History Recap / TheSimpsonsS6E25WhoShotMrBurnsPartOne

** Burns' first words to his shooter are "Oh, it's you, what are you so happy about?", indicating that it's someone he recognises -- which rules out Homer, since the episode clearly establishes that Burns can never remember who he is.

* DeathGlare: While no one is pleased to see Mr. Burns when he barges into the town meeting, none of them can quite look him in the eye when he asks if any of them are willing to do anything to stop him. None of them, that is, except ''Maggie'', who continues to glare murderously at him.

The town of Springfield vows bloody murder on Mr. Burns as his oil drill wreaks havoc over the school, the retirement home, Moe's Tavern and the Simpson family.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Bart and Lisa (at Homer's urging no less) when their father goes into TransquilFury mode and unleashes an AtomicFBomb.

*** Similarly, his brief confrontation with Skinner earlier in the episode establishes that Burns lacks the physical strength to attack someone. But in the seconds leading up to the shooting, we distinctly hear Burns engaged in a GunStruggle. That means the gunman ''couldn't'' have been an adult attacker; otherwise Burns would've been immediately overwhelmed (and been unable to put up any defense). So if the shooter ''wasn't'' an adult, then who else at the Town Hall meeting could've given Burns a run for his money in a physical altercation? By process of elimination, the only other candidates are another senior citizen (who like burns would similarly be physically impaired), a teenager, or a child...

*** Similarly, his brief confrontation with Skinner earlier in the episode establishes that Burns lacks the physical strength to attack someone. But in the seconds leading up to the shooting, we distinctly hear Burns engaged in a GunStruggle. That means the gunman ''couldn't'' have been an adult attacker; otherwise Burns would've been immediately overwhelmed (and been unable to put up any defense). So if the shooter ''wasn't'' an adult, then who else at the Town Hall meeting could've given Burns a run for his money in a physical altercation? By process of elimination, the only other candidates are another senior citizen (who would likewise be physically be impaired), a teenager, or a child...

** Just as Burns collapses onto the sundial, his coat briefly opens, revealing that his holster is empty. This is a major hint, as it reveals that it was Burns's own gun that fired the shot, meaning he must have lost it in a struggle with someone; earlier in the episode, it's shown that Burns lacks the physical strength to take candy from a baby. Maggie is likely the only person who could have possibly ''caused'' a struggle in the first place--anyone else would have overpowered Burns immediately.

*** Similarly, his brief confrontation with Skinner earlier in the episode establishes that Burns lacks the physical strength to attack someone or to defend himself. This is ''very'' important to the mystery's solution, because in the seconds leading up to the shooting, we distinctly hear Burns engaged in a GunStruggle. Therefore, it ''couldn't'' have been an adult attacker, otherwise Burns would've been immediately overwhelmed and unable to put up any fight. So if the shooter ''wasn't'' an adult, then who else at that meeting could've given Burns a run for his money in a physical altercation? By process of elimination, it ''had'' to have been either another senior citizen, a teenager, or a child...

*** Similarly, his brief confrontation with Skinner earlier in the episode establishes that Burns lacks the physical strength to attack someone or to defend himself. This is ''very'' important to the mystery's solution, because in the seconds leading up to the shooting, we distinctly hear Burns engaged in a GunStruggle[[/note]]or at least what ''sounds'' like one of the first watch before Part 2 re-contextualizes it.]]. Therefore, it ''couldn't'' have been an adult attacker, otherwise Burns would've been immediately overwhelmed and unable to put up any fight. So if the shooter ''wasn't'' an adult, then who else at that meeting could've given Burns a run for his money in a physical altercation? By process of elimination, it had to have been either a similarly weak senior citizen, a teenager, or a child...

*** Similarly, his brief confrontation with Skinner earlier in the episode establishes that Burns lacks the physical strength to attack someone or to defend himself. This is ''very'' important to the mystery's solution, as it means that Burns ''couldn't'' have put up a fight against whoever shot him; he'd have been immediately overpowered. Yet, in the seconds leading up to the shooting, we distinctly hear Burns struggling with his attacker. So if it wasn't an adult attacker, then who else at that meeting could've given Burns a run for his money in a physical altercation?

*** Similarly, his brief confrontation with Skinner earlier in the episode establishes that Burns lacks the physical strength to attack someone or to defend himself. This is ''very'' important to the mystery's solution, as it means that Burns ''couldn't'' have put up a fight against whoever shot him; he'd have been immediately overpowered. So if it wasn't an adult attacker, who else at that meeting could've given Burns a run for his money in a physical altercation?

* ForWantOfANail: If not for Homer's photo in the chocolate box ending up under a piece of chocolate that neither Mr. Burns nor Smithers liked, then Burns would have thanked Homer in the note (even if Smithers had to remind him who Homer was), which would likely have been enough to cause Homer to abandon his grudge. At the very least, this would have meant Homer would never have been suspected of shooting Burns, and possibly it might have prevented the shooting altogether, seeing how Burns armed himself in response to Homer's subsequent breaking into his office.

