Flashbacks Are Among My Favorite Things Because You Get To Explore How It All Came To This, Perhaps Most

Flashbacks are among my favorite things because you get to explore how it all came to This, perhaps most interestingly the fact he used to be more naive and oblivious than actively inconsiderate You see him play Asteroids with his friends or go camping out to go swimming the next day and there's this goofy charm to his persona that remains into adulthood, but perhaps intentionally, it also shows you what the logical extreme of never learning to grow with the world around you is, too Homer's got beef with anything that demands he be more considerate or that shows a change in the world, from gay people finding more acceptance to the way the music scene has changed (and this is enriched by the fact no matter what era of the show you're in, Homer -used- to be a musician) not because he's a malicious person, but because he's learned to blame them as a cause for the change instead of a result of it.

Even in one of the new-er (relatively) episodes when they cut to the future he has a heartfelt if presented somewhat pathetically moment of admitting his perception of himself is still a confused kid whose life changed beyond his control in an instant once Marge was pregnant and it's more commentary on his character as someone who definitely loves his wife very much but is seldom capable of doing something for her because he doesn't know how to. The problem for me isn't that Homer was young once; it's that he never grew up.

Homer Simpson was young once and that's what kills me about the whole thing