The Simpsons’ Best Thanksgiving Episode Should Start a New Tradition

The Simpsons surprisingly only has a few Thanksgiving episodes under its belt despite the series running for 35 years as of the time of this publication. But while some of its past Thanksgiving episodes have only dabbled with the holiday slightly (outside of the famous “Bart vs. Thanksgiving” in Season 2), there is a perfect Thanksgiving episode in the later seasons that should spark a whole new tradition, “Thanksgiving of Horror.” First released as an experimental episode in Season 31 of the long running animated sitcom in 2019, this episode shared three Horror shorts inspired by the Thanksgiving holiday much like their annual Treehouse of Horror specials.

But other than this single special, “Thanksgiving of Horror” has been a one-time deal as of the currently airing Season 36 of the animated series. This three Horror segment filled episode is such a perfect experiment that it really should start a whole new tradition for The Simpsons. Even if not, then fans who might have lapsed on the animated series in the last few years should start checking out this holiday special during the Thanksgiving holiday season to see all of the fun they’re missing out on.

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What Is Thanksgiving of Horror?

Much like the very first Treehouse of Horror special aired all those years ago, The Simpsons’ Thanksgiving of Horror has three Horror shorts all inspired by the Thanksgiving holiday. The first is a parody of Apocalypto titled “A-Gobble-Ypto” that goes back to the time of the pilgrims as they invade and massacre the turkeys’ home. The Simpsons themselves are the turkeys along with various Springfieldians, and are being hunted down by Clancy Wiggum and a few other Pilgrims for their upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. And through the turkeys’ eyes, it’s fairly brutal and violent. It’s the kind of horror that fans have come to expect from the Treehouse of Horror but with this Fall holiday twist.

The second segment is “The Fourth Thursday After Tomorrow,” and seems to be a parody of the Black Mirror episode, “White Christmas.” This segment sees Homer investing in a new A.I. helper, who turns out to be a mini-version of Marge that starts to believe that she’s actually the real Marge. With the real Marge getting jealous and threatening to delete the A.I. after the holidays, A.I. Marge figures the best way to get back at her is to make the best Thanksgiving dinner ever. The real Marge takes credit for it, and thus A.I. Marge takes it into her own hands and escapes the internet to reveal that the real Marge is taking credit for the meal (which is a social faux-pas). It’s not as violent or as Horror focused as the opening and third segments, but that’s kind of par for the course with Treehouse of Horror too. The opening and final segments are usually the wildest ones.

That’s definitely the case here when the final segment, “The Last Thanksgiving” hits as hard as it does. This one is a blend of Alien and The Blob as Bart and the other kids are woken up on a ship that has fled from Earth after it had been consumed by global warming. With Thanksgiving coming up, Bart wants to celebrate with some Thanksgiving food and tries to clone a can of cranberry sauce. This ends up unleashing a cranberry sauce monster that quickly sucks out the bones of each of the kids. It’s full of wild imagery as kids quickly die one after another, and only their skin is left behind. Martin Prince’s death is particularly graphic too.

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Why Thanksgiving of Horror Is So Special

Thanksgiving of Horror is a perfect Thanksgiving episode as it not only celebrates the holiday in fun and unique ways, but it perfectly captures what has changed about The Simpsons in the modern era. The Simpsons has been getting a lot of attention in the last couple of years for its wild premises that have broken through to the mainstream (like how the Season 36 premiere was touted as a “series finale”), and all of these experiments really kicked in with Season 30 and beyond. The Simpsons has been running for such a long time that those behind the scenes have so many different views on how to tackle it all.

Thanksgiving of Horror allowed for a fun new outlet for these Horror tinged stories that isn’t just limited to Halloween. These specials are often seem as some of the best in The Simpsons‘ history, and it’s because fans get to see the kinds of creativity that can come up when the animated series plays with its characters outside of the standard canon. It’s led to some huge victories in recent years especially, and Thanksgiving of Horror is a great reflection of that mentality.

Finally, there are just so few Thanksgiving based episodes of TV overall. While Bob’s Burgers might have the market cornered on the holiday when it comes to adult animated sitcoms, The Simpsons deserves to get a spot in your traditional annual watches this Thanksgiving holiday. Not only is Thanksgiving of Horror going to be providing a much different experiences than everything else you might see this food holiday, but you’ll see why it was such a hit when it first launched five years ago.