What I Thought About "Winter Wrap Up" · 8:04am Sep 28th, 2015
Episode Review
Great, now that song is gonna be stuck in my head all day.
So we start out with Twilight getting up early in the morning and being super adorable. And, hoo boy, there's a whole lot to discuss in just this first scene alone. Where to start... how about with...
BOOTS! She's wearing boots! Boots are awesome! Yeah boots!
Also, that's a nice painting.
Ahem. Anyway, there's the classic bit about Granny Smith being "hundreds of years" old, since she was around when Ponyville was founded. There's the fact that she stepped outside and there was no snow to be found, yet it's the middle of winter and there's snow everywhere just hours later and she ditched her awesome boots and saddle. Though, that's actually plausible if they just dumped a ton of snow (weather management), but I dunno why they'd do that if winter is about to end. Then we've got Spike saying that Twi isn't his mommy, which makes me wonder what he thinks his mommy looks like. Hmm. Maybe it was Celestia.
But let's talk about something else: why do they have winter? Like, for real, what's the purpose? Is it because the animals are adapted to winter and need it (like a certain hibernating tortoise)? They'd only be adapted to winter because the ponies make it, so why'd they make it in the first place? Winter fun? Where'd they learn about snow to know you can make snowponies and stuff? Mountains? Wendigoes? That seems like an awful lot of trouble just for snowball fights. Did they once have Earth-like weather, something screwed it up, and now they have to run the weather themselves? Possible, but evidence suggests it wasn't Discord; the pegasi managed weather before Equestria was founded as a nation, and that stage play made zero mention of Celestia and Luna, who were there during Discord's first known reign.
Whatever. Lemme know if I'm missing something. Moving on.
Hey hey, look at that: Amethyst Star is leading a team. I wonder if that was a happy coincidence, or they really put that much thought and pre-episode research into Slice of Life. Either way, it's neat.
Man, Spike is awesome in this. It's too bad he lost his initial role and now gets relegated to retread episodes about him being a screw-up. I'd so love to see the show staff do something with him. It's not that hard to think of something for him to do. Everyone calls him a baby, but he's way more mature than any toddler. At least he was great in the first Equestria Girls movie.
... that song. Sweet Cadance's tiara, that song. Every time I hear it, I just feel electric, man. This was, like, the first time we got a really good song in the show. We got some Pinkie stuff and a few little jingles, sure, but this was a full song. I don't really know what can be said about it that hasn't already. It's an awesome song, everybody knows it, 'nuff said.
Hey, I just realized that Twilight can help the weather team during the next winter wrap up. 'Cause, y'know, the wings and all that.
Something I didn't really think about before, but the ponies really move a lot. Like, in some cartoons, there's barely any movement during conversations. The characters will just stand still, their mouths will move, and sound comes out. But even in this brief segment where Twilight tries to help Rarity make nests, there's movement everywhere. The ponies are constantly shifting and twitching and turning and nodding and whatnot. Just makes it feel more alive. Probably one of the reasons why I liked the show in the first place.
Also, Spike is awesome in this scene.
Now that's an interesting expression, there, Shy. For some reason that I can't identify, it makes me think of the original Rayman game. Dunno why.
I always thought the tomato sauce bath was a nice touch, since, y'know, she got sprayed by skunks. I've heard that remedy doesn't actually work and it's just a myth, but hey, maybe it works just in Equestria. Twi straight-up isn't the kind who believes in such myths, as Bridle Gossip taught us, so it must work, right?
"I'm gonna find some other way to help out if it kills me."
... whoa. I did not remember that line. But hey, we've got another mention of death in the show, so that's neat. The whole "cartoons never say die" thing always kinda annoyed me a little bit, so it's refreshing to see kid shows that aren't afraid of that. Though, this show still doesn't confront it and more pokes at it with a stick from a safe distance. I'd also like to make an aside about how blindly following tradition for tradition's sake is something I don't think too highly of, but if it doesn't hurt anypony and they get the job done then I've got no real reason to complain. Carry on, Ponyville.
This is one of those times when I question if the characters can see unicorn magic auras, or if it's just a visual cue for the audience. It doesn't look like Applejack and the others can see it, but it looks like Spike sees the magic and thus makes his comment about Twi following his advice. I'm confused. Maybe 'cause he's a dragon? Also, AJ sure seems magiphobic in that scene.
Though she does look genuinely sorry when Twilight runs off crying, so I'm guessing she just got a bit heated in the moment and didn't mean to hurt her feelings so. Twi did accidentally ruin a ton of progress, after all.
