S02:E03 - Lesson Zero

[YoshiPie 33]

My favorite S2 episode. Super hilarious, and well written.

[Dracu98 139]

I just rewatched this episode, and it's simply hilarious looking at the fact that season 1-3 has happened in only one year (one year = 52 weeks, those were 65 episodes...yeah), it's both surprising and sad that there weren't more of those hilarious breakdowns yes, this breakdown was hilarious. you think that too, don't try to denie it. we'll still laugh about this in hell

[powerpuff-tsubasa 448]

never am i a big fan of twilight-centered episodes, but this one takes the cake. 

 

0/10

[twiia 1,843]

It was meh, but Twilight really didn't need to go overboard with the want it need it spell

[cmarston1 5,959]

Seeing Twilight have a complete and utter mental break down was pretty hilarious if you ask me.

This was definitely a highlight to season 2.

[Teavvi 627]

Let's just say...Twilight was the BEST in this!

My definition of BEST = weird.

[Thrond 3,263]

This episode's ability to make me sympathize with Twilight while also having her take increasingly unsettling actions is pretty impressive - there's a reason it's my favourite of the entire show. Can we have more episodes where one of the main characters takes on a straight-up villainous role like this? Twilight was almost as big a menace to Ponyville as Discord, and there's something really thrilling about having a character flip roles like that without any sort of dark temptations or significant personality changes. Love it. 

[Thrond 3,263]

Twilight approaching the CMC is honestly still one of the most terrifying scenes in the entire show. The worst part, now? This isn't the last time we see her approach a child in a way which makes them uncomfortable. That's a character tic you really wouldn't expect from a show like this, and it rightly doesn't usually show it, but the simple fact that this wasn't a one-time thing is kinda hilarious to me. Seriously, who would have expected that from this show? 

 

Also, between this and needing to bail Twilight out in the premiere, do you think Celestia's opinion of her was temporarily damaged somewhat? That'd explain "A Canterlot Wedding" a bit more, come to think of it. 

 

I guess I could complain that the show just sort of ignores Twilight's apparent mental health issues at the end, but she was fine afterwards, and I wouldn't expect the show to go that far in the first place, so whatever. Best episode still. 

 

Score

Entertainment: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Themes: 10/10

Story: 10/10

Overall: 100/100

[blackstarraven 142]

Hmmm.. 

 

Hmm....

I... give it 3 out of 5.. but the thing Is. I enjoy this episode but at the same time. I kind of acknowledge that it's bad. Its find to like things you think are bad... Its fine to dislike things you think are good. Its not OK to argue that things are bad and good BECAUSE YOU like them.

This is more or less a joke/throw away episode.

But one with a good message. (Some times things you don't think are important, are important to some one else)

But... The delivery...

 

 

I like a episode that can laugh at the premise of the show, and the thing is... FiM does that a lot. So its not really all that special. I mean we get jokes about how anal retentive twilight is all the time. This is the first time how ever we get to see her more or less be the open but of a joke.

And the problem I have is that this is almost like watching a different show then the one I normally do. In short....

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IdiotBall

Idiot ball....

_____________

Now I'm not actually going to complain about a idot ball episode in FiM because they don't use it that often. Most of the time the characters act the way they act and its consistent. And everyone has off days. So I enjoy this episode... but it just feels like it was written by some one who does not normally do scripts for the show. This feels like one of the guest episodes of Adventure time. (Sorry if you don't get that reference)

_____________
A few notes.  (And this is just be being over analytical)
 

#1: The sun. -This whole sight gag was pretty funny... it also adds weight to the ideal of Celestia being a troll-

#2: 4th wall.. -really a lot of 4th wall breaks going on in this episode.

#3: Just... odd Big Mac jokes. -There seam to be a lot of these going around, and there fine, and funny. But just the cheer amount of them is starting to build.

_____________
But over all a meh episode of FiM is still pretty darn good.

[Lucartini 104]

Twilight was terrifying in this. That mare needs to get laid.

[Number62 1,258]

I enjoyed this episode at first, but it's one of those works that keeps losing its luster every time I take another look at it.

Spike was good in this episode as he acted like a true friend to Twilight and tried to comfort her over the episode. He even called for Princess Celestia when he felt that Twilight was getting too unhinged.

