It's a sad thing that the closest thing Lisa Simpson has to a "best friend" is quite an obscure character, relatively speaking. Janey exists mainly as someone for Lisa to talk to in a scene, sometimes as a friend, sometimes as a bully.
Often Janey is a figure that does not understand Lisa's struggles. This seems appropriate for our introduction to Moaning Lisa, an episode in which Lisa finds most people unable to understand her struggles. This episode is the first real chance Lisa has to be be put in the spotlight in a significant way, and as a result it really sets the tone for how she will be portrayed overall: often sad and lonely, unable to connect with the stupid town she was born into. I'm sure many can relate.
Anyhoo, there is some controversy surrounding Janey's surname, I've chosen to go with Powell, the most common usage, but at times she has been Henderson, Jackson, Hagstrom and Jones. Powell raises the possibility that she could be related to Herb Powell, Homer's half brother, but I'll be honest with you: I think this is extremely unlikely.
This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
Max Flower
2023-03-24 04:14:23 +0000 UTC