Season Two Overview (Part One) · 11:40pm Feb 16th, 2016
With season one, I didn’t like a lot of the episodes. Perhaps I was too harsh on that season. Yes, the way in which the characters acted in a lot of the episodes was terrible, but does that truly mean that those episodes deserve to be hated? Maybe not, seeing as how “hate” is probably too strong a word. I would just say that they weren’t as good as the other episodes in season one.
With that being said, I was hoping that season two would be better. The first season of any show is basically where the team making the show find their footing, find out what kind of tone they want the show to be set in, and what they can get away with. Season two is typically where things pick up in terms of the writing and characterization. Did the second season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic succeed in this endeavor? Let’s find out.
Episodes 1 &2–The Return of Harmony
There were a lot of problems with this premiere. The short version is that the premise itself is just off. And now, the long version. With the end of season one, we’d come to expect lighthearted, fun adventures with these cute, colorful little ponies. They get into various hijinks during their everyday lives and come out of said hijunks learning valuable life lessons. The first season was fun, exciting, funny, adventurous, and cute and bubbly. I say this because this premiere takes everything that made the first season great and tosses it out the window, all for the sake of being as dark as possible.
For one thing, the opening shows the Cutie Mark Crusaders acting out-of-character. For no reason whatsoever, they’re verbally attacking each other and beating the crap out of one another. Why? But that’s just a minor nitpick compared to the rest of this premiere. Let’s get into why this premiere sucked.
First of all, the Mane Six are called to Canterlot by Celestia as if they’re her own personal team of superheroes. Second of all, we’re introduced to the Equestrian equivalent of Loki and Celestia says he’s evil; therefore, he is. At least with the other villains you got to see how and why they were bad and why they needed to be stopped. For example, Gilda was given a chance to turn over a new leaf, but she still turned out mean and nasty. And Nightmare Moon was simply a ploy to free Luna from the Nightmare Forces. But with Discord, the poor guy isn’t given a chance to defend himself, not even a chance to see if he actually means any harm to anypony, before the Mane Six run off to go kick his ass. Seriously? These are the heroes we’re supposed to be rooting for, the kind of heroes who will sooner kick a villain’s ass instead of trying to talk them down? Give me a break, for crying out loud! I mean, it’s almost as if Discord is backed into a corner and forced to defend himself. In a show that preaches the Christian message of love and tolerance, this kind of behavior is just off-putting. It’s like these writers intentionally go out of their way to make you hate these characters.
When the Mane Six do get to the labyrinth, Discord challenges them to a game. Is it any wonder why I want to write a Saw-esque fanfic with him in the role of Jigsaw? They agree and venture into the maze, agreeing to meet up in the center. The first to get discorded is Applejack and it’s entirely her fault. It’s impossible to watch the scene and not think that she’s not being an idiot of epic proportions. First of all, she knows that Discord is a master of illusion, yet she believes a pile of talking apples as if they’re her friends. She doesn’t even consider the fact that talking apples might be untrustworthy or something Discord made. Keep in mind that she hasn’t been Discorded yet, so the only reason Applejack could be this big of an idiot to such an ungodly degree is if Applejack thought Discord wouldn’t be stupid enough to make a trap so obvious.
Out of all the Mane Six, Rarity is the only one who actually puts up a fight and tries to resist his temptations. The others just fall for his tricks hook, line, and sinker. And then there’s Fluttershy’s bit where we learn the sickening truth that Discord could have corrupted them easily just by touching them, but he didn’t do that just so he could screw around with them. Again, this guy would work very well in a Saw-esque fanfic.
The beginning of part two is really heart-wrenching for me. From a voice acting point of view, the whole thing feels natural; you never get the feeling that this coming from a script. This really is the way friends fight and it’d be the way they’d fight if they all just so happened to be bitches to each other. But from an audience point of view, I don’t want to see these friends fight. I like these characters a lot. If I hated them all (and that would be understandable given their actions in season one), it would be easier. I could just laugh at their plight. But since the writers have gone out of their way to make a cast of wonderful characters, I just wanted the writers to hurry up and make things better for them. Try to see where I’m coming from here. The last shot of the season one finale showed the group laughing together and right after that, we have to go to them beating the tar out of each other. And, yes, I understand that Twilight is frustrated and under a lot of stress at this point, but that still doesn’t make her taking her anger out on her friends any better.
The middle part of part two was severely rushed. The writers had the opportunity to make this a very emotionally-gripping scene, but instead it’s rushed for the sake of the plot. Furthermore, when the Mane Six face off against Discord, it could have an epic battle, but instead he gets blasted by the Rainbow of Light. The only good thing about this is the face he makes as he’s being turned to stone, the face that says, “I will return someday.” The most action we got in this episode was the Mane Six chasing Rainbow Dash to restore her to normal. Other than that, nothing.
I can’t help but feel relieved that this wasn’t the season one finale, which it should have been. This could have easily been the season one finale. All you would have to do is nix a couple of bad episodes. But, again, maybe it’s a good thing that this wasn’t the season one finale. Considering how consistent My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is with its writing, this was a big letdown. Not only that, but the complete genre shift that this two-parter does is not only off-putting, but it derails the characters and setting beyond belief to such an absurd level that it’s impossible for me to find any enjoyment out of it.
Episode 3–Lesson Zero
Like “The Return of Harmony,” the premise for this episode is so off that it harms the episode instead of helping it. Now, to be fair, I know a lot of people love this episode, so I’ll try not to step on too many toes. But, honestly, why do people like this episode?
For starters, Twilight realizes that she hasn’t sent a friendship report to Celestia this week. Okay, so let me get this straight. Twilight hasn’t solved some kind of crisis and hasn’t sent a friendship report as a result? Are you serious? She honestly expects Princess Celestia to have her go around looking for crazy stuff to solve every single week? What, pray tell, does she do in her spare time? Does she even have any? I don’t know, maybe the writers were poking fun at the fact that there was a “lesson of the week” formula to the first season, but the premise doesn’t work because the slice of life episodes are more or less self-contained, meaning that they’re not in any kind of chronological order and therefore, it’s impossible to know how much time has passed between the first season and this episode.
The next thing I’d like to complain about is the way Twilight and the other characters were characterized, or rather how they weren’t characterized. Literally every joke relies on the characters being flanderized beyond belief to the point where they’re caricatures of their former selves. (For example, Rarity’s constantly being a drama queen. Who the hell has a meltdown because they can’t find a diamond-encrusted blue ribbon? Seriously?) Either that, or the writers are making them do insane crap that makes it look like the writers are pandering to the bronies. (For example, Rainbow Dash “nuking” the barn and Fluttershy looking as if she’s snapping a bear’s neck.)
The reason why I enjoy this show so much is because of its witty writing and its lovable characters. This episode, on the other hand, would not look out of place if it was an episode of Invader Zim or Ren & Stimpy. (Fun fact: I never liked Ren & Stimpy because of its cheap, crass gross-out gags and there’s also the fact that my mother didn’t like me and my brother watching it.) This is not the cute, optimistic show that I’ve come to love. And don’t even get me started on the leaps in logic that the writers threw in. I mean, what are the odds that characters like Mayor Mare and Big Mac would be hanging out at the park at the exact same time as Twilight?
