realizes that "Sunny" (the hat) is gone. She searches everywhere, and then goes to the police. This is all very funny, but makes me feel so bad for Lisa. In the bedroom, Homer and Marge are playing chess. Lisa comes in and tells her parents that Sunny is gone. Homer has a great line, when he confuses Maggie and Sunny. In the morning, Bart comes into the kitchen and lies to Lisa about Sunny. At Moe's, the guys tell Homer that he's a talented chess player, and Lenny really steals this scene. We find out why Homer is a chess savant, and it turns out to be because of his father. At home, Guilt has grown into a giant monster, and Bart later confesses. Lisa asks Bart why he did it, and she gets very angry when he asks her to forgive him right away. Bart goes to get the hat back, but it is crushed in a car before his eyes.
Homer starts to throw chess pieces into the fire, but Marge tries to cheer him up with a Skype call with a chess champion. This scene is pretty boring, quite honestly. At the junkyard, Bart's soda can spills and melts part of the car, and also his stomach. With the help of the Flanders boys (who have some fun lines in this scene), he gets Sunny back. Homer arrives at the retirement home, and he plays chess with him. Abe looks depressed, and Homer resigns. At home, Bart returns Sunny, and Lisa doesn't want it. Lisa is still angry at tells him to start bonding with Maggie, and that "She likes raisins, Bart. Give her raisins." This is my favorite Lisa line in the episode. Then, Lisa's Guilt shows up and she forgives Bart. Bart's Guilt leaves, but hits and airplane and falls into the nuclear plant, turning into a giant monster, which makes Burns happy.
This was a great episode, and if the B-Plot was stronger, it could have been a 10. The Lisa-Bart plot was very strong and quite funny. I loved the Lenny parts of the Homer storyline, but not much else. It just wasn't interesting enough to warrant getting as much screen time as it got.
Episode Score: 9/10
Episode Grade: A-
