[1] In the episode, Marge worries that she is setting a bad example for her daughter when Lisa declares that she does not need friends.
The game begins with role play based on Clue, and Homer unknowingly reveals the murderer in the story, prompting the host to kick the Simpsons out.
Miss Hoover tells Marge that no one in the class likes her for being too overbearing around everyone or trying to force her ideas on others.
When the class has to practice square dancing, Lisa is left without a partner until Tumi, an outside student, steps in to save the day.
When Bart follows Tumi to the Krusty Burger play area, he learns the truth when he witnesses Marge handing over some cash to her.
While Marge mopes around, Grampa reveals that he paid Lenny and Carl to befriend Homer in the sandbox and to this day they are still friends.
The central story, about Marge desperately trying to ensure that Lisa doesn’t grow up without friends, is the sort of family-centered plot that often produces the best Simpsons episodes.
It’s just that, like so many episodes this season, 'Pay Pal' frontloads too much establishing plot, forcing the emotional core of the story into a mad rush before the final credits.