Adventure Time has a few examples of this, some of which can be pretty harsh:
"Tree Trunks": When you encourage people to pursue their dreams when they don't have a talent for it, it will lead to disappointment at best.
"His Hero": Finn and Jake are convinced to practice nonviolence by their hero Billy. After a while, they realize that violence is necessary sometimes and use force to rescue an old lady that's in peril. They go back and explain that to Billy and we all learn a valuable lesson.
"It Came From the Nightosphere": If somebody is estranged from their parent, it might be for a good reason, and you shouldn't interfere in the relationship without asking (though in this case, it leads to Finn summoning a literal soul-sucking fiend from Hell).
"Ocarina" sees Jake deliver a rather cynical monologue about the abuse of private property laws, saying "the law ain't made to help earthy cats like us", and that the powerful make such laws to protect themselves and keep "the little guys" down. It also features Kim Kil Whan giving up on his quest to make Jake more responsible, having apparently learned that you can't force others to improve themselves.
"The Comet": Martin gives a more realistic take regarding his abandonment of Finn and continuing to run away from his problems. When Finn asks Martin why he keeps running away from his problems, the latter replies; "You burn enough bridges, the only direction to move is forward." While Martin's response can be interpreted as a sugarcoated way of saying that it's ok to not take responsibility for your actions, given his personality, he's not wrong that sometimes, you don't get a second chance and the consequences of your actions can lead to problems that are just unsalvageable, and there's no point to "crying over spilled milk" and the best course of action is to just keep moving forward.
The Amazing World of Gumball: "The Job" has the message that some people just aren't cut out to be productive members of society, and will inevitably make things worse if they try.
American Dad!: "Daddy Queerest" has Terry's dad coming to visit him, then discovering he's gay then disowns him. Stan scrambles to convince him to accept homosexuals because they think he only hates them because he's uninformed until he says "I know it's not dangerous. I know it isn't something that can be changed. I just don't like it." The moral is, "Not every bigot is one out of ignorance. Some people will be bigots no matter what you say to them, and sometimes they're people you love" (which, sadly, is Truth in Television). It could also be a much more blunt version of “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind".
Amphibia: One of the overarching themes of the show overall is that sometimes, we need to be apart from the people that we value most so that we can grow for the better. And sometimes, no matter how much you cherish something or someone, you can't hold onto them forever. Summarized best at the series' end:
"Change can be difficult, but it's how we grow. It can be the hardest thing to realize you can't hold onto something forever. Sometimes... you have to let it go. But of the things you let go, you'd be surprised what makes its way back to you."
Animaniacs: Chicken Boo's episodes involve the title character dressing as a human and earning the praise of the people around him through good deeds or performance skill...until everyone finds out he's a giant chicken, at which point they instantly turn on him and chase him out of town. The moral being, no matter how hard you work to earn the respect of others, they'll turn on you the instant they find out you're different. Most Animaniacs cartoons become funnier over time once you're old enough to get the more nuanced humor (and the sex jokes), but Chicken Boo becomes downright depressing, especially for someone who's a non-visible minority. It really isn't surprising that he was Driven to Villainy by the time of the reboot.
The episode "Bully for Skippy" sees Skippy being tormented by a bully. He immediately follows the usual lessons of bullying episodes by going to trusted adults (his aunt and the school faculty) to tell them about it, then following the school's advice by trying tactics like befriending the bully and ignoring him...none of which work. In the end, Slappy teaches Skippy how to fight back physically while not provoking violence, and that is the only thing which gets the bully to stop bothering him. The moral thus becomes "sometimes people are just plain jerks, and if they won't stop abusing you, you have the right to defend yourself from them if push comes to shove." It's lampshaded in-universe by the school staff, who claim it's a terrible lesson for children to learn—prompting Slappy to subject them to some cartoonish violence for enabling the bully in the first place.
One particular episode is about a Sadist Teacher who takes a substitute and treats the students pretty poorly. It delivers some pretty hard-hitting aesops:
Some people are just mean and won't care if you stand up for them when you think things have gone too far.
Standing up for others when they have been treated poorly is indeed a good thing... though as shown by the fact the episode ends with Ginger in detention for mouthing off to the teacher, it's not always going to end like on a TV show with everyone clapping.
Dodie is routinely an absolute jerk to Ginger and everybody else. And yet Ginger still hangs out with her because they were friends for years. Even when Dodie joins Miranda and Mipsy in spreading slanderous rumours about Ginger, while twisting Macie's arm into following, the next episode shows them acting as if nothing ever happened. Just because you were friends with someone for years doesn't make them a good person — and forgiving them means they will only hurt you more.
The episode in which Ginger, Macie, and Carl join the Bishop family on their camping trip. Jojo spends almost the entire episode being obnoxious... and insulting to her brother, Carl, while Dodie flat out enables her. The episode ends with Ginger learning that some parents are just different and to accept all their quirks — when Jojo's quirks are anything but normal.
"D.W.'s Very Bad Mood" teaches the moral that you shouldn't expect to be invited to go to every event. There will be times that you are not invited to go somewhere you want to go, but you should focus on those who include you instead. D.W.'s temper tantrums come from how she is upset about not being invited to her classmate's birthday party even though her best friend Emily is invited. After learning her lesson, D.W. feels better after being invited to Francine's birthday party.
"Prunella Packs It In": Prunella starts worrying about getting into a good college after hearing that Muffy's father has a degree from the prestigious Ivy University. She thus starts doing all manner of extracurricular activities to try to boost her chances, only to burn herself out and not have any time for fun. In the end, she decides to drop the activities and do something she actually likes by painting sets for the school play; when Muffy scoffs at this and brags about her dad again, Mr. Crosswire explains that his degree from Ivy University is an honorary one he got for a charitable donation, and he actually never attended college. The Aesop is thus the rarely-heard (especially on a children's show) "You don't need to go to college to be a success," as Mr. Crosswire has founded an extremely lucrative car dealership and become the richest person in Elwood City. It's hard to admit that higher education isn't always necessary, but it's true.
Avatar Yangchen, the previous airbender Avatar, delivered an Aesop that was unconventional even in-universe, considering the values of who it came from. As an Air Nomad, Aang follows the principles of non-violence, and tries to detach himself from the world in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Avatar Yangchen says that this is a great and worthy goal and the path of many wise Air Nomads. However, Aang is both an Air Nomad and the Avatar, and as the Avatar his primary duty is to the world. He cannot detach himself from it. It would actually be an act of selfishness — putting his own spiritual needs before the needs of the world. Therefore if push comes to shove, he must use violence or even kill to defend the world. This leads Aang to reluctantly accept that he will have to kill Ozai right before he's granted an alternative to just permanently take away Ozai's bending once he's subdued.
"Zuko Alone:" A few good deeds here and there will not prevent people from only seeing the years of damage and abuse caused by your family or nation.
Zuko has to learn throughout the show that you can’t make someone love you, even if it’s your own father. You shouldn't be blindly devoted to terrible people just because they're your family.
"The Great Divide": Lying is a perfectly acceptable way to defuse a situation between two people if they're about to escalate to violence, doubly so when you don't really know what's caused the problems in the first place.
