'Twas the Eve of Hearth's Warming, (Well, Christmas I Guess), And With Season Eight Over, I'll Simply Confess... · 6:54pm Dec 24th, 2019
Blog Number 67: Merry Kirinmas Edition!
Have just recently watched the last Season Eight episode that I was looking forward to: "Sounds of Silence."
So... can I say "best Season Eight episode ever"? 
Oh, and before I rather thoroughly delve into details about that particular episode, or about the seasonally appropriate "Best Gift Ever" special which I did end up watching in the end, or about the totality of Season Eight, or about the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic show itself overall for a certain definition of "overall", and given what day it is tomorrow, well...
Merry Christmas!
Happy Hearth's Warming!
Enjoy your Hogswatch*!
And... the rest. 
* For those wondering, it's a Discworld reference. I'm a big fan of Pratchett's books.
As usual, contents are below, for ease of reference. There are also my old statistics at the bottom of the blog post, but that's more personal idiosyncrasy by this point, so you can gloss over those. Also, I apologize if the formatting is a little odd. I'm still tweaking my style as I go to see what I like better, and it's not always easy to pick.
Anyway, contents. Here we go:
One More For Season Eight
- "Sounds of Silence"
And "Best Gift Ever" Too, Because 'Tis the Season, After All
"Best Gift Ever": The Bad, to Follow the Good
My Very Mini Retrospective Up To Season Eight
My Less Mini Retrospective Up To Season Eight
Future Plans?
One More For Season Eight
Well now! On to the last episode review for Season Eight:
"Sounds of Silence"
I have to admit I went into this fully expecting a good time. I like Applejack, I like Fluttershy, they had a fantastic outing in "Viva Las Pegasus", and if you throw in the kirin species as a new worldbuilding element, inevitably I was champing at the bit to watch this one. So imagine my surprise when I found that this episode...
...exceeded my expectations! 
Goodness me, this episode started strong and got better. Applejack and Fluttershy teaming up, a la "Viva Las Pegasus"? Check! Episode pointing out how well they worked together before? Check! Menacing yet comedic build-up to the Peaks of Peril ("It's just a name, it doesn't mean anything.")? Check! Funny crazy ancient train station guy? Check! Another funny bit where Applejack has to go all the way back for Fluttershy? Check!
Relatively (for the show) beautiful location and lingering Southeast Asian motif? Check! Fascinating new species with meaningful moral-serving gimmick? Check!
Autumn Blaze - CHECK CHECK CHECK!
Seriously, Autumn Blaze adds a whole new layer of delight to this episode. There are so many ways a chatterbox could be annoying, but she clearly conveys a rich, delighted enthusiasm that was infectious. She is so damn charming, it's nearly criminal.
Also, I love that catchy-as-hell song; it's right up there with the show's best. I don't know if the vaguely androgynous voice was deliberate or just happy accident, but I thought it worked for the kirin style, and did she make the most of it or what!?
And finally, I'm partial to such a mature message: "feeling angry is not a bad thing in itself, but use your anger responsibly."
If I had a complaint, I'd say the episode needed to be a bit longer to make the ending land with more impact. As it is, the episode has fantastically paced build-up but feels relatively perfunctory in convincing the kirin to turn around (remember, these creatures took a pretty serious vow of silence). But since I'm basically asking for more of this episode, that's a complaint with a compliment smuggled in.
So I am now content, and very happy with this episode. A fantastic way to finish Season Eight. Viva la kirin!
And "Best Gift Ever" Too, Because 'Tis the Season, After All
As a minor note, I'll also add that I did end up watching "Best Gift Ever" too.
My verdict is that it was mostly good, enjoyable, but with some minor flaws. Happily, the majority of the subplots worked really well. For instance, it's no surprise for me that the Fluttershy-Applejack thread was high on that list of favourites, given that it was a callback to "Viva Las Pegasus". The running gag of those awful dolls never got old for me.
