Dark Knight Court

"Dark Knight Court" is an episode of The Simpsons. It is the sixteenth episode of the 24th season and the 524th episode overall. It aired on March 17, 2013.^[2] The episode is dedicated to Janet and Maggy Reno's brother, Robert Reno, who died of Alzheimer's disease.^[3][4]

Plot

During an Easter celebration, hundreds of eggs are suddenly fired at the townspeople, ruining their clothes and splattering the streets. The citizens immediately suspect Bart after seeing him laughing at their misfortune. Bart repeatedly denies committing the prank, and Lisa eventually decides that the best way to determine his guilt is to hold a trial, which is presided over by Janet Reno. The odds do not look good in Bart's favor, and he is close to being found guilty. Meanwhile, Mr. Burns rediscovers his love of superheroes after visiting Comic Book Guy's store, and he decides to become a superhero named Fruitbat Man. Smithers, fearful of Burns's safety, stages numerous crimes for his boss to thwart, using Homer, Lenny, Carl, the Crazy Cat Lady, and other citizens as patsies for supervillain identities. Desperate to find someone to solve Bart's dilemma, Lisa tries to hire Burns, but he refuses. Smithers admits to Burns all his previous exploits were faked, and this was Burns' one chance to really help someone.

Through clues, Lisa deduces that Groundskeeper Willie was responsible as his kilt had only one egg splattered on it, compared to the other articles of clothing. She confronts him, and he confesses to committing the prank, citing his inbred hatred of Easter as his motivation. He then shreds the kilt and attempts to escape, but Burns intervenes, having had a change of heart. Willie is captured and turned in just before Janet Reno can find Bart guilty of the accusations against him. Lisa thanks Burns and tells him that this could be a good opportunity for him to become a better person. Later, Moe gets a phone call stating that Bart was acquitted.

Before the end credits role, there is a trailer for the "Dependables" that features superhero spoofs of the other characters.

Reception

Ratings

The episode received a 2.2 in the 18-49 demographic and was watched by a total of 4.89 million viewers. This made it the second most watched show on Fox's Animation Domination line up that night, beating The Cleveland Show and Bob's Burgers but losing out to Family Guy with 4.92 million.^[5]

Critical reception

Robert David Sullivan of The A. V. Club gave the episode a B, saying "Earlier this season, I wrote that Mr. Burns was getting tiresome as a character. So though 'Dark Knight Court' isn't necessarily the funniest episode of the season, it is one of the most pleasantly surprising."^[6] Rob H. Dawson of TV Equals said "The Simpsons is at its best when it doesn't stray too far from its roots as a take on the family sitcom, and the Batman parody in 'Dark Knight Court' just didn't hit that mark for me."^[7]

References