Episode Re-Review: Ponyville Confidential · 6:48pm Mar 8th, 2021
So, just as Season 2 was finally back on the right track with "Hurricane Fluttershy" another polarizing and controversial episode was on tap. M. A. Larson was in the writer's seat here, and by this point Larson's reputation and credibility had taken a nosedive given "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" and to a lesser extent "Luna Eclipsed" had shattered the image of him being near perfect. But it was a Cutie Mark Crusaders episode and the CMC had begun to stop fixating on cutie marks in all their plots, so maybe that was a good sign? Well, let's find out.
The episode begins with a never before seen classmate showing off his cutie mark. It's Featherweight who has a feather for a cutie mark. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are disappointed that yet another pony has gotten their cutie mark and they still don't have theirs. But Apple Bloom seems to have the answer to the problem, the school newspaper known as The Foal Free Press. Before she can explain, however, we get a recycled shout from Granny Smith and Apple Bloom leaves. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle then go around town, trying to find various uses for the paper to get their cutie marks in. They try stuff like paper mache, building a bird's nest and even making a boat out of it. But nothing works. And when they show up to the clubhouse, Apple Bloom explains to the two that she meant they should write for the school paper (because what else would you do with a newspaper that you could make a profession out of?). The next day, after school, Cheerilee holds a meeting for those interested in joining the paper. But she explains that she's not in charge of running it. And since the previous editor in chief graduated last year, a new editor in chief has been appointed in the form of Diamond Tiara.
Yeah, Diamond Tiara doesn't sound like the kind of pony you'd trust for such a position. I'm willing to bet she got it because her mother (or even her father) basically bribed the school board into letting Diamond take over. Cheerilee then decides to just leave instead of maybe supervising the paper given Diamond's reputation (I mean, what could possibly go wrong?). Immediately, Diamond Tiara decides to leave her mark on the school paper and declares that it's always been a joke. She's determined to change that, though, and doesn't want any "namby pamby" stories. And we get a funny joke about Namby Pamby being the previous editor in chief. Anyway, Scootaloo suggests they get out of here and try their luck elsewhere, but Sweetie Belle convinces them to put up with Diamond's behavior if it means they get their cutie marks. So the CMC are gonna actually stick to something for a change instead of immediately trying something else the second it doesn't work out. It's a much welcome change from their Season 1 antics.
Each of the Crusaders split off to do their own story. Sweetie Belle wants to interview Rarity, Scootaloo intends to visit the bird's nest from earlier since apparently some baby birds were born and Apple Bloom plans to use Granny Smith as a history source. Each goes awry: Rarity is more interested in using Sweetie Belle as a model for a rather ugly looking hat, Scootaloo slips and falls in the mud trying to climb the tree (her wings do seem to lift her off the ground a little, but not enough to keep her airborne) and Granny Smith would rather show off Apple Bloom's baby pictures (one of them is apparently a reference to a famous ad). Diamond Tiara rejects all three stories and insists on getting something "juicy" before kicking the Crusaders out of the printing press room in the schoolhouse's basement.
Just as all hope seems lost, Sweetie Belle overhears the sounds of a struggle between Snips and Snails. It turns out they've somehow gotten bubblegum stuck to themselves and are trying (and failing) to get it off. Sweetie calls Featherweight over to take a picture and apparently that's "juicy" enough for the school (I mean, I guess kids would be amused by that). Diamond is impressed, especially by the fact that the CMC created an alias by the name of Gabby Gums so no one would know it's them. And she decides to make the Crusaders the paper's official gossip columnists. Convinced that a few more articles will be all that's necessary to get their cutie marks, the Crusaders set out to find more stories. But they keep drawing a blank since not much really goes on around the school besides Snips and Snails. Interestingly, there's what looks like a coffee mug on the desk near Scootaloo but I'm betting it's really just hot chocolate. Anyway, Sweetie Belle heads back to Carousel Boutique, and it's there that Rarity stumbles across Sweetie's saddlebag and against her better nature decides to snoop.
