MLP episode review: Sisterhooves Social · 4:19am Jul 8th, 2014
Alright, folks. Time to move away from the pink menace, at least for now. Time for one of the best things for me, family! Time for some comedic hijinks between two pairs of polar opposites as we attend the ...
Sisterhooves Social
We open on a slow zoom onto carousel Boutique, between a pair of symbolic birds. Rarity is dreaming, a pleasant one from what I can see. Smoke wafts in and she wakes up in an understandable panic. After tumbling down the stairs we see it's Sweetie Belle in the kitchen with a thick haze of smoke overhead. She was gonna serve breakfast in bed, and Rarity groans. Wacky hijinks, perhaps? After the credits Rarity flings off her sleep mask and stalks over, passing by two ponies in the background. Wait, what the heck?! Okay, that's awesome. :D Magnum PI there speaks up and rarity identifies him and the Nanny there as her parents! And you have no idea how glad I was to see her with parents alive and well. Also, since she's living by herself, then it's OBVIOUS Rarity's true age is at seven billion, two hundred ninety million, three hundred sixty-three thousand, seven hundred forty-two and seven months! :p
Okay, minor aside, I'm not fond of age debates. They can occasionally give me a worse headache than a candy shop that was once at the Fox Run mall in Newington. Even a few minutes in it and I was nauseous for a large part of the day afterwards. Not fun. Anyway, they say Sweetie Belle cooked, or fossilized, the breakfast all on her own! She even burnt the juice. I'd arch an eyebrow but I've seen even worse than that. Mom gave her lessons and wouldn't be surprised if she had a cutie mark in fancy cooking by the end of their vacation. Rarity's caught a bit off-guard by this revelation.
Sweetie Belle puts down a bowl of gray goo. Applesauce? Nope, toast! Okay, that is pushing it a bit! She goes to grab her stuff from Dad's wagon, and Rarity makes sure it's seven whole days. Yes, just like Project: Backstep. And six nights, too. That was a movie starring Harrison Ford, right? Rarity says she's got a long list, but she supposes Sweetie Belle can be added to the list. Oh, Rarity, don't pull a Twilight! There's a large crash and we see Sweetie with a lot of luggage. "Just a few necessities." Hah! :D Outside the Belle's are taxied away to wherever their vacation is. Rarity leads Sweetie Belle inside and says they have to clean up, which confuses Sweetie Belle. Well, the breakfast is burnt. She says it's not that burnt, but I think it's carbonized by now. Rarity starts a proper breakfast and Sweetie Belle wants to help, but Rarity says she'll get things started. We have a montage of rarity cleaning and cooking, with Sweetie Belle looking more and more frustrated. She finally pipes up, and rarity says she can... put the garnish on the plate. Rarity micro-manages her and says she's looking for perfection. The table gets tipped, the breakfast spilled... and the parsley lands perfectly. I believe that's either Karma, justice, irony or some killer combo of all three. Either way? HAH!
Rarity finishes cleaning. Again. She notes the time and asks Sweetie Belle to take the dirty towels to the laundry room. So will the bubble-headed bleach blonde come on at five and tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye? She cheerfullypushes the basket into the laundry room, saying she'll make herself useful. Hmm, a tub of soapy water, no machines there. She spots a sweater hanging on a line and gets a gleam in her eye! No, Sweetie Belle! It was only a reference to a Don Henley song! We cut to outside. Rarity peeks outside, does a double-take and sees it and the laundry on the line. She's aghast and it turns out the incredibly expensive wool sweater, in the heat of the sun, and not the Heat of the Night, will shrink. And it does. It might fit on one of Rarity's dolls, but that's it. She tamps down her anger and decides to create, then steps in a bucket of water. Hey, that's on you, Rarity! She tells Sweetie Belle to stay out of trouble. Sweetie Belle's miffed.
We cut to her inside, and ohhai, Sweepie Belle! she remembers Rarity telling her to stay out of trouble, and she decides to draw. Happy little trees, perhaps? She starts, but decides it needs something. She spots a chest full of sapphires. Rarity walks in some time later, floating a some fabric and scissors. Sweetie Belle rushes over with the drawing and Rarity screams! She races over to the chest and Sweetie Belle's all Scootalooed down on the floor. Turns out these are extremely rare sapphires for a very important client. Sweetie Belle is sorry... but that doesn't really cut it too well. "Sweetie Belle, what am I going to do with you?" And Sweetie Belle pulls a Pinkie and says they could paint, ride bikes... wait, bikes for ponies? That just sounds weird. After some other stuff, Rarity cuts to the chase and says she has to go find more gems. Sweetie Belle asks if she can help, but Rarity gives her a big NO! Okay, slightly harsh, Rarity. She finally gives her a smaller no and says to clean up after herself. And find something to do that doesn't leave a large mess.
