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Dark Qiviut

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  1. Dark Qiviut
    Pluses:
    Regarding the (formulaic) character designs, there is actually some form of variety when looking at two of the Dazzles. Those two aren't actually wearing any skirts and have other clothes on them to differentiate themselves from the others.
    The song (both the lyrics and score) up to "Let's have a battle!" chorus was rather catchy and didn't contain a score that was rather bland and bare. Background vocalizations enhanced the sinister mood of the scene.
    Most of the animation has improved. The walk cycle of the Dazzles look and feel much more organic compared to the previous movie, and the transitions are creative and/or seamlessly flowing from one cut to another.
    As absolutely idiotic as Sunset's forced redemption was (and, by doing that, permanently ruining the reputation of the Elements of Harmony and massacring EQG's previously established slice-of-life narrative), continuity is reinforced by not retconning it.

    Minuses:
    At least two problems with the song:
    It really hammers the sinister anthem of competition and makes the conflict feel very contrived. Couldn't Battle of the Bands be a little more subtle with its message?
    Its direction swerved once "BATTLE!" is chanted, turning from what was an interesting antithesis of Win the Crown to a very juvenile concept. (And considering its older base demographic and how much it'll rip off Monster High like last year [and likely Jem and the Holograms this time], you can make the concept of High School much more unique than that.)

    [*]The green mind-controlling mist creates some confusion. Not the concept itself, but how it's spread. Can only the audience see it, or can the HuMane Five and Sunset Shimmer see it along with us?
     
    Plus, seeing as Sunset was uncomfortable around the Dazzles, did she try to go to Principal Celestia's office and talk to her prior? We won't know if she did or not, but if she didn't, then that's the movie's first (if not second) pretty big plot hole.


    P.S.: As for the trailer itself, the lampshade with Sunset turning into a she-demon was pretty funny and worked because… Well, let's face the facts; Sunset Demon looked really stupid.
     

     
    Source: [Spoilers] Two New Previews for Rainbow Rocks on Yahoo
  2. Dark Qiviut
    Take it away, Miz!
    Over the past several weeks, excuses after excuses after bashing after bashing from anti-bronies (and fellow bronies) have been chapping my teeth. First, it was the "it's for kids" excuse, and I wrote a blog calling that excuse (and the general population who uses it) out. Next, it was the bashing of the FIM analysis community (BTW, calling analysts "ANALysts" isn't cute or funny; it's stupid), and I'm seriously thinking of prepping for a defense of that community. Another imbecilic claim I see (including from other bronies) is how the older bronies and the community itself "stole the show from little girls."
    Newsflash: That statement is full of shit. Older bronies never stole the show from ANYBODY. They're just as part of the fandom as the little kids and vice-versa. They're just as entitled to appreciate a good show, see it grow, want what they like to see (as long as it works in FIM's context/roots and doesn't deviate from the content rating), and critique it so it gets better as the kids and their parents. The core fandom is a very relevant part of sales, and bronies altogether are very influential both in merchandise and the show big or small, like fact-checking the Celestia doll from pink to (off-)white and (because the core fandom and little kids are growing up along with the characters) helping edge FIM into a more mature direction for season four (e.g., Testing Testing 1, 2, 3 calling out the public school system; Flight to the Finish addressing Scootaloo's inability to fly; plagiarism in Rarity Takes Manehattan; the Twilight/Tirek fight scene). Hell, don't even bother denying it — Because the show spread popularity to bronies young and old, we even have seasons four, five, and beyond.
    And what's more idiotic is how some so-called "feminists" pull this "bronies are entitled/steal the show" bullshit. If you claim to be a feminist and then pull that card, then, well…this should explain nicely.

    Any feminist with an ounce of common sense would never pull that antifeminist, sexist card. It's hypocritical (about as hypocritical as Femme Fetale from The Powerpuff Girls), and if you really are a feminist, you should feel guilty for saying it, much less thinking of such bigotry.
    Bronies regardless of age, gender, or culture NEVER stole FIM from ANYBODY, and it's downright antifeminist and sexist to believe otherwise.
  3. Dark Qiviut
    Since the start of Season 2, Rainbow Dash traditionally has the worst episodes of the season and show at large. After a swarm of some great and excellent outings, Season 9 releases its first clunker.
    Smolder had one of her best outings of the season. Representing the student body who wanted the cheerleading to work, she put up with all of Dash's crap and gave her the calling-out she so rightfully deserved.
      After Dash gives an apology that didn't sound so contrite, she actually proved she meant it by helping her students practice. And if you look at the montage, you'll see how much effort Dash put into coaching them to be the best they can be and the students placing their trust back into her.
      Snips continues his capitalist streak, trying to sell as much as possible to buckball fans and goers. And he inadvertently made Dash see the errors of her ways.
      Celestia going all fanatical remains the episode's funniest moment.
      And the buckball scene as a whole (minus one moment, which I'll get to) holds up well enough. That's all the positives. The rest of this episode was just a colossal train wreck.
    There's one piece of dialogue, where after it all ends, that really spoils the mood.
    And attached with a snarky, conceited face and tone.
    So why is Twilight going all Trollight the worst moment of the season so far?
    It calls back memories of what the RM5 did in Mare Do Well and 28PL, the former one of the most infamous of the entire series. Rather than tell Dash upfront, they go behind their backs just to make her get it, and the tone attached to them is cruel and unbecoming of not only anyone who truly cares for a friend, but also the show. For those two, it took until being confronted by them at the very end with them actually telling her to her face. 28 Pranks Later has the worst atmosphere of the two, because rather than fix the problem, they exacerbated MDW's worst problems and made a worse version of that episode. Here, Dash learns her lesson well before the climax, and Twilight doesn't see the transformation taking place, but imagine if she didn’t. What if Twi told her at the end? Can you imagine just how dirtier that would feel to the audience?
      Just to teach Dash a contrived lesson, Twilight intentionally put the whole tournament at risk. Had Twilight decided not to make Dash the cheerleader coach beforehand, none of what happened would've existed. Dash would be at home teaching buckball and not feel demoted and deflated. She started a conflict that should never have existed in the first place.
      But what does making that snide, passive-aggressive line admission also mean? Twilight knew well in advance that Dash would not take this “demotion” very well, do less than minimum effort to help the students prepare for the halftime show, try to sneak away and get involved with it, potentially ruin all hope they have for it, and make them quit cheerleading practice. Like the Ponyvillagers in MDW, she used both Dash and her students as guinea pigs just to make Dash learn a lesson. This is one of her most out-of-character moments of the whole series, as it shows no trust with Dash and the student body. That final exchange is an admission of no confidence, yet the episode paints her in the right for pulling such a disgraceful stunt. Trollestia was the worst part of both Ticket Master and Bird in a Hoof, as she treated the Mane 6 (and for the latter, her sick phoenix) as a means to an end. Trollight adopting that same "quality" doesn't make it any better or more humorous.
    Because this episode's Mare Do Well 2.5, it's easy to see why many don't take it very well. Mare Do Well is factually terrible, and its infamy means it should've been put in the background and not to be reminded of again. This episode and the ending feel a lot like a multi-down and an admission by DHX of having continuous difficulties writing/editing her well.
    Those reactions also remind me of my own following Princess Spike's ending. After a mess of an episode and conflict, Spike was given a bouquet of Dragon Sneeze trees, restarting his allergies and forcing him to sneeze at the rebuilt statue. What made that moment so atrocious is how it solidifies a very sexist position within the show. Spike had been the show’s buttmonkey from the beginning, and several episodes either neglected him despite being an important part of Twi’s life (like not being at Twi’s birthday) or made him the butt of very unfunny slapstick (Owl’s Well, the Spikeabuse from Fall Weather Friends and Castle Mane-ia). Additionally to being the only non-pony of the Mane cast, he was the only male. Beating down the only male lead in a pro-feminist show is as misandrist and anti-feminist as it comes.
    Now, is Twilight’s line as bad as that atrocious, sorry excuse for a "joke"? Not even close. PS's "joke" made me wonder whether FIM jumped the shark, a dose of irony after Slice of Life subtly satirized it. Twilight's admission, as awful as it is, isn't nearly that low. To this day, I still don't regret my tirade over it. Thankfully, Spike had more than half a season, several more from that point forward to recover. From that day forward, he hasn’t had an episode close to this level of quality since. Unfortunately for Dash, we’re now in the last season, and if you look at the synopses of what’s to come,
    Also, Kaita Mpambara is one of the best new writers, so for him to write such a stinker is massively disappointing.
    However, just because Twilight intentionally placed Dash in an unfavorable position doesn't mean Dash is entitled to take her disappointment out on the students. With RD being the focus, we see how she feels and reacts to her surrounding. What we got here is Rainbow Dash's Honest Apple.
    In Honest Apple, Applejack wasn't initially sure she would be the right pony to judge on practicality, but after Apple Bloom (inexplicably) had trouble with her hat. So even though Applejack became Applejackass, it didn't start out that way. She went into this process without ill intentions. However, Rainbow Dash never got on the right foot with Ocellus, Smolder, Yona, or the two cheerleading valley mares (Shimmy Shake & Lighthoof).

    What was her reaction to Twi over its importance? …Nice support for your students, Ms. Cools-a-little.
    From the get-go, Rainbow Dash not only showed absolutely zero interest in teaching the students how to cheerlead, but made less-than-minimal effort. Let's go over her sins one by one, shall we?
    Shimmy Shake and Lighthoof were apparently students at the school. But Dash apparently doesn't recognize them very well and passively dissed their cheerleading routine by rolling her eyes at them. However, even if Shimmy and LH may not interest her, she could've been inspired by Ocellus's desire for respect, Smolder's subtle feminine curiosity, and Yona's eagerness to fuel her in helping all five practice. Instead, what does she do? Remain completely apathetic towards cheerleading as a whole, ignore Snips's (bit-centric) reminder that Twilight put her faith in her, and put her focus completely on the constructing buckball field over her own classroom.

    Their first practice in front of her was loaded with problems, including Yona's inability to not cause a classroom earthquake, Ocellus's timidity, and Smolder's poor smoke direction. But Dash pays no attention, her focus out at the window. She doesn't see one second of it. As far as she's concerned, as long as they just perform in front of her, it's all she and the buckball audience would give a shit about.
      As long as someone else with more passion than her can teach them, then she can watch ponies practice and build the field. Even though Snips's focus is bit-centric, he showed to be no fool these days. However, his vague wording of needing a coach so he can "make any bits" led her to her scheme, which was a disaster.



    …

    …

    Seriously, Dash? You really think everything will be A-OK? You think that they will rather have Snips, who's completely unqualified to teach or tutor in any form of athletics, over you?
     

    Yet, she uses that "come-up-with-something" idea to blindfold her students and try to sneak out, and would've succeeded had Yona not peaked. "Come up with something" isn't an excuse to be damn LAZY and do NOTHING under a cheap guise.
    After being suggested to "turn to her friends for help," she did just that and spent the rest of the first day of practice asking her friends. But she gets only the equipment. She literally is doing "what she needs" just to get stuff. No tips on how to work with them safely, arrange them properly so the practice and the dance routine improve, etc. In layman's terms:
    Lo and behold, they practice for the rest of the day and fuck everything up in the worst "comedy" routine of the season! What does Dash do? Completely ignore it and act like it never existed. When she turned around to see them all glum and upset, her only reaction was a disinterested "What?"
    Hmmmmmmmmmm…
    …now what does that remind me of?

    Oh, yeah, this little shit!!
    AJ's act of shaking all those feathers off Lily Lace's hat after uniquely stitching them one by one overnight is by far the cruelest act between the two episodes, but Dash's words were much worse. In HA, AJ stereotyped fashion at a boiling point (though her following words while much more composed doesn't help her at all) and at least gave it a chance. Here, Dash maintained a negative, narrow, stereotypical viewpoint of cheerleading before Twilight assigned her, maintained it throughout, and then remorselessly showed her disgust for it and those willing to perform and make it good in spite of her laziness! Even worse, despite being visibly upset, she still didn't see the big deal in how hurtful her actions were!

    *facehoof* Sweet Celestia!
    Look, I get it. Being assigned to a job you don't like sucks. No one likes it. But this isn't about you. It's them. THEY agreed to take part in the School of Friendship's cheer squad, because THEY were interested and knew Dash was the most athletic and best one to properly rally! Dash, you're a TEACHER. It's your job as a TEACHER to HELP THEM! It's one thing to be so oblivious towards their screwups. It's another to severely flanderize her ignorance, pretend they don't exist, act so disinterested when they badly mess up, directly insult them, and STILL don't care!

    I read one comment somewhere, and I can't find it, but that brony's right. Dash, why are you a teacher? This is the second time you were a selfish piece of shit. What you did with AJ on that boat is way, way worse than this, but that doesn't make your despicable, out-of-character actions here any better. If you truly needed help like you claimed, you coulda, I don't know, look in the library yourself and work with the students to hone their craft! Neighsay bashed the school in part because the teachers are professionally unqualified. Congratu-pony-lations for proving him right again!

    *AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!*
      Ain't it odd that Dash suddenly bashed the idea of cheering? IIRC, she had no problem teaching someone how to cheer eight seasons ago!
     
    Sure, teaching someone how to cheer from in the stands is much more different than cheerleading, which is pre-planned and organized. That doesn't mean she can't use those lessons here, but that would've been a leeeeeeeetle too helpful for her students, wouldn't it? Needless to say, this episode sucks. Today, it's the worst of the season and yet another Dash-centric flop.
    However, despite bashing Dash's characterization and discontinuity, it's not close to the worst of the show or her worst appearance ever. Several episodes prior handled her way worse than this.
    May the Best Pet Win, Tanks for the Memories: Abusive to animals. The former by being cruel to those who want to be her pet and dismissive toward Tank. The latter for treating her company with Tank to be more important than keeping her alive. Sorry not sorry, Dash DOESN'T deserve pity over having to wait three months during the winter!
      Rainbow Falls: Gaining an ego and then actually thinking about abandoning the relay team representing her town in favor of the “cooler” Wonderbolts squad.
      Mare Do Well: No explanation required.
      28 Pranks Later: Jumpstarted the MDW ripoff by scaring the daylights out of FS while knowing she hates being pranked, and then the whole town, including SCOOTALOO, decided to get her back.
      Newbie Dash: What supposed to be her milestone episode turned out to be the biggest torture porn of the entire show. Three years later, it remains FIM’s biggest black mark.
      Compete Crap Clause: Lusting to win Teacher of the Month, she and AJ focus more on winning than the Young Six’s safety, causing a Yona to nearly drown! Rather than learn their lesson, they act passive-aggressive toward each other and nearly became bite-a-cuda dinner!  When Rainbow Dash wised up, she was remorseful, apologized, and worked hard to help the students make the cheerleading become the go-to moment of the tournament. Despite her terrible behavior, she put in the effort to make up for it, a commendable act by her. Yeah, it’s the worst episode this season, but compared to almost the rest I listed, it’s not terrible.
    Lastly, it's understandable that some may feel DHX, particularly the crew from S6 onward, hates Rainbow Dash. But if they do, then we wouldn't have the following:
    Stranger Than Fan Fiction: OK, this episode isn't as good as what many say, but only due to Quibble suddenly acting like an idiot while in the jungle (thinking it's all a game). OTOH, Dash was fantastic as a fantastic foil.
      Top Bolt: A better climax could've really helped this episode. But Twi and Dash worked hard to help out Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail and were able to fix their friendships. Their portrayals were among the best of S6.
      Glideance: Dash’s Putting Your Hoof Down, and done right.
      Grannies Gone Wild: An episode that has no business being great, but it is. Initially wanting no part in it and trying to skip out, she immediately sees the error of her ways and works tirelessly to keep the Golden Mares safe. Despite all of the comedy at its expense, Berrow's episode reminds us to sympathize with her, not think she had it coming. She rightfully earned her way to the roller coaster.
      The End In Friend: NCC and Mare Do Well done right. Their argument was very believable and had every right to defend their own interests when the other didn't take theirs seriously. But they used their interests and strengths to realize how much they still mean to each other.
      The Washouts: An excellent sequel to Wonderbolts Academy, and Dash’s best episode. Like its predecessor, it balances her strengths and flaws very well, transitions between Dash's insecurity and worries for Scoot's safety flawlessly, and doesn't demonize her for any of it.
      Common Ground: An amazing followup of STFF with a personal touch, and Dash's best outing of the season. Tries her best to help Quibble learn buckball to bond with his stepdaughter, accidentally messes up, and steps back up to continue helping him until she found the right resolution. Most importantly, as disappointing as 246G is, this is Season 9's only folly. Many more episodes remain. If you wish, you can open the spoiler box beneath for brief commentary on the early-aired episodes:
    So, yeah, it's a bad episode, but not the worst, and whenever the show ends, she still has many good episodes.
  4. Dark Qiviut
    Honestly, this episode is a lot more impressive than it should've been. The synopsis and theme alone sound like an accident waiting to happen, but DHX actually pulls it off quite soundly.
    Twilight and Spike are at their A-game. Spike's the straight man who has to remind Twilight of her schedule, and Twilight not only tries to listen to Spike and her checklist, but also take care of Flurry Heart. Clearly, she loves her niece. A lot of the actions seen, including Twilight playfully blowing on FH's tummy, are common.
    One problem with Baby Cakes is how clichéd and dull the plot is and how generic the Cake twins were. Flurry Heart has plenty of personality. Even at her age, she's incredibly intelligent, yet she still can't deduce very complicated thinking, like finding an extra balloon rather than split it (thanks, @Jeric ;)). Sure, she had a tantrum, but it was quick and with reason. When Twilight isn't laying with her, she feels left out. And when her whammy's missing, she freaks out and searches for it in a major panic.
    Shining, Cadance, and Spearhead are awesome. SA and Cadance show very clearly how much of a royal pain it is to take care of a baby through their tired eyes, split hair, and slip ups. Spearhead has that classic surfer/casual dude accent and archetype, but to echo @Batbrony, he's incredibly likable and not stereotypical. He really enjoys art and how art, especially modern and abstract art, can bring out emotional responses to people. He understands how individual art is and relishes it.
    I'll echo J in a chat between he an I on Discord. Based on how the beginning was written and Spike reacted by how his friends's names sounded similar, it may be implied that the writers were probably trying to convince the viewer that Spearhead was going to be generic and flat. This can create an initial impression of who Spearhead is. But then, you get hit with, well…"a whammy." If that's true, clever.
    Spike is the victim of some slapstick, but unlike many episodes before it (including Newbie Dash), it was quick, he clearly showed no pain, both he and Twilight were equally victimized, and Spike does get his moment at the end.
    The two morals are great, too. "Spend quality time with those you love," and "don't ask to babysit on short notice."
    The two issues here are some pacing (particularly in the climax after Twilight yells at her) and the fact that Twilight brought her to other sick foals at the hospital. They're small, but noticeable.
    Other than that, great ep! Keep it going! ^^
  5. Dark Qiviut
    Note: Credits go to I_Am_Number_6 on EQD, @Jerica, and @gingerninja666 for this review.
    Starlight Glimmer had one of the biggest arcs of the whole series. Debuting in The Cutie Map as Season 5’s top villain, Twilight successful convinced her to reform and change her ways. Rather than condemn her to Tartarus or exile, Twi elected to proactively teach her the Magic of Friendship. Even though she learned all the lessons academically in between To Where and Celestial Advice, she realized she wasn’t ready to lead once more. Throughout Season 7, confidence exuded out of her, showing more comfort in her opinions and ideals once again; Shadow Play and its creative genius helped Starlight show her intellectual bravery at its best, leading to her next chapter of her journey that began in Season 8.
    With A Horse Shoe-In, today’s chapter continues to near its final destination, and SG has (once again) a fantastic appearance. At the very beginning, viewers are reminded that she will become the next head of the School of Friendship once Twilight moves to Canterlot and replaces the Royal Sisters. However, Twilight’s reminder carries more in-verse weight than in Beginning.
    Spike issued Starlight’s promotion to Headmare via Royal Decree. As Princess of Friendship, she has the authority to announce it, especially to those she’s close to. More importantly, Twilight exercised this decree with a clear head. Back in BotE, Twilight was in the middle of a massive meltdown, so when she told her the news, she wasn’t prepared for what came next. Now she is. By telling her with a clear conscience, she put in a lot more thought into who’ll succeed her and (like before) trusts Starlight into making the right decisions. Ain't this heartwarming and cute?!

