Season 3 Episode Reviews: Sleepless in Ponyville · 7:09pm Dec 8th, 2012
Well, another week, another episode of pony. Only this time, it's about the most neglected Crusader of them all, Scootaloo. Will she shine in her first starring role, or will this be an even bigger disaster than her singing? We'll see when we take a look at “Sleepless in Ponyville.”
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TECHNICAL SPECS:
Season: 3
Episode: 6
Written By: Corey Powell
First Aired: December 8, 2012
SYNOPSIS:
While riding her scooter and being awesome, Scootaloo is given a friendly compliment by Rainbow Dash. Scoots takes this to mean that she can make Rainbow Dash take her under her wing like a big sister, but the other CMC aren't so sure. Still, Apple Bloom hatches the plan to have Applejack invite Rainbow Dash to join their camping trip, and after a little bit of guilt tripping even Rarity agrees to go along.
At first, everything seems to be going according to plan. Rainbow Dash is being awesome like always, setting up the firepit and doing her best to look cool. They manages to bring only three tents along, meaning RD and Scoots get to share. She even entrusts Scootaloo with firewood duties, which the filly gratefully accepts. That night, however, Dash regales the group with the story of the Olden Pony (I think...) who haunts the woods looking for her rusty horseshoe. The fillies are initially scared, but brush it off after a few moments...except for Scootaloo, who is terrified of both the story and the darkness around her. When she tries to go to sleep that night, she dreams that she is being chased by the Olden Pony, ending with her catapulting back to the waking world. And Princess Luna was there, too...
The next morning, Scootaloo has gotten no sleep whatsoever, but refuses to tell Dash. She tries to catch some sleep on Rarity's giant pile of luggage, but when she hears they might be out there after dark, she tries to ride off ahead to get to the campsite before then. Unfortunately, she falls asleep at the handlebars, causing her scooter to run wild across the countryside before finally crashing into the bushes. She remains nervous and jumpy throughout the rest of the hike, but refuses to admit what's really going on. And when the group arrive at their camp site – a dark cave – she is too terrified to even get any firewood. To top it off, Rainbow Dash scares the group with the Legend of the Headless Horse, worsening her fears.
One rousing round of “99 Buckets of Hay on the Wall,” the group heads off to sleep, and Scootaloo cannot stay awake any longer. Once again, her dreams find her facing a monster, this time the Headless Horse. Just as she's cornered again, however, Princess Luna returns, striking the monster down and comforting the filly in her own way. One of her duties is to enter the dreams of her subjects, and she's seen what terrifies Scootaloo. It's not the monsters that she's afraid of, but rather disappointing Dash. The dream ends once again, with Luna warning the filly to confront her fears.
Scoots wakes up, and in her state mistakes Rainbow Dash's snoring for the Headless Horse. She rides off to save herself, but her scooter hits a rock and sends her falling over a cliff and a waterfall. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash flies by and saves her, but when she finally confronts the filly over her behavior, Scootaloo confesses that she was scared of the stories. To her amazement, however, Rainbow Dash tells her that she was just as scared when she first heard these stories, and offers to take her under her wing.
The party finally reaches their last campsite, and Rainbow Dash carries Scootaloo so she can experience flying. That night, Scootaloo has another dream about the Olden Pony...only this time, Rainbow Dash arrives to give her the rusty horseshoe so she'd finally shut up. The two hug as a smiling Luna looks on.
REVIEW:
The episode opens with Scootaloo more or less reenacting the scooter scene from “Show Stoppers,” complete with spinning too ponies so fast they fuse into an abomination and Granny Smith wisely learning her lesson from the same episode. And then Rainbow Dash gives her a compliment in mid-air, causing Scootaloo to violate the laws of physics and freeze in place until gravity decides to remind her who's boss, and she is indeed a harsh mistress. While a very basic opener, it does its job of establishing Scootaloo's relationship with Dash, as well as setting up for the later conflict this generates.