"The Western Air Temple": No one is obligated to forgive or trust you, especially when you have been a backstabbing Spoiled Brat that causes ample moral hazard. Zuko tries to convince the Gaang that he wants to join their side and train Aang in firebending, only for the Gaang to bring up all of the horrible things he's done over the course of the series as grounds to distrust him. He admits that he wouldn't believe his redemption in their shoes. Even though Aang eventually gives Zuko a chance after he helps Team Avatar defeat Combustion Man for good, Katara makes it clear that if Zuko leads to Aang being killed again, she will "end his destiny", and it takes a few episodes for Zuko to truly gain the trust of the Gaang (especially Katara).
Avengers Assemble: You are not actually obligated to be there for a family member who has repeatedly proven they will spit on any attempt at reconciliation. No matter how much you might want them to, some people just can't change... but if they're sincere, then you should try to help them.
Ben 10 has the episode "Kevin 11" with the moral, "If you do something really really bad, apologizing helps but it doesn't fix everything. Trust must be earned back." after Ben is tempted into a crime spree by his evil new friend.
"Lava and Postman" has the message "Fighting with your family isn’t ideal, but you can’t be in complete agreement all the time, either." To resolve their conflict, Bluey and Bingo have to squabble a bit to say how they feel and find a solution.
"Pass the Parcel" shows that not everyone can be a winner. Losing is a part of life and while that may be hard for younger kids to understand initially, they will eventually learn to accept it and handle losing with grace from that point forward.
An episode of Bobby's World had a message that portrayed respect for adult authority as something that should be limited and portray being a tattle-tale as something that can be socially damaging as hell. "Don't be a tattletale. Assess the situation, determine if there's any potential real harm, and base your decision to go to an authority figure on that."
The entire series exists largely to drop the anvils on the black community: 1. Apathy to your lot in life is a self-fulfilling prophecy; 2. Society is structured to disadvantage members of certain groups, usually focusing on the black community, but occasionally others.
"The Trial of R. Kelly" delivers two of them. The first is that, while it's true that the American criminal justice system conspires to put a lot of innocent black people in prison on fallacious charges, there are black people who are genuinely guilty of the crimes they are charged with and they need to face justice. The second is that celebrities like R. Kelly should not be given a free pass for criminal behavior because of their fame and they need to be held accountable regardless of their talent and status.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech in "Return of the King", decrying the fact that the freedoms he fought so hard for are being taken for granted, even wasted, by the people on whose behalf he fought. Cartoon Network released an official statement in defense of it, in fact:
"We think Aaron McGruder came up with a thought-provoking way of not only showing Dr. King's bravery but also of reminding us of what he stood and fought for, and why even today, it is important for all of us to remember that and to continue to take action."
"The Itis", regarding the importance of healthy eating. The episode also points out that the only reason soul food became part of African American culture in the first place was because it was the only food accessible to plantation slaves and there was no healthier alternatives:
Huey: Granddad, look what you did to the community. Granddad: It's not that bad. Huey: Not that bad? This place used to sit between a coffee shop and a day spa. Now there's a liquor store and a damn Foot Locker. This food is destructive. Granddad: This food is your culture! Huey: Then the culture is destructive!
The "Nigga Moment" story arc with Colonel Stinkmeaner, that consisted of one episode per each season ("Granddad's Fight", "Stinkmeaner Strikes Back", "Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy", and "Stinkmeaner: Begun the Clone War Has"). The overall message is "don't fight with other people over stupid and/or trivial matters", and it's better to just make peace with your enemies and let go of past conflicts. But "The Hateocracy" reveals that sometimes you just can't do that. Even if you want to, the other person can be so consumed and warped, if not just plain awful. It does have the equal aesop of "There's no shame in having the police involved in your affairs if your life is in jeopardy."
"Freedomland" is rather poignant about its message concerning how the modern-day middle class is kept down by those above them on the socioeconomic ladder.
"It's a Black President, Huey Freeman", like the above R. Kelly episode, shows that lionizing someone just because they come from an oppressed group allows you to ignore their actual character and weaknesses, and being from an oppressed group doesn't stop you from being self-serving or corrupt.
Central Park: In “Lunar Palaver”, Cole has an encounter with a racist lady at the park, so Owen decides to have the “racism talk” with him that consists of several of these in and out of universe. Owen tells Cole that he will experience racism just because he’s a Black male due to the past 400 years of stereotypes, and it most likely will happen to him again, but he shouldn’t let that keep him from enjoying life.
Also, for Daria herself: while it's good to have an ethical standard, neither you nor anybody else can live up to that standard all the time. For example, "Through a Lens, Darkly" has her learn that it's okay for her to be a little vain, because yes, wanting people to find you attractive is only natural.
While sticking to your personal morals and refusing to take part in a corrupt system is admirable, doing so will also usually make things in life much more difficult. Daria (and Jane in "See Jane Run") would tell several people with questionable ethics off, or quit a project that went against her morals only to have nothing to show for it afterwards (and sometimes, even be punished for it). At least twice they even lampshade this; in Jane's case, when she quit the track team, they point out while Jane refused to take part in a corrupt school athletic system, she also did nothing to try and change said system and both Daria and Jane were punished by the gym teacher for it, and in a later episode after Daria says she had to quit the school yearbook for 'moral reasons' Helen just sighs and says "again?"
"Prize Fighters" brutally deconstructs "Be Yourself". Daria is vying for a scholarship and will have to be interviewed; however, she dislikes the impression that she needs to act any differently than her typical blunt, sarcastic self. Ultimately, she acts like her normal self and doesn't get the scholarship; Jodie and Upchuck, who were more professional to the point of boring/butt-kissing, respectively, didn't either. None of them are really sure whether or not they did the right thing.
"Fizz Ed" shows the Lawndale High having budgeting issues due to a mixture of the local community not wanting to pay for the school and Ms. Li's frivolous purchases, so they take an advertising deal with a soft drink company. Daria objects to this despite how many people tell her it's not really bad — until it does get out of control and she's proven right. In the end, the advertising is scaled back to a much more reasonable level; there are still vending machines and advertisements but the company is no longer directly involved with the school's day-to-day operations. Some might see this as a case of "everybody wins," but to Daria it's Pyrrhic Victory at best or a The Bad Guy Wins at worst, since Lawndale High still does have advertisements. In other words? Capitalism finds a way.
"Quinn the Brain" features a deconstruction of the "Rewarded for good grades" trope. When Quinn brings home an uncharacteristic "A", she is praised and rewarded. Daria points out the double standard - that she does this for free, so rewarding Quinn technically demotivates her from achieving as well. In order to make things fair, Jake gives Daria some money - but also gives Quinn more in order to motivate her to continue to improve. Which itself has Daria ask about how she maintains the standard of excellence. This prompts Jake to throw his wallet. Sure, rewarding someone for excellence is good, but it can also demotivate those who already achieve and do so consistently who don't get any reward, as it's expected of them.
Invoked in "The F Word", where Mr. O'Neill tries to teach the class that it's okay to fail. Crosses over into in-universe Clueless Aesop, however, in that he just winds up depressing them.
"Holy Crap" has Peter continually try to make his hard-working and religious father, Francis, accept him, even going so far as to have the Pope vouch for him. The moral is that Francis will never accept how Peter lives, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love Peter. After a moment's reflection, Peter realizes that's the same way he feels about Francis too.
