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Hurricane Neddy |
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- “Why me, Lord? Where have I gone wrong? I've always been nice to people. I don't drink or dance or swear. I've even kept Kosher just to be on the safe side. I've done everything the bible says, even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff. What more could I do? I feel like I'm coming apart here. I want to yell out, but I just can't dang-diddily-do-dang, do-dang-diddily-darn do it.”
- ―Sounds of Ned's shaken faith
"Hurricane Neddy" is the eighth episode of Season 8.
Synopsis
After a hurricane blows through Springfield and destroys only Ned Flanders' home, Ned snaps after his friends and neighbors, including Homer, did their best to rebuild his house. Ned is checked into an asylum to discover the source of his sudden uncontrollable rage ever since his childhood.
Full Story
Homer lazily enjoys his latest mid-afternoon nap outside, when the winds begin to pick up. Lisa consults her weather instruments and a question-and-answer book and finds out a hurricane will soon strike Springfield as she alerts Homer that a hurricane is coming. Panicked residents quickly gather supplies and food at the Kwik-E-Mart, but Ned remains calm as the main storm approaches, having fitted his home with a large tent like guard to keep it hunkered down.
As the bad weather hits, and various hurricane-related gags play out throughout Springfield, the Simpsons do their best at family bonding in the basement. Eventually, the storm finally passes, and everyone is overjoyed that the hurricane caused absolutely no damage to their home, or seemingly anyone else's home. However, next door to the Simpson house, the Flanders family has gone through serious trouble; Ned's house is the only one that has been totally destroyed as Ned and his family emerge from the rubble.
Ned is relieved that his family escaped serious injury, but that is of little solace since he does not have homeowner's insurance (having considered insurance "gambling") and all they have left are their tombstones. The Flanders family is forced to move into the church basement with Rod and Todd getting new clothes from the donation bin. There, he watches news accounts of the storm's aftermath, and is further discouraged when footage is shown of the Leftorium, cleaned out by looters after Maude tells Ned it has been a hard day for him, but the Leftorium will still be in business. Seeking answers from God, Maude and Rev. Lovejoy attempt to reassure Ned that matters will work out good. He tries to find solace in the Bible, but all he gets is a paper cut. He tries asking God directly why he is being punished when he is done everything the bible said (even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff) and also mentions that he has always been nice to people and he doesn't drink, dance or swear and thinks that he is coming apart and that he wants to yell out and that he can't do it, but does not get an answer.
The next day after the hurricane, in an attempt to show their community spirit and friendship, Marge commissions everyone in Springfield to rebuild the Flanders' home with Marge taking Ned and his family to the newly-rebuilt Flanders' house after Marge tells the Flanders family that they got to come back to their house and that something incredible has happened and Ned sarcastically asks if the rubble have burned down and Marge tells the family no and to come on as Ned becomes amazed that his house is now rebuilt. The job is completed in record time, and Ned is overjoyed - that is, until he inspects their workmanship, which turns out to be (at best) shoddy; for example, some of the floor is made of dirt as Moe remarks that they were out of tiled floor, so they painted the ground to make it look like tilewood floor, there is too much electricity in the living room, there is a lot of loose nails sticking out in the walls, the toilet is in the kitchen where Chief Wiggum tells Ned about lugging up a toilet up the stairs, the kids' bedroom has a crack in the wall with a scary clown poster which also scares Rod and that he does not like with Bart suggesting to not have the poster removed, and the door to the main bedroom is too small as Ned thinks that there is something wrong with the hallway and it is only the right size to accommodate a cat at best and even Barney is able to fit in the main bedroom with the small door and Ned tells Homer that he has seen enough. After this, the two leave the house, and when Homer asks how much Ned likes the house that love built, the building eventually collapses. Overwhelmed and nervous, Ned tries to clean his glasses, but they break and puts them back on.
However, Ned gets even more stressed and tries to calm himself down by reminding himself that the people did their best shoddily and tells himself that he has to be nice hostility, but unfortunately, his stress takes over his emotions as it is filled with rage which is about to be released as he is unable to control his emotions and as a result, he finally snaps. He angrily speaks his mind about everyone's efforts by screaming "AW HELL-DIDDILY-DING DONG CRAP! CAN'T YOU MORONS DO ANYTHING RIGHT?!", shocking the entire crowd. When certain members of the crowd speak out against him or catch his attention, Ned turns upon them and rants at them specifically: -
- Marge - Marge criticizes him, saying that they meant well and everyone did their best by having good intentions. Ned, however, states that this isn't as much, pointing out his family can't just live in "good intentions". He also points out that she never accepts the negative side of events because of her overly positive outlook since she has good intentions. His attitude causes Marge to cringe away from him in fear.
- Bart - Bart stands up for Marge and yells at Ned to back off after Ned ranted at Marge, causing Ned to turn his anger upon him for being the local trouble maker by calling him "Dude" and "Man" and using two of Bart's catchphrases in a mocking way, before stating that Bart better learn a new catchphrase for his adult years ("Hey buddy, got a quarter?"), effectively telling Bart that the way he is going he will end up as a beggar when he grows up, which shocks the entire crowd again. Bart is left shocked and appalled, which makes Bart cringe away from him in fear.