The scene at the clubhouse was cute as well, although mostly there just to set up the camping trip. Scootaloo's embellished recount of her earlier encounter was funny enough, but also builds onto her character and relationship with Dash. While it's nothing we don't really know from previous episodes, this scene really emphasizes just how important it is for her to earn Dash's approval. The real star of this moment, however, is Sweetie Belle. She's initially bummed at the prospect of not going, but Apple Bloom invites her along.
And then we get to Rarity. I'm of somewhat mixed feelings on her here. On the one hand, she's stretched pretty far, whining like a baby over the very prospect of camping. Then when she agrees to go, she loads up a massive cart of luggage and makes Sweetie Belle carry it. But on the other hand, she's funny as heck, and Sweetie's perfectly-played puppy dog face is truly hilarious to behold. I've seen far worse versions of her; at the very least, she isn't saying “darling” every other word.
One thing I do love about this episode is the way it plays up Scootaloo's desire to make Rainbow Dash happy, and it gets off to a great start with the first campsite. Dash starts by performing one of her stock “I am awesome and this is why” scenes, including breaking off logs to create seats and setting up a firepit in a manner of moments. Scootaloo tries to play it cool...and like every other time anyone in fiction has tried to play cool, ends up tripping on one of the log, rolling up a tree, and finally crashing headfirst to the ground. Of course, she's not actually hurt, but I do love that little tear in her eye as she comes to. Once again, it helps set up the conflict before it can even have a chance to begin. We also get the foundation for one of the episode's running gags: Rainbow Dash hates ponies who snore, but is actually the loudest snorer out there.
And then there's Rarity's massive tent. I loved the little background shots of Sweetie Belle unloading the cart, and the design of the thing (complete with a balcony) is just so outlandish, and yet so perfect for Rarity, that I can't help but love it.
This brings us to the first ghost story, about the Olden Pony looking for her rusty horseshoe. This is a very basic campfire tale, all things considered, so no more comments on that. What I do like, though, is how it affects the fillies. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are terrified initially, but a little bit of reassurance from their older siblings is enough to calm them down. Scootaloo has no such pony she can turn to, however, and thus remains absolutely terrified. Given the way she reacts to the darkness, however, it's also possible she's just scared of being out in the woods at night in general, with the story only adding more wood to the fire. The dream sequence seems to support both theories, as Scootaloo runs into one of the trees from “Elements of Harmony” while also dealing with the Olden Pony.
The next morning is pretty much what happens when you don't get enough sleep before heading off to drive or operate heavy machinery. Scootaloo's eyes are completely puffed out and bloodshot from a combination of crying and sleeplessness, but Dash doesn't notice this since Scootaloo has shown a great deal of not being her, and nothing that isn't her needs to be paid attention to. Rarity is still gnawing on my nerves, especially with Sweetie sweating up a small river. And then you have Scootaloo's sleep-deprived rampage. It's mostly just a series of visual gags, but they're all pretty funny, especially when she steals Harry's lunch and finally crashes gracefully onto some bushes.
The second campsite is actually a dark cave, which I've got mixed feelings about. Camping in caves is actually not always the smartest move, especially since you don't know what else might be calling it home. But since the ponies hold complete dominion over the Earth, they're probably in no danger. The important thing is that we get to see Scootaloo's descent accelerate. She's sent out for firewood again, but she's so scared to go in the woods that she huddles behind the cart and hides until she can afford to no longer. And when she grabs the wood, she runs in screaming, picks up a few twigs, and then rushes back with her offering.
The second story is about the Headless Horse, meaning we've already heard it back in the first season. (Much like the last episode, this one has quite a few continuity nods.) I do like Scootaloo's first attempt at telling a saccharine story about rainbows and happy ponies, only to get shut down by Dash. And then we get to Sweetie's singing, and...I have to say something to those writing this show. Decide whether or not Sweetie is a good singer and stick with it. The scene's funny, sure, but it still kind of bugs me how they keep going back and forth on this.
