Trust but Clarify

Plot

Grampa and other war veterans watch "The Late Late Late Night with Jimmy Jimmy" featuring Kent Brockman as a guest. Brockman tells war stories, including crash-landing a helicopter on a sinking container ship, but a veteran at the bar confirms the story is false. Brockman apologizes for all his fabricated on-air stories and is fired, replaced by Arnie Pye. Meanwhile, Krusty the Clown introduces Krustaceans, a candy that Lisa finds extremely addictive and tingling.

She and Bart break into a Krusty factory, steal samples, and Professor Frink discovers the candy contains formaldehyde. Lisa tries to report the story on Channel 6 but is refused. A depressed Kent Brockman, unable to find news work, contemplates suicide. Lisa asks him to cover the Krusty story; encouraged to use it as a comeback, he and Lisa record Krusty admitting the product is bad.

Brockman regains his job and credits Lisa. Separately, Homer envies a non-English-speaking coworker who gets a corner office. Homer's Ambition tells him to dress better for a promotion. Homer buys a suit with Marge's help and pleads his case to Mr. Burns, but fails.

Homer's Ambition is defeated by his apathy, alcoholism, anger, and awe, and is thrown out of Homer's ear; Homer goes to Moe's Tavern.

Reception

Critics were split on "Trust But Clarify." Dennis Perkins at The A.V. Club gave it a B-minus, calling it forgettable overall but not worthless, and suggested Harry Shearer's writing credit raised expectations that the episode didn't quite meet. Tony Sokol at Den of Geek was more impressed, awarding 4 out of 5 stars and praising Shearer for keeping the episode fresh while sticking to the early-series formula, though he felt the modern animation undercut the comedy. Sokol later ranked it the third-best episode of the 2010s. The episode earned a 1.5 rating and a 5 share, drawing 3.36 million viewers to become Fox's most-watched show that night.

Did You Know?

• The title is based on the phrase "Trust but verify", used in relation to nuclear verification.
• Kent Brockman’s controversy is a reference to the Brian Williams Iraq War controversy.
• The Itchy & Scratchy cartoon "Mousetrapping a Murderer" parodies the true crime series Making a Murderer.