Even better, Rarity's subplot was downright touching, especially given the unexpected direction it went. Pistachio simply needs to come back; I want to know if this unorthodox budding fashion aficionado got anywhere from this lovely chance encounter. The special even makes a point of highlighting that he knows it wasn't a deliberate gift, but feels free to give it a sweet conclusion anyway.
As a side-note, I'll also go to bat for Derpy's cameo. Sure, her speech was way too slow, which I gather makes her sound way too stupid, but I swear I could listen to that voice all day. She's so adorably sweet in her klutzy, ditzy, vaguely amnesiac innocence.**
** Although am I alone in thinking Rarity sounded like she had a cold? I don't know, but something about her voice at times suggested a bunged-up nose. I half-wondered if her voice actor was ill on the day.
Derpy as a fandom favourite and as an enjoyable cameoing canon character has really grown on me over the years, and it was an especially happy moment to see her get such a nice little funny role that lasted just as long as it needed to.
Now, Pinkie's subplot was arguably the funniest, including a clever way of redesigning the reindeer species as Norse Fates, which is appropriate given their Scandinavian association. It also led to a fun scene between Prince Rutherford and Pinkie Pie, who seem like such an enjoyably mismatched and yet totally apt duo to bounce some comedy. If it wasn't for prior episodes weakening my interest in the yaks (their debut episode frankly makes them obnoxious ingrates), I'd unreservedly say they were an entertainingly oddball addition to the show.
"Best Gift Ever": The Bad, to Follow the Good
Sadly, the other two plotlines are where the special weakens a bit for me.
They're not terrible, really. Heck, Rainbow and Discord teaming up pleased me greatly, considering the two should really have had more sparks fly between them before now. Still, the two threads just feel less entertaining to me personally.
As much as I like how Discord characteristically screws things up solely as some convoluted gambit to let Fluttershy play the hero, Rainbow's pitiful ignorance of her friend's interests rubbed me the wrong way. Like, "this would feel out-of-place even in Season One" wrong way.
Lack of interest is one thing, but I prefer to see them as long-time associates who at least know each other well enough (I think calling them friends that early in their childhood is a bit of a stretch, Rainbow's childhood white-knighting aside), so I'd presume Rainbow would at least know what her friend likes, even if she personally doesn't care much. It felt a bit regressive of her character, so that brought the thread down a tad.
Lastly, the weakest for me was Twilight's. I hate to sound like the Grinch, but Twilight's enthusiasm/freakout emotional range has long since lost its charm for me over the seasons.
I think it's partly because of all the "Twilight is Special" stuff shoved into the show over time, which derails her in my opinion, or else it's because it feels a bit one-note being trotted out so many times. Maybe I just don't get it. In any case, it's just never been much in the way of entertainment or relatability for me.
The pudding threat felt a bit stale, too, and I'll never really like having Flurry Heart around. By way of meagre contrast, Shining Armor and Cadence redeem themselves a tiny bit each time they show up, but I've never been hugely enthused by their inclusion in the first place, so the only way is up. Regardless, I wasn't smiling much during those scenes.
A final piece of negative feedback from me, which sort of follows that last complaint, is that, as nice as the opening song number is, seeing the range of stuff included in it is also a reminder of how much has been picked up over the show's run that I am not 100% on-board with. I won't name names, but it simply never feels good to see elements I object to, even as cameos. It's like watching the older seasons of the show and then randomly having fanfic-level cameos pop up just when I'm enjoying myself. It's distracting and off-putting.
So, incorporating those complaints, I'll still say I had a good time in the main. It had some fun, it made me smile at times, and since I'm trying to concentrate more on positives at the moment, I'll leave my review with a gracious "I'd happily watch it again".
Might even get the DVD at some point!
My Very Mini Retrospective Up To Season Eight
Mostly harmless.
My Less Mini Retrospective Up To Season Eight
OK, in all Douglas-Adams-reference-eschewing seriousness...
Can't really add much to my last blog post re: Season Eight overall, besides changing the number of liked episodes from "nine" to "ten". Which still isn't a great ratio. So let's expand our scope.
