The Episode No One Cared About [spoilers!] · 4:24pm Oct 7th, 2017
Seriously, why are we having an episode this week, with the movie premiering? I mean, it's a nice bone for the folks in other countries who aren't getting the movie yet... Who also don't get the episodes on the day they air in the US. <.< Someone explain this to me.
Anyway, people who are too busy with the movie to care about this episode are fools. After how much time I spent in that theater, not reacting to what was happening on-screen, it was so much fun being able to have fun with something show-related again.
Season 7 has definitely been "the season of families". We got Rainbow Parents, Apple Parents, and though Twilight's parents appeared on-screen earlier than I think anyone else's (we didn't see Rarity's until season 2, right?), and have even gotten dialogue before, only now do we really get to know them. And my god, do I love them. Dadlight turns out to be the writer, and the source of Twilight's love of organization. Momlight is an adrenaline junkie, a turn I never would have seen coming. Both of them are yuppies. XD It's just so great getting to see the whole Sparkle family, all three princesses included, doing something together.
But for me, the clinching moment was when that first announcement came on over the speakers and I went, "Is that Iron Will?" I got really excited, you guys, I can't even explain it. I mean, Putting Your Hoof Down was a fun episode, for all that it ran Fluttershy's character through the wringer, but I've never had any particular affinity for Iron Will or minotaurs since then. And yet, despite being cast as an unequivocal villain this time (I maintain he did nothing wrong in PYHD), he was absolutely the star of the show. He'd give the Flim-Flam Brothers a run for "crookedest businessperson in Equestria"! XD And that last scene, where he jumps overboard shouting "No refuuuuunds!" is one of the all-time best gags in the show's run. I can't get enough of that shit!
What else? Twilight finally gets a sweaty fanboy! (That dude's Star Trackin' across the universe. :V) I like how they handle him at the end, because there's a definite creepy stalker vibe to him, but he really does come off as socially awkward, and socially awkward people are not likely to know inherently where boundaries are meant to be. So yeah, Twilight should have spoken up.
I also really appreciate that everyone in the final scene was totally reasonable when Twilight told them she'd been looking forward to relaxing. Which turns this episode's moral into one that's less applicable in real life; actual people tend to be more self-centered and dislike being told they're encroaching on someone else's space when trying to get what they want. Ponies really are better than us. :B
Oh yeah, and can we just have a moment to appreciate Spike for once? Holy shit, Twilight called him a part of her family. Whether or not he agrees with that, he really is the best, taking over all her menial duties like that, just so she can go relax. He deserves all the deep-fried gems he can eat.
Also, Twilight's parents can use dragonfire to contact her.
Also, grabbing something out of a telekinesis field and putting another object in its place. XD
But seriously, I had no idea Iron Will was going to be in this, and getting to see him (and his goats!) again was a real treat. :D I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at an episode.
The Perfect Pear
A Royal Problem
A Health of Information
Once Upon a Zeppelin
Parental Glideance
To Change a Changeling
Fame and Misfortune
Honest Apple
All Bottled Up
Daring Done?
Rock Solid Friendship
Forever Filly
A Flurry of Emotion
Triple Threat
Discordant Harmony
Marks and Recreation
Campfire Tales
It Isn't the Mane Thing About You
Celestial Advice
Not Asking for Trouble
Fluttershy Leans In
Hard to Say Anything
You're in My Head Like a Catchy Song
Best Friends Until the End of Time
Blank Flanks Forever
We're Not Flawless
Battle for Sugar Belle
Pinkie's parents did show up in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" along with Twilight's, but they did so later on in the episode.
But yeah, this was a big pile of fun. Also, this is apparently the weekend of airships. And while Iron Will may have performed some shady deals here, he's still less skeevy than the Flimflams. Everything was largely as advertised; it's hardly his fault that Parentsmart failed to read what they were signing.
I mean, at least iron will has his legal bases covered
The distribution for this season (and considering the leak, the movie too) has been deeply incompetent so far. Why stop now? :V
Is it bad that I still tear up when I watch this episode?
