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Prane


Aspiring writer, self-proclaimed hardcore gamer, adept of human psychology. Does not consider excessive pride for a vice.

More Blog Posts97

Oct
23rd
2015

061 Frenemies Talk: The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows feat. Luminary and Skeeter The Lurker · 5:12pm Oct 23rd, 2015

061 Frenemies Talk: The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows feat. Luminary and Skeeter The Lurker

What's that? A third post in five days? What am I, a blogger? Well, not really. A real blogger would keep the schedule, and he would most certainly not procrastinate with posting the review until but one day before the day another episode airs. I blame, uh, the launch of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, and my new story that got much warmer reception than I had anticipated (fun fact: I got the idea for it the moment I mentioned Tangled in the review below!). You're welcome to check The Royal Daughter if you so desire.

What about the review? Old faces this time, but awesome nonetheless! Join me, Gulheru, Lumie, and Skeeter as we talk about Pinkie Pie and her antics, the possible use/misuse of the unborn heir in the show, the episode's writer in her debut, and a bunch of random stuff we enjoyed about the 22-minute dose of pony.

Spoilers to S05EP18 below the break!


"You reward my loyalty with cake? Bah! I want to be a godmother and hold your baby for the photos, or else I'll tell everyone your OTHER secret!"

Prane: You’d think that an episode with ‘Pinkie Pie’ in its title would be about Pinkie Pie, but you would be wrong, because if that was the case, the things would be just too easy. Cadance and Shining Armor, then? They are mentioned in the synopsis, after all, so where are those cool establishing shots of the Crystal Empire? Nowhere? Aw, that’s unfortunate. The answer is hidden in plain sight, probably, so let’s take a step back to get the bigger picture. It’s ‘Friendship is Magic’, so it’s bound to be about witchcraft and interpersonal bonds! Nope? Well, what’s left, then? The very name of the franchise, ‘My Little Pony’? What’s that got to do with—ooooh!

So that’s what this episode was all about: a pony so little she can fit inside another pony without cruelly warping the flawless figure of the host (note to self: find some better words to describe someone’s pregnancy in case of real-life occurrences thereof), but also important enough to get her own toy already! Skyla, I believe? It has a nice ring to it. As for Cadance and Shining Armor, I have to say I’m happy for them, but my joy goes beyond the expected ‘they’re having a baby, go future parents, yay!’. Since the story given in the show is never enough for me (I wouldn’t be writing myself if it was, now would I?), what I’m actually happy about is that thanks to that one of the few official couples, I know for sure that the life in Equestria will go on for many, many years to come thanks to the most tangible legacy there can be: the legacy in form of the children of those we know today.

How about you? Did the big news affected you, or not so much? Any ruined headcanons, any new ideas for stories rising from the ashes? Discuss!

Skeeter The Lurker: Uuuuuuughhhhhh… I wanted to like this. I really, really did. See, I had the chance to meet the writer of this episode, G M Barrow herself, and she was just so excited about it. Worse part is, I don’t think it was her fault at all.

She did well enough with the job, to be sure! And to think this was her very first episode too. I’ll chalk the oddness to her just testing the waters and whatnot. Not to mention to be the one allowed to announce the baby! Quite the honor, I’d suspect.

But that’s my issue. I do not believe Shining and Cadence having a foal was in any way, shape, or form needed. It all feels as awkward as, say, using half & half in your cereal. Yeah you can keep eating, but it’s gonna taste weird.

Luminary: I am in shock. The sort of shock that can only come from being surprised by the complete lack of surprise one feels. The fact that we’ve had Skyla toys lurking around the fandom for, like, years has made the idea of a little foal for Cadance and Shining into something old hand. Canon has finally caught up with the merchandise department.

Also, my hand has a strange itch. It wants to make a down-payment on the facepalms over the fandom drama-explosion if the foal turns out to be an alicorn.

