At Long Last Leave

​"I withdraw my diddly."- Ned Flanders 

"At Long Last Leave" is the fourteenth episode of Season 23. It is the 500th episode broadcast.

Synopsis
Everyone in Springfield (Except Ned Flanders) have gotten fed up with the Simpsons' shenanigans, and banish them from town. The family settle in a deranged town, where they pick up new skills like Maggie hunting with a crowbar. Lenny and Carl miss the family and plan to visit them. Soon, the citizens rebuild Springfield where the Simpsons live now.

Full Story
The Simpson family are at home watching Channel 6 News where Kent Brockman announces that there is a disaster and that everyone has to go into their underground bunkers. After saying it was a drill, and then acting like there was an actual disaster again, he tells everyone to go into their shelters for three hours and not to come out. The Simpsons head to their shelter.

After a while, the family is all bored and plans to head out of their shelter to explore Springfield while it is empty. They then go to Springfield Town Hall where they realize that there is a secret meeting going on. They sneak in to find that the town has voted to kick them out of Springfield. After making themselves known to the rest of the town, the townspeople act angry at them. Mayor Quimby reveals that the town has gone bankrupt due to their family's shenanigans over the years. He mentions it was a mixture of such things involving Homer's recklessness, Bart's pranks in school and in town, Lisa's environmental pleas (though much cheaper, yet was very annoying) and Marge's attempts to see the family in a positive light that got them kicked out. Even Mayor Quimby declared Marge to be the "worst Simpson of all." Offended by this, Ned attempts to defend them and tells the citizens to give the Simpsons a break. Quimby, however, has planned Ned's arrival in advance, and ejects him from the meeting, after which Ned withdraws his objections. The Simpsons (expect for Grampa) are then paraded out of Springfield during a big celebration that the Flanders refuses to attend, still angered how the residents are acting like pariahs themselves.

After driving for a while, Bart says that he needs to take a leak. They stop to let him go and are then held up by a guy with a shotgun. After Marge explains their situation to him, he welcomes the family to The Outlands. The family starts new here and enjoy life more, but Marge is having a hard time settling in. They find a new neighbor with the creator of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange. He is only friendly to Homer and the children, but not Marge. She immediately dislikes Assange because he isn't like the friendly and cheerful Ned. When Homer, Bart and Lisa confronts Marge about her lack of effort in settling in the Outlands, they come to the realization that she is homesick for Springfield. She voices her concerns that Maggie is falling in with the wrong crowd. Marge also admits to missing Ned's cheerful personality and Helen Lovejoy of Springfield critiquing her brownies. Despite Bart's warning to stay away by reminding Homer that they are in exile, he planned to cheer Marge up by sneaking her back into Springfield. Homer and Marge, disguised as Mr. Burns and Waylon Smithers, sneak back in, presumably tricking Chief Wiggum in the process. They have a romantic night together then head to their old home where they go to bed. In bed, they hear Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney come in and are found out. Before the bullies can tell anyone, the police come to the house along with the rest of the town. Chief Wiggum tells Homer and Marge that he has seen through their disguises and pretended to be fooled in order buy himself time to gather the residents together.

Marge is nervous but Homer sarcastically remarks what the residents of Springfield intend to do about it, "Throw us out again?". In response Reverend Lovejoy, Krusty the Clown and Mel suggest a number of heinous punishments, crucifixion (Lovejoy), making them write jokes (Krusty) and getting the family a subscription to the opera because they don't like it (Mel). Gill then suggests that they just simply shoot the Simpsons. Wiggum, Lou and Eddie prepare to do just that.

Marge, who has remained silent up until this point, tells the cops not to bother shooting them. As Wiggum and the other cops lower their weapons, she reveals to the onlookers that despite everything the citizens of Springfield wished upon them, the Simpsons have found a place that they love and that their new community accepts them for who they are. She admits that whilst their new home doesn't possess all the luxuries they had in Springfield, it does have the one thing that Springfield will never have. Homer agrees and angrily reveals that that is "non-jerks", thereby insulting the residents of Springfield for their general attitude and bigotry, as well as their treatment of the Simpson family throughout this entire sequence.

This criticism visibly shocks all the residents of Springfield, who for some odd reason are stunned to learn what Homer and Marge really think of them and that even when faced with permanent exile the Simpsons consider themselves better off for it. Never the less, Mayor Quimby does begrudgingly admit that Homer is right about their attitude.

Marge then explains that the only reason she returned to Springfield in the first place, was because she was homesick and just wanted to visit her old house. Now though, she can see for herself just how spiteful and malicious the citizens of Springfield (minus the Flanders, but including Marge's own sisters who are in the crowd) actually are, because they could not even permit her this one simple decency. Marge then publicly acknowledges her exile and declares that her real home, is with her loving family in the Outlands, whose citizens accept the Simpsons for who they are and encourage them to explore their interests without the constant spite or cruel judgement that their former neighbours and townsfolk did.

With that Homer and Marge make their way through the crowd, which parts to let them through, in a dismissive manner leaving the stunned onlookers in their wake. From their expressions, it is clear that the citizens of Springfield (with the exception of a dismissive Mr Burns) regret throwing the Simpsons out, especially Smithers, Lenny, Carl and Patty because they realize that the family accepted their sexuality whilst everyone else is against them.

Marge is finally settling into life in The Outlands until Lenny and Carl turn up. Bart and Maggie act hostile towards them, claiming they were part of the crowd who exiled them. Carl explains that after hearing what Homer and Marge said, they wanted a better life as well as a fresh start. Eventually, Moe turns up too, opening Moe's Cavern which they and Homer patronize at. After that, Mayor Quimby, and many other Springfield residents show up, wishing to abandon their lives in Springfield and start over in The Outlands. Soon, all of Springfield moves there to start new lives with the Simpsons and they begin rebuilding a new city. The man whom the Simpsons befriended chose to pack up and move further away from the townspeople. Eventually, Seymour Skinner is the last person left in Springfield, until Bart rescues him in a wooden helicopter, crashing him into several buildings and landmarks.

At the end of the episode, a title card appears stating: "Thanks for 500 Shows. All we ask is that you go out and get some fresh air before logging on the Internet and saying how much this sucked."