Brief episode recap & Life update · 2:40am May 29th, 2019
It's been a while since I worked on a story put together an episode reaction, but they're coming.
Overall Season 9's had some really neat episodes and some kind of strange ones... the most recent, Sweet and Smokey being among one of the more strange. Looking at the title I was pretty sure it was going to involve Fluttershy's Raccoon friends, and it turns out it's a dragon episode... but that's not what made it strange 
Not to sound like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, but MLP's got an interesting way of occasionally changing the context of previously established themes.
The drawback of making Garble a misunderstood, artistic, and shy dragon, just... kinda underminds the seriousness of what he did in Season 2, as well as the importance of Spike's standing up to him. His actions and apathy towards the destruction of the eggs, and Spike's standing up to him and his friends, stood for something. I feel the message is a bit diluted and perhaps even a bit bastardized, as Garble's felt almost like an allegory for an out of control, destructive teen... but he is accepted by the dragons, as that behavior is, for the most part, okay there.
Early MLP showed us that the world has ugly, horrible things in it, and it's sometimes scary to stand up to them but sometimes you have to. I think that's one of the reasons I like the movie as much as I do, because it shows an apologetically dark side of their world, especially with those outside of Equestria that wanted the ponies to sell as an item of curiosity. Not to mention even the good pony doing bad things was being manipulated by something that could double-cross or even kill her without a shred of remorse. That's... frankly brutal ^^
I'm getting side-tracked. All that said the episode was fun, and it's good to see Ember, Smoulder, and all the rest. It showed us to not be afraid of being yourself, which is a decent message. Fluttershy's presence was a nice touch, though she did seem fairly at peace with the idea that, while the dragons weren't trying to hit her with the lava they were throwing around during their horseplay, they could've accidentally disfigured or killed her with it. I think Twilight or Starlight would've made a good replacement or additional counter-part for the mission, blocking the slag with magic, Dragon Lord Ember seeing that near fatal accident and becoming furious... showing us her awareness, compassion, and why she makes a great Dragon Lord. Plus her not recognizing Twilight still would've been awesome 
At the same time this Season's had some pretty awesome episodes, though, which I'll cover in the coming weeks. Shame about the early Italian releases... seems to be a problem Hasbro keeps having 
* * *
So! It's been an interesting few weeks...
Two illnesses in my family, one of them likely terminal... has me feeling kinda bleh. Good news is the non-terminal illness, my mom's, is getting better via medication and having me and my dad step in to help. For a while there it was kinda scary, though, as I didn't know if she was on a downward spiral cognitively. She was getting really aggressive and strange, especially towards me. The terminal one my cousin's dealing with, and that's cancer. There is only so much that can be done, and given everything that's going on I might not be able to make the trip out to the East Coast to see him. That's got me feeling pretty down, but he's in good spirits and we're able to get updates on his condition, which goes up and down by the week.
For this next incident I'm pretty glad it turned out better than it could have... I was in a small car accident, passenger side. My dad, who was driving, got confused by some roadwork, made a turn following the car in front of us and didn't see an island in the middle of the road. Sufficing to say the car went over the island and was pretty much gutted, the passenger side front wheel basically exploding. It could have ended a lot worse, and at least it was just us... but because we didn't know if it was covered for a couple days that left us feeling pretty tense. In the end we got a better deal than what we had left the dealership having spent almost two years ago.
There's also other family and work-related stuff going on... it's fairly icky, and somewhat personal, so I'll spare the details, but it's some of more unpleasant stuff we all have to deal with sometimes -- divorce, secrets, and all those fun things. Combine this with my own health issues popping up, it's not fun, but I've got a few new types of medicines to try out that might help.
I'm currently on the closest to medical... green stuff that exists that isn't regulated because it contains something other than THC, though it's very closely related. It's helping quite a bit, but because it's not regulated in my state I can't get a prescription and am left doing a bit of trial and error based off my needs dose-wise. I can safely say its not pot, but shares some similarities in the high if taken in large enough doses. I'd never heard of its contents before and I used to enjoy a good toke or two a number of years back. I won't smoke pot again until it's legal on federal level, though when marijuana is finally legalized I think it's going to create far fewer problems than some people say it will. I'd wager most of the problems it's going to create the average joe won't see, but the benefits he likely will 
My sleep and energy levels have been really strange lately, if not erratic. I'm at times napping 4 hours on top of sleeping 12... it's unusual. I feel I need the sleep, though, and when I wake up I feel energized or really achy. With luck getting outside more in the coming weeks will help.
Overall sharing this has felt kind of, well... icky. Wish I had more fun stuffs to share. It's boring to talk about grown-up stuff like sickness and health, and other icky things, but they happen and we gotta deal with them. The world keeps on turning and, overall, I'd say things're well.