Speaking of that scene, I didn’t find “friendly Twilight” funny whatsoever. The way she behaved and the messed up facial expressions made her look like some kind of deranged serial killer, and the latter only brought up further memories of the opening sequence to Ren & Stimpy.
I don’t know if the writers were attempting to appeal to the bronies or what, but they have thankfully only tried this once more with the episode “Slice of Life” and that episode, despite the enormous amount of fan pandering, was a hell of a lot better than this episode. Honestly, the only good thing about this episode is that it’s a collection of every single mishap season two had: mishandled Aesops, character derailment, and forced/ascended memes all geared towards pandering to the brony crowd. Why the hell else would they show Fluttershy breaking a bear’s neck or Rainbow Dash nuking Applejack’s barn? I could go on and on. But considering that this episode had to be written in a year in advance, that means that this episode was still intended for its target demographic: children, and that’s horrific. This kind of crap may have been popular back in the ‘90s when we had shows like Ren & Stimpy and Rocko’s Modern Life, but, thankfully, this kind of crap is no longer popular.
Episode 4: Luna Eclipsed
I’ve already discussed why I hate this episode, thanks to Pinkie Pie, so I’ll try to keep this brief. As someone who’s autistic, I can really relate to Luna in this episode. When you’re autistic, your social skills are pretty much nonexistent, so it’s pretty hard to go out and make friends. (This is even harder when you live in the country and everyone you know is a family member who’s in their forties.) So, the writers succeeded in making me feel sorry for Luna. All she wanted to do was go into Ponyville, celebrate Nightmare Night with her subjects, and have a good time. Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie constantly ruined that.
However, Pinkie Pie shouldn’t be the only one singled out. Rainbow Dash was portrayed as being an insensitive jerk. She’s shown going around town scaring ponies with a storm cloud. Next thing you know, she’s going to get accused of murder using that method. Oh, wait . . .
Another problem with this episode is that the whole of Ponyville seems to have forgotten that Princess Luna is no longer Nightmare Moon, so why are they afraid of her? Only Twilight is the one who actually treated her decently, while everyone else acted as if she was going to eat them rather than try to be their friend. This bugs me because Luna made it perfectly clear when she arrived that she wished to have a good time with her subjects, so why are they all cowering in fear of her? It makes no sense.
What also doesn’t make any sense is Luna using the “Royal We” method of speaking. Celestia doesn’t use it, so why does Luna? This is further complicated by the fact that Celestia and Luna are practically the same age. Has Celestia taught her sister nothing of social etiquette since she’s been reformed? I don’t know. Seeing as how she’s the Princess of the Night, maybe Luna’s a night owl. She could be sleeping during the day while Celestia is up doing her royal duties. But, still, it’s not as if Luna is exactly devoid of books. I’m sure she gets bored during the night, so surely she would have cracked open a book or two to read about how Equestria has changed over the past thousand years. She’s had more than enough time to get used to any changes that may have occurred.
The fact that Nightmare Night exists at all bugs the crap out of me. You’d figure as her sister, Celestia would want all remembrance of Nightmare Moon to be wiped clean. I mean, for crying out loud, the first thing Celestia does when Luna is reformed is hug her, welcome her back into the family, and then she puts on a huge celebration for her. And yet she knows about this holiday, one that does nothing but turn her sister, her own flesh and blood, into a boogeypony who eats children. She’s known about this for a thousand years. You would think that Celestia would want to have her sister remembered in a positive light or at least try to improve her sister’s reputation. But, no, she doesn’t do that. Seriously, what the hell? There’s a huge difference between the fair treatment of a pony, then there’s just outright making them out to be a monster.
Now we move onto Pinkie Pie, and she’s honestly what sucks any kind of enjoyment that was supposed to be had in this episode. For starters, she seems to be completely unaware of the fact that she’s hurting Luna’s feelings and having fun at her expense. (Either that or she doesn’t care.) If she’d come up to Luna and explained to her what Nightmare Night was all about, that would be different, but she doesn’t, which makes her behavior all the worse. It also makes it hard to sympathize with her when she’s scaring the bejabbers out of all the kids and you see how upset Luna is at just trying to fit in, and this is a struggle that I can sympathize with. This kind of behavior is just inexcusable, especially coming from the Element of Laughter. What makes this worse is the fact that when it looks like Twilight is going to call Pinkie out on her behavior, she declares Pinkie Pie a genius. I tolerated the episode because I was waiting for somepony to call Pinkie out on her bitchiness, but instead I have to watch in disbelief as Twilight declares Pinkie Pie a genius, acting as if Luna having her feelings hurt didn’t matter in the slightest. Twilight would have been more than justified in asking Pinkie, “Why didn’t you explain that to us at the start of the celebration?” This would have made the episode a lot less awkward.
Episodes like this are why I hate Pinkie Pie so much. As I said, as someone who is autistic, I can relate to the struggle that Luna is going through. It isn’t easy fitting in with people when you’re autistic. The fact that Pinkie wanted to scare ponies in honor of the holiday doesn’t help matters. Yes, it’s fun to be scared, but not if it means damaging a pony’s already damaged reputation even further. It’s because of her why everypony was so frightened of Luna. Her behavior kind of reminds me of those pricks who go around spreading rumors about the new kid. (And, yes, I had this happen to me in the eighth grade. It almost led to my dad getting questioned by the police for sexual abuse rumors, no joke.) And why would someone do that? For fun? Seems to me that Pinkie Pie was the only one having any fun.
Just to rub salt in the wound, what makes this episode worse is the fact that Luna is the one who gets the lesson in the end. It should have been Pinkie Pie. It was painfully obvious that Luna had no idea that Pinkie’s scaring the kids was all in good fun, and Pinkie’s failure to realize that she was hurting Luna’s feelings goes completely against her character. Remember, this is the same Pinkie who just a season ago requested that Rainbow not squirt Fluttershy, if only out of fear of hurting her feelings. Here, she either didn’t notice how hurt and frustrated Luna was or she didn’t care. The fact that Luna was genuinely having fun with the other ponies at the end just makes this worse, as she could have been saved a lot of hurt had Pinkie just explained to her what the purpose of Nightmare Night was. Given how Pinkie Pie has already had one missed Aesop about explaining herself, you’d think that the lesson would be something like: “Don’t make fun of someone unless you’re sure that they’re in on the joke.”
Episode 5: Sisterhooves Social
I love the relationship between Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Like the relationship between Spike and Twilight, I feel like it’s one of those relationships that has a lot of potential for stories. As someone who has younger siblings (one older than the other), I can relate to how Rarity is feeling in this episode. Younger siblings can be a real pain in the ass.
One of the things that I really liked about this episode was the fact that we get to meet Rarity and Sweetie Belle’s parents. They’re, um, an eccentric couple. However, they’re not exactly great parents. It seems that they’ve done this sort of thing before, seeing as how Sweetie practically has her own bedroom when she’s staying over at Rarity’s, as seen in the episode “For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils.” It’s stated by Sapphire Shores in one of the IDW comics that Rarity’s parents never understood her obsession with fashion and high society. That seems to be a reasonable conclusion upon seeing this pair. It’s never stated what the two of them do for a living, however, which I would like to see further explored in other episodes.
