That Time Again cont.

No preambles this time: let's get back to it!

Honest Apple: Twenty versions of the same hat, you say? There goes that fan belief: ol' Papa Apple's beloved stetson, probably never been around at all. And oh boy, Applebloom's inevitable hat debut??? To quote our Glorious Emperor of Mankind in regards to Applejack: WAY TO BRING DOWN THE F***ING HAMMER. The dark side of brutal honesty, amiright? Although I do take some pleasure in offering my most honest opinion. Probably why I didn't do so well in that call center. Yeah, a decent Applejack episode. And boy, can Rarity shred with just two strings on an acoustic.

A Royal Problem: Oh ho ho ho ho, the Daybreaker episode. A name that struck off the dozens of titles made up by speculative fans over the years in the span of an episode! But first, a few things: damn, Luna's brutal just eating pineapple and banana peels straight! And Celestia making her own pancakes? A dame after my own heart. Anyway, a pity that Damsel Daybreaker was just a nightmare scenario, but aside from that this was a nice little episode between the royal sisters. Which begs the question of why we needed Starlight to instigate this kind of thing. This could have played out like a proper Slice of Life, but of course our next princess has to be the one to get the ball rolling in these two resolving their issues. Come to think of it, if Celestia wasn't prepared for handling the realm of dreams, then how did it manage for the last thousand years? Oh dear...

Not Asking For Trouble: Master of Subtlety! Fairly nice slice o' lifey type episode. I don't particularly care about the yaks, but it's good that there's an episode focusing on their day-to-day all the same. Something of a re-iteration of the lesson from way back in Applebuck Season, although the yaks never learn to ask for help. Soooooo, provide help while respecting another's culture? I feel like things fell through at the end. A common trend.

Discordant Harmony: Ah yes, the Discord episode. When you got Q onboard, you gotta have at least one of these per season. I bet it's explicitly written in his contract somewhere. And whaddya know, this episode doesn't disappoint! Genuinely had a smile on my face throughout seeing him go about his silly ways, and Fluttershy revealing her chaotic side. Guess those random comments about this episode were true: Fluttercord confirmed! Fav episode now. But wait! There's still the next one, which I heard is quite the doozy in quality.

The Perfect Pear: Brinner! God how I miss Scrubs, such a good show. Wait, hold on... what's this...? Oh God my emotions! They're flowing out of my eyes!! Dammit this was too sweet! See? This is what slow-paced, low-key storytelling can do for you. Goodness those two were so adorable together. I cried proper tears for this; why couldn't there more like this? More episodes that draw on genuine heartfelt emotion? You don't need an epic crisis or a two parter if you pace everything just right. Twilight's ascension could've achieved something like this! We could've had a flashback episode about the two sisters that could've been as good as this! Why do you spread out your quality episodes so far apart, show makers?? Stop teasing me with all this lingering potential, FFS!!

So yeah, best episode by far, simply on the grounds that it made me feel something more than mild amusement. Moving on.

Fame and Misfortune: Oh ha ha, poke fun at the fandom. Though there's no denying the spot-on if blatant metaphor: it's the adults arguing and getting worked up over these lessons, and the only ones who take them to heart and appreciate them are the little fillies. Almost as if those kids were THE INTENDED AUDIENCE FOR THESE LESSONS. Masters of subtlety at work again, folks! I suppose fair's fair, though. Although there were those episodes clearly made for people outside the targeted age demographic, like Slice of Life and some of the Discord ones. Meh, okay episode. You know, it just occurred to me that Spike has been absent these past couple of episodes. Almost as if they were building up to... oh my god.

