When Flanders Failed

"When Flanders Failed" is the third episode of The Simpsons' third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1991. In the episode, Homer makes a wish for Ned Flanders's new left-handed store to go out of business. The wish comes true and gets the Flanders family into financial troubles. Ned is forced to sell his possessions, and Homer gleefully buys many of his things. When finding out that Ned's house is to be repossessed, Homer feels guilty and decides to get the store back in business by telling all the left-handed citizens about it. Meanwhile, Bart takes karate lessons but quits after discovering that it is not as interesting as he had expected it to be.

The episode was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Jim Reardon. It had an unusual amount of animation glitches because the animation studio was training a new group of animators. The episode features cultural references to playwright William Shakespeare and the film It's a Wonderful Life. The title of the episode is a reference to the title of the poem "In Flanders Fields". Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 13.9, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.

Ned Flanders invites the Simpson family to a barbecue party and announces his plans to open a store for left-handed people; The Leftorium. During the pulling of a wishbone, Homer, who has been constantly jealous of the material success of Ned and his family, wishes for The Leftorium to be a failure and go out of business. Homer frequently checks in on Ned to ensure that business is going poorly and is happy to see precisely that happening. When Homer sees left-handed citizens struggling with items made for right-handed people, he thinks about informing them about The Leftorium, but decides not to. Eventually the store does indeed close due to lack of business, plunging the Flanders' into debt and misery. Ned is forced to sell his possessions, and Homer gleefully buys many of Ned's things. Homer starts to regret what he did, but when he goes to return Ned's possessions, he finds Ned's house repossessed and the family living in their car. Homer wrestles with the guilt his wish has brought, and tells Ned to open the store for one final day. He then tells all the left-handed residents of Springfield about The Leftorium, and they all travel to the store and buy things. The increase in customers helps Ned keep the store open and get his house back.