What really makes this episode one of my personal favorites is the way in which both Sweetie and Rarity act. Sweetie wants to play and only wants to make her sister happy by doing nice things for her. Rarity, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to care less. To her, Sweetie comes off as more of a burden and a hindrance to her work rather than anything else. Given that I have two younger siblings, I can say with full confidence that their argument in the middle of this episode is very realistic. Like the arguments in “The Return of Harmony”, this all sounds natural; you never get the sense that this is coming from a script. I really have to tip my hat to the voice director. I imagine that the voice actors don’t record their lines together (this is rarely done, especially in an animated television show like this one). Like most animated TV shows, the actors record their lines separately. I’ve always wondered how the voice actors managed to make their dialogue with another character come off as sounding natural. I guess that’s due to the voice director.
What also makes this episode really great is Applejack and Apple Bloom’s interactions. Here, they get along much better than they did in “Bridle Gossip.” It could be because they have company, but I think this goes to show what having a sibling is like. There are days where you enjoy their presence. There are days where you try your best to tolerate them. And then there are days where you don’t want to do anything but strangle them to death. Such is the relationship that both pairs of siblings in this episode have.
Like any relationship, being siblings takes work. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. You’re going to have days where you’re going to have arguments. You’re going to have other days where you can’t bear the thought of being away from them. Applejack and Apple Bloom seem to have learned this lesson the hard way, while Rarity and Sweetie Belle seem to be on the road to repairing their relationship.
Applejack and Apple Bloom really shine in this episode. They don’t mind taking time out of their day to cheering up a friend and letting her have fun with them. They even decide to let her run the race with Applejack at the Sisterhooves Social. However, Applejack slips into some mud, leaving Rarity to do the race with Sweetie Belle, under the disguise of mud. Needless to say, this act of kindness from all three friends brings Sweetie to tears.
With this episode, it was well established that both Rarity and Sweetie Belle could hold an episode on their own. Unfortunately, the only other episode that these two share is “For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils”, which is really a shame because I feel these two have the most potential for new story ideas out of any other pair, besides maybe Spike and Twilight.
Episode 6: The Cutie Pox
I like Apple Bloom. She’s my second favorite of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, with Sweetie Belle being the first. I can relate to Apple Bloom’s struggle in this episode. As a writer, I’ve been trying to get original work published for years to no avail. I'd be happy just to get published. I'd be overjoyed if my work found a small audience – even an audience I didn’t expect. I’d feel privileged if my work helped the mentally challenged even if it wasn't written for them. I’m overjoyed that people like my fan fiction. Like me and my writing, Apple Bloom has been trying to get her cutie mark for some time to no avail. When she doesn’t get her cutie mark in bowling, she becomes depressed. Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, had so much fun (she’s overjoyed at getting a gutter ball) that she doesn’t seem to care that she didn’t get her cutie mark.
Despite their best efforts (pretty much everypony tries to cheer her up), Apple Bloom’s friends can’t seem to get her out of her funk. She eventually goes to the Everfree Forest, bumping into Zecora along the way. Zecora takes Apple Bloom back to her hut to fix her chipped tooth, and then proceeds to tell her about a mixture she’s making to fulfill one’s heart’s desire, which Apple Bloom proceeds to take.
The rest of the episode is Apple Bloom being infected by the Cutie Pox, a disease known to cause multiple cutie marks to appear all over a pony’s body. And that’s pretty much it. Eventually, Apple Bloom comes clean about what she did, eats the cure, and then shows that she’s learned absolutely nothing in the long run before she runs off to the Everfree Forest yet again to get her cutie mark.
This episode was just dull. It wasn’t bad, just dull. Some sequences go on for far too long (for example, Apple Bloom showing off with her hula hoop), while some characters are derailed to serve the plot. (For example, Cheerilee canceling class so Apple Bloom can show off some more.)
I like that this episode taught Apple Bloom an important lesson about waiting. However, as I said, this lesson doesn’t stick. Literally after a few seconds of sending her letter to Princess Celestia, Apple Bloom says that she’s waited long enough, then heads off with her friends to Zecora’s. Some people might find this funny. I don’t. I find it extremely irritating. While I do really like the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it’s episodes like this that make me see why some people can’t stand them.
Episode 7: May the Best Pet Win
This is an episode in which nothing is at stake. Rainbow Dash wants a pet. That’s it. This episode is so dull that you could skip it and miss literally nothing. In fact, it’s so dull that I really can’t think of anything to say about it, but I’ll try my best.
Okay, so first of all, the song featured in this episode – “May the Best Pet Win” – got nominated for an award. Why? There are a dozen other songs that are better than this one. Not that this song is bad or anything; the instrumentals are good, but it’s one of those songs where the dialogue is sung. Unfortunately, the dialogue is delivered in such a way that it makes it sound as if the singers are trying their best to make sure that the dialogue matches the beat and rhythm of the music, causing some of the dialogue to come off as sounding stilted.
The way Rainbow Dash goes about finding a pet is quite stupid as well. I get that she wants a pet that’s “cool”, but this sounds more like a form over function kind of thing. I also get that she wants a pet that she can fly with. That’s understandable seeing as how she’s a pegasus. But the problem with the way she goes about finding a pet are completely ineffective. If you’re going to get a pet, it should be one that’s suited towards your needs. For example, if you want a dog with smarts, it’d probably be best to research which breed of dogs have the highest intelligence. But Rainbow Dash doesn’t do that. She’s basing her decision on what she perceives as “cool”, “radical”, and “awesome.” Is that redundant? Yes, it is. Twilight even points this out to Rainbow Dash, who says that Twilight would never qualify to be her pet. I’m pretty sure the TwiDash shippers have written a few fanfics in which Twilight does indeed become Rainbow Dash’s pet.
The thing that I liked about this episode was that it featured the musical piece “Ride of the Valkyries” by Wagner, something that I didn’t think I’d hear in this series, so the decision to have this piece of music featured in this episode earns the musical department of the staff some points.
About the only thing I have to complain about is the resolution. Rainbow Dash ends getting her wing pinned underneath a boulder. First of all, the bones in her wing should undoubtedly be crushed as a result, especially if a boulder that big fell on her wing. Second of all, when her friends find out that she’s trapped, they do nothing to help her. They don’t bother to go look for her and find out if she’s all right. And finally, when Tank finds her, he effortlessly lifts the giant boulder with nothing but his head. That’s impossible. I’m not sure about the strength of tortoises, but I’m pretty sure no tortoise alive would be that strong to lift a giant boulder, let alone with their head.
This episode just feels as if it was only written to make Rainbow Dash feel like an equal with her friends. I can see why that is. It’s extremely bitchy of them to have a play date with their pets and not invite Rainbow Dash. It’s implied that she wasn’t even aware that they did this. Even if she didn’t have a pet, she could have easily played with one of her friends’ pets.