Sweetie catches Rarity in the act, and since she can't use magic she flicks Rarity's horn with a hoof to dispel the magic. Rarity apologizes but insists that she's quite interested in Sweetie's copy of The Foal Free Press and asks for permission to show it to her friends. Sweetie agrees and senses an opportunity. She tells her fellow Crusaders that they need to expand their scope of stories to all of Ponyville. But the next "story" doesn't seem like much of one. Pound and Pumpkin Cake cry at a trip to what I assume is a toy store. But babies cry all the time, so what's the story that's so interesting? It feels like there's supposed to be more. I should also mention that, by this point, Silver Spoon has neither appeared or been mentioned at any point. She was going to at least be acknowledged in the original draft. But her absence here led some to speculate that she might be undergoing redemption independent of Diamond Tiara. Kind of a shame that they didn't follow through on this, it could've been a chance for Silver Spoon to get fleshed out more.
Anyway, The Foal Free Press is apparently becoming so popular that a local newsstand wants to carry it. And Diamond Tiara apparently can just agree to that without consulting anyone (you'd think the school itself would have to sign off on letting a school paper be carried officially, and I doubt Spoiled Rich or anyone else could throw enough money to get others not to object). Gabby Gums and The Foal Free Press become a sensation, and the mane six all start talking about it at the spa. However, only Twilight seems to be worried about Gabby Gums' apparent lack of respect for privacy owing to a picture of Princess Celestia eating cake (a poor royal guard is probably about to get fired for letting that happen). And this concern only from her is going to be a problem later on. Interestingly, this is the only other episode where Shannon Chan-Kent filled in for Andrea Libman on Pinkie Pie (noticeable by the fact that Fluttershy doesn't speak). There's still no explanation given as to why this was the case, although Andrea has said the Pinkie Pie voice takes a tole on her. Rainbow Dash then shows up and is persuaded into getting a hooficure, only to object because she doesn't like ponies touching her hooves. Then we learn that Gabby Gums did a story on Spike as the mane six all crowd around him in amazement.
The story is actually rather nice, but Diamond rejects it because it's not how the gossip column became a success. The CMC briefly lament to themselves what the gossip column has started to become, but Sweetie Belle convinces them that they have to give the public what they want. That seems to mean spinning wild tales with only the slightest provocation from a picture. Applejack complains about being caught sleeping on the job (which is only a problem because she let it happen), and then we find out that Big Macintosh is apparently still holding on to Smarty Pants since the events of "Lesson Zero".
There's also a story claiming Twilight Sparkle is a Canterlot snob (which she kind of was when she first came to Ponyville and thought everypony in town was crazy), but Gabby Gums makes the mistake of identifying a "source". Except Spike claims he never actually said any of that stuff and is Gabby Gums is making it up. Rarity isn't concerned, even as Twilight points out more apparently damnening stories. Fluttershy has tail extensions, but they never explain what that's supposed to mean so the intended impact falls flat (not helped by Andrea Libman not being able to voice Fluttershy). And Pinkie Pie is an out of control party animal (as if she wasn't already). Just like the last time Shannon filled in, it's here that you can kind of hear her Silver Spoon voice slipping out during the crying. There's also a story about the Cakes breaking up (don't know where the idea for that even came from) and then apparently Gabby Gums has access to the pony equivalent of Photo Shop since there's a story of Rainbow Dash getting a hooficure, and the image is edited from what we clearly saw when Featherweight snapped the picture (without being caught, I might add). Yet even upon seeing how harmful the gossip has become, Rarity still doesn't seem to care until suddenly she finds a story on herself!
Gabby Gums printed Rarity's diary, and Twilight suggests that Sweetie Belle must know who Gabby Gums is. Rarity rejects the notion, yet upon snooping through Sweetie's saddlebag again she discovers her stolen diary. Rarity then puts two and two together and realizes Sweetie Belle (and by extension the other Crusaders) is Gabby Gums. She goes to confront her sister, and interestingly enough much of this scene was improvised, even down to the "Et tu, Gabby Gums?" line that's a reference to Julius Ceaser. The most powerful thing about this scene though, is that Rarity uses an earlier example of her own wrong doing to prove a point. Using the old "You didn't like it when someone else did it to you, so why do you think it's okay to do it others?" argument. Sweetie Belle confesses that the Crusaders have all been feeling bad but just want to get their cutie marks. However, Rarity asks the heartfelt question of whether they really wanna get their marks in such a fashion. Apparently deciding no, the Crusaders tell Diamond Tiara they're going to quit and Diamond refuses. She even says "I don't care about feelings" when confronted with how hurtful the gossip has become (a better argument would've been "Since when do you care about feelings? That never stopped you before!"). And it's lines like these that really made it hard to find anything to like about Diamond Tiara early on, making her seem almost like a G-rated sociopath. It's only made worse when she decides to resort to blackmail via embarrassing pictures to make the CMC keep going (though they don't tell her that everypony in town now knows who they are).
