Doctor Perseus Reviews: "The Gift of the Maud Pie" *SPOILERS* · 2:28am Apr 3rd, 2016
In this week's episode of MLP, Pinkie Pie and Rarity travel to Manehattan to meet up with Maud for one of Pinkie's traditional "Pie Sisters' Surprise Swap Days". However, trouble arises when Pinkie struggles to find the best gift for Maud...
I didn't really have any expectations going into this episode. Frankly, that's how I feel about a lot of upcoming episodes this season. Season 6 feels almost like an "anything can happen" type of deal. So I went into this episode with pretty neutral expectations. In the end, I found myself enjoying a very entertaining slice of life episode. So, basically, I enjoyed it.
It's nice to finally get a Rarity/Pinkie Pie episode, the very first I believe. Despite this series already being well over 100 episodes long, we haven't really had any episodes focusing a lot of these two characters together until now. But better late than never, as they say. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were a lot of fun in this episode and the inclusion of Maud only added to the entertainment value. They formed a very interesting dynamic that's hard to put into words. With Pinkie Pie being the co-star of this episode, we got to see a lot of sides to the character (as we usually tend to see in episodes focused on her). And, due to being with Pinkie Pie, we got to see Rarity jump a bit out of her comfort zone. We've seen her do this before in past episodes (most notably those she's shared with Applejack) but the way this happens with Pinkie Pie is very different. One particular highlight from this episode was when Rarity imitated Pinkie Pie for a moment. It was so hilarious seeing Rarity briefly turn into Pinkie Pie that it's really a moment that can only be truly experienced by watching it. And it was also interesting to see Rarity's fashion empire gradually growing. Maud, as always, was a delight. It's amazing how much emotion she can convey whilst being completely monotone. Her conversations with Pinkie felt genuine and she was a very welcome presence throughout the episode. And it was also interesting to learn that each member of the pie family apparently has their own equivalent of Pinkie Sense.
It was also very welcome to return to Manehattan, and I believe we saw more of city in this episode alone than we did in all of its previous appearances. From the ponified versions of various New York City landmarks to the vast amount of unique background ponies throughout the episode, there was certainly a lot to see and examine in the background. Aside from the main trio, there aren't really any other characters to talk about aside from the jerkass who got Pinkie to trade away her party cannon for his rock pouch and the police officer who showed up for one brief scene. In relation to the jerkass, he had an interesting design and it was satisfying to see him get his comeuppance at the end at the hooves of Maud and Rarity. In relation to the cop, there's really nothing to say. She was just a pony cop with a New York accent.
And the lesson for this episode was very good: gift giving shouldn't be a competition because it's simply the act of giving a gift out of love that matters. A lesson I can certainly stand behind. In terms of negatives, the only one that sticks out to me is that this episode felt very slow. This isn't too much of a bother as it fits the slice of life feel of the story, but it did feel like certain scenes dragged a bit. Thankfully, not enough to bore me like Somepony to Watch Over Me or What About Discord.
Overall, I liked The Gift of the Maud Pie. The dynamic between the three main leads was great, the lesson was really good, the details in the background were fun to point out, and it was just an enjoyable character-driven, slice of life story in spite of its occasional slow pacing.
Next week, we get our first CMC episode of Season 6 with On Your Marks!
With their cutie marks finally acquired, the Cutie Mark Crusaders struggle with the question of what to do now. Apple Bloom suggests they embrace their destinies, but she and her friends don't exactly agree on how.
What did the rest of you think of The Gift of the Maud Pie?
I too liked this episode. Very much! I go all into it in my own review. The only thing though is I didn't think it was slow. I thought it was perfectly paced. Or it could be because I prefer slow over fast.
Isn't a bit of an odd coincidence how every episode taking place in Manehattan center around Rarity in some way? It's almost like how both of the episodes taking place in Rainbow Falls have some focus on Rainbow Dash. Though one difference I can tell between this and the other Manehattan episodes is that Coco Pommel didn't make an appearance here. I guess Rarity figured she was too busy running her own business to have visitors.
An interesting bit of trivia I neglected to mention is that this episode introduced a new writer to the staff just like the third episode of the previous two seasons. In Season Four's "Castle Mane-ia", we got Josh Haber. In Season Five's "Castle Sweet Castle", we got Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco. And now here, we have Michael P. Fox and Wil Fox (no relation to Michael J. Fox). Unlike its predecessors, this episode doesn't have the word "Castle" in its title and only two of the Mane 6 appear in it.