While time doesn’t exist, and backstories keep shifting, death is still very much a thing in the world of The Simpsons. Characters like Maude Flanders, Edna Krabappel and even Larry the Barfly have tragically kicked the bucket, never to be seen again.
But lately, there’s been a bit of confusion around the apparent deaths of certain characters. Most famously, casual fans were shocked to learn that Marge Simpson had been killed off in last season’s finale. Of course, it was only in a flash-forward segment, meaning that Marge’s death (and her post-mortem affair with Ringo Starr) was not intended to be a canonical plot point.
Last week fans were similarly confused when it seemed as though a member of Springfield Elementary’s faculty might have expired off-screen.
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In the Season 37 premiere, “Thrifty Ways to Thieve Your Mother,” Lisa starts wearing her mom’s old ‘90s clothes, and ends up impressing the heads of the school Fashion Club, Devin and Vidalia, with her “vintage looks.” The club, it turns out, meets in Springfield Elementary’s music room. “We took it over when Mr. Largo died,” Devin tells Lisa.
“Mr. Largo died?!” a shocked Lisa exclaims.
“Or he has jury duty. It was something dumb,” Devin responds.
After the episode aired, fans seemed genuinely confused about the fate Mr. Largo. Sure, the line seemed like a throwaway joke, but then again, it’s not like he showed up later in the episode to reclaim the music room. So was he really dead? That would be a pretty shocking fate for a character who literally appears in the opening credits of the show.
In an interview with TVLive, co-executive producers Cesar Mazariegos and Jessica Conrad confirmed that Mr. Largo is indeed alive. “When we killed off Larry the Barfly last year, that was a big discussion. ‘How do we do it? Should it be that guy, or should it be trucker hat guy?’ Anything that’s that big, where there’s a whole episode about it, we for sure think about it,” Mazariegos explained. “But we usually don’t want to get rid of our characters. And it’s such a cartoony world. We know even if (Hans) Moleman is in a car that explodes, it doesn’t mean he’s dead forever.”
Sure enough, in this week’s new episode, “Keep Chalm and Gary On,” Mr. Largo appears multiple times. He can be seen stressing out with Principal Skinner and his fellow teachers while they’re trying to bust the students’ A.I. cheating ring. And he’s also one of the many dudes to try out Superintendent Chalmers’ skin-rejuvenating mutant snail slime.
Of course, it’s always possible that he did die, but was somehow necromanced back to life à la Dr. Marvin Monroe.