For the episode itself? I was a liiiiiiittle disappointed. It wasn’t terrible or any such thing, and it had its good moments. But the actual main focuses fell flat. To start, the news came sooner than I expected, almost instantly, and so there was zero emotional buildup to it. A narrative surprise always feels a little underwhelming to me when right before the credits, since it’s entirely expected that there will be a surprise there.

But more than that, I’m with Dash. I know the bar is set pretty high, but Pinkie was acting so much weirder than usual. I don’t mind Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, but at some point, with some writers, it stops feeling like she’s making gags, and has become the gag. And for me, that happened this episode. She stopped being a Friendship is Magic character and edged toward being a Looney Tunes character from the seventies. And it’s not really my favorite place to be with Pinkie Pie.

Gulheru: I have to say, I am actually rather happy for Shining Armor and Cadance. I mean, it is a fulfillment of certain, marital aspirations, to have a child. And, to be fair, I am only surprised that we had to wait so long for the big news… Of course, I do not wish to make myself sound too malicious when it comes to, oh, I don’t know, Shining Armor’s... performance. That would be ungentlemanly of me right?

Back to the topic, though, I have found the episode to be rather enjoyable. It mixed adorableness with that certain pinch of chaos and energy that Pinkie Pie is bringing to the show. And, while the premise I have found to be ridiculously over the top, I was really joyous afterwards. I mean, it is wonderful that the world in the show is constantly changing, growing, expanding. Now we have a future member of the “royal club” coming. And, as a supporter of monarchies in both MLP-verse and real world, I can only congratulate the lovely couple. And the entirety of the Crystal Empire. The Heir is coming!

Foal Free Press: Fluttershy's tail extensions have gained awareness! Is the era of Tail-overlords nigh? Gabby Gums is on the case!

Skeeter The Lurker: Let’s talk about the newcomer to the show staff, hmm? Let’s talk about G M Barrow.

How do you think she did with this? I said before, the episode wasn’t one I cared for, but not because of her. Instead, I think she’ll work quite well with the current people. Hell, I rather enjoyed how she wrote Pinkie in this one. Same goes for Shining with his scenes.

And despite the fact that the plot was… Meh (unneeded baby!), I do believe she did an admirable job of doing it justice. There were a few odd spots, but on the whole, I’m willing to chalk it up to her just testing the waters and cutter her teeth. This was, if I recall right, her very first episode for any TV show (I may be mistaken, though.)

Luminary: I can’t say I ever really pay attention to who writes what. I’m sure that’s blasphemous for an amateur writer, and more or less makes me worse than any historical villain one might care to name. But I will say that Pinkie episodes are one of the things that make me most cognisant of the fact that FiM has a multitude of very different writers. Pinkie’s manner, personality and especially humor-level varies wildly based on the writer, far more so than any other character.

I don’t think my opinion is fundamentally different, however. Despite Pinkie being a little… too Pinkie (as seems to often be the case with newer writers), it wasn’t anything like Filli Vanilli, where it was just offensive. And I get the impression that Barrow actually likes the show, and the characters. There were just too many tiny moments and scenes that look like they would have hearts doodled into the margins of the script. Each a little love note to the various main characters. And I think that counts for a whole heck of a lot. It’s the difference between having an episode full of fun little tidbits and character moments, and having an episode that’s phoned in, and feels like it could be in any other series. So I think she’ll do fine.

Hopefully they keep her away from more serious subject matter, though. Because yikes, she has a mean streak. Crystal Heart Spell has some nasty points that sound like they should come from a darkfic writer. No horning in on my territory!

Gulheru: I honestly believe that Mrs. Barrow performed well in her task. She gave us an enjoyable episode, dealing with a rather important event for the future of Equestria (somewhat in accordance with her work on the MLP chapter books, which I think Prane might point out…).

