Bart of Darkness
Mike Duffy from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said the episode shows that The Simpsons was "just as strong and funny as it ever was". Elaine Liner from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times called the episode's writing "crisp" and "hilarious". Liner liked the references to pop culture and enjoyed when it was shown that Maude was at a camp for Christians. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood (authors of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide) thought it was hilarious to see how Ned Flanders was not actually a murderer. Tim Knight from Reel.com said it was a "terrific" episode to start the 6th season.