Who Killed Frank Grimes?

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  • čas přidán 21. 03. 2024
  • There is certainly enough blame to go around!
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Komentáře • 1,3K

  • @TheRealJims
    @TheRealJims  Před měsícem +788

    This was originally an Extra Seconds review, but found myself bored writing about the nuts and bolts of why Homer's Enemy works. I feel like everyone intuitively understands that. So I switched to this more gimmicky approach. One of my favorite things about this episode is that it allows viewers to approach Grimes' situation from multiple angles, so I thought it would be fun to go over some of them.
    (Also, maybe I am just nostalgic for doing those "Who REALLY Shot Mr. Burns" videos.) 🤣

    • @JoeVington
      @JoeVington Před měsícem +4

      Ok

    • @giovanniorellana2200
      @giovanniorellana2200 Před měsícem +11

      Those series of videos are some of my favorites of yours

    • @neilhannan5112
      @neilhannan5112 Před měsícem +6

      If you were going to a video on the 2 part episode Who Short Mr Burns what would it be about a review or history behind the scenes the video that comes to mind is that of Eddache Video on the episode go watch for anyone interested in the foreshawing of who the shoter was

    • @kellerbailey4353
      @kellerbailey4353 Před měsícem +3

      Can we get a CB guy vid or a crazy cat lady vid? Great job on this one btw!

    • @motor4X4kombat
      @motor4X4kombat Před měsícem +5

      That a good choice since reviewing the greatness about this episode is like reviewing the greatness of star wars, or the godfather or even breaking bad. What can you and i can say that everyobe elae didn't said yet?

  • @DoobusGoobus
    @DoobusGoobus Před měsícem +1900

    I like the idea that everything EXCEPT homer is the cause of his death. The world treating him like garbage his whole life, burns giving him double standard treatment, the other plant workers shared apathy to his concerns with no one trying to help him in some form. Grimes misguided anger at homer instead of these people actually causing the problem. As well as the will of the writers not allowing a status quo change. Homer however, is the only person in the episode who even shows an interest in grimes feeling better on some level (and marge technically). Grimes is being effected by everything else in his life and yet blames the one person who wishes him no ill will. The only innocent in "homer's enemy" is homer. Its perfect irony.

    • @metl6929
      @metl6929 Před měsícem +151

      How can funni broccoli man have such deep thoughts of wisdom, I wonder

    • @sambarker7930
      @sambarker7930 Před měsícem +206

      I’d never noticed that before, but it makes perfect sense. The world hated Grimes, Homer was the only person who tried to earnestly like him and be friends with him (probably throughout his entire life)

    • @user-Tod-The-Toadster
      @user-Tod-The-Toadster Před měsícem +21

      Goobus Doobus, you're not who I expected to be here

    • @charleshaskell2056
      @charleshaskell2056 Před měsícem +8

      YOU

    • @i.hate.swedish.ISRAELUBERALLES
      @i.hate.swedish.ISRAELUBERALLES Před měsícem +19

      BROCCOLI GOBLIN IS HERE IN THIS TIME OF THE YEAR IN THIS PART OF THE CZcams

  • @MitchCyan
    @MitchCyan Před měsícem +1929

    Frank Grimes was a man in a cartoon who didn’t understand cartoon logic.

    • @leonconnelly5303
      @leonconnelly5303 Před měsícem +121

      You think he would've learnt about cartoon logic when the bird stole his diploma

    • @seanodonohue6727
      @seanodonohue6727 Před měsícem +56

      But ‘Man Getting Hit by Football’ has ‘Man Getting Hit by Football’

    • @leithaziz2716
      @leithaziz2716 Před měsícem +68

      While Grimes acted like a jerk for most of the episode and treated Homer as the scapegoat for his problems, I can't help but find his death and how its treated afterwards very unsettling.
      Obviously, Simpsons loved satirising America so it's not surprising (and it's not really a flaw) but the ending of the episode ended on a note that was the opposite of inspiring. Especially if you're watching this episode as someone in the younger generation who's studying to get a job. It is however an important message of not letting envy take control of your life.

    • @ToxicBastard
      @ToxicBastard Před měsícem +2

      Exactly this

    • @ZiggyMandarr
      @ZiggyMandarr Před měsícem +60

      He's the opposite of Chalmers. Chalmers sees how ridiculous the world around him is and just goes with it.

  • @emmaramirez4330
    @emmaramirez4330 Před měsícem +1535

    if Millhouse had been a harder working employee, Frank Grimes wouldn't have died

    • @emeraldfinder5
      @emeraldfinder5 Před měsícem +143

      the dud really ruined it

    • @bobkerr2755
      @bobkerr2755 Před měsícem +57

      You're both wrong, clearly a wizard did it

    • @Ned_Zeppelin_324
      @Ned_Zeppelin_324 Před měsícem +38

      At least he did better than his dad

    • @Thatmetalcloud3
      @Thatmetalcloud3 Před měsícem +41

      I agree, everything can and should be blamed on Thrillho!

    • @joebykaeby
      @joebykaeby Před měsícem +46

      What do you mean he didn't work hard enough? Milhouse was the watchman, and he watched the whole thing!

  • @troperhghar9898
    @troperhghar9898 Před měsícem +862

    Technically, burns is responsible because he allowed the extremely high voltage wires to just hang out without any cover
    An OHSA violation if nothing else

    • @GarkKahn
      @GarkKahn Před měsícem +47

      And also burns allowed most of homer's achievements despite being well... HOMER

    • @rco7195
      @rco7195 Před měsícem +60

      ​@@GarkKahn Mr Burns is barely aware of an employee by the name of Homer Simpson even existing 😂

    • @apocrypha5363
      @apocrypha5363 Před měsícem +92

      Homer is the safety inspector, he should have flagged that up.

    • @TheLobsterCopter5000
      @TheLobsterCopter5000 Před měsícem +4

      Ok, you win.

    • @BradTheThird
      @BradTheThird Před měsícem +18

      The cables were clearly marked, he should be more careful in the future.

  • @cubecat9493
    @cubecat9493 Před měsícem +98

    wasnt it the baby

    • @huskkkyy
      @huskkkyy Před 16 dny +2

      Close

    • @usermcskull4713
      @usermcskull4713 Před 2 dny +2

      i mean if maggie was never born, homer wouldn't have remained at the nuclear plant so you could argue kinda???

  • @ianfinrir8724
    @ianfinrir8724 Před měsícem +798

    When Homer realizes Frank doesn't like him, he backs off, stops trying to spend time with him. But Frank just had to keep pushing.

    • @chrisd2051
      @chrisd2051 Před měsícem +78

      Yeah Grimey as his friends called him wanted his cake and to eat it too

    • @SamBrickell
      @SamBrickell Před měsícem +72

      Exactly. I didn't feel bad for Grimes at all. He was an aggressive jerk.

    • @PharaohOfTheDamned
      @PharaohOfTheDamned Před měsícem +6

      Deadass

    • @D0NU75
      @D0NU75 Před měsícem +72

      Also Grimes wanted immediate gratification and praise while on a position he just acquired out of chance (even when he had a degree, he didn't even apply for the job) unlike Homer who has been there against his own interest and has been nothing but a drone to Burns.

    • @astralclub5964
      @astralclub5964 Před měsícem

      Good ole Grimey!

  • @tvbroken26
    @tvbroken26 Před měsícem +543

    Being a real person in a Simpsons episode is why the electric shock killed him, had it been any other character they wouldn't have died, just comically zapped.

    • @rco7195
      @rco7195 Před měsícem +10

      Very true

    • @dpray96
      @dpray96 Před měsícem +65

      Unless the VA dies or demands a raise. "After all, No one ever died from a T-shirt cannon." - Homer Simpson S26 Ep17

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem +5

      Wow. If they act like continuity doesn’t matter anymore, then why is Maude Flanders still dead? they could just as easily make the last 25 years of the show a bad dream.

    • @tvbroken26
      @tvbroken26 Před měsícem +12

      Lets be real, Maude was the realist character on the show lol @@Attmay

    • @tvbroken26
      @tvbroken26 Před měsícem

      There are a few characters that died, Dr. Monroe, bleeding gums and yes of course Maude but they were not self aware so in their ignorance of being cartoon characters whose to say they can't die? It's a will that characters bring onto themselves, also as stated from the creators this episode is very meta, and in Grimes realization of the insanity of his world brought him swift death as the curtain of his reality was pulled back. @@dpray96

  • @V00doo1Xim
    @V00doo1Xim Před měsícem +567

    Remember that Mr. Burns originally hired Frank Grimes to be his executive vice president. If only he hadn't seen that dog on TV.

    • @baetheistbaetheist2593
      @baetheistbaetheist2593 Před měsícem +37

      Ur on to something with this one!!!!!!!!

