Episode Recap: Gal of Constant Sorrow

Special thanks goes out to Robobot for helping us out with this Re-Cap!  We’re trying to get caught up on all of the episodes for you guys…hope you enjoy! 🙂
-Alissa 

Hey Tappers!

In the Midst of Patting  Snakes and a lot more duels than usual, I will regale you with a Episode Recap! Usually Wookiee handles these but since our favorite Fuzball is super busy with school I will be writing a few episode recaps and this is one of them! Today’s Episode isSeason 27, Episode 14: Gal of Constant Sorrow. This was a good episode. I love to sit down at 8:00 Pm and watch a new episode of the Best. Show. Ever. So now I get to spill my guts and tell you guys what I thought of it! Let’s get right to the recap!

Also for those of you with super busy schedules here’s Imdb’s synopsis:

“Lisa tries to launch the career of a homeless Appalachian Folk singer, but Bart warns her that she will just let her down. Meanwhile, Homer tries to rescue the cat, who is trapped in the walls of the house.”

So before the Episode it’s the Title Screen and Couch gag! The title screen Is a visit from Japan’s favorite Detergent, Mr. Sparkle! The Couch gag is for the football fans with the Simpsons playing Football for control of the TV Remote. (Homer wins)

This episode starts with Simpsons at breakfast. While walking through the kitchen, Marge sees that a tile needs replacing, she wants to Call a handy, man. Homer tells her that you say handyman, but Marge still says handy, man. Homer tells Marge that she doesn’t think that Homer is handy, because handyman is a occupation, while handy, man, is a man who is handy. Bart says that Homer tells Homer that he’s only handy if he’s used as a big fat paperweight. Homer responds to this by sitting on Bart. Marge finally gives up and lets Homer try to replace the tile.

Homer is satisfied, but he realizes that he has no idea how to replace a tile so Lisa loads up a guide video for him. Homer watches the Video and following the instructions he finds another problem with the tile.

Then it cuts to the kids of Springfield in a sled race. Bart’s about to win when he gets out of control and it crashes into a Homeless Woman’s shopping cart with all her stuff. The Cart then sinks in a ice rink, and Bart feels bad.

Back to Homer, he actually fixed the tile completely!

Marge is happy and Homer feels great. Homer then hears the Snowball 2 meowing under the floor and realizes that she is stuck under the tile. Things get worse as the cat has gotten into the walls, but Marge walks in so Homer decides to get the cat out tomorrow, and he puts his Garfield knowledge to good use and gives the cat lasagna for dinner.

Meanwhile, Bart sneaks the Homeless woman into the house and lets her spend the night in his closet.

Bart wakes up to see her making him coffee. Bart tells her that she can’t stay but she offers to pay him a dollar a day to let her live there, and gives him a week’s worth of money in advance. Bart is happy that he’s finally a slumlord.

Then there is a funny spoof of Drake’s song “Started From The Bottom” with Bart using his money.

http://www.simpsonsworld.com/video/650809411727

Lisa gets suspicious.

Homer goes back to the kitchen to discover that Snowball 2 is now in the ceiling. Homer takes out a ladder and ignores the warning to not to stand on the top of the ladder which results him bumping his head on the ceiling and the fridge falling on top of him.

Lisa decides to look through Bart’s room to see where he’s getting all his money when Homer walks in looking for the cat. Homer tells Lisa not to be curious, and Lisa responded with saying that curiosity killed the cat which causes Homer to panic and say that the cat is fine.

It then cuts to the Homeless Woman playing a guitar for money at the Squidport. Bart comes up to her and tells her that she owes him 3 weeks rent. Lisa then reveals herself and she caught what Bart said on video. Lisa tells Bart that he is exploiting a homeless woman. Bart tells her not to tell Marge because she’ll kick Hettie out. It turns out her name is Hettie. Hettie tells Lisa that she doesn’t have a heart, and Bart agrees with her. Hettie then decides to sing a song about loss for her supper. She has a great voice. She has different voice actors for talking and singing.

Her singing voice is Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks! No wonder Hettie has such a great singing voice! Bart and Lisa really like her song.

Lisa identifies her song as Appalachian Folk music. Hettie tells Lisa that she is Appalachian and Lisa tells her that she loves indigenous Mountain music. Hettie encourages her to pay up If she liked it so much. Lisa says that she doesn’t have any money but she’ll let Hettie stay in her closet for free and they can talk about music.