    Her trust for Starlight is reaffirmed in two other moments.
    In Act 1, Trixie reminded her that Twilight never did anything alone, including running the School of Friendship. As one of six teachers, they all took care of the students together. Because she had close friends helping her, Starlight told Twilight about her new idea: hiring a Vice Headmare to help alleviate the work. What does Twilight say? After blowing up in Trixie’s face, she and Twilight share a heart to heart in her classroom. During the interviewing process, Starlight really wanted someone she knew well to be Vice Headmare, but because Trixie didn’t take it so seriously the first two tries and then took it so seriously the last that she accidentally put her students in danger, she let her frustrations take over, yelled at Trixie over it, and angrily told her that she would never be VH. Twilight reminded her that, yes, she has friends to help her, but not every friend is right for the job you offer, and that she has to tell them immediately before it gets out of control.

    Now, is Starlight right to be upset with Trixie? Absolutely. Is Trixie a capable VH? Not at all. But Starlight isn’t fully innocent, either, as she ignored the signs from earlier, insulted her, belittled her worth, and put her friendship with Trixie at risk. Apologizing to her was the right move.
    As for Trixie herself, she showed aplenty to prove she wasn’t qualified beyond a blind flash beehive transfer. In Twilight’s classroom, she skipped a completely important history lecture on friendship, napped with everyone (with helpful tips from Gallus ), and didn't feel ashamed of it. Afterwards, she shouted at Grandpa Gruff and expelled him from the School of Friendship. Both of these showed extreme opposites of what she looked for. On one hand, she didn't care for the subject the students are learning. On the other, when push comes to shove, she cared maybe a little too much, rightfully defending a student’s reputation to a surrogate who gave little about him and losing her own temper rather than constructively using her anger to maintain her rep as substitute.
    That said, despite her neglect for studies, extreme measures, and lack of thought, Trixie's certainty she'll be hired is merited. What inspired Starlight to create this permanent position? Trixie’s reminder of Twilight’s friends helping her run the school. Rather than go away and wait for lunch, she followed Starlight, overheard the whole conversation, and assumed that Starlight will hire friends to help them like Princess Twilight. As a result, this whole interviewing process felt like a game to test her meddle, and she won't bite. Read this exchange from Act 2:
    In Starlight's mind, she wanted Trixie to really show she can lead a school and help the students learn, but she was way behind compared to Hooves and Octavia. However, Trixie assumes Starlight just wants to test her with one final step before letting the rest of the "competition," and the language from both of them is loose enough so you see where they come from while being unable to break through that communication barrier. And it was that barrier that caused Trixie to not take Starlight's anger seriously the first time, followed by confusion, and then hurt once she realized what Starlight wanted and after SG made her feel worthless.
    In addition to helping complete another chapter to the overall arc of Season 9, the episode carries a message of how nepotism can cause a system to become corrupt if left unchecked. Because she did so poorly, SG almost DQ'd her once and then told her very softly in their second interview she wouldn't hire her. But as a result of Trixie setting the expectation of being hired (and thus placing herself above Octavia, Hooves, Big Mac, and Spoiled), Starlight was caught in a major dilemma. How can she tell Trixie she's not qualified for the job? Regardless of her own temperament, how well will Trixie handle the disappointment? What if she finds out through someone else that she will lose the opportunity? Conversing with "Phyllis" (and protecting her from Trixie) and holding off the truth only added to her dilemma and increased her frustration. Fortunately, when the problems became too big to ignore, she put her foot down, and Twilight's "motherly" advice helped her even more.
    In addition to how your friends may not always be the best fit for a job, a nice, subtle secondary moral floated in the background, which @Jerica caught and told me about in my Discord convo with her. Out of the five interviewees, Octavia Melody was easily the most qualified.
    During the substitution, she easily had the most fun while taking part in Laughter class. As she instructed her students to play their instruments, Pinkie Pie suddenly played the yovidaphone loudly behind them. Did anyone get upset? Nope. They continued playing and had a blast playing their favorite instruments no matter how good they were. And, yes, they all laughed. Hard. In her one-on-one interview with Ocellus's parents, she understood her knowledge of music, praised her student for quickly improving in her work, and got along incredibly well. While in the same Bridleway Theatre as the special playing of Hinny of the Hills back in Season 4, her students sat in their seats as Octavia prepared. Initially, Gallus was bored as hell. Then the lights went out. Out came Vinyl. And they began to play an exciting remix of classical music to everycreature's delight (great callback to their remix and friendship from Slice of Life ). Octavia understands that not everyone's tastes are the same, but she knew how to loosen her hair and create joy to those who wish for it. Yet at the end, she turned down the job. Why? Fear she'll lose her time for music. Even though she's so good in those interviews, music's her passion, and she doesn't want to give it up. Sadly, you sometimes have to choose, which isn't easy. Bittersweet it may be, watching her tell Starlight she would love to accept the offer but decline would add a major gut-punch to the episode and add some real, down-to-earth weight to this episode.
    What would also add weight would be to see Gallus tell Trixie how much he appreciated her passionate defense of him to Grandpa Gruff. Most ponies won't have the guts to tell off the temperamental griffon like that, including Starlight. No matter how narcissistic Trixie can be, she knows her limits and cares for at least her students' psychological health. Apathy for his guardian's growth and openly belittling him while he was already down were massive signs of disrespect towards her and her students, and she showed Gruff he hasn't earned her respect in return. If there's a scene showing Gallus thanking Trixie for defending him, it'll show both some chemistry between them and how her presence matters. Containing it off-screen softens the impact, but his off-screen gratitude meant she has some a place in the school after all. With the changing of the guard approaching, the School Counselor spot needed to be filled, and Trixie more than showed she qualifies.
    As clichéd as this sequence can be this season, adding a montage would really help Sunburst show his credentials. In the climax, she hired him after Trixie contacted him via scroll, a passionate interview, and admission of not having to take much care of Flurry Heart anymore. If we see him have a world of fun teaching his students in one of his classes, conversing pleasantly with the students' parents, and then go on a very fun field trip together (maybe to The Crystal Empire to greet Mistmane, Cadance, and Flurry Heart), then you can really sell his passion for teaching. Having her hire him in a quick, expository flash-forward makes the resolution feel a little rushed. Nothing close to ruining it, but makes his hiring as Vice Headmare tough to sell.
    To end this review on a high note:
    This episode does a fantastic job reintroducing the Vice Headmare occupation without contradicting continuity, a point brought up by I_Am_Number_6 on EQD. Back in A Matter of Principals, she hires Discord for the same position after she lost her temper and ruined the buckball field, but he loses his job instantly after the RM6 returned from their "friendship quest." Here, she went through the process with a lot more care and thought, especially since Twilight's soon leaving for Canterlot. In addition to in-episode growth, Starlight shows continual growth, too. Back in No Second Prances (her first self-contained episode post reformation), she forces Big Mac to talk against his will. Here, she understands not everyone's so comfortable to talk and won't force him to do a job he feels he can't. Thank @gingerninja666 and his friend for pointing it out. Also… BAD idea, Whooves! What a big, pleasant surprise to see a brand-new writer take on FIM this late in its running! Ariel Shepherd-Oppenhein did a splendid job in her Pony debut and executed a very solid, very good episode, one that may be Starlight's last once it's all finished.
  6. Dark Qiviut
    Lately, when Discord is at his best, he's a jerk with a heart of gold. Without his inherent edge, he's a completely different character in his voice. Discordant Harmony and especially The Break Up Break Down handle that side very effectively. But when he's just a jerk, he loses that dimension and becomes antagonistic just because. And that's the case here. Because he's not leading the school, he makes Starlight, established previously and here as a friend, miserable.
    His worst moment, very clearly, occurs at the buckball pitch. His scheme with the bugbear put the Student Six and a few others in really grave danger. Had Starlight not scare him off, Yona would've been stung. Recall how Dash's and AJ's selfishness and recklessness nearly caused her to drown? This is no better. Had she be hurt on Twilight's grounds, then the school would be in big trouble. Starlight was absolutely justified to be angry at him, warn him, and blast him away from the school grounds after he continued his defiance. Back to him later.
    Starlight and Spike continue their successful roles since Season 7. AMoP is the first episode since The Crystalling to pair them up, and you immediately see their trust and faith for one another after Twilight temporarily promotes her. He's always by her side and helped put in the work to alleviate the stress. When Discord and Starlight didn't see eye to eye, Spike was the middle man to maintain order between them and be as objective as possible.
    Was Starlight justified to warn and blast him away from the school grounds? Absolutely. As headmare, it was her job to punish him. But Discord isn't like other beings; he's a god with a love to warp logic. Rather than talking to him what's wrong, Starlight chose a very drastic measure, which Spike rightfully warned would only worsen matters. Why? Because provoking him proved him right, even though he was insufferable. Therefore, he felt justified to raise more hell in the School of Friendship.
    Discord has insecurities and sometimes fails to hide them. But the clues, even if subtle, are missing, because that context when Starlight spoke the episode's primary lesson is missing, too. Everywhere he showed up, Discord becomes a destructive brat, and acting like he doesn't know either her or him hurts, too. Was she right to apologize to him? Yes. But by offering him a job, the story lets him off without any level of consequence and rewards him for it. The RM6 return, nullifying the offer, but it's still an unsatisfactory resolution.
    On top of that, almost all the jokes fall flat. The ones with Twilight fail, because she's flanderized: Her personality early was reduced to obsessively organizing and pre-planning everything to the point of being redundant and at Starlight's expense. Cranky constantly spitting his drinks (accidentally) at Gallus's direction while being a lazy ass regresses him. One of the only jokes to be funny is Trixie talking on her banana phone.
    Despite being rather negative (and not liking it), I won't throw in reactionary hyperbole and call A Matter of Principals bad, awful, or an atrocity, because it's not. At the time of this quickieview, it's the third-worst episode of S8, but nowhere close to the badness of Non-Complete Clause and Fake It; it's watchable mediocrity. 
  7. Dark Qiviut
    Note: Credit to @gingerninja666, @Ganondox, @Theanimationfanatic, and Justin Galloway on YT for this review, which has been revised to expand my thoughts better and for better editing as a whole.
    Out of every legend from Season 7B, Rockhoof's was the worst. Combined with being a boring character, the story itself was very bland, and Applejack told the entire thing rather than letting the tale show. It's competent, but completely uninteresting. How ironic that in his first self-contained episode, ARaaHP is spectacular with some of the best characterization of a Pillar since they were first introduced.
    Hard Place is a "fish out of water" story, an idiom that puts the character in a setting or situation they're very foreign or uncomfortable with. DHX holds none of the comedy back, which had a lot of variety, but mostly came from the characters' reactions, starting off with Professor Fossil. Rockhoof doesn't understand preservation at all, because he lived in the era she continues to discover, emphasized by his destruction of an old sweat lodge (rightfully upsetting her) and triggering the conflict.
    Fossil's line, which sounded completely innocent on the surface, foreshadows future events while remaining wonderfully subtle:
    The scene in the auditorium to begin Act 1, while adding on to Rockhoof's inability to adapt to modern times, established connections, providing pivotal context as the episode progressed. Rockhoof's a Pillar, adding to the mystique and adoration from folks across generations. Most of this generation in the School of Friendship's very young, with five of the six unfamiliar with pony folklore. Smolder's sarcasm in response to Rockhoof's first accident is just one opinion (which changed as he told his story of his fight with an Ursa Major), but Yona adored him immediately, because his strength and bravery remind her of yakdom back home.
    As for the rest of Act 1, there was criticism of what Ocellus said about Discord's stone transformation (Celly and Luna casting a spell) as not being true to continuity. That's not true. From Princess Twilight Sparkle, Part 2:

    Sisters power up the Elements.

    Them casting a spell. The Elements couldn't turn him to stone alone.
    And I agree with YouTuber Justin Galloway regarding this point (his comment from this video link):
    Indeed!
    Personally, I can't blame the students for feeling excited (and Gallus lying about the class's direction). Learning can be fun, but sometimes boring, and Gallus is the perfect rebel to steer the class and Rockhoof in another direction. The story, despite in small doses and done to further emphasize his trouble to adapt, was really entertaining.
    To reiterate, the comedy in this episode as a whole is absolutely fantastic. This one in particular is probably the best one. (You know what I'm talkin' about. )
    Several other funny moments include:
    Rockhoof incredulously swatting decorative set pieces out the school window, not knowing it belonged to Rarity for class (and was not created to fool him). Despite all of the carnage inside Twilight's classroom, the worst he can do to her wooden desk is squish it like a marshmallow. Cranky being heavily embarrassed after Cranky announced he had a rash somewhere in his privates. OTOH, in hindsight, this accidental embarrassment was well-earned for Cranky, who spent all day in the school treating the students like garbage on the buckball pitch. During Somnambula's speech, Rockhoof suddenly falls asleep and squashes a mare behind him. XD
      Despite doing so inside the school (even though Twilight told him to wait previously and didn't react at all to the fire), Spike and Smolder's bond continues to evolve through a fire-breathing competition. Small, but compared to their conversation in Molt Down, they're more comfortable around each other, and she's not so bristly towards him.
    That said, no matter the jokes or how much Rockhoof screws up, the episode never treats him as dumb at any point, which @Theanimationfanatic points out. Everywhere he works, he's always willing to impress, whether it's delivering the post to the right house, massaging, helping Zecora, or teaching. Wherever he went long ago, his warrior-first instincts aided him, and he applies them here. Today, harmony replaced war. He doesn't need to fight much anymore, especially now with Stygian redeemed. As a result, he screws up, sometimes badly, yet the episode does a great job not making him look worse each time he faults. To expand my reply, his struggle feels real, and he always works to at least try to succeed; at times, he does the right thing, but overlooks one crucial detail, whether it's teaching instead of preparing for battle, trying to relive life on his soil rather than retaining its history, and so forth. As a result, we sympathize for him and root for him to succeed. It's a major strength that the episode worked very hard in getting right.
    What's more interesting is how most of the Pillars still contact each other and know their whereabouts, but not Rockhoof. Despite their close connection as champions and friends, it also shows us an audience how distanced Rockhoof became since the Pillars split. He goes back home and virtually spends his days there, as if his life is complete. He can keep his shovel, but not need to use it. He remains a warrior, but as the episode progresses, he realizes he's less of a warrior, but now a veteran who can't settle after being gone so long.
    On the other hand, DHX/Top Draw puts forth a lot of effort to make the other Pillars's adaptations as seamless as possible. My favorite is Mistmane's just because of her work in The Crystal Empire.