    • @cerdgold225
      @cerdgold225 Před měsícem +9

      I don't know, maybe if the dog had shifty eyes I'd agree with you...

    • @mikeydflyingtoaster
      @mikeydflyingtoaster Před měsícem +54

      @@baetheistbaetheist2593 It's clearly the dog's fault

    • @JVBDPaoli
      @JVBDPaoli Před měsícem +56

      @@mikeydflyingtoasterPeople whould have suspected this if the writers had shown the dog doing shifty eyes.

    • @mikeydflyingtoaster
      @mikeydflyingtoaster Před měsícem +18

      @@JVBDPaoli IKR!! Subtle clues like dark, foreboding music, a dramatic (sorry, I meant understated) zoom in to have the dog’s face fill the screen and then squinting its eyes and looking left and right gives the eagle-eyed viewers hints on exactly what to think

  • @harrisonlee9585
    @harrisonlee9585 Před měsícem +191

    I think a lot about Bill Oakley saying that Grimes' actual foil is Superintendent Chalmers, a man who understands and accepts that everyone around him is insane but does not question or confront it and is able to live in peace because of this.

    • @salfa_tina
      @salfa_tina Před měsícem +37

      That's because Chalmers found his hapiness on the mundane of a normal life. He's happy working an office 9 to 5 job, go back to his house and cook for his family (Shauna doesn't deserve him). But Grimes wanted everyone to praise him for being a hard worker and the ones that don't work hard to suffer. And he was SO wrong for that. Who wants to work hard for a dead end job anyways? Most people just want to do their job, no more or less, go home and just be happy.

    • @RubyBlueUwU
      @RubyBlueUwU Před měsícem +17

      Yeah I love that and I’ve been thinking about it since I saw the comment on therealjims video on him. If Grimey had just left it alone and accepted the insanity around him (which he would see, if he took the time, has never lead to a single incident despite the plant being open for an inconclusive number of decades) and gone with it he would be have died, if he’d just stuck with cartoonishly hating Homer while doing his job competently he could’ve ended up being the Chalmers to his Skinner or something. It makes you wonder, in Grimey’s world, how many of his tragedies stemmed from his inability to accept the cartoon logic universe he lives in - because most of those incidents, while miserable for him, were wacky as hell.

    • @frankielovejoy9928
      @frankielovejoy9928 Před měsícem +18

      ​@RubyBlueUwU In a weird way, I kind of feel for Grimes in this situation. It must he beyond frustrating to exist in a world that bends entirely around a specific family, and everyone else is just expected to go along with that. Grimes understandably doesn't want to be in that same state of casual contentment like Lenny and Carl. It's unfair, but at the same time, his frustration at the unfairness leads to him being unfair to others.
      And all because he refuses to accept that the cartoon world around him is inherently unfair because he's not Homer Simpson.

    • @TheFLAMEXD
      @TheFLAMEXD Před měsícem

      ​@@frankielovejoy9928Nah, screw Grimes.

    • @Umbra_Ursus
      @Umbra_Ursus Před měsícem +7

      Two spins of the same coin: Both are fairly normal men in a cartoon world, but one breaks against it, and the other more or less rolls with it.

  • @suarez9108
    @suarez9108 Před měsícem +529

    Why Homer Simpson did of course, it was his last words “I don't need safety gloves, because I'm Homer Simpso--"

    • @doggydude98
      @doggydude98 Před měsícem +123

      Well no. It was Homer Simpso then.

    • @ChrissaTodd
      @ChrissaTodd Před měsícem +27

      Well we never seen homer not use gloves
      and given he died from it no way has homer ever not used gloves in front of frank

    • @frankiemouse992
      @frankiemouse992 Před měsícem +30

      What kind of safety inspector would let there be unshielded high voltage wires? Homer Simpson

    • @TheSBleeder
      @TheSBleeder Před měsícem +13

      @@doggydude98Guy Incogni

    • @DianaGohan
      @DianaGohan Před měsícem +23

      Grimes said he was Homer Simpson earlier in his raving though and Homer said "no you're not". Thus implying how Grimes isn't unaffected by the out there illogic of the show that Homer is.

  • @user-jl7cz2pe6d
    @user-jl7cz2pe6d Před měsícem +356

    I just realized something. If the real Homer grabbed those wires like Grimey did, he likely would've survived and it would've been played as a joke.

    • @rootfish2671
      @rootfish2671 Před měsícem +22

      Like Batman he has plot armor

    • @connordarvall8482
      @connordarvall8482 Před měsícem +53

      So you DON'T need safety gloves if you're Homer Simpson.

    • @rootfish2671
      @rootfish2671 Před měsícem +4

      @@connordarvall8482 nope he is essentially has quantum immortality because no matter what he does something else with save him no matter what

    • @Joely7-vr7oh
      @Joely7-vr7oh Před měsícem +24

      Homer literally eats a uranium rod in the new intro sequence, and is fine!

    • @maskofthedragon
      @maskofthedragon Před měsícem +21

      Remember when Homer survived a van becoming so hot with radiation, it melted into the ground?
      That was a season 5 episode

  • @DryPsylocibin
    @DryPsylocibin Před měsícem +94

    "[He] refused to become a nameless background character, and paid the price for it."
    Man, what an incredible quote.

  • @jimmyz2684
    @jimmyz2684 Před měsícem +144

    My favourite part of this episode is how crucial the B plot is for the A plot.
    Normally, Bart is not a son that one would envy Homer for having. However, because Bart happened to be a factory owner at the same time Frank came over for dinner, it makes Homer’s life look perfect.
    What if the factory plot didn’t happen that week? Would it have humanized Homer and make Frank realize that Homer’s existence isn’t so perfect after all? Would Frank have survived?

    • @lurkingone7079
      @lurkingone7079 Před měsícem +17

      Imagine if part crashed or pranked the dinner. Or caused parts of the house to be shown to only hold together through duct tape and gum. Showing Grimes that the lobster and the "perfect" family were just a small facade put up

    • @KylerWulff
      @KylerWulff Před 19 dny +8

      I never even realized. I wonder how Bart being his usual troublemaker self would've changed things.

    • @lurkingone7079
      @lurkingone7079 Před 19 dny +8

      @@KylerWulff Either ignore it as he is already filled with hate or calm down "Oh guess his life isnt perfect/not as lucky"

    • @ceu160193
      @ceu160193 Před dnem

      @@lurkingone7079 He won't calm down, because even with Bart being a troublemaker, Homer still has other kids and Marge, while Frank has no one.

  • @alexandercolefield9523
    @alexandercolefield9523 Před měsícem +302

    I really like that you point out that Homer isn't being an asshole here. I actually tear up on rewatches on the observation that basically only Homer asks Grimes if he is ok, he actually does care about the man.

    • @mechakirby9576
      @mechakirby9576 Před měsícem +22

      ironically is the only thing that keeps the episode working and not falling into a "generic cruel joke of morden adult animation", if homes was the slightly mean the whole episode becomes into a sad fest.

    • @ChiefMedicPururu
      @ChiefMedicPururu Před měsícem +11

      @@mechakirby9576 Technically, Homer is mean for a bit, but not because he meant it.

    • @mechakirby9576
      @mechakirby9576 Před měsícem +10

      @@ChiefMedicPururu this is pretty soft even in season 8 standars. Like jim said homer is a giant teddy bear after the pencils scene

    • @GeteMachine
      @GeteMachine Před měsícem +15

      Its actually a lot better because Homer isn't portrayed to be a jerkass at all in this episode, which is why the contrast works and you don't blame Homer for what happened. Homer didn't do anything but just be himself (when he is likable) but Grimes couldn't understand how he was just how he is.

    • @ChiefMedicPururu
      @ChiefMedicPururu Před měsícem +5

      @@GeteMachine Yet I have seen people say that this was the birth of Jerkass Homer. Funny how they weren't paying attention.

  • @dnightwalker
    @dnightwalker Před měsícem +46

    And eventually they found out that Grimes was killed by oh... lets say... Moe

  • @BuddhaBot
    @BuddhaBot Před měsícem +159

    I blame whoever owns both bowling alleys.

    • @apocrypha5363
      @apocrypha5363 Před měsícem +7

      Yeah, I guess he was too tired to think clearly and to keep his anger in check...
      In reality, that's another vote for (our current version of) capitalism being to blame.
      In a sane world, we would provide for hardworking survivors of childhood medical trauma so that they didn't have to live in a comically terrible apartment.

    • @karrihart1
      @karrihart1 Před měsícem +9

      In a late '90s economy, how was it that Grimey could only afford to live between two bowling alleys? He would've been making the same salary as Homer or close to it.

