The Major Way The Simpsons Just Changed Marge's Backstory Forever

Over the course of its decades on the air, "The Simpsons" has developed a notoriously loose relationship with its canon. Instead of remaining committed to an ironclad continuity, the "Simpsons" writers, rather, sometimes bend or alter what viewers know about its characters for the sake of a given storyline.

For example, an extended flashback that comprises the balance of the Season 19 episode "That '90s Show" famously contradicts an episode from Season 2. Whereas the earlier episode suggests that Homer and Marge successfully started a family shortly after high school, "That '90s Show" depicts them as childless and unhappy many years after the date of their marriage. That arguably major change followed a Season 15 episode that retcons the occasion of Homer and Marge's first meeting, though it makes sure to justify this change with a self-consciously absurd explanation.

While Season 33, Episode 20 doesn't quite contradict or recolor past episodes in the same manner as some of its predecessors, it nevertheless includes a revelation that may affect how viewers understand Marge's character moving forward.

Season 33, Episode 20 of "The Simpsons" first aired on May 8, 2022 which was Mother's Day in the United States. The episode is titled "Marge the Meanie," and seemingly in acknowledgement of its premiere date, features a Marge-centric A story that reveals a new element of one of TV's most iconic moms that was entirely unexplored in previous episodes.

As it turns out, Marge was a prankster in high school. As she explains in a part of the episode the official "Simpsons" account shared on Twitter, she resorted to habitually pranking her principal after transferring high schools and struggling to fit in. Since graduating, this became something of a secret she kept close to the vest, only just deciding to reveal her secret to her family in this episode.

Naturally, iconic school prankster Bart is thrilled by this revelation. The two of them even go on something of a pranking streak, attempting to right some wrongdoings by some of Springfield's more prickly personalities. By the episode's end, of course, Marge appears to be recommitted to living prank-free. Nevertheless, Marge's backstory is forever altered, paving the way, perhaps, for a more mischievous side of Marge to emerge as the show continues.