Truffles

4 hours ago, Nyactis Mewcis Catlum said:

Not all of those who have a divorce hate each other, that's why DQ was praising the whole thing. Some divorces do happen simply because the two individuals have completely different lifestyles that aren't sustainable if the two of them stay together while keeping their intimacy. It's a common reason for splits in relationships that is often not depicted in media because drama is more entertaining than amicable separation.

If the two of them are supposed to be a couple who has a child but they live completely separately and the child is still, well, a child, it's an educated guess at worst that the two of them are at the very least no longer together.

True, and I agree with @Dark Qiviut that the themes presented in this episode provide a very positive educational message to kids who are in this situation. I was only questioning whether they were divorced vs. separated because it sounded like it was a fact vs. a supposition that they were divorced instead of separated, and I was wondering if I had somehow missed a hint the episode had dropped that indicated without a doubt divorce over separation.

One thing that's worth mentioning is if they are really divorced, then was there a visitation agreement that was signed? Did the agreement say he was to pick one parent or the other? It would be a very effective reason as to the whole "why he had to make a choice" aspect of the conflict, though I don't recall him ever stating such a thing. If they are divorced and that wasn't part of the agreement, then there's a plothole because (legally) he has no say over who he stays with or how long he gets to visit each of them.

I also agree that whether it's divorce or separation, the child is still saddled with having to deal with the pain of a split family. But to me divorce seems more permanent compared to separation, seeing that all the assets have been divided and visitation rights have been decided. I think it might even give Terramar hope if they were only separated since divorced couples are less likely to get back to together than separated ones, statistically speaking.

I suppose it could be a "permanent separation" - that is, one without an actual legal document and they are "technically" still married with an irreconcilable difference that one prefers to breathe air and the other prefers to breathe water. That would be a pretty big irreconcilable difference, I suppose, lol. Unless one of them was willing to compromise, they couldn't physically live together. Maybe that's the point the episode was trying to make to portray them as effectively divorced even if there is no document stating as such?

4 hours ago, Nyactis Mewcis Catlum said:

It's probably the first time that she's felt truly free and not like an outlier among her species, which is no doubt a problem that bothers her on a consistent basis. For someone to suggest that the place that gave her that freedom is worthy of that criticism, and that could feel like an utter slap to the face to her.

With them being children themselves, and what with Scootaloo's own confirmed lack of support from her own parents as well, it only makes sense that she would cling so tightly onto that (makes sense in a rather heart-wrenching way, at that).

Indeed. While I loved Sweetie's passion over the grove, I admit I have to take a side and agree with Scootaloo in their argument over who had the better reason for liking a place better. For her, it was a matter of overcoming adversity whereas, like you stated, Sweetie Belle's liking it was just a matter of personal opinion.

5 hours ago, StitchandMLPlover said:

no Hippogriff seems pissed at Twilight at all for stealing the pearl. They almost treat her like a god in this.

I'm sure Twilight worked it all out between herself and the hippogriffs/seaponies after the events of the movie. Even the end of the movie seemed to imply there were no hard feelings. Also her status as a princess no doubt raises her popularity among these species just like it does for ponies.

All the same, did anyone else besides me notice how nervous Twilight became and how quickly she changed the subject and left when Terramar explained the necklaces, especially the part about the pearl? lol. While some of that was because of how much of a hurry she was in to do her research, I still got this vibe she didn't want to stick around to hear questions from the CMC or Terramar along the lines of, "Hey, didn't you try to steal that?" XD   (Actually, I wish the episode had done that joke in retrospect.)

Anyway, I loved this episode. I liked how they handled the divorce subtext without directly referencing it, and I liked how it tied the problem Terramar and the CMC were having with the decision of where to live to Twilight being forced to make the same decision over which event she should attend. This shows kids that even adults like Twilight can get caught in the middle of a conflict between two groups/parents who live separately.

