Trade Ya Liveblog · 6:15pm Apr 19th, 2014
Thoughts on Trade Ya:
Princess stuff! Nice to see Twilight doing some with her official duties. I like when the show remembers that she's a real princess, and has the power to, y'know, do whatever she wants and oppress peasantry and such.
I like the visual appeal of Rainbow Falls. The tents, plains, and rainbows work well for me.
Wait, noone's ever had a trading dispute? Ever? That seems unlikely unless they literally just started doing it last year. Although autograph foal was fun.
Also--um, don't these ponies have money? Why is money not accepted here?
Nobody ever put together a full set of the Daring Do first edition books? I find that... unlikely. Especially since Rainbow Dash, who isn't a rich collector, somehow managed to almost do it.
Wait, there's only one copy of the first edition DD&tSS in existance? What? I don't think the writers know what 'first edition' means. That's frankly absurd. (Especially since this seems to be a recent, popular series. It's not like a first edition from 200 years ago where all the other books got lost or degraded in condition.) Besides, Dash knows Daring Do and helped her save the world! Couldn't she just write her and ask her for a copy?
Applejack, this is a stupid idea, especially since you're trading not money but personal objects, so you'll be demanding of each other that you trade your own personal possessions for something the other pony wants. This is going to lead to heartbreak and tears.
"Who could say know for exchanging a single object for such a huge assortment of items?" Okay, Rarity, Pinkie Pie wants you to trade your biggest gem for a few pebbles she found on the beach. You're getting more things than you gave, so it's a good idea! (Rarity is not a good businessmar).
Twilight can just trade library property? Okay, she's the princess, but that still seems a bit odd. Those aren't her books, except insofar as one of the sovereigns everything is hers.
Teddy-bear Carrot Top looks awesome in the safari hat. We should reference this in the Lunaverse somehow.
...Dash, you're not very bright.
Fluttershy, I don't think you understand the concept of 'equal value' here.
Looks like a chain of deals plot. Old standby for the Saturday Morning circuit, but I'm intrigued to see where they take it.
I love Fluttershy's reaction to the two-headed doggie.
Gee, it's a shame Rarity and AJ couldn't see this really obvious problem cropping up
Okay,, I'm all for 'old technology has hidden value', but I don't buy that no more recent pie tin can bake a pie quite as fast as that one, or that it's the only surviving Super Pie Tin in Equestria.
This is a really, really, really stupid argument. Why didn't the writers have AJ and Rarity go for actually useful things? I mean, I'm guessing we'll get a moral about goods being less important than friendship, but that's not much of a moral when the goods are so obviously unimportant (an old pie tin and a brooch Rarity already owns another copy of). This would be much better had they been for something real, and actually rare--let's say some memento from AJ's childhood that she lost when she was young but turned up at the market, so sentimental value and also genuinely unique, and fabric or dresses (or even a design book) from a fashion designer from a distant nation, so distant that the style is almost unknown in Equestria (so Rarity could get a chance to advance in her craft and take an advantage over her rivals).
AJ, you need to label the backs before you do that.
Fluttershy with animals is always fun.
Gothic metal guy who owns the dogs has a great aesthetic.
DASH, GO TO A STORE AND BUY A LAMP. LAMPS ARE NOT RARE. YOU HAVE MONEY. YOU'RE SUPER FAST. THIS IS AN EASY PROBLEM.
I like the Discord cultist stall. Also, I think he's the first disabled pony we've seen besides the 'Return of FlimFlam' episode.
Cheerliee in the background!
Well, that's convenient. Good for Dash, although since we're only 9 minutes into the episode, I'm guessing this won't be that easy.
And there we go. Stupid self-destructing chalices.
Medley has a guitar! I am taking this as affirmation of the Cadanceverse.
Strangely, I'm on Pinkie's side here. If Twilight just wants to get rid of the books, can't she just give them away or something? Why lug them all the way out there and trade them for garbage?
Where did those rules come from?
I have a bad feeling that they'll be weirdly hamstringed by Twilight not 'wanting' anything and so not being able to get rid of the books. (I mean, she might want money, but I guess they don't have that anymore.)
I guess today is "let's mess with Rainbow Dash" day. On that note: that is a very strangely drawn chicken. Foghorn Legorn got fat.
