Castle Sweet Castle (MLP Review)

Well guys, looks like we're treading into the episodic roots of the season. This time we have an episode dedicated to the Golden Oaks Library. I will admit, seeing the library get blown up at the end of Season 4 was kinda heartbreaking, but nope! Hasbro decided "We gotta sell Princess Twilight's new castle to the market so destroy the library so we can replace it." Hahahaha I'm such a cynical brat (Not really). But anyway... enough of my boring rambling. What do I think of this episode? Let's dive right in.

Story
We start off with Twilight Sparkle giving Fluttershy's animals a nice clean and bath. Fluttershy wants Twilight to call it a day but Twilight insists on staying a while longer. Twilight looks like she's hiding something and the Mane Five suspects something is wrong with her. Over at Breakfast the other day, Pinkie Pie made the group pancakes but Twilight still looks unhappy. She tells her friends that her new castle doesn't feel like home and her friends realize that she misses the Golden Oaks Library, which was her original home when moving to Ponyville. Applejack and the others decide to help cheer Twilight by shaping the castle up to feel more like home. However, their preferences and ideas of making it look like home really doesn't cut it. Their personal likes, tastes and ornaments become a bit too much for the castle. Spike comes in to see the mess the Mane Five made and thanks to one of Pinkie's proximity confetti mines, the animals Fluttershy brought in start to wreak havoc and ruin some of Rarity's drapes. After a little flirtation scene with Rarity, she convinces Spike to hang around with Twilight while the Mane Five patch things up in the castle. Things don't practically work out when the five friends start bickering to each other and start getting rid of the things they don't want. Twilight and Spike then come across what's left of the library and the two share a heartfelt moment with tears shed. The Mane Five then realize what really meant for Twilight's old home and have made the conclusion on what could really make her happy. They get the root of the library out from the ground and hang it in the main hall as a chandelier with the memories they shared with her in form of gemstones. When Twilight returns and sees what her friends have done for her, she becomes really thankful of them and both share a sincere group hug. The episode ends with Twilight finding more flourish put into the castle as her friends could not help themselves to add more flavor to it, including Pinkie.

Presentation
Okay. Now let's finalize this. This episode is written by two writers new to My Little Pony. Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco. Apparently, Lewis wrote a few Fairly Odd Parents episodes and wrote for T.U.F.F Puppy, while Songco wrote for The Mighty B! and Fanboy and Chum Chum. Now, by now you're probably thinking... "OH NO! THEY'RE GOING TO RUIN THIS SHOW! THEY SHOULD BE BURNED FOR RUINING OUR FAVORITE PONIES" because... ehhh... Let's face it. Fanboy and Chum Chum is completely the worst Nickelodeon show EVER! I don't care about Mighty B or TUFF Puppy but that show really should not be mentioned. So, did they do a good job? I say... yeah... Buuuuuut I think they put too much emphasis on the comedy than the actual story. I thought they would flat out screw up the moral, but no, they didn't. The moral was well told and I really think these two won my respect... FOR NOW at least.

Quality
Now the beginning of this episode really satisfied me when Twilight deliberately kicks Angel Bunny into the mud. Though that happened so Twilight can stay with Fluttershy a little longer, he really deserved it. I REALLY HATE ANGEL! THANK YOU TWILIGHT! The jokes in the episode were at the very least hit or miss. The measuring spoon one was pretty funny, I thought Pinkie would choke on the spoon but I'm thinking too ahead of myself. Like I said, the jokes and pacing really felt flat as they drive away from the story of Twilight missing her home. They were some good ones from Pinkie and the one with Bulk Biceps... hilarious! The Mane Five during the argument does come off a bit out of character but they make up for it by the end. The thing about this episode is that they driving the Mane Five's differences. Rarity wants beauty and decor for the castle while Rainbow Dash wants trophies and stickers all over the place, causing much displeasure to the group. Considering we already had that kind of plot back in Look Before You Sleep, the Mane Five should be used to their different styles and tastes by now but I digress. The heartwarming in this episode was fantastic. The moment Twilight and Spike hugged at the wreckage of the library was just beautiful and really does shed some feels to the people that felt sorry for Twilight's loss. And the ending, pretty darn good. I really like how the writers of this episode excels on the continuity nods for Season 1. Oh, and the song. It was all right. The song titled 'Make this Castle a Home' was mostly there to drive the filler but it's still okay. But OH MY GOD! Why is Rainbow's singing voice so high pitched at the beginning?

Verdict
This is the third episode of Season Five and already it's off to a good start. The writer's previous works might not convince fans that this would turn out great but I guess thanks to M.A. Larson's story editing, they totally won my respect... FOR NOW at least . The tearjerker with the tree and the heartwarming at the end really does hit home (literally) and more evidence that the staff really do care about the past trauma of Twilight's loss and the rest of Friendship is Magic's overall continuity. I hope more moments like this happen. Because for what these writers can do other than comedy, they really know how to connect each character.

Final Score:8.0
+Heartwarming Ending
+Sincere Moral
+Twilight and Spike's Moment
-Flat Jokes and Humor
-Pacing Driving the Story Away

Now where can I get that Rarity Plush that Spike has.

Thank you for reading my review. I'm off to do... whatever. SEE YA!