My Review of MLP:FIM season 8 episode 6 Surf and/or Turf · 8:15pm Jul 29th, 2023

Grading Scale:

A (fantastic episode)
A- (an excellent episode with at least one flaw)
B+ (a great episode with a couple of flaws)
B (a good episode which still could have been better)
B- (a good episode with numerous flaws but still rewatchable)
C+ (a decent episode)
C (eh... it’s not terrible but not good either)
C- (it’s not worth rewatching although it does have good elements)
D+ (a bad episode with a few good things in it)
D (a really bad episode with wasted potential)
D- (a terrible episode with badly written characters and butchered moral)
F (horrible and unwatchable)

Greetings, everyone! This is Mr. J back with another MLP episode review for today! This afternoon, I will be reviewing the sixth episode of season 8 entitled "Surf and/or Turf". This was definitely a much better episode than the previous one, but that's not saying much. Thankfully, there is not much to complain about here as it contains a character-driven storyline that doesn't bore out the viewer. It has very few cringeworthy moments which is a huge plus in and of itself. So here is what makes this episode rewatchable:

The episode starts with the Cutie Mark Crusaders entering the friendship meeting room where the map has called them. Twilight informs them that the map is assigning them with a mission outside of Equastria--a mission that doesn't involve cutie marks. The CMCs are excited to hear this, and all four prepare to depart to Mount Eris, the place the map is sending them. As they arrive there, they meet a lot of hippogriffs. They soon meet Silverstream's brother named Terramar who turned from a seapony to a hippogriff in front of them.

As Twilight is busy with having Sky Beak sign a form as well as doing some "research", the CMCs soon learn about Terramar's problem: he loves both Mount Eris and Seaquestria to the point where he feels like he has to choose which world he should belong to. Therefore, he asks them to help him decide which one is better.

They happily seek to help him out until Sweetie Belle is swayed by the beauty of nature on Mount Eris; she tries to convince him to choose Mount Eris as there is seemingly no other place that is just as wonderful as this. Once Twilight arrives, Terramar takes them to Seaquestria where they are in seapony form.

Scootaloo is trilled by this and is likewise enjoying swimming around in the ocean as if she is actually flying. But Sweetie Belle isn't enjoying the scenery as she likes the outside world a lot more. Then they eventually meet with Ocean Flow, Terramar's mother.

I find it really interesting that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both have their personal reasons in liking their respective favorite places. However, their conflict of interest causes them to fight and argue which ends up upsetting Terramar. Despite the fact that no one told him he had to choose, the conflict between Scootaloo and Sweetie sadly made it worse for him and made him think that he'll end up upsetting either his dad or his mom if he chooses one or the other.

And this is something many people struggle with as well. They go through so much mental anguish in attempting to make decisions (big or small), and whenever they ask other people for help...sometimes...they don't get the confidence or reassurance they need. As a result, it makes them depressed and hopeless.

So I'm glad Sweetie and Scootaloo were able to put aside their differences and realize what they did wrong. So as they apologize to Terramar for their selfishness, they made up for it by having his family and everyone else meet up at the beach where they're all having a great time. His parents assure him that they'll always love and support him for who he is and wherever he goes--land or sea. So the CMCs complete their mission, and everyone is happy. Yay!

So that is the episode, and honestly, this is one of the best episodes of this season. It has strong character development, good jokes, a solid moral for both kids and adults to learn, and an interesting storyline. Terramar is a decent character, I'll admit, and I like how they wrote him for this episode. I bet he won't be important for any more episodes until season 9, right? This gets a B+!

Peace out, folks!