Also, what is with Rainbow Dash and sleeping in trees? This is the second time we’ve seen her napping in a tree. What is it, is wood just that comfortable? Furthermore, how does she sleep in a tree without falling off, and why doesn’t she have a blanket to cover up with? Hmm, now that I think about it, Dash sleeping in a tree is actually kinda cute. Still, I’d like an answer to why she has this quirk to begin with.
Episode 8: The Mysterious Mare Do Well
Oh, boy, I have absolutely nothing nice to say about this episode! This is the episode that took Rainbow Dash’s ego and completely blew it out of proportion for the sake of a plot! Get comfortable, because I have a lot to say regarding this train wreck of an episode.
So, we start off with Scootaloo hosting a Rainbow Dash fanclub. This, I like because it’s cute and it’s something that’s totally in-character for Scootaloo. Unfortunately, this does nothing but harm the episode.
For starters, I do agree that Rainbow Dash was getting a big head about her heroism. Now, I’m all for Rainbow Dash learning a lesson in humility, but the fact that this was done in “May the Best Pet Win” and the way the writers went about having her learn that lesson, was absolutely abysmal. Now in this episode’s defense, the beginning of this episode wasn’t all that bad. Rainbow Dash was hailed as a hero, so of course she’s going to brag a little. Her bragging was pretty much harmless and nopony seemed to mind that she was bragging a little. This is understandable considering the fact that there were ponies taking pictures of her and asking her if she’d like to be interviewed. Who doesn’t love being in the spotlight every now and then?
The only ponies who have a problem with her bragging, though, are her friends. Now in a good story, her friends would have taken the next logical step: talk to her and try to reason with her. At the very least, they should have warned her about the consequences that bragging could lead to. But, no. They don’t do anything like that. Instead, they throw logic to the wayside in favor of one-upping her just to teach her a lesson in humility, each pony disguising themselves as a pony dubbed the Mysterious Mare Do Well. And this is all because they were annoyed by Dash’s antics. Now, if they had tried talking to her only for her to brush them off and refuse to see reason, which would then prompt them to pull this stunt, I would be more forgiving of this episode. They would have been justified in doing what they did and Dash would have deserved all that befell her. But, no, they don’t do that. What exactly is this supposed to be teaching our kids? That if someone doesn’t live up to their moral standards, or if they’re just getting on their nerves, then they have the right to lie to their friends and manipulate them into changing their behavior?
Really, while Rainbow Dash’s actions weren’t admirable, it’s the other ponies that really make me hate this episode. Yes, they were saving ponies’ lives, but their actions are what caused Rainbow Dash to become more and more frustrated, as well as doing things that she normally wouldn’t do, like trying to fix the crack in the dam (another missed opportunity for a weight gain sequence involving Rainbow Dash, as in “Tanks for the Memories”) and bothering other ponies over trivial matters. (For example, trying to help Granny Smith cross the street and trying to help Amethyst Star open a jar of peanut butter.)
In terms of the plot, this episode was fine. In terms of the characters, this episode was just downright awful. I think we all knew who the Mysterious Mare Do Well was. This show’s target audience may not have been able to pick up on it (though, I hope that they were able to since I like to think that kids are smarter than adults give them credit for), but for those of us who did, we’re all just sitting there waiting for Rainbow Dash to figure it out. The scene in which the others rub in Mare Do Well’s accomplishments in Dash’s face is just sickening. These five are supposed to be her best friends? Really? After the fiasco they pulled, I’d ditch them in a heartbeat. There’s a difference in trying to teach a friend a lesson and then there’s just being a colossal dick. Honestly, how does this make them any better than Rainbow Dash? They’re doing the same thing they were getting onto her case for doing!
So, with all of that said, I consider this episode to be one of the worst of season two, if not the whole series, and I will not be watching it again anytime soon.
Episode 9: Sweet and Elite
With these kinds of episodes, I have to wonder why Rarity has such a thing for high society. Everypony has their noses so far up their own asses that they don’t give any commoner the time of day. For example, when Jet Set and Upper Crust notice Rarity, they start to question her about her hat. The instant Hayseed shows up, they immediately dismiss her. It’s only when she begins to socialize with Fancypants that they give her the time of day.
It’s in this episode that Rarity proceeds to lie her little, white ass off. It’s not even necessary either. Why would she say that Rainbow Dash is the Wonderbolts’ trainer when she could have easily just said that she was a friend who practically worshiped the Wonderbolts? Why didn’t she just tell Twilight she was having trouble coming to a decision about what to do? I can understand why she didn’t want to tell Twilight the truth, but why didn’t she simply ask Twilight or Princess Celestia for advice?
The song featured in this episode – “Becoming Popular (The Pony Everypony Should Know)” – won an award. It’s always amazing to me how well the singers and voice actors sound alike. If you were to tell me that Rarity’s singing voice wasn’t Tabitha St. Germain, I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Aside from liking the song itself, I always love the various outfits that Rarity wears throughout it. I don’t know who the prop designer is on this show, but whoever they are, they know what they’re doing; anytime you see a character wearing an outfit, it always looks good on them.
Aside from Rarity, Twilight also shines in this episode. Not only does she manage to get Rarity a suite at the Canterlot castle, but she even moved her birthday party to Canterlot so Rarity wouldn’t miss it. She wasn’t willing to have the party if all of her best friends couldn’t attend. My only problem with this is that Spike is, once again, left out of the group. Why? These writers seem to really hate the poor little guy.
Fancypants is also a likable character. Like everypony else in Canterlot, you would expect him to be a stuck-up prick, but he’s actually a very nice guy. He’s the only pony who gives Rarity’s friends a chance. Once again, Upper Crust and Jet Set don’t like Twilight’s dress until Fancypants gives it his approval.
The moral, while a cliched one, is also a great lesson too; the lesson that you shouldn’t forget where you come from. With her being the Element of Generosity, I highly doubt that Rarity will forget her roots.
Episode 10: Secret of My Excess
To my recollection, this is the only Spike-centered episode other than “Inspiration Manifestation” that I’ve enjoyed. This episode centers around how dragons mature throughout their lives. The way they describe it seems to contradict the behavior of dragons we’ve encountered throughout this series thus far. I say this because this episode establishes that dragons mature via hoarding and the more stuff they collect, the bigger and greedier they get. Does anybody but me see the problem here? The problem is that this completely contradicts what we know about dragons; none of the dragons we met before this episode exhibited this behavior. For example, the dragon that Fluttershy talked down wasn’t grabbing at Pinkie trying to get the balloons and other party accessories that she was wearing.
Aside from that, this was a very enjoyable episode. Considering the fact that Spike gets left out of many of the adventures that the Mane Six go on, it was nice seeing them lavish him with affection. Even Mr. and Mrs. Cake were generous enough to let him try out a new recipe. Cheerilee even made an appearance and gave him a present, wishing him a happy birthday as she left. I really enjoyed this scene because I like like seeing characters like Spike and Cheerilee interacting with each other. It’s why I’d like to see more episodes centered around Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
This episode expanded upon the relationship between Spike and Twilight. She apparently sees him as her son, seeing as how she took him to a doctor first before taking him to the vet. Granted, that doctor was a pediatrician, but still, just the fact that she treated him as her son instead of a pet really speaks volumes about how much she loves him. Though, I’m sure that Spike would have felt insulted had he been in his normal state.
