Episode Review: "Sparkle's Seven" - Season 9 Episode 4 · 10:36pm Apr 22nd, 2019
200 episodes. Who'd have thought My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic would make it this far? This makes it the longest-running animated show of the 2010s in both on-air time and number of episodes (okay, some Cartoon Network shows have more episodes, but only by counting episodes in 11-minute chunks, so this still wins by a sizeable count).
In fact, by my count, in terms of number of episodes, it's the seventh-longest running American animated tv series! Only The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, King of the Hill, Spongebob Squarepants and Arthur will have more episodes by the time FiM concludes. Only two of those are shows aimed primarily at kids as opposed to being adult cartoons.
All this runs the risk of hyping up the episode that marks reaching that milestone, and an episode that invited in the show's five main voice actresses to pitch ideas they'd always wished their characters could do but hadn't yet, at that. The odds were high this would never form a cohesive whole (though it certainly helped it was only really hyped up for a week). How did it fare?
I'm happy to report that Sparkle's Seven can withstand the scrutiny. That's not to say there aren't issues and ways it could have been improved, but realistically, this is the best it could have been, and then some. Without a doubt, it's one of the show's most fun episodes in quite some time (since Saddle Row Review, probably, maybe even further back). And that's saying a lot.
To a degree, this is an episode where some minor hand-waving is required in the setup and the execution, both in Twilight and Shining's supposed long-standing sibling rivalry (they never had a fight, you know) and how, despite the royal security being beefed up, the guards are still easily distracted throughout the episode and let our heroes wander around freely in the courtyard. But what's going on is so darn entertaining that I don't think such things are a problem at all, and won't become so on future viewings either. Which this episode certainly will earn, both with the layers to the plans throughout as well as the comedy and entertainment value.
Turns out Twilight and Shining's parents used to reward them for tasks well done on a chart system, whereby they competed over a toy paper crown to see who would be the Sibling Supreme on a regular basis. They haven't done so since she moved to Ponyville due to living apart, where Shining was the reigning victor, but Shining's offering her one more shot at it. After the Premiere, Celestia's recruited him to beef up security at the castle, and they want to test it. That test being whether Twilight can get past the security to the throne and get the crown.
So, this setup, while slightly convoluted, is gotten through efficiently and with sufficient fun. And plenty of setups for later, both obvious and subtle. This lets us get to the meat of the episode - it's a heist episode, a story normally not possible in FiM. This was Tabitha St. Germain's contribution, and it shows - Rarity gets to dominate a large chunk of the episode because she masterminds the break-in plan after they conclude nothing Twilight can plan will surprise Shining. She had often done fun table-reads of non-MLP material at conventions, often movie parodies, so I hear, so it's perfectly logical that St. Germain had the most notable story contribution - as we'll see, Strong and Wesluck's ideas were more thematic backbones, while Ball's and Libman's were comic business for their characters to do. This also explain the many Ocean's Eleven references.
As an aside, I'll admit that while Applejack and Spike are my favourite of the Mane 7, Rarity is, all in all, the most consistently fun to watch throughout the series.
What keeps this episode from ever becoming a poorly-assembled hodgepodge of comic vignettes strung along a heist plotline is the theme of siblings. I'm not just talking about the Twilight/Shining rivalry (Strong's contribution), that is largely sidelined once the heist begins and doesn't resurface until the end. Spike ends up being the true winner here, and we finally get confirmation about how he feels about his place in Twilight's family (this was Wesluck's idea, and proves she wanted character dynamics fleshed out more then comic business, though Spike got both, thankfully). He sees her as a sibling (sorry, people who saw him seeing Twilight as a Mom, or a romantic interest), it turns out, and never quite felt like he got to properly take part in those sibling rivalries.
But there's other sibling-moments throughout too; the return of Zepher Breeze, as well as playing host to a hilarious sequence with him and Rainbow Dash, fuels a warm talk between Spike and Fluttershy on siblings dynamics This is one of the episode highlights, especially if you're a big Spike fan like me. I suppose Fluttershy fans would also love it.
Maud makes a brief cameo showing siblings can be relied on as well, and even Big Mac and Apple Bloom appear in a flashback to Applejack's questionable tale of her alter-ego. The only characters throughout with no siblings dynamics present were Rarity (who gets more then enough delightfully hammy material anyway) and Rainbow Dash. The twist at the end was glorious stuff too; I legit did not see it coming, both what Spike was up to and how and why Luna got involved (there's that sibling dynamic again!).
Lest I turn this review into one big gush, I'll point out what few gripes I had. The slight logic fallacy in the setup I'd already mentioned, as well as the continued incompetence of the Royal Guard (not a big problem for me, but I suppose others may find it so). It's a very, very, well-paced episodes, so the few moments that could have used more time stand out a wee bit (Spike and Fluttershy's talk, maybe more on the Twilight/Shining dynamic). This applies to Libman's characters; her contributions ended up being mostly brief jokes (Pinkie goes to space and Fluttershy get a badass spy moment), with the former not quite sticking the landing. Though that's it as far as cast balancing goes - otherwise, this episode handled the Mane 7 beautifully, with all getting chances to shine. And Pinkie's gotten more then her fair share in the past, so I'm not too bothered by her being the one to be short-changed here.
Also, If any of the Mane 7 is short-changed character-wise, it's Twilight (another mini-freakout happens). Rarity was right to have her not plan, but it's clear by now she's not as interesting as she once was. This aspect is barely present, and not noticeable in the episode much. But I do remain apprehensive about her arc this season, much more so then the one to do with the villains, which I have high confidence in.