    • @apocrypha5363
      @apocrypha5363 Před měsícem +16

      @@karrihart1 medical expenses? He's been recovering from that explosion for years, and might still have costs associated with it on top of his student debts.
      Plus, he has no workplace experience because of that recovery, so would have had a less attractive CV and no interview skills.
      Burns dumped him in 7G as an afterthought, so probably wasn't paying him much, and he would have struggled to compete against other people with the same degree, had he looked for other jobs elsewhere.

    • @jonathanroberts9502
      @jonathanroberts9502 Před měsícem

      And he happened to like hookers.

    • @BullockDS
      @BullockDS Před 14 dny

      @@karrihart1 He happened to like hookers, okay!?!

  • @pickyphysicsstudent201
    @pickyphysicsstudent201 Před měsícem +110

    Maybe the high voltage electric wires shouldn't have been out in the open, with no shielding or protective insulation. This is not the reactor or cooling tower. It's a random corridor.

    • @schwarzerritter5724
      @schwarzerritter5724 Před měsícem +34

      There was also a beaker with acid in the lunch room.
      Someone should talk with the safety inspector about that! ...ohhhhh

    • @fandude666
      @fandude666 Před měsícem +13

      I feel Homer also envy Grimes at times. He lives between two bowling alleys, something that was Homer's dream job.

    • @Wolfstarzan
      @Wolfstarzan Před měsícem +5

      It's Homer's fault. His job is security inspector in sector 7B.

  • @RedFloyd469
    @RedFloyd469 Před měsícem +177

    I'd say it's simply "all of the above".
    That's the beauty of the episode. The tragic, dark, but very funny beauty. Frank Grimes was just another unlucky but ambitious guy in a horrible world filled with stupid/horrible people who finally snapped after meeting the luckiest/laziest/dumbest individual in said world, and all of it was probably a meta-joke about cartoon logic.
    So yeah, to reduce the perpetrator to one particular aspect of the simpsons world as a whole is, in my opinion, quite silly in general. It's just that springfield, and the show's world in general, by realistic logic, is hell.

    • @mightyfilm
      @mightyfilm Před měsícem +16

      The thing that really sells it is that Homer was the only one that wanted to be Frank's friend and didn't see anything wrong. Sure, Burns felt bad enough for him and took him in as an employee, probably the least amount of struggle for employment Frank ever had. Other than that, everyone else antagonized him for NOT getting Homer. And as I've always said about the Simpsons, they're somehow always the underdog despite the fact Homer should be a town hero (inconsistently he either is or isn't). That said, I wonder how this would have played out in an episode where the town HATES the Simpsons, and if Frank would have become the town hero for calling Homer out.

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem +7

      A year later, Homer proved Frank Grimes was right when they had to move Springfield because of him and what he did as garbage commissioner after his successful smear campaign against Ray Patterson. Steve Martin seriously did a good job of being the straight man to Homer in that episode.

    • @osmanyousif7849
      @osmanyousif7849 Před měsícem +7

      What people fail to grasp at too is also what "Homer's Enemy" was trying to teach audiences.
      You see, around the late 1980s, several sitcoms were being released where unlike how they usually are tight-knit, moderate, and had all their characters almost perfect people, who solved whatever flaws they had through their friends/family, The Simpsons was sort of a satire on those tropes. As a lot of the characters, including Homer Simpson himself are ignorant, inconsiderate, reckless, self-centered, and even come off as jerks sometimes. Yet, for some reason, audiences ignored this as we couldn't help but laugh when these characters commit or get involved in such absurd shenanigans they were in.
      I'd argue that this comes down to that 4th wall barrier the creators unintentionally created. A type of dissonance between what we're seeing and how we respond to it. An invisible handshake that lets us know that we can laugh all we want at the the characters on the Simpsons do, but should never attempt to emulate that in real life. Because in real life, Homer Simpson would literally be a nightmare to be around. As no matter how many times he seems like an all-around happy dude, any man who drinks excessively at his job, acts very neglectful, reckless and inconsiderate of his duties, caused a whole lot of collateral damage (even if some of it was by accident), and commits several acts of child abuse in each episode, would probably have nobody liking him. But of course, that wouldn't make for an entertaining show.
      Therefore, some audiences know when to hold their suspension of disbeliefs for some laughs. But ONLY SOME....as others may not get this memo. Others may be laughing to hard, even take what they're seeing to seriously wish to be like one of those characters. Heck, I saw this show as a teen and laughed a little too hard when I see Bart being strangle, but my parents scolded me, saying that if I saw them doing that one of my siblings, would I be laughing?
      But with “Homer’s Enemy”, I feel like the creators made this episode to be a response to that dissonance. To remind those who are laughing that in the end, that Homer is pretty awful and that we should never be identifying with him. The writer of the episode even stated, "What if a real life, normal person had to enter Homer's universe and deal with him? And in real life, being Homer Simpson could be really dangerous and life threatening, as Frank Grimes sadly learned.". That scene of Frank flipping out when Homer won that contest, chastising everyone for applauding for him says it all. Frank is literally the creators asking the audience, "What's wrong with you people? Stop comparing yourselves to these characters on this show.".

    • @BullockDS
      @BullockDS Před 14 dny

      Springfield is only Hell if you refuse to adapt to it. With how Lisa became more and more of a shallow writers' mouthpiece character, being heavily detached from the lunacy and stupidity of Springfield, I'd argue that she's just One Bad Day away from becoming a Frank Grimes herself.
      tl;dr: git gud at Springfield Souls

    • @mightyfilm
      @mightyfilm Před 14 dny

      @@BullockDS Lisa does have a shitty side. i just takes quite a bit to get it out. She may be smarter and more sophisticated than her brother, but she can be just as bad as he is if given the opportunity.

  • @prageruwu69
    @prageruwu69 Před měsícem +192

    that's right. the REAL killer of frank grimes was....marge simpson. *cue simpsons mysteries intro music*

    • @apocrypha5363
      @apocrypha5363 Před měsícem +31

      He died of a delayed allergic reaction to the lobster Marge cooked, coincidentally a microsecond before he's about to touch the wires, which his body slumps onto.
      (I actually can't remember if he ate any lobster, I think he might have stormed off before dinner... Maybe he was so allergic that the smell was enough...)

    • @prageruwu69
      @prageruwu69 Před měsícem +8

      ​​@@apocrypha5363you might be onto something!

    • @redjirachi1
      @redjirachi1 Před měsícem +3

      TheRealJims really walked into that one

  • @devinpaul9026
    @devinpaul9026 Před měsícem +217

    A line from Tommy Boy occurs here; "Son, you strike me as a smug, unhappy little man, and you treat people like they were idiots."

    • @GribbleGob
      @GribbleGob Před měsícem +14

      based Tommy Boy quote in the wild

    • @devinpaul9026
      @devinpaul9026 Před měsícem +5

      @@GribbleGob Athankya.

    • @Gojiro7
      @Gojiro7 Před měsícem +6

      thats deep and very on point.....especially because everyone on the simpsons are idiots so its kinda hard to not have that viewpoint XD

    • @devinpaul9026
      @devinpaul9026 Před měsícem +2

      @@Gojiro7 And yet their world mostly functions unless somehow required not to.

    • @schizzo8959
      @schizzo8959 Před 7 dny

      @@GribbleGob Boo!

  • @Mechadondada
    @Mechadondada Před měsícem +52

    Maybe blame the engineer who builds rooms with easy access to deadly high voltage death cables.

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem +5

      They have already violated safety codes before, what’s one more?

    • @Mechadondada
      @Mechadondada Před měsícem +1

      @@Attmay That’s a vast understatement.

    • @Eidlones
      @Eidlones Před měsícem +6

      They put a sign up warning people, what more do you want?

  • @TheSBleeder
    @TheSBleeder Před měsícem +86

    I blame the canine Executive Vice President.
    Had he not pulled a child out of the path of a moving vehicle and pushed a criminal in front of it, Frank Grimes would have been Executive Vice President and would likely not have had to interact with Homer.

    • @ssj2_snake
      @ssj2_snake Před měsícem +1

      This is what I came to post. The real truth.

    • @DerekPower
      @DerekPower Před měsícem +10

      So ... "Homer's Enemy" is just the "trolley problem" played out for twenty-two minutes? =D

    • @Alex-ju3xr
      @Alex-ju3xr Před měsícem +13

      If Grimey got the EVP job, he most likely would have fired Homer within his first few days as EVP due to being useless, but due to the cartoon logic Homer would somehow get rehired to the plant. Grimey would fire him again and Homer would get rehired again for an even more ludicrous reason, maybe even with a fat promotion to boot. Rinse and repeat until poor ol' Grimey loses his mind and electrocutes himself on EXTREMELY high voltage.

    • @DerekPower
      @DerekPower Před měsícem +2

      @@Alex-ju3xr You cannot escape your fate

    • @fixedfunshow
      @fixedfunshow Před měsícem

      @@Alex-ju3xr It came to a point where Homer would just say stuff like "I got fired from Footlocker" implying we should know by now he just gets fired every episode.

