 Sean Elliot, editor for iF magazine, gave the episode an "A." He wrote in his review that Goblin was "[t] rue to his early years in the comic books" and was "handled with superb finesse". Elliot noted that the storyline with Peter and Mary-Jane going to the Fall Formal together made him nostalgic of the old comic books that had the pair involved, whereas current publications do not. Similar to Goldman, Elliot applauded the mystery of Goblin's true identity, which he described as a "bait and switch."
