Pipe Land 21 & 22 · 1:05pm Oct 9th, 2017
Fuckin' a, this goddamn fucking season won't leave us alone. D: So all the other episodes have leaked, and today and tomorrow are days filled with audio/visual activities for me, let's say, so I don't know when I'm going to watch them. And I need to, because fuckers are spoiling shit for me already. D: Also, someone told me I need to catch up on comics before I watch them, so there's that to do, too (and yet, the site I'm using now isn't caught up...)
Ugh. If I do watch more episodes, I will at least space the blogs out, I guarantee that. For now, let's take a look back over the last two that were, y'know, actually released when they were supposed to be.
Marks and Recreation
Man, this episode feels like it happened forever ago. c.c Pre-Movie is now "the long ago times", I guess.
It's impossible not to love Kettle Corn. First, she's got a nice color scheme. Second, her name is Kettle Corn. Third, she's drawing a fucking circle instead of a still-life, and that's a really good circle, and circles are all she cares about, so she's obviously both dumb and insane, and that makes for best filly. :V
I am glad both that the CMCs have gotten a reputation and that they've set boundaries and are willing to turn kids away at the end of the day. Y'know, unlike the adults in the next episode. :V
No hate for people put off by Scootaloo's use of "blank flanks". It's fucking weird. I guess this really is like a racial slur used outside that race. D: They're no longer part of the oppressed group, but the oppressors, they don't get to claim that word for themselves. If there's one major downside to this episode, it's that.
So I guess the opening scene, at least, comes before Fame and Misfortune; there's precedent for that kind of thing, after all. The call-out to My Little Pony: Rara Is The Only Important Pony On This Show was kind of surprising, though.
"I thought we were all gonna yell that one, too." I never tire of jokes making fun of the show's own tropes. :D
I'm kind of glad they used Rumble in this episode, because it's nice to see a callback to an old character rather than a new one, and I never really cared about him, so I don't care what they do with him. :V
Points to Thunderlane for being a good brother. More on this later. I really did miss him becoming a Wonderbolt, though. D: It's like stepping into an AU where one thing is different.
It's worth saying, the idea of this camp is a good one. Points to the CMCs.
I like how everyone's like, "Rainbow who? She may be a Wonderbolt, but she's not here."
Good to know Spitfire has a fan in Pipsqueak. (Please don't ship Pipsqueak and Spitfire now, too. -.-)
Rumble is so fucking sassy, though, my god. XD The way "horseshoe toss" fades out, him falling off the stage with that grumpy stare. It's fun.
That is the worst haiku ever.
Skedaddle is like, the second-cutest foal. What a great name! :V The ship is SkettaddleCorn
I'm very glad the CMCs don't realize that Rumble was acting up, not simply having a bad run of luck. I mean, yeah, they're obviously projecting, but his behavior is the kind of thing that's going to be obvious to us adult fans, not necessarily so much to kids his age.
Okay, but if the Wonderbolts are performing in Ponyville, how is Dash not there? Like, you don't even see her during the practice thing! Is it because her presence in the episode would overshadow Thunderlane's role?
I guess, looking at Rumble's argument here, the idea behind this episode is something along the lines of "don't let your job become your life"? Like, have hobbies, those are important, make time for them. It doesn't quite translate to real life, I guess. :/
...Oh god, someone write an MLD clone with Rumble being in a box and not liking it.
I suspect somehow that the remark about Thunderlane not being the only pegasus in the family means they have mixed parents.
It is really wierd that foals in this episode are not getting cutie marks in things they like to do. In any previous episode, Kettle Corn would have had a circle on her butt at the end of the intro. Maybe that's why this episode is so damned confusing, it's just inconsistent with everything that's come before it, and cutie mark canon has always been a mess.
>tfw Old Ponish :D
It's also weird because the "blank flanks have the freedom to do whatever they want" argument is something the CMCs themselves have used in the past to ward off bullying. Maybe cutie marks really do change a pony.
"These cutie marks are frustrating!" Pipsqueak would be good at CinemaSins. :V *ding*
Eh, the song's all right. God is Rumble just a little jerk, though.
Okay, but the transition from Sweetie exhorting them all to remain calm and then being the non-calm one might be an obvious joke, but it's still funny. :V
"You just haiku'd right then!" I do love that she pointed this out. :D
It's telling that Rumble says "no more potential blank flank activities" and Kettle Corn goes right on painting that symbol. She's got her cutie mark, so she knows she doesn't have to worry about doing the things she actually likes. And that's where Rumble's philosophy crumbles, but nothing is actually made of it. :B
"What if I get a cutie mark in being bored?" And then Skeddadle falls out of the tree and I love it. XD
Some part of me wants to be upset that they're basically luring their own campers back via star power, but I can't quite put words to why.
