‘The Simpsons’ Shocks Fans Killing Off Character After 27 Years
The Simpsons recently surprised fans by bringing back a character after nearly three decades since their last appearance on the show. Adding to the shock, however, the character ended up being killed off. One of the series’ showrunners even discussed why the character was chosen to meet such an unfortunate fate.
The Character’s Second Appearance Was Also Their Last
Nick Callahan first appeared in a Season 9 episode, “Realty Bites,” where he was one of her co-workers as part of the Red Blazer Realty firm. During his brief appearance, he was known for his catchphrase, “Boo-yah!” and proved to be a talented realtor. He also didn’t have much faith in Marge, thinking she’d only last a week at the firm.
Despite not appearing on the show for around 27 years, the character recently resurfaced in a more recent episode, “The Yellow Lotus,” a parody of The White Lotus. In the episode, a flashback revealed that Marge and Homer had met Nick back when Marge was still pregnant with Bart.
While there, Nick tricks them into a timeshare agreement, tempting Homer with a free stereo. When the Simpsons vacation at their timeshare at The Yellow Lotus, they confronted him about the scam.
All throughout, much of the story recounted in flashback. Early on, the story becomes a mystery when Homer and Marge find an unidentified corpse. It eventually comes to light that the deceased is none other than Nick, who had been killed by an otter.
As noted by Daily Mail, The Simpsons is no stranger to killing off characters. Earlier this year, the series caused headlines after it had killed off Larry the Barfly, a regular patron at Moe’s Tavern.
Al Jean Even Talked About Killing Off The Character
Of course, being an animated series, the show occasionally has the luxury of bringing characters back from the dead. Infamously, Dr. Marvin Monroe appeared alive in “Diatribe of a Mad Housewife,” despite previously having been established as dying offscreen. Poking fun at this, Monroe explained he had simply been “very sick.”
Nick’s inclusion in the story does cause a bit of a continuity problem. Marge is able to recognize Callahan throughout the story. However, she didn’t recognize him in “Realty Bites.”
That said, Callahan’s status as a minor character is ultimately what proved to be his undoing. While fans may remember the character, killing him off likely won’t impact upcoming storylines on the show. Still, him being a character who has appeared before can still make his death shocking for some fans.
Showrunner Al Jean commented on this in a conversation with Screen Rant. As he explained, “We, this past week after the premiere, killed off Nick the Realtor from season 9 in ‘The Yellow Lotus,’ a White Lotus parody.”
“It’s kind of convenient because you have this thing like The White Lotus where you know someone’s going to die, but it’s not going to be Dr. Hibbert, and it’s not going to be Sideshow Bob. So, it is a character—that guy Nick—but it’s also somebody that’s okay to lose because he hasn’t been on the show for 27 years.”
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