Diary Queen
| "Diary Queen" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 32 Episode 12 |
| Directed by | Matthew Nastuk |
| Written by | Jeff Westbrook |
| Featured music |
|
| Production code | QABF05 |
| Original air date | February 21, 2021 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Diary Queen" is the 12th episode of the thirty-second season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, and the 696th episode overall.[1] The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk,[2] and written by Jeff Westbrook.[3] The episode follows Bart’s discovery of his former teacher's diary.
Plot
At Ned Flanders's yard sale, he becomes angry when people who are buying his things aren't respectful of them. Bart and Milhouse buy several books as part of a scheme to record a stunt. When that backfires, the boys discover Mrs. Krabappel's old diary amongst the books. They then escape Fat Tony and his mob and prank the school staff. Despite Milhouse repeatedly urging him not to invade Edna's privacy, Bart heads to his treehouse and starts reading the diary.
He eventually discovers a page where Krabappel had written that she thought Bart had potential in succeeding in school, making Bart suddenly convinced that he's the most improved student. After helping around in school, Bart gets an "A" on his test. At dinner, the family celebrate with a cake, but Marge and Lisa look around his room, thinking he cheated. With the help of Maggie, Lisa finds the diary at the treehouse and discovers that Mrs. Krabappel was actually referring to her cat. Lisa originally keeps this hidden from Bart and gets stress bumps on her arms as a result. When Bart decides to enter the school spelling bee, Lisa first tries to "gently" encourage him not to, then gets fed up when Bart can't spell the first word (interlude) and finally reveals to him that Edna's complimentary passages weren't about him: they were about her pet cat. Bart becomes depressed and returns to the treehouse to be alone.
Later in the treehouse, Ned reveals to Bart that his family had considered leaving Springfield, but were stopped by Edna, who believed she needed to remain as children like Bart needed her. Realizing that Edna truly did care for him, Bart's spirits are lifted and he gives the diary back to Ned. Ned told Bart he wasn't going to read it, but when he gets home he can't help himself; he does read it and is brought to tears over an entry where Edna says that being married to Ned made her "dreams come true."
The episode ends with an montage of Mrs. Krabappel's moments throughout the series.
Production
Casting
The late Marcia Wallace guest-stars as Edna Krabappel through archive recordings in the episode and Joe Mantegna appears as Fat Tony.[1] This is the final episode in which white actor Harry Shearer voices the black character of Dr. Hibbert. Beginning with the following episode "Wad Goals", he will be voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson who is African-American.[4] In addition, the character of Julio was recast to Mario Jose in this episode.
Development
On 2021, Fox released ten promotional pictures from the episode.[5]
Release
The episode was scheduled to debut on January 10, 2021, but was rescheduled to February 14 due to being preempted by the NFL playoffs;[6][7] rain delays at the 2021 Daytona 500 further delayed all prime time shows scheduled for broadcast on February 21. On February 14, the episode was published on Amazon and iTunes but it was later removed. Even though the episode aired a week later on February 21, the episode is still unavailable on iTunes, but is available on Amazon.
Reception
Viewing figures
In the United States, the episode was watched live by 1.43 million viewers.[8]
Critical response
Tony Sokol with Den of Geek, said "This is a different kind of arc for The Simpsons. “Diary Queen” is on an uplifting trajectory until Lisa knocks it off course, and ends in a sudden life-affirming crash. Bart’s final warning to Marge, “I’ll go over the edge if you try to make me feel better,” is wonderfully skewered, but the final twist is a dose of treacle. The episode was originally slated to premiere on Valentine’s Day, and is a sweet sendoff." He also gave the episode four out of five stars.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Listings - SIMPSONS, THE on FOX | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
- ^ Al Jean's Twitter - "Diary Queen Director"
- ^ Al Jean on Twitter - "Diary Queen"
- ^ Maas, Jennifer (February 22, 2021). "'The Simpsons': White Voice Actor Harry Shearer Won't Voice Black Character Dr Hibbert Anymore". TheWrap. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
- ^ "The Simpsons". FoxFlash. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Al Jean's Twitter - "Diary Queen Delayed"
- ^ Al Jean's Twitter -"Diary Queen previous air date"
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (February 23, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 2.21.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 12 Review: Diary Queen". Den of Geek. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
