Shadow's Seasons: 28 Pranks Later · 4:25pm Aug 13th, 2016
Hello, everyone. My name is Shadowmane PX-41, and welcome to the fourteenth episode in my Season Six review series.
This time, we're looking at 28 Pranks Later by F.M. DeMarco.
Now, I'm going to be blunt and say flat out that I felt unsatisfied during this episode. It was one of the most predictable, most poorly executed, and downright cliche episodes I think I've ever seen from the whole show. And what makes it worse is that there are multiple other shows that did this so much better. Billy and Mandy, Spliced, and maybe a hundred others that I'm forgetting to mention.
The base premise is that this is a Rainbow Dash is a Dick episode, in which this is an episode where Dash is at her absolute worst as a character, and that there should have been no need for her to act this way. This time, she's a ruthless prankster with a bad case of getting the whole town.
Pretty much the whole episode is spoiled from beginning to end, and yet what we see in the episode doesn't really seem satisfying. If anything, I consider this Rainbow Dash's The One Where Pinkie Knows (GODFUCKING DAMMIT, G.M. Berrow! Your fucking Balloon-head Mane Six drove me to make that comment. To this day, them chanting 'Tell' will never leave my fucking head!), in which when the plot happens, nothing seems to go right for her, and everything just gets worse and worse, to the point where it becomes unsatisfying to watch.
Now, the question here is, is this episode worse than One Where Pinkie Knows? Well, no is the answer to that. Yes, while it does have as much torture fetish for people who hate Rainbow Dash as OWPN had enough torture fetish for people who hated Pinkie Pie for her role in Filli Vanilli or in the show as a whole, I don't really think that it was worse than that. Because this episode had some certain sense of originality.
How you may ask? Well, some of Rainbow Dash's pranks are pretty unique and have a satisfying payoff, like the sewing machine cake and the bed in the pigpen, but that's pretty much all that I have to say about that. Nothing else in the episode feels like it should fit, and when I expected zombies, I expected goddamn necromancy, or something akin to mind control, but not this. This just feels like some of the cheesiest, bland, and unoriginal ideas for a fake zombie apocalypse that I've ever seen, and despite that it's very convincing, I don't really think that it strengthens this episode as a whole.
Yes, Rainbow Dash deserved it for what she did. Yes, she was an arrogant prick who deserved this punishment. And yes, I do have to admit that it was mildly entertaining to make shotgun gestures throughout the last acts to emphasize the zombie apocalypse factor, but that's not going to change how I feel about this episode. But there's something where the punishment has to fit the crime, and I don't really think that this is punishment enough for poor Dashie. If anything, I wanted her to succeed in the end, but she just ends up being shat on, and it's not good for the episode as a whole.
When Pinkie Pie had to keep a secret back in One Where Pinkie Knows, yes, it was just as difficult. But unlike this episode, Pinkie thought through impossible and incidental odds and won in the end. Here, Rainbow Dash suffers greatly, and her character starts to wither away as a result. Instead of being a brave and bold hero, she just becomes scared and lifeless. Considering that this is the same Rainbow Dash who has fought off many things alongside Twilight and friends that wanted to destroy all of Equestria as we know it, this should be a piece of cake. Dash should be able to stand up for herself and at least show some form of resistance. But no. It's all washed away in a tide of whines and groans, and it does not sound or look visually appealing in the slightest.
In fact, no. I take that back. This is the new WORST EPISODE OF THE SHOW. One Where Pinkie Knows. You're free to go. This is the new bastard child of MLP that deserves to be chained up for all time, as a reminder that there are better ways to make MLP, and this is not one of them. It's unfunny, it's unoriginal, it's unsatisfying, and it's even worse than the Balloon Six in OWPN. So girls, you're free to chant the word "Tell" as much as you want, because this episode is now the bottom of the barrel.
And as Caddicarus would say, this episode gets the Slaughter!
*Shotgun shot*
28 Pranks Later is a mess of an episode that is undeserving of being on MLP as a whole. Not only does it seem rushed and cliche, but it's also very unsatisfying and serves as a Rainbow Dash torture porn.
None of the humour in this episode is funny, as most of it comes in the first act alone. From there on out, the humour is swapped out for the plot which is rushed, broken, and unappealing, even if you're a fan of zombie apocalypses.
The punishment in the episode didn't really fit the crime in the slightest, and I would have handled this episode in a much more different fashion. Not only that, but the punishment felt worse than the crime itself. Yes, pranking people can be a nuisance, but is it really enough to cause a widespread panic like this just to focus your message on one person?
Overall, this episode is nothing more than a waste of time. It adds nothing, it makes Dash seem like a bad person who deserves punishment, it's garbage to look at, and above all, it makes no sense. If the whole episode is spoiled by the synopsis alone, then would you want to watch it?
Still, I suppose for all of those people who hate Rainbow Dash with a burning passion, then I guess this episode would be right up your alley. But to everyone else in the fandom, this episode is just appalling, and I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I would much rather watch One Where Pinkie Knows instead of this maladarous tripe.
The punishment has to fit the crime, and I think that Rainbow's sentence is not worthy of her actions.
So instead, for these ponies of Ponyville...
I sentence you to death, and then re-incarnation, for a REAL zombie apocalypse...
Thank you very much for watching, and join me next time, when I'll be covering The Times They Are A Changeling.
Until then, farewell...
long story short, dash is a dick and need to chill the fuck out xD
I felt like it was pretty Luke warm.
If the ponies had a little more "emotion" when pranking Dash and she had a certain level in her to see what she was doing she probably would've pulled back.
Her ego is pretty big, but it was like she was detached from reality here.
Maybe a little more action and Rainbow having a bit more consideration I guess, but I'm not sure
This ep definitely could've been handled a lot better.
This shit episode reminded me of another shit episode.... Mysterious Mare do Well
4147666 I think that Mysterious Mare-Do Well, and heck, ANY episode in MLP is better than this.
The second preview clip made it all too easy to imagine. In fact, we do have fics on this site that deals a similar message (one I read in particular involves EQG Trixie's photo bombs). Though I do admit the Cake Twins being involved with the ultimate prank was very cute.
I can't wait for the next episode.