Sorry for the lateness. Had to sleep in today after a par--well, it was great.

Hope you all like them spoilers.

-Soaring

Was alright I suppose. Trouble Shoes was one big pony.

I liked Troubleshoes an awful lot. I can't say I was all too keen to have everyone decide that his talent was getting laughed at. I know it's supposed to be laughing with him, but it struck me as awfully 'at'-y.

Still, I enjoyed it. Loved the rodeo bits, and Braeburn was fun. So was the sheriff. Really, I think the conclusion was the only gripe I had with it, just given how it was presented. He never seemed to really enjoy making people laugh... ever. Even at the end, he was more keen to be in the rodeo than enjoying the act of being clumsy itself, which just didn't sit well with me.

I guess I just wish people appreciated him as more than just a laughing stock. Maybe I'm just looking at it wrong, though. There were loads of fun elements to it, and I did come away from the ep with a smile.

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I found it interesting that Sweetie Belle could close a door in a thunderstorm with her magic more easily than she could lift keys from a hook using her magic...

4330263 TS kind of reminded me of Touma from A Certain Magical Index, seeing how both were plagued with bad luck and such. I also like his catchphrase "Just my Luck".

Edit: Forgot to mention that I was glad they didn't have to force a song into this episode like they did with the last one

While I found the episode a bit above decent, never been a fan of CMC focused episodes except flight to the finish, it did give some good laughs.
What I found most interesting about the episode itself was some information about cutie marks that could really give food for thought: That cutie marks can actually be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Think about it for a second.
A pony is able to misread their own cutie mark and completely go against what he/she is basically meant to do, their one true calling. That is something that actually has my own interest as I can see that happen, while not a lot, sometimes around Equestria and think about what an awful future those victims might have. If the CMC hadn't found Trouble Shoes, he would most likely have lived in total misery and even get imprisoned and not even try to fight it.

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I can personally imagine one requires a bit more focus, as she had to keep it silent and not just thrash the key around. Like with hands it is easier to smack a door than silently try to move keys without making a noise.

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Forgot to mention that I was glad they didn't have to force a song into this episode like they did with the last one.

Hallelujah for that. Usually, musicals in TV shows aren't my cup of tea. It ruins the experience seeing a character that normally doesn't sing start singing while a montage goes on. You hear the song all the way through, but the character seems to sing in one clip, stop, go to the next clip, and keeps on singing. There's that problem, and I find cartoons usually go the pop route or some genre I'm not a fan of. There are shows that seem to make it work, like Phineas and Ferb, and MLP isn't one of them. Sure, they have a few good hits, but it's not the show for a song every episode. I think it's the pacing that trips it up.

4330448 To be honest, I'm not really a fan of most of the MLP songs myself. Very few shows can pull off a good song while still making the episode enjoyable, some shows that can pull it off are Steven Universe or Phineas and Ferb like you mentioned. But yeah, I think it's the pacing that's screwing it up.

4330461 I kinda like 'em. They're my guilty pleasure.

That and shipping.

Surprised no one asked me about the party...

4330503 Subtle. Very subtle.

How was the party? I typically don't remember mine. It's how I know they were fun.

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hmm party... new episode debate... party... new episode debate...
The new episode debate wins for me!

4330509 Wish I was drunk enough to not remember it. Haha

Although, the male strip down thing was hilarious (he kept his pants on but pretended to be in a hula costume).

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She hasn't yet mastered fine manipulation as much as she has raw power.

My issue with the episode is that Applejack was behaving almost the same way she behaved in Somepony To Watch Over Me, I am aware that her personality is a honest yet stubborn one, but these writers tend to take it too far. As for the CMC's, what a massive fall from maturity, compared to how they began to grow up during Season 4.

This episode also highlights what I have been thinking for a year now, I feel that continuity is not the writing team's strong point and it needs addressing soon or this will become a much bigger problem for Season 6.

4330515 Ah yes. That does remind me of a typical Friday.

My favourite was when I passed out dressed as Rainbow Dash.

4330499 What is? The shows or the songs?

4330544 Well, both, but in context here, the songs.

They're just so happy.

