Twilight's Seven Review · 5:26pm Apr 20th, 2019
Well folks, this is it, the big 200! In case you're wondering how only the fourth episode of the final season counts, well I already mentioned yesterday that the show staff count "The Best Gift Ever" as an episode, making it episode 196 (I suppose if you don't wanna count it as an episode you could always saw that this is the fifth episode of Season 9 and that the actual fourth episode got switched). This was touted as a big celebration of the "six voice actors who've brought us so far" and we already know basically everything that went on behind the scenes, including the fact that they got the five Vancouver VAs together in a room and Tara Strong participated via Skype, and asked them what it was they always wanted to do with their characters but never got the chance to. Then the producers turned over the ideas to Josh Haber and Nicole Dubac to write an episode, and all this took place sometime in the Fall of 2017 (meaning it may have been planned even before the movie had aired). Haber and Dubac's latest solo endevors did not turn out well, I already mentioned Dubac's failures last time but Haber definitely didn't do himself any favors when he penned "Father Knows Beast" the rehash of "Dragon Quest" that no one wanted. However, together these two were able to pen "Shadow Play" which remains the best two parter finale for the time being and could've even served as the grand finale for the entire show since it filled in some of the remaining gaps in the lore.
Well anyway, were these two working together able to produce a worthy episode for the 200th episode milestone, or did it prove to be a jumbled collection of ideas that sounded better on paper than they did in actual animation? Well, let's find out.
We begin with Spike arriving at the School of Friendship and dropping off an important scroll that he and Twilight instantly recognize. Starlight, of course, is out of the loop, so Twilight fills her in. It turns out that she and Shining Armor were always competitive as siblings, always trying to outdo each other. So as a way to try and keep it under control their parents would use sticker charts, and every time one of them did something truly special (whether it was share or get good grades) they'd earn a gold star. After a certain period of time the one with the most stars got to wear a toy crown and be declared sibling supreme. And now Shining has thrown down the gauntlet again, so Starlight is left in charge of the school while Twilight and Spike head to Canterlot.
It turns out that Shining Armor somehow got the crown last when he and Twilight both left their parents' house, and he taunts Twilight with a chance to get it back. Then he explains his game, Celestia and Luna realized that the castle could use more security after King Sombra returned (even though he only really got it because the royal sisters left it unprotected to go fight the Everfree Forest. Even putting aside how useless the guards tend to be, you wouldn't expect royal guards to hold off an invading army on their own, especially not when said army involves brainwashed civilians). So Shining Armor beefed things way up, adding more security measures, doubling the amount of guards, and sealing off or cutting off all possible means of entrance except through the front door. He's even installed a trap door and an alarm system consisting of geese, some very angry birds.
The task is to get into the castle, steal the crown, and get out without getting caught. Twilight decides to enlist her friends to help her get around all the defenses. But it seems Shining Armor expected that, he predicts Twilight's plan down to the letter. So Rarity offers the advice to do what Shining would never expect, for Twilight to do nothing and for her friends to basically wing it. Though in that case, doesn't that mean it's not technically Twilight's victory? Yes, Shining never said outside help wasn't allowed, but it feels like an unwritten rule where you expect the opponent to know they can't use anyone else they have to do it themselves. In any case, Rarity brings back Shadow Spade and brings Rainbow Dash in on it, Spike and Fluttershy are given stealth suits, Pinkie Pie is to help pilot the balloon and drop Spike and Fluttershy off, and Applejack is the distraction, posing as a country music star. She even claims to have once had an alter ego that was in the country music circuit and almost made it big. And Rainbow speculates she just made that all up. Kind of bummed they don't try to tie this back to Applejack's parents though.
So from there, everything is more or less "Ocean's Eight" with a mix of "Mission Impossible" for good measure. Applejack goes right to work on her distraction, and Spike, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all pile into the balloon to get into the castle. Meanwhile, Rarity and Rainbow Dash find that every entrance is sealed off. But then Rarity spies an opportunity when Zephyr Breeze ends up as part of the royal guards. Her plan is simple, dress Rainbow up all nice and fancy, and have her lure Zephyr away from his post. Naturally, Rainbow is anything but pleased, especially since Zephyr has constantly been flirting with her.
It doesn't take long for things to go wrong, though. The balloon suddenly deflates and gets blown around by the propellers, meaning Pinkie Pie is out of commission. Spike and Fluttershy were somehow able to bail out since they had wings, but Applejack can't do much besides keep up the distraction and make a quick get away. Rarity and Rainbow Dash meanwhile stumble across the catacombs and try to make their way to the throne room. And Spike and Fluttershy enter the throne room only to fall victim to the trap door as the alarm sounds. It's too bad they don't have a cardboard box to hide inside.
