We’ve seen Ned Flanders (Harry Shearer) upbeat more often than not, but it doesn’t mean he’s a one-note character. Far from it. He is the most well-rounded character in the history of The Simpsons, four-fingered hands down. We’ve seen him disappointed, notably at the initial failure of The Leftorium in Season 3’s “When Flanders Failed.” Irritated, grumpy, stupid and sexy, and sad, with the loss of his wife, Maude, one of the series’ most poignant, heartrending moments. Heck, we’ve even seen Flanders get outright mad when, in one of the earliest instances (“Dead Putting Society” in Season 2), Homer (Dan Castellaneta) pushes his buttons to get Ned to agree to a bet on whose boy wins a miniature golf tournament at Sir Putt-A-Lot’s Merrie Olde Fun Center. But we’ve never seen Ned utterly dark and maniacal, until Season 36’s “The Flandshees of Innersimpson,” and Homer is on the receiving end of Flanders’ fury.
Hell Hath No Fury Like Ned Flanders in ‘The Simpsons’ “The Flandshees of Innersimpson”
As the family is out on a day trip, they pass a string of billboards, all featuring names like “Wolfgang Von Bassdrop” and “Glenn the Eruptor.” Lisa (Yeardley Smith) points out that they’re all DJs who’ve made a fortune with the craft and bought mansions for their families. The promise of big money and a mansion inspires Homer to — no, not DJ himself — push Bart (Nancy Cartwright) into becoming a DJ. Bart takes his DJing out of the basement at Marge’s (Julie Kavner) behest and into the treehouse, where he sets up the Treehouse Residency under the DJ name “Bartholomieux” (as per the billboard Homer gets put up). The noise on the first night prompts Ned to come over and ask them to quiet down, but Homer refuses, making for a sleepless night in the Flanders home.
Not wanting to stir the pot, Ned buys some noise-cancelling headphones for himself and the kids, but Homer asks to borrow them, which, as we know after 36 years, means Homer now has noise-cancelling headphones. The act doesn’t go unnoticed, with Mrs. McCormick (Fiona Shaw), an old Irish woman, ominously warning Homer that dark times will come to Evergreen Terrace before the end of the year. That night, Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie all sleep soundly with the help of the headphones, while Ned, Rod (Pamela Hayden) and Todd (Cartwright) are rocked by another sleepless night.
Only this time it’s worse, as the backyard gets completely destroyed by partygoers after Bart waits too long to drop the beat. The experience is too much for Bart, who gives up on DJing. It’s only then that Marge discovers that Homer didn’t buy the headphones, but rather stole them from Ned, so she demands he return them right away. But when Homer opens the door, Ned is already standing there. Ned takes off his sweater, the only thing that Homer has never “borrowed” from him, and tells Homer he will never speak to him again. Homer is overjoyed, but Mrs. McCormick warns him that the dark times have arrived.
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Homer is insistent that he’ll make Ned speak to him again, but despite trying everything he could think of, nine months go by, and Ned still refuses to talk. Marge tries to smooth things over and talks with Ned about it, but it doesn’t work. Marge comes back and suggests the only way to set things right is for Homer to apologize. He spends hours trying to write the perfect apology letter, and, after Lisa gives her thumbs-up, delivers it to Ned’s house. Only the letter doesn’t have the desired outcome.
It made Ned realize that Homer wasn’t too dumb to know better, but instead smart enough to know better and did it all anyway. Ned took everything out of the house that Homer borrowed, leaving the house pretty much empty, and started throwing everything into a shredder. Homer crashes his car into Ned’s to try and stop him. Only Ned retaliates, and Evergreen Terrace turns into a Smash-Up Derby between the two. The two end up in court, where Judge Harm (Jane Kaczmarek) sentences them to 100 hours of couples counseling. With counseling and some help from the psychedelic drug U-completamine, Homer and Ned finally understand one another and reconcile.
‘The Simpsons’ Takes “Hurricane Neddy” up a Notch With “The Flandshees of Innersimpson”
Homer “borrowing” Ned Flanders’ things is one of the series’ longest-running jokes, with everything from a camcorder, air conditioning unit, and a weather vane invariably having written somewhere on it “Property of Ned Flanders.” Even the iconic couch comes from the curb outside Flanders’ house. From time to time, Ned will meekly ask for one of his possessions back, but the closest we’ve seen Ned angry over Homer’s incessant taking of his property is in “Bull-E” from Season 26 In that episode, an anti-bullying law is put into effect, with its vague description of “bully” escalating to Homer getting anyone who slightly annoys him arrested. But after being denied hot chocolate because Homer “borrowed” their mugs and their chocolate, Rod and Todd have him arrested, forcing Ned to realize that Homer has taken advantage of him. So when Homer seeks forgiveness after 90 days of treatment, Ned refuses multiple times, eventually relenting.
We’ve seen Ned deranged before, too, in Season 8’s “Hurricane Neddy.” After a hurricane rolls through Springfield, the Flanders’ home is the only one in the entire town to be leveled. Homeless and shocked, Ned is thankful that his family is alive and healthy, but despite living a wholesome life, it just seems like he’s being punished. The final straw is a shoddy attempt by the citizens of Springfield to rebuild the Flanders’ home. It’s too much, and Ned snaps, and he launches into a caustic tirade against everyone before driving himself to the Calmwood Mental Hospital.
But “The Flandshees of Innersimpson” eclipses both examples. The headphones are the straw that broke the camel’s back, and he’s not just mad. His attitude toward Homer is mirrored by the dark clouds that roll in behind him as he proclaims what he intends to do. His rage is then multiplied exponentially after reading the apology letter, and he becomes maniacal. The difference between what happens here and “Hurricane Neddy” is that the breakdown in the latter is attributed to resentment against his beatnik parents.
In the former, that anger has a single, solitary source in Homer. There’s no childhood trauma, no acts of the divine, just the weight of the truth behind Homer’s years of selfish acts leading to Ned unleashing a torrent of vengeful action against him. And Ned is in full control of himself this time, too, and that makes it even scarier. So, while the ending sees the frenemies reconcile, content to live with the status quo, we’ve seen what Ned’s capable of, and if it ever creeps up again? Ah, hell diddly-ding-dong-crap.
The Simpsons is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
The Simpsons
- Release Date
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December 17, 1989
- Network
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FOX
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Chris Elliott
Homer Simpson / Abe Simpson / Barney Gumble / Krusty (voice)
