'''Basic Trope''': A moral lesson is established by showing improbably serious consequences of doing something wrong.
* '''Straight''': Spencer throws some used toys on the ground instead of disposing of them properly. It kills off some vegetation and makes some of the flowers mutate into something ugly. He has to pay a hefty fine and deal with angry people who loved the vegetation.
* '''Exaggerated''':
** Spencer throws a single candy wrapper on the ground. A witch kidnaps him, [[{{Transflormation}} transforms him into a tree]] and poisons him, explaining that now he'll know how plants feel when people litter.
** Spencer picks his nose a bit. [[EldritchAbomination Yog-Sothoth]] awakens and [[PlanetEater eats the planet]].
** Spencer eats his boogers. The entire universe suddenly explodes.
* '''Downplayed''':
** Spencer friendlily teases William. The latter becomes a bullying victim because others imitate and exaggerate Spencer's behaviour, failing to understand that he was just joking.
** Spencer throws a BananaPeel on the ground. William slips on it and falls. He suffers some minor injuries that aren't common for a young boy who falls, but can happen nonetheless.
* '''Justified''':
** It turns out that the toys contained dangerous chemicals that are potentially fatal for plants, and the batteries leak easily. The flowers that mutated instead of dying, however, are genetically engineered.
** Spencer specifically lives in a world where toy cars suddenly mutating plants is an established rule. Not much is learned.
* '''Inverted''':
** Spencer learns a FantasticAesop like "don't TimeTravel".
** Spencer is a KarmaHoudini: he throws his toys on the ground and nothing bad happens, but he's not taught a lesson.
** Spencer is granted omnipotence because he is nice to his friends.
* '''Subverted''':
** Spencer throws some used toys on the ground. It kills off some vegetation and mutates some flowers into something ugly. Spencer has to pay a hefty fine and deal with angry people who loved the vegetation. It turns out that it was [[AllJustADream just a nightmare Spencer had after throwing some used toys on the ground.]]
** It turns out that the vegetation died because somebody spilled some herbicide subsequent to the littering, and the flowers mutated because a scientist had been genetically altering them.
* '''Double Subverted''':
** Spencer wakes up to being arrested.
** Which leads to [[DoubleAesop two more morals]]: herbicide is bad and ScienceIsBad.
* '''Parodied''':
** Spencer throws a single candy wrapper on the ground. The next day, he loses the lottery, and everyone thinks it happened because he littered the day before.
** Spencer [[AllJustADream dreams]] about the witch kidnapping him, and says, "What a ridiculous dream" when he wakes up.
* '''Zig-Zagged''': Spencer is arrested, but it turns out was for shoplifting. In prison he [[AllJustADream dreams]] about being kidnapped and poisoned by a witch... OrWasItADream
* '''Averted''':
** Spencer throws some used toys on the ground instead of disposing of them properly. It gets realistic consequences.
** Spencer disposes of his toys properly.
** Spencer gets his toys repaired instead of disposing of them.
* '''Enforced''':
** [[ExecutiveMeddling Meddling Executives]] think realistic consequences don't make the episode {{Anvilicious}} enough.
** [[ExecutiveMeddling Meddling Executives]] demand AnAesop [[GreenAesop against pollution]]. The writers [[WriterRevolt make it as ridiculous as possible.]]
* '''Lampshaded''': "Did all of this seriously happen because of a stupid toy car I threw away?"
* '''Invoked''': SoapBoxSadie sees Spencer littering and decides to punish him badly.
* '''Exploited''': The owners of the killed vegetation and/or the mutated flowers sue Spencer.
* '''Defied''':
** Spencer calls out somebody who threatens to give him DisproportionateRetribution for a minor misdeed.
** Spencer [[ProperlyParanoid refuses to step out of line for fear of something really weird happening.]]
* '''Discussed''': "Maybe I should dispose of these toys properly... Nah, [[TemptingFate what's the worst that can happen]]?"
* '''Conversed''': "If this show wants to teach me anything about pollution, it should at least give me realistic consequences of littering."
* '''Implied''': Spencer mentions that "something really weird" happened after he littered once. [[NoodleIncident We never find out exactly what happened]].
* '''Deconstructed''': Spencer develops anxiety because he constantly gets harsh and bizarre punishments for his minor misdeeds.
* '''Reconstructed''':
** The anxiety is more "anxiety" as in "apprehension" than "anxiety" as in "an anxiety ''disorder''", and it only happens on some occasions.
** The harsh and bizarre punishments don't happen constantly. In fact, they don't even happen frequently, just often enough.
* '''Played for Laughs''':
** Spencer remarks how crazy his dream is, but when he wakes up, it comes true.
** Bizarre punishments like Spencer's are so common (mostly because humanity is full of idiots who never learn) that people [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight no longer bat an eye at them]].
* '''Played for Drama''':
** JaywalkingWillRuinYourLife
** Spencer's punishment, even if it came from bizarre and "life-affirming" origins, is still disproportionate and left a young man in the hospital. Spencer's family has plenty of reasons to be upset.
* '''Played for Horror''':
** Spencer's bizarre punishment is the trigger event of TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
** Spencer's bizarre punishment involves a gruesome death to mutant plants.
** Spencer is so evil that he feeds humans to the mutant plans to try to fend the plants off, or just to get rid of said humans.
----
Go back to SpaceWhaleAesop or you'll be eaten by a giant squirrel.
----