Over the years the Simpson’s have formed several traditions, types of episode that come up again and again each season. And one of the weirdest examples of this is the fact that just about every season has a Moe-centric episode. We had one yesterday, with Moe finding the bar destroyed and then starting a new job at the Plant. But apparently someone didn’t get a memo or something, because today we have yet another Moe episode. And it’s weird!

The story starts off with Homer and Lisa sitting at the breakfast table, getting ready to head off to the Plant together, because today is apparently “Take Your Daughter to Work Day.” So, the pair heads off to the Plant, and Lisa gets the privilege of hearing a speech from Mr. Burns, which is mainly just a whole bunch of misogyny about women in the workplace. It’s pretty awkward. But Lisa doesn’t seem to mind it, which seems a little odd.

She and Homer then begin wandering around the Plant, while Lisa slowly starts to realize that Homer knows absolutely nothing about the Plant, and his job in general. It’s also around here that I noticed that Homer and the various Plant employees are still talking about how Elon Musk destroyed the financials of the Plant, which is kind of shocking, since they almost never discuss events like those after the episode ends.

Homer and Lisa then head into the cafeteria to have lunch together, when Lisa finds that disaster has struck. Her soy-milk has leaked all over the food, and it’s all pretty worthless. So, in the hopes of helping his daughter, Homer decides to go do something to help her. He begins using his skills as a lunchroom trader to eventually make her a shockingly decent salad. And she’s incredibly appreciative, the two having a nice hug.

Meanwhile, we see that Mr. Burns is about to host a meeting with a Nigerian king, because they’re still hurting financially from the Elon Musk incident, and they need a win. Apparently Burns is going to sell a whole bunch of uranium to the Nigerian King, and when he arrives with his entourage the deal making begins. However, the King does have a request. He’s brought his twenty-something daughter Kemi along with him, and he wants Burns to find someone to take care of her while they’re making their deals.

Burns looks through his security monitors, hoping to find a suitable person to take care of Kemi. And, as luck would have it, that’s the exact moment that Lisa and Homer are having their tender hug. So, figuring that Homer is a good father, he decides to saddle him with the task of caring for Kemi. Smithers is about to mention how untrustworthy Homer is, but he’s gotten an idea in his head that if the Plant fails he and Burns will have to live together on an island and become partners, so he decides to let Homer take the job and crash and burn.

Burns then pays for a pretty plush and lavish hotel room, figuring that Homer can just keep Kemi in there for however many days this deal takes place. Homer is still pretty unsure about this whole thing, but is dedicated to doing a good job. Well, until Kemi immediately tells him that just sitting around and watching TV sounds terrible, and insists that she wants to go out and see Springfield for herself. And, because Homer is spineless, he agrees.

However, Homer is also not a hip man. So, he decides to take Kemi to Moe’s. Thrilling! However, when they get there something shocking starts to happen. Moe and Kemi hit it off. She seems to find him pretty charming, and the two start joking around. Although, when Kemi mentions that she’s Nigerian Moe has a bit of a freakout. Turns out that he’s been scammed by a Nigerian Prince scam, and he still thinks that there’s a real Nigerian Prince who owes him money, and that the Prince must obviously be Kemi’s brother.

Homer and Moe step away from the bar so that Moe can explain all of this, but when they come back to the bar they’re shocked to find Kemi missing. Homer freaks out, and runs out into the street, begging Chief Wiggum to help him find his lost princess. And Chief Wiggum responds by arresting Homer and taking him to the drunk tank, because he clearly seems wasted. Moe does nothing to stop this, and heads back into the bar, only to find Kemi has come back.

Kemi is here to pay for her drink, and she ends up striking another conversation with Moe, and the two spend a good deal of time talking. Which is bad news for Homer, because after Marge arrives to bail him out from jail he starts running around the town again, looking for Kemi because he still assumes she’s lost. However, she’s still at Moe’s, and ends up falling asleep in the bar that night, letting Moe have a companion.

The next morning, after establishing that Mr. Burns and the King’s negotiations are still going, and not going well, we see Kemi wake up and make a request of Moe. She wants to see the town, and wants Moe to be her tour guide. So they go get a Vespa and begin racing around Springfield, seeing all of the wonderful sights of the town. They have a pretty nice time, and even succeed in fleeing from Homer when he finds them. But, eventually, Kemi decides that they should go back to her father. And, to show her appreciation to Moe, Kemi gives him a kiss on his forehead.

Which is a bad call. Because it turns out there were some paparazzi stalking them, and they get a picture of Kemi kind of kissing Moe. This picture then spreads around the internet like crazy, and ends up in Smither’s attention. Which is good for him, because Burns and the King have actually started to get things moving in the right direction, and are about to sign the paperwork, ruining Smithers’ idea. So he drops the photo of Kemi in front of the King, and he promptly get furious.

The King begins loudly complaining about what a bad job that Homer, and by extension Burns, have done taking care of Kemi. At this point, everyone important to the plot magically arrives at the Plant, and they all start arguing. Kemi explains that she doesn’t have any romantic feelings to Moe, and the kiss was done with the same emotion of Snow White kissing Dopey. Which is an incredibly sad but understandable explanation.

So, there’s no longer a problem. But the King is still being fussy, so Homer decides to step up and give him a speech. Homer talks all about how fathers need to let their daughters become their own women, and stifling them will lead to ruin. This does not work. But Homer saying that you can’t strangle girls does work, and the King decides to sign the contract and save the Plant. He and Kemi then prepare to leave Springfield, but before they leave Kemi heads back to Moe’s to drop off some depressing Nigerian literature and to say goodbye to her friend.

I’m not quite sure why they decided to have two Moe episodes in a row. Let alone two relatively lackluster Moe episodes. Just like yesterday’s episode I think that today’s had some interesting ideas, it just kind of failed in execution. I think the idea of Moe befriending a Nigerian princess is a little absurd, but I do like the basic idea of a visitor finding Moe charming, and forming a friendship with him. What I didn’t really connect with was the decision to make it seem like Kemi was falling in love with him, and having Moe feel sort of heart-broken by the end of the episode. I think it could have been a stronger episode if it was just Moe having a new friend, instead of him thinking that he got a new romantic partner. But, whatever. It’s a fine episode. I think it’s a little funny that they chose to have a Nigerian King save the Plant after Elon Musk destroyed it, and I think that that was the primary reason for this episode to exist.

Take Away: You can apparently occasionally trust Nigerian royalty.

“The Princess Guide” was written by Brian Kelley and directed by Timothy Bailey, 2015.