"Thirst Trap: A Corporate Love Story" is the fourth episode of the thirty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 754th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 29, 2023. The episode was directed by Timothy Bailey and written by Rob LaZebnik.
| "Thirst Trap: A Corporate Love Story" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 35 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Timothy Bailey |
| Written by | Rob LaZebnik |
| Production code | OABF21 |
| Original air date | October 29, 2023 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
In this episode, Mr. Burns funds a questionable company that turns salt water into drinking water. Elizabeth Banks guest starred as Persephone. The episode received mixed reviews.
Plot
editMr. Burns is being interviewed for a documentary. One year ago, Persephone Odair is describing her company’s product, which turns salt water into drinking water. It was inspired by her grandfather, who died on a lifeboat in the ocean. Looking for funding, Lisa suggests asking Mr. Burns. He agrees and gives her part of the power plant and its workers, including Homer and Carl, to be company offices and staff. Everyone signs non-disclosure agreements. Surprisingly, Burns and Persephone suddenly get married.
Burns and Persephone demonstrate the product to the board of directors, but they are not allowed to drink the water. At the company, workers, including Carl, begin to disappear after they question the viability of the product. Posts on social media also question the company, but Burns buys the companies and deletes the posts. Lisa continues to believe in Persephone. The documentary interviews a whistleblower who discloses that the product does not work. However, the documentary stops suddenly when Burns buys the documentary company.
More documentaries are produced about Persephone’s company, and the whistleblower is revealed to be Homer. He and Lisa went to the company after hours where Carl demonstrated that the product masks the salt water taste with soda instead of removing salt. At the first public demonstration at Springfield Elementary School, Homer tells Burns that Persephone is a fraud, and the water will kill the children. Persephone refuses Burns’ pleas, but Homer disables the products. Burns and Persephone divorce, and she goes to prison. In an interview, Persephone maintains her innocence and repeats the story of her original inspiration, but the interviewer proves that the story is also a lie.
Production
editElizabeth Banks guest starred as Persephone, a love interest for Mr. Burns and a parody of Elizabeth Holmes. Journalists Christiane Amanpour, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Kara Swisher, actor Peter Coyote, and director Peter Jackson appeared as themselves. Filmmaker Ken Burns reprised his role as himself.[1] Jimmy Buffett is referenced in the episode but no new audio was recorded. Mr. Buffett died seven weeks before the episode first aired.
Purported foreshadowing
editIn the episode, Mr. Burns buys social media company Twitter for Persephone. He comments that the owner needed to sell it after crashing a rocket into the International Space Station. Viewers commented on social media that it was a future prediction by the show.[2][3][4]
Reception
editViewing figures
editThe episode earned a 0.31 rating with 1.12 million viewers, which was the most-watched show on Fox that night.[5]
Critical reception
editJohn Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave the episode a 6.5 out of 10. He thought the jokes were not original because they could have been found online a year ago. He liked the performances by Elizabeth Banks and Kevin Michael Richardson.[6]
Mike Celestino of Laughing Place praised the guest stars and the jokes. He also liked the documentary concept but thought the subject matter was slightly "out-of-date."[7]
Awards and nominations
editWriter Rob LaZebnik was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation at the 76th Writers Guild of America Awards for this episode.[8]
References
edit- ^ Holub, Christian (October 27, 2023). "The Simpsons will parody Silicon Valley with new star-studded episode". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Moss, Kyle (October 30, 2023). "'The Simpsons' may have dropped another prediction — and if it comes true, the world may one day tweet again". Yahoo!. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Ritzen, Stacey (October 30, 2023). "'The Simpsons' Fans Are Hoping This 'Prediction' About Elon Musk Comes True". Men’s Journal. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Bajaj, Yash (October 31, 2023). "THIS Simpsons Prediction Is Bad News For Elon Musk". Times Now. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (October 30, 2023). "Sunday Ratings: NBC Tops Prime Time, CBS Lineup Boosted Due to NFL Overrun". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ Schwarz, John (October 30, 2023). "Review: The Simpsons "Thirst Trap: A Corporate Love Story"". Bubbleblabber. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Celestino, Mike (October 29, 2023). "TV Recap / Review: "The Simpsons" Tackles the Theranos Documentary in "Thirst Trap: A Corporate Love Story"". Laughing Place. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (February 21, 2024). "Writers Guild Awards: Picard, Shrinking, The Diplomat and The Last of Us Among First-Time Nominees". TVLine. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
