Despite the fact that The Simpsons is one of the funniest TV shows of all time, with countless quotable one-liners and unforgettable sight gags, it has also given us some really hard-hitting dramatic moments. The moments that make you laugh far outweigh the moments that make you cry – this is a comedy, after all – but the moments that make you cry are there, especially in the show’s earlier seasons.
In fact, the show’s infamous decline in quality came about when it lost sight of its delicate balance between the absurd and the sincere.
Updated on June 30th, 2022 by Colin McCormick: After more than three decades on the air, fans have followed the Simpsons on many different journeys. And with the love fans have for these characters, it's no surprise they have formed a strong connection to them. The classic sitcom may be best known for delivering lots of laughs, but there are still a lot of heartbreaking, emotional, and moving moments that fans can revisit from The Simpsons.
Bart Turns His Back On Lisa
Lisa has always been one to take on whatever challenges come her way. But in the episode "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson," she begins to feel he is in over her head when she joins Bart at a military camp.
Not only does she find herself an outcast as the only girl, but Bart turns his back on her to avoid being ostracized as well. When she comes to share a tape Marge sent to the two kids, Bart dismisses Lisa leaving her all alone to deal with her homesickness.
Bart Is Left Out
While all of the Simpsons have committed a few crimes over the course of the series, Bart's shoplifting in the episode "Marge Not Proud" was a big deal. It was made worse by the fact that Marge took it as a sign she was babying him too much and decided to make a change in her parenting style.
As a result, Bart is left out of the family's various Christmas activities, leaving him feeling forgotten.
Ned Goes To Bed Alone
While the cast of characters on The Simpsons is massive, it was still shocking to see one of them go when Maude Flanders suddenly died. The episode "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" surprisingly addresses Maude's death with a lot of dark humor, but also shows Ned's devastating grief.
While there is a shock to the whole thing at first, the sadness of it really sets in with the simple image of Ned getting into his bed at night and reaching over to the empty side next to him.
Ralph Doesn't Get A Valentine
Ralph is one of the funniest young characters on the Simpsons with many jokes aimed at his seeming obliviousness to the world around him. However, that doesn't mean that he still can't get his feelings hurt at times.
Despite being a sweet and kind kid, when Lisa's class distributes Valentine's Day cards to each other, Ralph is heartbroken not to receive any of them. The sight of the little boy seeing his empty box and crying at his desk is quite painful.
Maggie Sees Marge
While the Simpsons are certainly a dysfunctional family, they also love each other and belong together. So it was quite sad to see them torn apart in the episode "Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily" when the kids are sent to live with the Flanders by Child Protective Services.
While Bart and Lisa are not happy with the situation, Maggie takes to the Flanders more easily as the baby of the Simpsons family. While it seems like Maggie might choose her new family over the old one, the moment she sees Marge and excitedly runs for her is an emotional conclusion.
"We'll Really Miss You, Mrs. K."
Every Simpsons opening has Bart writing something over and over again on the chalkboard at school, but in the "Four Regrettings and a Funeral" episode, the show chose to honor one of the voice actors who had recently passed away.
Bart writes "We'll really miss you Mrs. K" in honor of her voice actor Marcia Wallace who voiced Miss Krabappel, one of the most underrated Simpsons characters. Wallace passed away in real life and the show chose to never recast the role.
Maggie Speaks
In The Simpsons, no one has ever really aged throughout their more than 30 seasons, but in one episode Maggie does speak her first word. Maggie typically doesn't speak except for one moment and it's incredibly heartwarming.
In the episode "Lisa's First Word" Homer is tucking Maggie into bed and says that he hopes she'll never speak because she'll just fight with him like Lisa and Bart do. He walks out of the room and closes the door, but the audience sees and hears Maggie take out her pacifier call him "daddy" as her first word.
Santa's Little Helper Recognizes Bart
In the episode "Dog of Death" the Simpsons lose their dog Santa's Little Helper and Bart is absolutely heartbroken. They search for him but can't find him because he's been taken in by Mr. Burns and trained to be one of his attack hounds.
Bart tries to rescue his friend, but Mr. Burns sics the dog on him and Santa's Little Helper is about to attack until Bart pleads with him and reminds him that they're best friends. The dog stops, remembers their time together, and goes back home with Bart.
Marge Apologizes To Lisa
Lisa is upset throughout the entirety of "Moaning Lisa" and Marge continually tries to fix everything. Marge is upset that Lisa seems to be sad all the time and she doesn't understand why her daughter is so sad.
Lisa tells her that she just needs to be sad sometimes, but Marge is annoyed by her attitude at the beginning of the episode. Eventually, Marge realizes that it's okay not to feel happy and upbeat all the time and that she needs to let her daughter be able to share how she feels. Marge gives Lisa an emotional apology and says that she'll always be there for her however she's feeling.
Bart And Lisa Remember Their Childhood
Bart and Lisa compete on opposing hockey teams in the episode "Lisa on Ice" and let the competition get to them. They forget that they're siblings as they're skating toward each other and are about to ram into each other on the ice.
Right before they do, both of them stop and are flooded with emotional memories of when they were growing up together including Lisa crying over her spilled ice cream and Bart giving her his scoop. They stop and embrace on the ice in an emotional moment that reminds the audience that the two might fight, but deep down they love each other.
Homer And Bart Watch Itchy And Scratchy: The Movie
In the episode “Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie,” the titular film adaptation of Bart and Lisa’s favorite cartoon sweeps the nation. Homer and Marge have promised not to let Bart see the movie as punishment for his bad grades after Mrs. Krabappel convinced them he could be a Supreme Court Justice with better discipline.
