After a summer of Bartmania in 1990, the second season opens with a much more down-to-earth look at Bart Simpson. While season one was responsible for the creation of a portrayal of Bart that seems anti societal and as an American bad boy in general, here we truly see him where he is most vulnerable. And like a typical kid, he has hopes and dreams and fear of failure.
In "Bart The Genius", Bart was portrayed as a lackluster academic performer. That theme is continued here as Bart fails to give a proper book report on Treasure Island after Martin Prince's fantastic Old Man and The Fish report. When Bart flunks another test after utilizing many of his friends to give him false answers, he is subjected to the dreaded parent meeting where Mrs.Krappapple reveals that Bart must stay in the fourth grade if he should fail another test. Here we see a hint of the more natural and vulnerable side of Bart: Even though he seems to be a happy-go-lucky prankster most of the time, he is still as much a kid as any other children. When subject to a future of spending another year in fourth grade and being humiliated, he vows to pass the next test.
Bart definitely tries. However, just as any other kid, he is easily distracted and cannot concentrate. When Bart spends another unproductive night drawing random scribbles on his textbook, he prays for a snowstorm to delay his test. He gets his wish in the form of a brilliant scene of every character in Springfield playing and celebrating in the once in lifetime summer snow. To prevent himself from getting distracted, he locks himself in the basement to study. To his dismay, his studying can only come in the form of imagining congressman writing their names in the snow.
When the day of the test arrives, Bart is horrified to find that even through his most earnest efforts, he still fails the test. In a complete breakdown, he balls out at the teacher and accidentally utters historic references. In sympathy for Bart, Mrs. Krappapple raises his mark by 1, barely passing Bart who ecstatically kisses the teacher and leaps out of the room.
While the ending may seem a little cheesy and stretching the realism a little bit, "Bart Gets An F" adds another dimension to Bart's characterization. While he maybe a non conformist bad boy, he still is a kid who wants to do well in life. Just as any other human being who is at stake of failing a test, Bart has his fears and when it comes down to it, he will try everything in his capability to do his best, but that can only take him so far. At the end, Bart is never that good at academics and when he performs at his absolute 100%, he merely only gets a bare pass. Whether its tests or just life in general, sometimes when we give absolutely everything we have, we can only take satisfaction in a 60 marks paper next to a wall of 100 marks papers from other people.
Characterization: 5/5
Plot: 3/3
Subjective: 1/2
Overall: 9/10
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