As it turns out, Fluttershy is afraid of small spaces ever since she got stuck in one in the Castle of the Two Sisters. Spike also admits that he's always felt like a little brother to Twilight and Shining but they've never truly acknowledged him. I still like the head canon that Twilight is a motherly figure to Spike, but then again no one ever said an older sibling can't fulfill a parental role if necessary. Anyway, the two are freed when Rainbow pulls on a lever. But they're unable to make any progress in the catacombs and decide to retreat and regroup. With the guards still apparently having yet to clue in that something is amiss, Rarity decides Twilight should go back to her original plan since she claims that's the most unexpected thing you can do. I get the logic, it's a case of "So obvious they'd never expect it", like setting a security code that's in numerical order, but in real life that's always going to be the first guess if someone doesn't know. And if Shining Armor is expecting Twilight's plan down to the letter, how is doing exactly what he expects supposed to get the crown? It's not like Twilight is putting a spin on it either.
Still, the plan goes off mostly without a hitch. That is up until they reach the throne room. And then Shining Armor and Princess Celestia show up because Twilight didn't plan to distract either of them (if the goal was to test security, why wouldn't a plan include distractions for the obvious targets?). However, Spike reveals that he stole the real crown when no one was looking. And he had help from Princess Luna, who wasn't exactly thrilled with her sister ignoring her advice on protecting the throne room and the castle interior (despite the trap door and the alarms). Heck, she's even stroking one of the geese like Ernst Stravo Blofeld strokes his cat.
It even turns out that Luna was involved in keeping Celestia busy and putting Zephyr Breeze into the guard ranks (because let's be honest, there is no way he could've gotten the job otherwise). And Spike was able to pick up on her not so secret grudge against her sister for ignoring her. Some probably do wonder why they're still feuding with each other despite it twice escalating into a big conflict, but I think it pays to remember that even despite their ages and despite them being rulers of the country they're still siblings. And if Twilight and Shining Armor still have their sibling rivalry ongoing even now, then the same could hold true for the royal sisters. Because he was able to steal the crown, Spike is named sibling supreme as both Twilight and Shining Armor acknowledge him as their little brother.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, for the 200th episode it's pretty good. "Slice of Life" the 100th episode was all about celebrating the fandom that made the show last so long, and you could argue "Amending Fences" was the 100th episode of the show in terms of character and writing since it was all about going back to the pilot and showing how far Twilight had come from there. So this episode was a celebration of the six main VAs who helped bring the show to life. However, while it's clear that Haber and Dubac did their best to incorporate as many ideas they could, not necessarily all of them worked out the best. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie in particular were just there to be part of the group plan, though Pinkie Pie did get a chance to do a solo act during Twilight's plan. I don't quite get why they gave up on Rarity's plan when it was actually working fairly well all things considered. Shining Armor hadn't caught on yet, no one knew they were there. No plan ever survives first contact, and some of the best stories in fiction have been about characters learning to salvage their plans when it inevitably goes wrong. Some people are probably gonna harp on Twilight and Shining's parents for basically screwing up Twilight, but honestly from what we already saw of them in "Once Upon a Zeppelin" I think it wasn't hard to realize how they might have shaped their daughter (and even their son. Night Light definitely gave Twilight her OCD tendencies and Twilight Velvet probably inspired Shining Armor and Twilight to push themselves, which would explain how Shining got into the royal guard and Twilight aspired to become Princess Celestia's student and eventually open her own school). It was a pretty clever detail to have Spike win in the end, and do so in partnership with Princess Luna. But throughout it all I still don't quite understand how Shining got wind of Twilight's original plan. Yeah, maybe Spike and Luna tipped him off, but I don't think they explicetely said that was the case. In the end, I give this episode an A, making it the best episode of Season 9 so far, though by no means perfect as there are some things that leave me scratching my head. Plus, the synopsis kind of lied even though this isn't the first time that's happened.
But unfortunately, it seems like next week is going to be a dud. The episode is "The Point of No Return" in which Twilight realizes she never returned a long overdue library book and fears that she may have caused her favorite librarian to lose her job (I don't see how one overdue book could cause that). Maybe it won't outright suck, but it just sounds like a minimalistic filler episode like "Fluttershy Leans In" or "Grannies Gone Wild". Besides, haven't we already had numerous episodes involving Twilight freaking out about something? If you're starting to lampshade it, then that's a sign that you've been doing it a little too often.
I was happy that they finally acknowledged Spike as their little brother. It took a long time but better late than never.
My biggest problem with the episode was the inclusion of Zephyr's obnoxious crush on Dash.
But all things considered, that was only a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of the episode as a whole.
It's easily one of the best of the series so far, and provided plenty more great facial expressions.
5047027 Yeah, I feel like that was a waste of Rainbow's character. I would've loved to see that Wonderbolts fly-by that she mentioned actually occur.
5047030
That would have been fun to see.