    There are a lot of amazing set designs throughout the series. But Twilight's right. The imagery here's some of the most beautiful ever put forth for the show. The composition, colors, crystal designs, light, shadow, and perspective are so organic to the country.
    As the episode progressed, Rockhoof's struggles slowly took a toll. Sulking away from the School started it, and his doubts reappeared in the CE scene, especially after he tells her that shovel ponies aren't in current demand. It progresses further by accident after Meadowbrook was able to open her clinic back home and then after Twilight finds Stygian's new novel. Both of these sting him for two reasons:
    He can't go home. If STYGIAN can adapt, why can't him?! But the final trigger? Accidentally sinking the Aris navy. @gingerninja666 explains that point perfectly:
    And it's after this when Rockhoof requests to be turned to stone. Mpambara doesn't hide one bit how it's an allegory of suicide, and his (the writer's) logic narrows this down in several key areas:
    No matter how hard he tries, he's always one step behind, and he can't catch up. Everyone successfully adjusted, but all he does is, in his eyes, ruin his reputation, and it's not only self-embarrassing, but also self-deflating. If he can't rely on using the stars to navigate around the world, then what can he do now? Rockhoof believes his friends are better off without him. Because he can't transition, he believes he looks weak to them, even though he means so much to them and were willing to help him in any way they can. That's why he avoided communicating with them for so long. He understands how much the Realm idolizes him and the others, but he doesn't want them to think of him as the washed-up veteran he became, but the warrior they grew up remembering. Turning into stone means preserving his legacy. Older adults are at highest risk for suicide; for U.S. veterans, twenty died by suicide daily in 2014, 65% of them 50 years or older. @Ganondox even pointed out an even sadder implication of one reason why an elder may commit suicide, and one powerful Golden Girls episode long ago does the same. Rockhoof's generation is long gone; he's the lone relic left. He believes his time has passed him. Additionally, he fears of what's to come. What if he stays un-stoned, and everyone sees him as this old relic who relishes for the good old days? He doesn't want to look old, washed up, and useless. Twilight agreed to write a stone spell, thereby assisting his suicide. The fact that it's temporary doesn't change the implications. Everyone reacted to Rockhoof's wish in complete horror. Twilight didn't want to write it, because she knew he belonged somewhere. But the students, especially Yona, reacted the hardest for obvious reasons. The followup scene in the castle hallway is one of the best of the series. Yona developed a student-to-teacher crush on him, but when his life was in danger, she came right to him, and her idolization for him evolves, evident by the class report she recited. She's in school in Equestria, where no one looks like her or shares her interests; her constant running almost got her into big trouble immediately, and Neighsay spouting racism towards non-ponies doesn't help. Bonding with others eases her fears and makes her feel safe. His ability to be strong, brave, and persevere inspired countless individuals, including her, who's innocent and childlike. Their chemistry and her admiration are incredibly genuine, and the fact she stood up for him and convinced everyone in the school to gather around outside and listen to his stories at maybe the lowest moment of his life makes him realize at just that moment he means so much to them.
    It fixes a big problem from two previous episodes: Magic Sheep and No Second Prances.
    Magic Sheep: Luna's Tantabus creation is an allegory of either depression or addiction. Self-punishing with the Tantabus not only reminded her of her crimes long ago, but also gave her an escape from the torment she inwardly suffered. But it's marred by an awfully-executed moral, thanks to its rushed, absolute ending. Addiction and illness don't magically disappear. NSP: After Trixie and Starlight fell out, Trixie acted like she didn't want to live anymore, but it's an unfortunate implication, and Twilight and Starlight doing nothing as she treks into her cannon is just insulting. Here, A Rockhoof and a Hard Place tackled a really dark subject, but took a long time developing the allegory, provided key clues foreshadowing what was coming, and treated it with the delicateness and seriousness it so richly deserves. The moral it teaches — "No matter how hurt, lonely, or hopeless you feel, you matter." — is also magnificently executed.
    But it isn't just Yona and Rockhoof. AJ and Twilight were really good in their roles, too. Twi may lead the school, but she trusted AJ into conversing with each other and letting AJ help guide her and him wherever he went. Working with him and helping him was a team effort throughout.
    More importantly, Mpambara keeps Spike in character in Act 3 without looking insensitive. How? With this shot:

    Spike has a history of being snarky, but thanks to the suicide allegory, his sarcasm, sardonicism, and sometimes blasé behavior won't fit at all to the tone and messaging DHX is aiming. If not careful, viewers may end up hating his portrayal. By opening the act with him asleep and then woken up with a start, the episode instantly sets part of the tone, and his sleepy behavior parades into the classroom, allowing DHX to use his snark for comedy without unfortunate implications.
    This episode was an amazing surprise. Because Season 8 was so good up to this point, I had high expectations for this one. After watching it the first time, I knew it was great. But watching it again and again helped me pay closer attention to the effort put into creating this wonderful story. Ever since I first watched the S8 leaks last year, I had Break Down as its best. A Rockhoof and a Hard Place replaced it, and it's one of the ten best of the whole show. Bravo!
    P.S.: Those who read my statuses may have read and followed my episode order, but for those who don't, this is my current top-10 of the series (including Rockhoof):
    The Perfect Pear The Best Night Ever Crusaders of the Lost Mark Amending Fences Shadow Play Sisterhooves Social The Cutie Map A Rockhoof and a Hard Place Parental Glideance The Break Up Break Down An episode of such a quality deserves such a spot. More can't be said about how amazing Hard Place is.
  8. Dark Qiviut
    Note: Credits to @Cwanky and @OptimisticNeighsayer for this quickieview.
    After Dash had one of the most insufferable appearances of the series, A Trivial Pursuit is somewhat a return to form for Season 9.
    The best part, bar none, is Twilight's arc. While Lesson Zero slowly progressed Twilight into insanity, Twilight began to feel the pressure before the cold open; Spike's attempts to reassure himself and Twilight's obsessive grin and eyes give that away so quickly. When the episode conveniently puts her and Pinkie (who never played the game before)) together, things just went south.
    Now, Pinkie isn't trying to hurt Twilight in any way. She wants to have fun and help Twilight win. However, she was a poor teammate. She wasn't familiar with any of the rules [and apparently never opened the rule book ( )], had no idea that you needed to answer specifically to be awarded points, couldn't interject her own opinion into her answer (putting them both in the red for a bit), and got easily distracted. So the audience can see why Twilight panics and tries to use the rules to get back into the game.
    Of course, like 246G, ATP doesn't show a character at her best or most likeable. Twilight was completely antagonistic and not someone to root for, especially in a game designed for some friendly competition. When you look over the episode, she used the rules to do some really bad things.
    Get Cranky, who did nothing wrong, disqualified for taking a quick nap. Caught Fluttershy taking suggestions from Angel. Dock points from AJ and Dash for taunting each other. Tried to create a new rule in order to penalize Maud and Mud. But the worst thing she did was take advantage of both her knowledge of the rules and Pinkie's lack thereof to bait Pinkie into asking Maud for information within an active category and intentionally get her disqualified so Sunburst can replace her. So why does Twilight’s terrible behavior work much more than Rainbow Dash’s?
    In Greaaat, Dash was completely composed as she bullied her students. Despite an early panic attack, Twilight initially held out hope and tried to coach Pinkie. However, her sanity had already spiraled coming into this moment, especially when Granny read aloud the "Sticks & Stones" category, so she clearly was not in the right mind when she baited PP. DQ’ing Pinkie was the last possible outcome for her, whereas RD’s sour opinions of cheerleading never changed.
      Dash was supposed to teach her students how to cheerlead, but she wanted nothing to do with them and was being less than lazy throughout. From the get-go, she looked for whatever excuse to get out of her classroom, forced them to fend for themselves, and intentionally exacerbated the problem for those who looked forward to making the halftime show as memorable as the tournament itself. OTOH, this episode takes place inside the Hay Burger restaurant. Twilight never had fun the entire time there and became more and more insane as she fell behind. (Notice how her mane's and tail’s neatnesses changed in accordance to her sanity, a nice callback from Lesson Zero.) The stakes here are less weighty than the former.
      Even after her students screwed up, she still couldn’t care less and continued insulting the passion and those who enjoyed it after Yona and Ocellus ran away crying. She didn’t come to her epiphany until Smolder and Snips called her out for it, so her apology didn’t feel contrite until after they re-met and worked hard for the next twelve days. However, despite teaming up with Sunburst, Twilight never got what she wanted. With a goal of maintain a high correct percentage, Sunburst was obsessed to not answer incorrectly and was way more uncooperative than the more innocent Pinkie. All of the humor at her expense during montage #3 works because she completely deserves it. As the climax approached, she remained far behind and nearly got baited into being disqualified herself, only to realize her grave mistake just in time; her remorse is more impactful than Dash’s as a result. Also, this lesson applies much more personally to Twilight here than in Lesson Zero for one crucial reason. The moral of LZ is for the ReMane Five, not her. Here, Twilight is explicitly learning how her freakouts made things miserable to not only herself, but also her teammate and those around her.
    As for the rest:
    When there's an episode light in story as this, it's important to be entertaining throughout. Trivial Pursuit has a load of comedy, but not all of them succeed.

    Like Sparkle's Seven, the animators had a load of fun with facial expressions. Every one of them by Twilight worked very, very well. Probably TOO well. But one specific face failed massively: Pinkie's "TWI-PIE!" face! X__X Pinkie sounds excited and eager to team up with a Twilight. Her overly exaggerated face and how suddenly close up the camera got makes her look as crazy as TS, if not more so. This jump scare is less humorous and more nightmare fuel.

    Other joke-related comments.
    The aftermath of Bulk's brohoof was the funniest of the whole episode.
    I don't need to see a closeup of Pinkie's rumbling tummy along with its gross-sounding growl! X__X
    The audience doesn't need to see a pool of Cranky's drool as he sleeps. Bleh! D:
    Buffalo Man: *hands Twilight a cup of ice*
    Dash's characterization is much better, and her rivalry with Applejack here was funnier and more IC than Compete Crap Clause. Unlike that episode, their competition was contained to the nightclub without getting too insulting, and no one was under the threat of drowning. The best moment between them was AJ not answering the Zap Apple question on time (thanks to Dash's distraction), and on cue:

    @Cwanky makes a fair point about how the Trivia Trot rule book being Twilight's character "in hard copy form." Each rule either aided or hindered her three-peat obsession. These absurd rules are a written extension of both her character and episode arc. However, I share part of what @OptimisticNeighsayer wrote, that it may feel less contrived if other players aside from Twilight used the rules similar to Twi, just to show that using them is a part of the game. In Trivial Pursuit, only Twilight and Sunburst know the rules from front to back. The only rule everyone knows so well is probably the most severe: Asking another team for answer information from within an active category is cheating, and thus you're disqualified.

    As is, the rule book's way to difficult to take seriously in any way, shape, or form. While you have valid anti-cheating rules such as not being allowed to review source material, ones like "no help from pets," "no napping," "no taunting," and "DQ'd players can reassemble into their own team" are way too out there. The book is a blatant plot device. Stuck on the plot? Twilight knows a rule for that!
    Combined with a well-paced story, A Trivial Pursuit brought Season 9 back on track after 2, 4, 6, Greaaat derailed its streak. However, it's weaker than the worst episode of Season 9A, Going to Seed for a big reason: Average for most of the first half, the heartwarming older-younger sister bond between Apple Bloom and Applejack in the second half elevates it. But if the second-worst episode of the season is still good, I'll take it.
  9. Dark Qiviut
    Apple Family Reunion was a rather tame episode in comparison to the wackiness and adventure-esque episodes we've seen throughout the season, and it doesn't disappoint. Most previous Applejack episodes revolved around her being stubborn, but it was a completely different case. Instead, it was her eagerness to make this reunion the best one it can be. But sometimes, when you try too hard to make things grander, you run the risk of screwing up. This was one hard lesson Applejack learned after her ideas went horribly wrong one after another with the demolition of the barn being its climax. But she learned that lesson by having everypony teaming together to make things right again. Sometimes, it's not how you start; it's how you finish.
     
    The little things that intrigued me in this episode:
    The pairs of shooting stars in this episode as a symbolic hint to confirm that AJ's/AB's/BM's parents have passed away. While not in the script, it was a great piece of detail to hint it, particularly in a show where its minimum demographic is five to six years old. Death is a very difficult subject to treat right because of its seriousness and deepness. Some family educational shows like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Sesame Street, and Arthur talked about death and handled them both really well. This was a great way to teach it without truly teaching it. Kudos to Sibsy for adding that in.
    The photo album and its memories of the reunion. Granny Smith takes those reunions very seriously and has that passion for everyone in the Apple family to get together, tell stories, or just have quality time when they don't normally have.
    Baby Applejack. Cutest moment in the entire episode. 'Nuff said!
    Babs Seed and Braeburn returning. One of my peeves in this show is characters who have so much potential, only to last one episode only to never return. Like Trixie in episode 5 and Winona and Tank in Episode 3, this is absolutely refreshing to finally see "one-shot" characters returning. Although Braeburn didn't have any lines, it was great to see the close dynamic Babs Seed and Apple Bloom have. Since One Bad Apple, it looks like the two have become rather closer, and that reminds me of my closeness with my cousins.
    Applejack's desire to have the best Apple family reunion. She wanted it to be grand, wonderful, exciting, and memorable for all the right reasons. She has a little bit of Rarity in her, for she wants to give to those and mean nothing except wanting to deliver the best to those she adores.
    Nods of previous episodes, like the gold edible glitter (ala One Bad Apple) and the lightning electrocuting Applejack (ala The Last Roundup).
    How sometimes being simple can create even bigger and better memories, and that's completely true. When you try to do something a little bit more complicated, you run the risk of having things go awry or making lives inadvertently miserable. We saw this in the obstacle course, quilt-making, apple fritters, and the fruit bats aiming at one of the characters' hats.
    Getting the chance to make amends. Applejack wasn't willing to let the reunion end on a sour note, so she and the rest of the family were able to team up and rebuild it. But rather than having everyone do so miserably, they showed their pride, heritage, passion, and love for each other as a big family. And they built it all the while having a great time. It was a bit difficult, but they got the job done just in time.
    Raise This Barn. For the first time, Applejack starred in a song, and as a result, we got to see Ashleigh Ball show what — she's — made — of— whoops, wrong song. Raise This Barn was an excellent tribute to the excellent Square Dance music and dancing itself from in the past. All the while, it's got a little distinct charm and style that makes it unique to the show, Applejack, and the dedicated roots of the Apple family.
    My most favorite moment: How Granny said getting the whole family together is getting more difficult and how many of them may not be able to attend the next one. I think this somewhat hints the age of not only herself, but some of her relatives who grew up with her. Life isn't eternal, and Granny Smith, Aunt Applesauce, and Apple Rose know this. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if those words were partially responsible for Applejack to attempt to make this reunion grander: If it was the last reunion for some of her own generation, make it the best and most memorable it can be.

    It's a completely different pace, but Apple Family Reunion did a really great job nonetheless. Great music. Fantastic animation. Nice nods to Applejack's parents. And an overall fine episode.
     
     
    Source: S03:E08 - Apple Family Reunion
  10. Dark Qiviut
    Between Dark and Dawn marks the next chapter for the goal from the premiere: Celestia and Luna will retire, so the RM7 will take their place when they're ready. Capping the first half with this episode fits with the arc to a T, especially with the sprinkling of continuity throughout the season thus far. The fact that Gail Simone, one of the best comic writers, was invited to write the first Royal Sister episode of the show fits the grand nature of what S9 has felt for the past several episodes. If you're going to wrap it up, do it while on top.
    Season 9A is the most consistently good half of the series: Over half of the first eleven were great, and what wasn't great was still good. Between Dark and Dawn increases the percentage of great episodes, and it's the third-best episode of Season 9, only behind both Sparkle's Seven and The Last Crusade.
    So why is it so great? Time to break it down!
    LO-FUCKING-L!
    I know little of Simone's comic writing, but according to Voice of Reason in his latest At the Screening, she has really excellent comedic timing. Well, easy to see why: BD&D's littered with hysterical moments throughout. Some of the best are the following:
    You know what's coming!
       
    Y'said what everybrony was thinking. Celestia could've been involved everywhere, and they went with a simple trespass of Tank's hungry great-great-great-great-great grandfather.  
    While Luna and Celestia went on vacation for the first time in forever, several ponies reacted really hilariously. Three favorites include one stallion (Fond Feather) fainting as they walked by, one mare taking a selfie while Celly naps on her head, and a stallion backing away from them in the post office (a scene that I'll get to later). And it's easy to see why. They're the most famous ponies in all of Equestria, yet spend almost their whole lives cooped up in Canterlot Castle. So once you pass them when you least expect it…well, can y'blame 'em?!
    Dash incredulously asking why the swanifying ceremony was so important.
    In addition, this episode has a plethora of really goofy faces, taking full advantage of the cartoony medium. The fact that a very famous writer agreed to write for an episode and the overall absurd tone accompanying it gave the crew ample opportunity to go for it wherever. If I go through a lot of them, I'd be overloading slower browsers with all the pictures… Oh, what the hell!
    Y'know y'screwed up when Pinkie's cross. Feelin' a wee giddy there, I presume?
    Not feelin' the Aloha spirit, I guess.
    This episode is loaded with detail, and this tiny one is no exception. Celestia glaring at the goofed-up face of herself. Luna fighting off fits of laughter. The sculptor not having any clue about his screw-up.
    Luna doesn't like the thrills. That said, wait for that Luna face again.
    Goth Celestia? How amusing.


