Friendship University Review · 4:40pm Aug 11th, 2018
I'm going to keep using the spoilers tag even if it's probably not needed, simply because I don't know how many people are waiting on U.S. airdates and how many have already seen the Australian airings. Anyway, after almost eight seasons in we finally get our first RariLight episode of the entire show (the closest we've ever come before was parts of "Sweet and Elite" and "Hearth's Warming Eve" though in the latter case it was impossible to determine whether that's how Twilight and Rarity would really interact or if it was just their characters in the play), and it involves the return of Starswirl the Bearded. Kevin Burke and Chris "Doc" Wyatt returned to write this episode after leaving last season to work on the new Spider-Man cartoon (which is decent, an improvement over Ultimate Spider-Man but very rushed, and I still don't think putting Spidey in the Marvel cinematic universe was the best idea. Spider Man has always best on his own). Their track record is relatively lackluster, working with Michael Vogel for two episodes and then getting paired up with The Fox Brothers for the disaster that was "P.P.O.V (Pony Point of View)". But considering the Fox Brothers were able to turn it all around (until "Yakity Sax" anyway) were Kevin and Chris able to do well on their own? Well, let's find out.
The episode opens up with Starswirl the Bearded sending postcards to Twilight chronicling his journies since "Shadow Play" (so I guess he was traveling far from Canterlot during the movie). All seems well until Cozy Glow appears (the first time she's had a noticeable appearance since her debut) with boxes of sewing machines for Rarity's class (which she thankfully bought with her own money) and flyers for Friendship University.
Said university is in Las Pegasus so you know what that means, it's the return of Flim and Flam. And they're up to their same old con artist routine of song and dance, and by now you'd think word would've gotten out that these two are always lying through their teeth. Heck the episode even points it out a little later on. When Chancellor Neighsay arrives you think that perhaps he might be behind it all, intentionally encouraging a rival friendship school to challenge Twilight. But nope, he's just there to grant EEA approval and is convinced solely on Flim and Flam's word and seeing Starswirl in one of the classes. Plus, let's not forget that episodes like "Non-Compete Clause" and "A Matter of Principals" have unintentionally proven him right about Twilight's school being a disaster. So anyway, Neighsay is glad to just give approval because I guess he doesn't care as long as there's a challenger to Twilight's school (no doubt he's doing it behind the EEA's back), and he just leaves. He doesn't even get in a parting jab to Twilight, he's still as speciesist as ever.
Twilight of course doesn't buy Flim and Flam's change of heart for one second (and why should she when Flim and Flam have at least three times now ignored the ephipany that laying, cheating, and stealing never works?) but fears ponies will assume she's just jealous and afraid of the competition. So Rarity decides they'll need to use disguises in order to sneak around the school, and use fake names. Her disguise is admittedly decent, changing her mane and putting on a baseball cap. But Twilight's disguise is just an eye-patch and a fake cutie mark, not even an attempt at disguising the mane or hiding the wings. Even the CMC's disguises were more convincing.
Rarity, posing as Clarity, infiltrates the classes and finds that Flim and Flam are interested in exploiting the lessons to have favors done for them. Meanwhile Twilight snoops around their office for any sign of true intent, and gets caught in the act. Flim and Flam show it to Starswirl who of course believes the photo, and then Flim and Flam promise not to show the photo to anyone else if Twilight agrees to drop her investigation. Despite Flim and Flam having zero credibility on the issue (they could easily release the photo anyway the moment Twilight leaves), Twilight trusts them. But then the true nature of the scheme is revealed, Flim and Flam have copied Twilight's lesson plan and while the school's enrollment is free they use Starswirl as a tool to charge other students for the lesson plans. They hide the bits in a special vault behind their office, and it's all a ruse to expand their resort. But Twilight and Rarity expose them in front of Starswirl, who manages to more or less intimidate Flim and Flam into giving back the bits and shutting down the school.