I liked that they actually used the remnants of the throne and an extremely skilled magic user like Starswirl for defence, the only real problem i had with the defence test was that they did't test out someone just brute forcing their way in, for example sending a strong creature/monster to just smash their way in 'like a large dragon, a hydra, or Tirek if he's powered up enough.'
Plus there has always been one weakness to Canterlot that several stories have pointed out, its on the side of the mountain if you break enough of the ground it would come tumbling down or dig higher up and drop some mountain on them.
Facial expressions were brilliant from Twilight and Rarity especially
Well given that Next Saturday's Episode will be showing the Canterlot Library again..... hopefully it means MoonDancer can play a major role again ^^
It was a pretty good episode. Especially about testing the Canterlot Castle’s security, the lesson involving sibling rivalry, and the unexpected actions of Spike. What I didn’t expect was Luna’s involvement with Spike’s plan. I thought Spike somehow switched the crown with a decoy before he and Fluttershy fell into the trap door. But still, it was still entertaining to watch Luna in action. It felt kind of off with Pinkie wanting to go into space, but who am I to question Pinkie’s logic. Shining Armor probably knew about Twilight’s plan since he knew a lot about her and her friends.
For the next episode, I’m guessing the librarian will actually retire instead of being fired. That’s what I think.
I think Shining caught wind of Twilight's plan by just predicting.
So, the episode was entertaining. While not my favorite episode, it's up there. The only part that made me cringe was the inclusion of Zephyr, but I let it slide. Had it not been for the involvement of Luna, I would have questioned how a pony like him ever got a place in the Royal Guard, and if Shining Armor was that desprate to improve the ranks, and how Zepher wasn't Court Marshaled for leaving his post. I do like that they still include mares into the ranks after the events of School Raze, showing not only Stallions take on the role. Gotta look back and see if they are all Pegasus mares though.
I don't understand why Rarity tried to sound more stallionish, if mares are in the ranks though? Unless she was going for a tomboy mare approach. That's just not her though, in my opinion.
I also liked how Spike revealed how he felt like the ignored little brother of Twi and Shining, cause it was very touching.
I will also admit that I was disappointed that AJ's supposed "flashback" story didn't have her parents included at the start, but, beggers can't be choosers.
One thing I sort of wish they would have included was Blue Blood. It would have been humorous to see him throw a wrench in Rarity's plan, if she thought back to the events of Best Night Ever, or if he put a twist on trying to persuade Twilight into becoming his mare friend, but alas, I feel that the events of the Equestria Games will be the last we have seen of Celestia's Nephew.
Also I believe that
line from Twilight is sure to become a meme, just like the
line in Best Gift Ever.
This was a fun episode.
I gotta to admit, Shining Armor's security measures were clever, using the remains of Chrysalis' throne was a very impressive callback and a smart move when it came to avoid any Intruder is using a spell, and the doors only being able to be opened buy a Royal Gaurds armor is an idea that I've seen a few fanfics but never outright executed in the series itself. Kudos to that.... though I do question the practicality of all those fans he installed. It seems more like a safety hazard for any Pegasus patrols.
Rarity was just delightful in this episode, seeing her go over-the-top devious on so many occasions is just a treat.
Also, Luna and Spike being the unknown third party aiming for the crown was great, complete with them sabotaging both sides was absolutely brilliant (really says a lot when Luna purposely put Zephyr in charge because she knew he'd suck at his job).
And in the end, Spike gets to wear the crown and is acknowledged as their sibling, so sweet!
5047124 Yeah, I hope so too. At least then the episode won't be a total waste.
5047282
Yep :)
Overall though, I only watch the series for fun, not to nitpick ^^;
This is definitely my favorite episode of S9 so far, and it's in my top 10 favorite episodes; I think the cast had some great ideas for this episode. I'm really glad that they confirmed Spike as Twilight and Shining's little brother; it was a cute moment with that. There were some really funny and awesome moments, especially Spike conspiring with Luna to outwit Twilight and Shining Armor. I hope we get to see Moondancer in next weeks episode.
5047240
He knew Twilight and the rest of the mane 6 well enough to know how to prepare.
5047027
Eeyup, I agree. When I saw Zephyr, I thought, "How the heck did he ever manage to get into the Royal Guard?! Who would be crazy enough to let him join?!", but it only made sense it would've been part of a ploy.
5047112
Can't wait to see more of those facial expressions; bring on the memes and GIFS!
The question is brother, whatcha gonna do, when Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, runs wild on YOU!?
(Bonus Points If you get the reference.)
5047282
Yeah, I can already tell The Point of No Return is going to get panned for being a watered down version of Amending Fences. But who knowa? Maybe this episode will do for Twilight's freak outs what Horse Play did for her hero worship of Celestia? I know it's a bit of a long shot, but you never know.