Lemurthon: Swarm of the Century · 3:43am Feb 25th, 2017
Whenever I go back through MLP:FiM, especially the early episodes, I ask myself the same question that just about every brony has posited: "What is a good episode to showcase to other people so that they might embrace the poni poni poni?" Or, perhaps more appropriate: "Which is the earliest episode to showcase that is fun, engaging, and all around entertaining."
I think it would have to be this one. Also holy shit is it .gif bait material.
Sorry for the delay, y'all. Wish I could say I was jazzed all the time, but then I wouldn't be me. Here're some parasprites in your eye.
Swarm of the Century
-I must admit that I'm not the biggest fan of Fluttershy, but holy hell is she cute in this episode
-that squirrel makes a sound that I've heard in Majora's Mask somewhere...
-didn't Fluttershy learn to name each squirrel individually?
-something about the animation in this episode feels a cut above the rest. It feels almost S2-worthy.
-I feel there's something undeniably Faustian about how the "cuteness" of parasprites exploits our expectations and the traditional convention of cartoon!girl elements. Like... they could be insanely marketable as a grab bag toy, but in this episode they're the utter scum of the earth.
-and let me take a moment to boldly claim (split infinitive and all) that this episode wouldn't be possible without ToS's Trouble With Tribbles
-Spike's right; he's not responsible for Golden Oaks being so messy
-and here we see Twilight's anxiety and stress at full display
-I cannot see the adoracute clip of Twilight trotting into the decorated town without thinking about the weird noises coming out of her mouth in Friendship Is Witchcraft
-How Twilight pretends to be in charge of everything here is kinda cringe-worthy
-BEHOLD! Human/English/Latin alphabet utilized in a pony episode! Aaaaaaaaand we never see it again. One early season rule-breaking anomaly, and it's wasted on a silly little gag. F'naaaa. Cute, though
-We couldn't fit it all in
-As a side note, I like how there's a little "heart" dotting the "i" in "Princess." It seems to confirm that if Equestrian ponies could write in Latin—from the high courts to the local town halls—they would all utilize 10-year-old girl diary font. Perhaps the banner was personally written by Sunset Shimmer who was already doing time as a human at Canterlot High. HEADCANON LOCKED IN
-I almost feel as if this is the first episode that's taking a veritable piss on the convention already established in MLP: FiM. It's as if by the tenth installment, the writers and creators were self-aware enough to poke fun at themselves. Kind of refreshing, really.
-look at Bon Bon being so helpful
-and happy
-Second appearance of the cakes
-I worry about Pinkie Pie getting diabetes after watching episodes like this
-"Princess Pinkie Pie"... eh... not good enough
-Also Pinkie just established that kings and queens exist
-FLUTTERSLIDE
-I like that—even when expressing extreme enthusiasm—Fluttershy always chooses to be quiet and subdued for the sake of manners
-I forget; how does Pinkie know about parasprites
-I suppose this episode was mostly meant to address the convention of Pinkie being random
-It's episode ten and already they're giving the tomboy petticoat punishment... not that I'm complaining or anything...
-Rainbow's super femme and adoring reaction to the parasprites seems horrifically out of character. She's even kissing the dayum things and making baby noises. Maybe the petticoats did something.
-I like how they return to the established gag of cleaning Golden Oaks Library but then use the parasprites and their multiplying to not only extend the joke but further the plot
-I feel like this episode has an extra special soundtrack for the surmounting scenes of infestation
-And just where is Rainbow Dash sleeping? I wonder if this was an early Faustian concept of pegasi literally living freely among the clouds. But eventually they settled on Rainbow having an actual "cloud home" to live in. Nevertheless, I think I took this scene a bit too seriously, and in EoP I had planned to have Rainbow Dash be homeless... which would have been surprisingly ironic to a time-travelling Scootaloo. Oh wait... I never go that far. F'naaaaaa... oh well
-long before the Patton Oswalt episode featured Daring Do bound on a pillow case, we had Rainbow Dash wearing a parasprite bikini over her nonexistent tits and genitals. True story
-We've always known Rarity to be a fastidious mare, but I think this episode did a great job of showing how easily she can be grossed out
-APPLEJACK OWNS A HARMONICA
-I feel bad for Rainbow Dash in this episode
-I keep forgetting this is not a Fluttershy episode
-You know, we don't get a whole lot of scenes with Princess Celestia. When we do, they almost always feature her acting regal and stately. So... it's especially strange to have an episode in the early half of Season One where there's a vision of her acting hysterical and screaming while she's whisked away by magical insects. Almost feels like something animated by 2snacks.