Twilight was also the only pony who was assigned with sending letters and had to appear in every season 1 episode just to deliver the moral to Princess Celestia the audience. This episode fixes that.

The characters will stop writing letters at some point though, and it's too bad they don't mean anything in the end. I suppose having the letters serving some greater purpose isn't completely necessary as they were just network mandates, but "The Return of Harmony" made fairly good use of the season 1 letters (though I'd like to add that I also think that "The Return of Harmony" sucked, but that's a topic for another time). Celestia and Luna were separated for 1000 years and would likely have an awkward relationship after the latter's return. Hell, even the season 1 premiere implied a slightly broken relationship between the two. So when Celestia was asking for letters, she might actually have been looking for ways to mend her relationship with her sister. Too bad that wasn't the case. Just another reminder that the alicorn sisters (especially Celestia) have been stupidly wasted.

The most notable thing about the episode is Twilight becoming so unhinged and desperate to send a letter because she thinks Celestia has a very strict deadline. This eventually leads to Twilight causing trouble by casting a spell on the CMC to become obsessed with the Smarty Pants doll so Twilight could write a letter about sharing, but the spell also spreads to other Ponyville citizens. Celestia, after being notified by Spike, turns off Twilight's spell and shows true disappointment in her "star student" for the first time in the show. All this sounds good so far. However, what comes after is immensely dissatisfying.

I will admit that Celestia had a decent showing in this episode, but too bad it's one that will never be surpassed especially when I only said this showing was "decent". She shows faith in Twilight and states that she doesn't need a letter from Twilight every week. Even the end of the season 1 premiere didn't have Celestia putting a weekly letter as a guideline, but Twilight probably didn't notice or remember. That would've been fine if the episode had actually gone into the relationship between the two, which leads to my biggest problem with the episode.

Twilight may have gone into a frenzy to appeal to Celestia in this episode, but this isn't the first time it has happened. However, this is the first time her attempt to appeal to Celestia became too extreme, but this episode also never resolves the discomfort Twilight has with Celestia even though that was the driving force behind Twilight's actions in the episode. The problem is that little to nothing about the relationship between the two is actually given before, during, or after this episode. And compounding this problem is that this show had a shitton of chances to rectify this. Twilight's insanity instead looks random and forced.

We know that Twilight wants to avoid Celestia's bad side at all times, but why does Twilight think that Celestia is so unreasonable? Previous episodes like "Swarm of the Century" and "A Bird in the Hoof" have also shown this with the problem taking center stage in "Lesson Zero". If this problem is getting brought up so often like this and, again, taking center stage in this case, isn't one of the main goals to solve it? Otherwise, why bring it up at all? And Celestia has been shown to be a kind and reasonable pony, so this only makes me even more curious about Twilight's perspective. This is just more reason to get into the heads of these two as well as their perspectives of each other, but that hardly happens in this episode and never happens over the rest of the show. The only problem that gets solved is Twilight's concern about sending letters, but there's a much bigger problem at hand that simply gets thrown out the window toward the end. 

In short, I am terribly dissatisfied with the resolution of the episode. Twilight goes crazy about trying to send a letter when her concern about Celestia was the true problem, but the episode only deals with the former while ignoring the latter. The episode ends up becoming hollow and meaningless as a result.

It's too bad this is the only episode that makes an attempt to get into the relationship between Twilight and Princess Celestia, and even all that is stuffed into the ending. "Princess Twilight Sparkle" tried to imply a change in their relationship, but I don't know what their relationship was like before that episode, so I don't know what the "change" even means.

I'm surprised that I don't hate this episode, but maybe that will change after a bit more time as my opinion of this episode has only gotten worse over time.

[Moony the Cat 3,702]

I liked this Episode quite a lot, specially Twilights Faces and how she got more and more crazy, it was entertaining.

[NathanW200 306]

I love this episode I love how Twilight worries so much that Celestia will send her back to magic kindergarten if she misses the deadline for a friendship problem and she becomes so stressed she gets all crazy and tries to create a friendship problem herself no I know Pinkie Pie isn't the only one who acts crazy sometimes 

And you thought Pinkie Pie was crazy

Edited April 5, 2018 by NathanW200

[NathanW200 306]

In this episode Twilight becomes crazier than Pinkie Pie which is awsome

[Meushell 52]

The best part was angry Celestia, which was well deserved. Crazy Twilight wasn’t fun to watch. 

