Episode Re-Review: All Bottled Up · 7:12pm Jun 8th, 2021
So now we have the other half of Season 7's "premiere", an episode that was written by Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco and starred Starlight Glimmer, but aside from that there is nothing that would link it to the previous episode. "Celestial Advice" had certainly been different, but for the most part it had just felt like it was shilling Starlight Glimmer and offered up nothing new, no season of direction for Season 7. This episode would offer up something potentially more exciting, though in doing so it would be shifting the focus to Starlight and Trixie as a pair for the first time since the controversial "No Second Prances". So, how did this second half of Season 7's "premiere" fare? Well, let's find out.
The episode begins with Trixie practicing magic in the kitchen with Starlight, and she becomes excited when she's able to successfully do a spell to transform objects into tea cups. So excited, in fact, that she ruins the snack Starlight was preparing for Twilight and her friends. And when called on this, Trixie doesn't seem particular bothered and non-chalantely suggests something else to offer. Not a good sign of things to come, especially for Trixie. Trust me, she's gonna get way worse from here!
So why is Starlight preparing snacks? Well, because Twilight and the rest of the mane six are going to Manehattan, specifically to a place called Manehattan Escapes in order to partake in a "Friendship Retreat". Weird that neither Spike or Starlight were invited to go from what we understand. Could they really not work in some dialogue indicating why Spike and Starlight weren't going? I mean, just last episode made a big deal out of Starlight potentially leaving and now it's as if she doesn't even exist.
Starlight does mention that they'll probably "sing a song or two", which is a good meta joke. But from here on out the mane six are going to be pretty much irrelevant to this episode, even though they'll insist on showing us what they're up to. Basically, the mane six are partaking in an escape room challenge (I've done some, but quite frankly you need to have people you can trust and usually you'll need a host willing to be generous on the hints if you want to have a good time). They even learn that there's a record set by a bunch of griffons, and they strive to beat it. We'll cut back to this several times throughout the episode, but only to see that the mane six are having no difficulties at all (mostly because they're letting Twilight do the brunt of the work). It even leads into a song they sing right before they can turn the key to escape: "Best Friends Until The End of Time". As funny as it is to learn that this song happened in-universe and cost them the chance to break the record, it feels like it just pauses the episode. The lyrics are really cliche and the music is a very poorly mixed take on modern pop. This whole B plot just seems to reek of "Gee, isn't it great that we're friends?", something you would expect from an 80's cartoon.
So while the mane six are completely wasted on a B plot that serves solely to write them out of the episode, our A plot focuses on Starlight teaching Trixie magic even despite Trixie's earlier behavior. Besides, Starlight herself is probably not the best pony to be teaching magic given her lack of understanding of boundaries. And it's not like she's doing this under supervision either. Naturally, Trixie refuses to listen to any of Starlight's warnings before casting a spell. And interestingly, Starlight mentions that her emotions are what powers her magic. The stronger her emotions, the stronger her magic. At the least this marks the first attempt to explain why Starlight Glimmer is so powerful, though this is something we should've gotten from day one.
As a result of her impatience, Trixie sends the table map away while trying to perform teleportation on an apple (why not do it outside where it would probably be safer?). Starlight is absolutely horrified by this while Trixie is ecstatic at having done real magic. Then Starlight leaves as an ominous red cloud starts to emerge from her horn. She goes rushing to the kitchen where Spike is washing dishes, and we learn from the conversation she has with him that the red cloud isn't something that's done for the sake of the audience. The red cloud is supposed to exist in-universe, and it's a representation of Starlight's anger. So she's going to literally bottle it up so as to avoid losing Trixie as a friend. This falls right into the same problem as the greying of the mane six in "The Return of Harmony". It's happening in-universe but it's treated like it's done solely for the audience's sake.
Also, how does Starlight Glimmer know about all of this? How does she know her emotions power her magic or that when she gets really mad a red cloud appears? Did she ever lose her temper as a child? Did she undergo tests or something at some point in order to determine why she was so powerful? It feels like this was just thrown together for the sake of the episode with no further thought given to it. Meanwhile, Trixie is completely unconcerned about having sent the table map away and even says with a straight face that Starlight never gets mad at her. This is why you need to say "no" to others and put your foot down sometimes. If you don't, others will learn that they can do whatever they want to you or with you and you won't stop them. And I know this wasn't intentional, but the way Trixie says it and the way she expresses herself comes off almost like an abuser telling their victim "You know you can't leave me." Quite honestly, if Lewis and Songco think this is a "good" example of friendship that can be held up alongside the mane six's friendships, I worry about what "examples" they've seen in real life.
Trixie of course doesn't remember where she sent the table, but Starlight drags her around to look for it based on what Trixie "might" have been thinking about when she cast the spell. But all Trixie can think about is stuffing her face full everywhere she goes, treating the whole thing like it's no big deal. And all the while she never notices the red cloud coming from Starlight even while it's going into a bottle. Even Roman from Grand Theft Auto IV is less annoying than Trixie is in this episode, and he's always calling up his cousin to ask if they can hang out.