"In Run, Chris, Run", people will sometimes put others who are at a disadvantage either physically, mentally, etc up on a pedestal merely because it makes them feel good about themselves and often dehumanizes the person in question, turning them more into a prop just so everyone else can feel less guilty about perceived privileges, etc.
"The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" plays with this. It portrays hunting as a necessary part of conservation to prevent overpopulation and eventual famine among animals. But having fun doing so is apparently wrong and results in karmic death.
Parodied in "Yo Leela Leela" where Leela lies about creating a children's show from scratch when in reality she's just writing about the antics of an alien species. Eventually the guilt catches up with her and she confesses... only to be praised for the lie. Wrong or not, her actions improved the lives of everyone involved: the alien species was able to buy medicine and infrastructure with the paychecks they earned while the orphans were inspired by Leela's success story and ended up Happily Adopted and employed at the TV studio. It ends with everyone standing around Leela in a circle cheering her on as a hero while she begs them to stop and wails about how she deserves to be punished. It also plays it straight as it ends on the lesson "a morally wrong act that harms no one and only benefits people is a good thing".
A lot of kids shows are willing to teach the message that it's sometimes okay to lie in order to spare people's feelings, the episode "Bottomless Pit" takes it farther and has Mabel learn it's okay to lie to get out of trouble.
Making fun of your family means that they will inevitably stop trusting you until you wise up. Dipper nearly lets Bill Cipher steal Stan's memories, and Stan finds out that he was pushing away Dipper by making fun of his role playing games. And when he admits to Mabel that one of the reasons why he spends more time with Grunkle Ford is because the latter never mocks his interests, she downplays it at first, and then she seems to have a minor Jerkass Realization.
Arbitrary beings cannot determine if you are a good person or worthy because "morality is relative". Mabel and Grunkle Ford find out that creatures you put on a pedestal will use you for selfish purposes or send you on one Snipe Hunt after another, most likely for giggles.
Sometimes the people you love are going to hurt you the most, especially when they lack the maturity to let you go. Hating them for it, however, will make things worse. Ford never forgave Stan for accidentally sabotaging his efforts to go to a great college, and as a result the two were estranged, Stan got badly burned in their fight, and Ford ended up hopping dimensions for thirty years. Ford only forgave Stan when the latter sacrificed his mind to destroy Bill and thus "died" for a few days. In contrast, when Mabel accidentally gives the rift to Bill Cipher thinking she will stop time and keep herself with Dipper in Gravity Falls, and causes the Apocalypse, Dipper risks his life and starvation to save her, and all but states that reuniting with her is his greatest desire. It doesn't matter that he never finds out that she gave the rift thinking it would keep them together; she's his sister, and she needed his help.
Episodes featuring Helga's mom tend to teach that parents are sometimes idiots, Which is Truth in Television.
Another episode was about Helga performing a stand-up comedy act in which she made insulting jokes about her friends. This upset them, so she stopped, but then her act wasn't funny. Arnold encouraged her to go back to doing the insult routine, and the audience loved it. The moral: "insults can be funny as long as everyone gets a chance to laugh."
The episode "Arnold Betrays Iggy" has the moral that some people will NEVER forgive you, no matter how sorry you are, and if they insist on making you suffer to earn their forgiveness, then they aren't worth your time.
The episode "Full Mooned" delivers the moral that sticking to your personal morals will sometimes make your life harder, as evidenced by Arnold being given an entire month of detention because he refused to rat out his classmates.
Infinity Train: Book 3 demonstrates that everybody is capable of redemption and everybody should be given opportunities to become better people. Despite everything they did, Grace learns the error of their ways, admits everything they've done was wrong, and disbands the Apex cult. However, Book 3 also demonstrates that there are some people who will never redeem themselves no matter how many opportunities you give them, simply because they don't want to change their ways or accept that what they've done is wrong. As illustrated by Simon's death, sometimes all you can do is sadly watch them self-destruct as they reject every chance for help.
Episode 63 teaches kids that they should put up a fight if someone tries bullying them, rather than resolve the fight in a peaceful manner.
In Episode 136, Kaeloo's friends are offended by her honesty, so Mr. Cat gives her lessons on how to tell lies, with some help from the others. At the end of the episode, she becomes super popular because she told people lies which made them happy instead of being honest with them. Nothing happens to prove that honesty is good.
Cotton Hill was a highly accomplished WWII veteran who had his shins blown off during combat, resulting in a disability that affected his gait. However, he's also characterized as violent and abusive thanks to his dated, intolerant social views and unpleasant personality. Cotton is essentially a walking lesson that having a disability or achieving great things in the past doesn't always make a good person in the end.
"Husky Bobby" teaches that, while there's nothing wrong with being different from others and proud of who you are, the reality is the world is still full of bullies who will mock and attack you for it. So sometimes it's best that you keep it to yourself so that you will be spared from any public physical and verbal abuse.
The Aesop of "Husky Bobby" is followed up in "Transnational Amusements Presents: Peggy's Magic Sex Feet." Peggy is tricked into appearing on a foot fetish website, and when she learns the truth about the pictures, she has a breakdown and curses herself for being fooled. Bobby helps her with a pep talk about his own body, pointing out that he's fat, which also makes him the target of teasing—but he refuses to let himself be miserable because other people tell him that he should be. As stated above, the world is full of bullies, and sometimes the only way to get through life is by accepting that there will always be people who dislike and mock you, so it's better to choose being happy instead of allowing jerks to get you down.
Bobby: Mom, I'm fat. Big deal. I don't feel bad about it, and you never made me feel bad about it. And just because there are people out there who want me to feel bad about doesn't mean I have to.
In "Revenge of the Lutefisk", Bobby accidentally burns down the Church after trying to mask the smell of his gas in the bathroom (something Cotton had done moments before). Cotton is fingered as the suspect as the matches are discovered and, based on his outburst at the reverend being a woman, is assumed to have done this deliberately in retaliation for his beliefs. Bobby is terrified to take responsibility as he knows it's a serious crime, but eventually does confess in private to Cotton, Hank, and Peggy. Hank and Peggy demand Bobby tell the cops... but Cotton refuses to let them and decides to falsely confess. Finding out it was his grandson who did it (the only person in the series he shows any love towards), Cotton decides he will take the fall, and argues the point that Bobby would be vilified for his life or spend a portion of it in jail or prison, ruining his future. Cotton has no future due to his age, and figures it'd be easier for him to be in trouble. It's not a particularly moral lesson, but it goes to show how a single act can ruin your entire future, even if it was a complete accident. Thankfully Cotton does get away with it by issuing a public apology to the congregation.
The Korra/Mako/Asami Love Triangle shows infidelity can be less the fault of the one who instigates it than the one whom it's forced upon. While Korra (due to not knowing better the first time and amnesia the second) and Asami (due to Mako and Korra having just broken up) are never held at fault, Mako gets No Sympathy despite being caught in the middle of their advances because he couldn't put his foot down and say no to them, ultimately owning up to despite the awkward situation he was forced into it being his fault for failing to deal with.