  • @hd_inmemoriam
    @hd_inmemoriam Před měsícem +68

    Can we talk about how Clancy and Sarah Wiggum, while both present at the plant model building contest, don't seem to be sitting next to each other? I'm wondering what's the story there.

    • @DD-qo1tw
      @DD-qo1tw Před měsícem +9

      Trouble in paradise.

    • @OperationzMedia
      @OperationzMedia Před měsícem

      Laughs in moe ​@@DD-qo1tw

    • @stm7810
      @stm7810 Před měsícem +10

      getting photos of Ralph on stage from different views since they both love their son.

    • @annevogel2121
      @annevogel2121 Před měsícem +5

      Yeah, I thought it was strange that you could see Sarah in the audience but not Clancy. Was he doing side work as security at the door, or was he a ghost? Or just a simple animation whoopsie

    • @rawkguy4896
      @rawkguy4896 Před 4 dny +1

      ​@@stm7810 Aww that's honestly really cute and in line with their characters

  • @user-tx9id2hp9y
    @user-tx9id2hp9y Před měsícem +18

    Hey. I have noticed an easter egg I never heard anyone talk of. When Homer first meets Marge in a flashback episode, the walls in the room turn from grey into pink. Homer is still with Marge and the world around him, his house and his car - are all full of pink and purple colors. That refers to the fact that Marge turns Homers life into a fairy tale. Makes it brighter.
    Maybe you should make a video about some other easter eggs.

  • @PsychoSavager289
    @PsychoSavager289 Před měsícem +63

    As someone who has worked in a scientific setting where nobody else cared about health and safety, I do sympathesize with Grimes more now.

    • @skaldlouiscyphre2453
      @skaldlouiscyphre2453 Před měsícem +12

      Are they hiring?
      Also, are you able to cover for me? I'm kinda busy tomorrow.

    • @TheFLAMEXD
      @TheFLAMEXD Před měsícem

      Why would you ever sympathise with Grimes? He's an entitled, self-absorbed schmuck.

    • @rawkguy4896
      @rawkguy4896 Před 4 dny +1

      I'm gonna eat your special name stamped lunch

  • @apocrypha5363
    @apocrypha5363 Před měsícem +155

    This just reminds me of your Who Shot Mr Burns series and how you somehow missed the most obvious candidate: Mr Snrub.
    For those who don't recall, Mr Snrub is the name of a minor character in the Simpsons who appeared only once, in one scene in Marge Vs The Monorail. We know relatively little about him, just that he comes from 'someplace far away,' that he has a luxurious mustache, but otherwise looks coincidentally very similar to Mr Burns, and that he values the nuclear power plant immensely, to the point where he wanted the town's money to be invested in the plant.
    But why am I saying that the mild-mannered Snrub is the true shooter in Who Shot Mr Burns?
    Well, think about it: he's someone who's looks nearly identical to Burns, so when Burns acted so terribly that the whole town wanted to kill him, then Snrub would be in danger too! Snrub could be killed due to a case of mistaken identity. He might have wanted to kill Burns to either eliminate that possibility (as soon as Burns is publicly known to be dead, then no one is hunting him and so no one is shooting at people like Snrub, who happen to look like Burns,) or as revenge for Burns's actions having endangered his life in this way.
    Or he could be doing this as revenge for how Burns's actions have affected Smingers, who we know sees eye to eye with Snrub and has helped Snrub in the past.
    Alternatively, he may be disgusted that the nuclear plant that he clearly loved so much, was being run by a tyrant.
    He fits the sundial clue left by Burns, because his name starts with MS, (we don't know his first name, but if we assume that Mr Snrub is what he's known as, then it fits. And for all we know his first name begins with M. His name could be Mailliw Snrub, or Mada Snrub, or any of the other common boys names starting with M).
    He's around about the same age as Burns, so he's likely close enough in strength with Burns for a fight between the two of them to be a struggle, rather than just a cakewalk; explaining the sounds of struggle we hear between Burns and his assailant.
    And as for why Burns chose not to accuse him, and to accuse Maggie Simpson instead..? Possibly because Burns wanted to keep Snrub around, so that he could use Snrub as a patsy for one of his own crimes in the future.
    As an evil billionaire, Burns has a ton of uses for a doppleganger, Snrub could be a walking get out of jail free card for Burns. Since if Burns was caught doing another crime in the future, with eye-witnesses or on CCTV, he could insist that it was actually Snrub who did it... But he can't make that accusation if Snrub's already in jail.

    • @scrittle
      @scrittle Před měsícem +15

      You know, I never really considered Mr Snrub because he was a one-hit wonder. However in this episode, Mr Burns isn't acting like his Capitalistic self and behaves like somebody unfamiliar with the CEO position. With that idea alone, I'm willing to believe Mr Snrub and Grimes were responsible for Grimes' death.

    • @ToxicBastard
      @ToxicBastard Před měsícem +11

      *We're through the looking glass here.*

    • @apocrypha5363
      @apocrypha5363 Před měsícem +16

      @@ToxicBastard I think Mr Snrub lives next door to Guy Incognito... I'm not sure though...

    • @Joseph_Drew_III
      @Joseph_Drew_III Před měsícem +10

      @apocrypha5363 Yeah, across the street from Lester and Eliza.

    • @prageruwu69
      @prageruwu69 Před měsícem +3

      you genius

  • @someperson361
    @someperson361 Před měsícem +37

    Burns killed him, in revenge for shooting him in Who Shot Mr. Burns

    • @prageruwu69
      @prageruwu69 Před měsícem +8

      the gun had simpson dna because frank grimes let his hatred of homer simpson consume him to the point he manifested his dna

    • @rawkguy4896
      @rawkguy4896 Před 4 dny +1

      ​@@prageruwu69 When Grimes met Homer he took everything from him, including DNA

  • @Sh0tgunJust1ce
    @Sh0tgunJust1ce Před měsícem +71

    I think what killed Frank Grimes was ultimately a severe personality clash with Homer. Homer is everything Grimes isn't, and Grimes is everything Homer isn't. Putting them together in a situation for an extended period of time is bound to end in disaster. Grimes felt invalidated his own life, whilst through the entire episode, Homer was validated. He felt like the loser in life and broke down, unable to bear it.
    As for who's to blame, honestly, I think it's one of those situations where you can't just put the majority of the blame on one person. It's just a bad situation with everything working against Grimes. If anything, I kind of consider Lenny and Carl to kind of be the heroes of the episode, trying to teach Frank to let it roll off him, and he ultimately can't.

    • @shorewall
      @shorewall Před měsícem +6

      Grimes should have quit before going crazy. That's something people need to learn. Don't let your job or others break you. Make a change before that happens.

    • @Sh0tgunJust1ce
      @Sh0tgunJust1ce Před měsícem +14

      @@shorewall Couple of reasons why Frank didn't quit:
      1: There wasn't anywhere else for him to really go except be stuck in even worse jobs. It was only by chance that Burns saw that segment and got him a high-paying position there.
      2: Frank was too proud to quit. That's probably one of the things that did him in.,

    • @Hammerhead547
      @Hammerhead547 Před měsícem +10

      Frank was also an obsessive perfectionist who thought that he could waltz into an established situation and completely change everyone and everything to his unreasonable (bordering on irrational) expectations of "perfection".
      Those irrational and unreasonable demands not being met are what ultimately drove frank into first enacting a spectacularly childish revenge fantasy out of pure envy, and then ultimately pushed him over the edge when he was finally met with the sort of resistance too his hubris and arrogant attempts at bullying others that he wasn't used too.
      This episode did one important thing for homer:
      It established that while he's not especially intellectually gifted in terms of practical intelligence he does possess more than enough emotional intelligence to understand what is going on around him, realize how lucky he is and most importantly: understand that what he needs to do when he's at work is get along with his co-workers/management, not cause too many problems (when the story doesn't require him to be a problem for others) and be competent enough at his job (when the story doesn't require him to be stupid and inept) that he keeps things running smoothly and they'll forgive him when he makes mistakes because they all know that deep down he does mean well in everything he does.

    • @osmanyousif7849
      @osmanyousif7849 Před měsícem +4

      Frank Grimes’s death kind of reminds me of how another show a year before this episode aired did a similar action. For those who remember the show Seinfeld, that episode being “The Invitations”, where George and Susan we’re supposed to get married in that episode, but George, being the coward, he is decides he doesn’t want to be with her anymore, but doesn’t want to tell her no. Therefore finding any excuse that he can make to stall the wedding or make Susan be the one who decides not to marry him. Not to spoil the episodes ending, but, from what I read, it was one of the few episodes where audiences turned on George, for what he did to her in the end. As Susan was a pretty innocent woman, who was so different than what the four leads in the show were like, and really did nothing to deserve what was happening to her.

