The Simpsons Season 35 Completes 1 Minor Character’s Villain Origin Story After 26 Years

The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons Season 35 Episode 14, “Night Of The Living Wages,” now streaming on Hulu

The Simpsons has a wide array of supporting characters to pull from, but one of them has cemented his transformation from a pathetic punchline to a genuine antagonist for the Simpsons family. Thanks to the consistent characters but flexible canon of The Simpsons, plenty of characters have been reinvented across Springfield. Gag characters like the Sea Captain can be revealed to have surprisingly tragic backstories, while unlikely bonds can be suddenly introduced in episodes.

While the elastic timeline does allow for some serious world changes for characters like Barney Gumble or Luanne and Kirk Van Houten, it’s rare to see characters fully transform and gain a new morality. However, that’s exactly what happens in “Night Of The Living Wages,” which recasts a typically comedic side character into an overt opponent of Marge. While the transformation is very fitting given his history in the series and how it underscores the themes of the episode, this turn does mean that a twenty-six-year-old character has been fully reinvented into a true Simpsons villain.

The Simpsons Season 35 Turns Gil Into A Villain

“Night Of The Living Wage” Pits Marge Against Gil

Gil is one of the primary antagonists of season 35 episode 14, “Night Of The Living Wage,” completing the minor character’s transformation from pathetic bit player to genuine villain. In “Night Of The Living Wage,” Gil is the manager for GimmeChow, a new app-based delivery service that opens in Springfield. While GimmeChow CEO Finn Bon Idée is the overarching villain of the episode, Gil is a more constant problem for Marge and the other workers at GimmeChow. Gil begs the employees to work for the company, and uses loopholes to ensure that the workers aren’t paid the overtime they are owed.

Gil openly enjoys this work, kicking his feet up on his desk while forcing Marge to confront the reality of the situation. When Marge works to unionize her fellow workers, Gil does his best to disrupt her efforts. He also showcases a short temper and openly laughs when he’s able to ensure Marge is fired as part of the effort to disrupt her plans. It’s a surprisingly cruel showcase for the character. However, it’s not a surprising one given the history of the character in The Simpsons, as the show has steadily transformed him into a moe antagonistic figure.

Gil’s Role In The Simpsons Has Changed From Punchline Into Antagonist

How Gil’s Villainous Turn Fits Into The Simpsons‘ Themes About Humanity

A consistent recurring character in The Simpsons, Gil Gunderson was introduced in season 9’s “Reality Bytes” as one of Marge’s coworkers at Red Blazer Realty. Gil has spent over twenty seasons as Springfield’s most put-upon citizen, hopping between different professions with little warning. Gil was often a pathetic and even sympathetic character, with episodes like season 28’s “Dogtown” underscoring how little the rest of Springfield thinks of him. However, Gil has also repeatedly been positioned against the townspeople. He’s taken advantage of their generosity, such as in season 18’s “Kill Gil, Volumes I & II.”

Although Gil’s pathetic personality is played up for laughs, it’s also been used to justify his darker side. Similar to Kirk Van Houten’s transformation from pathetic to villainous, Gil’s transformation in season 35 underscores a recurring theme of the series where the unprivileged can quickly become oppressors when the tables are turned. Gil spends “Night Of The Living Wage” treating his employees with the same casual cruelty that he’s so constantly bemoaned in other episodes. It’s a harsh episode for The Simpsons‘ most pathetic side character, and highlights what makes him such a surprisingly dangerous fixture in Springfield.