-lululz... I love how one parasprite VOMITS the other into existence and then the two proceed to rub cheeks together like lovers. It's so absurd
-save us, Applejack
-this episode has good momentum
-oh look—horses doing horse herding things
-"MARACAS!" Upside down ponk!face
-and then Pinkie running backwards. This episode shot the animation quality through the roof.
-Rainbow Dash making Fluttershy say "ouch" from a simple hoof-slap is a good example of character contrast
-one step forward, two steps back; the Fluttershy gag of having extra parasprites is a good joke, even if they make her look like an idiot
-Remember, kids? Rainbow Dash is a weather pony!
-Keep an eye on Rainbow's goggles. They like to appear and disappear.
-I like to qualify the runaway!cymbals inside Rainbow's tornado as an example of real danger in this episode. Those awesomely scary sound effects
-if the tornado trick worked so well, why not just repeat it?
-Pinkie's "ruinee/ruinesse/ruinette" gag strokes my brain bone
-Lyra and Bon Bon. Aaaaaaaaaaand it begins.
-I know bronies like to get on Rarity's hide for being selfish and egotistical on occasion, but it's Applejack who first runs off to protect her stuff before the rest of the party splits
-angry Pinkie and the tambourine gag is perfect—dat noise
-"Hey, it worked. They're not eating the food anymore."
-It's scary that Equestrian magic categorizes things into "Food" and "Not food." Maybe this is how Blueshift got the idea for how the Smooze works in "Home Is Where the Harp Is"
-And here we have the first truly gut-wrenchingly hilarious gag of the show. Season One, Episode Ten... Pinkie Pie, the flute, and Rarity's delayed scream. Only with the audio editing of S1 would this work.
-So Applejack has what obviously looks like a pesticide dispenser, something designed in a girl's cartoon show with one express purpose: to kill. But it has what almost looks like a red apple icon on its central cylinder. Sooooooooo... are they just aiming to squirt apple juice on the parasprites?
-So, if we are to take this episode seriously, the home of Sweet Apple Acres—whom Applejack's dead parents presumably spent a lifetime to build—was just devoured in mere seconds along with all of the family's possessions. And yet their only reaction to that is a coy "Didn't see that one comin'." Why exactly do people complain about the later seasons jumping the shark?
-AND YET THAT STUPID UGLY BARREL STRUCTURE THING SURVIVES. F'NAAAAAAAAAA
-"They're eating the words!" You there, shark?
-Oh look! A Zecora appearance! While I was super glad she was brought back, it was still just the episode immediately after her debut... and it almost looked as though we would never see her again. Thank Nietzsche for Season Two.
-gawd, these Twilight faices as she breaks down. So good. And pre-S2 too
-this bit with the band instruments is about as serious as Pinkie Pie ever friggin' gets
-I sometimes wonder if the animation in this episode was stepped up to accomodate the smoothe movements of the parasprites
-Wait, what's Applejack doing back? Doesn't matter... LOOK AT HER AND RAINBOW DASH TOGETHER. HNNNGHHHH
-"Fillydelphia" name drop. I remember that having a major impact on my co-worker as I slowly converted him to bronyism. He was born and raised in Pennsylvania.
-Adorable Rarity pose incoming—"I-Infestation?"—THERE IT IS! Best vector
-The "moral" of this episode, if there is any, is somewhat obscured by the blatant deception executed here in the immediate presence of Princess Celestia
-Celestia: See you later, fuckers
-"Have tuba, will travel!" It's lines like these that make Pinkie's character so endearing
-some of the early S1 backgrounds look like they would fit in modern day South Park... just saying
-And Sealab explodes! Er... I mean Voyager self-destructs! Errrr... I mean Ponyville is in ruins! Yeah...
-cartoon hole shrink, and we're done
THOUGHTS
When you think of Season One episodes... okay... ... when I think of Season One episodes, I think about really slow-paced plotlines, simple slice of life scenarios, talking ponies syndrome, and very tame--at best--animation. This is not to say that the episodes suffer for this. It's simply the natural progression of serialized programming to get crazier, more condensed, and more kaizo over time. I find this is true of MLP:FiM S1, aside from two episodes: Feeling Pinkie Keen... and this one.
