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TheClownPrinceofCrime


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Jan
13th
2025

My Review of MLP: Make Your Mark Chapter 2 Episode 5 The Cutie Mark Mix-Up · 8:31pm January 13th

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, folks! This is Mr. J back with another G5 episode review for today. This afternoon, I will be reviewing the fifth episode of Make Your Mark Chapter 2 entitled “The Cutie Mark Mix-Up”. I can’t remember if I ever liked this episode when I first watched it, but I can definitely say that this episode wasn’t that good after re-watching it today.

To clarify, it is far from being the worst episode, but it still is far from perfect as well. Something about it just felt off, and it didn’t captivate my interest in a satisfactory manner. Allow me to explain why this episode just doesn’t work for me:

The episode begins with Sunny & Hitch conducting their first opening of the community garden Sunny wanted to make since last episode. But the moment Hitch accidentally cut the ribbon before finishing his speech, everyone rushes into the garden and stomps on half the plants…out of excitement…for some reason.

Sometimes, I question the mental faculties of these ponies and wonder how they’re still functional. Are these guys children or grown adults? I’m genuinely asking at this point.

The critters that were with Hitch at that moment are rightfully frightened by these ponies and scramble as they should be doing. But when everything calmed down, they still act continuously crazy. So what does Hitch do to help calm them down?

He asks Izzy, Pipp, & Zipp to talk to them so he can help out Sunny. Um, shouldn’t YOU be the one to relax them since you’re the only one who can talk to them? But hold on, he makes this flimsy excuse, “But that doesn’t mean they’ll listen to me!”

Dude, you didn’t even try to talk to them. It takes about 3 seconds to calm them down, and that’s what you should’ve done before running off to Sunny for assistance. But by the end of the episode, after he gets his cutie mark back, he successfully talks them down and got them to listen to him.

But hold on! They didn’t even listen to him before he got his cutie mark switched, so why is this suddenly working now? The inconsistency is just astounding, folks.

Speaking of cutie marks, this is the main plot of this episode: Sunny & Hitch getting their cutie marks mixed up just as the title suggests. To be honest, the execution of this concept was both underwhelming and disappointing because it pales in comparison to how G4 handled this exact same situation.

Remember what happened to the Mane Six in MLP: FIM’s “Magical Mystery Cure”? Twilight’s friends had all their cutie marks switched up due to Twilight fucking up one of her spells which ended up negatively affecting them. All their lives were nearly ruined due to their inability to live each other’s lives. That’s how serious it was back in G4.

In this G5 episode, it was played off as some sort of harmless but unpleasant inconvenience that ultimately had no effect on the environment, on Maretime Bay, or on any of their own friends. Oh wait, that’s because it only affected two of these ponies! Hmm, that kinda dwindles the stakes in this storyline, doesn’t it? It should’ve been taken more seriously than the way it was written.

Furthermore, Sparky is the one who created this magical misfortune. I’m sorry but I feel like both Zipp and Hitch should be extra worried about Sparky at this point because he has questionable powers that could potentially put everybody else and himself in danger if he’s not careful.

I just hated how they brushed it off as if it’s not a big deal. Come on, guys, you’re seriously not gonna question how he’s doing all this??

The pacing didn’t help this episode at all. I don’t know what it is with these writers, but they really need to stick to a single format. “Portrait of a Princess” had the most perfect pacing, so why didn’t they take notes out of that?

As for Opaline & Misty, I’ll admit they were pretty interesting in this episode, but they still don’t contribute much to the plot aside from talking to each other. Opaline sends this magical mouse to seek out a hidden power within the Brighthouse, and after it finds it, she sends Misty to go get it basically.

Bitch, why couldn’t you send Misty down there to begin with? Was the mouse really that necessary to do the job if Misty can pose as a new friend so she can be allowed access inside the Brighthouse? That would’ve been a more appropriate & logical plan than the one we witnessed. I’m starting to hate how they’re dumbing her down in these later episodes now, and it’s getting annoying.

Overall, this episode was so boring to watch. While it did manage to teach the lesson about understanding how hard it is to be in each other’s shoes (or hooves), it still falls victim to its own underwhelming execution of its premise, especially when you compare it to G4’s handling of the subject matter.

The dialogue is okay, the characters are fine, and the humor is serviceable, but the conflict & resolution are both sloppy as hell. Believe me, I really tried to like this episode. I REALLY tried. But it’s just not my kind of episode, ladies and gentlemen. So this gets a solid C. Nothing special in the slightest but definitely not the worst thing I’ve ever seen.


Peace!

Comments ( 5 )

Remember what happened to the Mane Six in MLP: FIM’s “Magical Mystery Cure”? Twilight’s friends had all their cutie marks switched up due to Twilight fucking up one of her spells which ended up negatively affecting them. All their lives were nearly ruined due to their inability to live each other’s lives. That’s how serious it was back in G4.

Funny thing. In all the times I watched “The Cutie Mark Mix-Up”, I found myself comparing the episode’s most advertised plot point to FiM’s “A Royal Problem” more than “Magical Mystery Cure”. Maybe it’s because of how the situation was depicted with Celestia & Luna, I’m not sure, but to me…MYM’s take on the matter primarily felt like an uninspired rehashing of “A Royal Problem”, only without the charm, heart, or sense of well-crafted storytelling.

Other things that bothered me about the episode were how useless & unnecessary the subplot revolving around Izzy & Pipp trying to catch the renegade critters was, the cringeworthy character portrayals of both them and the others, as well as the lackluster humor.

That being said, I’m surprised that you don’t consider “The Cutie Mark Mix-Up” to be MYM’s worst episode thus far, mostly because I knew that there were things about its story you wouldn’t be particularly pleased with.

5825986
Well, the thing is, it wasn't trying hard enough to anger me because it felt so...souless to say the least. That's why I was less harsh on it than I was with "Ali-Conned" and "Winter Wishday".

One can only wonder if this could have worked better as a straight 'job switch' episode, where Sunny and Hitch voluntarily decide to swap roles for the day and find out the hard way how difficult their respective roles actually are. This plotline is a staple of comedy, and the 'walk a mile in somebody else's shoes' moral, though somewhat hackneyed, is a good one.

When I adapted this episode for my Thomas and Friends continuity, I dropped the magical element completely and reworked it as a straight job swap narrative.

Sparky.. really shouldn't have been a literal newborn.
Gogo gaga is not really a much of a character.
He has great potential like Spike, but its effed up by making him a literal newborn.
Freaking age him up ffs.

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