  • @theviper1999uk
    @theviper1999uk Před měsícem +33

    Hands down, this is the best video essay on 'Homer's Enemy' I've seen. Having it be a mystery like this forces you to approach the story from a totally different angle. Super meta, but totally highlights just how much depth is in this episode ❤

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem

      What’s the second best one?

    • @Sorcerers_Apprentice
      @Sorcerers_Apprentice Před měsícem +1

      @@Attmay I like Renegade Cut's analysis of the episode, even if I don't completely agree with his assessment of Mr. Burns. Mr. Burns is not some greedy capitalist manipulating everything, he's a perfect representation of 'free market capitalism', with its completely arbitrary, random, chaotic nature in who succeeds at getting what they want and is happy vs. who fails and struggles all their lives, even if they did everything they thought was right.

    • @bullmonty764
      @bullmonty764 Před měsícem

      I hear you, but EmpLemon’s video essay was really good too

  • @chad9186
    @chad9186 Před měsícem +21

    If Frank Grimes stayed alive, he would've been the leader of the mob in the movie telling Lenny and Carl " I told you guys about Homer "

  • @Paper_Abyss_Comics
    @Paper_Abyss_Comics Před měsícem +21

    Martin is to blame, he was providing too much power to the building.

  • @kalkuttadrop6371
    @kalkuttadrop6371 Před měsícem +27

    You COULD view Kent and Burns as two sides of the same coin, societal indifference and short attention span leaving people like Grimes to rot. Even when they do showcase the problem, it’s never a lasting change, just a token effort that at best just brings short term improvement. Kent does one showcase on the troubles of Grimes and then moves on to cute animals. Mr. Burns takes one moment to think about Grimes, but forgets and gets distracts immediately for something else, landing him in yet another dead end working job instead of the VP role that could have pulled him out. Lenny and Carl also fit into this.
    Really, this would make Homer the tragic good guy of the situation. He’s the one person who’s trying to connect and isn’t just moving on, but he’s the wrong person for the job and it’s the worst possible time

    • @rootfish2671
      @rootfish2671 Před měsícem +3

      They don’t see Grimes as a person but a concept of a self made man which Kent exploits for a fluff piece and Mr. Burns sees as a exciting new toy to play with

    • @kalkuttadrop6371
      @kalkuttadrop6371 Před 4 dny +1

      @@rootfish2671 Exactly. Lenny and Carl aren't THAT bad, but they still basically do nothing to help him.
      Homer is the one person trying to help Grimes. It's just...he's Homer Simpson. He is the one person who shouldn't.

  • @SoAd45474
    @SoAd45474 Před měsícem +14

    That "Never Ever" video on this episode is so good

  • @rco7195
    @rco7195 Před měsícem +17

    I never really thought about Lenny and Carl's role in this episode but it really does make a lot of sense

  • @cousinted
    @cousinted Před měsícem +52

    The way I look at it is that Frank Grimes' downfall was the result of a man whose entire understanding of reality was based off of the Just-World Hypothesis being put into a situation that refuses to conform to those expectations. Ever since the earliest episodes, The Simpsons has always kind of built off the idea that every institution in modern society is run by the apathetic and incompetent. So many episodes leading up to Homer's Enemy have featured Homer in roles where he's thrust into positions of power that he's neither qualified for nor wants by outside forces who have no idea what they're doing. In so many respects the plot of the show is built around this idea that, at the societal level, competence doesn't at all translate to success - No one has any idea of what they're doing and the worst person for the job is often appointed to that job.
    Then you have Frank Grimes, who's a guy who is constantly being randomly dumped on by the universe through absolutely no fault of the decisions he's made. Random misfortune is just thrust on him at random. But the idea that we live in a world where our fates are ultimately out of our control is for a lot of people a prospect that is too unpleasant and existentially horrifying to handle, which is where the Just World Hypothesis falls into this.
    In simple terms, The Just World Hypothesis amounts to "People get what they deserve" - If you perform the "Correct" actions and make the "Right" choices in life it will lead to success, and this is definitely the guiding principle of Grimes as a character. He works hard and expects to be rewarded for it...And then he comes to Springfield and is confronted by the random absurdity of the reality he inhabits. He meets Homer, a man who is grossly incompetent at not just his job, but most aspects of life in general and, in spite of all of these failings, Homer is much more successful than Grimes. Worse yet, every attempt Grimes makes to get the system, nay the very world itself, to conform to his worldview and punish Homer for his incompetence fails in spectacular fashion.
    And so Grimes is confronted with an existential crisis, where he's confronted with the hard truth that reality doesn't conform to the order he's tried to impose on it, that life in fact may just be a bunch of random stuff that happens without any coherent system guiding one's actions. And this knowledge destroys him.
    It was not Homer, or Lenny and Carl, or Mr. Burns or even Grimes himself who killed Grimes, it was a man's inability to grapple with existentialist philosophy.

    • @Cheeseanonioncrisps
      @Cheeseanonioncrisps Před měsícem +13

      The thing that sells it as being the writers' fault for me is the unquestionable fact that, if *any* other power plant worker had touched those wires, they would have been fine.
      Homer has been electrocuted hundreds of times. Burns canonically has every disease that ever existed and glows in the dark due to how much radiation is in his body. Every plant worker has survived at least one meltdown, and safety standards at the plant are so low that radioactive material drips from the ceilings.
      There are multiple people and events who can be potentially blamed for Grimes touching the wires, but the reason he died is because he wasn't a Simpsons character.

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem +3

      That expectation of incompetence is one of the themes of *Garfield* in its early years and during the years Film Roman animated the TV cartoons.

    • @vaiyt
      @vaiyt Před měsícem +11

      This is the winner.
      Grimes is more than a "normal" person in an "abnormal" world - he's a representation of american meritocracy and protestant work ethic thrown into a world designed to mock those very ideas.

    • @tophatgeo
      @tophatgeo Před měsícem +4

      "Grimes refusing to adjust his philosophy about how life and the universe works" isn't an answer I expected to see 😂

    • @ninjalectualx
      @ninjalectualx Před měsícem +3

      Knowledge killed him. That's why I refuse to learn anything

  • @malikahcoleman3303
    @malikahcoleman3303 Před měsícem +20

    To be fair, if Grimes was someone who was wholly logical and believe in hard work, then he would have left the job. We don’t expect this from Homer because…it’s Homer. He would have moved on to another town rather than stay and make it a problem.
    So yeah, he kind of orchestrated his own downfall

  • @Rubberman202
    @Rubberman202 Před měsícem +10

    Supposedly, Franky Grimes is what happens when a "normal person" enters the world of The Simpsons, even though Grimes is far from a normal person, since his backstory has him essentially falling out of the frying pan and into the fire, while at the same time working ridiculously hard just to get by (as well as pay off the occasional hooker, as revealed later on). Really, it's his hang-ups about Homer getting undeserved praise and recognition by the equally stupid people around him that ended up being his undoing. He figured Homer is the exception to the rule, a quirk in the system, and once he reveals Homer's incompetence to the world, everything will go back to the way it's "supposed" to be, not realizing that the world of The Simpsons is set up so that people like Homer will benefit more often than not. It kind of sucks for Homer, though, since while he's insensitively oblivious in this episode, he's not a jerk, and is nothing but friendly to Grimes, but the fact that Grimes looks down on Homer's oafish stupidity and expects everyone else to as well is what really sets him off on a downward spiral towards his death. Still, the fact that Homer steals the spotlight from Grimes's own funeral as he's lowered into his grave, like damn, what a dark, cruel joke to end on. That's probably why Homer's Enemy is such a fan favorite, dissecting the character of Frank Grimes is fun and fascinating, and I appreciate that the writers had the audacity to go to such a dark ending.

    • @Sorcerers_Apprentice
      @Sorcerers_Apprentice Před měsícem +1

      Was Grimes really a "normal person"? Most normal people don't have both their parents abandon them at age four, work to support themselves before the age of ten and still manage to complete their schooling by correspondence. He's really more like the anti-Homer, a parody of the myth of the rugged individualist. Most normal people are raised by parents or taken in by relatives if their parents can't care for them until at least their early 20s and hopefully maintain contact with them into adulthood (as long as they're not abusive). It's extremely difficult to finish college or university without any kind of support, the number one reason people drop out of college is financial problems.

    • @Rubberman202
      @Rubberman202 Před měsícem +4

      @@Sorcerers_ApprenticeThat's what I'm saying, it's weird to see a Simpsons writer describe this episode as "a normal person reacting to the world of The Simpsons" when Frank Grimes clearly is not a normal person.