Overall for the entire show thus far***?
*** According to my own viewing experience, that is. Remember, Season Nine is still an open question at this point.
Seasons One, Two, Four, and Five are the standouts, since I can safely say I like more than twenty episodes from each at the very least. Season Three struggles just to name six such episodes, which is the first time the percentage is less than 50%, and unfortunately it's not the last.
The ones after Season Five, unfortunately, hew closer to Season Three's model. Season Eight itself is barely above 38% with those ten episodes, above 46% if I include a couple of borderline cases, but still unhappily below the 50% mark. By comparison with other post-Five seasons: Season Six just about scrapes twelve or thirteen depending on how charitable I'm feeling****, putting it close to that 50% cut-off.
**** "On Your Marks" is a definite borderline case depending on how much I dislike the first half versus how much I like the second half.
And Season Seven is... weird. See, Season Seven was where I reached a point of sort-of-no-return. Some episodes I could only enjoy mostly by treating them as if they came from a different show or continuity, because of the baggage of certain elements from prior seasons. Plus there exists a long stretch of episodes in its third quarter (e.g. the ones with the Pillars) where I have to admit the concepts intrigue me way more than the execution. They're not dreadful episodes*****, but they're not particularly fun to watch either.
***** Except for "Fame and Misfortune" a.k.a. Misguided Strawman Tar-brushing Incompetence At Its Worst, guest-starring a whole lot of Fan Dumb. Because Fan Dumb would obviously be a popular guest star.
So, if I count those borderline cases, the total is freakishly much higher for Season Seven than for its neighbours, but if I don't count them, it's actually much lower. So confusing.
One of the days, I'll have to do a "The Oddity of Season Seven" blog post, maybe try and pin that season down...
Future Plans?
That's definitely all for this year. During the last week of 2019, I'll be occupied elsewhere, and out and about, and generally just sort of catching up with stuff outside of fanfiction and MLP:FiM fan circles. That means it's very unlikely I'll have much to report before 2020.
No real New Year Resolutions, either. I figure anything worth doing, I should be doing right now. Hopefully, next year will be better than this one. This one had some months I'd rather forget. On the plus side, I have at least climbed up from the pit, and I trust I'll leave this year in relatively good spirits.
Until next time, next year: Impossible Numbers, out! 
Also occurs to me I haven't done my customary statistics since October 1st. That's way too long a hiatus, so here we go!
Statistics
List of Reviews
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/875877/sa-round-160 (Practical Nightmares Only)
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/878545/fic-recs-november-11th-sunset-shipping-endings-edition (Plugged In)
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/878598/tuesday-tales-4 (Knitting Encouragement)
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/880076/fic-recs-november-26th (Romancing the Sun)
Fics Accepted By Equestria Daily
A Wrong-Sized Tail
A Very Merry Commission
I'm aware I didn't feel like trying new stuff on Equestria Daily last time I did a statistics subsection, but I did manage to scrounge up enough motivation to do so. Plus, eff it: it's basically a tradition to me by this point, and a game to see how many of my works will get accepted as I go. I will say this, though: the fandom might not be dead, but it's pretty shrivelled and sorry compared to what it used to be. Not as much feedback as I used to get, which is a bit of a shame.
New Stories
N/A
New Updates
N/A
Story Count: 104.
11 in 2019.
29 in 2018.
26 in 2017.
16 in 2016.
2 in 2015.
0 in 2014.
8 in 2013.
9 in 2012.
3 in 2011.
Age: 2,934 days, or 419 weeks and 1 day.
Working: 19 days in December 2011, 2x366 days for 2012 and 2016 leap years, 5x365 days for 2013 and 2014 and 2015 and 2017 and 2018, and 358 days for 2019 so far combined.
My Follower Count: 251.
This barely satisfies a minor private goal I set myself of earning up to one quarter of a thousand followers by the end of 2019. So that's... something.
My Followed Count: 275.
