The episode begins with Lisa waking up from a nightmare about her locker. She runs in to wake up her parents, and she says she wants to go to a therapist. Marge tells her that she can't go, because Homer used up all of the sessions their insurance will allow (the Halloween candy running out really scarred him). Homer says that he knows a cheap place, the community college. As Lenny demonstrates, this is not a good idea. Lisa's therapist-in-training Annette (Rachel Bloom!) impresses Marge, who thinks she sounds super caring. The therapist tells her that she might benefit from art therapy, but her credibility is harmed a bit since she doesn't even know Lisa's name (but Sophia is pretty close). At home, Lisa is trying to draw her typical day, but she's really struggling. Marge comes in to comfort her, and she helps her draw (AKA, she does it for her). Lisa decides that she'll tell Lisa her feelings, and Marge can draw them for her. Unfortunately, Marge can't draw turtle feet, so if there's going to be any turtles in the story, the turtles will be wearing sneakers. Lisa tells about what happens at school, and how miserable it is. Lisa arrives at her session with
Lisa bursts into the shop to yell at Comic Book Guy for publishing her graphic novel. CBG sells Kumiko out, and Kumiko tells them how ashamed she is. Marge demands that they do something about it, and Kumiko tells her that she'll burn them. However, when a bunch of people come in to buy the graphic novel, Lisa decides that maybe it isn't so bad. At the grocery store, everyone is reading the book, and Lisa is now a celebrity. Marge tells Lisa that Kumiko called, asking for them to make a sequel. Lisa agrees, and they write a new graphic novel. Lisa and Marge bond over their writing, and Bart and Homer watch them as they play "Hot Sharpie." Bart asks why they never bond like that, and Homer says that Bart needs to make the first move. So he does, and they go to fish, Andy Griffith-style. Except for the fact that they stole the fishing rods. At the Sci-Fi Con, Lisa and Marge are guests at a panel discussion. Nobody cares about Marge, only Lisa. So Marge starts to feel a little upset and she asks Lisa to do a graphic novel from the mom's point of view. Lisa rejects it, saying it should be a second novel. Marge gets annoyed, and Lisa wants to take a break. She wants to see other illustrators, and then Homer tells them that Guthrie is there to see them. He wants to turn Sad Girl into a musical.
Lisa is excited at the opportunity to make a musical, and Guthrie needs Marge and Lisa to give it their all, and he doesn't want any conflict. Guthrie wants Lisa's story to be nearly wrapped up very early into the production, with the rest focusing on Marge. It's all drawn in Marge's artistic style. Sad Girl isn't even going to be in "Sad Girl the Theater Experience", which make so much sense. Lisa's not happy about all of this, so she goes to see Annette. Annette, who has recently had a baby, isn't having any of this. Her professor tries to tell her to keep her boundaries between the patient and the therapist, but she screams at him. Annette's really a disaster, and Lisa knows it, so she creeps out of the room while she isn't looking. At home, Marge excitedly shows off t-shirts for the Sad Girl show, and she can tell that Lisa isn't in a good mood. Lisa's acting like Annette, saying how she can't control how her baby (Sad Girl) is going to grow up, and that the show will be good for the family. Later on at the show, everyone is super confused by the show. At this point, even Marge think they've strayed too far away from the source material. Guthrie doesn't agree, and she brushed off her thoughts until she sees a super depressed Lisa in the audience. She draws Sad Girl's face onto a light, so Lisa can be a part of the show. Guthrie kicks it away since he didn't approve it. The light blinds the guy in the control room, and the whole thing just falls apart. Everyone runs out of the theater, and it's all just a huge disaster. Marge apologizes to Lisa for allowing Guthrie to ruin the show, and Lisa apologizes for not being open to Marge's ideas.
This was a pretty good episode, but it was a step down from the premiere. Guest star Rachel Bloom shined in this episode, but unfortunately her character didn't get much screen time. Martin Short's Guthrie was also an interesting character, and he did get a decent amount of time to shine. The story itself was fine, nothing spectacular but certainly not bad. I think the episode could have been more interesting if the theater porting of the show had more time. I also missed Bart and Homer, who had very little to do, in this episode. There weren't any B-plots this week, just the Lisa and Marge plot, and that's kinda a shame. But anyways, the episode was still pretty enjoyable and it was still a nice way to spend a half-hour.
My Score: 8/10
My Grade: B
