S7E10: "A Royal Problem" · 6:56pm May 20th, 2017
This was better than "Parental Glideance" -- and I loved "Parental Glideance". I don't think I've liked an episode as much as this on first viewing since... probably "A Hearth's Warming Tail". It was fantastic. Can't quite give it an out-and-out five because of one little niggle, but it still has the potential if it holds up on rewatching. ★★★★/★★★★★
More under the cut.
Starlight was brilliant in this. This is what you do with her character. Her scenes with Twilight were hilarious, for a start -- shutting Twi in the drawer was probably my highlight. When I saw the synopsis I thought "What the hay is Starlight doing with cutie mark magic?" That's my one little niggle, actually -- nopony really told Glimmy that this is an area of magic she should be way more careful about. Celestia and Luna were fantastic, though -- sure they bickered rather like they have done in the comics, but since I liked that this is good too. The way their duties went from easy to flat-out terrifying (especially in Luna's case) was very nicely done -- no surprise that this was a Lewis & Songco episode.
And then there was Daybreaker. Bloody hell. This episode would have been worth watching even if that had been all we got. Her name is perfect, and I'm amazed no one in the fandom (as far as I know) has come up with it before. Anyway, I'm just gushing now, but this was amazing. Best episode in S7 without a doubt.
Additional: those dream bubbles will definitely repay closer inspection. I think one of them shows Applejack as a foal being held by... well, you can't see, but could it be her parents? :o
This was just so fantastic. I can't wait to watch it again.
This episode is still sinking in. I wasn't really ready for it - head and shoulders above the rest of the season so far for me.
The 2 sisters were pretty much given equal prominence and screen-time for the first time ever. I know you've always wanted a purely Celestia episode. This might have to do.
The moment we see her (avoiding spoiler risks here); that's going to be the moment I want to see all the reactions of. It's basically the equivalent of the 'Luna's Future' scene from last season.
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Likewise! This one's being added to the stock of episodes to watch just for fun, which is always a nice feeling.
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I'd still love to see a specifically Celestia episode in the future, but if we don't get that then this will do very nicely. And yes! It's really something.
Also I just checked - A Hearth's Warming Tail aired on the 14th May. So it came out a year ago to within a week.