  • @DBArtsCreators
    @DBArtsCreators Před měsícem +18

    Personally, I blame Milhouse. Because no one likes Milhouse.
    If Frank wasn't making a satire of the satire though, perhaps he would have survived the electrocution. He wouldn't be the first Simpsons character to have suffered a crazy strong shock and not die after all. Perhaps it's like the underwater fire scene from Spongebob - once you call attention to the lack of logic, logic starts up like a kick to the head.

  • @rusty2322
    @rusty2322 Před měsícem +87

    I'm going with Grimes himself. When Homer actually made an attempt to improve himself and take his job seriously, Grimes shot down his attempt and prioritized his hatred.

    • @DasNordlicht91
      @DasNordlicht91 Před měsícem +22

      He also took Homer's actions a bit way too personally, even though he wasn't really acting out of malice, just in his usual "acting without thinking" phase.

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem +15

      Frank hates Homer, but Homer doesn’t hate him. It’s a one-sided resentment based on having to struggle for everything in life and taking it out on him when by all right, Homer should be on Skid Row, and anyone else who made this many bad life choices would be.

    • @oshkeet
      @oshkeet Před měsícem +5

      @@AttmayThe kicker is rather than Frank confronting or dealing with the things directly affecting his quality of life (Why doesn't he have a low opinion of Burns/Lenny/Carl/etc.?) he's caught up on being envious on someone with zero power over his life.

  • @tottallyok
    @tottallyok Před měsícem +18

    I’ve always seen it as a meta-episode. It’s fun to analyze and re-interpret scripts to get more out of them. But at the end of the day, it’s a show created by a fun, self-aware writers room who definitely had a kick out of putting a more “realistic” character in their cartoon.

    • @tottallyok
      @tottallyok Před měsícem +4

      *well, realistic in terms of his reaction to Homer. His cartoonishly sad backstory is a different story.

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem +3

      To think that in less than five years, it would all turn to shit.

    • @jr2904
      @jr2904 Před měsícem +2

      ​@@Attmay the great writers lost their touch or moved on to other things. I still can't believe me and the Simpsons have been around for 35 years now lol

  • @TheLobsterCopter5000
    @TheLobsterCopter5000 Před měsícem +56

    I've always considered Grimey to be the author of his own demise. He saw other people were happy and just couldn't allow for that to be the case. He believed that because he was wronged by society, that everyone else should pay, and suffer the way he has. How dare Homer have a good life. How dare other people not experience misfortune like he has. He's the guy who, upon learning that other people have it better than him, doesn't demand better treatment for himself, but demands worse treatment for everyone else. So when his schemes and plans to make Homer suffer don't work, he can't accept that the world doesn't work the way he wants it to, and goes crazy.

    • @shorewall
      @shorewall Před měsícem +13

      Yeah, it is a villain style reaction. "The world should know my pain!"

    • @rootfish2671
      @rootfish2671 Před měsícem +11

      It was like an episode of Tales from the Crypt where the antagonist meets a gruesome ironic death due to their own actions

  • @edfreak9001
    @edfreak9001 Před měsícem +34

    as far as my take on the culprit I think I land somewhere in the middle of your last two theories.
    I have no doubt you've heard of it too but I remember hearing through the grapevine that a character like Chalmers can see the riduculous nature of the show and world around him, not in a Deadpool way but just as a general "This is a normal dude in a wacky cartoon" sort of way. But the difference between Grimey and our beloved Super Nintendo is that Chalmers grumbles and just tries his best to deal with it or roll with it otherwise.
    I don't think that's really a deep seeded concept of the character, but the general idea of such an observation makes enough sense. Grimes is just what is likely to happen if Chalmers starts really challenging the ridiculous nature of Springfield and trying to force it to make sense.

    • @shorewall
      @shorewall Před měsícem +4

      If I think everyone else is crazy, maybe I'm the one who's crazy. And on a cartoon show with cartoon logic, Grimes was indeed the crazy one. We can pity him, but he didn't fit in, and didn't want to fit in. But he could not change the world around him.
      There is a quote that goes like, when I was young, I wanted to change the world. Then I got older and just wanted to change my country. Then I got older and just wanted to change my town, or family. And as I lay on my deathbed, I realized, that I should have started by changing myself. Then I could have changed my family, and with their help I could have changed my town, etc. And in the end, I might have even changed the world.
      Grimes should have realized that he was the one who needed to change, in order to fit in and find happiness. Springfield is a fun house mirror of the real world. It satirizes aspects of our daily life, but it is far from realistic. Grimes had a realistic worldview, but that doesn't work in an unrealistic cartoon world.

  • @jankreft6753
    @jankreft6753 Před měsícem +11

    It's the bumblebee-man's fault.

  • @KatamariParty
    @KatamariParty Před měsícem +8

    All I know is that Frank has been haunting the series since his passing. His grave in particular. I love seeing all of the Easter eggs referencing one of my favorite one-time characters. He was even in hell on the 750th episode.

  • @superdude4383
    @superdude4383 Před měsícem +12

    We all did, RealJims, we all killed Frank Grimes

    • @elitefencer777
      @elitefencer777 Před měsícem +3

      Honestly? This is how I interpret the "Lenny and Carl" theory. They're the specific people around Homer, but really they're as much a stand-in for the apathetic everyman.

    • @superdude4383
      @superdude4383 Před měsícem +1

      ​@@elitefencer777 If we're all being honest, I made my comment as a joke before the video barely started, but now that I've gotten through that part, I actually accidentally made a good point! XD

    • @ashtonndlovu9470
      @ashtonndlovu9470 Před 8 dny +1

      ​@@superdude4383Literally a Homer Simpson moment 🤣

    • @superdude4383
      @superdude4383 Před 8 dny

      @@ashtonndlovu9470 I am so smart! Smarty smart smart, S-M-R-T, I mean, S-M-A-R-T

  • @metl6929
    @metl6929 Před měsícem +32

    The thing that really gets me about this episode is the final funeral scene. Reverend Lovejoy calling him "Grimey" and everyone laughing at Homer feels like the final insult to Frank's miserable life. Not even at his own funeral does he get respect.
    Frank Grimes may have caused his own downfall, but the world did nothing to prevent it.

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem +6

      Nor did they do anything to prevent the terrible sequel episode.

    • @FireRising86
      @FireRising86 Před měsícem +1

      @@AttmayUgh don’t remind me

    • @Hammerhead547
      @Hammerhead547 Před měsícem +4

      That's the thing about people like frank grimes.
      They always think that they're "highly respected" by everyone around them, but what they don't realize is that everyone shit talks and makes fun of them when they're not around.

  • @daniexists6
    @daniexists6 Před měsícem +5

    I think what inevitably killed Frank Grimes was that he was a grounded, season 1 style character in a season 8 Schwatzwelder episode.

    • @usermcskull4713
      @usermcskull4713 Před 2 dny

      If it was season 1, Grimes would probably get shocked, survive and go to the hospital, and than quietly move away.
      It'd be one of those "oh the Simpsons ruined someone else's life" thing like with Herb

  • @EmployeeAMillion
    @EmployeeAMillion Před měsícem +11

    Ever since I started reading about Simpsons opinions online, and how meta they seemed to think everything around Season 8-11 was, I can only interpret Frank Grimes’ breakdown in one way. As he’s screaming, the Simpsons writers are gifting/burdening him with the knowledge of his existence. He realises he’s a cartoon character and can’t handle the world he’s been drawn into.
    When imitating Homer at his console, he says “D’oh! D’oh! D’oh!”
    Homer didn’t say that once throughout the whole episode.

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem

      We don’t see all the time they spent together at work, just the parts they could fit into a 30 minute TV episode.

    • @rebajoe
      @rebajoe Před měsícem +1

      Yeah but Grimes missed the important Roger Rabbit rule: he can do anything 'as long as it's funny' and nobody was laughing at that point.(it's pointed out in other comments that if Homer had touched those wires and got electrocuted, he would've lived and played for laughs)

    • @Qobp
      @Qobp Před měsícem

      Maybe if Ol' Grimey had lived, he would've heard Homer's *annoyed grunt,* realize they're not so different and become his closest ally.
      Alas.

    • @smughorse
      @smughorse Před 18 dny +1

      It wasn't a suicidal break down, it was a moment of lucidity.

  • @didgeridude8430
    @didgeridude8430 Před měsícem +60

    Franks beef was really more with Mr Burns. It’s not Homers fault that the systems and structures at the power plant are flawed and would hire someone like him in the first place (likely to cut costs) That’s a management issue. Grimes was powerless to fight against Burns, so Homer was basically the scapegoat for his frustration. Homer was just the working man (or non working man in this case), the lovable oaf that coasted on his teddy bear charm. And Grimes couldn’t deal with the fact that Homer had it so easy comparatively. When Mr Burns’ life is a lot easier than Homers.