Sweetie Belle wanders, not cleaning up after herself and finds another room that's pretty messy. This can only end SO well! Rarity comes back with the gems, peeks into the messy room and nearly strokes out. Sweetie Belle literally pops up like she's got springs in her legs, which would explain a lot, actually. It's her inspiration room, organized chaos! Oh, so we don't need Discord for chaos. Good to know! She was planning her new fashion line, and now everything's put away! Sweetie Belle counters that every time she made a mess, Rarity got upset. Rarity rounds on her and says it's her mess, in HER house! Sweetie Belle says she thought it'd make her happy, and Rarity herself springs up, grinds her teeth and says she needs some time alone. Sweetie Belle reaches for her, but Rarity harumphs and that's that.
Outside, Sweetie Belle's walking along, head hung low. She spots a poster of two ponies with stars in their eyes and a blue ribbon on it. Apple Bloom shows up and asks how the sleepover's going. Sweetie Belle says it's 'smashing' in a mocking voice and kinda... waddles off. She hops onto the base of some statue and wishes she and Rarity could do something special together. I know that feel. There was a seven-year gap between my brother and I, eight between me and my sister. Apple Bloom zooms over and exposits about the Sisterhooves Social. It's a sisters competition with various events. Sweetie Belle says Rarity will think it's excellent! And... we do a Gilligan cut to Rarity calling it ridiculous. Okay, little harsh, there. It doesn't sound... 'clean'. Yeah, calling bullshit on that. They begin arguing and Sweetie Belle gets angry. She says she'll try the Social without a sister, then maybe the rest of her life without a sister!
Whoa, Sweetie Belle! Calm down, kid. You do NOT want to spend your life without your siblings. It's not a good feeling.
Rarity fights back and says she's better off with no sister. Rarity, same thing. you don't want that! But, they butt heads and Sweetie Belle storms out. After the commercials we're at Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack and Apple Bloom are miffed Rarity called the Social 'uncouth', with Apple Bloom eating an apple, burping and asking what 'uncouth' meant while spitting out bits of apple. Heh. Sweetie belle says Rarity thinks she's uncouth, and Applejack points out Rarity thinks everything's uncouth. She tells Sweetie belle to give her time. She'll come around, and she has a nice moment with Apple Bloom. Aww. :) Applejack asks her if she'll help with the chores. Sweetie Belle says she messes everything up, but that's just stinkin' thinkin'. And I am so glad that never caught on...
Applejack kicks some rotten apples at Apple Bloom, who catch it with a basket balanced on her brainpan. They're for the pigs to eat! They make a game of it. Sweetie Belle says she'll try, but gets an apple right on the horn. It's hard work, which is why they do it TOGETHER! Cooperation, working together-dig it! Back at Carousel Boutique, Rarity's still steamed. She's finished, looks around and suddenly i-dea!~ We get a cut to her finishing up a line of clothes she calls 'Full Spectrum Fashions'. she ponders about Sweetie Belle's involvement, but reiterates she shouldn't have touched anything without her permission. Back at Sweet Apple Acres and Applejack's getting grape ready for be squished. I'll get Lucy and Ethel over for this one, folks. Sweetie Belle calls it grape juice. I say, "Sure, show. Let's go with that." Sweetie Belle also says Rarity would kill her if she got grape juice near her outfits. Apple Bloom splashes Applejack with gunk, Applejack jumps in and... Applejack gives her a noogie. Also, the tub is bigger on the inside. *GASP* Applejack is a Time Lord!
Back at Carousel Boutique, Rarity floats her new line into the laundry room to be washed. She spies the sweater and is pissed again. Then she steps onto Opal's tail, and gets the idea to put it on the cat. "Opal-wopal!" Gag me with a spoon! She tries to stay angry at Sweetie Belle and says she's lucky this turned out so well. Yeah, that's a bit of a stretch for me. And back to Sweet Apple Acres and the Apple sisters are herding sheep. And one of them says they could've just asked which raises ALL sorts of odd/uncomfortable questions that I'm not addressing. And BACK to the Boutique and Rarity's almost finished with the outfit with the sapphires, but she's out. And now she's angry again. She goes over to the drawing and sees it.. and it's of the two sisters in a heart. Aww... Her heart grows 2.5 sizes and she goes for her Oscar here, declaring she'll never be sisterless again! I... wish I've seen a second of Gone with the Wind to make a reference.
