Greetings and salutations, my friends.

This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.

Today, I'm gonna give you guys my take on My Little Pony: Make Your Mark's "Growing Pains".

Here's the rundown of it:

After noticing countless mishaps caused by out-of-control Earth Pony magic, Hitch Trailblazer becomes concerned over the safety of Maretime Bay. So, as the town's sheriff, he enforces a law that prohibits Earth Ponies from using magic for the time being. This is particularly to the disappointment of Sunny Starscout, who believes that Earth Ponies should simply practice and not be given any restrictions.

Meanwhile, to help Hitch focus more on his sheriff duties, Izzy Moonbow volunteers for a very important task: Be the temporary dragon babysitter of Sparky Sparkeroni.

(Finally. An episode with a story I can actually comprehend and describe in words!)

Considering my previous two reviews and the methods I'm using for analyzing each of Make Your Mark's episodes, I'm gonna go ahead and just cut to the chase. So...

Ladies and gentlemen, after watching this episode last year, rewatching it two more times this year in preparation for reviewing it, and giving everything careful thought, I've come to the conclusion that "Growing Pains" is nothing more than another stinker. And with good reason too!

Once again, much of the blame for why I hated this episode goes to the story and direction. The plot in question was made by Julia Prescott, in case anyone would like to know.

The main thing I'll admit is that I thought Prescott made wiser usage of the Main 5 compared to Jim Martin's work with "Izzy Does It". All the members were present, but Prescott kept the focus on Hitch & Izzy while ensuring that Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp wouldn't suddenly drag the episode into more unnecessary narratives.

Other than that, though, Julia Prescott's writing for "Growing Pains" was hardly what I'd call an improvement over G.M. Berrow's work in "Chapter 1" or Jim Martin's writing for "Izzy Does It".

First off, the scenes featuring Opaline Arcana and Misty Brightdawn were completely needless! They only have two scenes in this entire episode, and in both moments, Opaline & Misty gave no meaningful contribution to the story.

Their first moment comes right when Sunny uses her new mirror to clean her face, and ends with Opaline telling Misty, "Well, now it's time for me to tell you to do something else". Afterwards, there's no follow-up for Misty. She isn't featured sneaking around Maretime Bay again or spying on the Main 5 from afar, just like in "Izzy Does It". Did Prescott originally plan on having Misty do exactly what I proposed before scrapping the subplot at the last minute or something?!

Meanwhile, Misty and Opaline's 2nd scene features the two of them just watching as Earth Pony got out of control again, before Opaline tells Misty that they'll wait until the magic becomes so powerful it'd be ripe for the plucking; and it ends with them doing an evil laugh. Afterwards, Misty and Opaline are never seen again, and it isn't shown how Opaline reacted to the Earth Ponies finally getting the hang of their powers. We don't see Opaline doing anything like yelling, "Curse those wretched ponies, and that simple-minded Sunny Starscout!". Or Misty cowering in fear as it happens.

Overall, Misty and Opaline were openly useless. They didn't do anything of remote importance throughout "Growing Pains", and if their scenes were excluded, they wouldn't be missed.

Similarly, Sprout Cloverleaf's inclusion wasn't needed at all!

Most people will try to justify Sprout's return by saying that the episode depicts what happened to him after the events of "My Little Pony: A New Generation", and that it's supposed to confirm that he was punished for his crimes & redeemed himself. However, that's not what I gathered from the episode in the slightest. The only noteworthy things that happened with Sprout were him accidentally using his magic to make fruits and vegetables enormous; and on two separate occasions, he unwittingly caused giant berries to roll down a hill & nearly crush whoever was in the way. Afterwards, he neither admits to his mistakes or genuinely apologizes for the trouble he caused.

Basically, Sprout's only purpose in "Growing Pains" was to serve as an idiotic menace who causes trouble no matter what he does. If another Earth Pony character was used instead of Sprout, and the berries got big before rolling down a hill for a reason that didn't involve idiocy, there wouldn't even be a difference. He's that unnecessary.

Outside of my complaints towards the inclusions of Sprout, Opaline, and Misty, there were a great many other things I found to be wrong with this episode.

From the start, I could tell that Prescott was trying to teach that you should never let your fears over something control you or influence your decisions. And, of course, Hitch was the right pony to helm the story considering his position of authority.

Here's the problem, though:

How Prescott and the rest of the people involved went about the story was terrible!!!

From my perspective, Hitch was in-the-right to pass the laws restricting the use of Earth Pony magic, and he stated his reasons for doing it. All he wanted was to keep the citizens of Maretime Bay safe, and his reasons were frequently justified by every incident that occurred because of the out-of-control magic and the incompetence of the various Earth Ponies (with each outcome being accompanied by juvenile humor). Granted, it definitely seemed like Hitch was going overboard by attempting to remove the Earth Pony Unity Crystal, but still...I found myself supporting Hitch more than opposing him.

With Sunny, on the other hand, it was the opposite. As the major pony who opposed Hitch's laws, it was clear that Sunny was intended to be both the voice of reason and the individual people were supposed to get behind, and she was the right character for the role. But, I found myself opposing Sunny and feeling annoyed by her actions instead.

For instance, Sunny kept saying that all the Earth Ponies need to do is practice until they get better and not be put down by restrictions. And yet, she ignores the fact that ponies nearly got hurt and property was almost damaged; even when the magical mishaps happen right in front of her, she passes them off! Everything about that really grinded my gears, because it made Sunny seem like she cared more about magic & the wonders it provided more than the lives & well-beings of ponies.

And you know what really doesn't help the matter?

