My Review of MLP Season Eight, Episode Six, "Surf and/or Turf" (Contains Spoilers)

Hmm... this was quite an episode, friends. Not a complicated one; no, far from that. It had a simple premise and a more than simple solution, but it's the problem itself that has gotten me so pumped up. It shows that this magnificent show is still willing to tackle complex themes, even if they have to camouflage it under a more g-rated guise made for young children. Don't believe me? Peek a sneak.

It's an episode surrounding the CMCs getting called by the FRIENDSHIP MAP to Mount Aris, home of the hippogriffs from straight out of the movie (and it looks fairly swell here, my friends. Props to the animation and design crew), with Twilight as their chaperone. As the CMC attempt to track down and solve what ails the particular inhabitant of the region who is the source of their call by the MIGHTY MAP, Twilight takes part in some celebratory events at their festival of something or other, or something or other. I thought I heard that these things take place every weekend. Also, I think Twi drinks salmon juice alongside the birdhorses there. Kinky.

The source of the soon-to-be-mentioned problem who the map had led the CMC to, the hippogriff Terramar (a clever name for those who know the meaning behind it), is someone who I can say is a great character. Downright adorable. Good design, good voice, though his motives for suffering this problem are a little bit on the extreme side of things. Let's just say it all stems from his beloved parents; from which one he wants to live with.

Speaking of his parents, Sky Beak and Ocean Flow, they show themselves as two of the main focal points in the plot, due to his father living on land and his mother living in the sea. Much like their son, they're characters with their own personalities; both also bear good voice actors and designs to their characters. But... that's not what's so big about them. If the higher-ups behind the show intentionally wanted to invoke a more "mature" image with them, whether they're set as simply amiable exes or something resembling a long-distance relationship, due to their preferences in residences, I think they did a good enough job on them. The big problem with Terramar's indecision lays with, and in the end is solved by, them—they never told their son that he didn't have to choose where he lived. They tell him this that after the CMC speak of his anxiety over it, and they immediately tell their son he doesn't have to choose. He can just live with both of them, traveling to visit whoever he chooses for the time! Probably helps that they basically live next door (hence the aforementioned extreme side of Terramar's stance on the issue). Either way, Terramar jumps about with joy, and the story ends beautifully.

The only "sort of" issue I have lays in the big portion of the plot itself—the situation between the CMC attempting to figure out which of the two places Terramar should stay, but even then it's not a big deal, if even understandable in a few ways. The conflict is mainly between Sweetie Belle and Scoots, with Apple Bloom as the voice of reason in the middle. Sweetie Belle prefers the land part, due to its features and musical quality calling to her VERY SOUL, while Scootaloo prefers the sea due to it giving her the first "flying"-esque experience she's ever really had, as well as the whimsy it also possesses. They have a little "I'm not your friend anymore" music-moment-spat that's quickly remedied, and the story concludes as mentioned prior.

Personally, I give the episode a 9/10 for the factor behind its inner meaning. I'm glad they tackled such a real subject. Reminds me of RD's five stages of grief following Tank's hibernation (which I'm pretty sure was based on dealing with the death of a loved one) back in Tanks for the Memories. Also, Scootaloo enjoying "flying" underwater is another thing worth mentioning. It's both adorable, and utterly heartbreaking. Well, assuming she actually never does get to really fly.