Scholars are divided about how to interpret “impartial spectator” in Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS). Some Smith scholars have advanced the view that the “impartial spectator” represents for Smith God or an allegorical God-like being we call “Joy.” While recognizing “impartial spectator” as polysemous in TMS, we defend the view that in the highest sense it represents for Smith God and/or Joy. We survey works by well-known Smith scholars who either reject or stop short of a God/Joy interpretation, and we criticize them for unduly flattening “impartial spectator.” We emphasize a fatal flaw: the flatteners either ignore or gloss over a crucial paragraph in TMS that strongly indicates a God/Joy reading of “impartial spectator.”