Line #9 Recap/TheSimpsonsS29E14FearsOfAClown


1	Bart goes to prankster rehab after a clown-mask prank terrifies the town and destroys Krusty the Clown's career. A tortured Krusty then tries his hand at serious drama with a regional theater company.
2
3	!! Tropes:
4	* BerserkButton: Though Marge [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E21TheBartOfWar always had issue]] with the phrase "Boys will be boys", it becomes this here. To the point where she attacks Homer for using the phrase after Bart's revenge prank on the school.
5	* CelebrityCameo: Damian Kulash and Tim Nordwind of the band Ok Go make one in a fictional music video.
6	* ContinuityNod: This is not [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E21TheBartOfWar the only time]] Marge gets annoyed by the "Boys will be boys" saying.
7	* DefensiveFeintTrap:
8	** Skinner only pretended to retire to lure Bart out in the open so he could pull a prank on him.
9	** Bart is only pretending to repent so he can pull a prank on those he "apologizes" to.
10	* DomesticAbuse: What Homer's fate at the end of the episode is implied to be after sheepishly telling an [[RageBreakingPoint already pissed off]] Marge that "Boys will be boys."
11	* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Bart has second thoughts about his pranks whenever his mother risks being hurt by them. Unfortunately, she ends up among the dozens hit with the water balloons.
12	* FalselyReformedVillain: Bart is only pretending to regret being a prankster to reunite people where he can drop water balloons on them.
13	* ForgotFlandersCouldDoThat: This episode marks the first time Krusty is seen without his clown face in a non-flashback scene since Season ''1'' ("Krusty Gets Busted"), thereby undoing the {{Retcon}} applied after that episode that the clown face is actually his ''real'' face, with his pale skin and red nose being symptoms of his unhealthy lifestyle.
14	* LaserGuidedKarma:
15	** Bart's water-filled balloon prank ([[MyGodWhatHaveIDone though he clearly regrets it]]) is this for Marge and the school. After all, the school should never have pulled a prank on Bart in the first place and Marge should have called them out for it and advised Bart not to prank the school back in retaliation. Instead, Marge didn't act until Bart had retaliated and when she did, she totally ignored all of the above, just for the sake of taking a stance against the saying "Boys will be boys" despite knowing this would mean siding against her own son.
16	** Skinner deflects Bart's shot with a lid, which then bounces off and knocks out his abusive mother Agnes.
17	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Skinner's prank hinges on Bart genuinely believing that he's retiring. It's never confirmed if any of the other students were in on the prank or if they were likewise unaware until Skinner revealed it. The scene with Martin finding out suggests they weren't in the know either, but went along with it once it got out.
18	* TheManInTheMirrorTalksBack: Krusty starts seeing his old self telling him that he's going to fail as a serious actor. He also sees his father Hyman.
19	* MonsterClown: Bart's prank is to glue clown masks on the teachers' faces, causing everyone who sees them to be scared. There is also a guest appearance by [[Literature/{{It}} Pennywise]].
20	* NegativeContinuity: Despite the series implying for decades that Krusty's white face was actually the result of his near-fatal heart attack, here he sports normal yellow skin when without make-up.
21	* {{Parody}}: "The Salesman's Bad Day" is a parody of ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman''.
22	* OnlySixFaces: Krusty is seen without his red nose and clown paint, which the Simpson family points out that makes him almost indistinguishable from Homer. (This is reference to when Krusty was first created, he was supposed to be Homer in make-up).
23	* RecycledPlot: "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E15TheLastTemptationOfKrust The Last Temptation Of Krust]]" had Krusty changing his act out of desperation as well.
24	* SelfDeprecation: Upon seeing Krusty without a clown face, Homer realizes Krusty looks like him. He also notices that "Maggie looks like Lisa" and Milhouse's parents look like each other.
25	--->'''Homer:''' [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Why is this universe so lazy?]]
26	* ShoutOut: The subsequent strings of encounters resulting from Bart's pranks references the real life plague of clowns appearing throughout 2016. The 2017 incarnation of [[Film/It2017 Pennywise]] also appears, referencing the belief the stunts were part of a promotional tactic for the film.
27	* SoundEffectBleep: When Reverend Lovejoy swears at Bart, his model train's horn censors his dialogue.
28	* TakeThat: Music/OkGo crashes their set after being frightened by a clown, now concerned that people will have to judge them by their music and not their gimmicks.
29	* TarAndFeathers: Skinner's prank on Bart is to cover him in honey and birdseed, which results in the boy getting attacked by crows.
30	* ThumbtackOnTheChair: Bart tries to pull this on the psychologist, but he turns the tables on him by asking Marge to take his seat instead.

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS29E14FearsOfAClown