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Well. I am afraid to say this knowing in the fact I will be most likely blasted or worse made fun of. I am sorry to say this but for the first time since I watched the show, I've had to stop watching a My Little Pony episode. I hate to say it, after ten minutes of the most screwed up visuals I have seen in my life (not counting one of the Fallout 3 expansion packs) and my PTSD being tested to the point where I was literally in a flight or fight situation, I had to abort watching the episode. Don't get me wrong. While I wanted to watch the episode in it's entirity, I was literally close to calling an ambulance due almost going into a severe uncontrolable panic attack due to the visuals triggering my PTSD and bringing back some severe, if not painful memories from my past that I wanted to forget. I know this may sound a little farfetched and a bit weird, but I have seen episodes where I got angry, cried and cheered. But never, in my life I have had to stop watching an episode due to my mental health going heywire. The full thoughts on the episode are now available to view on my new blog post here. Its a little on the short side though.

*sniffle* I didn't even watch this episode live and I took some time away from Splatfest this morning to watch it and well....I got a bit choked up towards the end. I'll let my tweet sum it up: "So....that episode was one that hit home with it's message. Something I know all to well. ...and I'll leave it at that." As mentioned above, I went into this episode not knowing what to expect in terms of story, character or what was about to happen. I didn't expect the story about Twilight trying to mend some broken friendships to be so indepth. I didn't expect Moondancer to be like Twilight and I certainly didn't expect her to break down in tears like that. I can't put my finger on it, but this episode hitted home for me. I don't know why or if it was my past experiences in trying to make friends in the past and having a hard time in doing so that reflected what happened. Also on a side note, I don't know if I should make this comparison, but based on life experience I often have difficulty being socially active due to my Aspergers/Autism. The full thoughts on the episode are now available to view on my new blog post here. Its a little on the short side though.

OK, before I begin this post, apologies in advance if this post is a little different than usual (and a tad late) but I just had a very bad day yesterday and I only just got around to watching the episode this morning as I didn't feel like watching it live last night due to being depressed and such. So with that said, let's begin. To sum it up as per my tweet... "So....what is the overall verdict? That episode was A LOT better! Now that's the My Little Pony I know and trust!" This episode for me was a huge, and I mean a huge improvement over the disaster of last weeks episode and the flat out, full blown tragedy of the 100th episode. (Personal thoughts etc) This was the classic My Little Pony that I know, trusted and loved since I started watching it four years ago. For me, there were several scenes that I particularly liked. I couldn't help but channel the classic Ken Bruce electrical retailer ads when Pinkie was freaking out over the party planning, minus the in bedding part of course to keep it "G" rated: "Pinkie Pie has gone mad....Pinkie has gone mad...Pinkie has gone mad...PINKIE PIE HAS GONE COMPLETELY MAD!" The Yak scenes also got me thinking as well, especially when it came to the high standards of satisfaction over every little detail that they wanted. Whether it would be the bedding, the castle, the food and even Spike's piano playing. I swear that they must have some signs of OCD because it felt like it for some odd reason. Speaking of Spike, the piano scene also reflected my recent feelings towards the Disney-Pixar movie Inside Out (the crying bit, not Spike having 500 pounds dropped onto him and Jim Ross screaming "good gawd almighty, they killed him!"): "Spike! Have you been playing that Inside Out movie to the Yaks? That's pretty powerful stuff that makes you sad!" I also had a bit of a serious moment where the wagon decided to lose control during the trip to the Yak's homeland and brought up some memories of the NSW Roads & Maritime Services (RMS) campaigns of driver fatique and it's imfamous campaign message: "Cherry has fallen asleep at the wheel! You are in one of those micro sleeps! Wake up before you crash!" "Wagon crashes into pit = end of episode *Cue safety ad* When you see the signs, it's time to Stop. Revive. Survive." Last but not least, the final scene where Pinkie Pie is overhearing the rest of the Mane 6 telling about her party planning and Applejack's mention of her parents anniversiary plans brought up again the subject of Pinkie's parents: "Awwww....Pinkie Pie has the tears flowing! Plus she seems to care about her family more as well." I know there is a Pie family themed episode coming up later in the season, but I think despite Pinkie and Cloudy having their differences, I think both of them care about each other despite their different paths in life. I won't go into much more detail here, I'll save that for that episode. Overall despite not having a specific scene to talk about in detail, this episode as I said before was a huge improvement over the last two. I have written my full thoughts on the episode itself on my blog which can be viewed here.

Well....I don't know what to say about this episode. I am completely stuck for ideas on what to say even after watching it. This episode for me was a bit on the down side and was at times a bit tiring and mediocre. Sure you may have Spike being the lead character and in a situation that has been covered on the show before (e.g Inspiration Manifistation), but I felt that this episode was not my cup of tea as they say. Don't get me wrong, I like Spike episodes myself but I felt this one was a huge let down even if no teaser material has been released to promote it. Although there were some moments that brightened it up a little such as Twilight's fatique issues carrying over from "Castle Sweet Castle" after spending one to many late nights and being awake for three straight days preparing for the conference eventually using some books as a pillow in a nod to her "I'm pancake!" reference. Apart from that, that pretty much sums up the episode for me really. I don't know what to say about this episode. Not a single point at all. On a side note, I don't know if I am losing interest in the Friendship is Magic TV series due to episode 100 being such a complete disaster and having it's jumping the shark moment or the magic spark that provided many memorable moments over the last five years isn't just there anymore. Just my thoughts. I have written my full thoughts on the episode itself on my blog which can be viewed here.

