Doctor Perseus Reviews: "Made in Manehattan" and "The Witch's Familiar" *SPOILERS* · 5:18am Sep 27th, 2015
In this week's episode of MLP, Rarity and Applejack are sent to Manehattan by the Cutie Map. There, they reunite with Coco Pommel and agree to help her with the upcoming Midsummer Theater Revival. However, Rarity and Applejack quickly realize that they may have bitten off more than they can chew...
The final episode of the Rarity Trilogy has come; and how did it fare? Personally, I found it to be the best of the three. So, yeah, I really liked this one.
It was nice to see the return of the Cutie Map, which we haven't seen since The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone. It was also nice to both return to Manehattan and get another Rarity/Applejack episode. It's quite amazing to see just how far these two have come as friends. They're no longer patronizing to each other and seem to respectfully understand and work with each other's different quirks and such. It's no surprise that Rarity was back in her element within the bustling streets of Manehattan. She really is the one out of the Mane 6 who can transition the best between simple town life and fast-paced city life. Applejack faced quite an interesting dilemma in this episode with her being unsure about why she would be summoned to Manehattan. It's nice to see Applejack in an episode that's not centered around her family. One interesting bit we saw was Applejack's struggle to move along with the hustle and bustle of Manehattan. In fact, it almost appeared like Applejack has some sort of fear of city life. The way she shook and ordered herself to get across a street was really noteworthy. Perhaps her time in Manehattan as a filly left more of a negative impact on her than what we originally thought. I wonder if this will be expanded upon in the future. I hope so.
And, of course, this episode saw the return of popular Season 4 character Coco Pommel. It was great seeing her again and it's all the more better that she naturally fit into the story. It didn't feel like she was here simply to please the fans. I understood her dilemma with wanting to help bring her community together again and it felt great to see her ultimately succeed. I also liked seeing quick snippets of her as a filly.
This episode had a really great moral in showing how every little bit of work counts and that giving yourself too great of a task at once can lead to it not working out to your expectations. Applejack's line about focusing on what you can do instead of what you can't do is also easily one of the most important quotes this show has given us and can act as a great lesson to teach to young children. Besides, a lot of us tend to focus on the stuff we are unable to do versus the skills we already have so this lesson is great for any age admittedly.
There were a lot of great little moments throughout the episode. Twilight being bored from reading is a first. I'm sure she'll get her Cutie Map adventure soon and I expect it'll be with Fluttershy. Maybe it'll be the episode that features Fluttershy's enigmatic brother? I also enjoyed the references to past episodes such as the Sisterhooves Social, which was mentioned quite a bit. Given how a future episode involves the Sisterhooves Social, I imagine that episode is going to be linked with this one; such as how Just for Sidekicks and Games Ponies Play were connected. And poor Applejack's hat. There goes all the headcanons and theories about Applejack's hat being sacred to her and having belonged to her father. And the Charlie Brown reference with Rarity definitely made me smile.
Overall, I really liked Made in Manehattan. It was a wonderful episode for Rarity and Applejack, saw a welcome return for Coco Pommel, and had a fantastic moral that I believe can connect with all ages.
Next week's episode is Brotherhooves Social!
When Applejack is called away and has to miss participating in the Sisterhooves Social with Apple Bloom, Big Mac decides to fill in for her.
So what did the rest of you think of Made in Manehattan?
In this week's episode of Doctor Who, the Doctor is trapped on Skaro where Davros is seemingly close to death. However, things definitely aren't as they appear...
And thus the first 2-parter of Series 9 has come to its conclusion. And how did it fare? Splendidly, if you ask me.
Have I talked enough about how great a Doctor Peter Capaldi is? I really hope the rumors of him leaving next year are false because this man deserves many seasons and years as the Doctor! His range is spectacular. From anger to sarcasm to fear to joy. Capaldi captures almost every aspect of his Doctor in just this episode alone. And how great was it to see the Doctor roll up on the Daleks in Davros's chair? Admittedly, it's pretty dark when you realize that the Doctor literally ripped Davros out of his chair. Then again, this episode was loaded with lots of dark moments. Of course, I didn't expect the Doctor to kill the young Davros and I found the resolution to him saving him to be quite fitting.
Clara was also great in this episode. I can only imagine what it must have been like for Clara to work alongside the Time Lady responsible for the death of the man she loved. She clearly is the Witch's Familiar in this episode. After barely seeing her interact with Missy in the Series 8 finale, it was great to see her and Missy get so much time to work with each other. Even more so than the previous episode. I also liked it when Clara got inside a Dalek suit to control it. Clara has had quite an interesting history with the Daleks thus far. One of her echoes became a Dalek, she saw the Daleks in the Time War, she shrunk down inside a Dalek, and now she's disguising herself as a Dalek. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of her and 12 together throughout the rest of Series 9.
If this episode doesn't prove Missy as the Master to the naysayers then I don't know what will. Michelle Gomez perfectly captures the dark insanity that is the Master. She makes it clear right off the bat that she works on her own agenda and has no shame in presenting her evil. One minute she's laughing alongside the Doctor at Davros's expense and the next she's trying to convince the Doctor that the disguised Clara is a Dalek who killed her. It was also great to finally get an explanation to how she survived the end of last year's finale. It may have been a simple explanation but it's good enough for me. I especially liked how it tied to how Missy and Clara survived being killed at the end of the previous episode. I'm also glad that we didn't see Missy escape the Daleks but saw her admit that she had a clever idea. Of course, we all know that she survived and will most likely return for the finale.
