Episode Re-Review: On Your Marks · 6:55pm May 15th, 2021
Well, maybe the Cutie Mark Crusaders could get Season 6 off the ground when the main characters seemed incapable of truly doing so. I mean after all, the CMC had gone from being the undisputed weak links of the show in Season 1 and early Season 2 with their repetitive "Gotta get our cutie marks" plots to some of the most mature stuff we'd seen in children's media in a long time (the dangers of gossip and tabloid journalism, dealing with a potential disability, where jealousy can truly lead and even a look into an abusive family situation). And at long last they'd earned their cutie marks in Season 5. So maybe this episode would be good? I mean, it was written by Josh Haber and Dave Polsky, and Dave Polsky had managed to write "Brotherhooves Social" which if not for "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" and "The Mane Attraction" stealing its thunder I imagine it would've been known as Season 5's best episode (there are some who do consider it to be that). Well, let's find out.
The episode begins with the first meeting of the CMC now that they've gotten their cutie marks, and they're distracted by them. They're also so used to trying things to get their cutie marks that Apple Bloom at least has to be reminded that they've already earned them.
So the CMC decide they should do what they got their cutie marks in, helping others. And we get a brief montage of them asking various ponies only to find that they seem to be perfectly okay with what their jobs are and don't have a cutie mark problem (though in every case it's taking the cutie mark literally, whether it be Filthy Rich handling money bags or Mayor Mare signing scrolls). Then, in an odd continuity snarl we see the CMC sitting on the old, beat up playground equipment shown in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" even though Diamond Tiara was supposed to have gotten her father to donate new equipment. Anyway, Scootaloo makes a meta joke about how if cutie mark problems are so rare, it's a wonder the CMC worried so much about getting theirs. I do find it odd she doesn't seem to remember the bullying from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, but even then there's no indication that it was a lack of a cutie mark that caused Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to bond, that was just what drew them to Apple Bloom. And Diamond and Silver putting her on the spot was just what Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle needed to introduce themselves to her.
At that moment, they happen to come across Bulk Biceps who is all alone on the playground equipment. But it's okay, he's just having a cutie mark problem and the Cutie Mark Crusaders decide that they can make him a client. They somehow manage to get him to fit into their clubhouse (barely), and Bulk tells them that his cutie mark is a dumb bell but he's lifted every dumb bell he can find. Scootaloo suggests the obvious, lifting other things, and that's enough to satisfy Bulk. Kind of odd they don't mention him working at the spa, but I guess maybe that's just what he does to make a living?
This causes the CMC to realize that there's a bit of a problem related to their cutie marks. They're confined to Ponyville to look for them, there aren't many cutie mark problems to solve and the ones that are out there are solved so quickly it's like they never existed. So, since the CMC can't go outside of Ponyville for the time being, they decide that they should do things just for the fun of it. In turn, we have Scootaloo teaching Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle how to navigate an extreme scooter course, Sweetie Belle teaching Apple Bloom and Scootaloo how to sing (and getting mad at Scootaloo's terribly off-key singing) and Apple Bloom teaching Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo how to brew potions. Oddly enough, we see that Zecora's hut has been upgraded from when we last saw it. Though we only saw the interior during "What About Discord?", so I like to think this new hut is because Zecora's old one got destroyed by Tirek when he was burning down everything.
But in each activity, the only one who's any real good at it is the CMC member who proposed doing it. Then Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo suggest that the Cutie Mark Crusaders don't necessarily have to do things together all the time. The only problem is, Apple Bloom doesn't have an activity that she really likes to do alone. But she's sent out to do it anyway and this leads into the song "Out On My Own", which was recently revealed to have a demo with different lyrics. The lyrics mentioned wanting to shine on your own, which I guess was part of a different draft for this episode originally that got rejected. As it is, the song is alright, nothing to really write home about but it gets the job done. What might be most interesting is that during the song, there's a scene of Silver Spoon making a keesh to share with Diamond Tiara and another pony. But it's only when the song ends that Apple Bloom happens to stumble upon a dance class being led by a pony named Hoofer Steps (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain with a Russian accent), and she just so happens to have a spot open for auditions because a colt named Tender Taps is too shy to want to perform. Apple Bloom opts to give it a try, believing that since they're all dancing together she won't have to be alone. But her dancing is quite bad, and she injures every partner she's paired up with, so Hoofer Steps tells her she's better off as a soloist.