While Lisa and everyone else at school is raving about how it’s the greatest movie ever made, Homer still won’t relent. It’s a situation that everyone can relate to because both Bart and his parents have valid points. The episode ends with a heartwarming flash-forward to a future in which Bart is a Supreme Court Justice and Homer finally takes him to see Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie.
Bart Buys Lisa A Bleeding Gums Murphy Album With His Krusty-O’s Settlement
In the episode “‘Round Springfield,” Lisa’s hero, jazz legend Bleeding Gums Murphy, dies suddenly. She decides that the best way to honor him would be to play his album on the radio, but it costs $500. Meanwhile, Bart has had to undergo surgery, due to a jagged piece of metal in his box of Krusty-O’s.
Following a $100,000 settlement and Lionel Hutz’s “legal fees,” Bart is left with $500, which he intends to use to buy a Steve Allen pog. But seeing how heartbroken Lisa is over Bleeding Gums Murphy’s death, he decides to buy her the album instead. As much as they bicker, Bart really cares about Lisa.
Lisa Gets A Note From Smart Homer
“HOMR” is a classic episode of The Simpsons, because it reveals something about the mythology of the show – why Homer is so stupid – in a satisfying way. Turns out, he has a crayon lodged in his brain. After it’s removed, he’s a genius. But he alienates all of his friends until, tragically, he decides to have the crayon reinserted.
Lisa is sad, because smart Homer had developed a really close relationship with her, and she couldn’t relate to stupid Homer as much. But then she found a note left for her by smart Homer before the surgery: “Lisa, I’m taking the coward’s way out. But before I do, I just want you to know being smart made me appreciate how amazing you really are.”
“Happy Birthday Lisa”
All throughout “Stark Raving Dad,” Lisa keeps reminding Bart that, every single year, he forgets about her birthday. This year, he’s determined to actually put some thought into her gift. But then Homer gets institutionalized, meets a man with the voice (but not appearance) of Michael Jackson, and then promises to bring Jackson home.
So, Bart gets distracted as he tells everyone in Springfield that the King of Pop is coming to his house. As he overhears Lisa expressing her disappointment that he forgot about her birthday again, Bart acts fast and writes a really heartfelt birthday song for Lisa.
Homer’s Speech At Lisa’s Wedding
Season 6’s "Lisa's Wedding" was the first flash-forward episode, and so far, the only one to effectively use the flash-forward format. But this glimpse into the future allows for a beautiful moment between Lisa and Homer just as she is about to get married.
Homer expresses how proud he is of his daughter and thanks her for always being there to help him. Homer might not always know the right thing to say as a father, but he gives a lovely sentiment to her by saying. "I always felt you were the best thing my name ever got attached to."
Bart Fails His Test Again
In the season 2 premiere “Bart Gets an F,” Bart fails his history test and he’s given one more chance to take it before flunking the year. He puts off studying for a while and gets a miracle in the form of a snow day, but he eventually buckles down, despite the temptations of the snow.
And then he takes the test, fails it, and breaks down crying. Mrs. Krabappel is shocked. This was one of the early moments establishing their relationship as more complex and emotional that just a student/teacher rivalry. The clincher is when Bart says, “You don’t understand! I really tried this time!”
“You Are Lisa Simpson”
As the most intelligent student at her school, Lisa struggles to keep hold of friends and, as a result, also struggles with confidence. Dustin Hoffman was instantly memorable in the role of her substitute teacher, Mr. Bergstrom, an intellectual match who actually took the time to listen to her.
But like any substitute, he had to leave, and Lisa worried that she wouldn’t be happy without him. Then he gave her a note and said, “Whenever you feel alone, like there’s no one you can rely on, this is all you need to know.” After he leaves, she reads the note: “You are Lisa Simpson.”
Homer Listens To The Bible On Tape
In season 2’s “One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish,” Homer eats a poisonous fish at a sushi restaurant and is told by Dr. Hibbert that he has 24 hours to live. The rest of the episode deals with him confronting his impending death.
It’s heartbreaking as Homer struggles to get home, only to arrive home and find Marge and the kids asleep. So, he falls asleep in the living room, listening to the Bible on tape. We all knew he’d survive because this is a TV show, but what makes it effective is that Homer thinks he’s going to die.
“Do It For Her”
In the episode "And Maggie Makes Three," Bart and Lisa ask why there are no pictures of Maggie in the family photo albums. So, Homer and Marge tell the story of how a third pregnancy was unexpected. Homer had quit his job at the nuclear plant and he had to go crawling back to Mr. Burns' office, begging for his job back.
Mr. Burns gave him his job back on the condition that he was locked into it for the rest of his life, so he put up a sign in Homer’s office: "Don't forget: you’re here forever." Homer took all the pictures of Maggie to cover it up to instead say: "Do it for her."
Homer Looks Up At The Stars After His Mom Leaves
Simpsons fans have long considered “Mother Simpson” to be one of the most emotional episodes of the series, ending with what is easily the most affecting moment in the show’s history. Homer’s long-lost mother Mona reappears and becomes a part of his life.
He grows to trust her, then the cops catch on and she realizes she has to move on, so she bids the family farewell and Homer drives her out into the desert where some friends pick her up. After she’s gone, he just sits on the hood of his car and looks up at the stars. It’s really heartwarming and makes Homer feel like a real person.