"Common Ground" Review: 90% of this will be gushing about Wind Sprint. · 2:00pm May 5th, 2019
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See this up there? That's the grin a filly makes after it managed to pierce and completely deconstruct my heart. And it's the cutest, cheekiest and most charming grin I've ever seen on a filly. 
Wind Sprint is amazing. I completely love her, every single thing about her. Her look, her grin, her voice, her wings (that she is a pegasus makes her 20% better for me! ), her personality; this filly is hitting all the right, soft spots with me!^-^
She is also bringing something new into the show, something, that I've waited to see in it for a loooooong time. With this episode, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has done an important step forward:
Wind Sprint is the first character in it who openly mentions that somepony she loves has died.
And she is also the first character after Applebloom, Applejack, Big McIntosh and Granny Smith and since Season 1 who suffers from the death of a loved one.
But while we always heard members of the Apple Family bring up the deaths of Pear Butter and Bright Mac in an implied way only in the show, Wind Sprint was very straight forward with it: "Wow, my dad was a great flier, too!"
This is a leap in the maturity of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Now we do not just have characters in it who mourn the departure of beloved family members, but a character who openly mentions that she lost somepony, her beloved dad.
That's a tremendous step taken here; seeing how Wind Sprint mentions her dad as somepony from the past and visibly griefs about him not being here for her anymore, it makes you feel for her even more than for the Apple Family. And this attachment to her dad is also the most outstanding aspect of her personality.
Wind Sprint is very smart; she figured out right from the start that Quibble Pants is faking to be a sports pony to impress her, which is why she rejected him. But the reason behind that reaction is what really makes her personality shine. Her dad was a real sports pony, an athlete. And she knows that, if she lets another sports pony into her heart, even one who just pretends to be one, this would fill up the space in her heart that she still reserves for her deceased dad.
Wind Sprint would never accept another stallion who is a sports pony or athlete as her stepdad, because there is only one sports pony who will always have that place in her heart. It's this strong loyalty that she feels for her dad that makes her so endearing and charming. If she has let a pony into her heart, this pony will remain there forever and she will fight with all she has to not forget this pony:
"I don't care how many ponies care about him, they're not gonna make me forget about dad!"
Wind Sprint is a fighter. I admire her strong personality, her uncompromising loyalty and her neverending love for someone she cares about and all that has given her an eternal place in my heart.
There is only one thing that bothers me about this episode, which is something I've already had to see in another episode this season. When you look at the moments inside the stadium, you will see that all the ponies on the seats, if seen from farther away, are not fully animated, but merely symbolized by colorful spots.
This is something that was different in Season 8. In "The Washouts", we have also seen many ponies on stands, albeit fewer ones, and they were all fully animated even when we saw them from a huge distance. And it can be told that it's not because there were so many ponies, cause in the Opener of this season, the same happened when we saw background ponies in the far distance and there, it were only very few ponies who stood there.
More than that, it's completely unprecedented for DHX to not fully animate ponies just because we see them from far away. Back in the times of the early seasons there was the method of copy/pasting the same ponies (which happens very rarely today), but all ponies got always fully animated in every episode.
Seeing this punches me in the gut. It's something I hate to think about, but this looks a lot like Hasbro is already slashing the budget for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic because it's the last season. Which is a complete shame. If anything, and especially if Hasbro should decide to reboot for Generation 5, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic deserves to go out with its full dignity intact.
Lastly, this episode got me thinking about Snips a little. He only needed a moment to seize an opportunity to make money when he saw how many ponies wanted to have an autograph from Snails. He has acted quite capitalistic there (no matter what common practice "dictates", autographs by famous sports creatures and celebrities should always be given for free, because autographs are supposed to be personal signs of appreciation for your fans, not a convenient way to boost your already bursting bank account), so now I'm thinking he is going to become one of those fat, rich business stallions, who try to make profit with everything no matter how immoral it might be, when he gets older.
I never disliked him, like seemingly the rest of the fandom does for whatever reason, but I feel very doubtful about Snips now.
Now this review has turned quite serious from the happy start it had, so I will remedy that. Before I finish this and let you wait until my review for "The Point of No Return", which will come today, here is another picture of Wind Sprint.
Now it's like this review is wrapped in hugs by Wind Sprint:
She is indeed an adorable filly. Her design reminds me of Twilight
I'm imagining a Jojo's reference right now and that's all I could think about from this blog.
I loved reading your blog today.
I agree with just about everything.
Some (most?) people had harsh words about the voice acting, but I honestly thought it brought something to the episode. I felt it fit the part and the "not sounding like a professional voice actor" perhaps struck that "human imperfection" chord, which is for the better.
I never knew Twilight would get a Mini Me.
I also noticed the blobs in the distance on the livestream. I hope it is not due to cuts. Here is hoping that they just needed to stay in budget given the extra talent work for this episode.
5053844
A reference connected to the colorful spots that symbolize the ponies in the crowds? That's very unlikely, considering this is the second episode of Season 9 where this happened now, this would be a bit much for referencing another show. They wouldn't go that far for a reference.
5053845
Is it really so extreme? I know that this fandom has sunken to certain lows over the years, but being harsh with a little girl voicing a filly (do they even remember Season 1?) would be a new one.
A little girl who isn't a professional voice actor makes the voice acting sound more natural and, therefore, better. It was a fantastic choice.
Seeing that you are the second who compares her look with Twilight's look now, it confirms my worries regarding the fandom's reaction on that a little. I fear that many could call her a "recolor" again, something that is so common with many background ponies, which would be completely stupid, since each pony is obviously its own person and has its own personality. And one wouldn't point at two humans who look similar and say they're just copies of each other, either.
I hope that certain individuals in the fandom will do some thinking this time before they go and call Wind Sprint a "recolor". I don't have much, though.
Would this affect other episodes, though? Seeing how it happened in the Opener, too. I'd like it if they had an individual budget for each episode of a season.
5053852
The fandom has sunk a little, perhaps.
The other day I made a comment about L&T in the EQD daily discussions and I was asked what L&T means. Love and Tolerate.
Calling Wind Sprint a recolour would be silly - it is more like someone in the design department had an idea to do a pastel Twilight filly and see how it went. I think it was accepted well.
As for the budget and "crowd of ponies"... as the shot was so far away, I'm thinking it is a fair decision at this time.
But to be honest I can't remember how it was done in the Crystal Empire Games. It would be good to compare scenes.
5053896
And, usually, when I bring it up to remind someone to not be a jerk, I get to hear something like "Love & Tolerance? That's just stupid, it was just some silly slogan from the fandom's early days and never meant much, they only said that as a joke to spite haters. Besides, I never agreed with this, I don't have to tolerate anything just because I am in this fandom!".
Which often makes me question how much "Love & Tolerance" still means today.
I really do hope so.
I went to check and, yes, it was the same thing there. So it's not the first occurence. But I'm still unsure, considering that the same was done for maybe five or six ponies in the background of the Opener of this season.
Are you aware that Wind Sprint and the mom were voiced by Patton Oswalt's real-life daughter and her new stepmom?
5054134
Of course !
That is what made the episode all the more endearing.
5054134
Yes. Though, I don't think that Clear Sky's VA is the stepmom of his daughter, just some actress. The news coverage I read didn't state anywhere that she and Patton Oswalt are in a relationship.
5054232 I was basing it on this article, which says Clear Skies was played by Meredith Salinger, who is Patton Oswalt's current wife.
5054389
Hmm, I see. That's interesting then, that explains the VAs chosen. It's even more brilliant than I thought.