History Main / MonsterOfTheAesop

** In "Ted", Buffy has to deal with [[ParentWithNewParamour her mother's new boyfriend]] who's nice StandardFiftiesFather to everyone else, but turns into a nasty and abusive ControlFreak to Buffy when their backs are turned. He turns out to be a [[MurderousMalfunctioningMachine malfunctioning android]].

* In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E5ReptileBoy Reptile Boy]]", Buffy and Cordelia go to a frat party. The one drink is, of course, drugged, though this being Buffy the girls are nearly devoured by a giant snake monster as opposed to raped. The next time Buffy tries drinking with frat boys in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E5BeerBad Beer Bad]]", they all turn into cavemen (and cavewoman) stereotypes. Like most MonsterOfTheWeek shows, the monsters are often {{Anvilicious}}.
** Due to Buffy's initial mission statement of showing 'High School as Hell' most episodes feature monsters and villains that turn a normal teenage issue into high horror-flavoured drama: a mother who tries to live through her daughter is literally a witch who has bodyswapped with the girl; a coach who prizes only his team's ability to perform and not any finer human qualities has them turn into sea monsters; a girl sleeps with the man she thought loved her only for him to turn callous. Whether a viewer finds the episode {{Anvilicious}}, spots the moral but likes it because they think the aesop plays well without getting with the way of a thoroughly enjoyable text all very much depends on both the episode and the viewer in question. Some episodes - like that above - push the moral a little hard but then get away with it with a good lampshading: '... You were nearly eaten by a hell-beast. I think the words 'let that be a lesson' are a tad redundant at this juncture.' Leaving High School meant the characters had a less particular time of life to make Aesops about, but it certainly didn't stop them cropping up - Beer Bad, from the show's first post-school season, is practically the poster-girl for this trope.

* The {{Arc Villain}}s in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' combine this with VillainHasAPoint, in that they embodied a societal change that needed to happen; it's just that their [[WellIntentionedExtremist imbalanced methodologies brought them into villain territory]]. Amon sought to free the {{Muggles}} from oppression, but wanted to do so by [[AntiMagicalFaction exterminating the Bending Arts altogether]]. Unalaq wanted to restore mankind's connection with the spirits, but sought this by instigating civil war and becoming the DarkMessiah. Zaheer and the Red Lotus wanted to put an end to oppressive dictatorships, but tried to accomplish this through {{Bomb Throwing|Anarchists}} {{Anarchy}}. Kuvira sought to bring order and strength to a chaos-torn world, but did so by subjugating the Earth Kingdom under her iron-fisted rule.

* The {{Arc Villain}}s in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' combine this with VillainHasAPoint, in that they embodied a societal change that needed to happen; it's just that their [[WellIntentionedExtremist imbalanced methodologies brought them into villain territory]]. Amon sought to free the {{Muggles}} from oppression, but wanted to do so by [[AntiMagicalFaction exterminating the Bending Arts altogether]]. Unalaq wanted to restore mankind's connection with the spirits, but sought this by instigating civil war and becoming the DarkMessiah. Zaheer and the Red Lotus wanted to put an end to oppressive dictatorships, but tried to accomplish this through {{Bomb Throwing|Anarchists}} {{Anarchy}}. Kuvira sought to being order and strength to a chaos-torn world, but did so by subjugating the Earth Kingdom under her iron-fisted rule.

%%Zero Context Example* This tends to happen in a few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales''. Especially in the Larry-Boy installments.

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** At least one example [[{{Anvilicious}} wasn't backed up at all]]. There were twin demons, called Castor and Pollux, who maintained [[PowerOfFriendship close relations and perfect conformity in actions]] and even ''had their tails knotted together''. Of course they reiterated the importance of cooperation like every five seconds. They held rather well against the Sailors, but then [[AssPull all of a sudden]] started to argue about who's going to finish the beaten girls and in about two seconds their friendship was over, their link broken and they were summarily wiped out.

* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'', it often occurred either because the monster inherited the human host's traits in grotesquely exaggerated form, or because it possessed an inanimate object owned by the VictimOfTheWeek and somewhat connected to the episode's plot. Most of the monsters in the first few episodes didn't follow this precisely, mainly being heavily bowdlerized versions of ''Anime/CuteyHoney''-type monsters.

* In various versions of ''Franchise/PrettyCure'', the monster is formed from handy, usually inanimate objects, so if any one thing has been the focal point of the episode, there's a good chance the girls will end up fighting it at some point. Of course, the MonsterOfTheWeek is just as frequently something random, like a piano or a planter or a [[RocksFallEveryoneDies gazebo]].

** Due to Buffy's initial mission statement of showing 'High School as Hell' most episodes feature monsters and villains that turn a normal teenage issue into high horror-flavoured drama: a mother who tries to live through her daughter is literally a witch who has bodyswapped with the girl; a coach who prizes only his team's ability to perform and not any finer human qualities has them turn into sea monsters; a girl sleeps with the man she thought loved her only for him to turn callous. Whether a viewer finds the episode {{Anvilicious}}, spots the moral but likes it because SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped or thinks the the aesop play as ignormable subtext without getting with the way of a thoroughly enjoyable text all very much depends on both the episode and the viewer in question. Some episodes - like that above - push the moral a little hard but then get away with it with a good lampshading: '... You were nearly eaten by a hell-beast. I think the words 'let that be a lesson' are a tad redundant at this juncture.' Leaving High School meant the characters had a less particular time of life to make Aesops about, but it certainly didn't stop them cropping up - Beer Bad, from the show's first post-school season, is practically the poster-girl for this trope.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' episode "Forces of Nature", the other Titans are mad at Beast Boy for his non-stop, often dangerous pranks, which he unapologetically commits. The villains of the episode are then revealed to be Thunder and Lightning, a pair of superpowered brothers who turn out to be less evil than... a pair of pranksters who don't fully grasp they're hurting people. They and Beast Boy then learn the aesop about taking responsibility for one's actions together.
* In a certain way, [[MadGod Discord]] from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fits this. The show overall is all about friendship [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin (well, duh)]] and Discord is the spirit and living embodiment of... [[MeaningfulName well, guess]]. And his signature ability [[RealityWarper (well, aside from being able to do absolutely anything)]] is to invert personalities (turning positive into negative, of course), thus breaking friendships.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' uses this every other story.

* This tends to happen in a few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales''. Especially in the Larry-Boy installments.

** At least one example [[{{Anvilicious}} wasn't backed up at all]]. There were [[ThoseTwoBadGuys twin demons]], called Castor and Pollux, who maintained [[PowerOfFriendship close relations and perfect conformity in actions]] and even ''had their tails knotted together''. Of course they reiterated the importance of cooperation like every five seconds. They held rather well against the Sailors, but then [[AssPull all of a sudden]] started to argue about who's going to finish the beaten girls and in about two seconds their friendship was over, their link broken and they were summarily wiped out.

* In a similar vein to the Raijin-Oh and Sailor Moon examples above, ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'''s monsters of the week through the first half of the series were the manifestations of the stress that the host of the Zonder Metal was suffering from.

* The [[MonsterOfTheWeek akuma]] from ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' verge on this sometimes. For example, Ladybug and Chat Noir's showdown with the Horrificator involves a lesson in facing your fears.
** {{Justified}} in that the akumas work by finding someone who is full of anger or frustration, disabling their inhibitions, and then giving them a set of superpowers themed around their personality. So an akuma's powerset will usually be correlated to what's happening to them at the moment.

