YMMV / South Park S 8 E 10 Pre School

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Why did Shelly want Stan and the boys to confess having burned Miss Claridge? Did she really want them to take responsibility for their actions and make amends? Or was she just interested in seeing them getting in trouble afterward?
• Broken Base: Fans find this episode either funny and intriguing, or mean-spirited and unpleasant with the boys being at their absolute worst.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Miss Claridge getting set on fire is quite horrific, but it immediately shifts to funny when baby Eric and the others go to pee on her to extinguish the fire. Her being permanently crippled from the accident probably shouldn't be funny, but being set in a Star Trek-esque mobility chair does make it funny.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: This is Trent Boyett's only appearance outside of a Freeze-Frame Bonus cameo in "Bass to Mouth". Despite this, he's a pretty popular character among fans, in large part because fans actually wanted him to get revenge on the boys.
• Jerkass Woobie: Trent, having spent five years in juvenile hall without anybody to clear his name. It didn't help that the one witness who could do so had to rely on others to translate yes or no answers to questions.
• Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: Trent Boyett is a sadistic, relentless Barbaric Bully who brutally assaults multiple innocent people during his quest for vengeance. Nonetheless, people still like him more than the boys, who not only threw him under the bus when they were toddlers but learned absolutely nothing by the end of the day. Of course, there are also the Stotches, who callously ignored their son Butters in his time of need.
• Moe: Even with their obnoxious behavior (excluding Butters), seeing the five boys as cute, adorable little toddlers (especially Butters) can easily make you want to pick them up and hug them.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Miss Claridge's permanently crippled state after getting burned by the fire the boys had Trent set up.
  • Trent Boyett in general. Unlike other antagonists, none of his actions are Played for Laughs. His brutal retribution against both Butters and the sixth graders deserves special mention.
• Rooting for the Empire: Many fans wanted Trent to dish out his revenge against the boys, at their most unlikable in their episode, when they didn't come to his defense.
• The Woobie:
  • Butters is the only truly innocent person involved with the fire with his only crime being worried that his Abusive Parents will ground him for being involved.
  • Miss Claridge was set on fire and suffered such extensive injuries that she's unable to walk, speak or even emote. When the battery in her mobility chair runs out of energy in the middle of the road, everyone assumes she's contemplating suicide and treat her like a stuck-up bitch for not responding.