I loved everything about this episode. Star Tracker was a GREAT example of the fandom, honestly. Being star-struck and forgetting that your heroes are people is something that happens to a lot of people (Myself included, I was a mess when I met Mark Hamill and Carrie Fischer. Thank god I was wearing a helmet.) and it was endearing to see him sort of get himself together by the end and not feel so overwhelmed. That little moment when he tells Iron Will to leave Twilight alone cemented him as "a good, awkward person", and made him from a sort of weird character into a totally sweet one.
Also, Iron Will was amazing and his bits were too perfect. And Twilight's parents! They were GREAT!
Honestly, I try not to make the movie a big deal for me.
This episode was a nice watch.
It was a great episode. Like you said, it was just so much fun. Although I rather like S7 on the whole, we don't get enough fun. Scootaloo's fanfillying in "Parental Glideance" was fun, and this was too. Today's was by a new writer, too.
With you on all counts (a weirdly rare event) - the parents were great, Iron Will was great, and mein gott, that parachute!
4689995
Given what happened today? Why not
4690003
Nah, man, that's good shit.
4690049
Honestly, if you were upset by the portrayal of fandom stand-ins in Fame and Misfortune, this is the episode to assuage your anger. :)
4690275
Yeah! :D I was wondering who our new lord and savior was.
QFT. This episode was wonderful, and Iron Will's parting line was a killer.
Ahem. Not quite the whole family. Spike's as much a part of the Sparkle family as anypony! :D (I loved that that was included.)
Yeeeesss! I haven't laughed that much in a while. Everything about him was amazing this episode. And while I agree he didn't really do anything wrong in PYHD, this does feel like a fairly natural extension. And that the gag was a callback too made it all the better.
I wish The Descendant were here to see this. :'( Hopefully, somewhere out there, he knows. But in his heart, he always knew the truth.
4690550
I'm actually ecstatic that this episode dropped today, for all that it probably shouldn't have. It makes me feel so much better after the movie!
4689941 This is true. He even offered the princesses a chance to back out (though he was being kind of manipulative on that one). Heck, I was expecting Cadance to just switch off for Twilight for the rest of the cruise, and everyone would have been happy.
This is both the best and worst thing about the episode. The best is that it's Iron Will, and he's such an over-the-top personality that he's fun to watch. The part where he counts by flexing his abs was my favorite part.
The worst is the fact that they made him a villain. I always liked the IDW interpretation (the Friends Forever issue, not that "Return of Sombra" arc) that he wasn't bad per se, just sort of loud and forceful. I personally thought the episode followed this pretty well until the ending, where they make him out to be a full-on scumbag by bailing the ship. For the rest of the episode, he's a tad shady, but not really "bad". I mean, if I set up a cruise that I was ostensibly given permission to do, only for a necessary party to bail, I'd be kind of irritated that I'd have to cancel my business too.
But that's a relatively minor gripe. I really enjoyed this episode and hope to see it again soon.
4690848
Why did you have to remind me of the "Return of Sombra" arc? D:<
Zeppelin...
Oh yeah, and the rest of the episode was really good, too! I love stories that tackle real-world problems, and provide realistic solutions!
I liked this ep, but I did find it to be an odd juxtaposition with "Fame and Misfortune." So I guess only ponies in Ponyville are assholes?
The bit of him jumping out of the zeppelin shouting "no refunds" was awesome, but the real clincher was his parachute with the picture of him in the middle of a giant pile of bits.
But this is another episode that was a little passive aggressive. This was an episode about conventions. Plain and simple. But it was positive overall, so that's nice. Still had a lot of fun with this one too.
This was an absolutely fantastic episode from the first second to the last. I don't think there was a moment I wasn't laughing. This season has been knocking it out of the park.
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I did get the feeling that there was some angst from the celebrity-in-the-fandom set in there. But at least this time, it didn't end with a lecture and a song; everyone was very reasonable, and I appreciate that. :)