Big Mac running off with the toy was the second best part.

Good on Spike for taking her seriously. I wonder how many times he’s seen the crazy before.

[bigbertha 414]

This is still the best episode of the show. The fact that Twilight went so insane yet we still sympathize with her is amazing. It works because the entire episode is from Twilight's perspective. We see her entire process and thus still understand where she's coming from even during the climax. 

The satire was fantastic and very true. You shouldn't try to force a moral into every episode of a show, because sooner or later, you'll run out of compelling lessons and jump the shark trying to find one.

 The animation and music really helped to sell both Twilight's craziness and a lot of the jokes. I think this episode has the best facial expressions of any episode. They're not too over the top to be gross, but they still push it just far enough to be funny.

There are a lot of other little things like the sun ticking like a clock, Celestia being threatening for once, and how well portrayed Spike was.

The voice acting was better than it usually is too with Tara Strong and Tabitha St. Germain being standouts.

There were also two great morals with taking friends' fears seriously and not making a mountain out of a molehill.

The only thing I can nitpick is that the episode tells us the morals twice first in front of Celestia and then as a letter to Celestia. The latter felt a bit like filler.

Even still, this is the best episode of the show and I doubt any episode will be better in the future.

Score: 10/10

[bigbertha 414]

Lesson Zero is incredibly different than any previous episode. It takes itself very seriously and relies heavily on dark comedy. This leads to a very different tone that may alienate some people, but it's a tone that I like. I really enjoy dark comedy like this. I like that it's not just Twilight going crazy. The story behind it is the best written of the show so far. Twilight's problem is relatable enough to take seriously, but it's pushed just far enough to be able to laugh at. If it went too far, it would lose the story. If it didn't go far enough, it wouldn't be funny. 

Most of the appeal of the episode for me is the story. It's just so well written. It has a satiric edge, making fun of throwing morals into every episode of a show, but that doesn't take things away from Twilight. Twilight holds the episode together. The entire thing is from her perspective, so we always know where her decisions come from. Thus she's still sympathetic even when destroying the town. It also helps that she does end up self aware of what a mess she made soon after. 

I kinda feel like the episode is more focused on story than comedy, but that doesn't bother me in an episode with such a great story. Besides, the jokes do work. Along with the dark comedy, there are other jokes throughout.

This is such a perfect episode. The only issue is with the ending, where the moral is spelled out twice, but that's not too bad.

Score: 10/10 

[Rushing cash 836]

Twilight's break down was amazing. Her interactions with the others was well played, her reaction to fluttershy's brutal display mirrored mine . I feel sorry for the CMC, they did not deserve that. Definitely one of the funniest episodes in the series. This was the episode that made me a fan of the show. 10\10 

[oregon 170]

I’d like to see more Mane 6 breakdowns honestly. I feel like we haven’t gotten a big one in a while (but I’m not all caught up sooo).

[tacobob 15]

This is probably one of my favorite episodes. It's REALLY funny....And it makes fun of the whole 'everything is fixed in 30 minutes' trope.

It's an episode I would show to non-fans.

[Brandywine 8]

I still love this episode to this day. Twilight is me to a tee. I can't tell you how many times I've lost my shit over nothing. Making things worse Everytime I also feel that this was one of the few episodes that gave us some insight into the characters.

[Lucky Bolt 35,062]

This is just one of those episodes that's impossible to not like lol. It gets a 9/10 from me

[starlightglimmerlove 10]

I think this eposide is the funniest of all as she like like a psychiatric patient HA HA

[Astralshy 26,441]

I love this episode! I love crazy Twilight I love the Fluttershy scene with the bear

Twilight's dilemma in this episode is something which is not completely fictional. Yes, it's  exaggerated so it's still funny but at the same time real enough to feel her

For nerds it's also quite common that people around them are not always getting their ideas or worries. So I'd say this is even more relatable and I love this episode for addressing this.

I also love how Celestia is dealing with it

 

 

[JMTV99 1,352]

Without of doubt, the most memorable episode of the show. It was hilarious to see Twilight going all crazy throughout this episode, and it's Tara Strong's best performance.