Disappointed by having to do something on her own once again, Apple Bloom leaves the dance studio and Tender Taps tries to cheer her up. He demonstrates how to "do it with feeling", which is more parkour than dancing when he jumps off a wall and does a split (which even for a little boy that should be painful for obvious reasons). So if he can dance so good now, why isn't he going to perform at an upcoming recital? Well, he has stage fright. You wanna know why I can buy this but I can't buy Fluttershy having the same in "Filli Vanilli"? It's because Tender Taps is an actual child, someone who might naturally experience stage fright. Whereas Fluttershy is a fully grown adult who we'd already seen standing up to Discord no problem and being willing to compete in what was essentially the pony Olympics. However, they are a little too on the nose about Tender Taps when he says that he thinks someday he'll get a cutie mark in dancing. It only makes Apple Bloom look like an idiot for not picking up on this obvious detail.
Then, we cut to Scootaloo meeting up with Sweetie Belle after a bungee jumping session (Scootaloo is an adrenaline junkie, who knew?) and Sweetie Belle mentions that she's taken up crochet with some help from Rarity. However, the two find Apple Bloom holed up in the clubhouse as she complains about having done everything under the sun and just being unhappy about being unable to do anything with anyone else.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle rightfully point out to Apple Bloom that just because they're doing things on their own it doesn't mean that they're not friends. Then they also tell Apple Bloom that you don't have to be instantly good at something to like doing it, which causes her to realize how dense she's been all episode. As a result, she's able to realize that Tender Taps needs help and just happens to know where the recital will be held. She goes backstage, enlisting both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to help by changing the scenery and giving Apple Bloom and Tender Taps matching costumes. Apple Bloom then opts to help Tender Taps by going first and dancing horribly to draw the crowd's mockery, rightfully pointing out that even if Tender Taps is bad he's bound to look good next to her. And it works. Tender Taps is able to dance up a storm (though the animators kind of cut corners by disguising his hooves in a motion blur when he gets going). And viola, a cutie mark is his!
So while Tender Taps shows off his cutie mark and expresses his hope that Apple Bloom keep dancing (which she agrees to), the CMC realize that doing things on their own might actually be helpful to the group as a whole. Apple Bloom even says "The Cutie Mark Crusaders won't be the same anymore. We'll be better than ever!" and the end credits treats us to that special dance music from the recital.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, it really takes a while to get going. Much like the Cutie Marked CMC themselves, the episode kind of drifts about with no real direction for the first two acts or so. It really feels like even the show writers themselves weren't sure of the answer to the question "What are the Cutie Mark Crusaders going to do now that they've gotten their cutie marks?". When it finally gets to the CMC doing things by themselves and Apple Bloom meeting Tender Taps, the episode has already spent a lot of time going nowhere and they have to basically tell us that yes, Tender Taps is the plot we're focusing on. Once again, this really shows that Apple Bloom unfortunately can't hold the spotlight on her own. If you take away her family and take away the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she doesn't have anything that really defines her. It does make some sense that she would be the most afraid of being alone given that she feared being the only blank flank in her class, but just because you're doing an activity on your own doesn't mean you're alone. And Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both rightfully point out that they're still friends, friends don't have to do everything together. I really do wonder if the original demo of "Out On My Own" was part of a rejected first draft for this episode, because the idea of Apple Bloom trying to find a way to shine on her own is a whole lot better than her just complaining about being all alone. No one likes to be around a complainer all day. So ultimately, this episode gets a borderline C/C+, really seems like all the momentum from the end of Season 5 had left the show.
Well, next up is what could be said to be a light in the darkness and a breath of fresh air with "Gauntlet of Fire" and ironically enough it was a Spike episode (which was usually not a good sign).
This is a pretty good CMC episode.
The most noteworthy thing about this episode is that it's the first not to have any of the Mane Six appear at all.
5519407
YOU STOLE MY THUNDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -smites the crap out of you-
5519504
Sorry, my friend. Gotta be quicker on the draw.
I actually liked the song a lot. It was pretty depressing, which is rare for the show, if not entirely new. It also really makes me feel for Applebloom, and is definitely my favourite thing about the episode. Tender Taps is also pretty cool, and the outro at the end is neat.
5519671
Meh.