"Fluttershy, be a jerk to all the other ponies at this booth, okay? Gotta run, bye!"
C S Lewis' "unselfishness" is at full bloom, I see.
Season 2 Pinkie Pie is back, I see. Since when was Twilight a zero? (Twi is my favorite character, so this is a bit annoying to me) However, Twilight is doing very nicely here
Hey, crystal pony in the auction crowd! Neat!
Dash, you've got a few hours until sundown. (And also, what, do the police arrest anyone who isn't out by then? If you still want to make a trade, are they going to stop you?)
Wait, hang on, that's money! It's like a convenient way to trade for things without having to go through chains of deals like with the barter system! If only more ponies knew about this resource!
This episode is really making Rarity and AJ look bad. Granted, I'm not a huge Rarity fan anyway, but I'm rather annoyed that AJ--who is supposed to be practical, sensible, etc--is getting drawn into this deeply stupid argument with Rarity. Just take her up on her offer! (I'm sure this will end with neither getting what they want, but that's not a payoff worth this inanity).
Dash, YOU CAN FLY. Go ahead and tell the pony, hey, we've got that dog, can you wait five minutes to get him through the crowd?
...that works too
Wow, teddy bear Carrot Top is kind of a jerk.
Oh, come on. They let you trade ponies? Indentured servitude is a thing in Equestria? Really? This is just being mean to Dash for the sake of being mean to Dash.
And Dash is taking it. The Element of Loyalty is trading her oldest friend away for a book. Dash, you suck.
Why does Bonbon have a big top hat? I mean, it's a fun hat, but it just seems like an odd fashion statement.
Pinkie, maybe let Twilight express some opinion on what she's getting in exchange for the books that aren't really hers?
Uh... what? This is a weird about-face from Twilight. She said she'd read them and didn't have room for them, so why is she no longer wanting to get rid of them?
Continuity shout-outs!
WHAT? Twilight is letting Dash trade Fluttershy into indentured servitude? Twilight, you fail as princess. And no, your hooves aren't tied. Saying trades like these are unfair is literally your job.
And now for a totally contrived resolution. In which Twilight still doesn't have to do her job.
Oh, a stereotypical bespeckled comic bok nerd. Because that's always fun. (Not really.)
And the ending... I like that Fluttershy got what she wanted (I thought the market was closed?) But it didn't salvage Rarity or AJ here.
***
Despite all my complains, I enjoyed this episode. It was fast, it had good jokes, it kept me smiling. But it doesn't stand up to a moment of scrutiny. And it makes Dash, Twilight, AJ, and Rarity look like complete jerks, which is not exactly a good thing.
It was okay. I feel like a lot of the problems with it could have been explained away given more time, but I say that a lot.
I really liked the format of having them split up into pairs, giving them all something to do or take away from all this.
I didn't really have an issue with the AJ/Rarity angle, but I think you're right: it would've had a bit more weight if the items they wanted were more significant or important.
As for the RD/FS angle...I was okay with it except for the end with Dash made the deal. This was just wildly dumb and OOC. And it could have been so easily fixable: (1) The store owner wants some help from FS in moving the dog in. Dash agrees, deal is made...then it turns out she meant for FS to be in Manehattan for six months or something; (2) RD doesn't hear the store owner say the bit about Fluttershy and agrees; (3) while RD is cooing over the book, the shop keeper asks Fluttershy to come to live in Manehattan and Fluttershy, seeing how happy RD is, agrees without RD knowing until after the deal is made.
Any one of those would've been better and more believable set up and the story could've proceeded from there.
The resolution to the Twilight/Pinkie subplot was kinda abrupt and weird...while I get what they were aiming at, it would've been better if we could've known or seen what the books were before Twilight realized that they were special to her. As it was, referencing one of the least popular episodes in the series ("Spike At Your Service") was not the way to go.
Still, I really enjoyed it overall.
The way I saw that scene, the usefulness of the items was never the point; it was all about the boosts to their happiness that having the items would give. After all, both of their choices were clearly things of positive value to their personal utility functions. The only thing about it which seemed stupid to me was that, after knowing each other for as long as they did, they were both still mystified by each other's tastes.