), I do love fussing over stats where anything of interest is concerned, Fimfic included. Happily, I’m not alone (because duh 
): Recommendsday blogger, fic writer and all-around awesome chap TCC56 does too, and in his latestMini Re-Reviews: "Bridle Gossip" & "Swarm of the Century" - Season 1 Episodes 9 & 10 · 11:20pm Nov 23rd, 2019
FLUTTERSHY: "It's exactly this kind of weirdness that put me off poison joke. Though sometimes I mix it into Angel's carrots when he's been misbehaving."
I may have noted that "Dragonshy" doesn't get the appreciation these days that it deserves, despite the effect it had on early fanwork and people's immersion into the show. But that episode has nothing on "Bridle Gossip", probably the first episode of the series to be even mildly controversial (though only on a minor, episode-specific thing - we're not talking anywhere even close to Derpygate or Twicorn here). That controversial thing being the episode's moral of basically xenophobia and how it goes about it, by having the Mane 5 being superbly afraid of this "other" and Twilight getting slowly indoctrinated into their way of thinking as the episode progresses. For some viewers - not a large amount, but not a disposable amount either - the perceived botching of this message and the way the Mane 6 were written as a result cocked the episode up for them.
Sorry to throw my credibility out the window here, but it's not a sentiment I agree with - this is a great episode. All the poison joke pranks are hilarious, though the highlight for me is Spike's naming of them, having nothing for Twilight's flaccid horn (how that got past the censors...), and then coming up with the name just as they've left. Flutterguy is the one that caught on with the fans, of course, through her hilarious deadpan rendition of Pinkie's evil enchantress song, but Appletini is especially great too. Speaking of the Apples, this is Apple Bloom's first major role, and it's a good one - we get lots of insight at the overbearing familial side of Applejack that would go on to be something of a crux for her in future episodes. But more then that, it's refreshing to see a kid being the most sensible in a crowd on panicky adults and not seeing Zecora as a weird "other", even once Twilight's started to succumb to that line of thought. If this were the sort of show where that was the norm, then no, but unusually for a cartoon, the adults on FiM are generally sensible while the kid's act like... well kids. It's tricky to explain, but somehow it just feels right that it took the viewpoint of Apple Bloom, a kid, to see Zecora for what she is and not as some "other".
Zecora herself isn't in the episode much until the final third, but it was enough to sell us on her - enough spice and flavour to her as a character but forgiving enough to the ponies at the same time, and never just a character whose gimmicks stops and ends at constantly rhyming. While she was almost never again used in such a plot-crucial manner, clearly the crew liked her enough to use her from time to time, and while that's not enough, it's not nothing. Another sticking point for many is this "other" being portrayed by many aspects of African culture, and given the still-persistent rumours of this being the reason for Hasbro declaring no other zebras could ever appear in the show, it's not without merit. I don't mean to turn this political, but I don't need things to be that PC - it's not Zecora who's portrayed negatively, it's the others for being xenophobic to her, and they admit their mistake. Perhaps there's still something else in there that someone could find offensive, but I have to be blunt and say I don't see it. Then again, being white, I learnt long ago it was better to not state my opinions on such matters where unnecessary.
Back on the episode, it's just another one with plenty of funny and character-appropriate moments throughout. The cliché but important moral is livened up considerably by all the fresh jokes throughout, while don't stop and end at the poison joke ones either, and such seemingly ordinary moments as Twilight's "What if Zecora is just making... soup?" are livened up considerably by the comic timing and the bouncy pizzicato music. And there's enough past evidence of Ponyville's mob mentality that the citizens locking themselves away whenever Zecora visits doesn't seem too odd - that, and the ponies being more afraid of her perceives actions then her not being a zebra (as demonstrated by Rarity, they didn't even know she wasn't strictly a pony). I'll be fair and acknowledge the issues some people have had with the episode, even as much as I admit I think they're not really there and don't affect it negatively (though, again, good thing this is so early in the series). 8 out of 10 for Zecora's debut appearance, my friends.
TWILIGHT: "Wait, so let me get this straight. Discord wasn't the first time we did a blatant Star Trek homage?
I'm teasing here - adorably cute creatures with the appetite of locusts that multiply like crazy as they devour sustenance is just a good, solid plot for any show that has enough of a fantasy element to introduce said race unobtrusively. Heck, it's not even the first time; Lauren's worked on a Tribbles-type episode, even if Scribbles don't map onto Tribbles as much as Parasprites do.
I was really curious to see how this episode fared, as it was the debut of a certain M.A. Larson, easily the most well-known FiM writer outside of Meghan McCarthy. As his FiM resumé proves, he's a flexible enough writer, capable of both the comedic, the adventure and the heartfelt. For this episode, it's mostly the first one, and quite the comedic episode at that; I think it's the funniest episode thus far in the series. Which is not the same as it having the most hilarious moments (some previous highlights, like a few of the poison jokes effects from last episode, are more iconic); what I mean is that this is an out-and-out comedy episode in tone, where to the audience's perspective, almost everything is played for laughs. In a later season, that would absolutely fail, but here, it's a keeper; the DHX staff have already acclimatised to the animation style enough that all the visually expressive moments land when they need to, down to such small details as characters popping onscreen head-first with a pop. That's not to say there isn't a lesson or point, for there is, and it is given sufficient weight that the episode never feels like it's just fishing for laughs. It's just that this is mostly a bright, silly episode, and given the end result, I applaud it for that.
