Who Shot Mr. Burns? The Simpsons' whodunit

All through the summer of 1995, America held its breath: who on earth had shot down old Burns, left collapsed on his sundial?

The answer came down to a stolen pacifier. Here is the breakdown of the greatest mystery in The Simpsons.

The most famous cliffhanger

"Who Shot Mr. Burns?" is a two-part episode straddling two seasons: the first part closes season 6 (May 1995), the second opens season 7 (September 1995). Suspense skillfully maintained all summer, an acknowledged tribute to the famous "Who shot J.R.?" from the series Dallas. The show even launched a big contest to guess the culprit.

The motive: Burns against the whole town

If the whole town has a motive, it is because Mr. Burns has taken cruelty to its limit. After siphoning off the oil discovered under the school — depriving the school, the retirement home and many others of that windfall — he has a giant disc erected to block out the sun over Springfield, to force the town to buy electricity from his plant. Enough to make enemies on every street corner.

💡 With Mr. Burns's giant disc blotting out the sun, Springfield is left with nothing but his plant's electricity for light; on your bedside table, our Simpsons lamps take over without paying old Burns a single cent.

The suspects and the red herrings

The second part piles on the red herrings. Smithers turns himself in, convinced he fired in a drunken blackout — but his alibi clears him: that night, he had in fact shot Jasper's wooden leg. Homer, for his part, becomes the ideal culprit after leaving his fingerprints on the weapon. Even Chief Wiggum's dream, which parodies Twin Peaks, muddies the waters.

😴 Chief Wiggum muddies the waters even in his sleep, with a Twin Peaks-style dream; propped up against our Simpsons cushions on your sofa, you can doze off without muddling a single investigation.

The culprit: Maggie

The reveal is as unexpected as it is harmless: the shooter is Maggie, the family's baby — and by pure accident. As Burns tries to snatch away her pacifier, the revolver slips out of its holster into the little girl's hands, and the shot goes off by itself. A resolution so far from anyone's guess that, of the roughly 200 contest entrants called back, not one had found it.

The victim

Simpsons Figure - Mr Burns Excellent

"Excellent…" as a figurine: the only character on the show to survive a bullet to the chest.

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🎭 None of the 200 or so contest entrants had pointed the finger at the family's baby: for your own murder mystery party, our Simpsons costumes help you hide the shooter behind the least suspicious disguise.

Summary table

FAQ

• Who shot Mr. Burns?
  Maggie Simpson, by accident: the revolver slips out of Burns's holster when he tries to take her pacifier.
• Is Smithers the culprit?
  No: Smithers believes he is guilty, but he only shot Jasper's wooden leg. That is the episode's great red herring.
• Why does the whole town have it in for Burns?
  Because he stole the school's oil and had the sun blocked out over Springfield.
• Did anyone guess the culprit?
  Not one of the entrants drawn for the official contest had named Maggie.

Conclusion

Clever, funny and perfectly executed, "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" remains one of the greatest coups in Simpsons history. Proof that a simple baby can keep all of America on the edge of its seat.