Ahhh, Power Ponies. The hype was strong for this one. Was it worth it? Personally, I don't think so. In fact, in my opinion, this episode was, well, not good. But it seems like everypony else liked it. Why not me? Well, there's a few reasons. For starters, we will discuss the humour, because that was pretty much the purpose of this episode. It was a fun romp, just like Castle Mane-ia. Or at least it was supposed to be.

This episode was not very funny in my opinion. The laughs I emitted were mostly from the usual Pinkie antics, so I don't give much props for that. Because who can't laugh at Pinkie Pie? But other than that, and the silliness of Flutterhulk, there wasn't much going for humour here. There were some cheesy puns, probably to maintain the trope of the ridiculously un-punny catch phrases from comics, but like their inspiration, they failed to illicit more than a slight snicker at the cheesiness. The episode resolutely lacked good hearty belly-laughs. Humour failed here, meaning in its own right, the episode failed to serve its purpose.

But humour is not the only area which falls short. The whole plot of the episode was predictable. It went beyond the predictability of Castle Mane-ia, where you figured it was Pinkie later on, because she wasn't in the group as they were walking together. No. I was able to call pretty much the whole episode from the beginning. Oh look, Spike is the useless one. Spike thinks he's useless. Something happens to put the ponies out of commission, and Spike saves the day, before being told for the millionth time that he does have value. I was so annoyed as each event unfolded, I forgot to pay attention to what happened specifically, because it was just too much that I knew the whole plot from the beginning.

Even the moral was easy to guess, because we've seen it before. I don't know how many times we've seen Spike depicted as underappreciated. Honestly, unless you are going to go a little deeper and examine why he feels the way he does, repetition does neither the moral nor Spike's development any good.

In fact, it is pretty much getting to the point of "Where is Spike's development?" Honestly, two episodes about greed and two about feeling underappreciated, all of which seem to have never happened once we see the next Spike episode? When can we see his development solidified? I am not saying they are bad episodes, just freaking repetitive. I want to see that Spike actually learned something, and if the same thing is taught multiple times, every successive depiction is just irritating.

Spike's character isn't the only one that irritated me in this episode. For the most part, the other ponies were pretty much true to their character. Fluttershy was cutesy and quiet, with a bit of a tough streak if you mess with innocent animals (FLUTTERHULK SMASH!), Twilight was a good leader (I love how her character is peaked to allow others to grow), Dash was reckless (LEEEEEROY JENNNKKINS!), Pinkie was Pinkie (always a hoot), Rarity was fabulous but awesome (I loved how nonchalant Rarity was), and AJ was- I don't know. I saw no characterisation on AJ's part really. I thought we were trying to stop her from being a background pony? Their depictions in terms of personality were pretty good (ASIDE FROM AJ, GOD DANGIT). They weren't as deep as I would like, but they weren't the focus, so it's understandable that such was the case.

But something that did displease me about the characterisation was in the abilities. Their powers suited them. (Wait, what?) But how would that displease me you may ask? Because their powers suited them, it doesn't make sense that they would not be able to use them right away (aside from Fluttershy). And yet, Dash fails to control her storm, Twi can't use her magic properly, and AJ the rodeo star doesn't know how to lasso. Given their natural abilities, they should have had no trouble. I have seen the argument that "It's a different universe, so there." But I would respond that such an argument is only a justification for the contrivance which was the Mane Six failing to use their powers, solely so that Spike could be useful. It shouldn't be necessary to argue on grounds of different physics.

A character who completely bombed was the Mane-iac. Seriously? She wants to give everypony bad hair? Ridiculous. I understand that the intent was to go over-the-top to get some laughs, but she went too far, and overshot funny into the territory of just plain dumb.

Geez BalanceBrony! Is their any saving this episode for you? There were actually a couple of saving graces, though they are precious- two. I loved the little dialogue between Spike and Twilight at the beginning. The "two minutes" thing is exactly the kind of banter I would expect between a mother and a child. I feel this brief seen really gives credence to the notion that Twilight and Spike have a deep familial relationship, and that Spike is not her slave or pet. So, now all I have to say is this: STAHP SPILIGHT PEOPLES! It's just wrong.

The other thing which interested me in this episode was the return of the ruined castle. Why does it keep coming up? Will it have some kind of significance later? Potential continuity folks! *squee*

So what is my final diagnosis of this episode? The plot was predictable, the humour was nothing special, the moral was redundant, the characterisation was lackluster, the villain was ridiculous, and the lack of development was infuriating. The only good things were the depiction of Twilight and Spike's relationship, the potential continuity, and some aspects of portrayal. But overall this episode failed pretty hardcore to entertain me. It didn't disgust me, but it was just boring and un-entertaining. My impression is meh, but my rating leans towards bad, at 3.5/10 stars. Impression is what I feel, rating is my point-by-point analysis.

Let me know what you guys think. Do you want more reviews in the future? What did you think of Power Ponies?

I hope to hear from you all!