And now we get to the infamous part of the episode and what some consider a deal breaker: The CMC are shunned by the town that previously encouraged their behavior (Fluttershy's cries are a recycled stock sound effect). Mind you, the worst that happens is that Rainbow Dash pours a rain cloud on them and the rest of the town's folk tell them to go away or refuse to talk to them. However, you have to look at it from the perspective of the town's folk. They don't know about the blackmail, they think the CMC haven't learned at all. And if we didn't have the blackmail scene we would be inclined to support the town's folk. Because of the blackmail scene it kind of becomes like "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" in that our sympathies end up going to someone they weren't supposed to go to, in this case the CMC. I should mention that in the original draft they got out of trouble after briefly turning on each other. Not by what they do here but by publishing a story about Diamond Tiara that makes her look bad. So all they would really have done there is shift to an "acceptable" target. I do think this scene could've been trimmed or cut, the CMC being blackmailed and then learning from Rainbow Dash that the whole town knows about them is enough to raise the stakes. And yet they don't want those embarrassing stories about themselves to be published, so they face a bit of a dilemma.
The next morning, Diamond Tiara decides that time's up and orders the pony running the press to publish the photos (and I guess make up a story about them). But Sweetie Belle barges in and we get a funny joke about stopping the presses before they've started. Diamond decides not to look at what the CMC came up with (even though you think she would just to be sure they weren't trying to trick her) and lets them publish their "story". However, she finds out that in actuality it's an open confession and apology to the citizens of Ponyville for letting things get so far out of hoof. Then and only then does Cheerilee do anything at all, stripping Diamond Tiara of her position as editor-in-chief and appointing Featherweight to take over (even though he was in on the whole thing and as far as we know he didn't apologize for helping Diamond blackmail the CMC). Diamond gets to take over the printing press because the previous worker has been promoted to photographer, and everyone laughs at Diamond's misfortune.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, I can see why people don't like it. And it definitely hasn't aged well with the rise of "Fake News" and a rapid decline of trust in traditional forms of media. The hypocrisy displayed by most of the town's ponies is pretty glaring and doesn't really get addressed. And Diamond Tiara crosses a major line here, though the real question is why Cheerilee just lets it happen (Spoiled Rich or not you'd think Cheerilee would try to intervene). I think the biggest booster is the CMC themselves and the fact that they actually stick to something for a change, rather than just bail out as soon as they don't get a cutie mark. They do a good job of keeping them sympathetic and relatable, and I'm glad they made the change to have them confess rather than just switch their gossip to an "acceptable" target. Really, the hypocrisy and the way the CMC get treated after the blackmail comes out (which they never tell anyone about) are the only things that really hurt this episode aside from Diamond ultimately being made the undisputed antagonist by having her not care about feelings. Because of that this episode gets a borderline B/B+.
Now we come to the show's fiftieth episode, and a filler episode before the big finale for Season 2. "MMMystery on the Friendship Express" which will ultimately not be much of a mystery.
This is one of my favorite episodes of the season.
You could argue that the townsfolk should apologize to CMC for encouraging the gossip in the first place. However, to quote Joshscorcher, "That is like apologizing to Michael Bay for giving him money to make crappy movies. Sure, they have no right to be surprised, but they have EVERY right to be angry."
By the way, I highly recommend that you check out his review of the episode:
Off the top of my head, there are two pony reviewers I know of who speak very highly of this episode: Mr. Enter and Voice of Reason, the latter of whom considers it to be his #1 personal episode.