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They said that “Sweet Seymour Skinner’s…” was chosen as the 100th episode of The Simpsons because it was Bart-centric. It’s a story centered on Bart and Principal Skinner. Well, the very next episode is also Bart-centric, and Skinner heavy, and it’s an all-timer. Maybe “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” should have been the 100th episode?
That’s not a knock on “Sweet Seymour,” which is a very good episode. “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” is possibly in the top 20 Simpsons episodes. Maybe the only thing that would have made it odd as the 100th episode is how much Freddy Quimby and a clumsy French waiter play into the plot.
Bart faces a true dilemma. He cuts school and goes on an adventure. In the process, he sees what really happens between Mayor Quimby’s ne’er-do-well nephew Freddy and a waiter he is harassing with his boorish behavior. Freddy is charged for assaulting the waiter, and only Bart knows the truth. However, if he says anything, then Skinner will have the proof he needs that Bart skipped school.
Fortunately for Bart, and Freddy, Homer deadlocks the jury for a bit so he can enjoy the perks of being sequestered. This gives Bart enough time to muster up the guts to admit the truth, and it turns out the waiter injured himself with his clumsiness. Bart is given months worth of detention, but Skinner is lenient because Bart did the right thing.
That’s a stronger plot than a lot of even very good Simpsons episode, but it’s also quite funny. The episode is filled with memorable bits, from Homer’s glasses to the Meow Mix theme to the dark sequel to Free Willy. Homer and Skinner get a few great lines, and Freddy is funny even in his brashness.
“The Boy Who Knew Too Much” is great, and had they managed to figure out how to get regular characters involved front and center, this could have been a top-five offering.