Korra's Mental Health Recovery Arc during Season 4 involves several. 1. Being the savior of the world with everyone counting on you won't stop you from being cripplingly traumatized. 2. Recovering from such trauma is a long process that can't be rushed and can be set back (it took Korra two years to physically recover, but one defeat due to not being 100% yet undid her mental recovery to that point). 3. Dealing with the things and persons that caused your trauma won't be enough to make to go away, and can actually hold you back by obsessing over them rather than move forward. 4. You cannot undo the pain of or go back to the way you were before your trauma, you can only recover by accepting it which merely amounts to no longer letting your fear of it hold you back from moving forward.
In Season 1, Korra spends an episode afraid of Amon and trying to get over her fear of him. Towards the end of said episode, Korra attempts to do so by challenging him to a duel. Amon arrives, but, rather than showing up himself, he orders his men to ambush and capture her, then he appears and, while Korra is at the mercy of his henchmen, he makes it clear that he can destroy her at any moment. At the end, Korra ends up traumatized and more afraid of Amon. The moral is that, even if you decide to face your fears, your courage is meaningless if they have something that you are unable to control and overcome.
An in-universe example in The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. The comic book Boom-Fist gives messages like "use violence as a first resort," "put yourself before others," and "if you can't win, make sure the other guy loses."
The Magic School Bus Rides Again has one episode about engineering specifically all about failure - so that the students will be able to learn from the failures and apply the information gained from them in their next attempt. Considering most peoples fears about failure, this is very much a hard truth aesop.
Metalocalypse doesn't exactly go out of its way to teach anyone anything because it's a show about a death metal band composed of monumentally stupid people, but some of the episodes have this trope at the core of their themes, often with a heavy dose of Take That! aimed at various things. One story has the Tribunal wanting to stop Nathan from getting his GED because it would cause people to realize that a person's social class and education level don't define their intelligence; another had Pickles having to face the fact that nothing he does, no matter how rich or successful he is, will ever earn his mother's love and respect, and the only solution is to stop valuing her opinion of him (by telling her to go fuck herself).
Courtesy of "Antibug": even if the local Alpha Bitch is a Consummate Liar and won't admit that her selfish actions caused several people to become akumatized, one should acknowledge the only time that she makes a good point (telling Gabriel that his overprotective fathering is actually hurting his son Adrien by making him feel alone and isolated, and that he should try letting him get close to people that both of them trust) since good advice can come from unlikely places.
Your direct and indirect actions are going to make someone bitter and even spiteful someday whether you meant them to or not, and likewise, the possibility of you having a bad day while you're striving for a goal is very, very likely. Showcased best in "Gamer" where Marinette effortlessly beats Max fair and square in a fighting game competition in the school library. Whereas Max had trained an entire year putting practice into the game for a district-wide tournament where he'd be representing their school, Marinette is implied to have been gaming with her father (a high skill player himself) as a sparring partner in the same series of fighting game for at least a few years, with her only motivation for participating in the try-outs (something she knew about for all of five minutes after strolling into the library by chance) is a chance to hang out and spar with Adrien for the day, who's the runner up. Despite accepting defeat graciously at the library, the humiliation festered in long enough for an Akuma to take hold of Max. This plot has been repeated at least three times during the show so far, in the akumatizations of Aurore, Max, and Kagami.
It's not OK to be cruel to someone, regardless of how much they deserve it, because it could make things worse for you. In the episode "Volpina", Lila is a Consummate Liar and, from what we see of her, an Alpha Bitch who has no problem making false promises note such as telling Nino she'll talk to her alleged Hollywood friends on his behalf, potentially ruining people's reputations note Alya may only be a teen with a blog, but the Ladyblog seems to be taken seriously as a source of Ladybug news and Lila's fake interview could damage her credibility as well as theft and attempted destruction of propertynote of Adrien's book, specifically, putting people downnote Ladybug AKA Marinette and sexually harassing and attempting to manipulate her crush into a relationship with her. However, Marinette chastising and humiliating her in front of Adrien as Ladybug was still in poor taste because it not only resulted in Lila being akumatized, but also making an enemy out of her.
Just because you have been genuinely wronged doesn't mean that what you do in retaliation is justified. A large fraction of the akuma victims suffer from genuine and undeniable injustices (The Mime lost his job because a friend lied to him, Kung Food's soup was sabotaged, Rogercop was fired for refusing to follow an illegal order, and many more), but that doesn't make what they did as akumatized vilains right.
Sometimes, giving someone the benefit of the doubt is the wrong choice and second chances only work if the person is willing to become a better person. Marinette allowing Chloé to remain Queen Bee because of her Freudian Excuse would, in many other shows, be the start of Chloé's redemption arc. However, because Chloé has been an unrepentant bully for years and almost never learns her lesson, here it ultimately ends up being a key factor in her Face–Heel Turn. Chloé becomes entitled to being Queen Bee for the fame instead of actually helping people, and when the privilege is revoked, she immediately sides with Hawk Moth.
Redemptions don't always work out. Sometimes, even if someone has the potential to be a better person, they can still slip back into their bad habits, as shown with Chloé.
In one episode Andy says "sometimes a little irresponsibility solves everything" and is proven to be right.
Kevin also exists as a harsh deconstruction of a gifted student in school, as his complete lack of social skills and common sense make him more or less completely unable to function in the real world. Just being intelligent and a hard worker simply isn't enough, and you're basically toast if that's all you have when you're thrust into adulthood.
On the flip-side, Andy is shown to be a complete slacker who only works hard when he absolutely has to or when it's for his own interests, yet is (despite the occasional hiccup) leading a quite happy and content life. Again, teaching children it's okay to not strive for success and that it's totally okay to just live a simple life for yourself would probably offend parents, but it's completely true.
"It ain't Easy Bein' Breezy" teaches us the lesson that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind, or lazy people will take advantage of your kindness even unto the point of self-harm. Though it does soften the lesson by also pointing out that there is a difference between necessary and unnecessary harshness. While Fluttershy kicks the Breezies out of her home because they can’t stay there anymore and they need to return home before the portal closes, she and her friends also escort them to the portal to defend them from threats and guarantee that they get home safely.
"Inspiration Manifestation" teaches that while being supportive of your friends is good, if that particular friend starts doing something morally wrong, you might want to put that support into question as Spike sees that Rarity, under the influence of dark magic, starts remaking things to her liking but it is inconveniencing everyone else in Ponyville. He's hesitant to say this in fear of hurting Rarity's feelings, but when Rarity talks about doing the same thing to all of Equestria, he finally decides to speak the truth when he sees that Rarity's feelings shouldn't be the only thing that matter.
"Fame and Misfortune" shows that, if you put content out there even with the best intentions, there will always be people who misinterpret it and still won't get it even if you passionately explain it to them.
"To Change A Changeling" has the lesson that total passiveness and non-violence doesn't always work, and that sometimes Violence Really Is the Answer. You can't always be a totally violent jerk like Pharynx, or always be a complete pushover like the rest of the reformed changelings: you need to know when to use words, feelings, and let things go, and when to stand up for yourself and others and fight if it’s necessary to defeat a threat.
