Editing Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing

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{{Episode
|image=Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing promo 1.png
|number=520
|season=24
|snumber=12
|prodcode=RABF07
|airdate=February 10, [[2013]]
|titlescreen=[[Santa's Little Helper]] flies by on a doghouse, in the same style as Snoopy, as bullets are fired.
|blackboard=I was not nominated for "Best Spoken Swear Word"
|billboard=[[Springfield Isotopes]] Spring Training Tickets Available / Watch Me Get Ready!
|couchgag=The Simpsons all look like [[Moe Szyslak]] and announce that their new sitcom, The Szyslaks has been cancelled.
|guests=[[Benedict Cumberbatch]] as [[Prime Minister of the UK]] and [[Severus Snape]]<br>[[Zooey Deschanel]] as [[Mary Spuckler]]<br>[[Max Weinberg]] as {{Ch|Max Weinberg|himself}}<br>[[Robert Caro]] as {{Ch|Robert Caro|himself}}
|showrunner1= Al Jean
|writer=[[Tim Long]]
|director=[[Michael Polcino]]
}}

'''"Love Is A Many-Splintered Thing'''" is the twelfth episode of [[season 24]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the five-hundred and twentieth episode overall. It originally aired on February 10, 2013. The episode was written by [[Tim Long]] and directed by [[Michael Polcino]]. It guest stars [[Benedict Cumberbatch]] as [[Prime Minister of the UK]] and [[Severus Snape]], [[Zooey Deschanel]] as [[Mary Spuckler]], [[Max Weinberg]] as {{Ch|Max Weinberg|himself}} and [[Robert Caro]] as {{Ch|Robert Caro|himself}}.

== Summary ==
{{Desc|A mature [[Bart]] looks back on his life when his heartstrings are pulled once again when [[Mary Spuckler]] returns to [[Springfield]], but his failure to pay her enough attention strains their relationship. Marge, too, puts Homer in the dog house after not going to a travel bookstore soft opening with her. Homer, along with Bart and a few other displaced husbands living at the Brokewood Apartments, decide to watch some British movies to figure out a way to win back their wives.}}

== Plot ==
[[Bart]] is at school, where he is challenged to stuff a caterpillar inside a girl's dress. He takes the challenge and the girl turns out to be [[Mary Spuckler]]. Bart and Mary are happy to see each other again and she understands why he has to push her down in a mud puddle. They decide to meet again tomorrow. Early in the morning, Mary comes to visit Bart but she is soon bored because Bart just wants to play his video games. Lisa sees that Mary is bored and she tells Bart that he will have a better girl than Mary. Bart later visits Mary's family for dinner. After the meal Mary plays a song she wrote for Bart, but becomes angry that Bart did not bother to listen to her song.

Bart follows Mary to the [[Hillbilly Talent Contest]], and after Mary loses, Bart tries to say a comforting word but can not think of anything good to say. Mary meets a [[Brazilian record producer's son]] at the contest and begins to like him. Mary begins to avoid Bart and he gets help from [[Woody Allen]] about how he can get Mary to like him again, but he fails and Mary breaks up with him, which causes him to become sad and depressed. When Bart comes home, he and Homer have an argument with Marge and she throws them both out, so [[Homer]] takes Bart with him to the [[Brokewood Apartments]]. While there, Bart calls Mary, who plays a new song that she wrote for him about how bad he treated her and how their breakup was for the best, which causes him to become sadder.

Homer, Bart and the other residents at the apartment building enjoy being single and they have a party. But they soon start missing their women, and decide to imitate the British to get their women back. They invite the women, via a song, and give them each something they wanted. It goes well for everyone, except Bart; Mary refuses to get back together with him. Bart does not understand what went wrong and Mary goes home with the Brazilian record producer's son. In the future, Bart is sitting playing video games again, when he takes a break and sees that Mary is married and on a social website and becomes even more depressed. In an instant, he sees she has changed her relationship status to "single" due to the 
death of her husband, causing Bart to be happy once again. Mary then sends a video call to Bart and he is congratulated by Woody Allen.

== Production ==
<gallery>
File:RABF07 Script.jpg
</gallery>

== International airdates ==
{{Airdates
|UKdate= May 26, 2013; 6pm
|UKchannel=[[Sky1]]
|UKnote=Gathered 544,000 viewers
|esLAdate= June 9, 2013
|esLAchannel= {{W|Fox Latin America|Fox Latin America}}
|esLAnote=
|esdate= January 3, 2015
|eschannel= {{W2|Antena 3|Spain}}
|esnote=
}}

== Promotional images ==
<gallery>
File:Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing promo 2.png
File:Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing promo 3.png
File:Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing promo 4.png
File:Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing promo 5.png
File:Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing promo 6.png
File:Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing promo 7.png
File:Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing promo 8.png
</gallery>

{{Images|ep=yes}}
{{Season 24}}

[[Category:2013]]
[[Category:Homer episodes]]
[[Category:Bart episodes]]
[[Category:Romance-themed episodes]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Tim Long]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Mike Frank Polcino]]