And so we have the second dream...and Luna. To everyone's amazement, Princess Luna actually plays a key role in resolving this story's conflict, and while I would say that's kind of cheap, it's just nice to see her again and playing a big role. She also has the power to enter dreams, which she views as another duty, so I guess she's the sandpony as well. In any case, she helps Scootaloo figure out what she's really scared of in her own way, serving as a more detached but still caring mentor who simply helps ponies figure out their problems. Also, her message about facing one's fears or the nightmares will never end? Makes you wonder about what happened a thousand years ago...
This leads into the final burst of danger in the episode; unfortunately, I also found it to be the most disappointing of the lot. Despite just learning that the Headless Horse isn't real, Scootaloo still thinks it's after her, and mistakes Rainbow's whinnying snores as a sign that it's stalking her. This sends her over a cliff, hanging from a tree branch, and finally over a waterfall...only to be saved by Dash. I like the last part, but the whole thing with the Headless Horse just feels a bit tacked on by this point.
And then we get to the moral. Princess Luna shows her face in the moon again (I'm pretty sure it's just Scootaloo imagining things, though), and Scoots finally confesses her true feelings. Fortunately, this episode actually remembers that Dash isn't a complete and total flankhole, and she immediately comforts the scared, hurt little pony by admitting she was also afraid of ghost stories as a filly. And then she offers to take her under her wing. And not a single eye was left dry that day. Heck, Dash carrying Scootaloo off as she flew was just a perfect ending. The final dream, however, also serves to reinforce the earlier scene. Once again, Scootaloo is scared, but this time Rainbow Dash is there to save her. She now has a big sister of her own, somepony to idealize and aspire to become. And Luna is there, watching her with a big smile on her face.
CONCLUSION:
Overall, I liked this episode a lot more than the synopsis made me think I would. The episode builds on the much-belated relationship between Scootaloo and Dash, but rather than focused on the latter helping the former learn to fly or something like that, builds it off of a far more realistic and believable situation. Who wasn't scared of something as a kid, but wouldn't admit it for fear of being seen as weak by those we respected? And while I think Luna was kind of forced in there, I do like how they used her character. She feels different from Celestia, and yet works to serve the same motherly role in her own way. This was a good episode.
Even more amazing, however, is that it's by a new writer, Corey Powell. This is her first pony work (she's also apparently working on Care Bears), and unlike Merriweather, she manages to hit the ball right out of the park her first time at bat. Then again, she had a whole season of episodes to work with, while Merriweather did not share the same luxury. Still, this is a good start for her, and I hope we can see more of her work down the line.
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And we're almost halfway through the season. Time sure flies, doesn't it?
With next week to be 'Wonderbolt Academy', they seem to be setting up a mini Rainbow Dash character development arc, don't they?
Best episode of the season so far. I loved it! Perfect 'Slice of Life' episode and very sweet!
If it was a full season, we'd only be a quarter through.
All in all I agree with your review, though I think Luna wasn't as forced as you think. Just my opinion though. I especially agree with you, though, on Sweetie Belle; either she's great at singing, or she sucks. Make up your minds, writers. (Hint: she's good at singing now stop with the silly.)
Hear, hear! It far surpassed my expectations, and I love it when that happens.
Rarity's tent is definitely best tent. Not sure how I feel about her in this episode, especially at first. She could stand to be a little less over-the-top with her self-centeredness, but at the same time Over-The-Top is practically Rarity's middle name. She made up for it by the end I think. Plus, as easily as Sweetie Belle could pull the wagon compared to Scoots, maybe she was the best choice for the job.
Scoots and Dash were just fantastic, and I just love seeing the classic snoring joke applied to Dash. Luna was pretty cool as well.
Halfway through? But this was the best season by far!
But this episode was the best so far. It's been far too long since I have felt ACTUAL emotion while watching a cartoon, or even a show!
Heh. I liked it, too. Oddly, Luna's my favorite of the Diarchy, with Celestia coming pretty darn close... Or with Cadance is it a "Triarchy" now?
Anyway...
I liked the classic moral, and considering just which character is delivering it, it... more than makes sense.
