Gone Maggie Gone

"Gone Maggie Gone"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.	Season 20
Directed by	Chris Clements
Written by	Billy Kimball Ian Maxtone-Graham
Original air date	March 15, 2009
Episode features
Couch gag	The couch is a piñata. A blindfolded Ralph hits it, and the family falls out.

"Gone Maggie Gone" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' twentieth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 15, 2009. It was written by both Billy Kimball and longtime Simpsons writer Ian Maxtone-Graham, and directed by Chris Clements. In the episode, Homer leaves Maggie on the doorstep of a convent, but when she disappears, Lisa goes undercover as a nun to solve the mystery. Meanwhile, Homer tries to keep Maggie's disappearance a secret from Marge, who was blinded while watching a solar eclipse.

Plot

Kent Brockman announces that a solar eclipse is to appear in Springfield, exciting the Simpson family. After Homer's camera obscura breaks, Marge lets Homer use hers. As the family expresses delight at seeing the eclipse, an envious Marge peeks at the solar eclipse, which blinds her. After taking her to the hospital, Dr. Hibbert informs them that Marge's eyes must be covered for two weeks, and she mustn't be put under any stress. While Homer is running the house, it becomes infested with rats, a la Ratatouille. Homer, who inexplicably brings Maggie and Santa's Little Helper along, goes to the store to get rat poison. Maggie and Santa's Little Helper's bickering causes the car to fall off a bridge on the way back home. Homer tries to get all three of them across a lake in a small boat, but leaves Maggie on the doorstep of a convent while going back to get Santa's Little Helper, who is on the other side of the lake. In a twisted turn of events, the nuns take Maggie in and refuse to give Homer his daughter back.

While Homer and Bart attempt to trick Marge into believing Maggie is still at home, Lisa goes undercover as a nun and infiltrates the convent. When Mother Superior refuses to tell her where Maggie is, Lisa discovers that they are seeking a jewel. A seemingly elderly nun (who claims she's 23 years old) informs Lisa of an ancient quest for the mystic gem, which get what you desire. Lisa's first clue is to "seek God with heart and soul", which she correctly interprets as playing a few measures of the song by the same name on the convent's organ, opening a Rube Goldberg contraption. She next is told to find the "biggest ring" in Springfield; at first, she assumes it is circular rings, but she learns the biggest ring is the Springfield Bell Tower. Arriving there, she meets Comic Book Guy and Principal Skinner, who tell her that the gem was a vision the dying St. Teresa had of a jewel that would bring peace and prosperity to the world. She sent a group of nuns to the New World to search for it, but word got out and Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and King George III banded together to search for it during the Revolutionary War, so the nuns left the colonies and moved to Springfield. Comic Book Guy tells her that the gem will be revealed on the first full moon after a solar eclipse, which is that night. However, the bell is actually papier-mâché, as the real one was melted down and made into Civil War chess sets. Lisa and Comic Book Guy conclude that the biggest "ring" in Springfield is the RING in the Springfield Sign. Skinner pretends to have concluded it too, but only realizes upon their arrival at the Sign.

At the Springfield Sign, they are met by Mr. Burns and Smithers, who are also aware of the gem. Lisa finds writing on the letters of Springfield (together saying "Great crimes kill holy sage") and unscrambles a message that reads "Regally, the rock gem is Lisa". Mr Burns takes the others back to the convent were Lisa announces that she is the gem child. A nun however tells her that the gem child is Maggie and rearranges her message to say "It's really Maggie, Sherlock". Lisa, upset, points out that she would have to get it wrong first for it to make sense. Nevertheless, Maggie is put on a throne, causing a light to hit her which makes a rainbow that brings peace all over Springfield. Marge, however, bursts in and takes Maggie back. Her eyes are healed upon seeing Maggie. She refuses to give up Maggie for the peace of Springfield saying that "God wouldn't want a mother to give up her child for the good of humanity... again". On the way home she asks Homer if she was being selfish, but he says that he found a replacement for Maggie; Bart assumes the role of the "gem child", but instead of causing multiple acts of peace in Springfield, he turns it into Hell.

Cultural references

The main plot of this episode parodies National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code. For example, the bell in the tower turning out to be the wrong one was a scene in National Treasure, regarding the Liberty Bell. For The Da Vinci Code, the Holy Grail turned out to be Mary Magdalene, and Sophie was the last remaining heir to the Christ bloodline; whereas in this episode, the gem turns out to be Maggie. In another reference to the Da Vinci Code, Mr. Burns calls Smithers his loyal albino servant, a reference to Silas from The Da Vinci Code. The large portion of the first part of the episode involving the rats was a homage to Ratatouille.

Reception

The episode was well-received by television critics. Robert Canning of IGN said: "as entertaining as the story was, it would not have made a difference if it weren't just as equally funny. I laughed throughout the retelling of the legend of St. Theresa, which included pirate nuns and a fake war for independence. Mr. Burns referring to Smithers as his albino was another hilarious bit. Overall, it was the combination of a fully engaging story and great laughs that made "Gone, Maggie, Gone" another winner for The Simpsons in their post-hi-def series run." Ariel Ponywether of Firefox News wrote: "As a Da Vinci Code parody, it's little more than decent, as the episode misses several crucial and ripe points of parody contained in the book and movie. "Gone Maggie Gone does", however, do a good job of making the book’s puffed-up sense of importance seem foolish in general, and hits the book’s main theme (religion vs the Freemasons [sic]) with a few nice, devastating jokes." Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club said: "It's been a long time since the show has done something fresh, and I think this is about as good as it's gonna get for a while—even if the episode took a while to get going." TV Verdict's Erich Asperschlager said: "Part Da Vinci Code, part National Treasure, and part Professor Layton, "Gone Maggie Gone" shakes up the Simpsons formula in a fun way by introducing one of those American-history-conspiracy-theory-cult-mysteries that are so popular with the kids, as well as those brain-bending-word-and-logic-puzzles that aren’t. "Gone Maggie Gone" is one of the best so far this season."

The episode is nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) and Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. The winners will be announced September 12, 2009.

External links

"Gone Maggie Gone" at IMDb