Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 17, “Full Heart, Empty Pool”
AlthoughThe Simpsonsseason 36, episode 17 featured a rough start for one classic supporting character, a string of retcons eventually left him in a much better place by the end of this outing. After more than 780 episodes,The Simpsonsis officially the longest-running scripted primetime American TV show in history. As such, it is hardly a surprise that the show’s canon is pretty inconsistent. The changing continuity isn’t helped by the zany tone ofThe Simpsons.
WhileThe Simpsonsseason 37might change this, season 36 of the animated family comedy has taken a pretty lax attitude toward its ever-shifting canon. The backgrounds, birthdates, and origin stories of certain characters change from episode to episode, and even something as dramatic asBart and Lisa ending the worldcan be swiftly retconned between one episode and the next. Fortunately, the changing canon details sometimes pay off handsomely for underused supporting characters.
The Simpsons Season 36 Episode 17 Renamed The Squeaky Voiced Teen
Jeremy Freedman Became Andrew Teen In This Outing
In the opening scene of season 36, episode 17, “Full Heart, Empty Pool,” the recurring character Squeaky Voiced Teen gets a rare scene devoted entirely to his personal life. This recurring guest star has cropped up in various jobs throughout Springfield over the years, and he is mostly recognizable for his awkward demeanor and his perpetual misfortune. Sure enough, the Squeaky Voiced Teen’s plans to propose a prom date are scuppered when he must testify at Homer’s trial thanks to his job at a hardware store.
The biggest changes to the Squeaky Voiced Teen’s characters arrive early on.
“Full Heart, Empty Pool” soon reveals that the Squeaky Voiced Teen allowed Homer to rent a backhoe and, in a particularly shameless move, Homer is suing the hardware store for failing to recognize his obvious incompetence. The rest ofseason 36 episode 17sees Homer wrestle with the fallout from this choice as he wonders whether he will ever be remembered as more than a mere buffoon. However, the biggest changes to the Squeaky Voiced Teen’s characters arrive early on.
The Squeaky Voiced Teen gains an entirely new family that doesn’t match his implied mother from earlier outings.
Even though his name was revealed to be Jeremy Freedman in earlier episodes,the Squeaky Voiced Teen is referred to as both “Andrew” and “Mr. Teen,” in “Full Heart, Empty Pool”. He also gains an entirely new family that doesn’t match his implied mother from earlier outings. In an earlier episode, lunch lady Doris was implied to be his mother, but claimed to have disowned him. In “Full Heart, Empty Pool,” Andrew instead lives with two previously unseen suburban parents.
The Simpsons Season 36 Episode 17’s Retcons Were Good For The Squeaky Voiced Teen
The Perpetually Unlucky Character Gained A Love Interest
The teen’s subpoena might help Homer win his court case against the hardware store, but this means Andrew also misses out on his chance to prom-pose early in this outing. LikeHomer’s half-brother Herb, Andrew seems destined to become another minor supporting character whose life is left in ruins by the show’s main heroes. However,things soon pick up for the Squeaky Voiced Teen at the end of “Full Heart, Empty Pool,”and in the process, the episode brings its story full circle.
Homer spends most of “Full Heart, Empty Pool,” worrying about his lack of a legacy, which indirectly leads him and Grampa to invent a game played in empty swimming pools. “Noodleball” is a huge hit with Grampa’s fellow elderly people and Homer seemingly has a legacy on his hands, but he gets greedy and cuts out Grampa to secure financing from an avocado oil giant. When Homer changes his ways and teams up with Grampa, their simultaneous injuries end interest in Noodleball as a safe, low-impact sport.
The episode reveals Andrew Teen gained a girlfriend from the episode, and his voice finally broke as a result.
The pair may not have beaten Big Avocado Oil, but Homer does unintentionallychangeThe Simpsonshistoryin this episode. As he and Grampa complain that their entire adventure was pointless, the episode reveals Andrew Teen gained a girlfriend from the experience, and his voice finally broke as a result. Thus,The Simpsonsseason 36, episode 17 finally changed this classic recurring guest star’s story for the better.
