|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
|
Desperately Seeking Lisa |
|
Desperately Seeking Lisa is the third episode of Season 36, being the 771st episode overall. It originally aired on October 20, 2024. The episode was written by Tim Long and directed by Matthew Nastuk. It features guest stars Griffin Dunne as the Cockroach actor and Gregor Samsa, Richard E. Grant as Julian, Molly Shannon as Katya, and Tracy Letts as himself.
Synopsis[]
Lisa has a blazing misadventure in the dark world of Capital City’s downtown art scene.
Plot[]
The Simpson family, along with Patty and Selma, arrive at Springfield Union Station to prepare for their trip to Capital City. Marge and Lisa bicker as they navigate the station doors, while Bart mocks his aunts with remarks they've heard many times before. Homer suggests that Lisa spend the weekend in Capital City with Patty and Selma. Before the train departs, Marge hands Lisa a small snack, which includes a sugary juice that Lisa initially refuses to drink.
When Lisa, Patty, and Selma arrive in Capital City, their first stop is the Laramie Cigarettes Smokehouse Grill. During the meal, Lisa grows bored and refuses to eat while Patty and Selma overindulge. After finishing their meal, the aunts decide to have "dessert" in the form of a smoke, but then the alarm systems go off, meaning that the restaurant themed around a cigarette product ironically does not allow smoking. Outside, they encounter Julian, an old friend of Patty’s, along with Katya and Lars. After a brief exchange, Julian’s group invites Lisa to join them at a party, but Patty and Selma decline, feeling unwell from overeating and needing to return to the hotel to recover.
As Patty and Selma rest, Julian texts them to meet outside the hotel, but Lisa sneaks out alone to join him. Arriving at Nohosogoblojoto, Lisa finds herself amidst a vibrant gathering of artists, feeling a sense of belonging. The group invites her to help transport items to the Museum of Loft-Based Transgressive Progressivism. However, her offer to assist is rejected by a clique called "The Inhuman Capotes." Once at the museum, the group invites Lisa to an upcoming 1 a.m. event, which she eagerly accepts while Patty and Selma continue resting.
Before the event, Lisa spots Gary Chalmers leaving a grocery store near her hotel, where Dora Freedman is also staying. At 1 a.m., Lisa learns the event is delayed but proceeds with the group to attend. They go to watch "The Roach", a theatrical adaptation of Kafka’s "The Metamorphosis", where a father throws apples at his son-turned-cockroach. Lisa disrupts the performance, and the writer, Tracy Letts, appears onstage. Surprisingly, instead of reprimanding her, Letts congratulates Lisa for her creative changes to the story. The group then recommends Lisa attend the prestigious Horace Frick Academy, but Lisa laments her inability to afford it.
Julian suggests seeking help from Lacey Van Aster, who agrees to assist Lisa at her home. While preparing for bed, Lisa notices a photo of the group with Martin Prince. Suddenly, the group confronts her, revealing their scam to extort money from Lacey, as they had done with Martin. To silence Lisa, they show her a video framing her for "stealing" artwork, although she had only moved it. Lisa retaliates by stealing a check and fleeing, pursued by a mob of angry artists who create various artworks of her as she escapes.
Meanwhile, back in Springfield, Homer, Marge, Bart, and Maggie watch a documentary about ringtones. Lisa attempts to call home, but nobody picks up; the ringtone is the same as the one playing on TV, and thus nobody notices. She continues fleeing and encounters Chalmers with Ms. Hoover. Seeking refuge, Lisa explains her predicament, but their conversation is interrupted when Lunchlady Doris storms into the room in pursuit of Chalmers. He escapes through a window, rents a bike, and rides it into a lake, leaving Lisa to fend for herself.
Exhausted, Lisa finds a hiding spot behind a wall and collapses. Her backpack spills, and she notices the sugary juice that her mother gives her. It comes in handy because she drinks it and gains the energy needed to continue. Back in Springfield, Marge wakes up as she senses that Lisa drank the juice, making her happy. Lisa taunts her pursuers before leaping over a razor-wire wall just as dawn breaks.
Lisa evades her pursuers but is spotted at a park where a parade is taking place. She hides under a balloon but accidentally activates its inflation machine, exposing herself. Julian insults Katya, prompting her to brandish a knife. Instead of harming Lisa, Katya cuts the balloon’s ropes, sending Lisa soaring away.
As Lisa floats back to Springfield, sleep-deprived and hallucinating, the balloon strikes a flagpole and pops, landing her at Springfield Elementary School. Entering the building, she greets Martin with a tip of her hat, then encounters Chalmers, who is still feeling awkward about the issues that he's had with the ladies.
In the epilogue, Ms. Hoover instructs the class to read "The Firecracker Who Didn't Want to Go Boom".
Videos[]
External Links[]
- "Desperately Seeking Lisa" at the Internet Movie Database
- "Desperately Seeking Lisa" script via Springfield! Springfield!