That filly's nervous side-step is great.
Thunderlane gets more points for being a good example. Okay, it's later now. You know what this episode was missing? A B-plot about two brothers who are growing apart. All the pieces for it are there, but not nearly enough is done with it. Make Rumble's outbursts sourced from his Wonderbolt brother not having time for him anymore. Have him blame cutie marks for his problems like Starlight did. Make him get upset that the other campers are getting to spend time with Thunderlane and not him. We have a serious of dearth of brothers in the show, and even fewer brother moments. Big Mac gets that one scene with Apple Bloom at the end of The One Where Everyone Thinks Mac Is Trans, but never with AJ. Shining Armor had all of one expositional song montage; his relationship with Twilight has changed since they're both adults. Zephyr Breeze a shit But there aren't really any big brother/little brother pairs in the show, so why not take this opportunity to use the only one we've got?
Thunnerlan, u lil shid :V So, yeah, this is, on second blush, a cute little episode, fun as CMC episodes go, that gets muddled by a confusingly delivered message and some indelicate mucking about with cutie mark lore. 3/5
Once Upon a Zeppelin
Man, it's weird to watch an episode again so soon after it aired. @_@
I take Twilight's statement to mean that each of those pieces is paper is a "princess duty", and her job is to just write on them. :B
Yeah, that line about Spike being part of her family feels real, real good after seven seasons. (Too bad it took that long for us to get it! :|)
Seriously though, for all that Iron Will was a treat, Spike wins this episode by being the best. Now if only he could do shit like this in his own episodes…
"I'm gonna go pack everything neatly into one suitcase!" Her being so specific about only having one is just tops. :D That and the schedule line are the kind of shit I watch the show for anymore.
So, our new amazing writer is Brittany Jo Flores, and I have to admit, I'm really impressed, because she comes out of fucking nowhere. She's the script supervisor for Skylanders Academy, which she also wrote two episodes for. She worked on a short called "Fine Line", for which there is no information. And that's it. And she somehow got a job on MLP and wrote a fantastic episode for her first outing? I hope she sticks around!
Twilight's dad is such a dork, I love him.
Admiral Fairweather's Wild Ride at Pony Island. Remember that!
Okay, but Shining wanting to fly is weird, since he's got a sister and a wife who have wings. >.> Like, you'd think this wouldn't be hard for him to make happen somehow.
Like someone else said, I'm amazed they kept Iron Will's return secret, given how many leaks and previews there've been this season.
Oh my god, and Twilight's mom is a dork, too. XD I'm so glad they just signed up for the free vacation, no questions asked, that's just a parent thing.
Twilight obviously getting her organizational nerdness from her dad is the best detail in this episode. :D I also love how no one is surprised, dismayed or even comments on her doing this itinerary.
"I love tiny things!" Shining Armor keeps unfolding like a flower.
It's also heartening that the thing Twilight most wanted to do is something everyone thinks will be interesting. Good family dynamics!
Okay, but points to Cadence there. (Never thought I'd say that!) She gives Shining a way to get off the deck, with his dignity intact. Or as intact as a green-faced pony's dignity can be, anyway. So diplomatic!
There is something to be said for Twilight and Cadence's naivete here. They're on a cruise in a group that is half princess. They're going to attract some attention here, loudspeaker or not.
I love that Iron Will gets the details wrong, and Twilight's parents get really into it regardless. Also them mugging for the cameras. XD Royal grandparents they are indeed! They're just fucking perfect!
That Cadence mask is the creepiest thing ever. D:
I like that the Twilight banners have her winking. That's such an unusual thing!
I love that he's just randomly flexing while talking. XD
Look at Flurry Heart in the background. >.> She's got this level glare focused on her aunt. The demon child requires a sacrifice!
I like that one of the cruise ponies is that balding guy with the kneesocks. We keep seeing him around! :)
I need to point everyone to FOME's blog on this episode, wherein he points out that Star Tracker didn't get that name for being an astronomer: he's a celebrity stalker! :D It all fits!
What's so darned engrossing about bingo? XD Someone explain this to me!
Personal space, what's that? Actually, the creepiest thing about Star Tracker in this scene is that he fucking teleports from sitting right next to Twilight's dad to all up in her grill. Multiple times!
Okay, but out of all the activities she participates in, bingo is the one thing I can see Twilight really enjoying, creepy stalker aside. God, she's gonna become the Princess of Bingo one of these days.
