Although you’ll often find “Simpsons” fans today who claim they totally figured the mystery out before “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part Two” aired, it’s a lot harder to find actual proof of viewers who called it. That’s because Maggie truly was not on most fans’ radar. “About the only characters who don’t have motives are Marge and Maggie Simpson,” wrote one critic in the Tampa Tribune, the sort of statement that went relatively uncontested by the fanbase. In the behind-the-scenes DVD commentary for “The Simpsons” season 6, the showrunners remarked that they knew of at least one fan who properly guessed it, but the person wrote it under an anonymous username on a fan message board and the writers never managed to track them down.
Maggie was so under the radar, in fact, that the “Simpsons” creatives were able to give some hints about her without any issue. Animator David Silverman drew a picture of Maggie during the wait for “Part Two,” and the Chicago Tribune writer didn’t even seem to consider that this might a clue. Likewise, when Matt Groening was asked about the possible shooter, he replied, “People are guessing everyone from guest stars who were on the show in seasons past to Bobo the stuffed bear that Mr. Burns stole from Maggie.” There Groening was, a month before “Part Two” aired, subtly reminding viewers that a beef between Maggie and Mr. Burns had already been established.
At least a few fans did seem to pick up on Groening’s hint, although they weren’t taken too seriously. As The Oregonian reported in a piece that placed Skinner as the top suspect, “A few Web surfers suspect little Maggie Simpson, who tangled with Burns over possession of a stuffed teddy bear, Bobo. And the alt.fan.simpsons group includes one vote for Itchy and Scratchy.”
Looking through the newspaper archives, it seems the only person on the record for guessing Maggie is Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer himself. “I have no idea who shot him. I guess Maggie,” he told the LA Times in May 1995. Granted, it’s not clear if this was really Castellaneta making a genuine guess or if he, as the main voice actor on the show, had already been made privy to the reveal. Either way, it’s telling that the lead actor straight up said Maggie’s name on the record and she still wasn’t considered a reasonable guess by most viewers.
Of course, the reason why Maggie wasn’t a popular guess was because it wasn’t a particularly satisfying answer. Described as the “biggest anti-climax in a sitcom” by the Miami Herald, most fans found the episode funny but not quite matching up to what they’d built up in their heads. “OK, a bit disappointing,” wrote TV critic Mike Duffy. “I was rootin’ for Smithers myself. But at least it wasn’t all a dream.”