There’s something kind of cute about Grandpa Simpson in love.
And by cute, I mean as long as he isn’t trying to seductively take his medication. That’s not cute at all.
Yes, Grandpa is in love with another resident of the retirement home, a woman named Bea Simmons. It’s hard not to see what Grandpa sees in her. She’s got a lazy eye and is just as nauseating about seductively taking her pills as Abe Simpson is.
Wait, it is hard to see what Grandpa sees in her.
Actually, the two are cute together, going dancing and on long walks on the beach where they get outpaced by a sea turtle. Grandpa finds love now and again on the show, and it always seems to energize him in certain ways. Bea’s voice comes courtesy of the late Honermooners actress Audrey Meadows. Meadows actually sounds like her voice would have blended in just fine with the rest of the cast, and she gives the right amount of sweet sass back to old Abe.
Homer’s energized as well, trying to actually bond with his father for once. And it doesn’t come when the episode’s title comes into play, but rather when he realizes his own kids could put him in a home so he better show a good example. He’s only so-so good at that, as he decides Grandpa is lying or hallucinating about having a girlfriend, and then ignores do not enter signs at the Discount Lion Safari.
What do you suppose it costs at the body shop to get out the dents of multiple lions eating a zebra off the hood of a car?
This episode actually shows a very sweet side to Abe Simpson. Upon learning Bea left him over $100,000, Grandpa finds the money doesn’t make him happy, but does take some advice from Bea’s ghost to use it to make other people happy. He may also take comfort that death is less scary than a roller coaster.
Grandpa then decides he wants to help everybody, especially when his open call leads to lots of cranks and Prof. Frink with a death ray the good professor didn’t realize only had evil applications. Grandpa manages to rebond with Homer when Homer prevents him from losing all his money at a casino.
Grandpa does do something good with the money, giving dignity back to the other old folks at the retirement home. It’s really an all-around sweet episode.
And maybe Moe found someone to determine if he had an genuine treasure map in the end, too.
Gabbing Geek 