It includes videos centered around The Bad Guys, Kung Fu Panda, The Owl House, Netflix's The Monkey King, and more! I'm veryNight Shift, Part 3; My Review of "Bloom and Gloom" · 10:30pm Apr 19th, 2015
Spoiler Alert! Do not continue on unless you’ve seen the episode/s! If you wish to continue, read at your own risk. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Hey, all! Welcome to another review of “My Little Pony”! In this review, I will cover "Bloom and Gloom". As I have discussed before, I will lay out the standards of my reviews. If you just want to skip to the break below, feel free by all means. Here are my standards:
• How in-depth I will go into the episode will vary on the impression it made.
• I may refer to stuff almost related to the show. It depends on what I’m reminded of in the episode.
• Some of the references may be unknown to you guys, so I apologize in advance if anything confuses you. I will do my best to clarify what I mean.
• I will list the pros and cons of each episode and then sum it up.
• The last thing I will do is give the episode one or a mix of the following:
o A letter grade
o A percentage
o A number on a scale of one to ten
• I may skip over select episodes due to a low impression or personal reasons. My apologies in advance to anyone I might offend by skipping over an episode they like.
Please keep this in mind so I don’t have to worry about boring you.
Here’s my review of "Bloom and Gloom"!
*****
I absolutely called it.
I knew what things were going to pop up in the episodes, but like the three before it, it has some surprises. I’m starting to sense a theme that my sister and I detected in a few other shows: predictable yet unpredictable. I would like to call this “PYUP” for short. What was predictable: Apple Bloom’s nightmares and Princess Luna showing up. What was unexpected: Babs getting her cutie mark and the introduction of “The Shadow”. The Shadow, as I have learned, is a mature concept. I was surprised that the show would have something like that.
As my sister put it, “This is a show for little girls?”
With the exception of the ending, I found this episode to be a bit dull and not very thrilling. Two or three dreams in, I was beginning to wonder when Luna was going to show up. When she did make her appearance, it was nothing short of awesome. She had some cool new moves and a good moral to share. Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to the morals and just focus on the visuals (which, by the way, were astounding).
As for Sweetie Belle’s dream, there was a clip of it that showed on the second teaser. My sister and I both saw it, but disagreed on what it meant. My sister thought that Sweetie was going to get her cutie mark before her friends and I thought it was too soon and thus, the clip was misleading. To settle things, we made a wager in regards to the clip. Guess who won? I did.
However, my sister and I made a new bet in regards to the whole season. This time, she bets that each of the CMC will get her cutie mark in an individual episode and I bet that the CMC will all get their cutie marks in the same episode (or episodes, in case it’s a two-parter). The reason I hold my belief strongly is because Apple Bloom said that she would like all of them to receive their cutie marks at the same time. Does that say “hint” to you? I also believe that their cutie marks would be in some way interconnected. This would be reminiscent to “The Cutie Mark Chronicles”, in which Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom helped the Mane Six receive their cutie marks. I think that the dreams Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo have reflect their innermost desires, which I believe will earn them their cutie marks.
I knew what Apple Bloom was experiencing were dreams all along. One person brought up a good connection that I failed to notice: the movie Inception. In the movie, there were about four levels of dreams, each moving down towards the subconscious. Apple Bloom’s nightmares are similar to those types of dreams, each one exploring a deeper fear. I think Inception is so popular that it’s also the inspiration behind the future Friends Forever issue involving Twilight and Big Mac. I’ve seen Inception and it is interesting, but give me Inside Out any day.
When I first saw that Babs had received her cutie mark, I found this incredible, but hard to believe. I told myself that she might’ve been bluffing. As the episode progressed, I had expected that the letter was really all a lie. When “Bloom and Gloom” came to an end, I came to accept the fact that Babs had received her cutie mark. I think this is a hint that Season 5 is the time that the CMC would receive their cutie marks. It is my hope that we, the fandom, will still love them, with or without cutie marks.
Let’s get to the pros and cons before wrapping up the review.
Pros: Princess Luna makes her grand appearance (just as I had predicted). It was also nice that all three of the CMC were brought together in the same dream. Once again, the season pulls twists and turns. Is Discord behind this? It’s nice that Babs Seed got her cutie mark. The animation has really upped since last season.
Cons: This episode is very predictable and has taken the down-to-earth tone as with the first three episodes. I’m still getting used to not anticipating Discord until Episode 7. A mature concept is shown in a kids’ show. A kids’ show! Come on! Though the animation is beautiful, it’s not a smooth transition from last season, so it’ll take some adjusting to. I guess the animators used the extremely long hiatus to their advantage and improved their skills.
In Summary: This is a genuinely good episode, albeit a bit slow and conventional. This season reminds me of Season 5 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The fifth season of TCW (The Clone Wars) had dull moments, but was thrilling for the most part. I hope that is the case with Season 5 of MLP. The previous season reminded me of TCW Season 4. Both were very action-packed and exciting, and now Season 4 of Once Upon a Time is following that path. Everything’s changing this season, so let’s brace ourselves for both the bad and the good.
My rating: 7.5
See you till the next episode!
<3 KidatHeart5
Yay a new review by KidatHeart! I always enjoy your reviews
Here's mine if you want to check it out: http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/472704/miss-koi-reviews-bloom-and-gloomwith-pancakes-another-new-theme-to-this-seasonpancakes
Maybe possibly, that would be funny if that were true.
Haha lol, is Discord behind the twists and turns of this new season?
You brought up some good points. I think by having Babs getting her cutiemark,we should expect the CMC to get theirs soon later in the season. At last, I want them to in order to develop their characters and the fact that this season is about cutiemarks! C'mon writers, it's a given! As much as I want each CMC to have individual episodes relating to each getting their cutie marks at different times, I have a feeling that they will get their cutiemarks at the same time like you said. It would be like the Cutie Mark Chronicles episode, good connection!
Haha lol how much bits does your sister owe ya?
2998197 It's not like bits money-wise. It's more like bits from a book, as in she has to read the rest of Teardrop. It's a book by Lauren Kate and it's about a girl with powerful tears that can raise Atlantis. I want to write an MLP fanfiction based on it.
The stakes my sister and I made for our second bet involves two books she's read (if she wins) and the sequel to Teardrop (if I win).
3000708
What's the book series that your sister likes? Book bets are the best kind of bets
Sounds like an awesome book and I can't wait to read your fanfic MLP adaption of it
3001668 My sister reads "The Selection" series. I had originally bought it for myself, but I never got around to reading it. When my sister was doing one of her fanfictions, I suggested "The Selection" for inspiration. She's really drawn into the series and is awaiting the third one.
My MLP adaption will be the third in a series I plan to write about Discord's past.
3001769
! I can't wait to read it
What's The Selection series about?
Ooohhh, how exciting
3001797 It's a series about a girl who gets chosen to compete for the prince's hand in marriage. The problem is that she's already in love with a boy who is a caste below her, but she slowly becomes attracted to the prince.
3001844
Thanks for the story suggestions
Oh, I think I've seen this series when I was at a Barnes and Noble one time. I'll have to check it out, along with the Teardrop series of course
3001860 You're welcome!