And I agree with Skeeter, I do believe she wishes to be cautious at first. Friendship is Magic has already established a name for itself and most of the episodes are meeting pretty high expectations of the fandom, so I do not blame her for giving us a “demo” of her abilities for now. And, even though this was her first episode, I believe she already did better than some of the others this season (I’m looking at you, Dave Polsky!).

I shall be expecting to enjoy seeing more of her work. Perhaps she could continue the plot concerning the Heir of the Crystal Empire, may Her future rule be prosperous...

Oh, I’ve already mentioned being a monarchist, right?

Prane: Gillian’s IMDb page says she worked on several TV series as production secretary and coordination assistant, but this MLP opportunity was indeed the first time she’s been was tasked with writing an episode. However, she was in no way alien to the show, having written a lot of the MLP chapter books, like Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell or Equestria Girls: Through the Mirror. Obviously, for us fanfiction writers, someone like her is a sworn enemy, because unlike us, she can actually sell her headcanons to other people, but what’s important is that she’s done her homework and has the idea on how the characters from the show should behave. The result? A really good episode. Nothing groundbreaking, but still better than your average filler.

I should note that I have a hard time liking Pinkie Pie, because sometimes she’s written as an obnoxious, random, and thus unfunny comic relief that is shoved down our throats just because a scene demands her to have some sort of a spoken like. I’m happy to say that Gillian’s portrayal of Pinkie worked great for me, and I was actually enjoying, rather than dreading, her antics.

This one I dedicate to a friend of mine who got married recently. Try not to change too much, buddy!

Luminary: For all I might whine about Pinkie’s especially over-the-top antics, it’s absolutely impossible to deny that this episode gives us perhaps the clearest picture of the activity of Pinkius Pieicus in her natural habitat. Considering that FiM is, in part, a Slice of Life show, we don’t actually see a lot of what ponies do in their day-to-day lives, save for when we casually run across them kicking an apple tree (again) or reshelving books (again) in the course of their usual employment.

She delivers sweets, she mans (mares?) school fairs, she does unspeakable things using wacky arm-flailing inflatable tube mares, she bakes, she’s the de facto town administrator, and she’s the mare that keeps the Ponyville Health Inspector in business by allowing alligators to play in food she prepares, thus causing an unprecedented salmonella outbreak, hospitalizing twelve. There is nothing she can’t do! Nothing, you hear me!?

Surprisingly enough, it gives us a glimmer of insight into Shining Armor as well, maybe giving a hint of plausibility to the comic-version of geeky-Shining, with ant farms, books and comics galore.

So too was it rich in delicious callbacks, with ‘FOREVER!’, Fluttershy-and-Discord-esque Anxiety Delusions and our little bundle of pink chaos being an organizational genius.

Surprisingly enough, what I most enjoyed were the little moments with the non-Pinkie cast. Little things like Rarity calling Pinkie ‘Miss Pie’, Dash lampshading the insanity, and bookhorse looking for her Twilight-treats for doing her tricks well. The episode really nailed a lot of the characters being the characters we love, for me, in the small ways.

As much as the ultimate subject was the baby, the episode most certainly didn’t focus on it. It was a tale told of Pinkie and Co. So putting aside the new Royal Spawn, any favorite scenes or bits of canonical information from our regular cast? Any face-palm-inducing moments, as your story about Fluttershy becoming the beloved God-Queen of the Ants was ruined forever?

Gulheru: To be honest, any Pinkie Pie episode invokes the desire for me to perpetually keep my palm on my face. I am not a ginormous fan of her, although I have to admit that she grew on me. Which says a lot. I usually do not give silly characters second chances. For example, next time I shall be subjected to Snips and Snails, I might actually rip apart reality to smack them on their stupid gobs…

But let me get back to the episode, I do not want to end up a sour-faced critic that I am in real life, right?

