“I hate the sea, and everything in it.” – Captain McAllister

Two weeks after Moe acted way out of character to land a woman, we get the same thing from Bart.  He displayed an hitherto unknown amount of confidence and skill at flirting with a girl who, despite the fact that she also attends Springfield Elementary, he has never seen before.  The obvious comparison here is “Bart’s Girlfriend” from Season 6 and there is a specific aspect I’d like to point out.  

Twice last night, Bart looked at “Jenny” and saw her outlined in a halo of light complete with background music.  This is a pretty standard TV trope for “instant love”.  Last night they just played it straight: light + music = isn’t she perfect.  Now, recall the beginning of “Bart’s Girlfriend”, when Jessica Lovejoy makes her entrance on the pulpit, she too is wreathed in light.  Of course, we’re quickly shown the source of the light: Captain McAllister’s deliberately incompetent lighthouse policies.  

The difference is that Simpsons mocks the cliche; Zombie Simpsons just straight ahead uses it – twice.  

We’ll set the over/under on the ratings at 6.4 million viewers.

Update: The numbers are in and the over has it, ever so slightly, at 6.5 million viewers.