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Plot

Barney's Bowlarama is shutting down for good, and Homer finds out about it. He and his bowling buddies try to persuade the owner to back out of the sale, but the deal is already done—Terrence has bought the place, planning to turn it into a hipster hangout. Homer begs for a week to prove people still care about bowling, but his efforts fall flat. Later, Homer and Marge go bowling, and Terrence notices Marge's skill.

He makes a deal: if Marge can beat a bowler he picks, the alley stays open. Marge agrees. During practice, she spots a photo of Jacques and starts messing up. Homer brings Jacques in to coach her.

Jacques promises not to rekindle their old romance, but he keeps flirting. Grampa shows Homer Jacques' social media, full of posts with other female bowlers. Homer storms to Jacques' apartment, which is plastered with photos of Marge. A fight breaks out until Marge arrives and admits what happened before.

Homer forgives her, and they leave. At the match, Terrence chooses Jacques as Marge's opponent. Marge wins by a narrow margin, and Jacques gets deported because his visa expired. Terrence keeps the bowling alley open but only runs one lane, ensuring a long wait.

Production

Albert Brooks reprised his role as Jacques, having previously appeared in this role in the first season episode Life on the Fast Lane. He was credited as A. Brooks.

Fred Armisen reprised his role as Terrence, first appearing in the twenty-fourth season episode The Day the Earth Stood Cool. Viewers noted a continuity error because Marge had previously told Homer about Jacques' interest in her in the sixth season episode Another Simpsons Clip Show, but executive producer Al Jean stated that clip show episodes were non-canon. The cigarette machine in Moe's Tavern, present since the series began, was permanently removed; Jean said a replacement object would appear in future episodes.

Reception

The episode earned a 0.23 rating and was watched by 0.86 million viewers, making it the most watched show on Fox that night. Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it entertaining and highlighting background jokes and Albert Brooks' performance. John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave it an 8 out of 10, praising the flashback scenes and performances by Brooks and Armisen, though he felt the impact of Jacques on Homer and Marge's relationship was less effective after many episodes featuring romantic temptation since Jacques first appeared.