"The Great Phatsby" is the twelfth and thirteenth episodes of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 608th and 609th episodes of the series overall. The first part was directed by Chris Clements and written by Dan Greaney. The second part was directed by Timothy Bailey and written by Dan Greaney and Matt Selman. The episodes aired in the United States on Fox on January 15, 2017. It was the first two-part episode of the series since "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", though it was promoted and aired as the show’s first hour-long episode in its initial airing.
The episode is a spoof of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby, Jack Clayton's 1974 film version of the novel, Baz Luhrmann's 2013 film version of the novel with Tobey Maguire, and the 2015 Fox program Empire.
Plot
Vol. I: The Betrayal
Mr. Burns is reminiscing about his past, mainly how he used to hold excessive parties at his estate at Middle Hampton, Lengthy Island. Smithers suggests he throw a new one to relive the past. Mr. Burns offers to organize the entire party himself, but relents and tasks Smithers to travel to Northern Canada to get a quarter ton of lake ice for the party. Smithers meets Homer and tells him about the party, handing him invitations to distribute. Homer decides to invite his family and some random citizens of Springfield to Mr. Burns' party. The party ends up being a failure thanks to Mr. Burns planning it too cheaply.
While being consoled by Homer after the party, Mr. Burns spots another party across the bay, and he gets the idea to crash it. At the party, Mr. Burns is impressed that the party is just like the ones he used to throw (though he notes that the way this party and his parties interpret the "white party" theme is very different). He then meets the host of the party, an elite hip hop artist named Jay G (Kevin Michael Richardson). Jay G is upset with the party crashers at first, but then he recognizes Mr. Burns and is excited to meet him, telling him that Mr. Burns' advice book, "The Rungs of Ruthlessness", was a major influence on his life and helped shape his Golden Goose empire. Jay G allows Mr. Burns and Homer to crash the party.
The following day, Homer's family explores Middle Hampton, and while visiting an ice cream shop, a rich boy named Blake Black cuts in front of them. Upon being scolded for doing so, Blake offers to pay for everyone's cones. Lisa is at first put off by Blake's behavior, but when Blake becomes infatuated with her and wants to hang out with her, she reconsiders her judgement of him. Meanwhile, Bart, upset by these recent developments in his family's lives, meets a scented candle salesman (Keegan-Michael Key), who offers to tell him about how Jay G ruined his chance at recognition if he buys one of his candles. Bart declines, being unimpressed by the cheapest candle available. Later, Lisa is once again put off by Blake when he commits unethical methods to enhance their whale watching experience, and rejects him. Blake attempts to make up for Lisa by organizing a horse justice protest at a horse show, and just as she appears to be won over, another boy appears to offer her a chance to personally groom the horses, and she accepts, leaving Blake to lament that he redeemed himself for nothing and had to give up being "a douche".
Meanwhile, Mr. Burns and Jay G continue to bond, with Jay G giving Mr. Burns a special credit card with no spending limit as a gift for inspiring him. Encouraged by Jay G, Mr. Burns goes on a spending spree with his new card, until he learns that he has gone bankrupt. It turns out that Jay G had designed the card to con Mr. Burns out of his entire fortune, and he joins Alicia Keys and his company mascot Goosius in laughing at his misfortune via a viral video. With all of Mr. Burns' assets absorbed into Jay G's empire, Mr. Burns finds himself at rock bottom.