Personally, I interpreted Derpy's slow speech and distracted manner as a sign that she was using... herbal remedies, let's say, to cope with the Hearth's Warming rush. And given the mountains of packages brought to the post office in the opening, who could blame her?
And yes, Autumn is awesome, and I'm personally a big fan of the Christmas Norns.
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Eee I don't really see Derpy as the type to use significant pause herbal remedies.
I think what happened was her post office manager took her aside and said, "Now look, Derpy. It's the holiday season. Kids are screaming for presents, parents are trying not to strangle the little sods, everyone's fighting hoof-and-tooth at the shops, and no one's feeling the peace and goodwill in the slightest. We've got a mountain of packages and a lot of overworked staff - like you - and what with one understandable and overworked but still regrettable mistaken delivery after another, and another, and another, and about a bajillion anothers on top, the moment we open this office, we're going to be up to our manes in really pissed-off bastards and bitches who want to crucify us on the spot.
"You've got to convince them you're a stress-free, calming, utterly wonderful influence. You've got to be basically Santa Hooves. When they come in looking for a face to punch, yours is the friendly face I want them to see. They're going to be like bratty foals, so you'll have to be like their super-mom. And you have to do it all quickly before they get the crosses ready. Do you see what I'm saying?"
And Derpy replies, "Ho! I know ex-act-ly how to calm them dooown. Don't wooor-ryyy. Just leave it aaall to meee."
I'm a bit uncertain at this point whether the manager weeps tears of joy and hugs her, or just weeps softly in a corner with a carton of egg nog for comfort.
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Also, Norns! Them's the ones! The term slipped my mind for a moment.
Merry Christmas!
Hold right there. Season 7 is one of the best seasons of the entire show, a very close second to Season 5. Why? Because it has the most diversity in regards to characters from all the seasons. It was with this season that the Mane Six had become stale as the mane characters, which DHX' writers noticed, so they gave a lot of ponies spotlight who don't normally get it and focused on so many more ponies than the Mane Six. They even showed us Zipporwhill again! And Rumble got his own episode! With his own song, the first (and, sadly, now only) time we got a song by a background pony in the show!
There is barely an episode that focuses on one of the Mane Six in Season 7; it's either about other ponies entirely or a Mane Six member has to share a significant amount of screentime with another pony to the extent that the respective episode does not qualify as a Mane Six episode anymore.
This character diversity in Season 7 is unique in the entire show. You have to give this season so much credit and put it on a much higher pedestal.
.
This moment was the best moment of the entire special! You should read this comic, it explains Derpy's behavior and reactions in this moment quite well:
https://www.deviantart.com/dinkyuniverse/art/Overstressed-1-2-824228759
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And a Happy New Year!
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I'm sorry, but if we're talking my personal opinion, I'm afraid I don't feel the same way about Season Seven. I thought it was, in some respects, messier even than Seasons Three and Six, and those are seasons where I often actively dislike and avoid half the content if I can help it.
You see, the diversity thing is interesting and I'd otherwise champion it, but it doesn't mean a lot if I also object to certain new features (e.g. the way the Pillars felt underdeveloped) or still find major problems in multiple episodes (for one thing, I thought the worldbuilding and storytelling in multiple eps, especially in the third quarter, became conspicuously sloppy). Many episodes that I liked often also had something weakening or compromising the experience for me (e.g. I'd like "Parental Glideance" a lot more if its moral didn't feel so unfairly, even offensively, one-sided).
Ultimately, the number of episodes I outright love barely surpasses the number of fingers on one hand: "Honest Apple", "Discordant Harmony", "The Perfect Pear", "Once Upon A Zeppelin", and "Marks and Recreation". True, that count goes up dramatically if I include some compromised-but-good episodes, but merely having to say that much means it compares less well to my experience with other prior seasons, where I can rack up a much longer list without needing any such qualification (except for Season Three, but that's an odd case anyway).
I'm not saying you're wrong about the diversity - it didn't occur to me to think about that aspect while watching it - but I ultimately didn't enjoy the experience of watching Season Seven as much as some people did, outstanding episodes notwithstanding.