This is the official thread for "Hard to Say Anything", which airs in Canada tomorrow. No idea who the writers are. Written by Becky Wangberg.

I think this is about Big Mac getting a crush on somepony, and everypony in Ponyville that's previously had any interest in him deciding that now is the right time to make their own moves on him as well. Who will Big Mac date? Will he date anypony at all? Should he have just stayed home in bed?

So you can discuss this episode here, since this'll be the official thread for it. You can discuss the episode on Discord too. Since last week, I created a channel for early episodes, since otherwise you might have conversations going on about two episodes at once, and one would be spoilers for the other.

If you are watching the us episode, you should turn around now, and go sheepishly over to the Forever Filly discussion post instead.

--Sweetie Belle

5946169 I can't wait.

I like the mental image I crafted for this in one of my stories:

...and there seemed to be a new wave building in the eternal game of Assault on Big Mcintosh Mountain. All of the single mares who took time to adore little Apple Sprout took about the same amount of time to pay attention to Big Mac, seemingly considering the amount of metaphorical climbing gear they were going to need and which face of the mountain would be easiest to attempt this time.

Big Mac gets all the mares.

I hate CheerileeXMac since it was literally a nonexistent relationship forced into existence by 2 dumb kids (Apple Bloom is automatically the smart one)

5946182
I'm pretty sure Sweetie Belle is the smart one. She's just bad at asserting herself when the other two come up with something she knows is silly.

5946189 she made a 5-legged sweater for cryin' out loud

5946189
Just got a little too hung up on finding the perfect stallion, that's all. Probably should've nudged her over to the library and tried to hook her up with Twilight instead.

5946179
Yep!

(Mind, any episode discussion summary I make is invariably at least half made up...)

--Sweetie Belle

5946192
And Apple Bloom thinks that amateur Kung Fu is an acceptable substitute for dancing.

This was a good episode. I liked the part where Big Mac went on a dating show and somehow ended up winning a car and 10,000 bits instead (even though these were not offered prizes since...it was a dating show). :I

Episode could be fun. I am a bit surprise they're considering a canon ship for Big Mac, but she's not a bad choice.

5946182
Sweetie is really smart in some ways (there's a reason she got called a dictionary by her friends, and her being into experiment, black box theater) but is more likely to miss certain details when she's not paying attention.

5946169 The prophet has spoken!

After CMC are done helping BigMac I would not be surprised that every mare in Ponyville would jump on him. Every except the one BigMac wanted.

5946169
Only going off a teaser-synopsis I've read so spoilers, but I wonder how the fanbase will react when none of the previously-established Big Macintosh fanon ships will even factor into the episode. And how it might be one of the "Our Town" residents....

5946227 There's a canon shit for Big Mac now?
5946169 This can be a very lovely episode! Yeah, I'm a sucker for romance.

5946373
Damn it. Fixed now.

5946179

Now, a mountain climber must overcome many difficulties in scaling a sheer face--a not insurmountable task with the right equipment. This collection of mares, however, faced a difficulty that would have even the most stalwart adventurer heading for the hills (for a good round of bouldering). Nominally, mountains are ambivalent to the tiny technicolor beasts prowling along its crags and cracks, content to simply sit there and be scaled. Big Mac was a far more mobile mountain, one who would often simply walk away mid-woo, never realizing that he had just left a prospective climber hanging in mid-air.

There was also the fact that climbers would give each other a wide berth, so as to avoid tangling life-lines and the like. The mares scaling Mt. Macintosh... were not so polite to one another. It's hard to call it a "life line" when you're using it to throttle somebody who's managed to climb ahead of you.

(With apologies to literature and metaphors in general)

And the ship has set sail!

So, Feather Mane. People have proposed that he should be known as Chad. Another option might be Bieber Pony. No referring to him by his real name; he doesn't deserve it. Though I expect at least one story about Chad and his harem of shallow admirers.

Piece of lore: Sweetie Belle has taken to reading fantasy romances like her older sister.

Note that Applebloom dressed as a pirate… And AJ has also dressed as a pirate… In fact, the entire Apple Family dressed as pirates during the Apples Forever song! Clearly, that means their parents were scalawags on the high seas!

Finally, those glasses. I'd like to propose that they work so well because they used to be Pinkie's glasses, and therefore Pinkie Pie.

Episode was decent. I kinda liked Cheerimac, but SugarMac works well enough. Some of the comedy was kinda cringey though (like the singing), and I've never been that into that style of comedy.

5946545

No referring to him by his real name; he doesn't deserve it.

He didn't really seem that bad.

5946574
I'm half-joking. The other half is me wanting the nickname ‘Chad’ to catch on. It tickles my literary pleasure centers because it rhymes with Brad.

5946581
It would be fitting, given that him and Flash have the same voice actor.

5946169 I'm pretty sure Big Mac has been shipped with everypony at this point. Even Princess Luna herself if you follow the comics.

That giggle in the cold opening was really cute. And this must be Peter New's pay day. He's paid by the word you know.

5946545
Well, Applejack's parents being pirates would explain why they are never shown. They're probably too busy swashbuckling.

Wasn't expecting a duet between Peter New and Vincent Tong for this episode. Big Mac should've been better at singing then that, though, as a member of the Ponytones. Both had pretty bad lyrics, though. "Be my Sugar Plum, I will be your watermelon"?

