The Simpsons hinted at a major comeback in Season 36, Episode 16– But it never happened 

Despite running for thirty-six long seasons, The Simpsons shows no signs of slowing down. The recently released sixteenth episode of The Simpsons season thirty-six had long teased the appearance of a long-lost character, i.e., Homer Simpsons' estranged half-brother, Herb. However, belying expectations, the latest episode of The Simpsons veered off in another direction and did not feature the character. So far in the history of The Simpsons, Herb has made just a handful of appearances, and it's fair to say that he is noteworthy in this regard.

Here's everything that we know.

The Simpsons season 36 episode 16 turned audience expectations on its head

As of this writing, The Simpsons has verily come to establish itself as a cultural behemoth. It has the singular distinction of being the longest-running primetime scripted show on American television, with more than a whopping seven hundred and eighty episodes under its belt. The latest episode was titled Stew Lies and led to widespread audience expectation that Homer Simpson's long-lost estranged brother, Herb, would make an appearance.

The episode kicked off with Bart and Lisa each mouthing off against the other. It all started after Lisa briefly imitated Bart, causing the latter to fly off the handle and repeat everything that Lisa said and did in the last six months in the world of The Simpsons. As expected, this imitation initially caused Lisa to despair. However, she soon turned it on its head and ended up teaching Bart Mandarin Chinese as well as the saxophone. She even had the clear wit to thank Bart for the impression, since it somehow came across to her as being supportive.

Marge was subsequently touched by this and called upon her sisters, Selma and Patti, to express her love for them. Homer, on this part, then mentioned that he, too, would like to reconnect with someone before it was too late. The audience at this point was understandably anticipating that the latest episode of The Simpsons would bring back Herb Simpson, but it didn't. Instead, Homer reached out to the TV food show Dude vs. Food host Thad Parkour, voiced by John DiMaggio.

The Simpsons: Homer's estranged relationship with his half brother explored

It is fair to say that Homer's relationship with his half-brother Herb has been anything but ordinary on The Simpsons. Homer got to know Herb for the first time when he was an adult. The fifteenth episode from the show's second season was titled O Brother, Where Art Thou? and consisted of the plot point that saw Grampa Simpson revealing Herb's identity to Homer.

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Homer was always portrayed as the one who often came up with crazy investment ideas, such as his abortive car design or the baby communication translator. These often ended with huge monetary losses.

The Simpsons is exclusively available on FOX.

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