I think my favorite part was actually watching Pinkie deal with the inner pressure. I mean, it was overdone, but I enjoyed it. I hope it is not because of my inner desire to see others suffer. I have to say, I actually felt empathy towards her. She is clearly one to shout and scream, not keep secrets. And so her struggle (although not as heroic as some are) spoke to me. It was in the name of Friendship after all.

One thing that bugged me - if she wanted to hide from other ponies at one point, why did she not think about her PinkieCave? You know, the one where she stores information on all of the ponies that she knows… (Oh, remind me to try and break in there at one point.)

And when it comes to Pinkie’s occupation in Ponyville… I am pretty certain she is allowed to do what she wants to somehow spend her constantly rising energy levels. If keeping a secret was so hard for her, imagine if she were to be stuck with a singular, mundane job in the town.

I tell you, after three days max, Ponyville would be nothing but a smoking crater. With frosting on the edges.

Prane: Favorite scenes? I have to say the ones with Mayor Mare. Ever since I read Blackacre (go read that, people, it’s one of those huge effort/small recognition fics!) I can’t think of her as just another secondary character. Among other things, the author gave her an interesting past, overall background, family ties, own political struggles, even proper name! In short, everything that the show is unlikely to provide (especially since the CMC episode snatched the elections theme, and all dignitaries have to be welcomed and attended to by Twilight and company). Even if Mayor Mare isn’t, not she will ever be my favorite character to write or read about, I’m glad that we’ve had some of her in this episode. Her saddened sigh after she failed to get the secret out of Pinkie was heartbreaking, but her excitement later on was anything but. Also: yes. This is yet another instance when a fictional politician is making me bat an eye, as opposed to all the real world ones.

Nerdy Shining was great, though I’m still waiting for their world’s Dungeons & Dragons (Ogres & O-somethings) to appear in the show. Give me a background gag, damnit! Give me some ponies rolling them d20s! Also, the balloon scene cracked me up. The first couple of kids got some pretty complex designs, like a bunny, giraffe, flamingo (Sweetie Belle and flamingos… there’s got to be a story behind that!), but Apple Bloom asks and gets a sausage blimp. Uh, I meant a goldfish. That was totally a goldfish. For the record, if I was there, I’d probably asked for a balloon griffon. Because why not!

Skeeter The Lurker: Pinkie was the star of the show, but Mayor Mare and Shining stole the show. All of her interactions were amazing. Plus we get to see more into the life of her, which is always nice. Seeing such characters get backstories that actually are awesome is something you don’t see often.

And how can we forget Shining? That freak out in the room? I had to pause the episode so I could calm down laughing! It was quite nice to see him go nerdy, true enough. Instead of the D&D equivalent, why not an episode with him teaching the Mane 6 how to play? A la Yu-Gi-Oh style with Yugi and (what was his name? Backura?) face off around the gigantic model he built of Egypt. (It was in the manga! Which was good! Don’t judge me!)

One can hope, heh.

Poor Mayor Mare. She'd like to be a gossip girl, but hardly anypony shares their secret with her.

Gulheru: Ah, my turn, delightful. Let me bring a little bit of shadow to this positive episode. Do not judge me, life is both light and dark, not to mention all of the shades in between. But people tend to forget about the more cimmerian aspects of reality. What a shame.

So, let us get things straight. There shall be a newborn coming at some point during future episodes. An innocent, feeble angel, an Heir to the Empire, loved and cared for by the parents, who shall be, indubitably, all kinds of busy around raising their firstborn. And such a moment can be interpreted in a particular way by a mind and heart tainted by corruption. Not only mine, that is...

It’s an opportunity to strike.

We have characters around who would without a shadow of a doubt be keen on revenge against both Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Most notably Queen Chrysalis, who we can expect to be still alive, and King Sombra, who might as well return (because being dead is ridiculously boring, trust me). And so, I wish to present a question. Do you believe that there could be a possibility for a villain to use this occasion to make their move? Let’s say kidnapping the child to have a leverage. Or would that be too dark for our mostly-innocent show?