- Lisa - Lisa informs Ned that Bart hasn't done anything wrong after Ned ranted at Bart, Ned insults her for constantly butting in and forcing her opinions upon others when they do not ask for them, which makes her cringe away from him in fear.
- Chief Wiggum - Wiggum laughs when Ned insults Homer's family and ranted at them, causing Ned to turn upon his anger at him. Wiggling Wiggum's belly around, Ned cites his incompetence as a police officer by calling him "the long flabby arm of the law" and tells him that the last case he got the bottom of, was a case of Mallomars, which makes Wiggum cringe away from him in fear.
- Krusty - the clown is taking notes for his act when Ned insults Wiggum, causing Ned to note that he is the only person in Springfield that Ned does not find funny or make him laugh. Unlike everyone else, Krusty ignores him, believing that Ned doesn't appreciate humor as he is busy writing his notes for his act.
- Lenny - Ned just points at Lenny (who does not know him) and assumes he is just a jerk. Unlike everyone else (excluding Krusty), Lenny however, doesn't cringe away from him in fear, but becomes confused and confesses he has only been there a few minutes and had no idea about what was going on.
- Moe - Ned then targets Moe calling him an "ugly, hate-filled man" right to his face. Unlike everybody else (excluding Krusty and Lenny), Moe doesn't cringe away from him in fear, but he acts bravely and tries to stand up to Ned confessing that he may be ugly and hate-filled (which Ned had insulted him), but then his attempt falls short as he has forgotten what else Ned has said to him.
- Milhouse - Ned shouts at the boy for staring at him after he passes by Milhouse, causing Milhouse to timidly remark that Ned wears glasses too (as Ned called him four eyes) before he cringes away from him in fear. Note: this is a deleted scene, which is not featured in the main episode.
- Homer - Ned advances on his neighbor and friend, Homer, as everybody else nearby backs away from him fearfully. Homer stands timidly in front of the ruined house and smiles sheepishly as Ned glares hatefully at him. In a quiet, hate filled voice as opposed to his loud, hate filled voice to the other crowd members, Ned declares "Homer, you are the worst human being I have ever met." before leaving. With that, Homer happily says to himself, "Hey, I got off pretty easy." Unlike everybody else (excluding Krusty, Moe and Lenny), Homer isn't scared of Ned, but smiles and remarks that he "got off" pretty easy (possibly due to his low IQ, unlike Ned).
Ned then storms off and drives away as the townspeople of Springfield, including the rest of the Simpsons and his family except for Homer and Krusty stare after him in shock.
Fearing he has lost his mind and on the verge of a mental breakdown, Ned checks himself into the Calmwood Mental Hospital to seek therapy for help. There, a nurse who is shocked he is there, calls his childhood counselor Dr. Foster, who reminds Ned that – because his beatnik parents did not believe in discipline – he was a rambunctious, out-of-control child in need of psychiatric counseling. That therapy, called the University of Minnesota Spankalogical Protocol, involved eight months of continuous spanking. (There is a goof, however, since Dr. Foster says that the therapy happened around "30 years ago", but since Ned is now 60, he should have been around 30 at the time. Though likely that the writers and editors forgot that they made the "30 years" statement when they revealed Ned to be a 60 year old senior citizen.) Although it reformed Ned from his bratty behavior, it worked so well that it rendered him unable to express his anger at all and resulted in his trademark nonsensical jabbering at moments when he was particularly close to losing his temper. This caused Ned to unknowingly repress his anger, until it built up inside him and erupted in the form of his uncontrollable tirade of insults at the townspeople, including his neighbor, Homer.
Now having seen that his earlier therapy was inappropriate, Dr. Foster enlists Homer to help Ned learn to appropriately express his emotions, as Homer is the person who Flanders harbors the most resentful feelings towards just as much as Homer hates Ned. Homer arrives at Calmwood and Foster begins the therapy with several prewritten c
ards he wrote. After several flubbed tries Homer makes that results in failure and Ned retaining his nonsensical speech, a doctor assisting Foster suggests he try a new and unorthodox way to get Flanders to open up to his anger by letting Homer use his own approach. Dr. Foster is against testing it and wants to continue using his cards. The doctor convinces him to let Homer use his own approach when he noticed its failure. He believes that Flanders won't make any progress with the pre-written scripted cards Foster wrote unless they let him try it and help trigger the real source of Ned's anger. Homer takes this to heart and tries his own approach by claiming Ned is afraid to be human because humans hate things, but he likes everything. He disagrees and admits to Homer that he doesn't like everything. Ned mentions that he has been frustrated over the post office's lack of customer services all the time and ends it with admitting that he hates his beatnik parents for the lack of discipline he got from them over the years resulting in them turning to someone else to do it for them. Suddenly, he feels like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders and Dr. Foster eventually declares him cured.
Shortly thereafter, the newly cured Ned is finally released from Calmwood and the townspeople of Springfield, including the other the Simpsons and Ned's family greet him again, and Ned tells everyone, including Homer that he is better now and he will try harder at expressing his feelings and letting them realize when he is upset, such as when he is positivley hurt, "I'm gonna run you down with my car." as long as they will hear about it. Everything then returns to normal and Ned winks. Feeling a new sense of camaraderie with Ned, Homer calls him crazy and the men laugh.