Sentence:  Just as the push by writers in season 4 to make Homer stupider (a trend so established it was <WSD>lampshaded</WSD> in "The 138th Episode Spectacular") created some of the best episodes before eventually birthing an unlikable buffoon unaffectionately called "Jerkass Homer", so too is it less the episode itself as much as what it represented. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To intentionally call attention to the improbable, incongruent, or clichéd nature of an element or situation featured in a work of fiction within the work itself.