The personal toll the event takes on Marge, coupled with the ridicule she gets from the people in Springfield, drives her to rehab and (somehow) more drinking. Thus the episode ends with zero consequences for Homer, and the very last thing before the credits is a joke about his drinking habits. And if you think that somehow the "good" in Homer might balance out this momentary lapse in integrity, know that other comedies have used a similar setup ... to demonstrate that the main character is an unrepentant monster.
Related: How One Thing Totally Made You Flip On A Fictional Character
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30 Rock: Jack Uses A Fake Suicide To Teach An Emotional "Lesson"
In the series finale of 30 Rock, " Last Lunch," NBC executive Jack Donaghy is finding it hard to say goodbye to his friend, Liz Lemon, on account of her being an adult with a family and a demanding career. So to get her attention, he does what any healthy person would do and spends the whole day alluding to an intention to kill himself.He even goes so far as recording a video suicide note wherein he blames her for the decision. When she drops everything to go try to stop him, he jumps off a waterfront.
But surprise! He wasn'treallygoing to kill himself! He just wanted her to know what life without him would be like. Liz shrugs off this psychological abuse, rather than doing what you or I would and set Jack on fire in a vengeful rage.
But this shouldn't come as a surprise, as 30 Rock could be fairly tone-deaf about even some of the most straightforward topics. I mean, Liz, the victim in this story, had a whole other episode wherein she outed her gay cousin, then forced him to go back and live with his homophobic family. Basically, what I'm trying to get across here is that no one, especially not a beloved sitcom character, is your friend.