    Ruling a kingdom ain't easy, whether it's for celebrating the agency of swans or manipulating position of the sun and moon. That FACE is Twilight at her most exasperated.
    Of course, the funniest of them all.
    Recall Luna's face while riding Flim and Flam's roller coaster? That face comes back again, only this time with Celestia's excitement.
    With all these faces, it's easy to see how much fun the storyboarders and animators had with these scenes. But even with all of them, they don't ruin the moment when it gets serious or turn gross. They push and toe the point of being uncanny without crossing that imaginary border. Each time they make that face, it's laugh-out-load hilarious. The little scores and voices help time them, too.
    More to come later.
    Swanversion of expectations.
    One big strength of FIM that doesn't get much credit anymore is its ability to subvert expectations to the audience. Back in Season 1, the show built a reputation of flipping clichés on their head, such as making the prince a vain jackass, a female unicorn who works beyond the call of duty to deliver the best quality possible, or a realistic approach to sisterhood conflict. How does this episode do this? Via swans. Stereotyped as elegant and gracious, the swans here are not presented this way at all. They're impatient, and temperamental, and aggressive, all with enough agency to make the RM7 know their place. When they found out who was leading the gala, they honked crossly at them. These moat-wandering, spoiled, Pony version of castle gators commanded respect; when things didn't go their way, they let Twi and friends have it. Celestia knew it, and while they were on vacation, they have every reason to count on them to solve it without their help.
    Fancy seeing you here!
    As Twilight helps run Equestria while Celestia and Luna vacation, the first main thing they must accomplish is hosting the Swanifying Gala. But little did Twilight know that Fancy Pants (welcome back!), Jet Set, and Upper Crust would be there to help out. Granted, it was very dumb of her to reject their help without observing Celestia's scroll of instructions, yet this isn't purely her fault here. No one warned her that someone would come to assist her. For all she knew, they entered unannounced and had no idea how to help set it up. This was Twilight's first taste of how to run and eventually understanding how no one pony can run an important royal event, much less a kingdom, alone. Leaders need help.
    Some rudeness aside, Fancy Pants was quite reasonable, and his sternness was completely justified.
    Neither he nor his aristocratic clients entered Canterlot Castle because they felt like it. They're familiar with the Swanifying Gala and lead the Royal Swanifying Committee. He knows how it works, and with Upper and Jet helping him, they can delegate for the gala so it can all be finished on time. Twilight turning them away surprised them and implicated that they know more that they do. However, their disorganization setting up the gala meant ignoring other critical points of government. By falling back, they can't help negotiate a deal with the street sweepers and help the carpenters complete their own jobs. So why does this matter to Fancy? Canterlot trusts him; Celestia wouldn't hire him to lead the committee for no reason. Everyone there — even down to the swans, who are promised watercress — are his constituents. By getting involved and lending his voice to those more unfortunate than him, their complaints amplify. Fancy makes sure they are heard and the RM7 listen. Plus, as head of the committee, the gala adheres to specific formal standards. With his experience, he can accurately judge if it holds up to it or not and mandate changes if they don't. The tablecloth decorations clearly don't, so Rarity had to delegate someone else to help her. When they realized what to do, he lets his monocle down and trusts them to finish the job. While this may not be as entertaining as the A-plot, it's important, nevertheless. This is the first time they run a kingdom together, so this was good practice. Hiccups aside, they prove their worth for now.
    The AliTeam!
    But the meat of the story is Celestia and Luna. Now, this ain't the first time they shared a humongous portion of an episode. A Royal Problem dealt with long-standing friction between them, but for almost the entire 22-minute run, they acted like they hated each other, making up only after Starlight nearly scarred herself with a massive nightmare. Secondly, Starlight was the main character, not them. Most of it was in her point of view or sympathetic toward hers. Eight and a half seasons in, but FIM finally wrote them co-leading an episode.
    In addition, this was A Royal Problem written much, much better. How? Instead of making them forget how much they loved each other, they loved each other both in the beginning and at the end. Their fight slowly progressed, crescendoing at their private picnic, without degrading them. The many moments throughout the episode not only showed their relationship, but added touches to their characters. Going over milestones one by one.
    For long-time watchers like myself, the criticism of Celestia and Luna being inactive, whether via capture or not appearing at all, makes some level of sense, especially during the Chaos Theory and Cosmo arcs and movie. This episode, self-aware, pokes a little clever fun at itself, setting the tone of both the episode as well as their relationship. Even though they're major beings in Equestria, they're still sisters. Each time they "helped" was always as a team. This shot — as they exchange eye contact and hold hooves — reminds us in a very funny, over-the-top manner. Unless you read the comics, the show rarely explored them as a sibling bond and individual characters. Often they appear as royal heads only. That all changed with this one scene: How is this important? This is the first time the audience ever watched them act like actual sisters throughout a scene. They may be wearing regalia, but they're not behaving like royalty here. A tight connection between them is revealed, and nowhere nearly as muted as their hoof-holding during Slice of Life's moral recitation. Reading to bow their hair, they share immense excitement for the upcoming trip and offer grand ideas to share their moments together.

    That said, the episode subtly lays the groundwork for their eventual fight. They disagree with how to spend that time on vacation, and it's easy to see their perspectives. Just like the Fifty Shades series, Princess Celestia's day shift is SOOOOOOOO boring! On the other hand, Luna spends all night settling nightmares and other forms of dreams so they can sleep. So adventuring and relaxation, respectively, would be welcoming changes to their routines. But most importantly, Luna says this: Here, doubt clouds above them, potentially leading to an argument. However, just like the Angry Swans, Between Dark and Dawn subverts expectations once again, cutting off the idea to make way for a compromise. When it's possible to introduce disagreement (i.e., Celestia's uncertainty toward the Hawaiian shirts and forgetting to warn Luna of the snack's awful flavor), they go back to being caring sisters once more.
    "Lotta Little Things" is one of the best songs of the series. Similar in tone to The Smile Song, its happy jingle bounces off the sisters' hooves and into the viewer's mind, and the catchy lyrics accentuate its giddy tone. Also, the animation in two of the sequences is creative. Aside from the clever Easter Eggs (yes, I know about Capper, and Wicked's an awesome musical! ), by making the ground round like a globe, it reinforces the jolly mood of the song and shows how far they traveled to do those activities.

    Beyond just the great lyrics, it also subtly advances their conflict.

    At the start, they cooperate and have a world of fun together, and several of the shots are adorable! Celestia at Not-Toys-R-Us cuddling with all the humongous plushies as Luna giggles, Luna fails to create the illusion of holding onto the Great Horseshoe, Luna giggling at the Celestia & Luna sculpture shown earlier, Luna playing the banjo (with some of the most imaginative rhyming since Stop the Bats), and especially Celly and Luna huddling as Jack Pot and Big Bucks perform. <3

    However, after the second chorus, they start subtly disagreeing more. Still seeking thrills, Celestia looks for more adventure. But Lethargic Luna is exhausted and wants to take a break. From that point forward, they begin to disagree on what "fun" is, like Celestia getting bored watching Wicked, Luna nearly dying from fright swimming with sharks and barreling down Neighagra Falls. The last lyrics succinctly point out this change in tone.
     
    The post office scene is one of the best of the entire episode. Beyond the zipline, this really showcases the vast difference of opinion of fun. Celestia's so used to it, but as stated in episode, Luna's traditionally asleep at night, so she never experiences it, so what's mundane to Celly excites her like a little filly. And this scene is loaded with comedy spots and the most adorable Luna has ever been.
    Luna prancing like a little filly while waiting. (Awwwwwww! )

    A stallion slowly backing away from the line in surprise.
    DERPY as cute as ever!
    Luna wiggling her eyebrows at Celestia and singing "Wait for it…!".
    Bored, Celestia takes out her pocketwatch as the secondhand ticks.
    The whimsical "du-d-du" as she mails her postcard (which has their cutie marks on the written side!).
    "It's about the PROCESS!" Now who trusts the process more, her or 76ers fans?
    In addition to Luna at her most adorkable, it created a clever transition to make both of them stop seeing eye to eye and getting more and more angry at each other. They wanted to have fun, but with their sister there, the whole vacation was less joyful and more chore-ful. Their tug of war and ripping the bucket list in half symbolically marked the point where they stopped compromising with each other and quit enjoying being in each others' company.

    Their picnic scene was the major boiling point. The moment Simone built up over the first two-thirds. Luna's accusation was childish, but the episode shows us several moments to understand where she's coming from, such as taking part in more extreme events late in the song, getting extremely upset at her makeup being ruined, and then being forced to leave an opera in the middle of a performance. What did Celestia do? Shout and use the Canterlot voice in her face. So it's completely believable of her to feel unwanted.

    However, what she also did was accuse of her of believing Celestia wants nothing to do with her at all, and despite the huge disagreement with each other, she clearly doesn't want her to stay sealed in the moon. Celestia wants to enjoy life and not feel cooped up in the castle. But because their anger feels so raw, emotion dominates logic.

    Also, because that anger feels so down to earth, it's hard to watch. Compared to their fight from A Royal Problem, it wasn't petty. However, unlike Twilight and the gang from The Mean 6, they don't immediately make up. Spending several long hours alone, they're deservedly reminded of how much they need each other. Canterlot isn't complete with one Royal Sister.
    But as the fight shows the hardships of sisterhood, the late-night scene at the mountain proves they still love each other. Luna reminiscing the times Celestia taught her to watch the stars to search for the lucky ones allowed the story and characters themselves to close the conflict without rushing. They talked to each other, expressed why they felt the way they felt, and became a closer unit.

    Does this warm you?



    …I'll take that as a yes.

    Between Dark and Dawn is a phenomenal addition to FIM's growing lineup of great episodes. Great humor, great characterization, and great heart. Whether it's the B-Plot of The RM7 struggling to run a gala at the most inopportune time to Celestia and Luna distancing themselves and later reuniting, there's a lot to unpack and love. The little details add extra shape to the atmosphere and story, like ponies fainting or taking a selfie upon seeing them or Luna teasing Celestia in the post office, and help improve a good episode into a great one.
  12. Dark Qiviut
    From 1982 to 1994, Bob Ross produced thirty-one television series based on alla prima, a method that allows painters to paint wet paint on top of each other, particularly thin paint over thicker oil paint. At the start of each show, the canvas will look blank or dull, mostly a white canvas (a black canvas at times). Less than thirty minutes later, Ross paints a beautiful masterpiece. But for him, there needed to be a start. This is the review for the biography of Bob Ross, called Bob Ross: The Happy Painter.
     
    A Brief Background
    This biography describes Bob Ross's early life in his homeland of Florida. He was born on October 29, 1942, his father named Jack and his mother name Ollie in Daytona Beach, a small city in Florida at the time. But he grew up mostly in the Orlando area, and he eventually had a half-brother, Jim, after Ollie and Jack divorced. Life for Ross during his younger years was very difficult, according to the PBS-sponsored biography; the family wasn't very wealthy at all, and he had a lot of trouble keeping up the schoolwork as a result.
     
     
     
     
     
    When Ross said he spent nearly half of his life in the military, he really did. At the age of eighteen, Ross joined the Air Force. During his first brief marriage, he had a son, Steve, and would eventually gain custody of him. During a day "in January" (Series 8, Episode 13), 20-year-old Ross and Steve were transfered to Alaska where he "worked as a medical base technician" in Fairbanks. While in Alaska, he met what would be his second wife, Jane, who was a civiian worker there.
     
    To make ends meet, Ross worked as a bartender. In addition, he started to paint traditionally. Utilizing the atmosphere in Alaska that would eventually become his most used subject in Joy of Painting, Ross would paint traditionally on any material he could find, such as kettles and pots, and sell them in the bar.
     
    Then while working there, the bar switched to a public television station, and an episode similar to this came up:
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTcBlM3ZVGQ
     
    The instructor in that clip is Bill Alexander, a former World War II veteran on the German side turned painter. Alexander hosted The Magic of Oil Painting, a television painting series that would go on and win an Emmy Award. The method Alexander taught on his show was the wet-on-wet technique. This was the method Bob Ross was looking for, because it would allow him to put up all of his ideas onto the canvas before they escape. And for several years, Bob Ross would actually be an art instructor for Alexander's Magic Art Company.
     
    People Interviewed
    During the biography, plenty of people interviewed, discussed personal experiences with Bob Ross, and shared their admiration for him. Examples include Annette Kowalski (one of the people responsible for running The Joy of Painting and more famous for painting florals), a cameraman named Richard Collins, and his former sister-in-law named Nancy Cox.
     
    Each person interviewed discussed Bob's life, and their stories were briefly yet beautifully told. There feelings were sincere, poignant, and praiseful towards the late painter.
     
    Why It's Great?
    This would not be a review without describing why it is so fantastic. And while I am a huge Bob Ross fan and painter during my free time, this biography is tremendous for several reasons.
     
    1. So many sincere stories are told. Each person interviewed described their joy for the show, especially the people behind the scenes. Annette and Walt Kowalski told stories about Ross throughout most of the biography, such as how she and Ross met and their introduction changed their lives forever. It was not just Kowalski's stories that were told, but also former WIPB station manager, Jim Needham. WIPB was the public television station in Muncie, Indiana, where Ross hosted The Joy of Painting from 1983 to 1994 (Series 2 to 31).
     
    By the way, if you ever go onto the Bob Ross website, you will notice that the series on DVD and the How-To books are only sold from Series 2 to 31. This biography tells viewers why clearly and simply, and there are two (or three, if you want to) REALLY good reasons.
     
    2. So many secrets regarding the production of the show and Bob's life are revealed here. Some secrets are short, while some are described step by step. Some examples include the method of putting the paintings from the television show into the How-To books, the all-black studio, (in the beginning) how Ross loss a digit of his left index finger, his afro, and how Ross eventually created his own product line. These pieces never became long-winded, allowing the biography to flow from one point to another without becoming jarring to the viewer.
     
     
     
     
     
    3. Stories regarding Ross were not the only ones told. Actors, hosts of other shows (Phil Donahue particularly), and other Bob Ross Instructors described their feelings on the wet-on-wet technique. One of them admitted to being absolutely frightened as he was using the signature palette knife on the canvas for the first time.
     
    These stories are also what Ross and his friends felt was the biggest purpose for The Joy of Painting: the instant success as a painter. These purposes strike me as a painter who utilizes this very same method in both acrylics and oils. Ross felt that anybody could paint, and his moral was mentioned several times in the biography and clips from the show. This moral is personal for all ages, and it was said and demonstrated simply. The narrator even mentioned the criticisms surrounding the user-friendly technique at one point.
     
     
     
    4. The music fits, too. Often, music is playing in the background, especially when the main narrator is talking. The music is soft and gentle, in character of Ross's soothing voice. When it was happy, it became upbeat. During rough or sad situations, the music slowed down. The music was a crucial addition that helped convey targeted moods in the biography.
     
    5. Lastly, the story itself was beautiful. The biography tells the long, beautiful story of Bob Ross and how he affected so many lives. Ross and his show influenced millions of people in the U.S. and around the world. His tranquil voice is so iconic that the Japanese did not translate his words. With The Joy of Painting celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year, the biography represents the history of Ross's life along with the influence The Joy of Painting has on people. So the biography has a slight personal tone towards JoP fans like myself.
     
    Conclusion
    Bob Ross: The Happy Painter celebrates the life of the legendary painter. Born in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1942, he underwent hardships as an adolescent. But while working in the Air Force, his twelve years in Alaska mesmerized him and allowed him to turn into a world of painting. After discovering The Magic of Oil Painting and Bill Alexander, he became an art instructor and eventually went on to become on of the most well-known television artists in the world. Ross has been a gigantic influence for millions of people since his show went on the airwaves in 1982. Although Ross passed away from lymphoma on Independence Day, 1995, he still lives on in The Joy of Painting and fans alike. On behalf of the Bob Ross fanbase, happy painting, and God Bless.
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-uG7ozgiRI
  14. Dark Qiviut
    I wrote this back when it was leaked, and my impressions remain the same. Check 'em out below.
     
    ———
     
    What I liked:
    Fantastic animation. The lighting and shadowing were great, giving the characters depth and atmosphere mood.
    Excellent AppleDash chemistry. Not shipping, but their friendship and friendly rivalry played off each other. Chemistry at its finest.
    AJ, your story's actually SCARY. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
    Good use of continuity. No true results, but at least the box wasn't left hanging unlike the rushed, lamebrain Twilicorn concept from last season. Hopefully, they don't drop the ball on it unlike last season.
    Adorkable Twilight, but reigned in with more confidence, intelligence, and maturity. (Still, great for humor, bad for proving her worth as an alicorn princess. More development of her is needed to get passed this stage. She can't be like this forever.)
    Twilight can fly well, hopefully ending the lazy retcon.
    Stunt > Consequences > Resolution. Rarity got in over her head via her greed, scared the shit outta herself, and tore a piece of the precious royal tapestry.
    It was just one hilarious Scooby-Doo parody. The ponies being so scared and running around like that gave me plenty of laughter.
    Unlike Princess Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie wasn't a random dumbbell. She had purpose and a bit more intelligence to go with her randomness.
    Nicely done callback from Lesson Zero.
    Equal screentime for all of the characters, minus Pinkie. Angel's still a lovable dick.
    The pacing is factually better in here. One of the premiere's biggest problems (and why PTS isn't so objectively good) is the pacing, forcing McCarthy to rush her plot development and insert contrived logic and plot devices. Here, there is a small DEM, but unlike Too Many Pinkie Pies, it fit the scope of the old castle and didn't really impact the plot so much.
    Good cliffhanger. Now I wonder how it'll impact Season 4…if it will.

    What I don't like:
    Lay off the Spikabuse, pleeeeeeeeaaaase!
    VERY predictable outcome. With Pinkie absent this whole time, it was obvious she was the master of the pipe organ. If the pony playing it was someone else (like Celestia, Luna, or a true ghost), then that'd be a good twist.
    Fluttershy was caring for Angel, but still behaved like a rather gigantic scaredy-cat. (This case, though, it's somewhat justified given the circumstances.)
    Twilight showing VERY SLOW development as an alicorn princess. She was funny, but keeps proving how pointless her ascension is so far. I already linked what kind of development Twilight should ger to prove her worth.

    Altogether, I currently really like it, and it's so far a MUCH better episode than PTS. A good debut episode for Josh Haber. ^__^
     
    ———
     
    Source: S04:E03 - Castle Mane-ia
  15. Dark Qiviut
    That was my immediate impression upon watching CSC via this status, but I'll comment a bit more.
     

    To be very honest, the fact that the feels are really subdued until the end is really one of the biggest strengths of this episode. It takes the concept of mourning and gives it a really refreshing twist without feeling too clichéd. Yes, we still see the characters feeling very sad about the Golden Oak Library, and it was great about how they didn't ignore it while not getting that sappy. Not just Twilight's feelings, but her friends', too. They're just as much a part of life as Twilight, making the Library a part of their home, too. It was also rather good how they noticed the problem without being humiliated before Twilight as a result. Having Spike comment about it and distract Twilight was all needed.
     
    But a few problems that I noticed.
    Applejack actually pouring soil in Twilight's castle. There's a certain proportion of suspension of disbelief in Western cartoons, and FIM is no exception. But the idea of her actually pouring soil on top of the cold floor feels way too stupid. It would've been better if there were flowerpots filled with flowers and plants instead. The intent is great, but it felt very out of place.
    The end "echo" joke at the end of Act 2 sucked. The co-writers went with a specific mood that Twilight would feel sad over having the house not be like home, and Fluttershy et al. had a reason to feel sad. But the second "echo" joke was very out of place and completely killed the mood.
    While the pacing at the end was fine, the middle felt pretty slow. It kept on going with the ReMane Five conflicting, and having them repeat "clutter" all the time hammers the point too much. Once is fine. Twice is pushing it. Saying the same word over and over again is being blunt and obnoxious. Kids aren't stupid; they know synonyms of the word.
    Continuity references also got heavy. Everyone here already knows how much the episode depends on continuity. Without it, the characters don't grow. But when they piled on all those references in Act 3, it starts getting weighty at best and relied on at worst. Continuity as a bit more than a cherry is better by keeping it more subtle. Having Twilight mourn in her own way is an excellent reinforcement of continuity without hammering it in.