I enjoyed the episode, but... I kinda wish Sugar Belle hadn't been portrayed during most of it as falling for whoever last made a romantic gesture at her. I'd have gotten fed up with it long before she did...

--Sweetie Belle

5946201

She must have seen that one Samurai Jack episode where Jack did exactly that, and managed to start a new dance craze.

EDIT: Albeit, minus the amateur bit.

Oh boy, I hated this episode. I'm glad to see others are liking it, though.

Here's my initial review

(SPOILERS!)

*Note: the video I watched the episode from had questionable sound quality, so I will reevaluate my criticisms on the songs when I find a better version.

This episode is a disaster, and not just because of the leery Justin Bieber pony.

The Crusader's secretly hitch a ride in a wagon to spy on Big Mac, curious as to why he's so happy delivering apples to Starlight's old village. They find out he has a crush there, a baker named Sugar Belle. She's ordered apples nearly every day just so he would visit. The one part of the episode that works is learning that Sugar Belle, who used to bake only muffins during Starlight's reign, now revels in the freedom to cook anything. Her only wish is to have a bigger display counter.

I'm not that much of a stickler for continuity in this show, but this episode hits the wrong notes fast. Just a few episodes ago, we saw the Crusader's at their most mature, having grown from little fillies to young adults. Here, they are back to their most childish, going undercover in obvious disguises to spy on Big Mac, and (again) concoct schemes to hook him up with a date. If the execution were better, I may not mind, but this episode is way too poor.

Big Mac, this time knowing the Crusader's intentions, goes along with their plans, despite all of them being horrible. Having Scootaloo steal Sugar Belle's purse, so Big Mac can retrieve it and be a hero? Kissing Sugar Belle while she's asleep, so she'll wake up like Sleeping Beauty? The first is technically illegal, and the second, given the circumstances, may be as well. I know it's a cartoon, but I simply don't buy Big Mac or the Crusader's stooping to these levels so fast.

Big Mac's thunder is consistently stolen by the Bieber pony, named Feather Bangs (voiced by Vincent Tong). The climax is an impromptu singing competition between the two, where they end up destroying Sugar Belle's display counter. She snaps, rightfully calling them out for their stalker-like behavior.

Big Mac eventually patches things up by building Sugar a new, bigger display case. Feather, still sad, turns to the Crusader's for advice. They point him to three valley girls who have swooned over him since the beginning of the episode, but he's apparently too shy to talk to women. Except, he was talking fine to Sugar throughout the episode. Perhaps Feather's known her long enough to have a relationship, but the episode never establishes that, so it just comes off confusing.

That is Hard to Say Anything, and it's been a chore writing this review. The episode is not funny enough to get away with its level of hijinks. Seeing Big Mac and the Crusaders embarrass poor Sugar Belle is honestly difficult to sit through, though not as bad as the awful, awful song numbers.

5947433
I agree with most of your points, though to me it comes off as excessively negative and it honestly could have been worse. I liked it despite that, though, mostly because it means more screentime for Big Mac/"Our Town" residents.

5946169 Still haven't seen the episode yet, but I will say, eight episodes already? Within the first four to five weeks since the premiere? Hasbro must really want to get this season over with.

5947525
More Canada wants to get it over with. The us is showing them one a week, but Canada started showing them twice a week for some reason...

--Sweetie Belle

5947533 Really? That's weird. Maybe they're just getting tired of MLP and want to get it over with as soon as possible? That's my guess at least.

5947433
I agree. This episode was an Idiot Plot, plain and simple. It had some fun moments, but taken as a whole, it leaves a sour taste in the mouth. At the end, they even openly admit they were all being idiots, with no good reason to justify why they didn't realize it sooner.

5947474
5947565
Thanks for your responses! I was probably too harsh in the review.

5947648
You do make some legitimate points, though, but I would place more blame on CMC than Mac.

5947433 I don't think this analysis is too harsh. Seems right on the money to me. There wasn't a whole lot to like in that episode, and that's coming from someone who really loves Sugar Belle.

5946581

I'm kind of amused by how meta his character is. He has a cutie mark for waifu stealing. His talent is to get in between two lovers!

5946574
5946545

"I say, you know what his trouble is, really--don't you? Underneath all that noise...he's really a very shy person."

5948108

Congratulations, Feather Bangs... you're the new Flash Sentry.

Boop!

This episode's about to air in America.

--Sweetie Belle

5946169
5947433
Big Mac's song to Sugar Belle... worst song of the series. Though I'm pretty sure that's what they were going for.

Dreadnought

i found this episode disappointing, as it relied on a style of comedy that i rather dislike, and failed to do anything interesting or clever with the opportunity.

5947433 Wow, Vincent Tong voiced Feather Bangs as well? Man, that guy just can't catch a break. Flash Sentry, Timber Spruce, and now Feather Bangs? Can he get a likeable character who isn't a waifu stealer?

5964558
Well, he did get a good chance to show off his singing in a rather silly way. I thought his character was pretty amusing during that section...

--Sweetie Belle

5964386

I agree. Hearts and Hooves Day was a better relationship episode than this. But in all fairness, it's hard to write something like this in 22 minutes. The show really needs to go to more two-parter stories.

Dreadnought

In Memory of all the Cheerilee and Marble Pie Ships that were sunk when Sugar Belle said the one line that confirms she is now Big Mac's girlfriend: I like you too