Hettie asks what Bart’s price is again so Lisa tells her that they’ll only talk about music when she feels like it.

That night, Lisa and Hettie prepare to sing and Use their instruments when Lisa learns that Hettie’s father and mother were shot in the face, and that Hettie’s father was a famous folk singer. Lisa feels bad about it and hugs Hettie. Hettie sings a song about a closed store, and Lisa records it and shows it to Mr. Largo.

Mr. Largo tells her that over the years he has come to hate music. Did you know that the word “Largo” means a disdain for music? Lisa tells him that there’s still a part of him that loves music so Mr. Largo lets her use the schools lights and equipment for a concert starring Hettie.

The concert even gets approved by Mayor Quimby, and gets sponsored by Krusty Burger. Lisa then goes back to her room and gives a Hettie a new dress to wear for the concert. Lisa has to sell her Malibu Stacy dolls to pay for it, but she reserved a dollhouse for the Kens that she is turning into Stacys. Hettie tries on the dress and likes it, when Bart walks in and tells Lisa that she’s been in these situations before and Hettie is just going to let her down. Lisa ignores Bart.

Meanwhile, Homer goes down to the basement, walks through a hole in the wall and walks through the walls “gliding silently”

Good news! Homer gets Snowball 2 out.

Bad news. Santa’s Little Helper is stuck in the walls now.

It then cuts to Lisa and Hettie at the “Mountain Trax” radio station with Npr host Bob Boilen guest starring as himself. Hettie is doing a interview with Bob Boilen and she’s acting a little funny. Bart comes to the radio station to scribble on mugs and complain that everyone who works there talks like they’re at a funeral, when things turn for the worst for Lisa.

Bob asked Hettie if she played music with her siblings and Hettie told him that they would ask her but she would always say no and sit by the creek with her heroin. Lisa is shocked by what she is hearing. Bob then asked her if was true that she let down well meaning supporters time and time again, and Hettie confirms that. Bart even puts up a sign saying “I was right” for good measure. Hettie asks Bob whether he has any oxycontin, and Bob thinks it’s time to take a break.

Hettie then goes to talk to Lisa and Lisa is upset and asking Hettie if she’s rehabilitated, and Hettie tries to assure her that it’s okay, but Lisa finds out that it was Hettie who shot her own parents in the face. Lisa and Bart go back to their house and Lisa tells Bart she will help Hettie, and Bart tells her she’s crazy.

Marge walks over and Bart tells her that Lisa has been keeping a heroin junky in her room. Marge is surprised to hear this and Homer falls from the ceiling and Marge tells him that she got the dog out of the walls and that she knew about the cat being stuck. Marge then tells Homer about Hettie and Lisa said that she doesn’t know where Hettie is and the concert is in half an hour!

Homer and Bart decide to look for Hettie while Lisa stalls the crowd. Bart tells Homer that Hettie smells like Moonshine all the time so Homer and Bart go to Cletus’ house and see Hettie drunk. Luckily, Homer is fluent in drunk.

Guess that makes him Bilingual!

Homer tells Hettie to get up and go to the concert but Hettie tells him that he can’t tell her what to do, and she pulls out a shotgun and points it at Homer. She is about to shoot him in the face, but remembers how nice Lisa was to her and decides to just make him deaf for a week. At the concert, Lisa tries to stall the crowd by playing the sax they all leave.

Lisa then sits on the dark stage alone until a buzzed Hettie walks up on the stage, ready to sing, but Lisa tells her that they all left, and that she will never forgive Hettie. Hettie then starts to sing.

The Janitor, and Bob Boilen listen to her song.

Lisa then says that Hettie can sleep it off on their couch. The episode ends with Hettie and Lisa hugging.

Overall I thought this was a good episode. Homer is usually more of a jerk In the new episodes so it’s nice to see him actually try to solve a problem that he caused instead of Making Lisa or Bart do it. I also thought that the A plot with Hettie sounds like a perfect premise for Lisa’s character and I’m surprised that it didn’t happen sooner.

What did you think of the episode? Do you want Hettie in Tapped Out? Thoughts on Season 27?  Sound off in the comments below you know we love hearing from you!

Thanks again to Robobot for helping out with this episode re-cap!  And sorry it’s only a couple of months late!   It’s been a little crazy around here trying to work around everyone’s schedules…plus all of the updates!  😉