Also, Spike is a jerk in this scene.
Wow, late three years in a row? I guess Amethyst wasn't such a great planner. Or maybe it's The Mayor's fault, since Amethyst was just running the animal team. Hmm. Whom to blame...
The Mayor it is!
I bet Caramel ate the grass seeds. Accidentally lose them once? Okay. Accidentally lose them twice? Yeah, right.
"Ditzy Doo accidentally went north to get the southern birds."
You know, before this moment, we saw Derpy. Then we didn't see her for a while, aside from recolors, and she doesn't show up until winter wrap-up is complete. Coincidence? Well, maybe not at the time, but it is now, I guess.
Also, I like how Twilight apologized to the bird she used as a whistle. Nice touch.
So yeah. Uh, awesome episode. Had no problems that I noticed. Some complain about Spike being left on that tiny ice floe and bein' all, "He could've drowned! They're horrible ponies!" To which I reply with a shrug, "It was just a joke in a cartoon." We've seen ponies withstand way worse than that and be fine, and Spike is a dragon. Pretty sure he'd be okay, and that the others wouldn't let him drown, especially Fluttershy.
Moral is good. Pacing seems good. Song was great. Lots of palette swaps to make new background ponies and some animation errors, but the show was still in its first season, so I give that sort of thing some leniency. 9.5/10. Can't think of anything bad to say about it aside from the entire winter concept not making sense and the errors in animation and continuity. At least it's neat world building, though. Most excellent.
P.S.: I am going to give my thoughts on the latest movie, but not for a while yet. Gonna write up reports on the first two movies, then the third, and then my overall thoughts on the trilogy so far and how it all fits together. Gonna wait a week or two so people can watch the movie first, because spoilers are gonna be a thing for sure.
This episode is special to me because it's literally the first episode I ever watched. I remember sitting down one day, seeing it about to start playing on the TV, no one else was home, and thinking, "Alright, let's get this over with and see what this pony thing is all about."
That song, geez. It's, like, the most classic FiM song to me.
Sure is handy that I looked up this thread literally two hours ago.
Can't identify that feeling either, but can say you got the thought stuck in my head. (2 and 3 were much fun too.)
As for the 'kill', I think the fact that it's more of just an expression rather than the actual concept that let it through. Because the verbal gymnastics in 'Wonderbolts Academy' showed what happens when it is about the concept.
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I've heard it said that this is among the best episodes to show to new people, because it really showcases the best the show has to offer. I'm inclined to agree, and it must have been a wonderful starting point.
Hmm. Interesting thread, there. Equestria must have once had natural winter that they must keep up, I guess. Seems to make the most sense. I'd say I'm seriously overthinking this cartoon, but I'm a fanfic writer; it's my job to understand as much about the world as possible so I can properly write about it.
I only ever really played the first Rayman, but I loved it. Really and unique cool art style, as well as gameplay. Classic.
And we had the expression "beating a dead tree". We get a few hints now and then, like that one brief shot of what looked like a funeral, but not much else. Sorta bugs me, but the show has been seeming to get more mature, so maybe it can deal with such stuff later. It already sorta did in Tanks for the Memories, so I guess I'll just be happy with that for now. No show is perfect, after all.
My first thought: is the blue pony from this picture:
i.imgur.com/XwapxLu.png
Archer's father?
Also, magic auras were so pale back then... Also, I'm pretty sure they can be seen by other ponies: see the CMC's confused reaction in Lesson Zero when Twilight teleported inside of their ball (it lasted a while before she did), not to mention that in a couple of episodes we had unicorns using their horns as a source of light.
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Noteworthy? Also, he was a cyclops for a second, once.
The light spells we've seen looked to be just that: spells, with light nodes from the tip of the horn and not just regular glow. And the ball wasn't just coated in aura, it was expanding and exploding. I'd be confused by my beach ball doing that, too. And nobody noticed that Fake!Cadance's magic was a wildly different color, even her fiancé. And nopony noticed that Trixie's amulet magic was a different color. And nobody noticed the aura when Twilight was controlling Fluttershy as a model. And there was no aura pulling the curtains down when we were following Pinkie on the train, only showing the aura on Rarity's horn as we were being told that it was magic. See why I'm confused, yet?
Animals aside, without winter the soil for crops wouldn't be able to heal up and just yield horrible crops. There is only so much you can till in a field and harvest before the ground becomes infertile. It's agriculturally needed unless you just wanted to heat exclusively hot climate weather fruits. Wheats and other grains would be impossible to grow without the needed cycle. But potatos can and do grow in the snow quite well, though. So not like they'd starve.
