Yes, they can't just let her character go away like Lionel Hutz. She's too integrated into the main cast, especially after marrying Flanders. They'll have to explain her absence and it will have consequences to Skinner, Flanders, his boys, and of course Bart.
RIP, Marica Wallace. Enda was really a terrific character. It'll be hard to write her off of the show.
She also appeared several times on the game show Match Game. During the halfway commercial break each show, they'd announce the address to write to for tickets. Accompanying on the TV screen was a combination of two faces; two of the celebrities, or one celebrity and one contestant, or both contestants. It was always hilarious, and you could hear the audience laughing while the announcer was talking. One time they combined the upper half of Marcia's face with the male contestant's beard. Their faces were very similar, and she looked like she really did have a beard!
Re: RIP - Marcia Wallace (Edna Krabapple) Me too . She was one of the reasons I watched the Simpsons over the years. RIP Marcia Wallace. Heaven's gained one really funny and classy angel.
Watching it now. I like that they replayed a key episode in her development. ETA: Saw it. Very sweet.
I'll tell you for all the ribbing the new episodes of the Simpsons receives these days. That one little moment made me feel more than anything I have felt in any medium of entertainment in a hell of a long time.
Bart looking at that chalkboard with such sadness in his eyes... For all the fights he had with Edna, he still cared about her. "Bart the Lover" showed him that she was human. And I imagine living next door to her probably changed him further in regard to that. They can't just retire her without a word. I think they should have an episode where she is lost. I know they've done an episode where Ned lost a spouse before, but Edna made an impact on the children of Springfield. And this time, let's not have Homer be responsible for her death.
I did. Both at the beginning and at the end of the show. So sad, yet so classy. It was one of the better episodes I've seen in a long time. That along with the 2011 one they showed were really good. They should stick to simple poking fun of stuff, instead of being so aggressive about it. The latter just makes the show not so fun to watch. I've missed the poking fun episodes. It was a good return to form.
I don't want to lose Edna, they should recast. As sad as Marcia Wallace's death is, Edna can be played by someone else. Killing her off would be awful and cruel to Ned and her becoming a silent extra in group scenes would be a waste of a great character. I don't want Bart to have a new teacher or no teacher, I want to keep Edna. I was fine with retiring Phil Hartman's characters, they were funny but not that important, Edna is different, she is one of my favorite supporting characters on the show.
^ I disagree. The characters come from the performers' interpretations and personalities, not just from the voices they do and the lines they read. A replacement would not be the same. If any of the main cast died, I would expect their characters to be written out. If Dan Castelleneta, Harry Shearer or Hank Azaria died, I would hope they would end the show. I certainly don't think I could watch it anymore.