I am going to be honest, blunt and straight to the point here and I don’t care if I get dragged through heck, cause a rift in the fandom or break a few friendships along the way for what I am about to say. When I first saw the synopsis and title for the 100th episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic I thought I was going to be in for quite a treat with an episode to celebrate the accomplishments of the last five years and to look forward to the future of the show. What I saw instead this morning was nothing like the episode I had in mind. After two weeks of the hype being built up towards this once in a lifetime event, the tweet verdict from me is simple enough: "I hate to say it, even after watching the ep but my fears were right all along. I am sorry, but MLP100 SUCKED." That's right. This episode pretty much fell flat on it's face and sucked like a vacuum cleaner. Now some fans may consider this being extremely too harsh towards the show staff and cry foul towards me for showing my inner Simon Cowell but this decision was made and despite the best of efforts to remain positive through out the whole thing, I had my worst fears for the episode realised in the space of 30 minutes and that didn't even include the attacks I got from expressing my true thoughts on this episode. So why did it all go so wrong? To sum it up briefly: * The episode was overhyped and in terms of episode promotion it was pretty much in my face in the lead up to it airing. This resulted in being turned off from watching it in the first place. * The idea of background ponies having an episode to themselves was in my opinion a disaster waiting to happen and I wasn’t even interested in the slightest when it was announced and that thought didn’t change when I watched it. Although on a positive note, there were some things that I liked including the bowling scenes which reflected my real world experiences during my league career. * This episode ended up directly pandering to fans too much and overloaded it with too much fanservice to the point that it completely felt like it was being force fed. For the record, I don’t even like “fanon” with the exception of the Equestria Girls arc. * I never bothered with the social media feeds for this episode nor did I live tweet (with the exception of updates and a few notable points) as I didn’t want to be caught up in a battle zone or face having to be subject of an attack by my voicing genuine concerns on the episode. * The only redeeming thing about the episode was the wedding of Cranky and Matilda and that scene was pretty well done for the most part. After all of that, I know I am going to be called out and blasted for this, but this could have been done a lot differently. So after all of that, I have written my full thoughts on the episode itself on my blog which can be viewed here. I have also included some additional thoughts on the episode in this recap video below:

While I am not trying to bring anyone down and pour a bucket of ice water on the hype for the episode (and in the process derailing the hype train) I have some concerns to address and also to release some tension that I've been bottling up as of late. Now when I first saw the synopsis and title for the 100th episode I thought I was going to be in for quite a treat with an episode to celebrate the accomplishments of the last five years and to look forward to the future of the show. What I saw instead was the hype factor turned up way too high to the point that it has completely turned me off from watching the 100th episode altogether. Now this has never happened to me before during the four years that I have been apart of the brony fandom and although I have had episodes that I didn't like (e.g. Power Ponies) and have simply put those behind me and moved on, I feel that the upcoming episode may end up having it's "jumping the shark" moment. Now you can call me a traitor if you will and drag me through hot coals if you must, but I think in my honest opinion I think they are overhyping it a little too much. Now while I can tolerate some teaser material to get me in the mood, the teasers for the episode have been pretty much a little too loud and obnoxious for my tastes. Now I know I can easily mute the respective hashtag for the episode on Twitter, avoid the respective episode threads or even avoid EQD for a week, this is my main concern. I don't want to get to the point where the episode gets overhyped to the point that viewers may end up switching off and avoiding the show altogether or in the worst case scenario the episode turns out to be a total and complete bust and pretty much starts the downfall of the show. While I want to be excited about the episode, instead I have had some negative feelings towards it over the last couple of weeks due to this. I also have some genuine concerns about the idea of a dual story and the sudden influx of background characters (fanservice overload) dominating the episode. Honestly, I don't think this is a good idea. I rather have an episode based on a reflection style story with the Mane 6 + background ponies in a studio audience style talking about their time in Ponyville and also show some select highlights from seasons past. But that would cause some major splits in the fandom and pretty much start a huge fandom war. To sum it up, I am not looking forward to episode 100. I'll try and watch it if I can but I am not guaranteeing anything positive or outstanding when it comes to my episode recap and review post.

Power Ponies: Get rid of the whole Flutterhulk component and replace it with a more sensible superpower such as mind control (e.g control animals) or if that isn't possible get the original Saddle Rager from the MLP comics to play that role and have Fluttershy team up with her. Sure it might create a paradox but it sure beats having to watch that cringeworthy hulking scene! Appleoosa’s Most Wanted: Let the episode live up to it's name sake and let Troubleshoes be the villain as advertised and not throw curveballs making him the good guy. If you promote a character as a villain, then let it play out that way. Don't change the story mid way through the episode. Also toss the whole CMC punishment business at the end of the episode in the bin. Slice of Life: Yes I know, even though this episode hasn't aired yet I'm not happy with how it's being done being the 100th episode and all. For starters, scrap the dual story idea, background character fanservice and turn down the hype for the episode to sensible levels. Don't oversaturate hyping the episode to the point that people get sick and tired to the point that they are going to not watch it. There is no need to rub it into people's faces everytime a preview clip or teaser image has been released. For the episode itself, I don't have a clue on how to go about improving it but I would have a reflection based episode with the Mane 6 + background ponies in a studio audience style talking about their time in Ponyville and also show some select highlights from seasons past. You would still get your background characters having a say in a vocal role and at the same time making the fans happy without getting people offside.