Although The Simpsons seemed set to start a promising trend when it came to shaking up the shows status quo, season 36, episode 2 proves the series still isnt overly keen on disrupting its reliable formula. The Simpsons season 36 started very strong. The season premiere, Barts Birthday, featured a series of twists that shook up the entire premise of the long-running series and seemed to change it forever. The Simpsons season 36 episode 1s huge twists were all undone in the end, but this twist was so cleverly set up that the ending didnt feel like a letdown.