Eventually, Trixie notices something sticking out of Starlight's saddlebags and ignores pleas from Starlight not to touch them. As a result, the bottled up anger is released and infects nearby ponies. Yet Trixie has to have it spelled out for her that Starlight is mad at her. At this rate you could practically put up a billboard right in front of Trixie telling her what she's doing wrong, and she would still look at you as if you were stupid! I know Trixie has never been the smartest character in the show, but she was never this oblivious and annoying. It's like someone replaced Trixie with modern Patrick Star! But hey, it's all okay. Starlight confesses to being angry with Trixie and then says that she just needs to be more honest and upfront with Trixie so that this doesn't happen again. So Trixie is completely off the hook for behavior, she doesn't have to apologize to Starlight for not taking her concerns seriously.
Somehow, on a whim, hearing Bulk Biceps mention the spa as his "other job" is enough for Trixie to recall where she sent the table map. She teleported it all the way across town to the spa since she was remembering where she and Starlight first met and "became friends". Interestingly, the table is being used for massages, and the pony receiving one appears to be only a slightly modified version of Button Mash's mother even though she was an OC introduced in the fan series that Hasbro shut down.
So Starlight and Trixie are able to lug the table map all the way back across town and get it right back to where it was without Twilight being any the wiser. Then Trixie suggests trying more spells, and Starlight grills Trixie on whether she learned anything from their whole ordeal. And Trixie flat out says she didn't, though Starlight is not one to talk when it comes to using magic without thinking of the consequences.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, I'm willing to believe more than anything that Lewis and Songco just wrote this last minute after their plans for "Celestial Advice" as a two parter had to be scrapped. I mean, this feels like something that was just thought up on the spot, especially given the strange logic of Starlight's behavior and decisions. Heck, the mane six and Spike are all just written out, they are completely irrelevant to this episode. The mane six at least have the "honor" of being sent away on a pointless B plot that really only contains one good joke after quite possibly the worst song the show's ever done, Spike just disappears completely and is forgotten about. But Trixie's behavior here ventures straight into flanderization and character assassination, a low from which she never truly recovered. Just about every episode with her and Starlight together from here on out would involve the two fighting and arguing, making me wonder why they bother to stay friends if they only ever bring out the worst in each other. I daresay, this feels like a Starlight Glimmer torture porn given all that she has to endure in this episode. But what was the big crime Starlight committed that justified her getting punished so badly? Teaching her "friend" how to do magic? Why was that worth putting her through the wringer when say blowing off an important dinner or brainwashing her friends was totally worth ignoring? The thing is, if you're going to turn the universe against a character, you'd better make sure they did something truly awful to deserve it. No one likes seeing bad things happen to those who did nothing wrong. Quite honestly, I would've rather we got a second part for "Celestial Advice" instead of this garbage! It easily deserves an E, it can't get an F since it was clearly not thought out!
So Season 7 stuttered and spun out right out of the starting gate, but now that Twilight didn't have to fill the role of Starlight's teacher maybe that could get her character back on the right track with "A Flurry of Emotions"? I mean, it's not like the show already had a Twilight episode involving something fans had wanted to see and had written so man fanfics about, right?
Yeah this episode was terrible and has so many things wrong with it, Starlight was tormented for no reason, Trixie was a nuisance, the B plot was boring. The only good parts of the episode were Starlight and Spike. The Mane 6 didn’t annoy me too much but they were so boring this episode.
Why do I get the feeling that this would be Joker's favorite MLP episode of all time?
5531984
This episode is dumb and is a waste of a episode
I honestly absolutely adore this episode
5532020 Really?
I don't like Trixie that much so I deserve some hugs and cuddles for enduring through this episode.
While this isn't Voice of Reason's least favorite episode of the entire series, he does consider it to be the most painful to sit through, mainly due to Trixie's characterization here. The only positive he could give was the moral, as he felt it demonstrated the dangers of bottling up your emotions well.
5532043
Yeah.
It's not my outright favorite of the season, nor my outright favorite Starlight episode, but it's up there for both
5532195 Good moral that is unfortunately taken far too literally here.
5532212
I forgot to mention this, but Voice of Reason also considers "Best Friends Until the End of Time" to be one of the worst songs of the series.
5532225 I'd say it's the worst. It accomplishes nothing. At least "Flawless" has a decent message even if it unfortunately goes about it in all the wrong ways.
I don't know, the song's kind of grown on me. It's not one of my favourites, but it sorta feels like a nice summary of the Mane 6's friendship over the years with a great joke at the end. And the moral is one of my favourites in the season, if not the whole show. Also Trixie's attitude honestly was pretty entertaining, just how blase and oblivious she was.