With Friendship University closed down, Starswirl refers everyone to Twilight's school and then claims that if he ever attends a school again it will be Twilight's school (why he doesn't enroll now I don't know). Twilight and Rarity return to the school and wonder how the lesson plans could've been copied, right before Cozy Glow comes in with the boxes of the sewing machines. And of course given what we already know thanks to synopsis, it's all but certain that she got the lesson plans to Flim and Flam somehow (unless it's a red herring which why would it be?).
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Honestly, it's just there. It's more or less going through the motions of a typical Flim and Flam episode: They show up, do their song and dance routine, everyone buys it except one mane six member, said mane six member briefly wonders if she's wrong, she turns out to be right, and Flim and Flam are exposed and driven out of town but otherwise face no consequences. The episode tries to be different by adding in Starswirl (for fanservice) and Neighsay (so as to give him more screen time before the finale) but neither of them really do anything and they're just there for the sake of being there (plus exactly why does Neighsay still have his job after his remarks almost caused an international incident?). Flim and Flam are not at all new here, they're just back to how they were in "Leap of Faith" conning innocent ponies out of their bits because they really have nothing better to do. The Twilight and Rarity dynamic is interesting, but they don't really interact much throughout this episode and it's solely a coincidence that they happen to be involved in the conflict together. I do appreciate the moral (stand up for what's right even if it costs you personally), but everything else is just there. In all honesty it feels like this was meant to be a map mission episode but for whatever reason they decided not to make it one (and perhaps tied to "A Matter of Principals" so that only Twilight and Rarity would be called away instead of Discord staging a fake map mission). In the end I give this episode a borderline C+/B- putting it slightly above "Yakity Sax" which was clearly missing key details but below "The Break-Up Break Down" which as cliche as it was, felt like it was trying to be something greater.
Well hopefully next week will put Season 8's second half on a more solid footing with "The End in Friend" a RariDash episode where the two wonder how they can be friends even though they don't seem to have anything in common. A bit of a generic synopsis but I'm more interested in the character dynamic, after all we've only gotten one RariDash episode and that was "Rarity Investigates!".
This is my personal least favorite episode of the entire season.
Not only do I find it dull and irritating (though less irritating now than when I first saw it due to circumstances out of my control), but it made Flim and Flam my second least favorite pony, behind only Spoiled Rich.
Though Plainity was the best part of the episode.
4918427 Spoiled Rich has been dethroned for me as "Worst Pony", compared to Neighsay she almost looks like a saint. At least Spoiled has been told off and is now in a position where she can do little lasting harm. Neighsay is lucky his actions don't lead to irreversable consequences, like say international warfare or the EEA's reputation forever tarnished and tainted.
4918436
For me, Neighsay has this odd sort of charm in his transparent evilness that Spoiled lacked.
What kind of episode was this? Literally a string of plot points bunched up together with no story or conflict. XD
4918450 Really it was Rarity who carried this episode, along with Twilight towards the end with the moral. Otherwise I think this might just be the most average episode of the show, even more average than "Winter Wrap-Up".
4918454
Honestly, I agree, but I wish Starswirl was more involved. He's the one that brings up the friendship university, this episode should've made Starswirl the central character here. 😅 I kinda enjoyed the episode nonetheless. 😇
To be honest, this episode feels like Hasbro was trying promote that gambling is wrong, which I'm not against the message, but the episode honestly ker-scuffled any sense making of what the lesson even was. Just feels like a fill in episode for me. Only reason I went back was to see if I could spot new alicorns, buuuuut I had no such luck.
4918563 I don't think the message has anything to do with gambling, nothing about the university was luck based or making bets. In fact the reason Las Pegasus seems to be the way it is is apparently because Hasbro is worried about potraying gambling in a children's show.
The message is about for-profit education and in general for-profit systems,
4918731
Makes sense. But the episode did not portray it in the best way.
4918747 Well for-profit schools such as Trump University and the DeVos funded charter schools don't have a very good reputation to begin with, and for good reason. The idea that education can be treated like a business was a flawed idea to begin with and all it's really accomplished is sucking away resources that could've gone to public school and deprived many people of an education because the university or school was marketed under false pretenses and the circiulum did not have to meet any sort of standards.
For me, this one was a bit...meh...
The next episode better live up to its potential.