    To describe another strength to balance the brief negativity out, Spike was really on point here, easily his best role since Simple Ways. While Twilight wanted to come home, he did a great job acting as a foil, providing excuse after excuse to distract her and keep the ReMane Five busy. The comedy he was a part in worked, too, yet didn't have him suffer too much from Bulk Biceps*. Nice to see him be involved while keeping his childlike essence and not degrade him to comedic idiot that victimized him for most of last season. Kudos for the new co-writers for giving him a sense of dignity and not ignoring his crush on Rarity.
     
    Currently, a pretty nice start. Act 3 did a nice job resolving. There are flaws that hurt it somewhat, but not so much that kills CSC entirely. It's nowhere close to the high quality of The Cutie Map, but it does its job.
     
    *Having him be a masseuse really works for him, and it's good to not see him act like the idiot presented from Rainbow Falls. May his character never degrade that badly again!
     

     
    Source: S05:E03 - Castle Sweet Castle
  16. Dark Qiviut
    One very big pet peeve in candies is the artificial favoring of fruit, especially cherries.
     
    Cherries have a very bold, fruity flavor. Best when firm and really juicy. The ones I prefer tend to have the sharp tartness once you bite in it. This morning, I ate a bag of cherries as my breakfast.
     
    But I didn't grow up on cherries. The only "cherry" flavor I ever got was through candy or soda.
     
    Most of the time, when I eat candy and have a bite of the cherry flavor, I don't get this:
     

     
    Instead, I taste something like this:
     

     
    These candies painted a very negative picture on me ever eating cherries until I decided to try them a few months ago.
     
    IMO, only Pepto Bismol and NyQuil taste worse than "cherry-flavored" candy.
  17. Dark Qiviut
    Unlike my other reviews for the longer fan-animations and official episodes/movie, this will be short for the newest fan-animation, Children of the Night.
     
    This is amazing work. With Snowdrop and Double Rainboom, two works that demonstrate the creativity and passion bronies have in their craft, published, Children of the Night was another highly anticipated short musical clip, and it was really worth the wait.
     
    For one, it's very well-sung. Luna's singing voice is a bit different compared to her dialogue one since Luna Eclipse, but it fits her pre-sealed personality very well. The animation shots really highlight the mood of tranquil cultism. "Come, Little Children," which is based of the original song from Disney's Hocus Pocus, was paid great tribute and given so much respect for, yet altered a bit to give it a FIM-like feel. Instead of a feel from harmony to hell, she has a feel from hell to harmony. It has a cult-like feeling, but one where Luna actually feels she's doing something right, and the Children of the Night have the philosophy that Luna truly wants to aid the kingdom. It's a biased form of storytelling from one of the children who falls victim to Stockholm Syndrome, but that intro really clues everyone what the feel of the musical number will be like, preparing them what comes next.
     
    There's also one little detail that caught my eye: the Fausticorn statue where a tear dripped down her muzzle. It's an obvious brony shoutout, but it blends in and feels extremely organic. That little detail sends the message of sorrow and division between the two Royal Princesses and foreshadows what Luna was going to do next, really enhancing the mood and story.
     
    This team spent about a year developing this clip, and it was year well spent. Very well done!
  18. Dark Qiviut
    Note: Credit goes to @Cwanky for this review.

    For the first time, FIM brings back a celebrity guest: Patton Oswalt. When I first watched Stranger Than Fan Fiction, I panned the character he voiced (Quibble Pants), calling him a stereotype of superfans and for being so dumb to think he's still near the Daring Do convention despite being in a radically different climate. Upon reflection, he's nowhere nearly as bad as I claimed. Holding onto the idiot ball in Act 2 is a big flaw in the episode, but he's no stereotype. Yes, he can be obnoxious, but he cares for the product. (Thank Fame & Misfuckton for helping me change my mind.)
    Common Ground pushes forward new ground (pun unintentional ) for Quibble Pants in my favorite role of him so far. From the get-go, he fails to hide a inferiority complex, screwing up basic buckball knowledge and sports puns. But the second Clear Sky and Wind Sprint arrive, he shows a side from him we never see before: a devotion to his girlfriend and her daughter. For the first time all series, FIM tackles stepparenting, specifically the development of one. Haber marvelously intertwines his façade and desire to make the relationship work, notably to impress Wind Sprint and get her to like and appreciate him. And it's in their introductory scene do we see how important Quibble is to their dynamic, notably when Wind tries to sneak into the buckball stadium.
    Quibble planned the trip, both to the museum and stadium. Regardless of his knowledge, he knows Wind like sports and to play them. The Hall of Fame in Appleoosa is a mark of excellence for Equestria's growing sport and foreshadows both her talent in athletic competition and love for her biological father (back to this point later). He researches his material and tries to apply the resources he has to make her happy, which becomes more evident by buying that humongous buckball almanac for her. Unfortunately, his effort ends up deflating her and further exposes him as a try-too-hard to Wind.
    By pleading for help, Q shows that he's at his wit's end. He wants WS to like him, but no matter how much he tries, she only ends up detesting him more. Self-confidence from STFF was replaced with desperation and a cry for help. In a brief eye-to-eye, Clear Sky reminds him how he doesn't have to try too hard to get her to like him, further alluding the idea that he tried to impress her many times before. Planning this trip was likely his final shot. Luckily, Dash was there, and she's one of Equestria's most athletic ponies, so it can't be all bad…can it?
    Ummmmm…
    All of this leads to the episode's biggest flaw: the pitch scene. Wind Sprint's extremely skilled in buckball, perhaps better than Flutters, Pinkie, and Snails. Unfortunately, Quibble isn't, so there's a huge difference, even though Team Ponyville eased their skills to make things more fair. Seeing him so lost on the pitch means he fails so easily, and that sometimes makes it rather hard to watch. That said, it's a billion times tamer than Spike being forced to sing the Cloudesdale Anthem, which makes him out to be both Spike and SA dumb enough to assume Cloudesdale lost and let him take the mic, respectively. And Quibble actually not only tried to be better, but successfully bucks into his own net (and calls out a vaguely-written rule in the almanac, so he may suck on the field, but understands some of the game's basics from the outside).
    But we can't talk about Quibble without Dash, Wind, and Clear.
    Outside of Complete Crap Clause, Rainbow Dash has been on fire, and CG's no exception. After a poor start three seasons ago, they're now friends, and it shows through their exchanges early. When Q stumbled or screwed up sports phrases, she got confused or corrected him. But when he pleaded for help, she immediately accepted the offer. Why is she outstanding? Because it balances her flaws with her strengths. To describe what I mean:
    She believed everypony has a sporty side in some way. Through Operation: Sportify, she worked tirelessly with him (once with Snips's help). Sadly, not everyone is so athletic. But when she couldn't find it immediately, she planned to have him and family work together as a team so he can work with WS. However, shoving him under the spotlight in front of tens of thousands of passionate fans wasn't the wisest decision, albeit with good intentions.
      Her speed, athleticism, and agility come naturally for her. So when she shows off how well she can turn the corners while flying, she quips: A little conceited? Perhaps. Then again, she's so skilled that what she does is normal, so when others can't, it's a surprise. But the episode cleverly juxtaposes this, displaying an understanding that he can't do all, so she starts small with plans to train him once he improves. All day, what does she do? Help train him. She wants him to improve, even by the lightest amount, and help him unite with Wind.
    But her biggest testament to her character comes after Wind rejects his efforts and runs away from the pitch. As he disappointingly rummages through her present, she tries to regain his confidence by assuring him of other sporty ideas to help his athleticism. After finally letting his frustrations out and (on assumption) getting ready to quit his relationship with Clear, she offers him her best advice so far:
    Short, sweet, and to the point.
    Wind Spirit, the little filly in the episode, adds so much to the episode. When she doesn't say much, she shows her disappointment and disdain for him. Take a look at the first few seconds.
    On first impressions, she looks like a little brat who's spoiled and with very specific tastes. The Hall of Fame museum bores her due to lack of action, preferring the tournament instead. But Clear Sky calls her out for misbehaving, only to eventually have Dash agree with her (cutting herself off after Q glared at her). Once inside the museum, the episode raises the stakes instantaneously, beginning with Q's confusion of sports and ending with this:
    From this point forward, the episode has a very clear goal: get Wind to like him.
    But take a look at Q's first line, which says her biological dad was athletic. Two things come out of it:
    With her father being athletic and really into sports like her, Quibble is left out of the loop. She sees him as a stranger, because he isn't what her dad was like and that he tries too hard to be like her dad that he comes off as phony. Hence her glares and sarcastic "thanks." Her dad isn't there anymore. Usually, when someone's referred to in past tense, they're telling us they passed away or sometimes divorced. From the way he speaks of her, she's not happy that he's the opposite of who her dad was and doesn't appreciate him. Later moments, including her disappointment of him when he got stuck in a buckball basket, learning he bought her a book, and Quibble trying to impress her, add more into the conflict.

    Compared to Pear Butter and Bright Mac, we don't know his fate, and Patton Oswalt said on "Conan" prior that Clear and her husband (likely) divorced. But aside from past tense, two points hint his passing: Wind reminiscing of him while talking to Dash and Clear showing how much she still loves him. But when Q's not nearby, Wind's attitude changes. After Dash meets her, she gets so excited and loves how well she can fly. Throughout the day, she's really happy to just be with Clear and watch the matches from the stands…only to scowl the second he returns from training. Despite exciting her with an offer, she doesn't hide her feelings for him before turning to Pinkie and FS glowingly:
    Recall what this episode is about: He's trying to get her to like him by making her believe there's more to them than what she truly sees. He doesn't understands sport or look sporty, but he can be and will prove it. But the harder he tries to hide his insecurities, the more she'll repel from him. By hiding behind an obvious façade, he's disrespecting her. Consequently, she justifiably insults him for being phony.
    Her limit's finally pushed after Quibble scores an own goal and tries to argue otherwise so they keep playing:
    Thanks to his plan and screwing up so poorly, it's not fun playing on the field with him or Snips. If playing it wasn't fun, then what's the point of going to it in the first place?
    This leads me to the episode's glue, Clear Sky. With Quibble Pants and Wind Sprint eccentric and rather cartoony, a mellow head like her's necessary to balance the cast, and Haber handles her so well. Clear Sky adores Quibble Pants for being kind, smart, selfless, and hard-working. When they show disagreement, she keeps them all in check, such as Clear reminding Wind to appreciate his efforts to bring them all to the HoF. Instead of one-dimensionalizing her role, Common Ground rounds her by reassuring Quibble when he's down and unconditionally supporting Wind.
    Her best moment occurs near the end after Wind and Q's relationship all but fell apart permanently.
    Wind's spirit was at her lowest all episode, her dislike towards him devolving towards bitterness. She wasn't simply disappointed in having him as a stepdad, but embarrassed, too. She's proud to be the daughter of an athletic dad, but he isn't around anymore, and now her new "dad" is an un-sporty pretender. The dialogue underlined my me, though, is the key to not only the exchange, but the evolution of her and Quibble's relationship. To echo @Cwanky, Wind misses her dad, wishes to have him around, and the episode doesn't look her down for it at all. Fear She fears Quibble will not only replace his dad physically, but in memory, too. Those memories of him hold dearly to her, and the prospect of Clear's new relationship with Q forcing her to throw them all away kills her. She doesn't want that.
    Neither does Clear. From her motherly reply, she still loves him just as much as Wind Sprint and would never trade that away at all. After all, her relationship with him led her to mother Wind, who her husband resembles a lot of in her eyes. But that doesn't mean she can't love another stallion, even if he and Wind's dad share nothing in common. She loves him because he loves those around her and wants to make things right for her and her daughter. At no point does she want Wind to assume Q will treat her or her memories of Dad as an afterthought, and she doesn't want Wind to believe her fears are silly. They're not. By treating her fears seriously, the episode treats those who relate to her dilemma the same. Wind's experiences and feelings parallel those in real life, and Clear's words of comfort allow her to heed her own fears, grieve, and potentially welcome a really sweet stallion who deserves another chance.
    This episode also mirrors plenty from what happened to the Oswalts, too. In 2016, Patton's first wife Michelle McNamara died in her sleep, leaving him and her daughter Alice (Wind's voice) behind. One year later, he married Michelle Salenger (Clear's voice), who posted this little tear-jerking recording of herself and Alice for this episode. Reading and watching what happened behind the scenes (including this chain from Big Jim) really helps me appreciate this new classic.
    On the surface, it's a "be yourself" moral, but in reality, it's more than that. Besides not letting your own fears create a barrier from welcoming people to your family, don't pretend to know a passion in order to feel like you're a part of one. Dash was the Mane 8 featured, but she didn't have to learn the lesson. This was Quibble's episode, and his actions worsened the divide and threatened his relationship with Clear. To fix it, he had to own up to it to WS and work together to resolve their tense conflict.
    Bittersweet it is, leaving the ending more open than traditional's the right call. Wind's wounds ran deep, so her bitterness won't disappear immediately. That almanac (a great callback to his love for Daring Do) foreshadowed that slow mending of their relationship. He may not physically play buckball, but became unknowingly knowledgeable of it from reading it and absorbing the analytics. As a result, Wind read it for herself, understood Team Ponyville's patterns, and realizes that by reading together, they can learn from each other and bond off the field. Now, do they have more to go? 100%. But with Clear supporting them, they're on the right track.

    ^ If this ending doesn't warm the cockles of your heart, I don't know what will.
    I can write more about it, but I'll leave it here. Common Ground's a fantastic episode and will go down as one of FIM's best.
  19. Dark Qiviut
    As I'm in the middle of juggling between writing a review for Series 17 of Thomas & Friends and developing notes for a Railway Series/Thomas & Friends fanfic adaptation of FIM, my review won't be so long.
     
    Current strengths and various likes:
    The nerdy moment Twilight and Dash had as they explained various moments and scenes of the Daring Do canon cracked me up (and Pinkie following it clearly was a clever touch). As an out nerd, I've been on both ends of the spectrum (in in graphic design and FL9 diesels, out in bus specifications). Funny, yet extremely relatable. Best moment in the episode and so in character of them both.
    Dash fangirling Daring Do was something I could really see her do. Since Read It and Weep, you could tell how close Dash was paying attention to the series as well as all of the details surrounding the DD canon. The little winks of her knowledge and fanaticism from Spike at Your Service were quite nice and reflected the continuity of the series.
    Twilight actually uses her teleportation spell. Must be a holiday today.
    Another nice wink of the Indiana Jones series in the form of the Western map.
    It shows a connection fandom and creator has from here to others. Fandom is passionate, crazy, and wild. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. We've seen that so much in so many fandoms, namely sports fanbases like college football, baseball, ice hockey, and soccer.
     
    Likewise, the same applies to the people who authorize the canon. Creators and writers (both official and fan) do owe their fans. Without fans, there's no fandom, no popularity, no fame, and (for the pros) no money. Rowling wouldn't have been a billionaire if Scholastic didn't entice the public and help create the gigantic Harry Potter fandom. Besides the gigantic TV revenue that's scheduled to begin in 2014 (about $1.5 billion from ESPN, TBS, and FOX altogether per year), one of the biggest reasons baseball players get millions of dollars is because fans pay a bunch of dough to sit and watch their favorite teams and players play (and if you're a market like LA; St. Louis; New York; and Boston, win).
    "My mind is officially blown!" Obviously, Twilight.
    I like how Fluttershy called out her friends for suggesting to help Daring Do.
    Great animation, and the fighting sequences had nice action, humor, and tension. The fights were fast, yet paced well, and there was plenty of foreshadowing to the climax.
    Conceptually, it was a breath of fresh air as far as Dash-centered episodes are concerned. While previous ones focused on her ego and sensitivity, this one focused Dash about how much she wants to put it aside and aid her idol. It was a change of pace for Dash and felt both in character and real for her.
    Daring teasing Ahuizotl Owee-whoever-name-is and Dash's reaction were hilarious.

    Current weaknesses:
    Some parts of the episode when there was no fighting felt rather quick. Not so much to disturb the plot (and seriously, the pace here is objectively better than Keep Calm and Flutter On), but enough to miss the plot points and confuse the viewers.
    Dash played the fangirl too long. While she was shown a powerful lesson by inadvertently getting in Daring Do's way, she made up for it. And to be fair, she did think about what Twilight said to her as she followed her, talking back and forth about joining her idol and then doing the best she can to knock herself out cold after realizing she was behaving stupidly.
    Up till the end, pretty much every pony minus Pinkie was in on the action. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack were background ponies for the first sixteen minutes of Daring Don't. It would've been better if Dash, Twilight, and Pinkie were the lone characters of the Mane Six in this episode.
    Daring Do was based on Indiana Jones, who welcomed help if needed (according to my research). While it backs up the book Dash read in RIaW (as well as her secret identity and distant location), DD, however, behaved similar to Batman and felt out of character as far as the source material is concerned.
    *rolls eyes at hearing the Wilhelm Scream*

    Overall, impressive work. Definitely my most favorite Polsky episode and quite possibly his best one in quality.
     
    P.S.: By the way…
     
    ———
     
     
    Source: S04:E04 - Daring Don't
  20. Dark Qiviut
    Foreword: This is a rewrite of my old review. To see the old review, click to this blog (locked from commentating).
     
    After a three-episode stretch that focused on the continuity to the letter, Episode 4 took a break in the form of "Daring Don't." Written by Dave Polsky, Dash anticipates the new Daring Do book to be released, only to be delayed. This leads Dash and her friends on a cluttered, unrealistic, and contrived journey.
     
