The Last Traction Hero

"The Last Traction Hero" is the ninth episode of the twenty-eighth season of the animated television series The Simpsons, and the 605th episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on December 4, 2016.

While searching for a parking spot, Homer realizes that Mr. Burns is away on a hunting trip and decides to help himself to Burns' lifestyle. While playing a round of golf in Burns' office, he accidentally trips the trapdoor controls and falls into a cement mixer. He is placed in traction for several months as a result of his injuries. The blue-haired lawyer advises Mr. Burns that while the original trapdoor was legal, his decision to renovate it means that he is now legally liable for Homer's injuries. Burns dispatches Waylon Smithers to get Homer to sign a documents waiving away a compensation claim.

Marge tries to spend time with Homer, but her ideas of fun—quilting and jigsaw puzzles—bore him. After several failed attempts at getting Homer's signature, Smithers admits that he thinks Homer has a case for compensation, and Homer calls a lawyer. Marge unexpectedly bonds with Smithers, discovering that he can provide the emotional intimacy that Homer cannot; for his part, Homer enjoys this arrangement because with her emotional needs met, Marge is more willing to be physically intimate with him.

Frustrated by his lack of progress and the upcoming civil suit, Burns issues an ultimatum to Smithers: get Homer to sign the waiver or be transferred to the company's nuclear plant in Chernobyl. Smithers reluctantly admits his predicament to Marge, choosing his job over their friendship. Homer overhears this, and realizing that Smithers makes Marge happy, approaches Mr. Burns and offers to sign a waiver on the condition that Smithers is allowed to keep his job. Burns agrees, and Homer feigns a fall on the steps of the courthouse so that his lawyer can file another suit. However, he accidentally drags Marge with him, and the two are hit by a truck. Both are put in traction, where they are cared for by an incompetent Grampa Simpson. Marge confesses her love for Homer because of his willingness to sacrifice a compensation claim worth millions of dollars for the sake of her happiness.

Meanwhile, a fight breaks out over seating arrangements on the Springfield Elementary bus. Lisa proposes a solution to Principal Skinner, who promotes her to bus monitor. While Lisa's enforced seating plan initially proves successful, the children begin to resent her. Lisa goes mad with power, planning enforced seating plans for the school cafeteria and kickball teams, and ignoring Bart's warnings about discontent on the bus. The children rebel, instigating chaos on the bus and embarrassing Lisa, who admits that she was the architect of her own downfall. She resolves never to be a know-it-all again, but only lasts a day before correcting Ms. Hoover's many, many errors in class.