    • @ravenwilder4099
      @ravenwilder4099 Před měsícem +4

      Thing is, Homer doesn't even TRY to live up to the responsibilities given to them - actually considers being asked not to sleep while on the clock as management "trying to screw you".

    • @mustangthings
      @mustangthings Před měsícem

      It’s Kurns, stupid!

    • @Eidlones
      @Eidlones Před měsícem +6

      It's not just Mr Burns tho, when he goes to supper at the Simpson place, he sees all the other accomplishments Homer has had. That turned it from just a work thing, to a life thing.
      Like, imagine coming across someone like Homer, and finding out they've been to space, earned a grammy, and don't treat it as anything special, cause that kinda stuff happens to them all the time.

    • @dash_r_media
      @dash_r_media Před měsícem +6

      I think Grimes had every reason to expect that someone in the orbit of Homer Simpson would be sane, and it's not unreasonable from Grimes' POV to think a billionaire owner of a nuclear plant would be the Only Sane Man around. Above all, Grimes couldn't cope with the reality of living in a place where merit and competence are held in complete disregard by everyone

  • @aaliyahrosado7365
    @aaliyahrosado7365 Před měsícem +44

    Frank did, he killed himself!

  • @TheAnthonyMarlowe
    @TheAnthonyMarlowe Před měsícem +3

    “Even if he’s incompetent he still doesn’t fail” Homer must’ve gotten in through ESG because he’s yellow.

  • @archieblue2801
    @archieblue2801 Před měsícem +20

    If Grimes had gotten to know Homer better he may have thought differently of Homer & realised that despite Homer's good luck with his current position in life, he also had a rough life growing up with many challenges & despite this through his perseverance & love for Marge he managed to turn his life around & maintain an up beat attitude. Grimes' cynical attitude (due to his life), jealousy, misdirected anger & obsession to tear down Homer got him cooked.

    • @Carzeyday
      @Carzeyday Před 17 dny +1

      Dude would have a breakdown If he met Ned.

  • @nicholassims9837
    @nicholassims9837 Před měsícem +3

    One thing i do like is how Frank never takes his issues he has with Homer out on his family as after his big rant when hes at there house he leaves before telling Marge and the kids " It was very nice to meet you all " Showing that whatever beef he has with Homer hes not going to drag his family members with him

  • @spotthedogaye2921
    @spotthedogaye2921 Před měsícem +5

    He let the fact Homer didn't need to put the work in, bother him to the point of insanity.
    If i remember the actual episode, no one is stopping him from progressing and eventually being able to attain the material wealth he perceived homer to have.
    Or
    They put a sane, self aware man in a town of willfully ignorant characters to see how long it'd take him to break,
    For the fun of it.

    • @rootfish2671
      @rootfish2671 Před měsícem +2

      The thing is the universe is literally conspiring against grimes to always fail, as in the writers making him the constant failure. He can’t escape himself and he is forever doomed to fail which sounds like being in super hell

  • @dylanshadowstar9779
    @dylanshadowstar9779 Před měsícem +5

    Another part that's important is grimes has a "grass is alwahs greener" outlook. He doesnt know Homer's life,
    Homer got his house because grandpa sold his old home
    Homer won grammy cause he was in a successful band
    And homer went to space Because he's an average idiot, that's what NASA wanted. He went to space for being the very thinf grimes Hates, an average idiot.

    • @Sorcerers_Apprentice
      @Sorcerers_Apprentice Před měsícem +1

      Homer also had his own set of hardships to overcome. His mom abandoned him at a young age. His dad did care for and make sacrifices for Homer but was also emotionally abusive and cruel. Homer's in-laws hate him, his son disrespects him constantly and he's always hiding at Moe's Tavern to escape his marital problems. He gave up his dream job at a bowling alley to work at one he hates. The house has constant issues like pipe leaks and a sinking foundation.
      All the good things that happened to him like winning a Grammy, meeting Gerald Ford and going to space were lucky one-offs that didn't improve his life long term. He still has to go back to working at the plant, which he hates but does it to support his family.

  • @docsigma
    @docsigma Před měsícem +31

    me. Sorry

    • @iseemtobelost8265
      @iseemtobelost8265 Před měsícem +6

      I knew it.

    • @prageruwu69
      @prageruwu69 Před měsícem +3

      that's why you should never trust someone with sigma in their name

    • @DingoWalley01
      @DingoWalley01 Před měsícem +6

      "That's all the evidence I need! Book him, Lou." - Chief Wiggum

  • @masterzombie161
    @masterzombie161 Před měsícem +15

    I always hated that he had a son. It would’ve been better if he had a twin brother who was the opposite of Frank and had a good life.
    Since Frank was abandoned it could be because they favored the other son more and thus had everything handed to him. One day he learns about Frank and decides to look him up and find that he’s dead.
    He goes to visit his grave and is saddened because he never had a brother so he thought it would be nice to meet him.
    He goes to moe’s to drink and he runs into Homer. They both talk about things and Franks brother brings him up in the conversation and Homer remembers him.
    Homer says he was good guy, but a little weird.
    Franks brother would later find out Frank killed himself because of Homer and now plots his revenge against Homer.

    • @fixedfunshow
      @fixedfunshow Před měsícem

      He liked hookers, gotta find something to feel happier.

  • @maxordman4100
    @maxordman4100 Před měsícem +1

    Fantastic job! A really wild funny way to look back at this classic episode! The b-plot is also a huge favorite of mine! This episode will definitely always be one of the all time favorites from this show!

  • @mathieuleader8601
    @mathieuleader8601 Před měsícem +4

    Given the experimential nature of an alternate take on Cape Feare in the latest Treehouse of Horror I would love to see an alternate take of Homer's Enemy where Frank lives and see how he connects with his son Jr.

  • @almightyk11
    @almightyk11 Před měsícem +8

    I know the ending is supposed to be tragic, but part of me wants the ending to be "Hey Grimey, i'll sell you the factory for 10 bucks." Grimes get's land, a business right, and something to live on. Bart get's 10x his money back. Everyone comes out happy.
    It also adds to the wackiness of springfield, the man who is unlucky in everything starts succeeding when he moves to Springfield because it's just so backwards.
    That raises a question too, is Springfield the weird cousin town of Shelbyville instead of the other way around?

  • @clearspira
    @clearspira Před měsícem +50

    I think the message of this episode should be ''don't let envy and self-pity ruin your life.'' Frank was a highly accomplished man and he got there entirely on his own merits in a world that apparently hated his guts. He broke through every single terrible thing thrown his way and lived to tell about it. But he just could not let his hatred of Homer go and in the end it cost him everything. We can feel sorry for Frank Grimes, but he was not a good person.

    • @nonome8206
      @nonome8206 Před měsícem +10

      He is but he isn't. Frank had a hard unfair life where he fought for everything he had and everything he has isn't much. Thats probably what gets him most, he probably was coping since childhood that it would mean something thst hed get his happy ending. Seeing Homer up close put the doubt in him and the fear his life would be endless meaningless suffering.

    • @BardicGM
      @BardicGM Před měsícem +5

      To a point although I'd say homer grassing him up to burns for the acid, costing Grimes his job and acting as if that was completely reasonable point of hatred. If you save someones life and less than 30 seconds later they throw you under the bus and act like nothing is wrong with it a significant dislike is not unexpected.

    • @leonconnelly5303
      @leonconnelly5303 Před měsícem +2

      ​@@BardicGMgrimes constantly tries to grass Homer lol

    • @BardicGM
      @BardicGM Před měsícem +9

      @@leonconnelly5303 Grimes is honestly concerned about public safety so his actions are consistent, Homer did it for no apparent reason and with anyone else would have just kept quiet.

    • @iamcitizen38
      @iamcitizen38 Před měsícem +7

      It's pretty obvious to me watching the episode that Grimes doesn't seem to have a problem with any of the bad stuff that happens to him - he just wants everyone else to suffer as well. That's his problem with Homer.
      You see this attitude a lot in real life - for example people being against student loan forgiveness because they already had to pay their own student loans back.

  • @jb888888888
    @jb888888888 Před měsícem +2

    The dog was the mastermind. They hid that by deleting the closeup with the dog's shifty eyes.

  • @lvl20gelatinouscube
    @lvl20gelatinouscube Před měsícem

    This review was more thorough and enjoyable than I had anticipated

  • @maybeitsneato
    @maybeitsneato Před měsícem +5

    I have a coworker whom I constantly think is Homer Simpson to my Frank Grimes. When I watch Homer's Enemy it is a documentary of my workplace.

  • @NikkiM.
    @NikkiM. Před měsícem +8

    "The themes are certainly present." *Frank Grimes holding a present*
    I see what you did there.

  • @gamingintrospection
    @gamingintrospection Před měsícem

    What a fantastic episode! This delves deep into 4 very compelling theories/arguments in one of the best episodes towards the end of the 'classic' era of The Simpsons. It's great seeing how much effort and balance you give to each theory, I was captivated by each one! Please continue doing these deep dives into specific character fates/situations. Thanks for your work, Jims!

