[1] The episode received generally positive reviews and was watched live in the United States by 1.38 million viewers.
At Carl's birthday at Moe's, Homer misses family dinner, greatly disturbing his wife Marge.
Homer, in a cell, feels saddened and believes he screwed up, but Cletus cheers him up with a nice song on acoustic guitar.
Realizing the error of his ways, Homer returns home to Bart, Lisa, Maggie, and Marge to tell them that he is sorry and vows to be a better father and husband.
[1] Brooks previously portrayed Russ Cargill in The Simpsons Movie and guest-starred in seven previous episodes: "The Call of the Simpsons," "Life on the Fast Lane," "Bart's Inner Child," "The Heartbroke Kid," "500 Keys," "Bull-E," and voiced Hank Scorpio in "You Only Move Twice."
[8] Tony Sokol with Den of Geek, said "The Simpsons delivers an extremely nuanced take on several well-worn themes.
We know “Yokel Hero' will come to a predetermined end, because Cletus is a series regular and forever stuck in his local role."