"I'm in the water, so it totally cancels out!" Can't fault his logic! XD You gotta feel for Shining, though, this airsickness is really putting a damper on his enjoyment of the vacation. :B
Yeah, and she's all, "I'm happy if he gets to race" and then he doesn't, and I feel really bad for both of them. :(
His flexology is staggering.
I can just hear DWK's voice narrating Flurry here. "Other people are my playthings. Soon, I shall conquer all the world and built a statue to my greatness out of those whose souls I've crushed."
So, uh, has Appleloosa actually been around long enough to have anything "old-time" associated with it?
"You're already a good princess, Twilight." This line makes me feel things. ;_;
Out of all the princess-obsessed ponies on this boat, the parents are the worst offenders.
No, Twilight's mom, you're amazing. :D
That chaste kiss on the cheek between husband and wife makes me feel things as well! We don't get a lot of pony affection in the show, I'll take what I can get!
"It's your vacation, too!" Her mom is a saint.
Man, but if Star Tracker wasn't the obsessed creepazoid he is, think about how boring his fucking day would have been. "Your prize is watching a pony sign autographs for two hours! Enjoy!"
It is very weird that the autographs in that book include Elvis and Celine Dion, with zero ponification. c.c Headcanon: It belongs to a tourist from the human world who's found the mirror and is doing her rounds with pony celebrities now. The uber-tourist!
Man, I don't wanna see Twilight cry. D: We saw that in the movie, this is heartbreaking! (Because it's not her fucking fault this time!)
Literally no one realizes she's crying. >.>
Dad called her "sweet pea" because two peas in a pod. :V
The goat eating the pineapple. :D I'm so glad the goats are still around.
This is one of those times, I do not blame her for the way she acted. Not at all. Apology was necessary, yes, but that's a pony pushed to the edge.
"I just want everypony to be happy." Really killing me there, Sparkle. D:
I was a little concerned by the moral of this episode, but I think it's actually not meant to be applicable to more than Twilight's position. Like, this is a leadership lesson, not anything more generalized than that. Coming from Cadence helps me think that's really what's going on here.
Also, this is totally Cadence's best episode, just want to say that.
She has terrorized that poor colt! XD
Okay, and the "I should have stood up for myself" part is probably the more general part of the moral.
You know that wing-touch on the chin made this whole day worth it for that kid.
"Who are you?" The delivery of this line is perfect. XD Everyone being amazed Twilight wants to go off-schedule is another one of those episode-making jokes.
They go and get ice cream? IT'S JUST LIKE IN MY FANFICTIONS >:V
It's a very good thing Star Tracker came to the conclusion they need their own vacation on his own like that. No one had to prompt it out of him, which puts his character in an overall positive light, given all the shit I've been throwing his way.
Iron Will, you have much to answer for, destroying that pony's ice cream that way. D:
Okay but why is it like, a separate ice cream-vending cart? c.c Is this not a regular part of the cruise?
Yeah, like I said, in the real world, the people on that cruise would feel thoroughly entitled to the celebrity's full time and be incredibly upset they were being told they couldn't have it anymore. :B
The way he delivers that fine print. XD
No, but "no refunds!" is the joke of the century here. XD
Amazing. That whole scene is just amazing. Although, you realize, he's left the ship without a captain, and all of those goats totally in the lurch. >.> I said before he was the 'villain', but it's really more an antagonist role. Not crooked, per se, but doing shady business regardless. It honestly cast his self-help routine in a more negative light, despite my earlier defense thereof.
This Northern Stars "recreation" is so fucking cheesy and it's heartwarming as shit because it's the kind of thing that a family would do, and that would have meaning only from family members. ;_; God, she's got the best family.
MAN, that zeppelin is cool. And hey, I missed the credits the first time around, but look at that! They're actually called Night Light and Twilight Velvet! I am blown the fuck away! Speaking of credits, let's take a look at those VAs. Twilight Velvet was voiced by Mrs. Peachbottom, of all ponies, so not the same voice actress as from The Crystalling. (That was apparently Tara Strong.) She was Strika in Beast Machines and apparently Balalaika in the English dub of Black Lagoon. Night Light's VA has pretty much only been in a show called "Beat Bugs". Star Tracker's VA was also Skedaddle, and has pretty much only been in "Beyblade Burst".
So yeah, top-tier fucking episode. Consistently funny, good characterization for Twilight's parents, decent moral. So soon after me saying yet again that watching the show is a chore these days, I'm glad to be proven wrong by this episode. :D 5/5
I would've given anything for Twilight to not apologize to Star Tracker. He didn't deserve an apology and was obnoxious as all get-out.
