This episode is arguably a bit confusing upon first watching, until several facts in it are considered:
- Considering he admitted at the end his ratings blow up anytime Bob tries to murder him on-air, did Krusty really tape over his episodes? Especially considering he'd be recording over his own bits?! It's entirely possible Krusty planned it as a combination of several tropes including Xanatos Gambit, Taking You with Me- considering we saw how much of a pain in the ass the executives are, he might have even ensured Bob would try an attack so severe and drastic (such as blowing up not only Krusty, but everyone at the show) that it would be one final middle finger toward the executives, ensuring they'd literally Never Live It Down- which indirectly came true anyway due to Bob's explosives.
- Would Krusty really retire from his lifelong job at any point soon, especially after having to fake his death to get out of getting audited, and it being absolutely clear he lives a life of excesses off its profits? Of course not... which could arguably be the tip-off that this is all a ploy by him, especially considering you don't necessarily hear him interviewing as if he was ready to retire- and considering Kent plays along with him, these executives could not only be messing with him, but everyone working for the network.
- Was Bart in on the whole plan, too? Even before being hypnotized, he didn't seem particularly emotional about his lifelong hero announcing his retirement on-air.
- For that matter, was Bart really hypnotized, or was he already aware enough of a plan to act enough like he was to provide a proper enough alibi?
- Was the whole thing a ploy by Bob to begin with? How do we know the executives weren't working for Bob to help provide a perfect scenario to finally kill Krusty?
- The fact that, compared to his "Krusty Gets Cancelled" comeback show, or even his anniversary show in "I Love Lisa", this show seems to be relatively subdued in celebration (whereas his comeback had several major stars and stunts, and his anniversary show at least had several "in the audience" bits and never-before-seen footage, the best this had was a few local stars and 2 short clips of his work) may be another clue it could be all a set-up.
- As would be his song crying about how he "missed" Bob- the whole reason Bob framed him for that robbery in his first appearance was that Krusty was very unappreciative, if not outright cruel, towards him. To go from that to bawling over them would be suspicious enough for anyone to be confused.