"Daring Doubt" delivers the normally positive Aesop "Get both sides of the story before you pass judgment". Yet when the villain Caballeron (who had persuaded Fluttershy to join up with him by claiming to have been an innocent victim) is forced to admit that he was in fact Only in It for the Money all along, it also illustrates the Hard Truth side of that Aesop: Some people actually are every bit the Jerkass they appear to be, and their side of the story will turn out to be a total lie (or otherwise not helpful in resolving the conflict at hand).
"The Perfect Pear": If your family doesn't agree with an important life choice you're making, you may be forced to choose one or the other. Pear Butter was disowned by her father for marrying Bright Mac and they never spoke again for the rest of her life. She stayed Happily Married to Bright Mac and had three foals with him, but didn't get there without a bit of heartache.
The adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk in Once Upon a Time (1995) ends with the narrator informing viewers that honestyisn't alwaysthe best policy, and principles are a poor substitute for food. It revolves around the poor child Jack stealing various magical money-making devices, such as a chicken that lays golden eggs, a donkey that poops gold coins, and a machine that can magically print money, from a magical rich man in the sky. His mother insists he take everything back (except the chicken, which she impulsively kills and eats because she's hungry). This culminates in the rich man offering them a cheque if Jack will stay away (he didn't miss any of the stuff Jack took, but Jack bringing it back was ruining his reputation)... but that cheque is a mere pittance compared to the perpetual funds any of the other items could have provided and it soon runs out, leaving them just as poor and miserable as before, with Jack scornfully regarding his weeping mother.
The Owl House: Luz is forced to accept that people like Emperor Belos are Beyond Redemption. Initially believing herself to be just as bad as him, the Titan bluntly explains that despite Belos's claims of eradicating witches and demons to protect humanity, Belos cares for no one and no amount of reasoning will convince him that he was wrong. As such, in order for the Boiling Isles to be freed of his tyranny, Belos is crushed underfoot.
Penny, Zoey, and to an extent Sticky's friendship with Dijonay and LaCienaga. Sometimes you're only friends with someone just because of proximity and inertia, even when they're legitimately toxic.
Regular Show episode "Think Positive" gives us "sometimes yelling at people (or at least being a little abrasive) is the best way to solve your problems. This is because some people can be mean, arrogant or simply stupid and might think that Good Is Dumb and will not take you seriously unless you do that".
The episode "Nobody Doesn't Like T.J." teaches people that there are people in this world who will dislike you without a good reason to do so, and thus you shouldn't bother trying to be friends with them.
The episode "More Like Gretchen" has both a child one and a parental one. The first is that, while being yourself is good, it will sometimes result in jealousy and resentment even among your peers. The second is that asking your child to be more like another isn't going to make them improve; it'll just make their insecurities worse.
"Some Friend" reveals that T.J. and Menlo were extremely close when they were little, but have now grown apart because of their changing interests, although they remain cordial and have promised to always attend one another's birthday parties. The rest of the Recess Gang assumes that the pair had a big fight at some point, but they patiently explain that that isn't the case—they just became different people with different hobbies and lost touch. Sometimes growing up and discovering your own passions means that you will drift apart from friends, even childhood ones, and while it's somewhat sad, it's also a simple fact of life that you have to accept.
An In-Universe example in "Rixty Minutes" when Morty convinces Summer not to run away after revealing that he is an alternate version of her brother.note He's talking about how he and Rick came to the current reality in "Rick Potion #9".
"Mortynight Run" and "Auto-Erotic Assimilation" demonstrates that the universe doesn't function according to Black-and-White Morality, and if you don't know the full details of the situation, it's best not to get involved at all because you can make things a whole lot worse.
"Auto-Erotic Assimilation" also takes the "find your True Love" concept for a bend with Rick and Unity's relationship, and shows that a dysfunctional relationship can exist between two people who truly do love each other and are happy together. Unlike many stories that would end with them finding a way to live Happily Ever After, it instead ends with Unity realizing the only way she can be happy is to leave Rick:
Unity: Rick, forgive me for doing this in notes. I'm not strong enough to do it in persons. I realize now that I'm attracted to you for the same reason I can’t be with you. You can't change. And I have no problem with that, but... it clearly means I have a problem with myself. I'm sure there's no perfect version of me. I’m sure I'll just unify species after species and never really be complete. But I know how it goes with us. I lose who I am and become part of you. Because in a strange way, you're better at what I do without even trying. Yours, and nobody else's, Unity.
"Look Who's Purging Now" seems to teach "No matter how good a person you think you are, in the right set of circumstances, you will end up being just as bad as those you look down upon for being 'evil'." Also, "no matter what happens, people will always find reasons to be violent and not learn from their mistakes".
One episode is borderline Torture Porn for Lars. Twister and Otto pull the fire alarm at the Shore Shack, and Lars constantly tells everyone he didn't do it, and he's constantly forced to do community service and getting yelled at by his parents for doing something that is (admittedly) wrong. Eventually, after Otto accidentally gets him into more trouble, he and Twister feel bad enough they confess... and then Lars laughs at them for having come forward while saying that HE never would have come forward if he did it. Doing the right thing doesn't always mean people appreciate what you did, but this is quite a mean way to teach it.
Another episode depicts Reggie in a snowboarding competition with a kid with a prosthetic leg. Reggie lets them win - because she thought it would make a cool story for her magazine. This makes the athlete feel very patronised, because she wanted to win on her own merits and Reggie throwing it just to make her an inspiration for others came off as Innocently Insensitive. This is very much a reality for disabled people, wherein they are shown "Role models" of disabled people excelling at things they physically can't do then feel ashamed for it.
"Super Squid" shows sometimes you actually should learn to laugh at yourself since the gang eventually comes to think Sam's game was Actually Pretty Funny. This was somewhat foreshadowed early on when Tito and the others thought some of the jokes about Raymundo and Tito were funny.
Rugrats: In the early episode "Barbecue Story," Angelica gets no comeuppance for throwing Tommy's ball over the fence, which was meant to show that Life Isn't Fair and that sometimes bullies get away with their bullying. The writers quickly realized how unpleasant this was, though, and most later episodes do have Angelica either get punished by the adults or face some other karma in the end.
The Simpsons: Some aesops delivered on the show are usually just parodical, and the Aesops they actually mean are typically more family-friendly than the show itself, but over the long span of the show various episodes have had some rather controversial messages.
"Moaning Lisa": this one's for kids and parents. Marge tells Lisa to shove down her sad feelings and fit in by always smiling no matter what because that's what her mother taught her even though it made her miserable, but she changes her tune once she sees Lisa smiling through the regular pains of her day within a few seconds of getting to school: bullying from other kids and derision from teachers who won't let her express herself in her music. Marge then tells her to just feel however she wants and her family will be there for her regardless, with the lesson ending up "Learn the difference between parenting and parroting, because parents can be wrong in ways that will destroy their children emotionally."
Many polarizing issues like censorship don't have black-and-white answers, and any choice can have upsides and downsides. Marge spearheads a campaign to censor the violent content of Itchy and Scratchy and succeeds, only to find she's empowered her followers to want to censor Michelangelo's David, which she considers a masterpiece.
If you uphold a cause, take the time to understand the ramifications of your actions before you go into the cause full throttle. As a result of the above, Marge is forced to consider whether she did the right thing.
