Retro Reviews Season 2: May the Best Pet Win! · 4:36am Nov 25th, 2014
If you didn't read the previous blog post; Mezza Voce rewrites are complete! No update schedule planned, but I hope to be finished by year's end. As for the review, find it below the break.
Longer still than humans being civilized, we have had animal companions. At first they were a means of defense and early warning, but as we slowly became more civilized, we started keeping pets for a wider range of needs and uses. But to own and care for a pet is no easy task. Oftentimes, one will need to care for them for the rest of their lives, especially in the case of cats or dogs. In the context of Friendship is Magic, pets are friends, albeit with more (or less) fur on them. But all animals deserve respect and to be treated with dignity because we are animals too.
What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?
~Story~
May the Best Pet Win! starts with Rainbow Dash doing what she always does... well... mostly what she always does: flying. However, out of nowhere comes Owlowiscious who suddenly gets a Winona head, then an Angel head, Gummy body and Opalescence tongue. She wakes to the sound of said pets. It turns out the rest of her friends get together once a week for a Pony Pet Playdate, but never invited her because she does not have a pet, and she prefers to sleep in the afternoon. At first, she doesn't really seem upset by this, but after seeing her friends have fun without her, she says that just because she doesn't have a pet doesn't mean she'll never want one. Fluttershy literally jumps for joy at the prospect and scoops Dash up (sort of) to take her to her house to help her find a pet.
We got our first song of the season in the form of a duet between the two pegasi as they go over the options. More on it later, but in the end they come to the conclusion of holding a competition to find the perfect pet for her. Among there number are an eagle, falcon, butterfly, bat and a.... tortoise? Rainbow isn't happy by this, but Fluttershy convinces her to give him a shot since he is really eager to be adopted. The tests Rainbow devises are set out to judge the candidates on the following attributes: speed, agility, guts, style, coolness, awesomeness and radicalness. Twilight doesn't see the difference between the last three though and Dash responds by saying that is why she'll never be... her... pet. Oh god, the shipping this episode is going to cause. The contest begins and in the end, the last ones standing are the owl, eagle, hawk, and bat.
However, the tortoise will not be deterred and competes in all the contests despite making a poor show in all the events. The final test? A race through Ghastly Gorge (Dun,dun,dunnn)! The candidate to finish first, with Dash, is the winner. However, the gorge is rife with danger between tunnels of blowing air, prickly vines and Quarry Eels. During the race, Rainbow accidentally causes an avalanche and is stuck with her wing pinned under a rock. At the finish line, the hawk finishes first, but the chromatic pony is nowhere to be seen... until she comes riding on the tortoise to the finish line. The victorious hawk perches on her, but Rainbow shoots him down, saying the only one to finish with her was the one who stopped to help her: the tortoise. The hawk congratulates him and leaves without a huff. Rainbow learns that her criteria for finding a pet (and friends) was wrong. Instead of awesomeness or such, the most important quality is one who will stand by your side and never give up. The end.
Excited Fluttershy is still the most adorable version.
~Talking Point~
To an older viewer such as myself, it was obvious from the get-go about who Rainbow Dash would eventually choose for a pet. We've seen Tank the Tortoise in merchandise (if you check Equestria Daily) and even if you don't, the way Fluttershy and Tank kept being pushed into the competing were dead giveaways. Not to mention the undertones of the underdog triumphing under adversity. While not inherently a bad thing, it was a little distracting to me while watching the episode.
Heart Attack Counter: 4
~Song~
Find a Pet is our first song of season 2! And what a way to open the season, at least in my eyes! It is bright and cheery, but with a good harmony to the melody. It progresses the plot and uses a lot of visual jokes entwined with the lyrics. To me, it's a very nice song that I will probably be humming for the next week, since it is catchy and upbeat. However, singing it is not advised as it is a very situational song, even if it lacks all the pony stuff in the season one songs.
[youtube=BUpas3GukvA]
Shippers, on your marks!
[This episode is a strange one in terms of hindsight. At the same time, it's a harmless slice of life that tends to get left to the wayside, but it's lent to a lot of different things, such as "Pause for Dramatic effect" or a few image memes. That is not to say that it is not a bad episode, it's just a little vanilla and slightly unremarkable in my opinion since it deals with the pets and the pets never play a major part in any episode. As of Season 4, it's still one of two episodes that feature the pets prominently (the other being Season 3's Just for Sidekicks So, in that respect, this episode was slightly handicapped from the start, because how many people here go out of their way to remember the pets?]
"Hey, Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do we want to be this blue c(yay)'s pet again?"
"Beats me, George."
Likes/Dislikes
There isn't a lot to talk about with this episode, so let's make this short and sweet. If previous episode have shown how well the art style has improved over the first season, this one displays how well the animation itself has become. Keep in mind they're working with Adobe Flash, which is reportedly a pain in the ass and temperamental as hell at the BEST of times. It's fluid (especially the flight sequence in the beginning) and smooth as hell and deserves mention. I also liked how each of the mane six got at least a moment in the spotlight between them, despite this being a Rainbow Dash episode. Finally, who could ignore the inclusion of Flight of the Valkyries? Very classy.
However, the biggest detractor from this episode comes from the prime character. Rainbow is a bit of a douche, no offense. She shouts and humiliates all of the animals and makes them go though the contest with absolutely NO concern for their safety. The final challenge, especially, actually shows them in pain! It's a shame nopony called her out on this bull. Secondly, as I said earlier, I was not too fond how the tortoise was practically shoved down our throats as the foreshadowed winner of the contest. It would have been more clever if they tortoise was just in the background during the song and then suddenly dropped on dash. It still would have been obvious, but less bash on the head and more 'oh, that's going to happen'.
"What do you all think of my name BattleTortoise? I'm gonna call him, Tank! >=D"
~Conclusion~
So, at the end, what do I think of this episode? Well, if you made me run through Ghastly Gorge, I would rate this episode a rather solid 83/100. While it suffers from a ham-fisted conclusion and a drop of the idiot ball on behalf of the main character, May the Best Pet Win! is still a very fun and entertaining episode that I would watch again happily.
Next week, after saving a foal from certain death, Rainbow Dash becomes a genuine hero! (Wait... so she isn't already? Huh.) However, being the pony she is, it swiftly goes to her head... until a NEW hero comes to Ponyville! But is this masked heroine really there for the good of the town? Or is she The Mysterious Mare-do-well? Until then, this is Ciroton saying, "Do you want to sing about it again?"
[It's a shame M.A Larson didn't write this episode. Then Tank would have had wings. *Ba-dum-pish*]
Ah, but this is a way-station on her arc to become LESS of an abrasive, oblivious jerk-ass.
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Maybe in hindsight it is, but only just the very beginning. Also, keep in mind this review is written from a past-perspective for the most part, so even by season one standards Rainbow was a big jerk in this one.
2615919 But she more than pays for it later on.