That night, Sweetie Belle and the Apples are having a cookout. Rarity finds them but Sweetie Belle turns her nose up at her. The Apples are pretty uncomfortable at this as the Belle's go back and forth, with Sweetie Belle saying she's adopting Applejack as her new big sister! Ouch... Apple Blooms' not happy about that, then Sweetie Belle says Applejack should be Rarity's big sister! I think this is starting to look like the Summers family chart. Rarity says she doesn't need lessons and lists off some stuff for them to do, but it's only stuff Rarity wants to do. Sweetie Belle turns her down. Apple Bloom confirms she and Applejack are still sisters, heh. And Rarity asks why she's gotta be so good. Applejack says it's give and take, and Element of Generosity or not, Rarity's almost always had a problem with that, hasn't she. But no, she gives lesson! Reasonable demands! Applejack uses an apple pie metaphor to try and work some sense into her. And Rarity, in her own way, figures it out! Well, maybe. Next scene is coming.
Back from commercial and it's the next day, I think. It's the Social. The Whooves sisters win the blue ribbon in pie-eating. Sweetie Belle's trying to hide the hurt of Rarity not there. They see a big pig, the Whooves sisters there too. Wibbly-wobbly? And Carrot Top and some foal there also has a pig. A trumpet sounds and it's almost 'time'. For what I don't know. Sweetie Belle's sad, but Applejack has decided since she and Apple Bloom do this every year, this year she'll do it with Sweetie Belle! And I love Apple Bloom's "One. Day." there. :D Well, better than One More Day, that's for sure. Or Daying Another Day. We hear some feedback and everyone gathers around Granny Smith on a stage, speaking into the wrong end of a bullhorn. Big Mac corrects her and she spins it right round, right round like a record baby. And yes, I love that song. It's the big race! Race for your life, Charlie Brown!
The teams line up, with Apple Bloom being a bit... odd. "One. Day. Good luck!" I love Granny Smith rocking back and forth like that. I won't describe the race. And we all know what happens at the mud puddle. Notice the eyes. :D The 'sisters' move like clockwork. It... does get a bit much, though. It's like they hacked the Matrix, basically. The Punch sisters run by, and barely win. Sweetie Belle hugs her partner, knocking te hat off and revealing the horn. And we learn it was Rarity under the mud. She shakes the mud off and glows. Applejack surfaces, thank goodness! And all three of them were in on it. Rarity did it for 'them'. They're apple pie! And the sisters go to celebrate. Rarity says a spa, and the other three laugh. No, she's serious. Back at Carousel Boutique, Rarity has her hair in bows and Spike's there for a... letter. Okay, will not hold it against this episode. Having a sister is great, but isn't easy. It's compromises, doing stuff you might not like, and having fun. And we get Wet-Mane Rarity. They have a minor argument about dirtiness and Spike is the voice of reason. We have a bookend of the birds outside and credits.
Thoughts
Oh, this one... I like so much MORE than the previous episode. Can you tell? ;) It's always good for me to see family getting along, or working to getting along. I love the contrast between the Apple and Belle sisters, there. Applejack and Apple Bloom are tight. Rarity and Sweetie Belle are... not. I love Rarity going through the race, there. Good on her! Great advice from Applejack, too.
I will admit Rarity either finding a use or forgiving all three of Sweetie Belle's screw-ups pushed SOD for me a bit. Just seemed... not quite contrived, but getting there.
And the Sisterhooves Social is neat. Nice little bit of worldbuilding there. :) All in all, for me, a great episode. :D Not much more I think I can really say, there.
Nope. It's from a UPN TV series called Seven Days starring Jonathan LaPaglia.
A HUGE milestone for this episode is that it's the first time that Twilight Sparkle doesn't make an appearance. Heck, I don't think her name is even mentioned once. Writing stories without the ever present aesop spewer really helps the writers create more natural stories. Can you imagine the hurdles the showrunners would have to go through to get Twilight into this episode?
Did somebody say… smashing?
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Sorry, it was either take advantage of it now or wait until One Bad Seed.
Sometimes I wonder why Apple bloom didn’t compete with a big sister stand in, while Applejack competed with SB to help with Rarity’s plan? Overall, I loved this ep when I first saw it. Especially the reveal.