Or perhaps it is Skyla’s destiny to become a vanquisher of evildoers as a mere toddler. I would not be surprised really…

Your thoughts?

Prane: Yup, that’s totally what the next season opener will be about! I don’t think that kidnapping someone is too dark for the show, based on the following: we’ve dealt with such thing before (A Dog and Pony Show), the movies addressed to children are not afraid to include such a subject (Tangled), and the target demographic has grown older since day one and therefore can tackle different, often more complex issues now. It would also be an excellent opportunity to revisit the Crystal Empire, delve deeper into the characters of Shining Armor and Cadance, and bring back some old faces you mentioned.

I’m putting my bits on Queen Chrysalis. I imagine the cold opening in which we’re seeing her transforming multiple times as she infiltrates the castle fooling everyone, including Cadance and Shining Armor, only to reach Skyla at the end of her path. She kidnaps her, zoom in, malicious smile, fade to black. The opening song comes next, and we’re off to the races. I’d like, however, for Chrysalis’ intentions to be left unclear throughout the episode. All the characters will think that she’s doing it for revenge, but there will be actually more to it, probably something related to helping her subjects because Skyla’s something special in terms of providing love energy.

Saving Princess Skyla would require her parents and Twi-Aunt to go into where the changelings live, and infiltrate their homeland, reversing the roles! Heh, I’m liking this idea! I guess I’ll just wait for Hasbro to call me and ask to write the episode.

Skeeter The Lurker: There damn well better be! I’ll keep spouting it as much as I need to drive it home. Them having a child feels pointless to me.

That said, I do hope they have a good plan for this. And I hope they actually take the time to make it work and not just ham fist some cliche’d BS a la MMC. Which, while decent and did the job, could have been done slightly better.

Actually. You know what I’d like to see? If they are going to do this, then they should make it memorial! Last episode had the CMC get their marks. Why not tie that in with the birth of this new child, hm? Make her an alicorn and have the CMC babysit hit often! The power of an untrained god/goddess in the hands (oh fine, hooves) of three most powerful trouble magnets.

...Yeah. Yeah I like that.

Luminary: I’m sure as heck hoping she gets some adventure story love. I’m not sure how much I’m expecting it, but it would certainly be nicer than the Baby Cakes Redux building up into a roiling ball of dread in my stomach.

I’ll be rather disappointed if born alicorns become a thing. Twilight and Cadance won it by virtue and enlightenment. Celestia and Luna are seemingly unique. I’m a fan of alicorns, but it being reduced to a gene you can switch on just feels so much less… magical. So much less epic. But if it does happen, I absolutely think it should be leveraged, and leveraged hard for as much edge-of-the-seat (non-fandom) drama as is possible.

And villains stealing her for revenge and as the world’s most helpless magic battery is a great way to do that while she’s all tiny and otherwise useless. Bonus points on not ending with a magical love explosion that shows how super-special the baby is, when the villain knocks out her favorite foalsitter.

...Though I really am just expecting ‘Baby Cakes 2: Three Mares and a Foalicorn’ in our future.

But hey, if they ever do that CMC spinoff show, they’ll have a ready-made guest character, a la the current royals. And maybe they’ll all get to have some family-friendly sandworm-slaughtering bonding moments like Cadance and Twilight!


Your panelists for today (drop by their profiles/stories/blogs and say hello!):
- Gulheru
- Luminary
- Skeeter The Lurker
- and yours truly.

I'm actively considering writing a sequel to The Royal Daughter. Hmm.

See you all next time!

~Prane

Comments ( 2 )

If the musing of it grabs you, go for it. But an interesting viewpoint none the less from folks.

You are all fucking idiots you know that? if you dislike the pink slut so much then get the fuck out of the fandom and stop watching the show you assholes! i am sure you all are dash fantards since all dash fans are fucking retarded and hate on any character who isn't their shitty ass waifu!

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