Marge: I guess one person can make a difference, but most of the time, they probably shouldn't.
"Bart Gets an F": The episode ends with the ultimate moral that failure is an inherent part of life, and that we can all fail sometimes, even when we try our very hardest (by the end of the episode Bart has improved — only marginally, but that's better than not improving at all). Still, if one does manage to improve at something, it's worth celebrating that, no matter how small.
"Bart the Lover": When Bart confesses that he's been writing love letters to his teacher pretending to be an adult man, Homer immediately tells him that he has to go to her and confess. Marge interjects that that would just humiliate her, meaning that no, honesty is not the best policy.
The message is explored once again in "Lisa the Iconoclast". Lisa discovers that the town founder, the beloved Jebediah Springfield, was really a murderous pirate named Hans Sprungfeld. When she has a chance to tell the whole town the truth, she decides not to because having them believe the lie has united the town.
"Hurricane Neddy": Even the kindest, most wonderful people on the planet can still get angry from time to time. Also, they may have major issues or baggage you don't learn about until it comes out all at once. Flanderization aside, Ned Flanders is a Nice Guy, but when he loses it he reminds the audience that he is, at the end of the day, still a feeling human being.
"Homers' Enemy": A new coworker arrives at the Nuclear Plant, Frank Grimes, and he's an honest guy who worked extremely hard to get a college degree and the prestige he currently has. Working next to Homer, a Lazy Bum who barely understands or does his job, makes him very annoyed at how everyone else tolerates his behavior, which ranges from a fireable offense to illegal to cartoonishly over-the-top, which only escalates in finding out he has a nice family and home too. This resentment drives him crazy and he spends most of his time trying to convince the town of how big an incompetent, immoral person Homer is, all the way up until he grabs electric cables in an effort to mock him and in turn is electrocuted and killed (Homer falls asleep at his funeral, which everyone else laughs off as typical Homer). Despite being right on near everything about Homer, Frank decided to push a vendetta to the detriment of his own life and sanity, all while ignoring the lives of the very people he is making his argument to.
In "The Cartridge Family", even if by the admission of the writers they were not aiming for any deliberate or serious message, they are still correct about the one they gave: idiots like Homer Simpson should not have guns. A firearm is an extremely dangerous instrument and the slightest lack of responsibility can get someone hurt or even killed. The Springfield chapter of the NRA (who is itself Trigger-Happy) is actually horrified by Homer's carelessness and kick him out.
In "HOMR", Homer finds out the reason he's so dumb is because he's got a crayon shoved up his nose and once it's removed, he develops a genius-level IQ. However, at the end of the episode he has the crayon put back in because being intelligent has made him lose all his friends and he'd rather be mediocre and happy than exceptional and miserable. The real moral may be Status Quo Is God, but it's also true that being different from other people, even in "good" ways, can be terribly isolating.
The most brazen lampshading of this trope occurs in "Saddlesore Galactica". The sub-plot involves Lisa's bitterness over her school's band losing a competition against Ogdenville Elementary (who used glowsticks as visual aid, which was against the rules). She complains to anyone who will listen, even calling the White House. In the end, President Clinton stops by and announces he has decided to strip Ogdenville of their title. "Thank you, Lisa," he says, "for teaching kids everywhere a valuable lesson: If things don't go your way, just keep complaining until your dreams come true." Marge replies "that's a pretty lousy lesson," and Clinton shrugs. "Well, I'm a pretty lousy president."
In "Sweets and Sour Marge", Marge files a lawsuit against a major sugar producer in hopes of getting the people of Springfield to not eat so much of it. As a result sugar is outright banned in the town, which is shown to make just about everyone except Marge miserable. When Homer dumps a load of smuggled sugar in the harbor at her insistence, people rush to jump in and drink the sugar water. In response, Marge remarks "I guess you just can't use the law to nag" — delivering the Aesop of "having the government force people into healthy habits doesn't work".
The very first episode of 6teen has the group try to be honest during job interviews and fail miserably. Then they try lying and get the jobs. While it's absolutely true that being completely honest during a job interview is a bad idea and that they expect you to at least embellish the truth, hearing the moral of "Honesty IsNotThe Best Policy" is rare in a kid's show, especially for a goal as mundane as just getting a part-time job.
Sofia the First: In "Day of the Sorcerers", Miranda (of all people) tells Sofia that while it's good to see the best in everyone, sometimes there is no best to see in somebody. Later in the season, Roland also tells Sofia that even people who say they've reformed don't change so easily because it’s hard to break old habits. Though these comments were directed at Cedric (not without reason considered these episodes took place after his treachery was exposed), their points are much more applicable to Wormwood, whom like Cedric had several chances to act noble and open his heart to friendship but unlike Cedric never saw past his own self-interest, which eventually led to his decision to join Prisma and later Vor.
"Gnomes" basically teaches that being a big corporation does not automatically make a company evil, and that being a small family-owned business does not automatically make it good. It's made clear at the end that big corporations tend to get big in the first place because they make superior products ("25 percent less raw sewage taste!"), while protectionist laws like the one the small coffee shop owner is lobbying South Park to pass are demonstrated to be a terrible idea and the coffee shop owner himself is revealed to be smarmy, manipulative, and self-serving.
"Something Wall Mart This Way Comes" teaches that it is the customers who are ultimately responsible for the power of a Predatory Business and if a community wants to keep their "Mom & Pop" store culture, they need to accept the inconveniences that come with small businesses instead of giving retail giants their patronage.
"Ginger Kids" shows that some bigots, like Cartman, aren't the way that they are necessarily because of ignorance or prejudice. Many times, they're just narcissists who consider themselves to be superior beings and will look down on any people or groups who don't look like them.
"Go God Go XII": Ridding the world of organized religion will not end war. There are several other reasons why conflicts between groups arise as Humans Are Flawed and prone to acting irrationally.
It's impossible for white people in America to truly understand the racism that black people experience and how things like the n-word make them feel. It's better to acknowledge that, no, you don't get it than pretend that you do and lecture them.
Some people are just unrepentant jerks, and appealing to empathy and reason to try to make them realize their bigotry is wrong doesn't work on them. Despite all of Dr. Nelson's efforts, Cartman remains just as bigoted towards people with dwarfism as he was before meeting him.
The "Imaginationland" trilogy/compilation movie shows that fictional characters are in a sense "real" because of their ability to inspire people and have an impact on the world; that also means that people will care more about them than other flesh and blood humans, and that they will outlive you and everyone you care about, whether they are Vishnu, Batman or Super Mario.
"Butterballs": Bullying is not something with a simple solution. You can receive bullying from outside of school, from your friends and family, you might still get bullied as an adult by other adults, people claiming to help you may exploit your trauma for their own benefit, and lashing out will only bring short-term satisfaction. Sometimes, all you can do is live your best life, remember that there's a world outside of your bullying, and ultimately you can live a happy and fulfilling life while your bully remains the same small pathetic person they always were.
"Let Them Eat Goo": Plant-based foods that are heavily processed to resemble or replace meat are often just as bad or even worse for both the environment and your health than real meat.
Gone: No matter who you are, even people that love you are gonna need a break from you every once in a while. It's not because they hate you, it's just that being around anyone constantly isn't good.