* ''Franchise/PowerRangers''

* In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode quoted above, Buffy and Cordelia go to a frat party. The one drink is, of course, drugged, though this being Buffy the girls are nearly devoured by a giant snake monster as opposed to raped. The next time Buffy tries drinking with frat boys, they all turn into cavemen (and cavewoman) stereotypes. Like most MonsterOfTheWeek shows, the monsters are often {{Anvilicious}}.
** Due to Buffy's initial mission statement of showing 'High School as Hell' most episodes feature monsters and villains that turn a normal teenage issue into high horror-flavoured drama: a mother who tries to live through her daughter is literally a witch who has bodyswapped with the girl; a coach who prizes only his team's ability to perform and not any finer human qualities has them turn into sea monsters; a girl sleeps with the man she thought loved her only for him to turn callous. Whether a viewer finds the episode Anvilicious, spots the moral but likes it because SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped or thinks the the aesop play as ignormable subtext without getting with the way of a thoroughly enjoyable text all very much depends on both the episode and the viewer in question. Some episodes - like that above - push the moral a little hard but then get away with it with a good lampshading: '... You were nearly eaten by a hell-beast. I think the words 'let that be a lesson' are a tad redundant at this juncture.' Leaving High School meant the characters had a less particular time of life to make Aesops about, but it certainly didn't stop them cropping up - Beer Bad, from the show's first post-school season, is practically the poster-girl for this trope.

** Due to Buffy's initial mission statement of showing 'High School as Hell' most episodes feature monsters and villains that turn a normal teenage issue into high horror-flavoured drama: a mother who tries to live through her daughter is literally a witch who has bodyswapped with the girl; a coach who prizes only his tam's ability to perform and not any finer human qualities has them turn into sea monsters; a girl sleeps with the man she thought loved her only for him to turn callous. Whether a viewer finds the episode Anvilicious, spots the moral but likes it because SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped or thinks the the aesop play as ignormable subtext without getting with the way of a thoroughly enjoyable text all very much depends on both the episode and the viewer in question. Some episodes - like that above - push the moral a little hard but then get away with it with a good lampshading: '... You were nearly eaten by a hell-beast. I think the words 'let that be a lesson' are a tad redundant at this juncture.' Leaving High School meant the characters had a less particular time of life to make Aesops about, but it certainly didn't stop them cropping up - Beer Bad, from the show's first post-school season, is practically the poster-girl for this trope.

* In the ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' episode "Battle of the Hexes," Billie is rather outspoken about her beliefs that [[StrawFeminist Straw Feminism]] is better than real equality between the sexes. She learns the defects of this philosophy when she just happens to discover a magical belt that belonged to an [[LadyLand ancient Amazon queen]]. More or less by coincidence, the demon of the week also holds to StrawFeminist views.

** Mostly [[AvertedTrope averted]] with Master Vile, the lone filler episode was sort of this. Of course with Vile being a KnightOfCerberus, this is to be expected.
** King Mondo did this occasionally but much less so than the evil space aliens. Divatox, on the other hand, did this a lot. Astronema did this on occasional but seeing as how CerberusSyndrome defined In Space, this was less common

** Rita Repulsa, in particular, did it all the time. In fact, most villainous plots from the first two seasons were inspired by what the Ranger teens were doing at school when the villains looked in.

** Due to Buffy's initial mission statement of showing 'High School as Hell' most episodes feature monsters and villains that turn a normal teenage issue into high horror-flavoured drama: a mother who tries to live through her daughter is literally a witch who has bodyswapped with the girl; a coach who prizes only his tam's ability to perform and not any finer human qualities has them turn into sea monsters; a girl sleeps with the man she thought loved her only for him to turn callous. Whether a viewer finds the episode Anvilicious, spots the moral but likes it because SomeAnvilsNeedTBeDropped or thinks the the aesop play as ignormable subtext without getting with the way of a thoroughly enjoyable text all very much depends on both the episode and the viewer in question. Some episodes - like that above - push the moral a little hard but then get away with it with a good lampshading: '... You were nearly eaten by a hell-beast. I think the words 'let that be a lesson' are a tad redundant at this juncture.' Leaving High School meant the characters had a less particular time of life to make Aesops about, but it certainly didn't stop them cropping up - Beer Bad, from the show's first post-school season, is practically the poster-girl for this trope.

* All the X Eggs in ''ShugoChara'' stem specifically from self-confidence issues.

->'''Buffy:''' I told one lie, I had one drink.\\
'''Giles:''' Yes, and you were very nearly devoured by a giant demon snake. The words "let that be a lesson" are a tad redundant at this juncture.
-->-- ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E5ReptileBoy "Reptile Boy"]]