The Falcon and the D'ohman

Background

The episode references the season 22 finale "The Ned-Liest Catch," in which Ned Flanders and Edna Krabappel begin dating. That episode ended with Homer and Marge directing viewers to TheSimpsons.com to vote on whether the couple should stay together. The result, revealed in this episode, was that a majority voted for them to remain in a relationship. Executive producer Al Jean stated the poll was authentic and that the writers would not override the viewers' decision.

Plot

Comic Book Guy opens the episode by noting that hints about the Ned–Edna poll result will appear. Homer arrives late at the power plant, alters his time card, and meets new security guard Wayne, who rebuffs his attempts at friendship. One rainy night, Wayne reluctantly lets Homer drive him to Moe's Tavern. While Wayne is in the bathroom, Snake crashes in on a motorcycle to rob the bar; Wayne emerges and soundly beats him.

A news segment airs featuring an interview with Wayne and an animated Taiwanese dramatization of the fight. It emerges that Wayne is a former CIA black ops agent hiding in Springfield. He suffers flashbacks that cause him to act out, leading him to attack Mr. Burns and get fired. Homer lets Wayne sleep in Bart's treehouse, but Wayne's loud sleep-talking disturbs nearby couples, including Ned and Edna, who are shown holding each other as Edna winks at the camera, confirming the poll result was "Yes!"

A YouTube clip of the Burns incident reaches Viktor, a Ukrainian gangster whose wife Wayne accidentally killed. Viktor and his henchmen kidnap and torture Homer to lure Wayne. Wayne tracks Homer via tracking devices he unknowingly ate, frees him, and kills all the gangsters with Homer's help.

Production

The episode was written by Justin Hurwitz and directed by Matthew Nastuk. Its storyline resembles David Cronenberg's film A History of Violence. Homer sings to the tune of The Police's "Walking on the Moon"; music editor Chris Ledesma noted the staff obtained the original master tracks without vocals, a rare instance.

The episode also uses Sergei Prokofiev's "Dance of the Knights" from Romeo and Juliet, which had to be licensed. The title is a play on The Falcon and the Snowman. Wayne's flashbacks include training against enemies such as Chucky from Child's Play and Kobe Bryant.

The Taiwanese dramatization parodies Next Media Animation's computer-animated news re-enactments. A YouTube clip references The Gregory Brothers' Auto-Tune the News series. Marge's dream of being on a cooking competition parodies Top Chef, and Tom Colicchio, a judge on that show, guest starred as himself.

Release

It was watched by about 8.08 million viewers and received a 3.9 Nielsen rating in the 18–49 demographic, up three percent from the previous season's premiere. It ranked second in the 18–49 demographic in Fox's Animation Domination lineup, higher than The Cleveland Show and American Dad! but lower than Family Guy, though it was the most-watched show in the lineup by total viewers.

Reviews have been mixed; critics criticized the plot and cultural references. Kyle Lemmon of Under the Radar gave it a three out of ten, stating the episode lacked grounding in reality. Jesse Carp of Television Blend wrote that the outlandish plot exemplified what he saw as wrong with the show.