Like “The Cutie Pox’, this episode uses Zecora as a side character. It’s she who explains the way dragons mature. Again, this seems to contradict what we know about dragons, but I’m not going to let that factor into my overall opinion. It’s just something that kind of irks me. That, and I feel like Zecora could have been used more in this episode, like she could have been in “The Cutie Pox.”
The situation that the Mane Six find themselves in is very much like the situation between Celestia and Nightmare Moon. I believe that if she was forced to do so, Twilight would have done something drastic in order to get Spike back to normal. Thankfully, it didn’t have to come to that. Rarity is the one who got Spike back to normal by way of her necklace. Like their scene at the opening of the first act, this scene itself is very heartwarming. Even as they’re falling to their presumed deaths, Spike still works up the courage to tell her that he’s always had a crush on her. But he doesn’t get to finish because she puts a hoof over his mouth, giving him a smile, letting him and the audience know that she’s known all along. If she’s known, then why does she enjoy toying with his emotions like she does?
It really saddens me that this is one of the only good Spike episodes other than “Inspiration Manifestation.” Why couldn’t this have been the first Spike episode? It sets a great example of how to do a good Spike episode.
Episode 11: Family Appreciation Day
Like “May the Best Pet Win”, this episode was just dull. Again, this wasn’t a bad episode; it just didn’t interest me that much. The only thing that I didn’t like about this episode was the fact that it seemed to exaggerate Granny Smith’s eccentricities just for the sake of a plot. If it weren’t for that, then Apple Bloom wouldn’t have been so embarrassed to have her speak in class.
It’s in this episode that it’s implied that Diamond Tiara is jealous of how close Apple Bloom is with her family. Why else would she be willing to embarrass Apple Bloom in public by suggesting that Granny Smith speak in class? I will say that when she’s not scowling, Diamond Tiara looks cute. Just look at her when Filthy Rich is giving his presentation. (Funnily enough, everypony else in the class is fast asleep, even Silver Spoon.) She looks adorable. I imagine that as a businesspony, her father is away a lot of the time. (This could be why her mother has been able to get away with her abuse without her father knowing.) Silver Spoon may have been jealous of Apple Bloom’s closeness with her family as well, seeing as how she didn’t seem reluctant to join Tiara in teasing her.
Like I said, Granny Smith’s odd behavior seems to have been exaggerated to the point where she’s portrayed as being extremely naive, to the point where she can’t even hear when she’s being mocked. There’s ignoring ponies and then there’s being stupidly oblivious.
Also, Apple Bloom isn’t being very faithful to Granny Smith. She doesn’t want Granny Smith to give her presentation just because she’s a little weird? Seriously, Apple Bloom?
Finally, while I am all for world-building, the history of Ponyville just wasn’t all that interesting. (That, and there was some repeated animation used during Granny’s presentation.)
This is an episode that doesn’t even try. There aren’t any laughs in it either. I think the closest thing to comedy we get in this episode is Sweetie Belle getting electrocuted when she attempts to buck the zap apples. This is an episode where you could skip it and you would be missing out on literally nothing. The most you can say about this episode is that it simply exists.
Episode 12: Baby Cakes
If you’ve ever seen a babysitting episode from any TV show, this one is no different. It hits all the right notes. Because this plot has been done to death, most of the babysitting tropes come off as cliché. We have the diaper change scene, the feeding scene, the bath scene. Again, if you’ve ever seen any babysitting episode from a TV show, then you’ve seen this sort of formula before.
The only thing I hate is the fact that the writers didn’t seem to remember what they’d written. I say this because at the beginning of the episode, both Rarity and Twilight point out that baby unicorns get strange magical surges. This gets completely thrown out the window when we see Pumpkin Cake in full and complete control over her magic, able to levitate stuffed animals over to her and even able to walk through solid mass. Likewise, Rainbow Dash says that once Pound Cake gets grown a little, he’ll be flying all over the place. Like with Pumpkin Cake, this gets tossed out the window to show Pound Cake in complete control over his flying. This really reminds me of Trunks and Goten in Dragon Ball Z, where they were shown to have the ability to go Super Saiyan at a young age and were shown to be exceptionally strong, to the point where both Gohan and Goku were afraid that they would be able to rival them in power in just a few short years.
The other thing I didn’t like about this episode was how Pinkie Pie was treated. Yes, Pinkie loves to have fun, but the way the Cakes act makes her seem as if she’s stupid and can’t handle responsibility. She’s handled running the shop once before. Granted, running a business isn’t the same as babysitting, but still, they only asked her to babysit after all of her other friends said they weren’t available. Even Twilight ended up insulting her by saying that some ponies aren’t able to handle the responsibility. The way Pinkie reacted to this was wrong, but I can at least understand why she reacted the way she did; I mean, if people were constantly treating you like you were stupid and didn’t know anything, wouldn’t you jump at the opportunity to prove them wrong? I certainly would.
Out of all her friends, Rarity’s reaction troubled me the most. With Sweetie Belle being her young sister, I imagine that she’s had experience with babysitting. She may have been busy, but she also could have been afraid of having to change diapers yet again. Being a very clean pony, I imagine she isn’t very fond of changing diapers. Given that she, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy have all had experience babysitting, I’d really like to see an episode of the three of them babysitting in the future. I wonder what kind of hijunks they’d get up to as a result? Maybe they’d argue over the best way to go about babysitting, as so many stories seem to do?
Because this plot has been done so many times on so many different TV shows, I’d put this episode in the “so good, it’s average” category.
Episode 13: Hearth’s Warming Eve
If there’s one thing that I cannot stand, it’s racism. I say this because this episode seemed to have a lot of heavy racism undertones. Just the idea of there being racism in a television show as lighthearted as this, and one that’s targeted at families no less, really disgusts me. I don’t know. Maybe I’m reading too deep into this episode.
Aside from the racism undertone, the other problem that I had with this episode was the fact that it made absolutely no sense. (For example, why did they have one summit before deciding to go out and find a new land?) This play about the founding of Equestria made no attempts to tie itself to the history we know of Equestria. It doesn’t connect itself to any of the previously established backstories we’ve heard about, nor does it bother to explain how any of this nonsense ties together to the plot itself. We’re never given an explanation as to how any of this is tied together. We’re just expected to roll with it. It’s as if the writers are saying, “You’re kids. We know how stupid you are. You’ll watch anything. Just shut up and go with it.”
The other thing that makes this episode really uncomfortable is the fact that we don’t get to see any of the peaceful times before the blizzard came. It would have been nice to see some plot development with how the three tribes came to despise each other. The play literally begins with the three tribes cold, hungry, alone, and at each other’s throats. Why? This isn’t helped when the Mane Six are at each other’s throats before the play even begins, and they go right back to verbally attacking each other as soon as the play ends, meaning that they learned nothing from this experience. The only reason Rainbow Dash even bothered to shut the window was because of the windigos.
The other problem with this episode is the god-awful pacing. It seems to me that the writers were rushing this story just so they could hurry up and get to the Aesop. Speaking of which, what was the Aesop of this episode supposed to be anyway? “Don’t be a dick to your friends, otherwise your hatred will cause a blizzard?”
