Welcome back everypony for another Batbrony review of "My Little Pony: OCD is Magic"!!! Oh wait... that's not the name of the show. Well, given how this episode plays out, it might as well be.

Alrighty, "Lesson Zero", the first standard, one-shot episode of Season 2! So, just how does this episode hold up? Well, I'll start by saying something I meant to say in the last review; Season 2 got off to about the most fantastic start it possibly could have. Similar to how I said at the end of my Season 1 reviews that 3 of the last 4 episodes in Season 1 were some of the finest in all of MLP, the same holds for the first five episodes of Season 2. They are all fantastic in their own way, and really proved that not only had Lauren Faust and the folks at Studio B maintained their stride from last season, but that they had also begun improving on it. So, what place in these five gems does "Lesson Zero" hold? Honestly... for me, this is hands down the funniest one-shot episode in all of MLP!!! Now, before I get into my review, I'll explain why it's funnier than probably the two closest contenders: "A Dog and Pony Show" and "Party of One". Both of those episodes are flat out hilarious, but the reason that "Lesson Zero", for me at least, surpasses them in the laughs is quite simple: the humor in the latter is simply so much more unexpected. Yes, there are some insane shenanigans in "A Dog and Pony Show" and "Party of One", but when you think about it, the behavior exhibited by both Rarity and Pinkie Pie in those episodes really isn't all that surprising. I mean, yeah, Pinkie had certainly never lost it that hard before, but she was so random and kooky all the time throughout Season 1 that her losing it like that wasn't all that surprising. Point is, "Lesson Zero"... it's just in a league of its own in how simply unexpected it was. So, without further ado, let's begin.

The laughs are obviously what really make this episode stand out. Heck, even BOTH of the episodes of "The Return of Harmony" combined are at the very least rivalled in the jokes department by this single episode. If I were to sum up the center of all the comedy in "Lesson Zero" in one word, it'd be this: Twilight. Plain and simple, she pretty much steals the show with one of the most insane, out-of-left-field breakdowns I've ever seen any character have! Since there's simply too many laughs to cover in this episode, I'm just going to post some images from it to give you an idea of how completely insane of an episode "Lesson Zero" really is (not that I have to tell most of you seeing as I'm sure you've all seen it at least 10 times).

TELL ME WITH A STRAIGHT FACE THAT THAT DOESN'T LOOK BAT S*** INSANE?!?! Oh, that's right, YOU CAN'T!!! This episode from the very first minute after the opening credits spirals out of control into a frenzied hysteria (as does its lead, Twilight Sparkle). In hindsight, yes, we'd had evidence in Season 1 that pointed to the potential for something like this to happen. There were a few moments where Twilight's OCD almost got the better of her. However, that said, unlike Pinkie Pie, who has always been random, zany, and completely over-the-top, Twilight still for the most part had always kept this pretty much under control. AND THAT is what makes this such a brilliant, terrifyingly hilarious episode; nobody, I mean NOBODY could've seen this coming. Start to finish, it is simply laugh, after laugh, after laugh, after laugh, each one bigger and better than the next. Simply put, the comedy is just on in this episode, reaching a level of perfection and consistency that I have yet to see repeated so wonderfully as in "Lesson Zero". That is why, for me, it is at the moment the funniest episode of MLP.

But what else makes this episode stand out? Well, for one, the story itself, and the theme/lesson contained in it. Two lessons are learned actually, both very important: (1) don't make a mountain out of a mole hill, and (2) don't ignore your friend's troubles even if they seem insignificant. Very good lessons, very good indeed, and the Mane 6 are nicely invested in this episode even though Twilight pretty much steals the show. But it's the events that had a really lasting impact, particularly the end. Princess Celestia in the end, in the FIRST normal episode of Season 2, ordains that from this point on any pony may write her letters about lessons learned about friendship, and only when they learn it. That right there changed the format of the show majorly, and showed in a big way that Faust and Studio B were looking to progress the overall story of the show at a good, steady pace. It was the exact type of evolution the overall plot needed and couldn't have come at a better time, and so I have to give "Lesson Zero" major kudos for this awesome plot development.

Finally, the animation is spot on as usual. The many crazed faces of Twilight Sparkle are particularly delightful, but sequences such as the Atomic Rainboom, Fluttershy vs. Harry the bear, or Ponyville going crazy over Smarty Pants were all rather impressive sequences. Overall, "Lesson Zero" is one of the finest episodes of MLP of all time: easily in my top 5, hands down the funniest episode in my book, and containing a very, very important plot development that has stuck with the show to this day. If there were more episodes that got as many things right as "Lesson Zero", well, that'd be just fine with me.