Episode Re-Review: Swarm of the Century · 6:28pm Jan 29th, 2021
So now we come to the first (but certainly not the last) of what could be said to be unpopular opinions from me. Everyone seems to like this episode, and it's the debut of M. A. Larson who was a fan favorite writer once upon a time. So that should be a recipe for success, right? Well, let's just get through this episode and see what happens.
Things start off innocently enough, Fluttershy is picking flowers in a meadow when she happens to hear a noise. It turns out to be this rather cute and innocent looking creature that's a round ball with wings. She feeds it, taking notice of its rather large appetite and decides to take it home with her. Not a bad start, what's next? Well, next up we have Twilight instructing Spike to help with dusting the library since apparently Princess Celestia is stopping by Ponyville for a visit. Twilight then goes out into town to basically micromanage everything, eventually arriving at Sugarcube Corner where the Cakes reveal they've been having trouble keeping Pinkie from taste testing the desserts. It's only interrupted when Fluttershy comes in, intending to show off the creature she found but to her surprise it has turned into three. And we run into our first problem, Fluttershy doesn't seem surprised by this and no one else seems to find it odd. Pinkie Pie mentions a parasprite, supposedly identifying the creatures by name. And what do Twilight and Fluttershy do? They only ask why Pinkie needs a trombone instead of maybe asking what a parasprite is.
Fluttershy then goes around bringing this creature to all her friends, and at no point does Twilight think to maybe do some research even after witnessing that the creatures can reproduce seemingly at will. It all seems innocent at first, but next morning Twilight and Spike wake up to find the library overrun with the creatures. And it's become a problem for all of their other friends as well (except for Pinkie Pie who didn't want one). Twilight then goes to see Zecora, which you should remember because the episode will not. Zecora confirms that the creatures are indeed parasprites, but she either doesn't know how to get rid of them or refuses to tell Twilight how to do so (we never get an explanation). So the rest of the mane six gather up the parasprites into a ball as Pinkie Pie comes along, and they dismiss her out of hoof since they think they have a solution. Their solution? Just roll the parasprite ball into the Everfree Forest. So basically they're gonna make the parasprites someone else's problem, a.k.a Zecora's. If not for the fact that we saw Zecora earlier this wouldn't be a problem.
But just when it looks as if everything is okay, they go back to Fluttershy's cottage and find an entire swarm of parasprites still there. This is because Fluttershy stupidly kept one parasprite even after knowing the danger they were. But this episode will just ignore this, this never gets brought up again even though everything that happens from here on out is because of Fluttershy's stupidity. It's probably so the episode could be extended to twenty two minutes, but if that was the only way to do it would've been better to go back to the drawing board.
So the rest of the mane six come up with a new solution on the fly. Basically, they just have Rainbow Dash suck the parasprites into a tornado. And what do they do after that? Nothing. There's zero indication they have any plan at all besides that. But when Pinkie Pie shows up and her cymbals accidentally get sucked in and cause Rainbow to dump the parasprites over Ponyville, her "friends" chew her out and to her face imply that she's stupid and not worth listening to. But it's not Pinkie's fault that they don't have a plan or that Fluttershy kept a parasprite despite knowing the trouble they were. They had opportunities to ask Pinkie about the parasprites and why she needed the musical instruments, but they just kept brushing her off as "Pinkie being Pinkie". Meanwhile, Twilight gets the "idea" to try and use magic to rewrite the parasprites instincts. It works, but in the process it causes them to start devouring buildings instead. Yet Applejack seems to forget this when she tries to protect Sweet Apple Acres, and acts surprised when the parasprites consume the barn instead of the crops. Twilight then begins to lose her sanity as Ponyville falls apart around her.
Then Pinkie Pie shows up as a one pony band and through a pied piper routine she's able to lead the parasprites out of town just as Princess Celestia arrives. Princess Celestia seems to think that the whole thing is a parade, but reveals that she'll have to cut her trip short since Fillydelphia is suffering from a supposedly similar infestation (I'm not sure if they're implying the earlier solution caused the parasprites to end up rolling into Fillydelphia or not). And Twilight delivers the moral about listening to your friends even if their methods may seem weird or outlandish. But does Pinkie get any sort of apology for the way her friends treated her? No. Twilight claims Pinkie saved Ponyville, but of course that's not the case since Ponyville is still a mess.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? It's painfully obvious in its message "Poor Communication Kills", it's so built around that message that everyone must follow that trope to the letter. No one ever wants to ask the obvious questions or do any kind of research. No one wants to bother explaining anything or even thinking of other solutions. And no one seems to remember what happened just moments ago even though we the audience saw it (Zecora, the parasprites eating buildings, Ponyville being destroyed). And of course, Fluttershy's stupidity in prolonging the plot is never addressed, but Pinkie Pie gets blamed when her friends plans don't seem to be much of a plan to begin with and just seem to be gather up all the parasprites and then think something of when they get to that part. Heck, Princess Celestia's appearance here is completely pointless, it's only just so Twilight doesn't have to write the letter. You know how many of these plot elements worked in Gremlins, which this episode is clearly drawing inspiration from? There were honest mistakes brought about through a lack of understanding, and even then it could've been avoided had the original owner of Gizmo bothered to explain the rules about not getting Gizmo wet or feeding him after midnight. There's not even a lot of funny moments, the only one I can think of is the parasprites forming a bikini around Rainbow Dash. Other than that the episode is sticking to that predictable story that seems to be forgetting what it already wrote. So this episode gets an E, I'm sure others like it but I just can't bring myself to do the same when there's so much wrong. Much like "Bridle Gossip" good jokes or visuals can't save a bad story.
Well, next up is "Winter Wrap Up" and by that I mean the episode and not the song. Everyone remembers the episode solely for the song of the same name, but is it possible that we're wrong to overlook it?
For me, this is one of the more middle episodes of the season, mostly thanks to its humor.
Though i always wonder just how Rarity talked Dash into trying on that ridiculous outfit she had on.
I would also like to point out that the episode never explains the reason for Pinkie knowing so much about the parasprites in the first place.
Did she encounter them often during her youth?
Were they common pests in the area where she grow up?
Did her parents teach her how to deal with them or did she learn it by herself?!
5444016 Probably bribed her.
I feel mixed on this episode. But I don't think it's horrible or anything. Plus I don't think shoving the parasprites into the Everfree forest is the big deal you're making it out to be. That's a really huge place, and it's been implied Zecora lives quite deep in it. The parasprites would have a low chance to ever stumble across Zecora's hut, letalone get inside with the fact that it's a closed hut.
5444038
Wouldn't be surprised if said bribery was apple cider.
Also, in regards to Fluttershy restarting the conflict, I think Josh Scorcher put it best in his own review:
Actually, she was quite taken aback by the fact that there were three instead of one.
She did, actually.
Twilight didn't go to Zecora until near the VERY END of the episode. And Fluttershy did show shock at finding three Parasites in her mane instead of just one. Not to mention the fact that Pinkie Pie could've just explained what a Parasite was and how dangerous they were instead of running of with no explanation other than their name. So a good deal of what happened is on Pinkie for not communicating properly. And Pinkie DID get an apology from her friends!
Seriously, you may want to consider REWATCHING the episodes you intend to review instead of just relying on your memory so you avoid these obvious and completely avoidable mistakes...