That being said, there are some good elements to this episode. For one thing, the voice acting is really good (no surprise there), making it sound as if the Mane Six are really putting on a play and acting as these characters. The world-building, despite it not making a lick of sense, is also interesting in this episode as well. Finally, the score for this episode is exceptionally well done, including the song we get at the end.
Despite having some good elements, I didn’t think this episode was all that great. I say skip it unless it’s Christmastime and you’re in the mood for spending the holidays with your Ponyville friends.
I think you're being a little too harsh on this show, and you're implying that a show intended for kids can't have more serious moments and darker stories, to which I say no. Ever heard of Don Bluth, he believed that kids could handle just about anything you threw at them, as long as there was a happy ending. While I don't think that's completely true either (there are some subjects you could never make comfortable for kids, such as genocide or suicide, no matter how lightly you approached it) some of the best cartoons of all time stand as a testiment to that belief, such as "Batman The Animated Series", "Avatar The Last Airbender", and of course "Gravity Falls", all took themselves seriously and touched on mature themes that weren't always black and white, but they still had enough humor to balance it out. Heck, all of those shows sometimes didn't have a happy ending, but we appreciated them all the more for doing so, since it teaches kids that life isn't always sunshine and rainbows. You have to learn to take the bad with the good, but that's hardly a reason to become unhappy and give up on life, because it's those good times that more than make up for the bad times. As long as it isn't done in poor taste, I'm fine with kids shows being a little more serious, and not always being sunshine and rainbows.
And boy do I have a lot to say in response what you've said. Let's begin:
[quoteFor one thing, the opening shows the Cutie Mark Crusaders acting out-of-character. For no reason whatsoever, they’re verbally attacking each other and beating the crap out of one another. Why? But that’s just a minor nitpick compared to the rest of this premiere. You're saying it's OOC for them to start fighting because of a disagreement? Kids will argue for the dumbest of reasons, plus it's speculated that Discord might have been involved in making them fight.
They tell us enough about Discord to let us know that he is indeed a threat. And if he was truly innocent, he wouldn't have stolen the Elements of Harmony and used it to bait the mane six into playing a game. The line "I don't turn ponies into stone" was likely Discord's attempt to try and paint himself in a better light by making Celestia look like the monster.
Well, at least they actually flesh out this conflict, instead of just hastily rushing through it like they do with Rarity. Applejack even says outright "That can't be true". Discord simply corrupted her before she had a chance to decide it really wasn't. Plus, it's a clever nod to the "Garden of Eden" story.
And they just hastily have Rarity fall for Discord's brainwashing anyway, which really kils the mood, they needed to flesh this conflict out. And Fluttershy, even if she was being a counter troll, shouldn't have her self confidence destroyed for the sake of a joke. If you really feel you're weak and helpless, then something is wrong with you. No one is ever truly powerless, no matter what situation they end up in. Even in abusive situations, you can at least make an attempt to fight back and get help, it's just that often times that help doesn't come until the abuse gets really bad, by which point the damage has been done. True, to have power is not to be strong, and knowing when not to fight is just as important as knowing when to fight, but that does not make you helpless.
Maybe it doesn't, but it's good that you feel that way, because that's how it should feel. You should be able to connect to the characters, and be able to sympathize with them when they're hurting. That's the hallmark of good writing, getting your audience to care about your characters.
Oh yes, that is where this two parter really went off the rails. They focused way too much on Rainbow Dash, which prevents more important moments from getting the attention they need. Yes, Rainbow Dash was responsible for them getting their cutie marks, but that doesn't mean you have to make her more important than anyone else, that really hurts the message you're trying to get across by making it look like Rainbow Dash is the only one that really matters, the rest are only needed for the elemental connection. I know that's not what they were going for, but it's what they ended up implying with the over focus on Rainbow Dash.
Because it corrected what could've been a fatal flaw in the show, by lifting the burden of aesop delivery off of Twilight and thus meaning they wouldn't have to shoe horn her into every episode. They also mocked themselves pretty thoroughly here, and I always love a show that is willing to poke fun at itself and admit it isn't perfect.
It's common speculation that at least part of the incident has to do with Twilight not having fully recovered from fighting Discord. Some wounds take a long time to heal, emotional wounds especially. Plus, we've seen in the past that Twilight freaks out everytime the possibility of letting down Princess Celestia is brought up.
Really? I'd say they were perfectly in character, it's a way of showing their hidden depths. Fluttershy isn't completely a scaredy cat, Rainbow Dash isn't a self centered jerk all the time, Rarity can be a bit of a drama queen but she's aware of it and can recognize when someone else is stressed, etc. They aren't always perfect, but this episode shows that they'll always do the right thing when it really matters, no matter what the cost might be. And if that's not a sign of true friendship, I don't know what is.
Ren & Stimpy wasn't just gross-out humor, it was a show that pushed the boundries of what was acceptable in children's programming at that point.
That's far from the worst thing the 90's gave us, it was very anti-authority, all about slang and lingo, and the rise of suburbia culture in television programming, not to mention rap music. I feel like much of your complaints are lodged at the show are simply "I don't like it when it stops being sunshine and rainbows, I want it to stay happy go lucky forever." It does for the most part, but there's nothing wrong with it becoming more serious as time goes on. A little seriousness is necessary to prevent G3 and G3.5
I happen to be autistic as well, and I agree it makes basic social interaction a lot harder, I struggle to remember the names of classmates and make friends.
Oh yes, Rainbow Dash was even more of a jerk than Pinkie Pie, it's basically "Griffon The Brush Off" Rainbow Dash without Pinkie Pie to act as her moral compass. And like Pinkie Pie, she doesn't learn her lesson.
Oh yes, that is probably the biggest stain on this episode. Why would Princess Celestia have allowed for this holiday to exisit at all? It is exactly the sort of thing that drove her sister to become Nightmare Moon, you think she would see to it that Nightmare Night was abolished, and ponies educated on the truth about Luna. That's like having a holiday about Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin, without even mentioning all the horrible acts they committed, and why they were terrible human beings. Heck, Columbus Day celebrates a man who in all honesty we shouldn't be celebrating. Yes, he discovered America, but that's hardly an excuse to ignore all the terrible deeds he did to the natives. Heck, when he died, he was still convinced he had reached Asia, he had no idea he'd discovered a new continent.
They repeated this problem in "What About Discord?", and did it even worse. At least with Luna, the pain wasn't intentional, and the ponies did seem to learn their lesson a bit. In "What About Discord?" the mane six never stop to consider that maybe the inside jokes aren't funny to Twilight, and that they caused her to feel jealous by repeating said jokes of their own free will. Yet Discord takes all the blame simply because he admitted to intentionally excluding Twilight, and then when he becomes the victim of inside jokes, suddenly it's funny? No, that's hyopcrisy on the worst level. If it's not funny when it happens to Twilight, it's not funny when it happens to Discord!