Does make one wonder what went on Luna's head before she became Nightmare Moon, or how rude the peasants back 1000 Years Ago were if she can visit dreams to converse with the ponies she craved love from. I guess we'll never know.
Actually, I think this very well may be my favorite episode thus far!
It really expanded on Rainbow's and Scootaloo's characters and will quite possibly set up for future relationships between the two of them. I think RD may just be my new favorite pony!
The only thing I didn't like was the way Rarity didn't do anything (except for the end). It just makes the contradiction of her being the element of generosity so much bigger. However, this episode does much justice to the show! Also, it was nice to see Luna having a more... motherly role as well - much like Celestia but in different ways!
Cheers!
~hannahs98
Tl; dr - I'm really excited for next week's episode where Rainbow gets accepted into the Wonderbolt Academy! ...Although I doubt she'll stick to it long because it may defy her major role as one of the mane six.
Here's a shocking revelation for all of you. The season will be over in mid-January.
I guess the Rarity thing bugged me a bit, too, but SB's initial manipulation, plus her comforting of SB after the stories balances things out.
All in all, I'd say this is a pretty solid episode, and a good omen for Corey Powell's other episodes, so long as she can tweak her Rarity just a bit.
I can forgive Rarity here because she didn't want to go, but Sweetie Bell emotionally manipulated her. So, Rarity gets to use her as slave labor. Fair's fair.
Also, I really liked Luna in this. I was actually about halfway done with Chapter 6 of "Gala," but I'm not in the process of re-writing it specifically due to this episode.
on the bit about Sweetie's singing...
it's Campfire songs; if it sounds good, you're doing it wrong
587788
Actually, they usually take a break after December, so it might last us until February or early March. I hope.
587824 Not this season. The next three episodes are confirmed to air consecutively without a break. What happens in January is anyone's guess at this point, but there will only be two episodes left to air when 2013 hits the calendars, assuming that the finale will be a double-episode.
587841
Actually, four. The actual episode eight is not airing until next year for whatever reason, and then there's three more after that. (Two if the finale is in two parts.)
Still, yeah, not a whole lot of pony left this season.
587859 Ah, you are correct. Yep, that means we will have 3-4 saturdays with new episodes next year until season 4.
We waited 7 months for 3 months of new episodes.
Wait, when has Sweetie ever NOT been a good singer. In Stare Master she was loud, and sung a lullaby more like gospel rock, but she was still talented. In this episode though she was as bad as Scootaloo from Show Stoppers.
That one grating issue aside I rather enjoyed this episode, for pretty much all the same reasons you listead, and it now ranks in as my 2nd favorite of the season (so my fears from last week are already abated). Though I will agree that Luna's role was kind of forced; should she really go around visiting random fillies in there dreams? Scoots still being scared of the headless horse after waking up though didn't bug me; fear is inherently irrationally, and she's still just a child.
Oh, I also really liked the use of the same nightmare trees from S1. Obviously this time Luna isn't responsible for creating them, but retroactively I think it ties nicely together with how NMM was augmenting how frightening things were and turning the waking world into a living nightmare.
...and one last thing, got to side with RDD here; Sweetie emotionally blackmailed her sister, not out of any innocent naiveté either, she clearly knew what she was doing, so I can't really feel sorry for her having to serve as a pack mule. Also, we know that she herself is a heavy packer, so she's probably not having to struggle beyond her ow capacity.
On Sweetie's singing: I don't think the writers were trying to make it seem like Sweetie is a bad singer. She wasn't really singing at all. Instead, she basically yelled "Ninety Nine Bottles of Oats on the Wall" in her squeaky voice. She wasn't trying to make it sound good, she was having fun and made it obnoxiously loud on purpose. That's how I saw it anyway.
Luna now has canon power over dreams. SQUEEE
Yet another episode that worried me turned out good. I think I should know by now that episodes will turn out better than I expected. Anyway, Scoots finally got an episode, and a sisterly relationship with Rainbow Dash. All is well in the pony world.
