The War of the Simpsons

"The War of the Simpsons" is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons' second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 2, 1991. In the episode, Homer gets drunk at a party and embarrasses his wife Marge, so she decides to sign them up for a marriage counseling retreat. Homer finds out that the retreat will be held near a lake and packs his fishing equipment, despite Marge telling him that all they will be doing is resolving their differences. At the lake the next morning, Homer tries to sneak away to go fishing, but Marge catches him and he takes a walk instead. On the dock, Homer grabs hold of a fishing pole only to be yanked onto a small rowboat by the fish. When he notices an upset Marge is looking at him, he immediately lets the fish go to prove his love for her.

The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Mark Kirkland. It was the last episode Kirkland directed during his first year on the show. Although not named until season three's "Black Widower", the character Snake Jailbird appeared for the first time in this episode. "The War of the Simpsons" features cultural references to songs such as Tom Jones's "It's Not Unusual", Dusty Springfield's "The Look of Love", KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I Like It)", and Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman". Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 11.6, and was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.