What I Thought About "Slice of Life" · 4:44am Jun 18th, 2015
Episode Review
Alright, I lied. I'm gonna review this one, too. I seriously doubt that it's gonna have an impact on the season as a whole or tie into the story arcs, so that's my excuse. Besides, it's the 100th episode. It's a special occasion. So, let's get on with this.
So, what can I say about this episode? It was a huge pile of fanservice spaghetti with brony-pandering meatballs and topped with fandom trope sauce, and I loved it. It was twenty-two minutes of me alternating between shaking my head and staring in awe, all with a smile crazy-glued to my face. If you ever wondered what it might be like for the show to look at and adopt fandom tropes en masse, this is it. This is it, ladies and gentlemen.
I knew that a lot of people were gonna hate this one. This was a polarizing episode before it even came close to being released. Some hate it, I love it, and I'm gonna explain to you why I think it's brilliant. So let's dive into it, shall we?
We start off with some kickass continuity in the form of Cranky and Matilda. You know, so many people say that the series has degraded in overall quality ever since Season Two, and these are often the same people who cite its lack of continuity as one of the show's weak points. Yet I don't see these same people point out how the show has had more and more continuity the longer it has gone on.
But anyway, these two old characters from S2 are back and about to get married. Honestly, this isn't the most original plot. It's nothing new. In fact, pre-wedding hijinks is what most expected from the Season Two finale, yet didn't get. At least the show isn't retreading old ground, technically. And besides, the plot worked for what the episode was doing. It got all these characters working together toward a goal and got them all in the same place. It served its purpose, plus it created a problem for the characters to solve.
And then we get... her. Our glorious, walled-eyed muffinlord, Derpy Muffins. Yup, her name is Muffins, now. It's right in the credits. I am happy with this turn of events. I've liked the name for a while, now. Besides, I always thought "Derpy Hooves" was a dumb name. So sue me. I was initially very worried when I heard that she was going to speak again. I was not a fan of her original voice, mostly just because she sounded like a dude. Her second voice wasn't better, but for different reasons. This new voice was nice. Cute and fits her well. She's excitable, adorable, but not an idiot and was smart enough to think of a solution for the missing flowers. I dig it.
So we get Muffins apparently having something to do with a delivery service, having been the one who distributed the invitations (poorly). This looks like a pretty obvious nod to the fandom's typical portrayal of her as a mailmare. I'm not sure why she also had the invitations made, but we don't know a lot about the company she works for. Hell, she might not even have a larger company and just runs it herself. That'd be cool. Oh hey, Featherweight showed up again, and he still hasn't spoken a single word.
Wait, wait, Doctor (his name in the credits) has been working on time travel for centuries? Who is this guy? Maybe he invented a machine to rejuvenate himself. No, not like a Time Lord; they already have time travel down. Honestly, I'm very tired of Doctor Hooves being, well, The Doctor. It's old and overdone. How close this dude is to any of the Doctors, I dunno, because I haven't seen the show. I know a few things, like "Allons-y" and I recognize that multicolored scarf of his. As a result of my biases, his character in this episode bugged me at first.
I got used to Doc, though. He's apparently too brilliant for his own good, kinda like Emmett Brown from Back to the Future. He gets too focused on the technical aspects and misses things that are obvious to most ponies. At least, that's how I interpret his behavior in the bowling alley. He probably over complicates every problem and creates bizarre machines that less-complex devices could handle just as well. A wild-eyed, mad scientist. I like him as a crazy inventor. I was gonna write him as such, in fact.
So anyway, then we see Vinyl Scratch, still constantly wearing headphones and not saying a word. Mute? Maybe. Who cares? Not me. And wow, he really does kinda look like he's mimicking bowling. Not surprised that she got confused. Then we go right into a big reference to The Big Lebowski, which I've never seen but didn't need to to enjoy this segment. Though, the whole "man" joke was meh. I like how Doc just glances at the pins and goes into analysis mode, and I hear tell that the math shown is actually relevant to bowling physics. Good on ya, show staff.
I totally dig how the rest of the ponies are just trying to do normal things as a monster attacks the town. They're probably used to it, by now. I liked how the bugbear was giving Pinkie Pie a noogie in one short scene. And wow, I just realized that the main characters are the funny background event in this episode. Totally reversed from the norm. Neat.
Oh, flower ponies. So cute. So melodramatic. Makes Rarity look downright calm in the face of calamity. And do you know what I like most about the Lyra and Bon Bon scene? Not that it nicely resolves the issue of Bonnie having two names. Not how it explains why she's had so many different voices. Not even the over-the-top secret agent aspect that's just a ton of fun and potential. It's that these two are utterly unlike any fandom depiction I've seen. Here, Bon Bon is the weird one and Lyra is the more like the straightmare. It takes the typical depiction and turns it on its head.
