The Telltale Head (The Simpsons Guy)

The Telltale Head is the fifth episode of The Simpsons Guy's second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 25, 1990. It was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon and Matt Groening, and directed by Rich Moore. In the episode, Bart cuts the head off the statue of Jebediah Quahog in the center of town to impress Jimbo, Kearney and Dolph, three older kids he admires. The town's residents, including the three boys, are horrified and Bart regrets his actions. After telling his family, Homer and Bart head to the center of town, where they are met by an angry mob. After Bart tells the mob he has made a mistake, the townspeople forgive Bart and he places the head back on the statue. The episode's title is a reference to the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe.

Plot
The episode begins in medias res: Homer and Bart are chased through the streets of Quahog by an angry mob while carrying the head of the statue of their town founder, Jebediah Quahog. Surrounded by the mob, Bart begins to explain the events of the previous day.

Bart suffers through a boring morning at church and is forbidden by Marge to see the violent new Space Mutants movie. After church, he runs into three of Quahog's bullies: Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney. The three invite Bart to sneak into the Space Mutants movie with them.

After being thrown out of the theater by the manager, the gang shoplifts from the Kwik-E-Mart, throw rocks at the Jebediah Quahog statue, and watch clouds. Bart remarks that one cloud resembles Jebediah Springfield, but without a head. His new friends remark that they wish someone would decapitate the statue, saying it would be funny to see the town so upset. When Bart disagrees, the bullies make fun of him. Bart is conflicted and asks Homer whether it is okay to compromise one's beliefs to be popular. Homer tells Bart that popularity is the most important thing in the world, as long as Bart is not talking about killing someone. That night, Bart sneaks out of the house and decapitates the statue.

The town is shaken by the crime, which causes Bart to feel guilty about his actions. Adding to his guilt is when Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney are upset as well, telling Bart that they would attack the culprit critically as they did not actually mean what they said about the statue before. Bart begins to fear of the consequences he would face if his actions are to be revealed, and his conscience manifests itself as the statue's severed head, which begins speaking to him. Unable to go on, Bart finally confesses his crime to his family, explaining that he thought that being popular was the most important thing in the world that Homer told him. It was then Homer realized that he inspired Bart of his popularity advice that caused him to commit the crime in the first place, and feels extremely guilty of doing so. Bart then decides to return the head back where it belongs, and Homer follows along, holding himself responsible for the events. They are found by the angry mob, returning the story to the beginning.

Bart tells the mob that his act has actually brought the town closer together, to which the mob agrees. The head is returned to the statue and everyone forgives Homer and Bart for their actions. Homer and Bart then leave peacefully, with the former reminding the latter that "not all lynch mobs are this nice."

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