12 Times The Simpsons Went Dark

For a show full of adolescent humor, The Simpsons sometimes gives us a harsh lesson about our society. There will always be people in this world who work very little in life and somehow still come out ahead in the long run.

This lesson is brought forth in the episode, "Homer's Enemy," where the audience is introduced to Frank Grimes, probably one of the most tragic characters to ever visit Springfield. He's an intellectual who's worked hard his whole life, has made difficult sacrifices but has little to show for it.

Homer has had a slightly easier ride. He stumbled backwards into this job, shows little care for his work ethic and, even though he sleeps all day at his station, he complains that his job is awful. Yet, with all his complaints, he still earns enough to have a beautiful home, two cars and a home cooked meal everyday.

All Frank Grimes has to his name is a crappy car and a lousy apartment above a bowling alley. So, he spends the whole episode trying to convince himself and the rest of the world that this is not how life works. Unfortunately, the harder he tries to expose Homer as the failure he is, the more he's punished.

The episode ends a note that is so hauntingly uncomfortable that it might be one of the most shocking moments of the series. It's an episode that reminds us life is unfair sometimes, nothing more.