I'm actually really surprised how little this episode affected cannon. It made a few things cannon that were only fannon, like Luna's dream walking, but it left most of the fannon's interpretations of Scootaloo in tact. The biggest impact I really see is confirming Scoots relationship with Dash as sisterly and not motherly. I'm actually really happy about that.
Anyway, Scoots and Dash are best honorary sisters!
sleepless in ponyville sounds like a citcom
I cried when Scootaloo snuggled under RD's wing. Really, I cried. That there was a dream fulfilled that I never thought would happen in the series. And maybe, just maybe, RD will get rid of her idiot jock -phase with the writers and become the tsundere she's supposed to be. And Scoots. AWW HELL YEAH! I was so afraid this episode would suck, but with three awesome episodes in a row, I've regained my full 100% confidence with the writers.
Now I'm going to freeze frame a picture and just stare at it for a while. Cya.
Scootaloo is best pony.
This is one of the better episodes of the season yet, I dare say one of the best all around. Nearly every character is in perfect form, Rarity got their from halfway on.
Wonderful that Scoots finally. Gets. Some attention; and RD even shows her some love
Loved Luna in it, I kinda firgured she was a dreamwalker and I'm glad they made it canon. Cuz Luna's awesome like that.
But my favorite part is Scootaloo and Rainbow. Their scenes together are believable, cute and really touching. So many fanfics cried for joy when RD agreed to teach Scoots.
And the ending with Rainbow carrying Scoots in flight, right in the feels.
587859 But at least this season is pretty damn solid so far.
Sure it had a bit of a rough start, but the episodes after that were top notch.
For her first episode, Corey did a pretty damn good job, in contrast to Merriweather.
Though to be fair, Merriweather vastly iimproved in her writing by the end of season 2.
Rarity was over the top (more so than usual) but at least she was funny as hell instead of annoying.
Sweetie Belle was funny too, as for the 'song' she did, I thought it was hilarious because she reminded me of Solrac.
Rainbow Dash wasn't a demon from the bowels of hell like she was last season, and Applejack actually
has something to do, and I'm surprised you didn't mention her. Scootaloo just became my 2nd favorite crusader
behind Sweeite Belle, of course, and her voice actress (I'm trying to remember her name) did an AMAZING job in this
episode. And then Luna played her part in the episode and I fangasmed. It seemed like her appearance isn't as forced
as you might think, seeing as how she is the Princess of dreams after all and she delivered the moral of the episode
better than I expected. She also goes through ANOTHER major change since the premiere, because here she's more
of a mother figure who's kind of soft spoken (looks like our dear Luna has changed much since Luna Eclipsed, eh?).
Overall, this episode, unlike the Magic Duel, exceeded my expectations and might tie with Too Many Pinkies as my favorite
episode of Season 3 so far.
I loved this episode. Having Luna be involved in dreams makes so much sense. And who's to say she can't be in multiple dreams at once, after all, dreams don't follow the same rules as reality. It's entirely possible for her to see lots of dreams and be inside more than one at once so she didn't seem forced at all to me. The dynamic between RD and Scoots was adorable and believable in the context of the characters without getting too mushy. Basically what I'm saying is I agree with most of your review.
587810:
Trixie: "I could really use some comforting now, Luna. Maybe a big hug, and..."
Luna: "Trixie, I can only comfort ponies in their dreams. It's part of my contract."
Trixie: "...can you at least give the mean nobles terrible nightmares?"
Luna: "I think I can handle that."
ok. This episode brings into mind Scootaloo's background. I think its pretty safe to say (despite it being cliche) that Scootaloo is likely an orphan or in a similar situation. Although it is not cannon, you can pretty much gather the situation from the whole taking under the wing seen (my heart exploded) as "taking under the wing" is more commonly used for long term caring, rather than short term tutoring. Another theory which I was saving for a fanfic (meh, I would probably never write it) is that Pegasi may follow the idea of "Flying the nest". This becomes very plausible when you consider that we've seen the entirety of mane six's parents besides the 2 pegasi. We have also never seen (to my knowledge) a Pegasus foal with a plausible parent figure. Now, back into the realm of Scootaloo being considered an orphan, I'm quite sure that even if it was considered so, hasbro would have issues with having a children's show character in that life position. Much the same as they had issues with showing a character with a physical disability
P.S The missing episode 8? Is there any known reason for that? If not, maybe they are waiting for the go ahead for something different, maybe something that could cause some people to be CROSS. EYED think that could be the case.