The episode ultimately began playing to Sunny's favor by having Earth Pony magic go crazy simply because it was being "bottled in". It was like Prescott wanted to paint Sunny as the right one without ever acknowledging the many things that'd prove her wrong, prohibiting her from actually learning anything herself and realizing her own faults. If I recall correctly, these things are also the clear qualifications of a Mary Sue!

Outside of what I said regarding Hitch and Sunny, there was something I realized revolving around the narrative:

If you really think about it more, the Earth Pony magic problems could've easily been resolved if Hitch had simply passed an order for the Earth Ponies themselves to practice using their magic outside of town. That way, no one would be at risk of getting hurt and properties wouldn't be destroyed. Had Sunny also brought up or encouraged this notion other than just saying they need to practice, she wouldn't have come across as so unreasonable and stupid with her assertions.

But no, Prescott had to have Sunny and Hitch make decisions that'd cause the narrative to be riddled with flaws.

And as for the subplot revolving around Izzy watching over Sparky...well, that part of the story had a boatload of problems as well.

As a whole, the subplot provided Izzy the perfect opportunity to show that she can be a responsible individual, perhaps even grow into one if she wasn't already. Instead, not only did Izzy completely disregard Hitch's instructions for taking care of Sparky, but she's shown to be a reckless pony thanks to encouraging Sparky to get rambunctious and endanger himself. I mean, I get it, the episode was intending to teach that you should never be too strict with your rules and guidelines, but even so..."Growing Pains" painted Izzy as the last pony I'd ever hire for a babysitter.

Not to mention, the subplot was dictated by this very problem:

In Friendship is Magic's "Baby Cakes", Pinkie Pie learned while watching the Cake twins that looking after babies doesn't mean you get to just play with them all day, but that you have to handle very serious responsibilities and requirements. And in "A Flurry of Emotions", Twilight Sparkle learned that being the "Best Aunt Ever" for Flurry Heart didn't just require being in her presence; it required actually spending time with Flurry and showing that she loved her niece. These lessons are ones that I myself learned from experience, having been an uncle since 2014.

With Izzy in "Growing Pains", though...none of the things I mentioned were the case with her. She never learned how to be a responsible caregiver for Sparky or realized the many important requirements that come with looking after a child. Her actions throughout have done nothing but show that she's really not very good with children, and she'd obviously be a toxic excuse of a mother if she had kids of her own.

Oh, and let's not forget the final nail in the coffin:

Unfortunately, yes. This is Twilight Sparkle. And frankly, I'm displeased with her cameo for a variety of reasons.

For one thing, when you look closely at Twilight's appearance in the Unity Crystal hologram, and compare it to how she looked in My Little Pony's 4th generation...

...you'll find that Twilight's 5th generation design literally doesn't match her 4th generation appearance!

Even the hoof design is different. If you simply zoom down to where Twilight's hooves are, you can see that they carry the exact same hoof all the ponies in G5 have. It's another reason for why I've had difficulty seeing how the 5th generation of My Little Pony is part of the same universe as the 4th, and considering the fact that the hologram seemed to show that was what Twilight looked like in G5 from the beginning, I'm pretty sure this confirms that the G4 ponies didn't "evolve" into their G5 looks over time (which is an absolutely stupid fan theory, if you ask me).

Another reason for why I'm overly criticial of Twilight Sparkle's cameo in "Growing Pains" is because it was completely out-of-place from the rest of the plot. It happens during the very time Earth Pony magic got out-of-control in Maretime Bay, right after Hitch realizes that he was starting to go overboard. Once the cameo came up, the entire story got distracted from its premise! It felt as though the plot took an unexpected pause just so that the cameo could happen, neglecting the fact that Maretime Bay was in danger again. After the hologram disappears, the Main 5 are momentarily diverted from the problems at hand due to contemplating what the message revealed; until for no explanation whatsoever, they focus on trying to save Maretime Bay again.

Obviously, people will defend Twilight's cameo by saying that it was meant to help the heroes prepare for Opaline, provide some buildup and background for the character, and explain things regarding both magic & the Unity Crystals. The thing is, though, "Growing Pains" was the wrong episode for showcasing such a moment. If Prescott had simply saved this exact kind of scene for another episode entirely, specifically one containing a story made for world-building purposes, the cameo would've worked better. Instead, she incorporated the cameo in a time that was far from appropriate, whether story-wise or series-wise.

Other problems relating to Twilight's cameo appearance are the following:

• If the cameo wasn't included at all, especially in favor of a different plot device for the world-building and lore-delving intentions, the cameo wouldn't be missed.

• The cameo never exemplified whatever importance or impact Twilight was supposed to have for G5 in general, and it certainly didn't give any clarity for its identity as a series.

• If a completely original character was shown in the hologram instead of Twilight, things likely would've been more interesting and engaging.

• The entirety of Twilight's cameo was a clear instance of Hasbro incorporating G4 Easter eggs just to garner more interest and attention towards G5. Particularly to cover-up poor writing and direction.

• Tara Strong was underused in her reprisal of Twilight Sparkle. Her whole performance sounded like she was there to merely serve as a special effect, and it certainly wasn't entrancing.

In conclusion, "Growing Pains" is all-things another G5 bomb. The intentions behind it were clear, but they were terribly-done thanks to the lackluster writing and misguided direction. And don't ever get me started on how one-dimensional and infuriating the characters were.

So, I rate "Growing Pains" a solid one out of five stars.

And now, a video referencing how I feel about finally completing my review of this mess of a My Little Pony episode after two weeks before taking a little emotion-break: