In the years after this episode's premiere, it has been considered one of the darkest (if not, "the" darkest) episode of "The Simpsons". Scenes which changed the ultimate tone of the storyline involved Bob nearly killing Bart and cornering him along with tying up the rest of the family. Along with the bloody tone at the beginning due to Bob sending Bart those letters, many also consider this episode as one of the best in the show. According to Matt Groening, people often include this episode among their top 10 favorites. In "Entertainment Weekly"'s top 25 "The Simpsons" episodes ever, it was placed third. To celebrate the show's 300th episode "Barting Over", "USA Today" published a top 10 chosen by the webmaster of The Simpsons Archive, which had this episode at a ninth place. In 2006, IGN named "Cape Feare" the best episode of the fifth season. "Vanity Fair" called it the show's fourth-best episode in 2007, as "this episode's masterful integration of filmic parody and a recurring character puts it near the top." James Walton of "The Daily Telegraph" characterized the episode as one of "The 10 Best "Simpsons" TV Episodes", while the "Herald Sun" placed it in their ""The Simpsons" Top 20". Karl Åkerström of the Swedish newspaper "Borås Tidning" called it his "all-time favorite" episode of the show. Michael Moran of "The Times" and Emily VanDerWerff of "Slant Magazine" both ranked "Cape Feare" as the fourth-best in the show's history. Cast member Hank Azaria cited this episode as his favorite in the series.