Retrospective Review: Fall Weather Friends and Suited for Success · 7:05am Feb 19th, 2021
S1E13 Fall Weather Friends
It's another annual event that's only mentioned once!
One good thing about this series is that there are enough interactions among the ponies to justify most every ship. And this is the episode that launched AppleDash, the ship that wins out in the end. I do like the interaction and competition between Rainbow Dash and Applejack, even though I'm firmly of the belief that earth ponies have an insurmountable magical advantage in athletic competitions.
Judging by how much the Ponyville residents love the Iron Pony competition, they should do this more often, and charge admission.
This is the carnivorous pony episode, with references to hot dogs and being trussed up like a turkey.
As far the story goes, the episode works well, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash letting their egos take over and make trouble, causing them to fail in the end. But some of the details are silly. There's no way Twilight Sparkle finishes fifth; physical ability is too important. And there's no way that two ponies (out of dozens) fooling around, although being shown running for much of the race, would cause all of those trees to still have their leaves.
In the end, it's a good episode, and I've referenced the Running of the Leaves in several of my stories. And i love the classic Road Runner feel of the stunts.
S1E14 Suited for Success
This episode, we have the introduction of Vinyl Scratch and "20% cooler".
Rarity had a role in Look Before You Sleep, but this was the first episode focused solely on her. It's all about her, her talents, and her freaking out when things go wrong.
Rarity's original dresses look great, but for some reason, the others don't like them. They want changes, which calls to mind the episode of The Simpsons where Homer designs a car for his half-brother's car company (and ruins it in the process). If I'm going to quibble here, Fluttershy's new dress should look fine, as she clearly understands fashion and what she wants. The others should be train wrecks.
Another quibble is, if Rarity is making these dresses for her friends to wear to the Grand Galloping Gala, there's no way she would let Hoity Toity sell them before then.
Opalescence is fun in this episode, and I like the reference to Rarity becoming a crazy cat lady.
For me, my favorite part was Fluttershy taking control and being assertive. It's a side of her character we'll see in several episodes in the future.
Hey now, we see a Running of the Leaves in "Tanks for the Memories."
To be fair, between Nightmare Moon and the dragon, Twilight may well have started a regular exercise routine in case of any more Celestially mandated heroics.
And "Suited for Success" is great, but I wish they'd built on Fluttershy's freaky knowledge of sewing so Rarity had something of an industry peer in her inner circle.
Ehh-heh-heh, but it's such a crappy ship! ;_; Whyyyyyy?
You forgot to mention that Suited for Success features one of the greatest musical numbers of the show's entire run. :)
5456972
And she's taken enough slapstick injuries that she clearly followed Caster Optimization 101 to the letter and put her second-highest roll in Constitution.
5457014
In 5th edition D&D, I always put a 14 in Con.
5457008
Because the show did a terrible job of having Applejack interact with anyone outside the Mane Six and her family.
As for the musical number, I remembered the first part, and had forgotten that it persists as everything spins out of control.
5457017
Yeah, the reprise is really good.
This post honestly made me realize that my beef with AppleDash is simply that it was the first one, and you'd think people would have gotten tired of it after a few seasons. But unlike other ships that waxed and waned in popularity, it never did. :|
5457029
I don't know if it's the first ship; I think people shipped Applejack and Rarity because of Look Before You Sleep. That one didn't last in FIM, but it seems popular in Equestria Girls.
5457042
Oh, it definitely lasted and was definitely better. >:|
5457029
not everyone changes there tastes. Sometimes you see something, hear something, taste something, and you like it forever