The Telltale Head

The Telltale Head

Airdate: 2/25/1990

Quick Plot Refresh:

Bart meets Jimbo, Kearney, and Dolph while going to watch the movie Space Mutants IV. Instead of paying to get in like he originally intended, Kearney invites Bart to sneak into the movie with them. 

After the four of them get kicked out of the theater, they all go around Springfield being generally up to no good. At the Kwik-E-Mart Bart buys his new "friends" a squishie while they steal items from the store. When they're through with that, the gang go to the statue of Jebediah Springfield and hurl rocks at it.

They finish their crime spree by laying on grass, looking up at clouds. This is when Bart notices one of the clouds looks like Jebediah Springfield's statue without the head. The rest of the bullies think it would be cool if someone were to actually cut the head off the statue just like the cloud. When Bart defends Jebediah, the bullies ridicule him, and Bart walks away.

On his way home, Bart gets the idea to cut the head off of the actual statue of Jebediah. He asks Homer how important being popular is, and Homer says that "being popular is the most important thing in the world." So that night, Bart sneaks out of the house in a ninja costume to saw the head off the statue.

Immediately after sawing off the head, Bart regrets it. "What have I done?" he moans.

The next day the town is shocked. Everyone seems to be affected by what Bart did. Thinking he will earn respect from the bullies, Bart puts the statue's head in a bag and brings it to school to show them. But as he is just about to take the head out of his bag, the bullies change their decision about the coolness of cutting off Jebediah's head.

Bart: Hi guys, what's up?

Jimbo: We were just saying we'd love to meet the guy who cut off the head of that statue.

Dolph: Yeah, we wish he were here right now.

Bart: Oh, really?

Kearney: Yeah, we'd break every bone in his stupid little body!

Realizing he's made a huge mistake, Bart starts digging a hole in the backyard to bury the head. But after talking to the head, which had started speaking because of Bart's active imagination, Bart decides to confess what he has done to the family. When Marge asks why he did it, Bart responds by saying that he "somehow got the idea that being popular was the most important thing in the world."

Homer realized it was because of his own lecture that Bart committed the crime, so they both head out of the house to confess. But on the way, an angry mob finds them, and they demand justice. To gain the sympathy of the mob, Bart tells them the story of how he just wanted to fit in, and the mob forgives him. 

Character Comparison: Past and Present