S5-13 Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? - Reactions · 1:13am Jul 13th, 2015
Fun fact: The first third or so of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep? is very good. The last two-thirds of the novel devolve into a convoluted incomprehensible mess. Most of Philip K. Dick’s novels follow that formula, because he wrote his novels in exhausting binges while high on LSD and mescaline, and then refused to revise them afterwards because everyone told him he was a literary genius. Of course, he was a literary genius, but only for the first third of his high, showcasing that the most important aspect of the 'Write drunk; edit sober' doctrine is 'edit sober.'
This isn’t a review or analysis, just some things I wrote down as I watched/rewatched the episode
- The opening
- The hideous trix yogurt pony forms are back! Yay!
- Aw, but it was just a dream.
- This is probably one of the better openings. It’s quick, has a clear conflict right from the get-go, and establishes an intriguing mystery.
This is a screen cap of ugly Trix Yogurt.
- Blue Smoke Monster
- Oh great, another smoke monster we can have seasons of buildup and mystery for and then a totally lame non-reveal. Can’t wait.
- These sleepy pet shenanigans are fun, though. But the ‘hibbity gibbity! everyone is having the same nightmare, gibbity jop!’ plot line has been played out in so many other stories, and fan fictions, and even the comics, that it took me a minute to realize that this show hasn’t done it before. But that’s FiM for ya, leave no generic trope unturned!
- Also, seriously, Lost sucks.
- The Tantabus
- What’s the etymology on this name? Anyone know?
- This seems like an awfully dramatic plotline for a mid-season episode. We don’t usually see too many threats to all of Equestria outside of the two-parters.
- ‘As you six slumber here, I will pursue the creature into whichever of your dreams it infests.’
- Anyone else feel like Luna has been sort of lame ever since Luna Eclipsed? It’s cool seeing her do all her dream stuff, but it feels like she doesn’t have any character anymore. She’s turned into ‘generic magical princess in charge.’ She was interesting when she was struggling to find herself in a much-changed and somewhat-hostile world, when she had a personality and personal obstacles to overcome. Now she’s just kind of.. blah blah blah princessy this and that blah blah i do dream stuff blah blah also im blue and celestia is pink so we’re definitely really different blah bah blah.
- With that said, this is a cool, if a bit generic, concept for an episode. Dream walking is cool, and episodes dealing with playing around in character’s dreams are always good fun.
- Also, these ponies have some serous nasal congestion issues. Listen to all that snoring!
This is a screen cap of an apple pie.
- ‘Forget avant garde! I should have said en garde!’
- Wow. I… just have no words…
- Rarity’s dream
- Right away, I’m seeing what I expect is going to be this episode’s big problem. Dream walking through different characters’ dreams has the potential to be really cool, but this episode simply doesn’t have the time needed to do all the necessary set-up and then explore all six of the characters’ dreams. Rarity’s dream feels tame and boring, and ends too quickly to ever become really interesting.
- Same with Pinkie. What should have been the most silly and fun dream, ends up being the most boring.
This is a screen cap of wasted potential.
- ‘It’s so fun being the pet for once!’
- blah blah some joke about writing a saucy fanfic in which Fluttershy gets to be the pet for once blah blah
- And Applejack’s is just a giant apple?
- Like, come on! Did the staff have a meeting where they brainstormed what all the least creative possible dreams could be?
- Rainbow Dash’s is funny, though.
- And then Twilight dreams about sitting around in a library. Meh.
This is a screen cap of pure laziness.
- The shared dream is a lot more fun, largely because it gets so much more time to be developed and the staff let themselves be more creative with what the characters got to do in the dream. All of Ponyville working together is cool, and Luna’s confession of creating the Tantabus is genuinely interesting (if a bit on the angsty teenager side of drama). But the first half is so boring and it’s dug itself such a hole by this point, there's not much the episode can do to salvage itself.
- Conclusion
- Don't have much to say about this one. Didn't enjoy it much. It runs into this show’s age old enemy--pacing. The beginning is slow and it doesn’t have enough time to make good use of its excellent concept. The ending was cute though.
This is a screen cap of whatever.
Incidentally, I swear I've seen the final scene of the episode in a piece of fan art before.
I agree with your overall analysis though; okay if generic idea, lousy execution because "Hey, we gotta throw in all the characters!"
This was an issue with some episodes in season 4, and I'm sad to see it back again, as it tends to make the characters very flat.
Not the same spelling, but "tantibus" is the Latin word for "nightmare".
And I heard that this will be the last episode of the season until the next half continues later this year, so it might have been planned as a more dramatic sendoff of sorts.
Was kinda waiting for them to end up in Squidward's dream so they could hear him play Neutral Milk Hotel on his clarinet. Also, I think Luna's always been a bit lame mostly because she's always being cast into the same role like you were talking about.
Yeah, "wasted potential" pretty much encapsulates my opinion of this episode.
The bland characterization, the dumb, random references...for me, this was this season's Rainbow Falls. Not as low on my list as Rainbow Falls, mind you, but many of the same problems in my mind.
With that said, I've gathered I'm in the extreme minority on this one.
Oh well.