The Simpsons Season 36’s Darkest Twist Acknowledged A Confusing Canon Detail

Although The Simpsons has never been consistent with one supporting character’s personal journey, the show used this to its advantage in season 36. The Simpsons is, at the very least, consistent in its inconsistency. The long-running series has changed the main character’s ages countless times, retconned basic story elements like where the family lives and the existence of some supporting stars, and never prioritized keeping its canon clear. To quote current showrunner Matt Selman (via X, formerly Twitter), The Simpsons has an “Elastic" canon wherein every element of the show’s reality can change without warning in service of a gag.

It is not yet clear whether The Simpsons season 37 will continue this approach, but season 36 has gotten a lot of mileage out of the show’s constant canon changes. The Simpsons may never age, but the prospect of Bart turning eleven after 35 years as a perpetual 10-year-old gave the season premiere “Bart’s Birthday” a hilarious meta storyline. Similarly, The Simpsons season 36’s Christmas special took the largely forgotten deaths of Ned Flanders’ two wives and turned these incidental canon details into the conduit for major growth in an otherwise stagnant, predictable character.

The Simpsons Season 36 Episode 12 Pointed Out Barney’s Inconsistent Sobriety

Barney’s Big Character Change Has Repeatedly Been Undone Over The Years

Season 36, episode 12, “The Man Who Flew Too Much,” utilized the show’s ever-shifting canon in a similarly inventive way. After years of inconsistent depictions, Barney’s ever-changing sobriety became pivotal when he piloted a helicopter and said that a crash was the worst ”Time to be sober.” This gag reminded viewers that Barney’s alcoholism has been depicted inconsistently for the past 36 years, but there is a reason behind this. Unlike many of The Simpsons’ unexpected canon changes, Barney’s slips between sobriety and alcoholism make sense for his character and ironically render his story more consistent with reality.

Barney first sobered up in season 11, episode 18, “Days of Wine and D’oh’ses.” In that outing, Barney’s embarrassing behavior at a party led him to quit drinking seemingly for good and become a helicopter pilot. His sobriety lasted until he was pressured by Homer to drink in season 13, episode 19, “The Sweetest Apu.” Barney was revealed to have relapsed in season 14, episode 12, “I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can,” but that wasn’t the end of his journey. Instead, The Simpsons bounced between both the sober and drunk versions of Barney in the twenty years since season 14.

Why The Simpsons Keeps Changing Barney’s Sobriety Status

The Show’s “Elastic Canon” Is Oddly Realistic

While funny, the inconsistent canon of The Simpsons can sometimes be frustrating for long-time fans. The Simpsons breaks its own rules all the time, so it can be tough for viewers to know what to expect and frustrating to find out that beloved character details have been unceremoniously abandoned. However, in Barney’s case, inconsistency is a clever approach. It is not unusual for recovering alcoholics to relapse, meaning Barney's switching between alcoholism and sobriety is an atypically sympathetic and grounded representation of the condition considering the show’s cartoony, absurd tone. In this instance, The Simpsons is right to constantly change the record.

New episodes of The Simpsons air Sundays at 8pm on Fox.

Source: Matt Selman (via X)