When Kuzco finds that his attitude is making all his friends miserable, he decides to wish to the Sun Temple that he was never emperor. Unfortunately, as a result, he finds himself in a world where Yzma rules the empire, and she's determined to make sure it stays that way.
Tropes:
- Animation Bump: Just before his wish kicks in, Kuzco notes to the audience that "expensive magical effects" will be coming. Afterwards, he wonders if it cost extra, seeing as how they never had anything like that on the show before.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Kuzco wishes he had never been emperor. The Sun Temple grants it so he is an ordinary peasant, but it makes it so nobody he's ever met knows him, hence "[he] had never been, period". As it turns out, Yzma tricked Kuzco into making that wish.
- Egopolis: Yzmopolis, my metropolis...
- Evil Is Petty: It's mentioned that after Kronk wished for a "cool hat" from the Sun Temple, Yzma went to the Sun Temple to wish it away. It ended up biting her in the butt, however, when she discovered it was her only wish.
- For the Evulz: Yzma didn’t really need to remember Kuzco after her plan succeeded, but she chose to use the wish-protection potion so that by remembering Kuzco she can feel the satisfaction of killing him once and for all.
- Jerkass Genie: The Sun Temple will grant you your wish, but in such a way that it's not quite what you want. For instance, if you were to wish to "fit in", you'd find yourself turned into a tree fitting in with all the other trees. The old man Kuzco runs into recommends the safest route is to wish he had never been emperor. However, given that said old man turns out to be Yzma in disguise, this should be taken with a grain of salt.
- It's a Wonderful Plot: The entire episode is about Kuzco seeing first hand what his life would be like if he had never been emperor. It's not pretty, and not just because no one knows him.
- Yzma is the empress of Yzmopolis.
- Malina is a homeless outcast due to Yzma passing a law making it illegal to be prettier and smarter than her.
- Pacha's village is about to be demolished and made into Yzma's new summer palace.
- Kronk is Yzma Academy's principle, and the stress of the job has turned him into a Dean Bitterman.
- Ripple-Proof Memory: Due to using a wish-protection potion, Yzma is the only who remembers who Kuzco is and how he ended up where he is.
- Season Finale: Of the first season.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: The second act of the episode is about Kuzco helping everyone who's miserable in the Yzmapolis alternate universe by undoing his wish and becoming emperor again.
- Shadow Archetype: Yzma's decision to outright plow down Pacha's village reflects what Kuzco would've been if he hadn't gone on his journey in the movie and changed for the better.
- Stating the Simple Solution: When Kuzco asks Yzma why she didn't just wish to the Sun Temple to be empress herself (which Kronk agrees with), she explains that everyone only gets one wish from the Sun Temple, and she had used hers to wish away a hat that Kronk had wished for before she found it out.
- Villain Song: "Yzmopolis", obviously one for Yzma.