I'll spot you the obvious flaw: many will say that much of the episode's conflict could have been avoided had Twilight and the others listened to Pinkie or if she had been more clear. It's not an unreasonable question, though the episode does a decent job at straddling the line and making it semi-clear that the miscommunication comes out of assumptions. Pinkie thinks they'll get that she knows the answer and follow her obediently, while the others just assume she's off her rocker being Pinkie again (best summed up by Rainbow Dash repeating her "Pinkie Pie, you are so random" bit from five episodes ago in a more dreary tone). For me, it works at this point in the series, given it's still early enough that Twilight and the others aren't used enough to Pinkie's shenanigans to fathom that a solution could come out of such random things as all those instruments. Basically, it's a "yeah, they could have listened to each other, but the episode subtly explains why they didn't enough" sort of thing. But had this episode taken place after "Feeling Pinkie Keen", well...
As befits a comedy episode like this one, there's plenty else that sticks in the mind - Rarity's taming of the Parasprites and her later exclamation of 'everypony for themselves' are gold - along with an early nod to how bonkers Twilight can sometimes get when she visibly snaps and declare they need to rebuild Ponyville in less than a minute. It's another one that gave fans a lot to work with - I was surprised to learn that Parasprites never appeared in the show in a non-cameo role ever again - and does enough subtle stuff at the margins to continue to flesh out the world of FiM while leaving much open for future exploration. That's a good Season 1 episode for ya! Even if this episode doesn't have much to stand out and make it an absolute top-tier pick, it's another 8/10.
Next week is "Winter Wrap Up" the episode with the eternally catchy song that was also the series' first full-on musical number, serving as the episode that generally marked the point where someone was or wasn't onboard with the show. We'll also have "Call of the Cutie", an interesting case of an episode many like more now that the CMC have their Cutie Marks, since it serves as a proper setup and all.
STRYA OBSERVATIONS
- Spike is treated really well in "Swarm of the Episode" from a writing perspective; his frustrations at Twilight taking him for granted and giving out to him play out as sincere and genuine frustrations. He also got a hilarious moment in "Bridle Gossip" where he snuck into the kitchen while they were all discussing Zecora, and when one of them dropped a verbal bomb, thunder resonated - only for it to be revealed to be Spike having knocked over some pots and pans in the midst of eating snacks. A good "local thunder-type sound set off accidentally at the right moment for comedic effect" joke is always worthwhile.
- Zecora's brief re-appearance in Swarm is neat not only for providing continuity and her being familiar with the Parasprites, but also for her straightforward reaction of them being doomed. To be fair, she's not wrong. Another neat touch was the implication of the infestation in Fillydelphia being the first batch of Parasprites they drove into the Everfree.
- Other worldbuilding I didn't mention was the many asides in "Bridle Gossip" about the Everfree - they find it so weird because they don't control the nature there. Plants, animals and the weather all operating independently. Not something the show ever does much with, but it's an endlessly fascinating bit, dissecting how and why it's that why, down to why ponies have to control the weather in the first place.
S1 really was a more innocent age! I don't imagine for a moment that would have been approved in any episode made after bronies had become a thing. I suppose Hasbro are probably quite relieved that they didn't have any puns involving the word "clop" in S1, too...
I think "many" may be overdoing it a bit there; I don't remember it being a big issue at any point, though I wasn't in the fandom when this episode was new. I think it probably took some of the sting out of the issue that Zecora was voiced by Brenda Crichlow rather than a white VA. (Also, 2010 was before Twitter cancel culture was a big thing, but now I'm teetering on the edge of political comment!)
Another thing that I've always found interesting about Ponyville is that it isn't portrayed as quite the perfect little community some fans like to see it as. Maybe that's part of why I'm in the camp that enjoyed "Fame and Misfortune" and didn't think it wildly out of place for Ponyville. (The way M. A. Larson was treated is another matter, but that's for another day...)
Something I have mixed feelings about -- largely because it's part of the reason a vast number of ponyfic authors write her that way to this day, even though we've since seen a lot more depth and nuance to her character (in the good episodes, at least).
Which also contains a notable example of non-rhyming Zecora -- when Twilight rushes into her hut, she demands, "Have you gone mad?" with no rhyming line. It's really noticeable when I watch it now, and I wonder whether there was a line there that got cut for some reason.
To my unceasing disappointment. I've always loved that aspect of early-series lore, and I'm glad at least some fanfics take the idea and run with it.
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It's a point I've addressed elsewhere, but you can detect the point at which Hasbro start to exert control over the show to about late S2, whose episodes would have been just thought up a few months after the series premiered. In other words, early on, they didn't necessarily expect the show to be any more successful then other shows they'd done, and as long as the creators did things reasonably and on time, they were left alone enough (obviously still enough accounting for factoring in toys to sell, of course, but you know). Once they saw it was taking off in a big way, they started exerting more control, knowing they had something they could milk for more money, the first evidence being Cadance's introduction, to have another princess to sell - very shortly after Faust left in April 2011, they must have been already planning to make Twilight a princess.
I bring all this up as it's also relevant to the show's content itself, as many aspects of classical cartooning and some weird innuendos like that flaccid horn never really appeared once Hasbro made their presence more known.
I'd guess they just hasn't yet decided how much Zecora rhyming constantly was going to be a thing. Or perhaps this script being produced nearly-concurrently with "Bridle Gossip" meant it just slipped through. One of the two.
Ah, the days where Equestria could still pose danger on a daily basis. Of course, the more you do stories in a universe, the less is left to the imagination as more details get concretely filled in. Even so, there's plenty of disappointment to be had as this aspect being all but abandoned during the Josh Haber era, though it had been de-emphasised gradually during the previous seasons, so he hadn't written in the seasons when it was heaviest.
But yes, at least plenty of fandom content has picked up the slack there. I've a bit of a soft spot for "unknown lands" lore-heavy adventure stories (you might guess It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Backdoor is one of my favs, whatever its flaws), and given the amount of fanfiction out there, I'm sure there's still plenty of stories of that variety out there for me, waiting to be discovered.