Who Killed Frank Grimes?

This was originally an Extra Seconds review, but found myself bored writing about the nuts and bolts of why Homer's Enemy works. I feel like everyone intuitively understands that. So I switched to this more gimmicky approach. One of my favorite things about this episode is that it allows viewers to approach Grimes' situation from multiple angles, so I thought it would be fun to go over some of them.
(Also, maybe I am just nostalgic for doing those "Who REALLY Shot Mr. Burns" videos.) 🤣

I like the idea that everything EXCEPT homer is the cause of his death. The world treating him like garbage his whole life, burns giving him double standard treatment, the other plant workers shared apathy to his concerns with no one trying to help him in some form. Grimes misguided anger at homer instead of these people actually causing the problem. As well as the will of the writers not allowing a status quo change. Homer however, is the only person in the episode who even shows an interest in grimes feeling better on some level (and marge technically). Grimes is being effected by everything else in his life and yet blames the one person who wishes him no ill will. The only innocent in "homer's enemy" is homer. Its perfect irony.

Frank Grimes was a man in a cartoon who didn’t understand cartoon logic.

if Millhouse had been a harder working employee, Frank Grimes wouldn't have died

Technically, burns is responsible because he allowed the extremely high voltage wires to just hang out without any cover
An OHSA violation if nothing else

Being a real person in a Simpsons episode is why the electric shock killed him, had it been any other character they wouldn't have died, just comically zapped.

When Homer realizes Frank doesn't like him, he backs off, stops trying to spend time with him. But Frank just had to keep pushing.

I just realized something. If the real Homer grabbed those wires like Grimey did, he likely would've survived and it would've been played as a joke.

Remember that Mr. Burns originally hired Frank Grimes to be his executive vice president. If only he hadn't seen that dog on TV.

Why Homer Simpson did of course, it was his last words “I don't need safety gloves, because I'm Homer Simpso--"

wasnt it the baby

I think a lot about Bill Oakley saying that Grimes' actual foil is Superintendent Chalmers, a man who understands and accepts that everyone around him is insane but does not question or confront it and is able to live in peace because of this.

I really like that you point out that Homer isn't being an asshole here. I actually tear up on rewatches on the observation that basically only Homer asks Grimes if he is ok, he actually does care about the man.

"[He] refused to become a nameless background character, and paid the price for it."
Man, what an incredible quote.

And eventually they found out that Grimes was killed by oh... lets say... Moe

My favourite part of this episode is how crucial the B plot is for the A plot.

Normally, Bart is not a son that one would envy Homer for having. However, because Bart happened to be a factory owner at the same time Frank came over for dinner, it makes Homer’s life look perfect.

What if the factory plot didn’t happen that week? Would it have humanized Homer and make Frank realize that Homer’s existence isn’t so perfect after all? Would Frank have survived?

I blame whoever owns both bowling alleys.

Maybe the high voltage electric wires shouldn't have been out in the open, with no shielding or protective insulation. This is not the reactor or cooling tower. It's a random corridor.

that's right. the REAL killer of frank grimes was....marge simpson. cue simpsons mysteries intro music

I'd say it's simply "all of the above".

That's the beauty of the episode. The tragic, dark, but very funny beauty. Frank Grimes was just another unlucky but ambitious guy in a horrible world filled with stupid/horrible people who finally snapped after meeting the luckiest/laziest/dumbest individual in said world, and all of it was probably a meta-joke about cartoon logic.


So yeah, to reduce the perpetrator to one particular aspect of the simpsons world as a whole is, in my opinion, quite silly in general. It's just that springfield, and the show's world in general, by realistic logic, is hell.