* DarkerAndEdgier: And how! While still comedic, the build up to Mr Burns getting shot is played completely straight. There are no jokes to ease the mood as the episode cuts back from Mr Burns walking to the noted absence of various characters. Only when Burns is shot do we end the first part on two jokes.

* MoodWhiplash: Mr. Burns activates his sun-blocker, sending Springfield into artificial darkness. Then, Krusty arrives happily trying to talk about his six-week trip to Reno, then stopping when he sees everybody's too angry to even entertain the topic.

* PaperThinDisguise: Mr. Burns tries to convince Skinner to give the oil to the power plant by disguising himself as Jimbo Jones by wearing little more than Jimbo's clothes, so he can convince Principal Skinner to turn over Springfield Elementary's newly discovered oil to him. To his shock, Skinner sees right through his disguise. Skinner points out ridiculous this idea was.

* SixIsNine: The official answer to the mystery involves a clue where Burns left when he fell on the town sundial, pointing to W and S which implicates Waylon Smithers -- except from his angle, he was pointing to M and S for Maggie Simpson, the true culprit. Notably, though, the episode had many a RedHerring that ''still'' works with those same letters--it could have implicated '''M'''oe '''S'''zylack (whose last name is even revealed in this episode by his liquor license), '''S'''ideshow '''M'''el (whose full name is revealed to be Melvin van Horn), Grandpa and Bart Simpson (the former brags about owning a '''S'''mith & '''W'''esson revolver, and the latter knows about said revolver), Skinner (whose full name is given as '''W'''. '''S'''eymour '''S'''kinner this episode), Groundskeeper Willie (while his full name[[note]]William [=MacDougall=][[/note]] wouldn't be revealed until ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS20E9LisaTheDramaQueen Lisa the Drama Queen]]'', he's a '''S'''cotsman named '''W'''illie), and even ''Santa's Little Helper'' (who Burns prominently refers to as "the '''S'''impson '''m'''utt").

*** Similarly, his brief confrontation with Skinner earlier in the episode establishes that Burns lacks the physical strength to attack someone or to defend himself. This is ''very'' important to the mystery's solution, as it means that Burns ''couldn't'' have put up a fight against whoever shot him; he'd have been immediately overpowered. So if it wasn't an adult attacker, who else at that meeting would've given Burns a run for his money in a physical altercation?

*** Similarly, his brief confrontation with Skinner earlier in the episode establishes that Burns is physically incapable of attacking someone -- and by implication, likewise defending himself. This is ''very'' important to the mystery's solution, as it means that Burns ''couldn't'' have been putting up a fight against whoever shot him as the dialogue implies.

* BondVillainStupidity: Burns left no security to guard his almighty Sun-Blocker and it's easily taken out by the townspeople after he's shot. While it's certainly Burns' arrogance, it's also justified: He ''was'' in the hospital and Smithers had been fired. There was nobody to give or relay orders or to make necessary arrangements (ex. payroll).

* FrameUp: Discussed in Part Two after the SPD discovers the attempted murder weapon in Homer's car and he's taken into custody. Lisa points out they don't even know who's gun that is and thinks somebody may have planted it there to frame her father. Marge dismisses this as paranoia, but Lisa ironically turns out to be partially correct. Burns unwittingly and accidentally framed Homer when he dropped the murder weapon through the open car window after getting shot. Homer then completed the accidental frame-up by unknowingly grazing the gun with his fingers and leaving his fingerprints for the police to find.

* GoneHorriblyRight: Homer's attempts to get Burns to remember his name. It finally works...and bites Homer in the ass, because it's the first thing Burns says upon awakening from his coma. Combined with the discovery of Simpson DNA on Burns' suit, the SPD naturally concludes Homer's their suspect.
** And then of course it gets subverted in the climax when it turns out Burns ''still'' can't remember Homer's name and it was actually just his brain working through post-coma damage.

* FrameUp: Discussed in Part Two after the SPD discovers the attempted murder weapon in Homer's car and he's taken into custody. Lisa points out they don't even know who's gun that is and thinks somebody may have planted it there to frame her father. Marge dismisses this as paranoia, but Lisa ironically turns out to be partially correct. Burns unwittingly and accidentally framed Homer when he dropped the murder weapon through the open car window after getting shot.

* AtomicFBomb: Homer when his plan to make Mr. Burns remember his name backfires. Bonus points by having the church organ [[StealthPun play an F-minor chord]].

While Burns schemes, Homer becomes increasingly frustrated with the old man's complete inability to remember his name. He tries wearing a nametag around the Power Plant, which Burns fails to notice. Marge then suggests sending him a box of chocolates with a photo of the Simpson family and Homer's name to jog his memory. Burns and Smithers indulge in the candies, pointing out how [[ClosedCircle Monty personally knows every member of the family]] thanks to [[ContinuityNod their previous exploits.]] Unfortunately, they don't eat the last chocolate--that is, the one covering Homer's face--and Burns fails to mention the Simpson patriarch in his thank-you card. Homer [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope completely loses his temper]] and unleashes an AtomicFBomb for the ages.