The Simpsons has released a brand new Christmas special exclusively with Disney+, and the episode finally takes a deeper look at one of the big problems eating away at Ned Flanders over the years. The Simpsons celebrated the 35th anniversary of its original broadcast on Fox with the first double episode in the seriesā history. Streaming exclusively with Disney+, āO CāMon All Ye Faithfulā is a much deeper exploration into the characters than fans might have ever expected to see from a new special. In fact, it dives deep into Ned Flanders in a very unanticipated way thatās been brewing for years.
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Ned has been through quite a lot in The Simpsons as heās suffered arguably some of the worst tragedies that any character in the series has had to deal with. Some of The Simpsonsā most famous episodes explore this side of Ned as they reveal the limits of his positive attitude, and thatās the case with The Simpsonsā new Christmas special on Disney+ as Ned has a crisis of faith over the fact that heās lost two of his wives and feels like God would not do that if the being exists.
The Simpsons Puts Ned Through a Crisis of Faith
āO Cāmon All Ye Faithfulā introduces Springfield to mentalist Derren Brown, who hypnotizes Homer into being a better gift giver. This leads Homer to go to the extreme and think heās actually Santa Claus, and the entire town loves it so much that they actually begin to believe in Santa. This starts rubbing Ned the wrong way, and he tries to disprove it by pointing out some of the Santa storyās flaws. But in doing so, Ned accidentally shakes his own faith and starts to not believe in God.
This crisis of faith has been shown before through Ned, but itās taken to a whole new level this time as he reveals that heās still very much in mourning after the loss of both Maude and Edna. The Simpsons has slightly addressed its writing off Edna Krabappel following actress Marcia Wallaceās passing in 2013, and retired the character through the series with a brief final appearance where Ned is seen in mourning. It was a tragic loss in the real world, but in the series as well. Ned had only been with Edna for a short time at that point, and their relationship was only confirmed not long before through a fan vote online.
Fans had voted to keep the two happy by having them be a romantic couple, and it was meant for the two lonely characters to finally not feel so alone. So with Ned being alone for the decade after, The Simpsonsā new Christmas special shows the other side of this as Ned has been privately mourning his two loves with small gestures to them that help get him through the day. But with this crisis, he doomed himself to being even more alone.
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The Simpsons Has Tested Ned More Than Anyone
Ned is able to get through this crisis with the help of Derren Brown and Professor Frink, but this is the first real time since Ednaās passing that The Simpsons has had Ned openly talking about these losses. Itās a reflection of just how much heās actually been through, and it gets him questioning his belief in God. Thatās the one element of his personality thatās been getting him through the years, but it was really tested here in a very grounded way. In fact, thatās something one of the writers behind the special specifically wanted to tap into.
Speaking to ComicBook, writer Carolyn Omine opened up about Ned having this crisis, āIĀ think Christians are often told to sort of turn the other cheek and just trust in God. I think Ned sort of presents himself as somebody who does that, but he is human. So on some level, he must be thinking. Thatās something that was more discovered as we wrote it that he would be thinking, āItās not fair.ā And this special pushes it over as other things begin to pile on. Itās a tragic pointing out of what heās been through over the years, and makes it even more heartwarming when he starts to believe in himself and his faith once more.
