"The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" is the season final of The Simpsons' eighth season, first aired by the Fox network on May 18, 1997 as the season finale. Bart gets sent to a military academy as punishment for bad behavior. While visiting the academy, Lisa sees that the students are academically challenged and she decides that she wants to attend as well. It was directed by Mike B. Anderson, written by Richard Appel and featured Willem Dafoe in a guest spot as the school's Commandant. The episode was mistakenly anticipated as being about Lisa launching "a legal battle" to enroll at the military school.