Warning: Spoilers for The Simpsons season 34, episode 10.
While Maggie has sometimes seemingly spoken on The Simpsons, season 34 of the long-running series finally saw the baby of Springfield’s most famous family communicate substantially with her parents (but there was a catch). Despite entering its thirty-fifth year in 2022, The Simpsons is not resting on its laurels. Instead, The Simpsons season 34 is making an admirable stab at breaking the few rules that the show still holds dear.
One episode of The Simpsons season 34 retconned Lisa and Milhouse’s relationship, a reliable pairing that appears in almost every episode of the series set in the future. Now, The Simpsons season 34, episode 10, “Game Done Changed” has taken things a step further. Maggie finally spoke to her parents in this episode for the first time in the many decades that The Simpsons has been on the air. Of course, there was a catch. Maggie spoke by communicating via emojis in a video game, meaning that viewers still didn’t get to hear her voice. However, it was clear that, unlike earlier scenes where Maggie seemed to speak, it was her communicating straight to Homer and Marge.
Has Maggie Spoke On The Simpsons Before?
Maggie has technically spoken on The Simpsons before, but all of these instances come with an addendum. Generally, Maggie only speaks in non-canon episodes, dreams, hallucinations, and other extenuating circumstances. However, although even Simpsons episodes set in the future often keep Maggie silent, there is one existing case of her speaking in an episode that appears to be part of the show’s canon. In The Simpsons season 4, episode 10, “Lisa’s First Word,” Homer puts Maggie to bed and leaves the room before he can hear her utter “Daddy.” This lone line of dialogue was recorded by none less than Elizabeth Taylor and marks the iconic actor’s only appearance on The Simpsons.
How Maggie Spoke In Season 34
While Maggie has said one word in an earlier episode of The Simpsons, the fact that no one was around to hear it means the scene runs into the classic “tree falls in a forest” philosophical dead end. However, in keeping with The Simpsons season 34’s Golden Age call-backs, “Game Done Changed” features a much more concrete case of Maggie communicating directly with her parents and, later, Lisa. While the primary plot of “Game Done Changed” features Bart and Skinner teaming up to monetize a glitch in a video game, the B-story sees Marge, Homer, and, eventually, Lisa spending all their time in this game, wherein Maggie can speak.
Since the family is playing a video game, Maggie remains silent and communicates via emojis seen in a speech bubble. However, outside of Taylor’s cameo, this is still the first case of her voicing her thoughts, something that Maggie never managed despite the many times that The Simpsons has given her voice in non-canon outings. While The Simpsons season 34’s many celebrity voice cameos mean that the show could have got another A-lister to vocalize Maggie’s messages in the game, seeing Maggie use an unexpected method of communication works better. After thirty-five years of trying to get a word in, it was inevitable that Maggie would need to do something original to communicate in The Simpsons.
New episodes of The Simpsons air on Fox on Sundays.