This is actually a huge part of why I love this episode. It doesn't copy fandom tropes and just shove them in. No, it looks at fandom tropes and gives them its own twist. We saw these characters and wrote all kinds of stories about them, with several themes becoming common among the collected works, and this episode gives those themes a new spin. It's exactly what we did for these characters in the first place. It's like a fresh take on old fandom ideas. It's crazy recursive, and I love it. It's so cool to see.
And then we get to something I did not expect to see again, or rather someone: Steven Magnet. He and his fabulous moustache are back, and oh, is it glorious. I got hyped when I found out he was coming back. We haven't seen this dude in so long, and he's just as flamboyant and fun as ever, if not more. And how he cuts off his mighty moustache to give Cranky a wig, just like Rarity did for him? Awesome callback to his original appearance.
Hey, Octavia has a grand piano. That's neat. I guess Spike isn't the only one in town who can play, unless she's just holding it for Frederick Horseshoepin or something. Anyway, we finally get a canon TaviScratch scene, and you know what? I dug it. Combining classical and dubstep is something I suggested years ago, long before I found out that it was actually a thing. I was joking at the time, but it really can work, as this episode shows. When I first heard that there was going to be an electro-classical tune in this, I was very skeptical. For someone who appreciates both genres, though, I found it pretty cool. Bootsy approves.
Bootsy also approves of how Octavia doesn't snootily scorn Vinyl's music. I'm so tired of that characterization. The worst she says is that it doesn't seem appropriate for a wedding, and then she actually gets into it. Again, this is both utilizing and defying some hard-coded fandom tropes, and it's just great. Octavia starts headbanging, man. Headbanging. Yes. Hell yes. I like this Octavia. This Octavia is fun. This is like a fan episode, but in the best way. It takes the basic ideas and plays with them in its own, special ways. It busts my idea that Tavi and Vinyl live in Canterlot and that's why we rarely saw them, but oh well. No biggie.
So then they just say "screw it" and bust out riding Vinyl's... music thingy, and it only gets nuttier from there. They go on a musical rampage across town, gathering up everypony we wanted to see more of in a very convenient fashion. And then... then...
Gummy. Just Gummy. He's is undeniably best pet. Best. Alligator. Ever. Best thing in the show. And it even matches up with my totally unfounded headcanons about him, man. So perfect. So awesome. So great a moment for a guy like me.
Man, it felt pretty strange to see Celestia and Luna bickering like that, but it was great. I love those moments that shine a light on either of them and show that they're not some all-knowing, all-powerful, godlike beings. They're ponies like everypony else, and hell, that's been pretty evident since Season One. So yeah, arguing sisters is neat... though... that moment when talking about love and how it beats all, and they hold hooves... Nah, I'm sure it's just sisterly love. There are different kinds of love, after all.
I'm sure that changeling is just there for the food. And Shining is being a damsel, just like always. Lucky he's married to such a badass wife. And hey, Spike is attending the wedding right next to Luna. For once, he gets to do something the Mane Six don't. That's amazing.
And the whole thing ends with the mightiest meta speech in the show, delivered by the Mayor. This has got to be the most meta episode of the entire series, and likely always will be. The monster looks like a panda, Vinyl and Octavia literally jump a shark, the episode ends with kissing asses... This is the kind of meta I love. This episode knows exactly what it is and it fully embraces it. It grabs the idea and runs with it, spraying confetti with reckless abandon and no shame in sight, taking so many cues from the fandom that adores it and making the tropes its own. Simply put, it is a brilliant way to give so many fans of background ponies what they want without selling out and while still being accessible enough to enjoy on its own.
So yeah, I'm giving this episode a 9/10, marred only by some awkward things and contrivances. It's exactly what I'd want in an episode inspired by fandom concepts. It's wacky, it's fresh, and above all else, fun. It's just a fun episode that knows what it's doing and has tons of fun with it. Thank you kindly, DHX, and M.A. Larson in particular. I mean that with no sarcasm whatsoever. I tip my hat to the magnificent show staff. You guys and gals are awesome.
And that's what I thought.
This was crazy fun, no doubts about it.
God damn.
Definitely the funniest episode of the season.
And I actually hope several of the ideas brought up in the episode are expanded upon in future ones.
Agreed on all points. This episode has also solidified an aspect of Vinyl Scratch that I'm perfectly willing to accept, because I find the idea of her being a mute character adorable. I kinda wanna write a story about that.
Also, I'm amazed that the episode got this past the radar:
I agree with everything you just said. I fucking loved that episode.
Oh, I don't think that either of them are "straightmares."
3160867
Well, it's better than human-obsessed Lyra. *shudders*