Throughout I've only briefly delved into the fun and comedy, so let me tie it back up and say it is done remarkably well. Almost every joke sticks the landing, and even where I was not laughing (this is more of a "constant chuckling"-type episode then a belly-laugh one), I was always grinning and having a blast. The writers, actresses, animators, storyboard artists, layout artists, and music writers went to town, and you can feel the love and inspiration pouring off the screen. It was easy to be apprehensive about the voice actresses contributing ideas, but they own these characters, as much as the fandom does. More, actually. I'm almost saddened they never contributed before, though I'm sure there's union difficulties in there somewhere.
Top episode of the season so far. If this were in Season 8, it would be 2nd or 1st, wrestling with Sounds of Silence, and in the top three for both Seasons 6 and 7. In fact, this is easily one of the best post-Season-5 episodes, right now (a rewatch later could change that) and, one of the few that feels of that earlier era of Pony (helps that outside of brief appearances of Star Swirl, Starlight and Zepher Breeze, this could have been, and felt like, a Season 4 or 5 episode).
If this episode isn't in the season's top five by the time it ends, we have quite the lineup ahead, my friends!
Stray observations:
- I'm not the only one who felt Rainbow's dress made her look a lot like Meg from Disney's Hercules, it turns out.
- Ashleigh Ball has stated that Applejack's voice is inspired by country singers Miley Cyrus, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, so it's fitting her alter ego and outfit was a tribute to that last one.
- Seriously, this is why Rarity may be best Pony. I'd honestly feel more confident calling her that then Applejack and Spike, the ones I personally like best.
- This episode has so many hilarious moments, I'm suitably saddened I didn't mention most of them. I can't wait to watch it again and enjoy them.
- Other bad moments? Uhh... that "Forever" moment was a failed "Pudding...!" clone, I suppose.
- On the Slice of Life comparisons: maybe you had to live through it to love it? Don't get me wrong, I like it quite a lot, and I am in this fandom. But to me, it's always going to be a curious relic of a fandom development I didn't experience firsthand, so I think I prefer this episode. And, that episode will eventually be weirdly dated when people look back on the show after the fandom's depleted years from now. This episode will age much, much better, and that's why I love in my animations.
This one did! Definitely a high point for me as well. I'd like to see more interaction between those two, given their instant bond in the very first episode of all.
Does "IT" stand for something? I can't work it out.
Possibly. I know I can never really appreciate what it was like to be in the fandom just as it was forming, for example. "Slice of Life" is certainly a one-off, and I'm glad the staff didn't even try to do it again. I probably love it more than "Sparkle's Seven", but a lot of that is because of what it represents. As an episode in and of itself, "Sparkle's Seven" is certainly better. And yes, I'm sure it will age better too.
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Always a good point, and I'm reminded of how certain possible interactions between any two of the Mane 7 haven't happened all that much even with 200 episodes behind us, at least in focus. Took until Buckball Season to get a Pinkie/Fluttershy episode (whereas there's no shortage of AJ/Rainbow Dash ones - wonder if Ashleigh Ball being able to act both at once has anything to do with that? Doubt it, but it makes you think). Rarity and Rainbow Dash have Rarity Investigates and The End in Friend (the latter lampshading their shortage of direct interaction over the years). Did Twilight and Fluttershy ever have something before The Hooffields and the McColts? It's not springing to mind.
And given Spike sort of lies in a nether region where he's far and away the most important character the Mane 6 and is almost at their level, but not quite, it's not surprising there are more then one him-to-Mane-6-member that haven't happened that much. Applejack in Spike At Your Service, sure, and plenty with both Twilight and Rarity over the years. The other three, though, it's mostly isolated gags or vignettes. Pinkie a bit more so then others. Just food for thought. This is more a reflection on how he's mostly another character around Twilight much of the time, so organic occurrences for him and other ponies bar Rarity are probably limited enough.
It does. It stands for "It's Telling". Telling that a capitalisation grammar error slipped through when finishing this post off initially.
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Not really, unless I'm forgetting something. I suppose the closest might be "Dragonshy", where they interact quite a lot, though it's an ensemble episode really.
The interaction I think has been largely missing for some years now, beyond occasional scenes, is Rainbow/Fluttershy. They had "Hurricane Fluttershy" of course, and quite a bit in "Tanks for the Memories", but they've never had a map quest together. I can't imagine why.
Few that can stand with early seasons? Take off the rose tinted glasses there, pal.
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Ah, I phrased that a bit awkwardly. I more meant that in terms of style of storytelling and presentation, it felt more old-school Pony, in some manners. As in, if you picked up the episode and put in down in Season 5, and redid the few post-Season 6 things (Starlight, Zepher, Starswirl, the references to the season Premiere), it would slot in naturally, in terms of reflecting how the episodes at the time were done, both writing, visual pacing, execution, all that.
That said, I understand why the way I phrased it would have given that impression. At the time of this review, I was still giddy over the episode, you understand. I've only been reviewing like this since Best Gift Ever. Hopefully that gives some context.
Also, "early seasons" was a bit of a misnomer on my part, as I meant Seasons 1-5. That probably added to the confusion a little! Worry not, no "Twilight becoming an alicorn ruined everything!" anecdotes here. Or "Faust leaving ruined everything" anecdotes, for that matter.
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It's fine. And yeah, you could have worded that slightly better. I was just worried that you were one of those purist types.
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Sure, the Movie was what got me into the show in the first place. So compared to most others around the place, I'm a newbie here.
Anyway, I reworded it for better clarity.