[Generated by LLaMA 13B with prompt "In the end". I found it amusing.]
In the end, it was always going to be this way.
After 12 years and over 400 hours of TV time, The Simpsons ended with a bittersweet, emotional episode where Homer's dad dies in the most un-Homer Simpson way possible — he passed away peacefully, surrounded by family members who were holding him in his final moments.
And while Homer had always been openly hostile toward his father over the years — especially after finding out Grandpa was a Nazi — it was clear that he actually loved him. This was seen when Homer and Grandpa spent time together, and during an emotional scene where Homer read him a bedtime story.
But as we've grown up with The Simpsons, this episode felt different than any other in the show's history. As a diehard fan of the series, this was one of those episodes that I knew would be the most powerful one yet — and it lived up to my expectations.
Throughout the past 12 years (and seasons), The Simpsons has grown from being a wacky show about a family that we could all relate with into something much more mature. It's been about the life lessons that Homer, Marge and their three kids have learned along the way — and how they've become better people because of it.
This episode was no exception to this, and as I sat in my seat watching Homer say his final goodbyes to his father, one thing became clear: This show is going to be so much different without its patriarch around anymore.
And while The Simpsons has already been renewed for two more seasons, it's hard not to think about the possibility of this being the last episode ever with Homer and Marge as we know them — or Grandpa Simpson, for that matter.
Homer and his family have certainly learned a lot from Grandpa over the past 12 years (and seasons), but even after all these years, he still had a huge impact on him. He was Homer's rock in some of his toughest times, and I can't help but think that losing him will be extremely hard for the rest of The Simpsons family to get over.
While it may not seem like much now (and it certainly won't be compared to the loss of a loved one), Grandpa was always around to offer sage advice when needed, even if he did so in an incredibly blunt and sometimes insensitive way. There are no more grandparents on the show, which means that the kids can't ask for advice from them anymore — they now have to go straight to their parents or look up things themselves online.
Sure, Homer and Marge will still be around (even after these next two seasons), but it's going to feel incredibly different without Grandpa there. There is no one else who could offer the same advice as he did, and even though Homer isn't a huge reader himself, we can all picture him flipping through his favorite book: The Bible (which, if you didn't know, is filled with a lot of really good life lessons).
But it was more than just Grandpa's advice that made me think about the future without him. It was also seeing Homer and Marge interact as they did when Grandpa passed away. It reminded me of Season 18, Episode 9 ("Margaret on the Rocks") when Grandma died — aka when I cried for the first time while watching The Simpsons.
In that episode, Homer and Marge had to deal with all sorts of emotions they hadn't dealt with in quite some time: sadness, grief, anger, regret, and even guilt. And it was hard, too. They tried to be as supportive for each other through the whole ordeal as possible, but sometimes it just wasn't enough (and that's okay).
At one point, Marge was so overcome with emotion over her grandmother passing away that she couldn't even speak without crying. Homer was forced to comfort her by holding her hand and telling her everything will be fine — even though the reality is that it won't always feel like things are okay just because a loved one passed on.
But, as Season 18, Episode 9 showed us, Homer will never stop trying his best for Marge. He may not get every word out when he tries to comfort her — and sometimes she may not want him to — but it's the thought that counts, right?
Similarly, there were some beautiful moments in Season 30, Episode 15 between Homer and Lisa that reminded me of the times I've watched my sister cry through the loss of a loved one. In that episode, Lisa was so overcome with emotion about her parents' divorce that she couldn't even eat a piece of her mom's banana bread without completely losing it.
Homer didn't know what to say or do at first because he was in denial that his wife and daughter were having such an emotional reaction to the situation, but once he was able to pull himself together and comfort Lisa with a hug — even though he had no idea how she felt — it was enough for her to be okay.
And although Homer may have a hard time showing emotion and is at times clueless when it comes to comforting others, his heart is always in the right place. That's why I don't mind that he has made so many mistakes over the years — like in Season 21, Episode 8 (where Homer accidentally let Bart get run over by a car and didn't tell anyone), or Season 7, Episode 9 ("The Last Temptation of Krusty"), when he was jealous that everyone at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant liked Krusty better than him. In both cases, it may have taken Homer a long time to accept what happened and make things right, but in the end, I'm confident he always finds his way back to being a good husband, dad, and overall guy.
Homer's a flawed human (and cartoon character) like all of us. But unlike some of the characters on TV we may see as perfect, Homer is honest about the fact that he isn't perfect. And in his own way, he's teaching us what it means to be imperfectly perfect by reminding us not to worry so much and just take a deep breath (and a cold one) instead. [end of text]