We must remember, what is being reviewed here is the quality of the episode, not the message of the episode. You can agree or disagree with the themes of an episode, but what we are focusing on is how well does the episode communicate these themes, and how does it hold up for the characters and story. So, with that in mind, this is not a good episode.
Heavy handed does not begin to describe their messaging in this episode. I have seen episodes of "Captain Planet" that are more subtle than this. This episode might as well just be a wagging finger telling the audience, "shame on you." The characters all act as strawmen to be set up just to be proven wrong. They are one-dimensional villains with no redeeming qualities. And the cherry on top of this episode, in the end the day is saved by the head of the teachers' union. That is the hardest thing for me to believe in this whole thing.
Heavy handed does not begin to describe their messaging in this episode. I have seen episodes of "Captain Planet" that are more subtle than this. This episode might as well just be a wagging finger telling the audience, "shame on you." The characters all act as strawmen to be set up just to be proven wrong. They are one-dimensional villains with no redeeming qualities. And the cherry on top of this episode, in the end the day is saved by the head of the teachers' union. That is the hardest thing for me to believe in this whole thing.