Well, to be fair, Sweetie Belle's actions early on did more harm than good. With the jewels especially, she should've asked, she was just lucky Rarity could easily get more. Yes, Rarity probably overreacted to some of the other situations, but Sweetie Belle wasn't an innocent saint that did nothing wrong. It really bothers me when poines like Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle get excused from ever doing anything wrong simply because they're cute. Cuteness is not an excuse to ignore wrong doing, no matter how small the slip up was.
Did that really happen? Those kids should've been suspended for that offense, apparently noone ever bothered to teach them why knowingly spreading rumors about someone else is wrong!
Have you looked into google publishing? I've heard about it, but I don't know the exact details about how it works. If I did, and I was certain I could get an acceptable audience, I'd write a tell all book about the AB/DL world, and how important it is for people to understand why others partake in it, and how they can live with the fact without discriminating or harassing the person.
Not when she didn't have a pet. But it was rude of them not to check and make sure they weren't disturbing her with their playdate.
I agree with everything you have to say after this, but I will cut it the very bare minimum of slack in that it was trying to have Rainbow Dash learn a lesson in a way that she learns best. It just didn't go about it in the right way. If they had made Mare-Do-Well anypony besides the mane six, the episode probably would've been salvageable. By the way, have you seen my two "What If?" series that rewrite various episodes of the show, because this episode is tackled in my first installment, and I always strive to correct as many flaws present in the original as I can. I'm actually going to try and get the third series started by the end of this month, in case Daxn doesn't get back to me on "The One Where Diamond TIara and Scootaloo Have A Sleepover" anytime soon. I want to be fair and give him a chance, I don't want to push something out after promising he'd be a proofreader (with his permission) and then not listening to what he has to offer for feedback. And in case I don't hear back from you on "CMC Pottytrainers" before the end of the month (take as much time as you need, don't feel like you're obligated to read through it anytime soon, whenever it's most convinent for you is fine by me, I'm willing to wait).
You missed out on the introduction of the party cannon, but I agree that Rarity lying wasn't really necessary. Why bother kissing up to others who don't appreciate you as an individual, and only care about if you're related to someone famous? If you don't owe them anything, don't bother associating with them, they aren't worth it. And not all rich people are so pompus and snobbish (though Corporate America would probably beg to differ right now, especially when they've got their pretty little fingers wrapped around Congress, blocking the functions of government to the point where we can't even nominate a new justice to the Supreme Court because it will give a lame duck president the edge for a little while).
Really, not even "Equestria Games" which treated Spike with respect, and didn't have him fix a problem he'd caused?
She seldoms toys with his emotions, more often than not he seems to do things for her because he really likes her. I just think she hasn't pursued a relationship because of the fact that him being a baby dragon could be a problem depending on how old he is in pony years (it's possible in pony years or dragon years he might not be at the legal age of consent, and even if he is there who knows what Equestrians think of inter-species romance). She likely doesn't want to have to open that can of worms if she doesn't have to, especially since it would place untold amounts of stress on Spike.
I also find it contrived that Apple Bloom would suddenly believe Diamond Tiara. Why would Apple Bloom believe the pony who's been bullying her for at least a few months? If it were someone like Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle, or even Twist, then it would probably make more sense for Apple Bloom to believe her granny was embarassing. Also, they seem to indicate that Granny Smith could possibly be suffering from the early stages of alzheimer's (though kids don't necessarily realize that such is the case). Heck alzheimer's is the disease that took my maternal grandmother away a little over four years ago (she's definitely in a better place now, and I can understand my mom not wanting to dwell too much on those last few months, she wants to remember the good memories of her mother, and forget about the bad. I just don't know if I approve of her and her other family members agreeing to cut ties with one of my aunt's because she's had a drinking problem and gotten into a lot of legal trouble. We don't have to bail her out, but I'm sure just knowing we still care about her as a human being would be nice.) I apologize for that bit of personal history.
Indeed it is, and I really feel like Filthy Rich should get more screentime, he seems to legtimately want his daughter to be a good pony. But he's also placing untold amounts of stress on her with his insistence that she take over the family business when she comes of age. Still, that's better than what his wife has been doing behind his back. I hope he chewed out Spoiled Rich good and fierce when he learned what she was doing.
Really? This episode introduced us to Filthy Rich, temporarily made Silver Spoon seem like a good pony before "Crusaders of The Lost Mark" (she went back downhill in "One Bad Apple", but after "Twilight Time" I think she started to realize Diamond Tiara didnt exactly care about their friendship enough to not step on Silver Spoon), gave us the zap apples and their harvest, the timberwolves, and even had Diamond Tiara face karma for her actions for a change. This episode really deserves more attention than it gets, it's not exactly a flawless masterpiece, but it's still criminally underrated.
Actually, this one shakes up the formula by having it so that the ones being babysat aren't intentionally causing trouble, something that happens in every other babysitting story in any show (even South Park couldn't escape this in their third season, though they thankfully managed to move on from it by the end).
They never told us how long the surges would last, and there was never anything that indicated they couldn't do it.
They didn't act as if they thought she was stupid, they had reason to be concerned that she might not be cut out for the job. They already saw that Pinkie Pie wasn't quite aware of the twins needs until informed of them. They decided it was best to err on the side of caution, and go with somepony more trustworthy first. Though I personally would've trusted Pinkie Pie more than I would've trusted Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie at least wouldn't intentionally put the children at risk of harm, whereas Rainbow Dash would likely be careless. And if they were expecting Rarity to babysit at her shop, that wasn't a good idea, a dress shop is certainly no place to leave toddlers unattended in, and considering Rarity's business it is entirely likely that she could be distracted working on an order.
Yes, Twilight could've worded her statement better, but Pinkie Pie was more in the wrong for turning down help when she clearly needed it just to prove a point. Sometimes, you have to swallow your pride and accept that you need help. There's a reason why pride is a deadly sin. Too much pride is just as bad as having no pride at all.
You hit the nail right on the head with Rarity's refusal to babysit, she would absolutely HATE having to change diapers, though she'd probably suck up and deal with it if she really had to (she certainly wouldn't want to put up with the smell and the crying brought on by a diaper rash). I actually addressed this in my fanfic from back in 2013 called "Mothers Don't Need Manuals The Sequel" (and I also have a standalone Discord chapter as a seperate fanfic if you like FlutterCord).
Yeah, that is my big problem with the episode, nothing in it makes sense. It was a disastorus attempt at worldbuilding that left us with more questions than answers, and not in a good way.
"Hearthbreakers" is a better Christmas themed episode, and we're going to get another this coming season involving the mane six and the CMC singing together, along with some appearances from background ponies, including Derpy (I'm hopeful we'll get to see Diamond Tiara and possibly Silver Spoon hanging out with the CMC).
All in all, I think the first half of Season 2 was good for the most part. But it tried way too hard to appeal to bronies and older fans, with ascended memes and more Rainbow Dash which backfired horribly. The second half managed to fix things for the most part, but it still had a few problems that really hurt it.
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I could go on and on for hours about how much I love Avatar: The Last Airbender and Gravity Falls. I love the former for its cinematography, characters, and action. I love the latter for some of the shocking imagery the animators were able to get away with.
Believe me, I know. I have two little sisters who argue over the stupidest crap.