  • @tensaichigo2
    @tensaichigo2 Před měsícem

    A fascinating video as always. Nicely done. 👍🏾

  • @DigiRangerScott
    @DigiRangerScott Před měsícem +22

    OMG I love Grimey! Good ol’ Grimey

  • @citonita2207
    @citonita2207 Před měsícem +3

    Wonderful analysis! I remember feeling confused by this episode because I still thought of Homer as the underdog from the earliest era, and it seemed random for Burns to be rewarding him when usually getting a promotion just caused more problems for homer. So that's where the meta on the status quo comes in. Homer gets a lot of comeuppance, but granted, it's nothing that lasts or really changes his mind.

  • @gracie1312
    @gracie1312 Před měsícem

    A new take on a long discussed episode. Top work 👍

  • @aisling664
    @aisling664 Před měsícem +1

    Excellent video! I think it comes down the age old argument of structure vs agency. Grimes had free will and made choices, but they were driven by the structures that dominated and shaped his life.

  • @CHOUT86
    @CHOUT86 Před měsícem +3

    Been hooked on your videos for a couple weeks now, never seemed to come across them in the past. You do such great explaining and never even show one moving part, all screenshots. Subbed.

  • @smogwulf
    @smogwulf Před měsícem +3

    Grime’s worldview was a self-defeating one and that’s what led to his monumental declaration. That rugged individualism demonstrated what ultimately happens when incompetent people are given charge over the life of others, and all this while our resident nuclear scientists (lenny and carl) act as a foil to this demonstrating the reality that competency and principle does not always equal success and privilege.

  • @unstopable96
    @unstopable96 Před měsícem

    One of my fav videos of yours. Great work!

  • @NintendoHighSchool
    @NintendoHighSchool Před měsícem

    great as always! you always manage to find nooks and crannies i don't think about

  • @GeteMachine
    @GeteMachine Před měsícem +3

    I think Millhouse's comment questioning if that job for Bart is where he'd end up in life, while thinking he was at least "doing better than dad" at an old dingy factory, says a lot too add as a tie in the theme of the episode.

  • @CartoonTriper
    @CartoonTriper Před měsícem +8

    imagine a alternate timeline where Frank Grimes accept to chill out and have a better life

    • @fandude666
      @fandude666 Před měsícem +5

      I can see him being the Lisa in Homer's friend group. I can also see him and Moe fighting over who has the most hardship in life.

    • @NickMorales-wy3zh
      @NickMorales-wy3zh Před měsícem +1

      @fandude666 I see him as more sympathizing with Moe due to their hardships, Grimes to me doesn't seem like the type of guy to get into a pity pissing contest

  • @leafsnail5612
    @leafsnail5612 Před měsícem

    Great video, thanks. I have always seen it as more of a meta-episode than a social commentary, but I do think it makes an interesting point about how we'll always relate more to the incompetent with a heart of gold than his hardworking but ultimately mean-spirited rival.

  • @dylanshadowstar9779
    @dylanshadowstar9779 Před měsícem

    My favourite episode, in my favourite season, with my favourite showrunners.
    I love rhis episode for all the reasons you stated, theres so much to can dive into with the episode.

  • @familygash7500
    @familygash7500 Před měsícem +4

    I know that those high-voltage cables had a warning sign, but they still shouldn't have been exposed like that in the middle of the hallway. There really should have at least been a some kind of locked glass casing door over them or something, as well. And seeing as Homer's supposed to be the safety inspector, we can therefore say that Frank's death *was* Homer's fault in that regard.

  • @theaverageteleporter7435
    @theaverageteleporter7435 Před měsícem +6

    Obviously Ralph is to blame for frank grimes death

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem

      Maybe getting back on the stage could have stopped Frank Grimes’ nervous breakdown before it started. He could have re-created his triumphant performance as George Washington.

  • @fujiwaranovari
    @fujiwaranovari Před měsícem

    Amazing, I got into this channel from that "There'll never be another..." Series you had a section in, it's all gone back to the beginning.

  • @SineN0mine3
    @SineN0mine3 Před měsícem

    Always a good day when you're uploading!

  • @587DeathKing
    @587DeathKing Před měsícem +7

    Homer's Enemy says a lot about society

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem

      Yeah, mainly that we get what we put up with.

  • @itsjoemybro
    @itsjoemybro Před měsícem +3

    Now we just need a Frank Grimes Jr. episode. 😂

    • @rootfish2671
      @rootfish2671 Před měsícem

      Does he like prostitution too?

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem

      Said nobody ever who didn’t also work on *ALF.*

  • @DisableYT
    @DisableYT Před měsícem +1

    I waited a decade for you to cover Homer's Enemy in a more long form format, and the end result did not disappoint. Thank you!

  • @ReeN1995
    @ReeN1995 Před měsícem +1

    My man never changed anything about the way he makes his videos and I love it.

  • @igortodorovic5472
    @igortodorovic5472 Před měsícem +5

    Honestly, what could've saved Frank would have been to join the union. I mean, all the workers are in it, so is Homer, and he's the one who negotiated a good deal for them in an episode (don't remember if it's before or after this one). If Frank joined it they would probably match his salary with Homers, if not more. He'd also have a covered dental plan.

  • @FMBriggs
    @FMBriggs Před měsícem +11

    I love Grimey because he's the classic example of someone who's self-indoctrinated into the church of meritocracy, despite having no real-world experience or exceptional achievements. He acts like the world owes him everything, despite having lived an extremely selfish life and contributed nothing meaningful to society, and acting like nobody else helped him get to where he is in life. Grimey is a hilarious example of the dunning kruger effect.

    • @Hammerhead547
      @Hammerhead547 Před měsícem +9

      I'd say it had more to do with frank being an arrogant bully whose unreasonable highhanded perfectionism caused him to refuse to understand that in the context of a giant organization like the power plant perfection isn't the main goal, keeping everything running smoothly with a minimum amount of problems is.
      His insufferable arrogance and obsessive perfectionism are the main reasons why his life was so unfulfilled and unhappy, all he ever did was see the flaws in other people and belittle them for it instead of trying to help them improve themselves, which is why everyone at the plant from burns on down grew to hate him so quickly.
      Everyone has worked with someone like him at some point in time in the real world and has a story or ten to tell about how awful that person was to be around/work with, and how happy they were when that person quit/got fired.
      Homer's "enemy" was actually his own worst enemy, and it killed him in the end.

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Před měsícem

      People were taking sides when the episode was new, too.

  • @jennifer.edward
    @jennifer.edward Před měsícem

    I could watch 1h+ long video of yours no problem ❤

  • @mikeyboy1234567
    @mikeyboy1234567 Před měsícem

    Ooo new Simpson's mysteries. I just looked when last episode was released, and figured a new one would be out soon. Always makes a good day.

  • @RubyBlueUwU
    @RubyBlueUwU Před měsícem +15

    My main takeaway from this episode has always been “pick your battles”. I was very like frank grimes as a kid, very much a stickler for the rules and would get personally upset whenever anything unfair happened - I would tie myself in knots trying to correct it when nobody around me cared. And I learned pretty early that the harder you push in those situations the more people ignore or just get mad at you over it. Like, it feels very “Reddit edgelord” to say, but things aren’t always fair, some people are just more likeable and charismatic or even just lucky, and sometimes they don’t even have to try to gain the benefit of the doubt, you’re best to just focus on being a nice person and not worrying about what is and isn’t fair.
    Heck, for all the hell he’s been put through the simple fact Grimes has had all these opportunities just fall into his lap is, in its own way, not that different to how he sees Homer. For all his misfortune, he’s had his fair share of luck as well, he just refuses to acknowledge it.

  • @sandhanitizer209
    @sandhanitizer209 Před měsícem +7

    Every time you post is a dopamine hit

  • @MrC37
    @MrC37 Před měsícem +2

    It was Smithers, he lost his chance at becoming executive vice president at the start of the episode

  • @bibbitybooper6437
    @bibbitybooper6437 Před měsícem

    another great video, thanks jims

  • @giovanniorellana2200
    @giovanniorellana2200 Před měsícem +7

    I'm glad you're talking more in depth about good old Grimes

  • @Geno746
    @Geno746 Před měsícem +4

    With my clues I gathered I'm betting it was Bumblebee Man.

    • @anubusx
      @anubusx Před měsícem

      lol that scene was brilliant.

  • @patrickmitchell9068
    @patrickmitchell9068 Před měsícem

    I think so well done, collecting and bring together there evaried ideas and views on this episode and show how they can all work inw ay or another

  • @theosw6961
    @theosw6961 Před měsícem

    I’m eagerly waiting parts 2-5!