"Best Gift Ever" thoughts · 3:22am Nov 1st, 2018
Since there's no official discussion for this special, I figured I'd share my opinion with you guys (obviously, there will be spoilers ahead).
For the most part, I loved it. It had two great songs, decent focus on all the Mane Six, some entertaining new characters, and lots of nice little references and cameos.
Twilight was at her neurotic best here, obsessing over the holiday and getting the best gift for Pinkie. And I loved how Shining Armor has his own little name for this state: "Twily-nanas".
Pinkie's quest introduced us to the three reindeer. I liked their designs, and their individual focus on gifts of past, present and future. And it was clever how that scene led to solving Twilight's pudding problem later.
As for Rarity, we got to see why she's the Element of Generosity, allowing Pistachio to keep the hat she'd meant for Applejack, so as to encourage his dreams of fashion. A very touching scene.
For Applejack and Fluttershy's side of the story, we returned to Rainbow Falls. Though that I liked, I didn't like seeing the Flim Flam Brothers return, especially since they seemed to be more detestable than ever (though it was satisfying to see them get their comeuppance).
And then there's Rainbow Dash, who received some unrequested help from Discord. After what happened in "A Matter of Principals", Discord had a far better showing here. While still a manipulative trickster, he did what he did for a good cause, and it was really sweet to see him spending Hearth's Warming with the others.
And finally, there's Spike. To be honest, I'm not really a fan of how he still has that crush on Rarity after all this time. But it was used well here, with Spike putting so much effort into getting her the perfect gift, and ending up giving her something truly heartfelt and unique.
So in the end, I felt this was a really great special. Here's hoping we can get another one like this next year.
Yeah this was a fun special with so many good things in it. Great new characters, great songs, great plot lines, Flurry being adorable and her parents getting to shine. Even though I prefer Spike with Ember, him giving Rarity a song as her gift was touching and heartwarming.
4961457
Truth be told, I like the idea of Spike getting together with Smolder one day. I used to like the Ember/Spike pairing, but Smolder is closer to his age.
4961469
That’s fair, though I kinda see Spike and Smolder as having more of a brother and sister relationship myself.
Good special indeed, but it make timeline even more confusing
4962246
You mean the fact that it revolves around the fifth Hearth's Warming to date?
4962249
Yep, we have two Hearth's Warming episode this year