"Can You Spare A Dime?": It is very noble to help friends who are going through a bad situation, but if said friends use your kindness to take advantage of you then you have no obligation with them and there is nothing wrong in telling them that you have enough.
"Face the Music" has Star's attempt to use her Princess Song to give an honest impression of herself to the people of Mewni rather than be portrayed as a generic perfect Princess results in the Internal Reveal that the Royal Family lied to protect Star's reputation, inciting the peasantry to riot and damaging the Magic High Commission's trust in Queen Moon. The lesson, as plainly stated to Star by her mother after the fiasco, is that sometimes it's better to lie and pretend to be someone you're not, especially when you're in a position of authority where people depend on you.
"Monster Bash" teaches the lesson that you can't and shouldn't expect centuries of prejudice and bigotry to disappear overnight. It is possible for both sides to try to overcome their biases, but it is also easy to fall back on them. Also, no matter how logical a change to the status quo may be, some will still viciously oppose it.
Star Trek: Lower Decks: "A Mathematically Perfect Redemption" has the moral that while redemption is possible for everyone, some people are just too selfish and cruel to ever change. Peanut Hamper is provided with multiple opportunities to become a better person, but she brushes all of them off and proves time and time again that she simply does not care about the lives or well-being of the people around her.
The Mandalore-centered episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars show the problems of being an Actual Pacifist. The planet Mandalore abandoned its violent past and became strictly pacifist. However, this allowed Darth Maul, Savage Oppress, and the Death Watch to easily overthrow the government and create a military dictatorship.
Not to mention that Satine's rigidness about Mandalore being pacifist, literally amounted to Cultural Genocide, as her straits towards pacifism lead to her outright outlawing many of the honored warrior traditions of Mandalore and banishing those who would not conform to her views. Before this being a warrior was a big deal to almost every Mandalorian, Death Watch leader Pre Viszla even seeing in as their birthright, so one of the big reasons for Death Watch being formed is the fact that the members of the group did not want their culture being robbed from them or outright excluded from society simply because it meant something to them. Of course they could not fight Satine's new rules within the reasonable spectrum, so they ended up turning to terrorism and violence. Satine was traumatized by the civil war on Mandalore and ended up being disgusted by violence, but as she tried to enforce the same mindset on all her subjects, it ended up backfiring on her with Death Watch being merely one result.
Star Wars Resistance: Tam'sFace–Heel Turn in the Season 1 finale shows that genuinely good people can still be so biased to wrongly support evil causes that you won't be able to successfully talk them out of it.
Static Shock: The Episode 'Jimmy', where the young eponymous boy gets bullied by Nick to a point where he couldn't stand it anymore and pulled a gun on him. The lesson here is that bullies aren't sorry, they just say it to get off scot free. Even if you scare them off today, they won't hesitate to start bullying you again tomorrow. It's also not about "forgive and forget", it's about "You shouldn't ruin your life over this".
"The Test": Parental figures don't know everything. Even people who genuinely want what's best for you may have no idea what that is and are just going with their best guesses while pretending to be in complete control. Even when you see behind the curtain and realize this, though, sometimes the best thing to do is to pretend you didn't notice.
From "Steven vs Amethyst"; despite the old saying "You can be anything you set your mind to", sometimes you just can't be something you are just not physically or mentally capable of doing, especially if you have a disability. Amethyst has to accept that she will never be a huge Quartz soldier like Jasper because of her stunted growth, and only after accepting that does she start to accept the things she can do, which still makes her a pretty great fighter in her own right.
In Season 3, Steven's confrontations with Bismuth, Jasper and Eyeball force him to learn that sometimes reasoning and showing kindness to somebody won't be enough to convince them to change their ways, and sometimes Violence is the Only Option.
Jasper and Lapis prove that a relationship being intense doesn't make it good or healthy, and some relationships don't need to be "fixed" — they need to end. When someone who has mistreated you says they need you, you make them better, and they've changed, you don't have to take them back. It is absolutely fine to make them go away, even if they claim you're hurting them by doing so. Jasper begging Lapis to re-fuse with her in "Alone at Sea" was uncomfortably familiar to many people who have ended or tried to end an abusive relationship.
From "The Zoo", even if you make other people unhappy, you have to establish boundaries and consent that makes you comfortable. Greg is completely in the right to reject the rest of the Zoomans for Choosening him, even though they become miserable over it.
Endangering yourself to save and/or protect other people is an incredibly risky and foolish decision, and people will be furious with you for doing it no matter how "justified" the circumstances made it. Not because they're ungrateful for what you did, but because they're not going to be happy that they're safe at the expense of you. And even if good things come out of it, the action will have far-reaching consequences that you can't even begin to imagine, and it may have been ultimately pointless. Steven learns all of this the hard way during Season 5. He sacrifices himself to the Topaz Duo and Aquamarine by revealing himself as "Rose Quartz", the assassin of Pink Diamond, because he sees that as the only way to save the humans targeted by the Human Zoo. However, Lars still gets dragged to Homeworld because he couldn’t get off the spaceship in time, ends up getting killed by an exploding Robonoid, and while Steven's healing powers turn out to be able to resurrect him, he changes permanently and is very unlikely to have a normal life ever again. Then when Steven manages to get back to Earth, Connie is pissed off at what he did because she interpreted his actions as him not believing that she and the others could help him defeat the threat. When Steven doesn't understand this, she and Lion storm off, and when he does finally understand, Connie refuses to talk to him for a few weeks afterward and Lion stays with her until their reconciliation to teach Steven a hard lesson about taking his loved ones for granted. Then Lapis abandons Earth because she fears that even if the Diamonds can't find "Rose Quartz" on Homeworld, they would still take their wrath out on Earth. Then it turns out that Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond were the same person the whole time, meaning that Steven's sacrifice was All for Nothing.
In Season 5, Sadie learns that you shouldn't continue with something that makes you miserable and deteriorates your social life just because it's what's expected of you and may even be somewhat beneficial. Her job at the Big Donut brings her a guaranteed source of income, but it makes her miserable. While quitting the job to join the Cool Kids' band as their lead singer doesn't guarantee a steady source of income, it makes her much happier and it sets her on the path to meet her romantic partner Shep (a non-binary musician who uses they/them/theirs pronouns), and they bring her even more happiness and emotional fulfillment. Similarly, Lars has to accept that Sadie is allowed to have her own life and friends without him while he's away.
In Change Your Mind: You can't always get people to change just by talking about your feelings, because some people simply do not care how you feel. Steven, Connie, the Crystal Gems, and the other Diamonds try to get through to White Diamond by talking about how much her broken system has hurt them, but this completely fails to get through to her. As a Narcissist, White Diamond doesn't care about anyone's feelings other than her own. Because of that, talking her down is impossible and there is no choice but to fight her. And when Steven finally gets through to White Diamond, it took a lot of fighting on Steven’s part in order to make her do so on her own accord.
Sometimes, going out of your way to defy stereotypes can be a bad thing. When Steven sees that the Gems in Amethyst’s Little Homeworld job placement program are getting jobs similar to the roles that they were created to fulfill on Homeworld, he tries to give them jobs that they weren't meant for to get them out of their comfort zones. This ended up creating a ton of chaos because none of these Gems know what they're doing and they weren't asked if they wanted to try something new in the first place.
