Deconstruction is Magic: A My Little Pony Retrospective (S1E10)

Grrrrrrrrrrrrreetings everypony, and welcome back to Deconstruction is Magic, my Retrospective/Review/Analysis of every episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is magic ever. Today, we have a strange one, showing us that only the strangest of ponies knows how to handle a Parasprite plague: it's Swarm of the Century! Without wasting any more time, let's get on with the analysis! I am the Mage of Mind, reminding you, as always, that even a cheeseburger can be deconstructed to its source.

Swarm of the Century is a fairly basic episode, with much of the plot focusing around fighting the Parasprite infection. For the majority of the runtime, it's all about how much they can stretch the same two jokes over and over: Trying and failing to stop the swarm, with Pinkie Pie questing for seemingly random musical instruments.

This presents a rather strange contrast, given that Pinkie Pie is the one who's aware of how dangerous Parasprites are, while Fluttershy is completely ignorant. We would expect it to be the other way around, but that does help to generate some of the comedy in this episode. It's a role reversal, with context playing a vital role. The Parasprites don't look inherently dangerous, and so Fluttershy accepts them without question. The only thing that irks me about this, is that Fluttershy is somewhat out of character. She knows they're dangerous, despite their cute appearence, and yet keeps a few behind anyway?

(Weaponized Cuteness is a dangerous tactic indeed!)

This is a problem that is actually reflected in real life, as well. Often times, a wild animal may look cute as a baby, which leads people to think they're harmless. Monkeys are especially bad, because they can often get very aggressive as they grow up, as they have not been through the domestication process which your average cat or dog has over hundreds of years. This can also happen with domestic pets, as those who don't understand how animals convey emotions through body language often end up hurt.

When it comes to Pinkie Pie, you could be forgiven for thinking she is just spouting nonsense, as she often does, making this a "boy who cried wolf" situation. However, she is completely fixated and serious on the topic of finding instruments, to the point of expressing frustration that nopony is listening to her. However, when you consider how Twilight and the others never asked for any context, everything starts to make a lot more sense.

(Hey, high-speed backwards shuffling is serious business!)

At no point did anypony ask why Pinkie needed the instruments, or think to help her finding them. They never read into Pinkie's tone, or expressions, and so were completely oblivious to what she was trying to say. We as an audience are therefore without context, either, and so when Pinkie brings it all together, the ultimate punchline is both unexpected, and hilarious! While it is a rather arbitrary method of distracting a fantastical insect swarm, this is a case where rule of funny takes priority.

Not every episode of the show needs to have a deep, complex undercurrent of subtext to be good. That's why popcorn flicks exist! Sometimes, you just want to see pure, fantastical nonsense on screen, and this episode gives that in spades. It's a testament to M.A Larson's writing that he manages to create a creature that brings inspiration from more mature media, such as Gremlins, and translates this into a colourful, yet mischievously menacing minature monster that carries the same energy, while also being suitable for kids.

(Zecora is the anti long horse.)

Conclusion

This is another simple episode, and perhaps a bit of a breather from some of the heavier character drama we've seen in recent episodes. The voice acting and comedic timing are all spot on, while the animation team went above and beyond to bring to life the Parasprite Infestation! While it does seem to take some liberties with Fluttershy's character, this is still a fun episode that shows how Pinkie Pie is not to be underestimated!

Swarm of the Century gets a final score of 7.5/10. What did you make of this episode? Is there something I missed with the potential subtext? Feel free to let me know in the comments of this blog! Until next time, take care all~.