Sorry Not Sorry The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 9 Review

Sorry Not Sorry has the comfortable rhythm of a family story that keeps finding stranger and more revealing places to go. First aired on 6 December 2020, it places Lisa and the Simpson family inside a story concerned with school life. The premise is easy to grasp, but the value comes from the reactions, hesitations and poor decisions that gather around it.

⁠

The plot brings Lisa and the Simpson family into a situation shaped by calls, teacher and hoover. That combination gives the episode a sturdy engine because each new complication grows from a choice rather than appearing at random. Even when the logic becomes cheerfully absurd, the objective stays clear. We understand what the characters want, what they are refusing to admit, and why the next mistake feels almost inevitable.

⁠

The episode understands that Lisa is funniest when the audience can see the need beneath the behaviour. the Simpson family offers a necessary counterweight, neither endlessly patient nor conveniently hostile. Their interaction has texture, and the supporting Springfield faces add pressure without stealing the centre. It is character comedy built from competing wants rather than a chain of isolated gags.

⁠

The episode's comic timing is strongest when it pauses after an absurd claim and lets another character absorb it. There are broad sight gags, of course, but the dialogue carries much of the personality. Its treatment of school life avoids becoming a lecture because every argument is filtered through somebody's vanity. Springfield remains a place where even a reasonable idea can be ruined with impressive speed.

⁠

As part of the later run's more experimental period, the episode reflects a particular stage in the show's visual and narrative confidence. The direction keeps the geography clear, which matters when the plot begins moving quickly. Reaction shots are allowed to finish, and the performances remain readable beneath the larger gestures. That control gives the emotional beats enough space to register without slowing the comic pace.

⁠

What holds the episode together is its attention to authority, insecurity and the strange social rules of childhood. The subject appears in comic form, yet the feelings underneath are treated with respect. A less careful version might have delivered a neat answer. This one allows discomfort to remain, and that is closer to how the Simpson family usually works. Reconciliation matters because it is incomplete, not because every disagreement has magically disappeared.

⁠

The episode is not flawless. One turn arrives before the supporting idea has fully developed, and a few side jokes interrupt the momentum instead of strengthening it. The resolution also smooths over consequences that seemed important only minutes earlier. Even so, those weaknesses are easier to forgive because the central relationship remains coherent and the story never completely loses sight of why the trouble began.

⁠

Sorry Not Sorry earns its place in the catalogue through character rather than novelty alone. The premise is memorable, but the reactions give it shape and feeling. I came away appreciating the episode's willingness to let Lisa and the Simpson family be foolish, sympathetic and frustrating at once. That complexity, delivered with brisk comedy, is the reason the story continues to feel worth revisiting after its plot has been resolved.