Dash's absence from "Marks and Recreation" makes me wonder if it happened during one of her map missions.
Kettle Corn's interests aren't as scattershot as you may think.
Also, I'm convinced that at least thirty percent of the native minotaur language is flexing at people.
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He wasn't overbearing and didn't deserve to be literally stepped on. He was definitely in the wrong, but Twilight wronged him worse.
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Oh shit! :D I'm not surprised.
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No, Twilight wasn't in the wrong. I sure as hell would've snapped at him long before then.
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I am willing to accept this headcanon if you are.
And the way Mama Twilight's smile grew as he kissed her was just plain adorable. I love all of the moms we've met/seen in an expanded role this season.
Marks and Recreation I can't say much about since I skipped it, but it sounds like a weird episode that just makes the Cutie Mark lore all the more confusing
But I did see Once Upon a Zeppelin and I loved it just as much as you. So happy to see Iron Will again, even if he's more of a jerk this time around. The Sparkle family is just a hoot. Airshipping was also fun and it's too bad we don't see more of them.
Also looking forward to the DWK treatment. Hope he gets back to it soon!
I’m thinking I’ll start doing my review blogs on Sunday after letting the initial watch gestate and then giving it a re-watch. You convinced me to watch the ep again and it’s a lot better than I remember.
Yeah... was that the first kiss of the show? Did we even see kisses at the weddings? That scene stuck in my head for some reason, and I really found it adorable.
This season continues to be the season of bringing in old minor characters and giving them screen time. Sometimes it wins, sometimes it loses, and I really think these two fall under the former.
How is there a bingo strategy guide?
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I'm pretty sure Appleparents kissed, and... fucking someone else has, I swear! But you'd probably have to go way back and I guarantee there's not more than two others besides this episode. I'm not even sure Shining and Cadence kissed at the wedding.
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It's probably just a bunch of hints for getting into the mindset of sitting motionless for hours, listening to someone call out numbers. And maybe stretches to help with stamping quickly and calling 'bingo' first. <.<
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Shining armor and cadence kissed at the wedding and it was on the mouth and it looked really creepy.
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Maybe it's good we don't get more kissies.
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Don't need to fully catch up, 59's a one-shot. Heck, add 3.99 + tax on my latest review commission and pick it up from Comixology or something if you like. But yeah, the timing on that one is ... significant and puzzling. Details in the spoiler if you don't want it to be a surprise (granted, it might not be depending on how much you already know): Issue 59 is a direct sequel to S7E23 which released multiple days before EqD's post on the rest of the episodes being leaked, and a week and a half before the scheduled air date of S7E23. It's like the most Season 7 thing ever. :V
Yeah, I really didn't get that.
One of us... one of us... one of us...
But in a way, this may be highlighting just how much the CMC and DT/SS were mirrors of each other: each obscessed with cutie marks, and for the CMC, getting their own hasn't changed that. And they can't or don't want to really see that others might not see them the same way, or with the same priority.
For whatever reason, I kind of like it when side characters are jerks. Rumble was (mostly) great. :V
:'(
Me too.
But he's the one who makes her fly--remember wife tossing? :P
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No one can ever know their secret.
Including Spike. I hope they got a lot of pictures to share with him. And you know Twilight would be all about optimal photo album organization.
I also like how Twilight's thing about making sure everyone else gets to do what they want to is an echo of him staying home so she can go.
I would pay actual money to read that!
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4692355 4692409 Best Bingo Strategies For Advanced Players (Never underestimate the gullibility of people who are innumerate.)
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Zeppelin is in my top ten favorite episodes. (If you count two-parters as single episodes.) Twi's parents were pitch-perfect and immensely satisfying. Iron Will was an absolute hoot and went out with the best exit line, ever. The situation was a real, believable one. And Fridge-Horror Flurry Heart was awesome... playing with the other foals like they were toys! Did you see the looks Cadance was giving her? (Damn, her teen years are going to be something...) 6/5
Huh, I'll have to check this one out!
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I'm fully convinced most minotaur communication looks like Macho Man Randy Savage promos from the late 1980's.
It's a cartoon about insects who live in a backyard and sing Beatles songs. Well, cover versions. The episodes are actually called things like "Ticket to Ride" and "I Am the Walrus".
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That sounds awful.
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I haven't seen it. So it's either an MLP-type deal where it sounds bad but is surprisingly good, or it's a most-other-things-type deal where it sounds bad and is.