(Note for Don: Eastern time airing began at about 8:03. I guess you saw why - I'm not sure why the 7:40 ending time didn't allow enough time to gab about the game and wrap up by 8.)
This was off to a rough start with the unreasonably long Happy Little Elves bit - but I mention that because I pretty much forgot about it with the rest of the episode. I do like Lisa episodes, it's true, and this seemed pretty thoughtful - not just for her but between her and Marge. It was nice, for example, that the resolution wasn't all artificial and neat, judging from Lisa's betrayal of her tactful talk to Marge. I was reminded of a few other things, but mostly at the start Lisa's fears about the Simpson gene (4F24) - and hints at Marge's promising future (reporting in FABF22). The Bart/Nelson plot I could take or leave. I did like the couple of recalls, too - the Happy Little Elves and "no glass" brick joke, and the nicely done 7 of clubs. Oh, and Homer's fruit based cigar.
DYN: ...the opening uses the crow again? ...another McDonald's = foreign joke? (I'm not sure we have seen 7-11 on the show, but certainly some big moments for McD's are in 3F18 and KABF14) ...Marge finds nothing odd about her box of stuff staying behind after her parents moved out? ...Bart's lucky red hat is back, for some reason? ...there are no guest stars?
Previous episode stuff 7G05: The Bart/Nelson thing is not unique but when Bart first "beats" him "up" here, his nose bleeds DABF01: Homer calls Lisa "girl son", sort of like "girl Bart" 5F18: Wedding cake in freezer for a decade (11 years then, 10 here though) - Homer accidentally admits to eating it EABF20, 4F21, LABF10: Similar themes of Lisa at better schools