Peace
Well, in all honesty, it's sharing these sorts of journals that help us to not only have a 'sounding board' for our thoughts but also a potential for someone to relate and share how they are doing.
I've had various encounters where a journal, piece of art, etc. inspired conversations that allowed me and the other person to really flesh out what was troubling our respective lives based on artistic intent and creative freedom having a similar bond of sorts.
Journaling also makes you more 'human' as, in the end, we all must be a part of the real world whether we like it, or not. So getting out the feelings in a more comfortable way, place, or in-character is delightful for encouraging others to value their feelings and those of others.
***
Sweet and Smoky was an interesting episode. I'd have loved to see the baby dragons.
My first thought, given the title, was that it would involve Sweetie Belle. We truly are getting next-to-zero CMC this season. This is likely due to all the VAs growing out of their voices from pre 2010 to today. Puberty is a dog.
I can't redeem Garble. It seemed a matter of convenience for series sake to make Garble related to smolder. Sure, in a final season way, it tied up loose ends. However, for Spike, I don't know if he fully will ever be able to truly look that bully in the eye and ever feel he's 'okay'. He'll do it for sake of friendship, his title, Ember, and Smolder. However it won't be because he genuinely feels any feeling beyond 'neutral' given how it's better than holding a pointless grudge.
***
I liked "Friendemies for how we got to see some plot build up towards the Series Finale. I also like how, to me, Cozy glow is such a conflicted character. She's kind of the Scrappy Doo compared to Tirek and Chrystalis. She's got 'ideas' but not much else. She has desires of doing big things like Chrysalis and Tirek but, as we heard, she really isn't even close to that at all.
I'd like an episode where Cozy finds the CMC and they end up having a talk about what happened during "Marks For Effort". Find a way to make that episode make sense as, if she was 'evil', she would have succeeded in her plans by setting up the CMC and not befriending them. Instead, she went to Starlight, fessed up, and did feel genuinely 'good' about how she was 'getting it'.
Something I thought of when reading a Cozy Glow story is how Cozy may be a Spectrum Pony. Perhaps her parents were the sort who didn't have the patience for her non-social behavior and mannerisms and decided getting Cozy into that school would 'fix her'. However, knowing what she knew prior to the school, she feared losing what she built that she went hardcore into ensuring she would never have to worry about having 'friends'.
***
I wasn't much for Quibble Pants' return. All I got out of it was how it shows the difficulty in trying to get into a new relationship after one falls apart for whatever reason it fell apart. I've also not been a huge fan of 'Buck Ball'. However, to be fair, I was on my vision's last throws when I saw it played.
Having a sounding board does have its advantages, but part of me wants to keep these posts kinda fun and light. It certainly is healthy, though, get out what's bothering you. You're right to say we're all people here.
Though we are getting very little CMC, there is an episode featuring the trio coming up. Also Apple Bloom's VA, Michelle Crebrer, is going to be at Bronycon. She really puts on a good shot
Redeeming Garble and the relationship between Smolder and himself still seems contrived. Perhaps if Smoulder had been related to a different dragon and through being honest about his/her interests had Garble have an epiphany that, in the end, his opinion of that dragon didn't change and he did something useful with that hidden talent.
Frienemies is a good one. I particularly like the song and the way they're all forced to get along. It's possible Tirek might get redeemed by the end of the season... I'm hoping the others remain evil until the bitter end ^^
You know there's a misconception about people on the spectrum that they're socially inept and can't read non-verbal cues properly. That varies from person-to-person, and some can have a very good understanding of cues. Some also lack empathy or just the ability to express it, and some feel too much empathy and their inability to express it can cause them great distress. What's interesting about this dynamic of different conditions, is that it illustrates how Autism seems to possibly be loosely related to much more anti-social conditions such as sociopathy and psychopathy. I don't 100% buy this theory, as I feel we still don't really know what ASD is, as it is classified as a collection of symptoms, and a person can have two conditions at once. However, if they were to redeem Cozy Glow in a way that she was taught empathy by experiencing others turning on her unexpectedly that would be kind of neat.
While I like Quibble Pants's return and the episode, as well as Buck Ball, I get where you're coming from. It's a frustrating episode to watch on a number of levels, but I think it illustrates compassion. I've also been a tad confuzzled as to how the game is supposed to be played without at least two of the three races. Earth ponies are not exactly necessary, sadly, as long as the second unicorn or second pegasus doesn't use their abilities.
What would be neat would be to see Scootaloo in the role of the bucking pony... she's been using her legs her whole life, with her wings playing an ancillary role. She has designed herself for speed and fast reflexes. Could she go up against Dash under the same constrictions and actually win fair and square because she's more used to being on the ground?
Sorry it took me so long to get back. Life has been kinda weird lately for a number of people in my life, myself included.
Hope you're well and talk to you soon