4330548 Yeah, they are pretty upbeat. But sometimes they can get a little cheesy, but thats just my opinion

4330561 I know, but I love cheese! My life is absent of cheese except for MLP. It's like cheddar topped with brie, and I wuv it!

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I'm sexually attracted to Braeburn. I'm not even ashamed to say that.
I want more Braeburn.
This episode gave me Braeburn.
I want some more Braeburn.
Braeburn.

I really liked this episode more than I thought I would. It was a good episode, so I guess that means it was ok by Pony standards. I guess ater so much awesome from the last three, we needed a break.

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Cutie Marks are mildly terrifying again.

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If anything, I believe Applejack in this episode is closer to "One Bad Apple" but that doesn't make things better. In "One Bad Apple", she fails to notice the psychological effects of Babs's torment on the CMC until the end, long after when she should. And in this episode, she fails to communicate with the CMC after an event that she thought had happened could very well terrify and psychological damage them.

The problem I have with both cases is that they contradict who Applejack is-- a caring, family-oriented pony-- for the sake of the plot. Even if the CMC don't appear injured, a grown adult should be able to assess the "situation" and figure "Gee, I better make sure the young'uns are alright". Applejack should then ask to make sure they're alright (and not shaken up over what apparently happened). This discussion could have been a launch pad for the CMC to tell Applejack their interaction with Trouble Shoes before he was captured, allowing her to realize the truth. The four of them could then have headed down to the jail, told the sheriff the truth (which he should believe given that the CMC were eyewitnesses to the event) and possibly release Trouble Shoes on account of a misunderstanding (by the way, the fact that he got sent back to jail is another problem, but that's for another day).

It's clear that the writer may have only avoided this path in order to extend the conflict and to make the reveal of Trouble Shoes at the rodeo to be a somewhat suspenseful moment but doing this comes at the cost of making Applejack look good.

Oh, man did I find Trouble Shoes likable. Never was the biggest of Eeyore (Jim Miller admitted that he had him in mind when voicing the character), but they really made it work. Between him, Big Mac, and Bulk Biceps, you've got the three biggest ponies on the show all being a bunch of gentle giants who don't always know their own strength.

Nice to have Braeburn given an actual role instead of just a cameo, but he was totally the butt monkey of the episode.

The adults never listen to the young'uns at first during a crisis. It's one of the rules of children's cartoons that they have to carry the Idiot Ball to move the plot forward.

Then the CMC didn't want to get in trouble for sneaking out, so they were willing to let Trouble Shoes take the blame for their kidnapping until they could figure out how to have their cake and eat it too. They totally deserved the punishment at the end, because it's not always the crime, but the cover-up that gets you.

4330263 Troubleshoots reminds me a Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh. He seems to suffer from gigantism which is why he is so big. Honestly I was half expecting Troubleshoots to say this when he got arrested "I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!!! I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!!! I AM A PONY BEING!!!" And the episode reminds me of this video

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My issue with the episode is that Applejack was behaving almost the same way she behaved in Somepony To Watch Over Me, I am aware that her personality is a honest yet stubborn one, but these writers tend to take it too far.

I don't get that comparison at all. In that episode she freaked out for no reason at all. It was Apple Bloom inside her own home for a couple of days, and there were adults in town that Applejack knew she could trust and would help Apple Bloom if she needed it.

In this episode they were in a different place entirely, somewhere the kids may have never been before. The pony she got to keep an eye on them kept losing track of them. They nearly got smashed by a tower of hay bales. Then she found out there was a known criminal on the loose in the area. On top of that, she was taking personal responsibility for the little sisters of two of her closest friends. Despite that she wasn't nearly as overbearing as she was in Somepony To Watch Over Me. She simply acted like a responsible, at times stern, adult. That's pretty normal for Applejack.

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................................................

BRAEBURN! *fangirlish squeal*

I still haven't since the episode yet sadly. :<

Trouble Shoe reminds me of myself, we are just clumsy clowns who make others laugh and rage. He may have found his cutie mark, but I still can't cope with my flaw...