Every Death In The Simpsons Ranked
1. Bleeding Gums Murphy (‘Round Springfield)
Grief is not an easy thing to deal with at age, but dealing with it as a child is even harder. This is the theme of the superb Season 6 episode "'Round Springfield", as Lisa deals with the passing of her hero and friend, Bleeding Gums Murphy.
After reuniting with five years after Murphy's debut in the show's first season, Lisa sits with the old jazzman in hospital and he even lends her his saxophone for her school recital. As Lisa rushes back thank Murphy, she finds that he's gone and is informed by a nurse that he passed away.
The hard swerve from joy to misery is a perfect example of how grief can hit you out of nowhere. Lisa is a smart kid and way more adult than most others her age, but even she struggles with the pain of losing a dear friend so tragically in a deeply human story arc.
This death is number one because it teaches so many valuable lessons about grief; how it can strike randomly, how it can be confusing and sad, and how it can be overcome by ensuring that the memory of those who die never passes away.