Triple Threat: Yep, Spike episode. Nowhere as bad as Princess Spike or the pet episode. Still though, not really much growth going on for him other than bumbling around making things worse. That conversation between Ember and Thorax near the end was legitimately good; so much so it's like you could've done the entire episode with just them and have nothing to do with Spike, or Twilight, or Twilight 2.0. You know, showmakers, pointing out how Starlight is gonna be the next Twilight doesn't lessen how utterly blatant it is. I mean at this point quit with the tiptoeing and ascend her already. Maybe have this show end with Season 8 or *gasp* have the movie be the grand finale to this series. It would at least save this generation from the fate of Spongebob. Please don't be another Spongebob, FiM! Oh, this episode, right. Just middling nonsense with our dragon boy just dillying about with no real purpose. Spike, You Can(Not) Advance.

Campfire Tales: Had to play a round of Sonic CD to keep myself awake. That's probably another factor that made hindered my watching capabilities the other night: the majority of these episodes are simply boring, or just aren't doing anything for me. This episode, though, a humble bit of campfire storytelling. Have to say Rarity's was my personal favorite of the three. No major dramas, no overwrought conflicts: just telling stories to wait out the storm. And what a storm: flyders. Yeah, don't think I'll be sleeping anytime soon. Or at least for one more episode, which might be an interesting one.

To Change a Changeling: Wow, nabbed in a bag by just one changeling drone in just two minutes. And this was the same unicorn who could match an alicorn while jumping around time and space like hopscotch. Then again, that's probably how the other major ponies got captured so quickly at the end of Season 6. Sigh, this show has an awful habit of whapping its most overpowered characters with the incompetence stick. And now changelings have gotten boring. Not Thorax, he'll always be my adorkable little snuggle bug. But having everyone else in the hive be like him? Well, I suppose with him being the leader he'd be the example for how everyone acts, so guess that's no surprise there. Still, once again Starlight has to come along and mess things up for the best like with the royal sisters. Though admittedly I didn't really care for Thorax's brother, I won't bother trying to spell out his name. All hissy and obtuse and, yeah, not feeling it. The whole brother thing wasn't fleshed out enough, and Last Angry Changeling didn't express his more caring side till the butt end of the episode. Things would've been immensely more entertaining if it was Chrysalis sitting in the Feelings Forum. Otherwise, a more gradual evolution of his character would have gone better. Chip away at his hard shell, rather than flash him into his shining new digs at the end. Which means no more classic black chitin changelings. And so goes another remnant of the spectacle that was season 2. Time, how it passes on steadily.

So that will be it for tonight. Don't want to force myself to watch the remaining episodes. Either tomorrow, or when more episodes become available. Until next time, another good night, and another all the best.

EDIT: Surprise b****es I'm not dead yet! Hyeh, heh, yeh, hff, weh!

Daring Done and Won, SON!: Wow, I really called it with that title. Story with the sphinx was really neat. That's one thing this show does consistently well: storytelling in regards to lore and history and world-building. Also the core message of having hope I can support wholeheartedly. As Terry Pratchett put it, it's the kind of thing that keeps you looking for your keys even after you dug into your pockets a dozen times. That light in the darkness, that inner tube in the sea of despair and confusion. Rest of the episode, though, was okay. Nothing all that noteworthy to say about our leading characters, though it was nice acknowledging how those heroes do an awful lot of collateral damage that can rub people the wrong way. Really don't hear about that from our classic adventure films, eh?

It Isn't the Mane Thing About You: Talk about a mouthful. Is there a shorthand or abbreviation we can use? The Mane Thing. Alright, we'll go with The Mane Thing. Now about this thang, dayum, girl. Rockin' that punk look. I'm diggin' it. Good to see that confident Rarity from when she started her Canterlot boutique, all focused and calm. Shame we had to go through the bulk of the episode seeing her freak out and play the pariah. Good where it was good, nothing great everywhere else. Except my man Harry Bear being a stylist. Seriously underrated supporting character right there, that bear.

And now I'm done until the final batch of episodes come around. Enjoy yourselves in your respective doings, and happy Rosh Hashanah to anyone of the Jewish faith. MAKE SOME NOISE!!