Bart Has Two Mommies

"Bart Has Two Mommies" is the fourteenth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons.

Plot

One day, the Simpsons attend a church fundraiser for a new steeple. In spite of Homer's best efforts to cheat, Ned Flanders wins a rubber duck racing contest and wins a female-oriented computer called the FeMac, although he gives the computer to Marge because he does not have any use for it. After that, Homer tells Marge a secret about Bart, and neglects him, but Bart himself overhears the conversation, and starts to cry. In return for the computer, Marge babysits Rod and Todd. To her surprise, the boys seem to prefer playing "safe" but rather boring games, such as a "sitting-still" contest, so she encourages them to liven up. With Marge spending so much time at the Flanders', Homer must look after his children, Bart and Lisa. He spends most of the time sleeping, meanwhile, when their father's sleeping, Bart and Lisa breaks many things, while jousting with their bikes as steeds.

When Lisa insists, Homer takes the kids to an animal sanctuary for retired film animals. The trip goes awry when Toot-Toot, an elderly female chimpanzee pulls Bart into her cage (although Bart should not actually fit through the bars, as he's fat) and "adopts" him after he offers her a bite of his ice cream. Marge listens to Rod and Todd's prayers which include them having a wonderful day and forgiving Mrs. Simpson for eavesdropping on their prayers. Later on during one of Marge's visits, Ned comes back home and sees his kids wearing Band-Aids, and tells them to crawl to their beds. Marge tells him that he should support some forms of adventuring, and shows him a flyer about an activity center with everything covered in foam. At first Ned is reluctant about the boys and does not want to see them get hurt but agrees, but after some thought, considers the option.

Homer secretly lies to Marge to not having to worry about Bart; Marge takes Rod and Todd to the children's activity center to encourage their spirit. Ned secretly spies on them and panics when he sees Rod on a rock climbing wall, causing Rod to fall and Ned to overreact to Rod's minor injury of a chipped tooth, which, for no reason, Ned bans Marge from babysitting Todd and Rod. Marge learns of Bart's kidnapping via a breaking news report, where Toot Toot and Bart end up on the top of the Church's unbuilt steeple much like King Kong on the Empire State Building, much to Marge's despair. Ned goes back to his protective ways making overly safe for Rod and Todd again, but they stand up to him, having enough of not being able to have fun like normal kids and they decide to help save Bart from Toot-Toot.

Rod, putting his newly acquired climbing skills to use, climbs the scaffolding in an attempt to rescue Bart using Toot Toot's son (Mr. Teeny, Krusty the Clown's pet Chimp) as an exchange. Marge convinces Ned to learn that he must believe in his son and not worry about harm in order for Rod to make it to the top, and successfully rescue Bart from the chimp. At that rate, Ned praises Rod to be brave and go up the scaffolding to get the job done. Eventually Rod reaches the top, rescuing Bart while Toot Toot reunites with Mr. Teeny, much to Krusty's annoyance, who now needs to hire a new animal sidekick. While Bart and Rod climbs, Bart calls Rod 'gay', which Rod thinks it means 'when you were scared of something and now you aren't scared of it anymore' after Bart tells him so. The main section of the episode ends with Rod yelling to Ned that 'Mrs. Simpson made me gay!'

At the credits, Ned glares at Marge while she insists Rod saying "I'm okay!", and Maude, shown to be in Heaven, looks on, proud that Rod is growing up.

Cultural references

The episode title refers to the book Heather Has Two Mommies.

Left-handed pitcher Randy Johnson makes a cameo appearance at the Left-Handed convention selling his own line of left-handed teddy bears.

Ned sings "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses with alternate lyrics as "Welcome to the Jungle Gym" while making things safe again.

Ned makes a reference to the Led Zeppelin song "Dazed and Confused" when he says, "Call me Ned Zeppelin, but is one of my boys abrased and contused?" after he discovers a Band-Aid wrapper in Rod and Todd's bedroom.

Reverend Lovejoy's obsession with building a spire to "compensate for [his] own sense of smallness" is a reference to The Spire by William Golding.

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