    Strengths and various likes:
    The nerdy moment Twilight and Dash had as they explained various moments and scenes of the Daring Do canon cracked me up (and Pinkie following it clearly was a clever touch). As an out nerd, I've been on both ends of the spectrum (in in graphic design and FL9 diesels, out in bus specifications). Funny, yet extremely relatable. Best moment in the episode and so in character of them both.
    Dash gushing over Daring Do was something I could really see her do. Since Read It and Weep, you could tell how close Dash was paying attention to the series as well as all of the details surrounding the DD canon. The little winks of her knowledge and fanaticism from Spike at Your Service were quite nice and reflected the continuity of the series.
    Twilight actually uses her teleportation spell. Must be a holiday.
    Another nice wink of the Indiana Jones series in the form of the Western map.
    It paraphrases a connection fandom and creator has from here to others. Fandom is passionate, crazy, and wild. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. We've seen that so much in so many fandoms, namely sports fanbases like college football, baseball, ice hockey, and soccer.
     
    Likewise, the same applies to the people who authorize the canon. Creators and writers (both official and fan) do owe their fans. Without fans, there's no fandom, no popularity, no fame, and (for the pros) no money. Rowling wouldn't have been a billionaire if Scholastic didn't entice the public and help create the gigantic Harry Potter fandom. Besides the gigantic TV revenue that's scheduled to begin in 2014 (about $1.5 billion from ESPN, TBS, and FOX altogether per year), one of the biggest reasons baseball players get millions of dollars is because fans pay a bunch of dough to sit and watch their favorite teams and players play (and if you're a market like LA; St. Louis; New York; and Boston, win).
    "My mind is officially blown!" Obviously, Twilight.
    Great animation, and the fighting sequences had nice action, humor, and tension. The fights were fast, yet paced well, and there was plenty of foreshadowing to the climax.
    Conceptually, it was a breath of fresh air as far as Dash-centered episodes are concerned. While previous ones focused on her ego and sensitivity, this one focused Dash about how much she wants to put it aside and aid her idol. It was a change of pace for Dash and felt both in character and real for her.
    Daring teasing Ahuizotl Owee-whoever-name-is and Dash's reaction were hilarious.

    ---
     
    Weaknesses:
    Some parts of the episode when there was no fighting felt rather quick. Not so much to disturb the plot (and seriously, the pace here is objectively better than Keep Calm and Flutter On), but enough to miss the plot points and confuse the viewers.
    Dash played the fangirl too long. While she was shown a powerful lesson by inadvertently getting in Daring Do's way, she made up for it. And to be fair, she did think about what Twilight said to her as she followed her, talking back and forth about joining her idol and then doing the best she can to knock herself out cold after realizing she was behaving stupidly.
    Up till the end, pretty much every pony minus Pinkie was in on the action. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack were background ponies for the first sixteen minutes of Daring Don't. It would've been better if Dash, Twilight, and Pinkie were the lone characters of the Mane Six in this episode.
    Daring Do was based on Indiana Jones, who welcomed help if needed (according to my research). While it backs up the book Dash read in RIaW (as well as her secret identity and remote location), DD, however, behaved similar to Batman and was out of character as far as the source material is concerned.
    *rolls eyes at hearing the Wilhelm Scream*
    The idea of Daring Do and her adventures being real and happening in a remote area in Equestria is contrived. It's just given to us, and the characters immediately believed it (despite the showing of how the books appeared to be written as "fiction").
     
    Moreover, why didn't Yearling/Do try to smash the ring before Ahuizotl's henchmen showed up? And why were those rings so heavy, when Do was capable of carrying one big ring prior? There were plenty of inconsistencies as far as the plotting was concerned.

    Overall, below-average to poor quality work. Definitely my most favorite Polsky episode, but Too Many Pinkie Pies is still his best in quality, and this is tied with (or worse than) Princess Twilight Sparkle (both halves) for the weakest episode this season.
     
    P.S.: By the way…
     
    ———
     
     
    Source: S04:E04 - Daring Don't
  21. Dark Qiviut
    Note: Expanded from my forum post. Credits to comments by @BornAgainBrony, @Truffles, and @Ittoni for the review.
    This whole episode is packed with lots of smaller details, which on rewatch go a long way. One of the first instances is this exchange between AK and her former fans.
    At first, it looks like a throwaway line that Groom Q.Q. Martingale threw in there. But in the beginning of Act 2, that concerned filly returns to her book signing, where we see more of this exchange:
    During my rewatch of the saga last month, I assumed it referred to kicking away the wild cats, one of them a housecat, during Daring Don't. But those weren’t accidents; she tried to defend herself. Despite her initial denial, she finally admitted to not only accidentally kicking a puppy, but didn’t put it in any of her books.
    Why does this small exchange matter?
    The Daring Do Series is a series of autobiographical events, but because she’s trying to sell stories to children as well, she sanitizes, alters, and omits things that might disinterest or repulse the audience. She edits each book to make the stories more sellable and sells the books as fiction. For a long time, that tactic worked; each "character" has become memorable, and there's a huge Daring Do fandom out there. Now it's starting to backfire. It opens the door for the possibility of more laying beneath to the whole Daring Do saga. Remember, the series is written in third-person limited perspective, every adventure in Daring’s point of view. Groom Q.Q. Martingale's opens that point of view, painting her stories in a more negative light while still making sense. More importantly, Caballeron’s response becomes more credible to the general audience. Yes, he’s scheming to steal the Truth Talisman of Tonatiuh, but because of the editing of her own book, she opens things up for him to explain his own side and sprinkle truths both big and small that she didn’t tell. As omissions and inaccuracies big and small add up, doubt clouds the Daring fanbase's head, which Fluttershy and the little filly represent. Innocuous details like the flower being the wrong color now implicate she has something to hide. During that exchange, Dash busts back in to warn A.K. that Caballeron is bringing Fluttershy along to Tenochtitlan. During the frantic warning, she looks around to see if anyone was around (not seeing the filly), just to see if no one is sneaking around. Like Dash herself, A.K. Yealing forgets about the child, revealing her original identity as Daring Do to the filly's shock and delight. Despite the growing scandal, some ponies still idolize her and want to grow up to be just like her.
    Another one comes in Fluttershy's first scene in the Tenochtitlan Basin. Notice his twinkling highlights and small smile as she tames Ahuizotl's jungle cats. For the first time all series, he shows sincere appreciation for someone other than himself. Usually greedy and selfish, he watched firsthand how much someone's selflessness and unconditional caring mattered. He brought her over to trick her; despite carrying that trickery throughout, his plan began to both crack and evolve.
    Yet, that crack didn't quite begin there. After Caballeron scolded at Rogue for almost poisoning himself, what does she do? Take out her traveling picnic with apple juice to Caballeron's surprise and share her lunch with them out of appreciation. Rather than snub her, he and his henchponies accept her generosity. Had this not happen, Caballeron's appreciation for Fluttershy from that point forward won't make sense.
    From the very beginning, Fluttershy was convinced that there's more to the Daring Do saga than what A.K. Yearling told through her books, even though she witnessed Caballeron and Ahuizotl firsthand commit bad actions. Talking personally with Caballeron while in the bookstore only made her more curious. So, was she gullible and naive? Absolutely. However, her naivety is much more believable compared to buying a too-good-to-be-true rag doll from Flim and Flam during Best Gift Ever, and one key moment shows she isn't that gullible:
    This indicates awareness of the events and an expectancy of Caballeron to try to explain the problem. So how does he respond? With a plausible alibi surrounding a museum that closed down from lack of funds. Daring's long history of storing many sacred artifacts on her shelves, destroying temples older than the Royal Sisters, and thus the homes of many animals (something she cares about deeply) also invited questions on her behalf. While she listened to and questioned him, he explained his lies while remaining grounded to Equestrian reality, and his book while under Martingale has enough credentials to sway many ex-fans. Additionally, she was very well aware throughout that Martingale was Caballeron, talked to him as if he was Caballeron, and never reacted at all when he reveals his identity to her.
    Also, Fluttershy never wavers her unconditional kindness regardless of any circumstance. During the entire expedition, she stayed true to her embodied Element of Harmony and exemplified it wherever she went. In each scene, Caballeron and his gang slowly show appreciation for it, both subtly and obviously. Beyond the examples from above:
    At the closure of the first expedition scene, Biff, Rogue, and Withers smile in thanks for Fluttershy. At the base outside of Tonatiuh's pyramid, Caballeron yells at Biff for suggesting to take a shortcut, and Biff feels disrespected by him despite being second-in-command. Fluttershy reassures him that he will and she believes in him (which happens inside the central room). Once they reach the top, Withers relaxes under shade, unaware that he was under an active, dangerous flyder hive. Instinctively, she whispers to stay still and called the flyders away for just a moment so he can escape. Again, Dr. C smiles appreciatively.

    On an unrelated note, Tonatiuh is the Aztec god of the sun, and the only way to enter his temple is to place a sacred relic in a pedestal once the sun reaches its apex. If intentional, clever tie-in to its mythology. Inside the temple, Caballeron tricks Fluttershy to getting the Truth Talisman of Tonatiuh (I'll get back to it in a sec), and once she retrieves it, lava spurts out. Previously, Caballeron and his henchmen were somewhat cowardly and only went after the treasure. If something bad was going to happen, they'd leave it behind. That doesn't happen here. Instead, they instinctively knock down a totem pole, and Caballeron rescues Fluttershy from certain death. Again, they didn't have to do this, but they chose to rescue her and save her. Yes, they retrieved the talisman, but because of her kindness, they returned the favor.
    Fluttershy's naivety in this scene, however, is problematic in two areas:
    Throughout almost all of Daring Doubt, Dr. Caballeron was very competent. However, his use of false despair to convince Fluttershy to fly up and steal Tonatiuh's talisman wasn't convincing whatsoever and lazy. By falling for his bad acting, she crosses from being just gullible into becoming dumb. Fluttershy reveals to having no idea that Caballeron planned to trick her the whole time. If Fluttershy knew beforehand he was scheming yet went along, it subverts the idea that she was too gullible, instead showing she knew what she was doing. OTOH, it also makes her really reckless, implicating she knows Caballeron poorly acted, yet helped him steal the talisman and put her own life at risk. Right after he reveals to lie to her, he soon reveals that he valued her kindness and friendship, a smaller subversion in and of itself and downplays unneeded drama, but it also lessens the weight of his small change of heart. Caballeron revealing his lie through the Truth Talisman could've gone either way with varying implications. The canonical path, as stated before, shows her unconditional kindness, especially after her ignorance towards Angel's needs fueled the conflict, but it made her look way too naïve and made his eventual understanding of FS's kindness at the end feel too lucky. OTOH, had Fluttershy showed controlled kindness, then you risk repeating the unfortunate implications of controlling Discord's channels of communication in the form of "kindness" from Keep Calm. Personally, I prefer the innocent path here, but it could've showed a more nuanced degree of taking elements from both.
    Now to focus on the other side, Rainbow Dash was written much better here compared to 2, 4, 6, Greaaat. To echo @BornAgainBrony, Daring Doubt is a shining example of giving Dash negative traits without making her out of character or miserable. Yes, her rush to judgment was written in the wrong, but at no point does Dubuc demonize her for her black-and-white "good guy, bad guy" assumptions. With the allotted time given to her, Dubuc rightfully justifies her prejudices.
    Daring Do and Rainbow Dash are both very good friends and better confidants. Whenever she's about to publish something new, she delivers a copy to her two weeks in advance. The entire main crew, especially Dash, is trusted by her to keep her identity a secret.

    BTW: >RM6 out her in Fame & Misfortune
    >episode retcons the journal again

    Not the first episode to handwave this atrocity's existence!
    As a result of Daring and Dash trust each other, they exchange information and secrets. If something goes wrong, Daring knows Dash will be there to try to help. Here, that's exactly what happened.

    When Dash first sees Groom Q.Q. Martingale, she immediately recognizes him as Caballeron despite a much more complicated disguise, an immediate improvement of Daring Done. Watching Fluttershy buy into Caballeron's story was a major shock; she has every right to be upset and urgently warn Daring about what he was after and why he manipulated her like that.
    No one can argue how abrasive and pushy she was here. But Caballeron began yet another scheme, decided to tag someone along to unknowingly help him retrieve the Truth Talisman to get rich quick, and took her to a temple with very dangerous traps (one in which FS got caught in minutes later). Her worries are perfectly justified. Imagine if Fluttershy got hurt — she wouldn't forgive herself for not interfering sooner!
    Once Caballeron admitted through the talisman that he lied, she got right in his face, as any good friend would. But then he admits through it his and his henchmen's gratitude for Fluttershy's kindness and generosity, Dash's edge immediately dissipates:
    Ditto.
    Speaking of lines, the dialogue during the escape (especially those influenced by the truth teller) was top notch, and some of the lines were really, really funny. Some of the best are:
    Caballeron fighting with the talisman, finally relenting to reveal he still held onto Lapis-Lux's diamond. Clever, clever. Perfect timing to sneak in a clever "Day" Off callback, eh?
    Now, let's talk about the thorn peaking out from the pond.

    Ahuizotl has earned a reputation in the Daring Do books as one of the most memorable villains within the fanbase. In reality, both he and Daring have been massive archenemies, even though Dr. C's an even bigger one. Several times, he has tried to kill Daring Do in order to prevent her from taking relics throughout the Basin. In Daring Don't, he searched for ones himself — the Rings of Scorchero — to trap Tenochtitlan Basin in a massive heatwave, only for Daring and her friends to foil his plan. One of her latest books involved Ahuizotl heading to Somnambula to separate the Doomed Diadem of Xilati from the Tiara of Teotlale (a.k.a., the Sister Crown Relics), and Daring raced the clock to steal it back and return it home before a cursed night was cast over the land and Somnambula was sunk beneath the sand.
    Daring Doubt shifts things a bit, at first accusing Daring of getting by his jungle cat army and then attempting to steal Tonatiuh's talisman, even though he has no idea that Caballeron and Fluttershy are inside. After they escape, we don't see him again, but once we do, he's furious. Not just an evil furious. He was at his angriest throughout the show's history. Despite his history as a villain, who can blame him. It was safe and secure, and from his reaction, he clearly did NOT want it stolen.
    And he shows the knowledge of Tonatiuh's temple by waiting for them at the main exit, and his anger really takes over. He wanted to retrieve that talisman and play no games, going so far as to cornering them in a dead end and ramming into it, threatening to hurt them and trap them under the temple rubble until they return it.
    At this point, Daring accidentally gives Fluttershy what may be the solution:
    Think about this. They steal the talisman, and he becomes supremely upset when he catches them. She's the only one astute enough to understand that something was missing, this being why he got so mad, and the only way to solve it was to confront Ahuizotl himself. Dash justifiably assumes that he's "just a bad guy," but FS realizes that the world sometimes operate so one-dimensionally.
    On one hand, Ahuizotl's explanation for being ferocious and violent has some merit, something both @Ittoni and @BornAgainBrony explain in their posts in the episode discussion. Throughout the series, Daring and Caballeron have been taking artifacts throughout Tenochtitlan Basin, and in doing so, many ancient pyramids have been destroyed. Whether it's in the name of profit or protection, they're still stealing from them and displacing them, which each carry massive consequences. Ahuizotl is given charge to protect not only the basin, but also the artifacts of these same ancient beings. For those who watched the series throughout, this explains quite a bit why he and his crew of Aztec ponies searched for those rings, began the ceremony inside the dark tower, and came so close to beginning that heatwave within the basin. If he completed his plan, then neither Daring nor Caballeron would rob the temples again without potentially deadly consequences. Also, I see why the episode establishes him as a guardian in the first place; he's sly, territorial, knowledgeable, and old enough to know every nook and cranny of Tenochtitlan Basin from the back of his three hands. But thanks to Cabby and Daring's rivalry, he's caught in the crossfire and at risk of being replaced; Tonatiuh's talisman being the tip of that sun ray.
    On the other, it overlooks a very specific piece of continuity, which was ironically referenced in Act 1: Why did he travel to Somnambula, allegedly separate the Sister Crown Relics, put hundreds of lives at risk, and cause Daring to go on one of her most dangerous journeys? What made him decide to apparently team up with the Wild Bunch Gang to steal Xilati's diadem from where it belonged? None of this was answered, which it should've. He did many things both in the main and secondary canon that we would consider evil, and this would easily be his worst. Given how Daring Doubt tried to explain his actions and make us at least understand his position, you can argue one of two answers.
    By forcing Daring and Caballeron to go to Somnambula, there's a chance that both of them would get stuck there and sink under the ground, which would keep every relic in Tenochtitlan Basin safe. With them out of the way, he won't have to worry so much about them grave-robbing anymore. Since this plot is about clearing up misunderstandings by listening to others, there's also the likelihood that he was caught in the crossfire. The gang chased her through Somnambula after she retrieved the Doomed Diadem from them and apparently Ahuizotl. Could Ahuizotl have been trying to recover it too, only to be caught in the crossfire? Given how the books are in her perspective, it makes his motives look more sinister than she believed. Theory #2 is more in character to the portrayal of his rivalry with Daring and Daring Doubt's dismantling of Daring's limited perspective of the journeys. But without a clear answer, we can only guess what truly happened and must rely on headcanon to fill in the gaps as well as reviewing little, overlooked details from previous episodes. An episode with this important a moral and with a very gray perspective of humanity must be treated with respect. Is it? I argue yes, but if others don't, I can see why. Ahuizotl's apparent trip to Somnambula may not have been that important in Daring Done, but when observing the arc as a whole, this plot point is now crucial in overall scope. Unfortunately, this resolution fails to deliver any explanation, much less a decent one, creating a massive plot hole in a worldbuilding idea that never fully delivered. Therefore, Daring Doubt doesn't adequately explain why Ahuizotl acted so violent this whole time.
    Fortunately, this episode's resolution isn't completely unsalvageable. Review all of the reformations over the seasons, from Diamond Tiara to Starlight to Sunset. What do they all have in common? In some way or another, they all change their ways, even if their personalities don't. What happens here isn't a true-to-FIM reformation or redemption, which — again — @BornAgainBrony points out well. Nobody agreed to anything other than a truce related to Tenochtitlan Basin. As long as neither of them steal treasures or destroy the temples, Ahuizotl won't come after and threaten them. But that doesn't mean their feud won't continue anywhere else. Daring Do will still hunt for treasure and store them however she can so no one else can destroy or desecrate them, while Caballeron's greed remains (only without one sidekick ). What this episode establishes is how despite being enemies, neither of them truly have any moral high ground. No true good or bad guys exist in the reality of Daring Do; Fluttershy has that wherewithal to deliver an objective perspective to help put them all on the same page and listen to one another.
    Plus, @Truffles points out an important distinction between Ahuizotl's explanations and Garble's reformation from 9A. Throughout the series, DHX established Garble as a petty, stereotypical teenager with a lust to pick on Spike whenever possible, and will threaten anyone if he doesn't get his way. However, Sweet & Smoky tries to introduce a more sensitive side to his personality by being close to his younger sister Smolder, who's more open to his quirks and talents. Thanks to his past actions, his secretive side's hard to sell, even after he opens himself up to save the baby dragons from freezing to death inside their eggshells. Daring Do's triangular feud here lacked that key position of listening from the get-go, and creating a series of limited-perspective books that prop up Daring's status as a hero only invited extra questions about the lore. Until the climax, nobody ever asked Ahuizotl about his behavior before, evident by how taken aback he was to FS's question. Daring's urgent line in trying to figure out an escape route and Fluttershy's awareness created a plausible out for a truce.
    This review, though, won't be complete without praising the ending. How hilarious is it that after trying very hard to avenge his losses over the years, his decision to become a best-selling author himself would be his most successful path. The way he presents himself to the audience makes him credible, and patting his hair as he reads is a nice touch.
    All in all, Daring Doubt dares to deconstruct the world of Daring Do. At times, it works. At times it doesn't. But overall, the good heavily outweighs the bad. I like it a lot, and rough edges aside, it's nicely done. It's a good episode and the best one of the Daring Do arc.
  22. Dark Qiviut
    Normally, because it's a fan animation, I tend to be much more lenient in my comments. However, Zachary Rich helped produce this whole piece (along with 104 other people) with the intent to graduate from Savannah's College of Art and Design. This fan-made episode is out there to prove to everyone that he is ready to work in the professional field. Therefore, I'll review it as if it truly is a professionally published piece.
     
