), 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: "A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2" - Season 2 Episode 26 · 12:24pm Apr 12th, 2020
CHRYSALIS: "Finally! Ugh, that Nightmare Moon was too bland, and Discord jokes around too much. Time for you all to see what a real villain is like!"
DISCORD: "Do you reckon we should tell her she gets dispatched while monologuing about her victory? It would be fun to see her realise in advance that she fared no better then me. Worse, even!"
APPLEJACK: "Nah. Her face when the wave approached is all the karma we need to see."
DISCORD: "Oh, you ponies are no fun..."
If Part 1 was the setup (well, duh) then Part 2 of "A Canterlot Wedding" is the payoff, playing out as easily the most action-packed episode of Friendship Is Magic to this point, and what may honestly still be the most overall satisfying example of such in the show's entire run. Unlike most future two-parters' seconds parts, which at least have a more relaxed pace for their first few minutes to ease the viewer in, this one launches into the tension straight away, assuming the viewer came here straight from Part 1 (which they probably did, on its initial airing, Netflix, or watching elsewhere).
Right after a tense scene of Imposter Cadence tormenting a trapped Twilight in the mines below Canterlot, only for Twilight to fire off lasers in pure rage and uncover the real Cadence (and completing the Chekhov's Gun of their Sunshine song from last episode as an identification procedure) we get the Magnum Opus that is This Day Aria - it's surprising how rare villain songs are throughout the series, even considering how villains are usually confined to their debut episodes. The two future examples, Out Town and Better Way To Be Bad, play out as takes on propaganda and tango songs, but here, we have a number that wears its Disneyness on its sleeve unashamedly. Really, there's nothing I can add here that hasn't been said in the nearly 8 years since this episode aired - Brit McKillip nails both the outright malice of Evil Cadence (though it's not at all similar, I'm reminded of Poor Unfourtunate Souls myself) and the crushing despair of Good Cadence perfectly. Everything about both the structure of the lyrics, melodies and the visuals cues of the song evoke those classic Disney feels, but in a way that fits it perfectly to the style and tone of MLP.
If I must be critical, I will admit that, even though it's handled better here then in most future two-parters, the exposition still is rushed and a bit heavy after thus. It's tense and frightening in the right levels seeing everything go from zero to 11 when the imposter Cadence reveals herself as a Changeling Queen, Chrysalis (who is basically Maleficent in this debut appearance, being both a stated influence by the creators and quite apparent with the green and black colour scheme tied to her and her magic throughout both parts). Celestia vanishes off-camera for a good two minutes while Chrysalis monologues what's going on here, after all. But it basically doesn't matter, because what's going on is so intense and captivating. Even Celestia getting bested by Chrysalis - to her own surprise, even - isn't that big a deal here, as she was fighting both Chrysalis' power and Shining Armor's love for Cadence.
I mentioned last time that there was a scene that still used the Mane 6 effectively such that they felt important to the episode. It is, of course, their fight against numerous changeling minions as they beeline for the Elements of Harmony. This is a perfect example of why structure of scenes that matter isn't the be-all end-all, as while this scene doesn't affect the plot at all, given they get captured right at the Elements' holding hall, it still matters for the pacing and tension. The scene constantly dances around how to show the physical contact so no one as Hasbro or the Hub complained (and even this scene wouldn't raise an eyebrow in a boys' cartoon, of course) taking full advantage of the e/i rating long being a thing of the past, and injects plenty of fun moments that play perfectly on the characters throughout, from Fluttershy timidly pretending to be mean and fit in, to Rainbow Dash going undercover and sabotaging them, to Pinkie wanting an impression of herself and being unimpressed, before using Twilight as a machine gun. Would we want scene like this in MLP frequently? Of course not, but it's a joy here.
Like with her in-the-flesh introduction, Chrysalis's final moments and defeat are a bit rushed, though it is fresh for the Elements of Harmony not to be the solution, and the comical distraction of the brainwashed bridesmaids earlier turn out to have been a hint for how Cadence could break through Shining Armor's mind manipulation. And having Cadence be the solution to how the changeling are bested is thematically fitting in having her overcome her captor. Really, when I saw the two-parter is very Disney-like, this is what I mean, that the intensity and character affection we have for what's going on makes it so entertaining and important through the good and the bad, that any minor structural deficiencies are of no bother (though, of course, a Disney film wouldn't have had to be rushed in this moments, not needing to fit everything into a 41-minute runtime, once you shift out the opening and closing credits and recap).
Finally, the episode's wrap up with proper wedding preparations and the wedding itself is satisfying in just the right way, making much of what happened in Part 1 feel all the more relevant and vital. And as touching as the actual wedding itself is, it's the afterparty with the song Love Is In Bloom that really seals the episode, and caps it off on a Disney-as-through-the-lens-of-MLP note: these characters went through a tough time in the story but they turned out okay and earned their happy ending. That song's a sure contender for a shortlist of songs to play at a wedding, it's that joyful a number.
What a pair of episodes, folks. It ventures into somewhat different territory for MLP to this point while remaining perfectly true to that which came before it, and while there are more then a few episodes, and one or two two-parters I prefer, it's such an intense and rewarding pair of episodes that it's hardly a surprise it remains such a beloved fan favourite all these years later. Almost none of the concerns had prior to its airing prove to me major sticking points against it, and while, objectively, Return of Harmony is probably better, this is the first one I would reach for, or the second part is, anyway. Part 2 gets a 9.5/10, and though Part 1's 8.5/10 would merit an average of a 9 between the two, the fact of these being designed to be viewed together means they rank far closer to a 9.5 then a 9.
STRAY OBSERVATIONS
- With that, Season 2 is done! What a season, folks; all the mild but acceptable growing pains of Season 1 were a thing of the past by this point, and the end result is the season churning out numerous classic episodes (by my count, very nearly half of the episodes here are valid contenders for series classics, and only a very small handful feel like outliers to the season's overall quality. I'm probably not giving too much away by saying the show was never really at this quality again - many factors contributed to this, but mostly it was Hasbro getting more note-heavy and the constant changing of the Story Editors and writers in charge once Faust left the show - say what you will about her, and she's proven to be something of a fibber when it comes to her plans and intentions for aspects of the show, but she was a god at making Hasbro's toyetic requirements feel like a natural part of any given episode.
- It's amazing what a difference a line can make: the changelings would have probably been popular in the fandom regardless, but the aside by Chrysalis of them needing love to feed on was the stepping stone for all manner of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of fics centred on changeling and their society after this episode aired. Proof how much this fandom digs into such things, and how much this episode nailed the changelings: despite being confined to this episode and mostly portrayed as vicious, snarling mutants here, they clicked with the fandom. Even just as a viewer watching this episode, they clicked. For further proof, look at them being utilised in the first comic arc released six months after this episode (given this episode's popularity, no doubt that helped its staggering sales out of the gate), in one of the stronger arcs in the wildly inconsistent's comics.
I would say Return of Harmony isn't better because of the rushing of Discord's defeat and The Mane 6 being restored. Also because A Canterlot Wedding Part 2 is the single best episode in the entire show.