Just because everyone is able to change for the better, it doesn't mean everyone will. Aquamarine and Eyeball are so wrapped up in their hatred of the Crystal Gems that they refused to make any changes to improve themselves for the better. After the Crystal Gems fight them off and they flee, Steven acknowledges that the next time he meets them, he will have to fight them and that he likely will never convince them to change because they're making a conscious effort not to.
Just because you're close friends with somebody, it doesn't mean that you have to get into their business about anything and everything that happens in their life, nor do they have to tell you everything that happens to them. When Steven discovers that Lars and Sadie, two people that he shipped, never entered a romantic relationship, he tries to get them to talk about their relationship because he assumes that they never did. Then both of them reveal that they did already talk things out a while ago and mutually agreed that a romantic relationship couldn't work between them, allowing both of them move on. When Steven wonders why he wasn't told about this, Sadie bluntly says that it wasn't any of his business.
While your childhood might have been terrible and it's understandable that you don't want to repeat the mistakes your parents made with you, going too far in the opposite direction while parenting your own kids can be just as dangerous or traumatizing. Greg's parents were allegedly overly strict and emotionally abusive, dictating and railroading everything in his life, from his hobbies and extracurriculars to his hairstyle and clothing; they also never liked Greg's desire to become a musician and refused to even see him perform. All of this eventually resulted in Greg running away and getting rid of the DeMayo name shortly after he graduated high school to escape their toxic and controlling behavior. However, his overly lax and hippieish parenting style with Steven caused a ton of issues for his son, like how Steven never went to school or had many friends his age (to the point where he's unsure how to interact with them in general), not having a single doctor's visit until he was 16, and constantly being put in danger by the Gems.
One person can't bear the weight of the world alone. Having one person try to deal with everyone's problems is unsustainable because eventually, the stress of being everybody's Living Emotional Crutch will cause their emotional and mental states to utterly snap. Steven spent so many years trying to help everyone around him, up to and including the entire galaxy that it, combined with his untreated trauma and self-neglected emotions, eventually causes a downward spiral that leads to a complete mental breakdown and his corruption into a Gem Monster.
A lighter example: Epiphany Therapy can help in the short term, but long-term mental healing needs help from actual professionals. While the massive Cooldown Hug was enough to calm down Monster Steven and stop him from hurting himself or anyone else and helped Steven return to normal, Steven mentions in the finale months later that he's been seeing a therapist since the whole incident. He also still has to do regular therapy sessions via video-chatting even after he decides to leave Beach City and travel around the country.
You are not the center of the universe. Everybody else's lives don't revolve around you and just because you're satisfied with your life doesn't mean everybody else is with theirs. Everybody has their own lives to live and will usually make choices for their own benefit, not yours. Now that everything has settled down Steven starts to notice everybody else moving on with their lives to bigger and better things. Meanwhile, he is forced to confront the idea that he has no idea what to do now that he's peaked before even becoming an adult. He eventually decides the best course of action for him is to move out of Beach City and travel the country to find emotional fulfillment without having to be the Crystal Gems' crutch.
In "Things Change", Beast Boy learns that Terra is alive and living as a normal high school girl. Except, she apparently doesn't remember him, and makes it clear that she doesn't want to rekindle whatever relationship they once had. Beast Boy takes this very hard, desperately trying to figure out how to help her remember, but Slade of all people tells him that Terra doesn't want to remember, and that he should let her go. After one last conversation with her, Beast Boy comes to the realization that Terra has a right to live her life the way she wants, and accepts her desire to be left alone. Accepting loss is a big part of growing up, and it's not right to push someone's boundaries if they don't want to reconnect. Whatever their reasons, you should respect their wishes.
In the pilot, he makes Leonardo the leader, not because he is the most even tempered, wisest, or skilled fighter in the group (in this series, the latter would go to Raphael), but because he showed the initiative to ask for the position of leader before any of the other turtles.
In one episode, he admonishes Leonardo for seeking a fair fight, and demonstrates that he should "seek victory, not fairness", making a point of how the villains aren't going to fight fair, so Leonardo shouldn't either.
In a later episode, Leonardo asks Splinter if at least getting some gratitude for his efforts as leader is too much to expect. Splinter's response is to tell him that yes, it is too much to expect, to stop whining, and to get back to work. Leadership is often a thankless job in real life, but it's still jarring to hear on a television show, especially when a character is expecting some sympathy from his father figure.
Tom and Jerry: In "Blue Cat Blues", Tom falls in love with a female cat, but she dumps him for another tomcat with more money. He spends his life savings and sells himself into slavery to buy her jewelry and a new car, but none of it works. The episode ends with him and Jerry sitting on the train tracks and waiting to be run over after they've both had their hearts broken for the last time. No romantic partner is worth throwing your life away for, and sometimes you can't get someone to love you back, no matter how hard you try.
Navigating sexism in the adult world is not as easy as it looks. Bertie even mentions that it would be easier if guys were brimming with red flags, but most aren't. Dirk gets away with Stealing the Credit and fondling women in the workplace because the HR representative has a crush on him and says that he was "just joking" when Bertie reports him; Bertie has to call a sexual harassment seminar and loudly accuse him for every other woman to reveal he also "goosed" them as well. Then there is Pete, a Villain with Good Publicity that uses his status to take advantage of Bertie.
"The Deli Guy": Poor Communication Kills, so you better learn to communicate your wants and desires in a relationship! Tuca ruins her date with the Deli Guy because she can't allow herself to relax and trust someone who has a lot in common with her, especially while sober, and she runs off on him apologizing. Meanwhile, Bertie wants to spice up her sex life with Speckle, at the risk of triggering some trauma. She doesn't have the words, however, to say what she wants, and tries to indulge Speckle's interests first. It takes until the end of the episode for her to admit to Speckle that she just wants to be surprised and add some variety to their routine. Once Speckle realizes that he can surprise her in safe, sane, and sexual ways, the spark in their relationship returns as he transforms their apartment into a British romantic drama roleplay.
"Vibe Check" has a rare depiction of taboo sexual fantasies (particularly those involving abuse) as a morally neutral thing. Even sexual abuse survivors can find abuse fantasies alluring, but that doesn't necessarily mean their trauma caused those kinks. As Dr. Joanne says, brains are weird, and we may never get a clear answer for what makes us feel certain things, so we shouldn't be ashamed of them.
Season 3 teaches that loving someone may mean leaving them if they refuse to fix their self-destructive behaviors. Tuca initially accepts Figgy's alcoholism despite her own sobriety, even when he insists she not tell him to stop, because they're otherwise a very healthy pair. However, when she sees him decaying in the throes of a days-long binge, she breaks up with him because she can't just sit by and watch him destroy himself. Only after Figgy begins working towards sobriety do they consider rekindling their relationship.
The Wild Thornberrys: Nature is vital and beautiful and should be protected. At the same time, Nature Is Not Nice and you need to be careful around wild animals because they won't hesitate to attack you if they feel threatened or if they see you as an easy meal. And even if you could actually communicate with them, that will not change their natural behaviour.