    ———
     
    This is a strong animated piece, with lots of action, characterization, and humor. Rich and crew took what is My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and created something that could fit within the realm of the canon while inserting of their own ideas. What are really strong is the following:
    Without question, the animation is the best part of Double Rainboom. One key component in animation is the fluidity of it, and it was extremely well-done. In some cases, it flowed a little better than some parts of the show and really pushed the boundaries of Adobe Flash, something DHX has been able to do.
    The characterization of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash are, for the most part, IN character, especially given the current timeline, which is somewhere in season two. Twilight retains that adorkable edge while freaking out, getting annoyed at the right moments, and caring at the right time. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, retained that recklessness that she didn't dispel until Wonderbolts Academy. She likes to push herself to the edge, occasionally going too far, and used to fly very recklessly. In Read It and Weep, she flew so wildly, she crashed and broke her wing. Pinkie Pie's antics worked extremely well, retaining that cheery, bubbly confidence that everyone knows so well.
    The pop culture references are abundant, but don't intrude to the story. WeLoveFine, EQD, Toy Story, Harley Quinn, and so on blended right in the piece, and you have to really slow down in order to find it.
    The plot twist was shocking, but made a lot of sense. Whether you love it or hate it, NO one saw that crossover coming. But it was done in a way that works given the fantasy, folklore, and logic the canon provides. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic exploits their zany worldbuilding, but so does The Powerpuff Girls, and a lot of the crew worked on both projects. Lauren Faust, in part, worked as a storyboard artist in Powerpuff Girls, and the simplicity in PPG's characters and atmosphere are noticeable in FIM.
     
    At the same time, Rich and crew carefully researched various theories, especially the idea of exploring and ripping through an inter-dimensional, space-time continuum. There were bits and pieces foreshadowing the crossover, but there was one that, following the interview on Everfree Radio, gave it right away.Twilight's contraption when holding Rainbow Dash back. I remembered seeing it once before when the preview was uploaded on YouTube a few weeks ago, but didn't know where. Rich explained that it came from the Powerpuff Girls episode, Bubblevicious (one of the most popular PPG episodes, by the way), and it rang in my head wondering how I missed that! It was subtle, but very clever.

    [*]There's another part of the professional world of MLP:FIM that shines: the background score. It shines here, too. Andrew Stein (MandoPony) did a splendid job with the music, giving it his flavor, but simultaneously blending in the canon. It's fast when needed, somber when needed, and hilarious when needed. It added so much flavor to Double Rainboom.
    [*]The humor is top-notch and follows the zany roots of both The Powerpuff Girls and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The funniest part is easily Rarity's hairdo becoming Twilight's, scaring away Spike.
    [*]There were plenty of brony references, but almost all of them came during specific moments where it didn't intrude to the plot. The Scootachicken joke belonged, and it was hilarious. Derpy had more secondary screentime than seasons one and three combined, desperately trying to eat her muffin (but couldn't); and you can't help but feel for her. WeLoveFine and EQD were there, but were so subtle and so quick that you couldn't spot them immediately. Berry Punch's brony reference for her alcoholism is there, too, but almost unnoticeable because it was in the background.
    [*]The tones for all of the characters match. The Powerpuff Girls were perfect. Twilight Sparkle, voiced by Rina-chan, closely associated with Strong's voice; and the same is said for Pinkie Pie. The only one that was half-and-half is Rainbow Dash. But despite the different voice, the way it was conveyed (her tone) matched her headstrong reckless character that was prevalent during seasons one and two.
    [*]The crew did a spectacular job portraying the consequences of the double rainboom. It was forceful and damaging. Ponyville was in shambles, as if in the middle of a nuclear explosion. They wanted it to be graphic, and they got it.
    [*]The end credits are akin to one of a Pixar film. Instead of being an afterthought, it's part of the episode, which is a very clever touch.


    But there were also rather noticeable flaws.
    One brony reference was redundant: Snowflake's "YEAH!" Albeit funny, it ate up too much time on the clock.
    Some of the animation look like it was tweened too much. The biggest example is Fluttershy escorting the chickens before Rainbow Dash zoomed by — It was rather choppy.
    Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup's lines were way too simple to display much genuine character. The only moment where the character was displayed was Buttercup's aggression during the fight with the monster.
    The script was to the point, but it was actually too simple. While many of the lines were in character, some didn't have the depth necessary to make the characterization as convincing as it should, especially the Powerpuff Girls'. Better lines from them and more hilarious conversation between the PPGs and Dash (and maybe Professor Utonium, if you want to brainstorm) would provide such great chemistry.
    The explanation for the double rainboom was nonexistant. Where did it come from? It's evident through the script's effects that, if going fast enough to break through the speed of sound AND light, a double rainboom causes a rift in the continuum, landing the individual who's going through it into another dimension. But there was never any history or backstory behind it in the form of the actual script. It came off as extremely abrupt, and we still never got the full details behind them. In other words, given the current writing, it's a glaring plothole.
    Twilight's mere anger following Rainbow Dash's return didn't match. She was worried that Dash would kill herself, and then couldn't find her. She showed absolutely NO relief that Rainbow Dash is back in one piece, just frustration and anger, and it didn't fit her one bit. A combination of both (combined with disappointment) would've been much more in character.
    The deus ex machina, while fitting in the canon and Pinkie's "fourth wall breaking" was stupid! Despite the foreshadowing early in Double Rainboom, there was absolutely NO buildup for it, and it made no sense, even in the context of the letter.
    The letter to Celestia fit: Dash drank the potion without thinking ahead and resulted in some serious consequences. But the letter felt very incomplete and didn't have the right enough polish for it to make it very convincing. (The reference with Pinkie entering through the "FL" door was hilarious, though.)
    The episode is too short and didn't have the balance between Rainbow Dash's hilarious scurrying in Townsville and Twilight's method to get her back to Ponyville. It was exclusively Rainbow Dash's side of the story, and part of the plot suffered from it. Double Rainboom's plot would've been much better if the perspective was more omniscient here, focusing on both Rainbow Dash and Twilight. If the perspective was balanced, then Pinkie Pie's portal traveling wouldn't be such a rough deus ex machina, and Pinkie Pie's inclusion would've made more logical sense.

    In short, Double Rainboom had very great polish in its animation, and there was a lot of heart. There were minute, but very glaring issues in the executions of the PPG's characterization and concepts that bogged down Double Rainboom, so what could've been even greater wasn't. Nevertheless, for a long production, Rich and crew did a marvelous job laying down the groundwork needed for the fandom to come up with future material. He shows that he is ready to go out into the professional world of animation once he graduates, and I can't wait to see what other ideas he has in mind in the future. Very good work!
     
    ———
     
     
    Source: Double Rainboom
  23. Dark Qiviut
    Note: Review expanded from here, and credits to a comment by @BornAgainBrony.

    Back in Sonic Rainboom, Rarity showed her vanity, a big flaw to her character that hadn't been shown before. Was her behavior all that positive? Not at all. However, her position was completely believable. For the first time, we watched her gain recognition and attention outside of her comfort zone; it didn't matter if they were staring at her delicate wings or not. So it's easy to see why that vanity-dominant ego influenced her to join the competition as well.
    In Dragon Dropped, her envy for Gabby replaces her vanity. She enjoyed spending all her time with Spike and felt jealous of Gabby, fearing that she could lose not only it, but Spike's memories of her altogether. A combination of envy and fear of being forgotten drove her into assuming she must go to extreme lengths to retain contact with Spike. Like in SR, Rarity’s bad side here was thoroughly explored while not making her unlikeable or out of character, starting with the small and working hard as she could to retain the status quo. Several moments add up:
    Spike initially overhearing Rarity as he wrote his latest note to Gabby, immediately setting the tone of the entire story. The fact that he kept his newfound friendship with Gabby a secret out of fear himself. No one else doing his jobs as good as he, including collecting the gems from the cave without waking the bats. The first montage (which I'll get to in further detail later). Staring crazily at him! (Blink, and you'll miss it!) Not reacting at all after Gabby broke up with him. But Spike’s broadening horizons by becoming a close friend with Gabby meant he was growing, and his friendships around him were maturing. He spent a lot of time with her and helped her grow into a better pony. But with Gabby now in his life, he can further connect with other species. Like the Dragon Lands, Griffonstone’s reputation isn’t the best; to bring Gabby there helps him understand the decreasing prejudice against dragons and connect with someone on a deeper, more mature level.
    So why would Rarity feel jealous of Gabby anyway?
    Fearing a negative reaction, Spike kept his friendship with Gabby a secret ever since he started communicating with her and pretended it never happened. After Gallus began studying overseas in Ponyville, Gabby began to fly over to Equestria more often, which made it more difficult to keep it under wraps. Pay attention to the initial conversation, and from the visual and audio cues, it looks like it had been building for some time, but the open was the first time she grew really suspicious, because he didn't hear her and admitted to having other plans. Turning down invites was rare, but it looks like it was going to become more common. The montage contained are a few sequences: Spike tasting the best gems, carrying her bags as they leave the shop, and relaxing in the spa together. Throughout those three scenes, we see not only how much they enjoy each other's company, but help and adorn each other, too. Even though Spike carried all those bags, she rescued him as he nearly tripped over a step and waited for him until he could see. My favorite's the spa scene, as Spike enjoyed eating those cucumbers. Juxtaposing perfect scenes from the past with present-day struggles and boredom show us how much she misses Spike. Without his inherent wit and loyalty around, things weren't the same. Watching them enjoy their time while she struggled added extra salt into the wound, especially when Spike ate Gabby's maraschino cherry. In the past, there was implication that Rarity occasionally took advantage of him, and although I disagree strongly with the complaint, scenes like Rarity teasing Spike for wearing a cute, pink apron for the dragon migration witnessing meant they can't be dismissed. For most of the series, their friendship and his unrequited crush were in his point of view. For the first time, we see it in hers. By focusing their friendship on her, we connect to her beyond the surface and focus on how important his presence and friendship meant to HER. Going back on how she felt she took it for granted calls back those criticisms, and Haber very wisely and cleverly responds constructively to them, making her do things she wouldn’t do if it were someone else. Yet, their strong, series-long bond makes those decisions and actions believable, helping us understand where she’s coming from, even when when she does bad.
    And needless to say, she does some very selfish things. Take him along that two-day expedition that only occurs once a year, then a two-day vacation to a Power Ponies convention (Rarity, I've been to BronyCon four times; foot-aching comes with the territory ), and finally a day-long gameplay of O&O. All with complete intention to hogging all the time with Spike away from Gabby and make them forget about each other. She baited him, earned the outcome she wanted, but at the cost of a super-depressed Spike and a Gabby with enormous pain in her heart.
    This is why Twilight's presence in Act 3 matters. She's very close to Spike and never saw him like this before. Something was really wrong, and Rarity inadvertently outed herself as the perpetrator. Twilight's quick-thinking and stern disappointment gave her a major wake-up call, solidifying her own doubts of whether they will truly make up or not (suggested by her to start the third act), and making her realize what a massive jerk she was to them both. Friendships change, but it doesn’t mean the good times will end, and she has no business trying to put in effort to "steal" him away when he wanted to be with others.
    Yeah, like what @BornAgainBrony wrote, this episode is clearly playing on the love triangle plot and Rarity’s feelings for Spike without delving into the “romantic” part that loomed over the show for so long. Bringing in Gabby to the fold and establishing connections between them was a really great way to exploit how much she meant to him and vice-versa. However, unlike Tanks for the Memories’s death allegory, the stakes in this one and Rarity’s action match the predicament and tone Haber is conveying, whether it’s romanticism or friendship.
    Speaking of the connection, how Gabby and Spike began their friendship was a great payoff to a flaw from Fault in Our Cutie Mark. In the former, Twilight’s happy “discovery” of griffons getting cutie marks went unresolved. Haber takes advantage of it, using that hanging plot point to establish their “penpalsmanship.” In their time on screen, they show excellent chemistry.
    Rarity was at her most selfish here, and like Twilight in Trivial Pursuit and Fluttershy & Angel from She Talks, she needed to learn how her awful actions affected those around her. In Sonic Rainboom, her vanity nearly cost her her life, but Dash was the lead. In Sweet & Elite, her selfishness put her at risk of choosing her friends and the Canterlot Elite, only to realize what was right when she finally needed to choose. Here, she witnesses these consequences the hard way and was completely responsible for it. Now that she’s much more mature and developed, she can accept the anger from Gabby and disappointment from Twilight better. Swallowing her pride, apologizing to Gabby and Spike, and letting them go on their own after they make up shows her remorse felt genuine.
    Dragon Dropped is Rarity’s best episode of the show. If it’s her last, a phenomenal conclusion.
  24. Dark Qiviut
    Thomas the Quarry Engine has some easy competition for best S18 episode!
     
    This episode features a rather important element on the old Great Western Railway, the slip coaches. Duck describes exactly what slip coaches are and why they were very useful on the Sunshine Line. What made it clever was the sepia flashback: Instead of HD, it was in SD and sped up to make it look like a genuine tape.
     
    James's role as antagonist works to perfection once more. He remains in character, yet has motives that reflect back to the early bird days on Sodor. Duck's stories bothered him, and he was in over his funnel once more, causing him to plagiarize and really screw up the importance of the slip coach.
     
    There's no Rule of Thirds. After one bad mistake (warned by Duck the night before), Duck was given the coaches.
     
    Speaking of the slip coaches, one element of the series from a long time ago was allowing the coaches to speak even though they didn't have a face. (This was dropped mostly after season two, but Old Slow Coach temporarily revived the idea.) This episode revived the concept of sentient coaches by giving them faces like Annie and Clarabel and the ability to talk. But instead of all females, two of them are male, becoming the first male coaches on the Island. To capture the essence of the RWS, the coaches have a haughty attitude with an old-fashioned tint in their voices. And wonderfully rendered, too, by giving them the maroon and cream colors. A lot of effort was put into them, from the coloring to the mechanics to the actual faces. Hell, there are varying facial figures to separate them beyond just the voice such as the noses.
     
    And since we bronies tend to give characters unofficial names, I agree with halfbaked8: Let's give the slip coaches unofficial names! To start with the trial, how about naming them based on the voice actors?
     
    Coach #1: Jon (VA'd by Jonathan Broadbent)
     
    Coach #2: Becky (VA'd by Rebecca O'Mara)
     
    Coach #3: Steve (VA's by Steven Kynman)
     
    If anyone can think of better names (perhaps ones that fit the context of where Duck, Oliver, Toad, and the RWS coaches ran), do so.
     
    Duck was very in character. He reminisced the good ol' days on the GWR and is proud of it. Because he obviously loved working with them, him saying "cooee" upon seeing them for the first time in years and "slipees" later make plenty of sense. Much more than anyone saying "steamie" as a word of endearment!
     
    There are two morals, one underlying and one blatant: "Don't take credit for anyone else's ideas," and "Don't be too cocky over things unfamiliar to you." But both are so well woven in the context of the narrative, neither become so intrusive. Heck, even Thomas's appearance felt natural because he showed up in places that were natural to his environment: Tidmouth Sheds and Knapford station (towing Annie and Clarabel).
     
    Once more, top-notch comedy: TFC getting his top hat caught by the inner tube, Duck's dry glare to James at Bluffs Cove, "What a bad railway it was," and "fuddy duddy."
     
    Heck, even the cheeky joke with Emily being shut out worked well. To explain the context, about a decade ago, HiT plugged in Emily as part of the eight-train Steam Team to include a lead female character. Unfortunately, Emily was only introduced in Series 7 and hadn't gotten plenty of script time to develop as a character. HiT's decision, though, meant one of the most popular main characters in the show (Duck) got shoved to the sidelines*. Duck only made sporadic appearances in the series afterwards. After Series 12, he didn't make another reappearance until last season (Henry's Hero, The Thomas Way). The comedy is a very obvious tongue-in-cheek piece of fanservice to the Duck/Emily debate, something that's divided the Thomas fandom in some capacity. And even better is how the narrator said nothing; doing so would risk making the comedy act like a mean-spirited attack to the older and newer fans.
     
    *Duck was supposed to be one of the core characters. But HiT meddled because they wanted a strong female role, so they replaced him with Emily instead. From the interview with Sam Barlow:
    One obvious flaw (albeit nitpicky) is the obvious post-production error at Animal Park. When Edward tooted, Thomas's horn came out. Small, but surprising.
     
