"NEVER BE ALONE."

"Griffon the Brush Off" Written By Cindy Morrow

Finally, an episode that there seems to be a considerable amount of disagreement upon outside of "this episode is pretty decent". It's not a controversial episode, per se, but it's one everyone seems to have a opinion on, or at least on the specifics of its plot and the character involved.

The one thing that I think most people will agree upon is that the animation is getting good. It's still overall basic in comparison to the later seasons, but the show's animation and posing seemed to start getting more emotive and fun in this episode. There's the smaller moments like Pinkie's face when she's trying to figure out where to put the cloud, which always impressed me for some reason...

Kudos to you, random animator.

...and the big, cartoony moments like whatever the hell is happening to Spike here...

Who wants chowder?

...and this face.

"They come at dawn, technicolored mare. Prepare your kidneys."

Also this perfection.

Gawd, she's amazing.

I don't know what happened between this episode and the first few (like this one was produced later than the other episodes or something), maybe it's because it's a Pinkie Pie episode so everything is just more eccentric, but they're certainly starting to push the flash animation.

Overall, it's a fun episode at the very least, with some cute lil' moments with Dash and Pinkie throughout. The characterization for both characters is pretty good. Dash's attitude throughout feels natural and everything she does seems in character. Won't tolerate no annoyance, and when things get serious, she can be mature. I also like how Cindy Morrow writes Pinkie here: an eccentric who's air-headed enough to jump into any situation with the expectation that a little fun will solve any problem, but still grounded enough that she's sensitive to other people (like when she refuses to prank Fluttershy out of fear it will hurt her feelings) and their behavior (she knows Gilda is a jerk, even if she feels a party will fix that right up).

Now let's talk about Gilda.

Do let's.

It must be said, first and foremost, that her design is freaking sweet. Giant wings, the talons, the cool eye shadow thing, the feather bangs, the dynamic poses they give here throughout, she just a cool looking character. And you know what? I like Maryke Hendrikse's performance. Fits the character perfectly and is really good at sounding angry,

In terms of writing, however, she's a bit across the board. The whole "tubular, dude" way she talks gets a bit old after awhile, with the Not-totally-lame Event Horizon being the "you're joshing me" line from later in the episode. It'd be fine if she was suppose to talk like what the New Millennium thought Generation X sounded like and that was just her character. But I get the feeling that the writers thought this is what people actually talk like, hence the random pony in the party saying "Word" after Gilda stormed out.

4 R3ALZ ALL DAY ALL NITE FUSHIZZWIZZ.

I also feel as though the episode could have tried a bit harder to make her less of a stereotypical children's cartoon villain who's whole deal is being cool. I dunno, maybe have her feel kinda annoyed by Pinkie intruding on her visit with Dash but then have her go the wrong way about it, or something. That idea is kind of hinted at and it's interesting to watch her final temper tantrum with the idea that she's angry that Dash wants to associate herself with those "dweebs" instead of her childhood friend, but there really isn't an attempt to bring that to the forefront.

Speaking of which, I'm not in the party who thinks Pinkie caused everything to go to shit for Gilda. She was actually willing to just leave Gilda alone, and even when she was fully aware that she was in fact a bully, her response to throw her a party with the genuine goal of making a friend. Whether that was the right route to take is up for debate, but at least I can understand why Pinkie's logic and how she reached that conclusion.

I guess if I were to have a blanket opinion on Gilda, it's that while I'm not really sympathetic towards her (she did act like a jerk), I like enough of her character and I think there's enough there to make a stronger character with that I wouldn't mind a return to the show. Heck, I'd even welcome it.

But "NO", says a few fans, "she's a totally irredeemable bitch who deserves to be tied up in a sack and thrown into the mouth of the nearest crocodile". It's a weird how many people seem to despise her because they think she's a horrible bully. I mean, I get somebody not liking her because they just don't think she's a good character or that she's annoying, but I see a lot of people hate her as a person.

Don't get me wrong, she has a mean streak, but why is Gilda's actions any more inexcusable than any of the other bully characters on the show? What could she have possibly done that was so--

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3sHlZl9X6aM

Oh, that's why.

I like the moral, that true friends shine through the bad ones in the end. I've heard people make the argument that Gilda was pushed to going ballistic by the dweebs, but she was a jerk to Dash's friends regardless of what they were doing, and it was more about Dash realizing she didn't want to associate with somebody like that anymore. It does raise the interesting question of why Dash was her friend in the first place. Perhaps Gilda had changed between then and now and Dash just didn't notice? Was Gilda always like this, and Dash's life in Ponyville matured her?

Maybe that's a story for another time, but for now, the message is clear: don't be a jerk. Otherwise, you won't be friends with Rainbow Flippin' Dash no more and you won't get to attend one of Pinkie's world famous parties..

"The Great Chasm must be satisfied, mortal! Prepare your kidneys."

...which just took a turn for the uncomfortable and possibly criminal.

Whatever, it's a decent enough piece of entertainment. It could be worst.

It could be the next review's episode.

7.5/10

Random Thoughts

Not much to say, other than that this actually is a cute ship.

I don't actively ship em', but I like the idea of Pinkie having a crush on Dash. Guess that means I also have no problem with gay/bi ships. However, if you say that Dash obviously has to be a lesbian, I will fight you.