We're not watching/analyzing the other one yet, but I think it's fair to say that this episode is a bit less grating in comparison. Probably because it's not trying super friggin' hard to preach some kind of a message (remember Pinkie Keen? Twilight stands on a literal soapbox, for Nietzsche's sake).
Still, both episodes feel kinda similar to me. They both have better-than-average animation quality, and they both feature a lot of Pinkie Pie antics. And we all know how I typically feel about Pinkie Pie.
This episode, though, is everything I could ever want from an "average" installment of MLP:FiM. I don't mean "average" as in stale, but rather something that brings to the table all of the stuff that makes the show fantastic: quirky characters, silly gags, cute .gif bait, and--most importantly--the entire ensemble cast. I can't emphasize enough how much I love it when the writers find legitimate reasons to have the entire Mane 6 functioning together. Yes, I dig the character development of S2 that necessitated "solo pony" episodes, but it's always nice to return to the original winning formula whenever it's possible.
But Swarm of the Century accomplishes more than that. It shows that the cartoon show has the full capability of... y'know... being a fuckin' cartoon show. No, not every episode has to be crazy, extreme, or--Goddess forbid--Lesson Zero. But you can afford room for absurdity without subtracting from the overall quality of the program. While it's a good thing that they didn't have stuff like this happening in every S1 episode, I think it's a very good thing they showed their cards so early on. I swear... every time I attempt a marathon, I forget that this happens as early as Episode 10. At least with Feeling Pinkie Keen, you have the explanation of it being released during the second half of the show's first season production cycle... where they had started to glean reaction from the unintended Internet audience.
There's just so much about this episode that makes it feel... appealing to everyone inside and outside the fandom. No, it's not one of my favorite episodes, but it's still a supreme delight to watch over and over again.
In the end, that's what really matters, dreit?
Best vector
-SS&E
You forgot to mention how in that lead-in gif everypony (including the parasprites) are having a ball.
When I began watching personal miniature equines, this was one of the episodes which hooked me. I really liked how everyone kept ignoring the "ditz," when she was the only one who knew what was going on. It impressed me that Pinkie was shown to be much more than a "party girl" so early, and how everyone else could be wrong while she was right. I was also thankful this one didn't end on the typical "everyone laughs as the camera irises out/fades to black" gag.
All the ponies' faces during the scene with Celestia were gold -- not just Rarity's. Notice how they all wince when Pinkie's cymbals crash together unexpectedly.
I also loved how Twilight's anger turned to utter confusion in mid-sentence when Pinkie came out playing all those instruments. The looks on the others' faces were great there as well.
This is definitely one of my top 5 favorite eppys of Season 1 and one I usually will make time to sit and watch whenever DiscoFam airs it.
Yeah, I'd have to agree Swarm is a REALLY good episode to use to introduce people to the show. Right up there with Suited For Success or A Dog and Pony Show.
Oh yeah, this is a total Tribble tribute.
"Boots on hooves, bikinis on top!"
ANYONE would be grossed out if a small creature threw up in their eye...
I've always headcanoned that the rock farm had to deal with a parasprite invasion. Without purple bookhorse there to muck things up though, there wouldn't be much for the parasprites to nom on.
That, and I've also headcanoned Pinkie's family as hardcore enough to outright slaughter and eat the parasprites.
The animation in s1 was all over the place and this is a highlight. Probably because they do 2/3 of the episodes in the phillipines and the rest in vancouver. In s1 this is immediately apparent in the general quality and a few other things, such as the times when background ponies are repeated in the same frame multiple times.
Best pony, best vector.
I like this episode okay. It's definitely weird by season one standards, a little premonition of the outright bizarre stuff to come in season four. It's nice to see the show blending fantasy and slice of life and having a little adventure while also being just a cute cartoon. Twilight's mini-meltdown is funny too. The thing I don't like is that Pinkie's presence ruins the hurricane. So, the others wouldn't have needed Pinkie if not for Pinkie, which just kind of ruins a lot of the point for me.
Funny how you say this episode looks beyond typical season one fare. I generally find episodes within the same season to be on a similar level visually.
I know and it makes me sad.
whom Applejack's dead parents presumably spent a lifetime to build
Yeah, about that... Umm... Spoilers!
(MOTHER FUCKING SPOILERS!! I can't have anything nice, can I?)
I think this is the episode that initially made Pinkie my favourite pony back in the day. Way back when she was my favourite pony, that is.
If I was to select an episode to show someone I would skip to series 2 myself. Lesson zero or its all about time are both enjoyable.
Series one just feels weak apart from a few episodes.