A Reel Perspectives Episode Review: The Simpsons’ 800th Episode Goes Full National Treasure
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Reel Perspectives
February 17, 2026
Santa’s Little Helper heads to Philadelphia for a dog show that turns into a Founding Father conspiracy — and somehow brings it all back to the heart of Springfield.
Dogs, Declarations, and Hoagies 🐕📜🥖
Eight hundred episodes. Let that sit for a second.
The Simpsons really said, “We’re not just surviving — we’re aging like fine wine and animated audacity.” With “Irrational Treasure,” the show officially hits its 800th episode, locking in its title as the longest-running American sitcom and animated program in TV history. Not “one of.” The longest.
And to think, this whole empire started in 1987 as scrappy little animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show before FOX spun it off into a standalone series in December 1989. From hand-drawn chaos to HD Springfield glow-ups, we’re now in Season 37 — with renewals already carrying the show through Season 40.
Forty seasons. That’s not a TV run. That’s generational wealth.
It’s already the longest-running scripted primetime series ever, and somehow it’s still expanding. A second Simpsons movie is in the works and set for July 2027, which means even after 800 episodes, they’re still building out the Springfield Cinematic Universe.
And for this milestone? They didn’t go for some over-the-top celebrity parade or meta clip show. They centered Santa’s Little Helper — the very first addition to the Simpson family back in that snowy Season 1 parking lot.
Which is how we end up with an 800th episode that starts with Christmas nostalgia… and somehow spirals into a Philadelphia-based Benjamin Franklin treasure hunt featuring a wellness-obsessed dog trainer, Nicolas Cage–coded historians, and a dog show conspiracy.
Yes. We’re going there. So let’s talk about “Irrational Treasure.”
What We Learn at 800 Episodes In 🍩💛🛋️
And honestly? There’s something poetic about The Simpsons hitting 800 episodes by circling back to the dog that started it all.
“Irrational Treasure” opens with an extended flashback to the closing moments of the very first episode to air, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” when Homer and Bart bring home the ex-racing greyhound who would become Santa’s Little Helper. It’s a nostalgic wink that reminds longtime viewers: before the couch gags, before the memes, before the prophecy jokes — there was just a struggling family and a dog in need of love.
“I’m gonna love you and smooch you and use you as a pillow.”
Which is sweet. And also… exactly the type of chaotic pet ownership that leads to everything that follows.
Because fast-forward, and Santa’s Little Helper is living LARGE.
We get a series of escalating family meetings. At one point, he’s in a swim diaper sitting next to Homer dressed as the “Chosen One.” Later, he’s at the dinner table like a full human being while Homer — in his Pie Man costume — feeds him hot dogs. Not scraps. Not little bites. Full hot dogs. At the table.
Marge finally calls yet another family meeting after the couch is completely destroyed. She steps outside and finds the whole family in the car… with Santa’s Little Helper driving. They see her, panic, and reverse out of the driveway like teenagers who just heard the garage door open.
Then comes the moment that sends everything sideways: Marge makes ambrosia salad with grapes and mayo (and yes, we need to have a separate conversation about fruit salad and mayonnaise), and Santa’s Little Helper eats it. The table collapses under his weight. That’s when Marge realizes grapes are toxic to dogs.
She rushes him to the St. Bernard of Assisi Medical Center, where doctors — guest stars Noah Wyle, Taylor Dearden, and Katherine LaNasa from HBO’s The Pitt — scramble to pump his stomach. It’s dramatic. It’s chaotic. It’s very “medical procedural,” but make it animated, Springfield.
They save him. And then the doctor delivers the most unserious diagnosis imaginable:
“He’s what we in the canine wellness field call: ‘Damn, that dog’s fat.’”
The delivery? Ruthless. 😭
Now Marge is locked in. She hires celebrity dog trainer Adrienne Guestar, voiced by Quinta Brunson from Abbott Elementary, and Santa’s Little Helper enters his full “new year, new me” era. Diet plan. Intense training. Inspirational montage. The weight starts coming off. He’s winning competitions. He’s glowing. He’s disciplined.
Next thing you know, he qualifies for nationals in Philadelphia.
Yes. Philadelphia.
And the episode leans ALL the way in. Philly references everywhere. Kevin Bacon pops up as their overly enthusiastic hotel concierge. Homer, of course, stows away in the trunk for the 18-hour drive... and from which state?
Because Springfield geography remains a mystery that will outlive us all.
They check into a Fresh Prince–themed room. Homer clearly has a Philly tourist checklist he plans to conquer. Marge makes it very clear: this trip is about the dog. Do not embarrass us.
Naturally, Homer immediately gets approached by a group calling themselves the Historians of America’s Great Inventors and Enlightened Men. Hank Azaria leads them, doing a full Nicolas Cage impression. Their theory? Santa’s Little Helper is a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin’s greyhound, and the dog might be the key to unlocking Franklin’s hidden treasure.
Yes. Episode 800 becomes National Treasure: Dog Edition.
While Marge is at the Greater Philadelphia Convention Hall watching Santa’s Little Helper compete, he finishes a round and jumps into Adrienne’s arms instead of hers. That’s the first red flag. The vibes shift.
The historians spin an elaborate story about Franklin stealing gold from Versailles while negotiating the Treaty of Paris, then hiding it with the help of his greyhound. Apparently, our boy is bloodline royalty.
Marge, proud of her newly disciplined skinny king, tries to let him have fun at Michael Vick Reparation Park, but Adrienne shuts it down. No play. No distractions. Just performance. The wellness influencer energy starts feeling… sinister.
At the Philadelphia Museum of Art, everything collides. The historians run into Marge and Santa’s Little Helper. Security intervenes. And then Adrienne drops the act. She’s been part of this treasure hunt all along. She literally uses Santa’s Little Helper peeing on a fire hydrant to reveal a hidden Franklin message — because of course that’s how the Founding Fathers would encode secrets.
The final act goes full underground adventure: trapdoors, hidden levers, colonial basements. Lisa, naturally, figures out that the clue connects to Betsy Ross rather than the sewers. They end up beneath a historic house, chasing gold.
Adrienne pushes Santa’s Little Helper to make a dangerous leap for a key. It’s too far. It’s unsafe. She’s fully in “legacy over life” mode.
Marge steps in and reminds him of their history — from that first snowy Christmas to now. And he chooses her. He doesn’t jump.
Adrienne, blinded by obsession, tries to seize the key herself, destabilizes the structure, and falls through a trapdoor.
Santa’s Little Helper saves himself, holding onto a rope and climbing back down. And in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, he presses his paws and nose into the wall, unlocking Franklin’s gold. Homer and Marge completely miss it.
Because that’s the point.
Marge looks at him and says:
“Let’s get you home. You already have the key to my heart. Who could possibly want anything else?”
And honestly? For episode 800, that lands.
Underneath the Philly jokes, the Abbott Elementary and The Pitt cameos, the Nicolas Cage parody, and the Founding Father fan fiction, this milestone episode circles back to what made the show stick in the first place: a messy family choosing each other again and again.
Not treasure. Not legacy. Not colonial conspiracy theories.
Just love. Chaos. And hot dogs at the dinner table. Eight hundred episodes in, and the heart still hits.
You can catch new episodes of The Simpsons and the latest season of Family Guy on FOX, with episodes streaming the next day on Hulu and Disney+.