Now let's talk about Davros. Man, for a while, this episode actually had me believing that this was going to be Davros's final episode. Of course, it was a great twist to see him make a quick face-heel turn to reveal his true intentions with stealing the Doctor's regenerative powers to make him and the Daleks part-Time Lord. Julian Bleach gave a truly spectacular performance as Davros from a repenting old man on the verge of death to a crazy power-hungry scientist. It only made it all the more satisfying when the Doctor revealed he was one step ahead of him. And, although brief, it was great to see two of the Doctor's greatest arch-enemies meet. I would have liked a longer exchange but since I'm sure both Davros and Missy survived there's still a chance for a future episode to feature these two again. This 2-parter definitely succeeded in adding some depth to Davros and the Daleks as well. While this was definitely more of a Davros episode than a Dalek episode, we got a lot of interesting information about them. From their sewers basically being the rotting remains of decaying, living Daleks to how the vocabulary of humans translates through a Dalek's armor. It was really chilling to see Clara's phrases be warped into Dalek phrases. It was especially creepy seeing Missy toy with the living sewer walls. And, again, the ending resolution with the Doctor rescuing young Davros and thus ensuring a small bit of mercy to be implemented into the Daleks of the future was a very satisfying and fitting conclusion. It was also great to see Davros open his true eyes for the first time ever in the show's history. I also liked seeing all the different types of Daleks throughout the episode.
Other quick things to note. I liked the introduction of the sonic sunglasses. My best friend, who watched this episode with me, thought the concept was kind of stupid but I like them. I suppose Capaldi's Doctor is going to pull a Peter Davison and go without a sonic screwdriver from now on. Then again, he could get another one at some point. I also liked the explanation to how the TARDIS survived. It was a nice throwback to Series 7's Cold War.
I guess my only complaint is that Colony Sarff, while he got some cool moments, didn't get as much time to shine in this episode as he did in the previous one.
Overall, I really liked The Witch's Familiar and this 2-parter overall. It was a great character piece for the Doctor, Clara, Missy, and Davros; gave us some interesting information about the Daleks; and was a great opening story for Series 9.
Next week, the second 2-parter of Series 9 begins with Under the Lake!
What did the rest of you think of The Witch's Familiar?
If you remember my comment from your review of "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone", I brought up which pairings of the Mane 6 I thought we were going to see for the other Cutie Map Adventure episodes and boy did I turn out to be wrong. So first we had Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash in Griffonstone, and now we got Applejack and Rarity in Manehattan. No doubt Twilight and Fluttershy will be the next duo to go on a Cutie Map Adventure, which will be certainly be the most unique of the CMA Trilogy. Why? Because unlike the previous episodes, we hadn't had an episode centered around these two characters before (unless you count "A Bird in the Hoof").
* Pinkie Pie & Rainbow Dash: Griffon the Brush Off
* Applejack & Rarity: Look Before You Sleep & Simple Ways
With this 2-parter alone, S9 has already surpassed almost everything S8 had, and Capaldi has definitively earned his place among the greatness of the Doctors.
Except, the Doctor's reasoning with the Dalek saying "mercy" was slightly flawed: we have heard a Dalek use the word "mercy" before, four times (three begging for it), during "The Big Bang". “I’m River Song. Check your records again.”
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We the audience have heard Daleks say "mercy" before but the Doctor within the show has not as far as I know.
I also very much enjoyed "Made in Manehattan." I go into detail in my own review.
Too a certain extent, that was already Jossed last season in "Somepony to Watch Over Me" where we see that the Apples apparently have a closet filled with hats like that.
As for "The Witch's Familiar," I agree with pretty much everything you noted. I was almost convinced as well by Davros' impending death and then that face-heel turn was so unexpected. I do hope we get to see Missy and Davros interact more. Maybe it has to do with that clever idea she came up with.
Wait, didn't Missy mention having a daughter in this episode? Did the Master ever have a daughter? Could Missy somehow have had one now?
I also found it quite ironic that Clara ended up inside a Dalek suit. I also liked finding out about the Dalek sewer/catacomb.
I admit I also thought the sonic sunglasses were stupid. I found it weird the prospect that the Doctor might go without a sonic screwdriver, but I never knew until now that Peter Davison went without one in his tenure.
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I missed that detail during my first viewing of the episode so that's why I didn't bring it up here. I don't believe the Master ever had a daughter prior to this. The closest he/she came to that was when he regenerated after fusing with Nyssa's father towards the end of Tom Baker's era. It is a very interesting idea. I have a theory that maybe the character Maisie Williams is playing will turn out to be Missy's daughter. But a part of me also thinks that would be too easy. Her daughter may be saved for a later story or never seen in the show at all. I know this would never happen, but wouldn't it be funny if Missy's daughter appeared and she was played by the same actress who plays Lily in Once Upon a Time?
I can understand why people would find it stupid. It is a cheesy idea. But Doctor Who has had its cheesy moments from time to time, especially in Classic Who. Besides, if Sarah Jane Smith can have sonic lipstick then I'm fine with the Doctor having sonic sunglasses.
And, granted, Davison had a sonic screwdriver at the very beginning of his era but he decided to stop using one after it was destroyed.