I knew all that early morning agricultural news watching in the early mornings before my Saturday morning cartoon kicked in would pay off some day. ;3
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True, but then where did the plants that needed a cycle come from before they started the winter cycle? It's like, they need winter because the plants need winter, but the plants that need winters wouldn't be there if they didn't have winters already. I need to find an end to this logic loop, somewhere.
Earth ponies have a nasty history of being persecuted over the centuries by racist unicorns and probably to a slightly lesser extent the pegasi. Imagine being told you have to give all your crops over to the superior race or they'd leave you buried in darkness? Pegasi leaving you in perpetual winter or just telling them they will give them winter but they'd not help in clearing it? Or maybe both tribes would wwork together towards the food ends of such things but the unicorns would come along and refuse to help or show off to both tribes about how much more superior their magic is and how they can't do winter wrap up without their aid?
You know, before one year the earth ponies, and possible some pegasi, did Winter Wrap Up without the aid of magic and thus managed to save more food for their foals and mares. Probably kept up that tradition for one part to prove to themselves and the unicorn tribes that earth ponies were strong, respectable, and resilient who are more than capable of doing just fine without pompous magics.
I am honestly amazed Twilight didn't run into more magic fearing or unicorn hating earth ponies in an all earth pony town. Unicorns were massive a-holes for a lot time it seems.
AJ was probably raised with such earth pony spirit motivating stories and why forbidding magic is important to their kind. Tradition that probably evolved over the years as more pegasi moved to town, and seeing how most unicorns in these more modern times can do no more than basic levitation spells and stuff specific to their talents, many who live there probably don't see themselves as any different from the earth pony friends they live with and thus respect the towns ponies' traditions without question. Makes me wonder when and how far back these tribes intermingling started. I can see some earth pony mares giving in to unicorns for a better life or maybe bonding more over time with some of the lesser pegasi who grew closer to the earth ponies and found no shame to mating with an earth pony?
Why am I only thinking all this? Because I love ponies too much I guess. --_--
That or because I woke up too damn early in the morning again and my typical trademark ramblings never cease until I drink copious amounts of coffee. I guess we'll never know!
3446756 That can be explained further into the series with Family Appreciation Day in Granny Smith's flash back. She came from a long line of earth ponies and their trade was seeking out any and all types of seeds to sell and grow. I imagine this trait is what made earth ponies so essential to both tribes who have no knowledge or connection to the earth to know how to gather the seeds and get them to grow.
Hope that helps your logic cycle. After all, even in Hearth Warming it's always been the earth ponies whose suffered under two types of tyrannies. Left with barely enough to get themselves by, thus having to work harder and expand their knowledge and foods in some way. Maybe some foods became extinct in those areas and only due to the nature of some of the traveling herds of earth ponies were they able to recover rare seeds.
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Except the problem remains. Unless the Apple family traveled to areas where winter was already a thing, they wouldn't find the seeds from the plants that only thrive there, which would mean winter was already happening somewhere. Maybe there are more uncontrolled areas where weather just does what it wants.
I'm gonna stop thinking about this now, though, because it's led me to a better question: who raised the sun before the unicorns could do it? I don't think I'm going to ever find proper answers to questions like this.
3446779 I like to believe that their world was dying, some big event happened and forces had to intervene. Since those days it's been a special responsibility to the line that came later from those who saved the world from their now broken cycle. Equestria is technically on the brink of destruction every single day. At least until someone comes up with a way to fix the natural cycle.
Hell, I'm pretty sure the reason no one wars against Equestria is solely because without Celestia or those unicorns with the knowledge and power to connect to the sun, which we've seen already on what happens when Celestia gets kidnapped and Twilight was given her powers to hide from Tirek, it's very much in everyone's interests to ensure Equestria remains safe and peaceful.
Rest of the world? Not so safe. War hungry. Greedy. But save for the likes of Aquizoto or whatever he's called that gets foiled by Darng Do, and those insane enough like Nightmare Moon, no one is really that stupid to risk their own lives unless they could somehow procure the ability to take Celestia's rights over the sun and make themselves exclusive rulers of their dying system.
Fuck. MLP is grim as hell X_X
3446779 Another theory was that those in Celestia's line probably took over the sun and held it hostage in order to prevent wars.
You know, cause that worked so well apparently until Celestia rose to power. ^^;