Retrospective Review: Griffon the Brush Off and Boast Busters · 5:11am Jan 21st, 2021
S1E5 Griffon the Brush Off
Completely unrelated to the episode, I hate that griffon is also spelled griffin and gryphon. I always have to check which the show used when writing a story with griffons.
Pinkie Pie starts out the episode completely annoying, unable to take a hint, and I'm remembering this being a constant problem. Later on, the writers did a better job making Pinkie Pie be about making others smile, but this was just painful to watch. Still, it was nice for Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to find common ground in pranking (and giving shippers an in for this pairing).
The plot of this episode is kind of like someone who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, made something with their life, and when they meet someone from their past, realize that the things they used to do, they can't do anymore. Gilda's mischief and shoplifting isn't villainous, but then she yells at Fluttershy. (Her method of talking reminds me of "New York-ese" from the International Log skit on Ren and Stimpy.)
We get Pinkie Pie again unable to take a hint. It's reasonable that, if you take a trip to visit a friend, said friend would want to spend their time with their friend they can't see every day.
Gilda isn't nice, but I don't think it was enough to end a friendship.
All in all, this episode's concept is mostly fine.
S1E6 Boast Busters
It's our first introduction to Trixie, and you wouldn't expect from this episode that she would end up being a major character in later seasons.
We once again see Twilight Sparkle not knowing things she should know, which continues to be a problem as the series progresses (especially for the movie). Her false modesty here is either deep denial or utter idiocy.
Oh, Spike, stop. I'm sure there are lots of ponies right here in Ponyville that know just as much magic as me.
Look, Twilight Sparkle. You're a graduate of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. You literally studied magic at the highest level and learned at the hooves of a demigod. You should know how few unicorns even qualify for the school, and how many of those graduate. You should remember how many spells each of those graduates learned in the standard curriculum, and have a general idea of how much more your 25 (new?) spells compares to the average graduate. Plus, there's whatever you learned from your brother, your foalsitter, and of course Princess Celestia. And finally, you're the living embodiment of the Element of Magic.
So yes, you should be aware that no unicorns know as much magic as you, and only another graduate of CSGU would come close.
The concept of a stage magician is not something that fits well in a world with real magic. But the idea could actually work better in MLP:FIM than other fictional magical worlds, and the events of the episode hint at what could have been. Imagine if her show was all about being able to match anypony's special talent. We see Applejack show off with her rope, and Trixie uses her magic to mimic her talent in an entertaining way. But Trixie's attitude here is overly hostile, and her beating the audience members is more cruel than entertaining.
I hate those idiots Snips and Snails in this episode. The idiots as comic relief trope goes back at least to Shakespeare and probably all the way back to ancient Greece, but it's not done well here. Sure, you want the Ursa Minor to wreak havoc (another creature that's never mentioned again, if I remember correctly), but this could have happened in other ways. Let's say Trixie did something on the way to town that disturbed the Ursa Minor.
This episode could have gone like this:
- Twilight Sparkle shown mastering magic
- She goes with her friends to Trixie's show
- Trixie, in a more friendly and entertaining manner, shows that she can beat ponies at their own talents
- Twilight Sparkle declines to participate, as she knows she is far more talented than Trixie
- Snips and Snails are still sycophants, and this pumps Trixie's ego
- The Ursa Minor comes to town
- Trixie has to admit to her biggest fans that her tale of besting an Ursa Major was just boasting
- Twilight Sparkle saves the day
- Trixie respects Twilight Sparkle's talent
- Twilight Sparkle acknowledges that there's a lot she could learn from Trixie's creative use of her smaller talents
- And the Ursa Minor provides the "This is why there are warnings on plastic bags" lesson
If this happened, you wouldn't need Magic Duel, and you could have Trixie join the cast later. Her creativity would still be a weapon against Chrysalis, for example.
Oh, trust me, I feel your pain.
My sister and her wife both agreed that the Gilda-Dash dynamic exudes a lot of "jealous ex-girlfriend" vibes. Factoring in Pinkie only supported that.
The writers certainly didn't.
I'd side towards the former, combined with an incredibly sheltered upbringing. Twilight's entire life has been spent surrounded by incredibly brilliant and powerful casters, ranging from her mother and brother—Sorry, Night Light, no evidence of your prowess—to her alicorn babysitter to her peers at the School to Princess Celestia, a.k.a. the yardstick by which Twilight has measured her whole life.
The thing is, people don't really realize their formative experiences are unusual until they go out and learn about someone else's, and here we're talking about the Little Unicorn Who Had No Friends. Spike has socialized more than Twilight, as his later in with Hotiy Toity will demonstrate. This early in Twilight's friendship lessons, she doesn't have the perspective to appreciate how incredible she really is. Especially since she'll be subconsciously comparing herself to Celestia for years to come.
I don't disagree—especially since her counter to Rarity is just ruining her mane—but let's not forget that these ponies booed a traveling performer for "showing off." You know, the entire purpose of a performance.
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Not exactly...
But yeah, your plan would have worked well if the writers had planned on Trixie's return. Remember, when they were putting together these episodes, they didn't know if there would be even a second season, much less an enormous periphery demographic embracing this twenty-two minute toy commercial. Friendship is Magic was very much written by the seats of people's pants.
I don't think that's false modesty at all? Like... that's just modesty. c.c She's pretty sheltered.
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i would be curious to know if the writer was informed by her own experience, or the experience of a close friend or family member.
Even with a sheltered upbringing, she should have learned about typical magical expression in her education, the same way we learn about biology and physiology. She should have learned how magic expresses in average earth pony strength, pegasus flight, or unicorn spellcasting. A man who stands two meters tall may not know if he's in the top 0.1%, 1%, or 5% of adult male height, but he understands he's tall.
Agree that the townsfolk reaction to Trixie's performance is just weird. It would be like going to see a magician and accusing him of being a fraud. (I'll still try to figure out the tricks, though.)
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In worlds that actually have magic, I prefer my stage magicians making their fraud into a point of pride. "We did this without magic, folks!"
You know? You're right, Pinkie's personality did generally improve and become more interesting in later seasons. I just wish her voice direction had not been to become as shrill and shouty as possible in those seasons.