Shadow's Seasons: The One Where Pinkie Knows · 4:21pm Oct 17th, 2015
Hello there, this is Shadowmane PX-41, and welcome to the nineteenth episode in my Season 5 review series.
This time, we're looking at The One Where Pinkie Knows. Coming from the desk of G.M. Berrow herself.
From what's been established, it's pretty apparent that Pinkie Pie is terrible at keeping secrets. Mainly due to the fact that she's been one who loves to run her mouth and get other ponies to talk. This episode tackles the one thing she struggles with the most and treats it like an existential crisis.
The fandom pretty much got it on the nose; Shining Armour and Cadence are having a foal, and entrusted Pinkie Pie to keep it a secret from everyone else. I would say that this is a poor choice, but knowing from logical experience, it would be an even worse move to give the secret to Twilight, as she has the closest connections with her friends.
As time progresses, Pinkie Pie struggles more and more with trying to keep the secret safe. And this is made even harder for her with the subtle little hints that have been popping up left, right, and centre. I would give her credit for holding it in that long, but it just comes off as a nagging reminder that Pinkie Pie is horrible at secret keeping. Overall, it drags the plot out and makes it unappealing.
It also doesn't help that the Mane Six placed an even heavier burden on her by saying that being a blabbermouth will cause her to feel guilt. Now, I totally agree with what Dr Wolf said on his Canterlot Boutique review; there are some episodes from which the whole other members of the Mane Six could have been cut entirely, as they provide no aid whatsoever. This is one of those episodes. It's not helpful, shameful, and actually vilifies Pinkie's friends. I never thought I'd say that, but Pinkie's friends were just heartless in this episode.
Pinkie struggles further and further, eventually reaching breaking point, when finally Shining Armour and Cadence step in and try to further the plot and relieve her of her burdens. However, it comes in too little too late, and slows the plot down even further by taking the girls on a scavenger hunt. I can appreciate plot devices, but not when they come in too late. This is one of the main reasons why I'm not a fan of Lesson Zero, as Twilight gets her scheme during the final act, instead of the second.
But at long last, Pinkie Pie is relieved of her burdens with Shining Armour and Cadence giving the big reveal. And it was at this point that I had genuinely lost all interest in this episode. It comes in at literally the last minute, we knew it was coming, and it acted as a horrible torture porn climax.
This episode is atrocious; and that's just being kind. The humour is funny at times, but it keeps pushing the reminder that Pinkie Pie is horrible at keeping something secret. For this, it is forgiven, but it horribly falls short in story and rewatchability. I wouldn't recommend watching this episode again.
The One Where Pinkie Knows is a horrible episode that pushes Pinkie Pie to her limits without even trying. It's supposed to act as character development, but it just acts as a horrible way of reminding us something we already know is clear.
The humour is good, but given the horrible quality of the story, it takes up most of the focus in this episode. Despite there being some great jokes here and there, it does continuously remind us and Pinkie of what's happening, and makes it a terrible effort at constructing a worthwhile watch.
The characters in this episode were outside of what I could have imagined. None of them were any help, and only served to continuously make Pinkie Pie's day a misery. There were even times when I even lashed out at Pinkie's friends for pressurizing her. Yeah, something that I've never done before, raged at the Mane Six.
Overall, this episode doesn't deserve a spot on any best list, as it takes a bunch of missed shots and hits things we didn't want, need, or care for. This is one thing that most other episodes have tried to avoid, making them either decent, adored, or otherwise.
Still, the humour is worth your while at the very least. But if it's the only thing that you care about, then the chances are that this episode will disappoint you at any other given time. This is the one and only strong point of an episode that just collapsed under its' own weight, and is the only thing the fandom will be interested in if they rewatch this.
In truth, some secrets...
...Are better left forgotten...
3/10
Thank you very much for reading, and join me next week, when I'll be covering Hearthbreakers.
Until then, farewell...
Yeah, you're right. That scene where they all said "Come one, you can tell us. We're your friends, we won't judge you. You'll feel better if you let it out." That was so unbelievably heartless and cruel. How could they say such things?
3476857 It's kind of like Journey of the Spark; where all of the Mane Six lashed out at Twilight because she couldn't save the Archmage, allowing Discord and Chrysalis to break her and abandon her friends altogether...
And on a side note, we already had a scene like that:
i.ytimg.com/vi/ACi5yg9YJrw/maxresdefault.jpg
3476874 . . . . . What?
3476888 It was an audio story. Initially going to be an animation, but downgraded because of unexplained reasons...
3476892 I see. Never heard of that. But my point was, you might be a little harsh on this episode. Just saying . . . .
3476895 It's alright. I'm usually a calm analyst. Even with episodes like Somepony to Watch Over Me, and Party Pooped, I was able to keep a level head...
3476897 What did you find bad about Party Pooped? Aside from the yaks, which I wouldn't blame you for.
3477516 I didn't like how Pinkie Pie's trip was all for nothing, how nothing Twilight did worked, and how the humour fell short in pretty much every juncture. I'll leave a link to the review of that episode if you'd like: http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/504568/shadows-seasons-party-pooped
3477523 Nah, that's okay. Nothing personal, it's just that bad reviews upset me.