588657 Yeah, give up on Derpy... Have you seen any Derpy eyes this season? She's been removed, the most we'll ever see of her now are plot shots, no more Derpy eyes for us
Scootaloo's real problem is fear, but fear of rejection. She's been pining after Rainbow for two seasons, but has never had the courage to ask. Asking means you can be told 'no'.
I think this does a lot of amazing character development and in novel and entertaining ways.
I see Luna as a bonus, not something shoehorned in. She does serve as a device to force Scootaloo to be introspective, but that could have been accomplished many ways. It was good to use Luna for such a purpose.
588657
Scootaloo could also just be jealous, on some level, that her two best friends each have awesome older sisters, and want one of her own.
I'll never subscribe to the idea that Scootaloo's an orphan (or indeed that anypony is) unless it's directly brought up.
At this stage, I'm beginning to think that the writers are afraid of tackling the subject of Scootaloo's family out of fear for the fandom backlash that could occur. After all, no matter what story they go with, be she neglected orphan or daughter of a loving, devoted family, someone's (most likely a lot of someones) headcanon is going to get blown to pieces. And depending on what approach they take, it could be Derpygate all over again. Yeah, there probably wouldn't be accusations flying about the show making negative portrayals of people with disabilitiies, but it's amazing what people can get offended over. Then again, it could be that its just because writing episodes elaborating on already established characters saves the staff from the effort of coming up with new ones.
Now that aside, I'm looking forward to all the people who are probably gonna be editing images of Slendermane into screencaps of the episode.
I can't decide weather I like this or Magic Duel better. My only complaints to the episode are Rairity, and how the fandom is likely to explored with LunaX_______ and dream travel. Grr.
Still, we have friggin' Luna! This pleases me. A lot.
I can't decide weather I like this or Magic Duel better. My only complaints to the episode are Rairity, and how the fandom is likely to explored with LunaX_______ and dream travel. Grr.
590664
Still, we have friggin' Luna! This pleases me. A lot.
* explode
587901 I think the thing you're forgetting is Sweetie is untrained. It was bad because she was really excited to have a chance to sing, and didn't modulate her voice properly like when she was calmer. Her talent is singing, but line the rest of the CMC she has a block about it so even though she's naturally good at it she doesn't really focus on it much. Thus is makes sense her singing is hit or miss.
And yes that might be long winded rationalization, but whatever
591488
Meh, I could maybe buy that explanation if we'd ever seen it as hit & miss before, but there has NEVER been a canon example of her singing badly prior to this.
...loudly and inappropriate to the situation (Stare Master), but never badly.
So this just feels incongruously out of place, like no one in the staff was bothering to pay any attention to what little continuity this show has, and given the number of other continuity reference in this episode (and even more so the previous one) there is really no longer any excuse for that. I could have maybe written it off if it were just a gag that served the plot, but even if we did need someone to sing baddly, ANY of the other characters present would have been a better choice. With Sweetie though it was just gratuitous and OOC, not just for Sweetie Belle herself but for the other characters that have alway before complimented her on her singing, but none of whom call her out on screwing up so badly here, and in fact actually seem to behave as though this was all perfectly normal.
589973 I hope this episode helps to get rid of the fannon that Scootaloo can't fly, I don't really care for it and it seems awfully forced as far as fannon goes.
Maybe younger ponies just can't fly. Fluttershy was clearly older before she was able to fly, and they all looked a bit older than Scootaloo in Cutie Mark Chronicles where we see Rainbow Dash as a filly.
However, this episode only serves to reinforce the notion that Scootaloo doesn't have a family of her own.