That wasn't a problem that I had with the episode. I do admit that it's a nice idea that lends itself to new ideas for stories with the other members of the Mane Cast. My main problem was the way they went about it.
That's true, though I feel that Rugrats is partly responsible for its creation. There were a lot of adult jokes in that show.
Fair point. No, there's nothing wrong with a show becoming more serious over time, but it does need to be done gradually. Season one was, for the most part, was very lighthearted, but season two seemed to go for the "darker and edgier" tone without very much build-up. It comes across as very out of tone to the rest of the show. The tone is shifted so quickly that it's actually kind of jarring.
That was one of the few episodes that I had a problem with in season five, and that was one of the problems that I had with it.
Personally, I don't think Sweetie Belle did anything wrong in this episode. Yes, she should have asked Rarity's permission before using the gems, but she only used them because she wanted to do something special for her sister. Everything Sweetie did in this episode was for Rarity, to make her happy. I really hated the way Rarity reacted when Sweetie cleaned her inspiration. How hard would it have been for Rarity to say something like, "Sweetie, I appreciate that you cared enough to clean my room for me, but I liked it the way it was. I understand that you were only trying to do something nice for me, but please ask me first before you do something."
I just considered it to be very inconsiderate of them. Yes, Rainbow Dash didn't have a pet, but she still could have had fun with them. There's no reason why one of the others couldn't share their pet with her.
"Equestria Games" actually disappointed the hell out of me. The Equestria Games were built up throughout most of seasons three and four. Come "Equestria Games," we focus more on Spike than the Games themselves. This episode was so disappointing. Seriously? We waited two seasons for this?!
One of the moments in "Castle Sweet Castle" that pissed me off was the way Rarity seduced Spike into doing what she wanted him to do.
This is why I prefer SpikeBelle. It comes across as less awkward due to the age difference. Plus, they make a cuter couple.
I didn't see anything in "Twilight Time" to indicate that. However, in "Pinkie Pride" she steals Spoon's milkshake. Spoon at least got it back when Tiara wasn't paying attention.
I like to think that Rainbow Dash has a better head on her shoulders than people give her credit for. Yes, she is reckless, but I seriously doubt that she'd put two young children in danger through her carelessness.
"Hearthsbreakers" had its share of problems, but overall it was still a better episode. I am looking forward to this season's upcoming Hearth's Warming episode. From what I heard, there may be some new female dragon characters introduced. Maybe we'll finally get to meet Spike's biological mother and maybe have a heartwarming mother/son episode centered around Spike and Twilight?
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Actually, Ren and Stimpy came before Rugrats, though they both came out the same year. Rugrats was centered on how a toddler views the world.
True, but that doesn't mean early on she was doing more harm than good. If she'd simply asked Rarity about the sweater or the gems she could've saved Rarity a lot of stress.
So you're saying they can't have a pet playdate just because Rainbow Dash doesn't have a pet, and if she wants in they have to lend her one of their pets? Your friends don't have to include you in everything you do, especially if it's not something you enjoy or don't have the ability to participate in. They don't do it to be mean.
Blame "Rainbow Falls" for killing any potential the Equestria Games arc could've had. Dave Polsky was forced to salvage what was left of his vision with a Spike episode, using the games as a backdrop. They probably could've expanded the setting to use it for the Season 4 finale, but it's still probably Spike's best outing to date.
It's more in what Diamond Tiara says, than what Silver Spoon says. Notice how she demands only for the CMC to take her along, and not Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon has to speak up and demand they bring her along as well. It's subtle, but the implications are still there.
Maybe as of Season 5, and even later Season 3. But at this point, Rainbow Dash had yet to move beyond being headstrong and rash to a fault, and there was nothing to indicate she knew how to be responsible for anyone but herself.
I am too.
You could always check out my second volume of my "What If" series if you want to see that.
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Oh, that episode! One of the worst episodes of the whole series, in my opinion. I will say that the best thing about "Equestria Games" was that it gave Spike the character development he desperately needed.
I think it's for the best that these two are turning over a new leaf. Silver Spoon, to me, just comes across as Tiara's lackey who just takes part in bullying the CMC simply because Tiara enjoys it. "Family Appreciation Day" showed us that she's not all bad, and "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" showed us that even she is fed up with putting up with Tiara's baloney.
In "Games Ponies Play", she took the fall for her friends, something I wasn't expecting.
Honestly, this is why I was looking forward to "Castle Sweet Castle," only to be disappointed because of they swapped the plots around.
I think a big problem with "return of Harmony" is actually that Discord was TOO good. I mean that Discord completely overshadowed Twilight, he was on screen for more than half of the run-time in both episodes. He was so entertaining that he is all people remember and that's not how it should be.
They did that much better in canterlot wedding. Queen Chrysalis was still memorable and threatening but she didn't overshadow Twilight. Twilight's struggles were the focus (as they should be) and the villain she didn't get more screen time than she needed.
The thing in lesson Zero that I really loved was the scene between Celestia and Twilight. The way it was animated and the dialogue just made Celestia seem so intimidating. I truly felt the fear that I felt when I was naughty and my mom was mad. That sort of total fear that you have before a superior power. I think this is Celestia's strongest appearance in the series. The way she handled it was just perfect; she was stern but patient, she let Twilight do most of the talking and corrected her where she went wrong with her thinking. That is such a thing done right, you often see the mother figure just give a speech or berating the child. Here Celestia wants to hear from Twilight and Twilight has to explain herself to Celestia. Also the way Twilight was portrayed was pretty amusing, they I think they pushed it a little too far eventually.
One problem though it seems is that when you like an episode you mention only the good things and when you don't like an episode you mention only the bad things. Good episode have weak points and bad episodes have strong points. I liked Luna eclipsed, it's impressive just how much atmosphere and content they managed to cram into just 22 minutes. The costumes are very varied and make sense for the mane 6. They set it up well with Twilight being an oddity and basing her costume in history which will lead to her bonding with Luna. Also they really did an amazing job with Luna's character. She could have easily just been a 'sorry' girl like Sunset is (she's still fine though) however they luckily didn't fall into that. They gave her an extremely powerful and distinct personality that would truly live up to the princess the bronies wanted to see. She's conservative but at the same time curious. She's elegant but also bombastic. She's deep and subtle in her emotions but also easily irritable and loud. She is supportive but constantly literally get's in your face. She is ancient but has the energy of a young filly. Luna's just such a facinating character, she seems like a mesh of contradictions yet at the same time she does make sense. Everything about her makes sense and is very entertaining and interesting. That loud voice, intimidating demeanor and scary magic really suits her as the princess of the night. She isn't a redemptive character but a true princess who's personality is powerful enough to stand next to the intimidating presence of Celestia. I think this episode was largely there to show off Luna and I think in that sense it really succeeded.
My problem with Baby Cakes is that eventually the cake twins are so powerful that it becomes completely impossible for Pinkie Pie to contain them. That kind of undermines the lesson. Pinkie Pie should be failing because of a fault that she'll eventually overcome or because there is a key she can't figure out. By making it completely impossible the message kind of falls flat. After all when learning something it should be "I should have done this" but what could Pinkie have actually done? Twilight could have contained them but not because she's more responsible but because she has the magic power to restrain them.