Edna Krabappel might have been properly retired from The Simpsons back in 2014, but last night’s episode of the show finally gave both her and her actress Marcia Wallace the send-off from the show they deserved.
Edna Krabappel was retired from the show following the death of actress Marcia Wallace, who died aged 70 in 2013. Whilst there have been previous dedications to both the character and actress in The Simpsons, this latest one was by far the most heartfelt.
On Sunday, 21 February, FOX aired Diary Queen, the twelfth episode of Season 32. This saw Bart coming into possession of Edna Krabappel’s diary. The episode was initially slated for release last weekend but was rescheduled after weather problems led to NASCAR delays.
In the episode, Bart and Milhouse find the diary after buying a selection of books from a yard sale at Ned Flanders' home. When he starts reading the diary, Bart believes Edna had very high hopes for him later in life.
Although this turns out not to be the case, Ned Flanders consoles Bart and reveals that Edna was nevertheless very fond of him when he returns the diary to Ned later on.
A tribute was uploaded to Twitter following the episode airing which you can see below:
There are 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮 advantages to being the teacher's pet. In loving memory of Mrs. Krabappel. 💛 pic.twitter.com/IrrceWLqM5February 22, 2021
The episode features some previously recorded lines from the late actress. Speaking to Variety, Simpsons executive producer Al Jean explained that they had received permission from the Wallace estate to use her previously recorded dialogue.
He added: "We never got the chance to give sort of a proper goodbye to her in the show, and this is a small attempt to do that.
"We just sort of wanted to give her one last moment on the show in her memory. It’s just that, it’s nothing more, but we thought she was the best."
This isn’t the first time the show has paid tribute to Marcia Wallace, though. In 2014, we saw The Man Who Grew Too Much, which featured a scene where Ned Flanders reminisced about an evening spent out dancing with his second ex-wife.
Shortly after Marcia Wallace’s death, the episode Four Regrettings and a Funeral also aired. This was dedicated to Wallace and featured an altered chalkboard gag in the intro where Bart wrote out "we’ll really miss you, Mrs. K”.
