TheBrianJ Reviews - Party Pooped · 7:03pm Jul 3rd, 2015
Blimey, this one’s late! I’ve had a busy week, between taking some engineering classes in preparation for a big life change coming in the next few months (a GOOD life change, more on that in a future blog) and the fact that I am actively melting because Seattle appears to have broken off of earth and is spiraling directly into the sun. Also Splatoon is taking a lot of my time. Good lord that game is fun.
Pinkie Pie-centric episodes tend to have a greater feeling of fun than the other characters, partly due to the nature of the character (Element of Laughter and all) and partly because with her character, you can pretty much say and do whatever you want on the show and give the reasoning of “Because Pinkie Pie.” So head on below the break for my thoughts on it.
Quality Horse Cheese Humor
I’ll admit… this episode actually swerved me. Something happened that I did NOT expect, we’ll get to that later.
Pinkie Pie is a fun character, but seeing an episode like this reminds me of why she’s not just fun, but also one of the best written characters on the show. Yes, she’s random, breaks the 4th wall, things like that… but when the focus is on her in an episode, we get to see her strengths as a character. She’s a truly driven character, strives to not only be the best at what she does but do it in a way that benefits everybody.
And this episode was such a great example of that: she really truly wanted to do what she’s best at, because not only could she show off, but it makes her very likable because everything she does, she does for her friends. That’s why this honestly might be up there as one of my favorite Pinkie Pie-centric episodes; it was such a wonderful showcase of one of the most fun characters in the show.
I don’t know why this made me laugh so hard.
What wasn’t Pinkie Pie in this episode was pretty great—The Mane 6 trying to coordinate things, the Yaks being hilarious, the big ending scene—but this was a Pinkie Pie episode at heart, and her scenes were the best. Watching how Pinkie Pie interacts with various characters is always a treat, especially when world-building is involved.
And on that topic, I love how Season 5 has been ALL ABOUT building the world. Yakyakistan and the Yaks, more about the Crystal Empire (and the continued proof that Cadence is really hands-on when it comes to her kingdom), new creatures, and this was ALL in a single episode. It continues a wonderful trend this season regarding turning this into more than just Ponyville and the occasional visit to Canterlot, Crystal Empire, or whatever. We actually get a sense of what the world of Equestria, and beyond, is like.
One of my big hopes is that Pinkie’s Secret Party Planning Cave That Is Definitely Not Cupcakes Related ends up becoming a regular thing. It may not be much, but something like that legit does add to her character significantly. Knowing just how hard she works, how much effort she puts into every party, not to mention I just loved how the room looked. It was simultaneously disorganized and organized. I don’t know why I was so transfixed on the room, but I seriously loved it and I want to see more of it.
But with all of that, what set this episode far higher for me was the fact that it had a bit of a twist. Well, not a twist, more I expected the episode to go one direction, and it went the other direction.
Sgt. Pinkie’s Lonely Pie Club Band. Starring Peter Frampton as Pinkie Pie.
The whole episode, Pinkie Pie was making a big deal out of how she had to bring something back from Yakyakistan to make things perfect for the yaks. And the moment she jumped on that sled, I KNEW that was it. She would bring that sled back, and there would be a Citizen Kane joke, and Pinkie Pie would have saved the day.
But nope! I was wrong. It ended up being a “you don’t make them feel LIKE they’re home, make them feel AT home” lesson. Maybe that was the more obvious lesson, but something like that honestly did throw me. And let’s be honest, it’s not very often that My Little Pony can actually surprise you like that. Perhaps it was just me expecting more than the show gave, but the fact that I was surprised by it worked in this episode’s favor.
This episode didn’t do a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, but for what it was, it was really, really fun episode. The sheer amount of humor from Pinkie Pie held the episode up, while things such as the Yaks destroying everything in front of them and the Mane 6 trying to keep everything in check, kept the episode going through the non-Pinkie episodes. Maybe not the best episode of the season or the series, but a solid one that I enjoyed.
And I will name this horse George and I will love her and pet her and squeeze her and...
PS: You may notice I didn’t review Princess Spike. That’s because I have nothing to say about Princess Spike. It felt like a retread of a story we’ve seen from Spike numerous times. It was funny and had its moments, but I honestly couldn’t muster enough interest to write a full blog about it. It’s a shame, really… Spike is such a great character and DOES have some fun episodes to his name (I loved Dragon Quest), but half his episodes are so completely boring.
See you next week for another episode! Or perhaps sooner than that...
What if we combine vanilla ice cream and red balloons and dancing with quesadillas all together?