    Secondly, it'd be better if James whispered to TFC instead of rolling down. That way, it'd be a tad bit more plausible in the approach.
     
    Finally, the pace was a bit slow. Duck and the Slip Coaches lasted eight minutes and forty-five seconds, but it might've been better if it was only seven to seven-and-a-half minutes long just to speed the middle up the sequences a bit.
     
    To go back to the positives and end the review on a high note, after I submitted this review for the Sonic Stadium Message Board, a friend of mine from here PM'd me about the episode, so I'll talk about the first and most obvious moral, and one hundred percent of the credit goes to him for it. The biggest component to this series is how HiT's writers really take railway realism seriously, and Railway Consultant Sam Wilkinson deserves plenty of credit for keeping the team in line most of the time (especially here). Yet, what makes it such a fantastic modern classic is the little extra layer of relatability that added depth to Duck's character. The Great Western Engine has a love for the slip coaches and really wants the Island of Sodor to succeed in running the railway. It's such a genius notion of punctual movement on the railway, and the GWR deserves plenty of credit for it. But for someone as egotistical as James to take credit for Duck's idea and be proud of it, a momentous occasion devolves into absolute disappointment.
     
    And that's the thing. It absolutely sucks to have your genius idea be plagiarized by someone. Sure, James believes he can perform as good as Duck, but seeing how much Duck's memories piss him off, it was great for him to feel like he one-upped someone. Yet, since he has no clue how to operate the slip coaches, he risks making what should be a great way to get everyone's guests at their destinations punctually a first impression disaster. As what my friend said, James's plagiarism of Duck's idea of bringing the slip coaches to Sodor was not only destined to fail, but also be looked down upon if he royally screwed up. Especially since Duck didn't deserve the sorrow. And since Duck is such a relatable character, it can strike anyone who yearn to bring something create hard. This is why James's dish of karma is so great — He deserved it BIG TIME!
     
    So, if you're a big Duck fan and yearn for unique history of the Great Western Railway, you're going to really love this one! Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler's modern classic definitely competes with the pre-HiT episodes and The Railway Series.
  25. Dark Qiviut
    My previous review of Duck and the Slip Coaches was "unofficial" because I wrote it as an essay without formatting it in my journalistic list. This is the official review for the episode. Most of the content remains the same, while others will be altered and added.
     


     
    Duck the Great Western Engine is a character with a tumultuous TV history. Back when he was introduced, he immediately became one of the most popular characters because of his capability to arrive on time while maintaining an extremely loyal, prestigious personality. He treats punctuality on The Fat Controller's railway with immense respect and is proud of being Great Western. He took all the lessons he learned on the GWR and transferred them to the Island of Sodor in Series 2, where he became of its leading characters. But since Series 8, his spotlight was dramatically decreased in favor of focusing on eight core characters. He made his return in Series 17 for the first time since the twelfth series and starred in The Thomas Way. Series 18 makes sure he stays in spotlight, beginning with Andrew Brenner's Duck in the Water and following it with this one, Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler's Duck and the Slip Coaches, an episode so good, it easily competes with Thomas the Quarry Engine for best S18 episode thus far!
     
    Strengths:
    Per the title, this episode features a rather important element on the old Great Western Railway, the slip coaches. Duck describes exactly what slip coaches are and why they were very useful on the Sunshine Line. To paraphrase the link, Wikipedia, and aforementioned episode itself, slip coaches allow the conductors to uncouple the express coach without forcing the train to stop and spend several minutes letting passengers embark and disembark. Back then, railway companies were very competitive, so slip coaches gave them a trump card by continuing the train while leaving the slipped coach behind.
     
    What made it clever was the sepia flashback: Instead of HD, it was in SD, sped up and splotchy occasionally to make it look like a genuine tape along with the clicking sound effect to create the illusion of an old-fashioned recorder. Because of the GWR's mid-Nineteenth-Century history, the creative decision made Duck's flashback much more credible and genuine.
     
    In the very early series, coaches and other rolling stock were sentient whether they had a face or not. Following the second season, almost all rolling stock stopped speaking with few exceptions, especially the express coaches. Old Slow Coach temporarily revived the concept in Series 5 before she was dropped from the lineup, as well. DatSC revived the concept of sentient coaches by giving them faces like Annie and Clarabel — ones of matching color instead of the traditional white "mold" — and the ability to talk. But instead of all females, two of them are male, becoming the first male coaches in the franchise's sixty-nine-year history. To capture the essence of the RWS, the coaches have a haughty attitude with an old-fashioned tint in their voices, hinting to old-time fans they take railway realism seriously. And wonderfully rendered, too, by giving them their trademark chocolate maroon and cream colors. (Quite possibly a tribute to the autocoaches from The Railway Series, perhaps? ) A lot of effort was put into them, from the coloring to the mechanics to the actual faces. Hell, there are varying facial figures to separate them beyond just the voice such as the noses.
     
    And since we bronies tend to give characters unofficial names, I agree with halfbaked8 there: Let's give the slip coaches unofficial names! To start with the trial, how about naming them based on the voice actors?
     
    • Coach #1: Jon (VA'd by Jonathan Broadbent)
     
    • Coach #2: Becky (VA'd by Rebecca O'Mara)
     
    • Coach #3: Steve (VA's by Steven Kynman)
     
    If anyone can think of better names (perhaps ones that fit the context of where Duck, Oliver, Toad, and the RWS coaches ran), do so.
     
    And please, more stories with them in it. They're such a clever idea that only having them appear once would kill their potential.
    James's role as antagonist works to perfection once more. He remains in character, yet has motives reflecting back to the early bird days on Sodor. Over the past several years, James was flanderized into plainly a narcissist when there are other facets in his character like arrogance, importance of doing his job, jealousy, selfishness, and the want to be one step above everyone else.
     
    As one key element revived for the Thomas Renaissance is instilling consequences for doing something stupid and/or dangerous stunts, it makes plenty of sense to fill in James as Duck's foil once again. Like Duck in the Water, he gets really annoyed and does something stupid. Unlike DitW, he really wanted to play a trick on Duck and make himself more important than anyone else. His desire to plagiarize was the catalyst for him to really screw up the importance of the slip coach, and it made plenty of sense from a narrative context.
     
    Unlike the previous episode, there was no repetitious pattern. After one bad mistake (warned by Duck the night before and the very next morning at Bluffs Cove), TFC gave Duck his coaches.
    Speaking of Duck, the good ol' GW tank engine was very in character. He reminisces the good ol' days on the GWR and is proud of it. Since he learned and grew up there, it made plenty of sense to tell stories about his past adventures. Like what I wrote earlier, because slip coaches were important, having the mature Duck pull them makes him a more accomplished tank engine and character altogether. Someone who can talk to other engines and help them learn while succeeding in those jobs himself.
     
    Because the flashback and Kynman's excellent voice acting revealed how much he loved working with them, him saying "cooee" upon seeing them for the first time in apparently decades and "slipees" at Bluffs Cove make plenty of sense. Hell, much more than anyone saying "steamie" as a word of endearment!
    Once more, mostly top-notch comedy. TFC getting his top hat caught by the inner tube was great for the circumstance and broke the serious, weary atmosphere at Knapford. Then you had Duck's dry glare to James and subtle bite in his voice at Bluffs Cove as he explained to Sir Topham Hatt how much he knew these slip coaches. Finally, there's little bits of fanservice with "What a bad railway it was" and "fuddy duddy."
     
    Heck, even the cheeky joke with Emily being shut out worked well the first time around. To explain the context, Series 7 introduced Emily and wasn't given plenty of script time to develop her character. That season, she was written as a secondary character at most except her debut in Emily's New Coaches. When HiT Entertainment bought the rights to the franchise, they decided to create a core of eight leading characters.
     
    From the interview with Sam Barlow:
     Afterwards, Duck was cut out of production and only made sporadic appearances in Series 12. Once the series fully transitioned into CGI, he didn't make another reappearance until last season (Henry's Hero, The Thomas Way). The comedy is a very obvious tongue-in-cheek piece of fanservice to the Duck/Emily debate, something that's divided the Thomas fandom in some capacity. And even better is how the narrator said nothing; doing so would risk making the comedy act like a mean-spirited attack to the older and newer fans.
     
    But pay attention to what I wrote earlier: "worked well the first time around." I'll get back to this later.
    There are two morals in this episode.
     
    The first is blatant: "Don't take credit for anyone else's ideas." Since James stole Duck's innovative concept, he was definitely going to be taught a lesson.
     
    The other is underlying: "Don't be too cocky over things unfamiliar to you." Same logic applies, except James ignored Duck's warnings partially because he got all puffed up in the smokebox.
     
    But both are so well woven in the context of the narrative, neither become so intrusive. Heck, even Thomas's appearance felt natural because he showed up in places that were natural to his environment: Tidmouth Sheds and Knapford station (towing Annie and Clarabel).
     
    After I submitted my last review of this episode to the Sonic Stadium Message Board, a friend of mine from here PM'd me about the episode, so I'll talk about the first moral. Unlike what the brash red engine did to Duck, one hundred percent of the credit goes to him for it. The biggest component to this series is how HiT's writers really take railway realism seriously, and Railway Consultant Sam Wilkinson deserves plenty of credit for keeping the team in line most of the time (especially here). Yet, what makes it such a fantastic modern classic is the extra layer of relatability that added depth to Duck's character. Once more, the Great Western tank engine loves the slip coaches and really wants the Island of Sodor to successfully run the railway. It's such a genius notion of punctual movement on the railway, and the GWR engine deserves plenty of credit for it. But for someone as egotistical as James to steal Duck's idea, take credit for it, and be proud of it, a momentous occasion devolves into absolute disappointment.
     
    And who can blame him? It absolutely sucks to have your genius idea plagiarized by someone. Sure, James believes he can perform as good as Duck, but seeing how much Duck's memories piss him off, it was great for him to feel like he one-upped someone. Yet, since he has no clue how to operate the slip coaches, he risks making what should be a great way to get everyone's guests at their destinations punctually a first impression disaster. As what my friend said, James's plagiarism of Duck's idea of bringing the slip coaches to Sodor was not only destined to fail, but also be looked down upon if he royally screwed up. Especially since Duck didn't deserve the sorrow. And since Duck's such a relatable character, it can strike anyone who yearns to bring something create hard. As a creative person myself and someone who graduated with a Bachelor's in graphic design, the plagiarism affects me, too, without even realizing it. Don't be surprised if anyone else who watched this episode gets this same feeling of anger and hurt.
     
    This is why James's dish of karma is so great — He deserved it BIG TIME!

    Weaknesses:
    Albeit nitpicky, there's the obvious post-production error at Animal Park. When Edward tooted, Thomas's horn came out. Small, but surprising, and it created the moment where I personally got the biggest laugh. XD
    When TFC arrived at Tidmouth Sheds the first time, James rolled down to him to tell him about the slip coaches. Instead of rolling down the tracks like he was in absolute control of himself (despite seeing his driver behind the window), it'd be better if James whispered to TFC. That way, the approach to his crime would become more plausible.
     
    So why aren't I calling it out when they woke up the next morning? Because everyone's awake, you can create the perception that all six engines had their crews already in their cabs.
    One thing about HiT's Thomas stories is how the pacing sometimes gets rather slow and the writer has to pad it to fulfill the runtime because everyone's tallllkiiinng llliiike thiiiss or pausing too much. Although there's no padding, the slow talking made the episode feel a little bit slower, although it isn't so noticeable. Duck and the Slip Coaches lasted eight minutes and forty-five seconds, but it might've been better if it was only seven to seven-and-a-half minutes long just to speed up the middle the sequences a bit.
    I'm talking about this now, for that's the episode's biggest problem.
     
    The first time Emily got shut out, it worked really well because the fanservice can easily be disguised as her being late to the sheds. But the joke happened twice, the other to conclude the story. There, Emily did arrive to the turntable, but before she could get on, Henry raced by and entered the remaining vacant berth, leaving her shut out once more. No matter how much any of you laughed, this joke doesn't work this time. Emily didn't deserve to be shut out the second time because she did absolutely nothing to make the narrative provoke itself into writing it. HiT wrote the joke to continue the gag and please the older audiences. When you segregate the audience, you're not writing fanservice anymore. Instead, you're writing fan pandering, and it's one of the worst ways to do it because the joke's mean-spirited.
     
    I can hear some of the replies now.
     
    a. "You're writing this because Emily was the female character." Regardless if anyone uses this reason, that's a shameful strawman since I didn't mention sexism anywhere here. It's not the fact that it happened to specifically Emily. It's the fact that it happened to anyone. If it was anyone else (besides James, which I'll get to later), I would call it out just as vociferously. Hell, if the joke had Duck arriving first and then Emily swaps his place to conclude the episode, I'll give it the same treatment; perhaps I'll give it stronger criticism because of how much James put him through.
     
    So why am I calling out?
     
    Because it's an empty joke. It's unnecessary. Good jokes need to have proper context. When you write gags just because, then the humor becomes forced. And forced mean-spirited humor is a complete no-no when writing good comedy. If it's mean-spirited, make sure the character deserves it.
     
    b. "It's just a joke." Remember one of Disappearing Diesel's morals?This is actually one of Thomas's biggest problems, both in the show and Railway Series. It has a penchant of teasing other characters via dialogue and narration, whether they deserve it or not. Sometimes, the teasing can get a bit insulting; and even worse, the writing tends to condone it.
     
    Unfortunate implications exist. In my three-part ten best and worst FIM episode list and my grades for FIM media, I came down REALLY hard on episodes with big unfortunate implications like The Crystal Empire, Dragon Quest, and One Bad Apple. Some of the jokes from TtTE back then weren't okay because the context sometimes was too unnecessary regardless of the scale. If it wasn't okay then, it's not okay now, period.
     
    In short, once was fine due to the context. Repeating it made the fanservice too contrived and out of character for the show.
     
    c. "Just ignore them, because they're taking it too seriously." *sigh* No product is safe from criticism. Like it or not, Brenner and crew aren't perfect. In fact, the three worst episodes last season are (in order):
     
    i. Now Now, Charlie! is the worst one last season. The concept of safety on the rails and road is used as a pointless backdrop over Charlie roaming around to find help (when his driver should've alerted a signalman to close traffic and then call the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre there) and the Boy Cries Wolf cliché.
     
    ii. Although it's extremely well-liked, Gordon Runs Dry is objectively terrible. A hole in the boiler is actually extremely dangerous, for it can cause the boiler to warp and possibly explode in the humid heat. Also, cabs have gauges to detect anything funny, and the driver and fireman would've immediately checked Gordon to see where the rock hit him. If it was damaged, Gordon would be shut down to keep the passengers safe. Perfecting Gordon's and Thomas's characterizations didn't save it from being a near-failure.
     
    iii. The Afternoon Tea Express is merely poorly written for its convoluted storytelling, broken continuity, and overreliance on telling instead of showing.
     
    People critique and criticize because they give as much a damn as the people who praise it. They like the show and want to see it do well, too.
     
    Now, is the accusation of Emily being shut out sexist? No. Despite the massive criticism of the show in editorials from a while ago, there's no context to pinpoint sexism, even accidental, and saying otherwise is stupid.
     
    But to say the ending joke isn't mean-spirited is, to put it bluntly, stupid, as well, for the reasons provided. That criticism is very justified. Much more so than the defenses.
     
    BTW, don't dare claim kids won't get it to cover its shortcomings, because you're falling for the "it's for kids" fallacy. A fallacy people in the Thomas fandom (and Sodor Island Forums, the basis for this callout) called out during the Miller era. A fallacy I bluntly called out several months ago. If you're going to call out the same flaws then, do the same during the Thomas Renaissance. Otherwise, the pot calls the kettle black.
     
    d. "How to make it better?" Like what I wrote earlier, make the joke work better contextually. Make the humor karmic. Why not have James wait instead? But before he gets on, Emily puffs onto the turntable and into the vacant berth instead. The joke would work because James was a massive pollution box in the episode, and he suffered the embarrassing consequence of being removed from coach duties. The humor would be karmic because he deserves to not share his spot in the sheds, and it would put the Emily/Duck jest to bed permanently.
     
    Now, despite this long essay, is the end joke that mean-spirited?
     
    Not. Even. Close.
     
    In fact, as a brony, there are many FIM episodes where its quality dropped because the jokes got way too mean-spirited and sometimes made the characters insanely unlikeable.
     
    Which ones?
     
    Well, Dragon Quest, Putting Your Hoof Down, The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, Filli Vanilli (one of season four's worst for this reason), Owl's Well That Ends Well, and Boast Busters.
     
    The worst kind of fan pandering I've seen are the brony references in Equestria Girls, the Grumpy Cat cutie mark in Rarity Takes Manehattan, and — the worst of them all — the Honey Boo Boo bashing in the Celestia Micro comic.
     
    Compared to those, this is nothing, and it doesn't hurt DatSC's quality all that much. But because it's written without provocation and empty, it is a problem nonetheless. Since it happened at the end, it does matter somewhat. As a critic, it'd be really irresponsible to handwave the flaw.

    Duck the Great Western Engine is a very popular character in the Thomas series. Because of his three-dimensional personality, ability to be triumphant, and extreme dedication to TFC's railway, there's a very good reason so. When he and several other popular characters got shafted, it hurt the fanbase, especially since it was confirmed that Emily replaced Duck on the Steam Team. But the last two seasons treated Duck with plenty of respect, and there's a lot of great railway realism to help hone the series back into its roots. It's not perfect, but it's getting there thanks to the whole team and especially Railway Consultant, Sam Wilkinson.
     
    At this point, Duck and the Slip Coaches is a magnificent catalyst to the massive improvements this series has made over the past couple of years. With an innovative idea, a brilliant inclusion to expand the world of railway realism (slip coaches), a great moral, and a very relatable Duck, the flaws aren't close to hurting its quality. If you're a big Duck fan and yearn for unique history of the Great Western Railway, Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler's modern classic is a definite competitor to not only many of the best pre-HiT episodes, but the best Railway Series books, as well!
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