David prophesies the punishment that will fall upon him, stating "the sword shall never depart from your house." When David acknowledges that he has sinned, Nathan advises him that his sin is forgiven and he will not die, but the child will. In fulfillment of Nathan's words, David's son Absalom, fueled by vengeance and lust for power, rebels. Absalom's forces are routed at the battle of the Wood of Ephraim, and he is caught by his long hair in the branches of a tree where, contrary to David's order, he is killed by Joab, the commander of David's army. David laments
A Tree Grows in Springfield that the message was for him when he really needed it. Homer agrees and goes back into the house with her. The following night, someone approaches the backyard tree and continues writing "Hope" onto the tree. It is revealed to be a sleepwalking Homer. The episode ends with a vignette inspired by the French animated short film "Logorama". The episode was watched by a total of 7.46 million viewers and received a 3.3 in the 18-49 demographic making it the most watched show on Animation Domination that night in terms of total viewers and the 18-49 demographic. Robert David Sullivan