I am a bit confused over the whole "are they divorced" thing. @Dark Qiviut states they in fact are divorced, but I didn't get that impression. Divorce is a legal matter, and I don't see why they would need to get a legalized divorce just because one of them wanted to return to Mt. Aris and the other didn't. But maybe there's been info from DHX that says they are divorced? Were there scenes I missed where one or both of them had taken new partners? I dunno. I can see them as separated, but only for the reasons of them preferring a different lifestyle and not because they hate each other. In fact, they seem downright chummy with one another. It was interesting they left that particular revelation hanging for most of the episode before finally having them meet.

To expand on this a bit, I actually thought the task for the CMC was going to be to solve the problem of the two groups living apart in general, and not just for Terramar specifically. I suppose there is a bit of a hint by the groups coming together to celebrate at the very end that they may have indeed done some of that work. In that way, this episode feels a bit like "Over a Barrel," though there was a lot more animosity there due to the sharing of resources vs. this just being a difference of wanting to live a particular lifestyle.

I like the name "Terramar" - it's literally the combination of the words for "land" and "sea" and ties in with the conflict perfectly.

It seems young characters have a knack for creating friendship problems instead of fixing them. The CMC can join Spike in making the problem worse before having it fixed. And like with Spike having to do nothing because Ember and Thorax did it for him, I have to agree as some have said that it feels like Twilight really solved the problem with her suggestion than the CMC themselves. I was a bit surprised the CMC's relationship broke down so quickly with Apple Bloom stuck in the middle, (which was another nod to the troubles with divorce and kids) but I can see how passionately Sweetie and Scoots felt about each place. It kind of reminds me of some of the debates over MLP episodes, though, lol.

I guess like @AlexanderThrondI am also a little confused over why Terramar felt like he had to choose between his two parents. His existing plan of going between the two of them seemed to be working and in the end the solution was to simply change nothing. Unlike some families, it's not like his parents live great distances apart, and switching between the two forms doesn't exact any penalty on his health. Maybe if the episode spent some time showing us why this wasn't working it would have made more sense, but then that wouldn't have been a solution, only a compromise to a bad situation and a real downer.

But the episode gets points for not forcing the parents to make a sacrifice and decide they just need to tough it out and live together. That's not realistic in real life so taking a more realistic approach was welcome. (Though I can see why some who watch the show for escape might not like this.)

The episode also gets big points for giddy twirling Sweetie Belle and overjoyed swimming Scootaloo. I could feel their happiness for finding a place they felt they could really belong. Barring some other change in these characters, I think we've seen where these two will go to live after they decide to retire, lol.

I liked the song a lot. Hopefully we'll get more good songs this season after a bit of a downtrend last season (Pear Butter's and Rumble's songs being the only two I found outstanding.)

Also, Sweetie Belle forgot to mention one big negative about living in Seaquestria: You have to swim around in your own toilet! XD (Like, where do they go to the bathroom, anyway? And it's not like it will ever stay in one place after they do it!)

I have to wonder what "salmon juice" is. Supposedly, the hippogriffs love to eat the stuff and implies they are omnivores. It's not that big of a deal, I suppose, since Fluttershy had no problems killing fish for her ferret friends; but it is interesting that we got a mention of a food that seems to have a meat component to it.

So, if I limit my rankings to just the episodes that have officially aired, this one is the best of them all - so far. In coming weeks it will get pushed down to at least 3rd place since the two I did watch I liked better. =)

On 4/15/2018 at 12:21 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

Coming into the scene, the tone was very relaxed with many jokes and doesn't take itself so seriously. When you allow the script to let her hair flow free, then you can play around the boundaries and push for jokes, whether it's visual, cartoony, or vocal. Your audience becomes more receptive of jokes when there isn't much drama.

I guess this is why I felt I couldn't really get upset with this particular scene until taking the time to separate it out from the rest of the episode so it would stand as its own isolated event. The episode as a whole was very light in tone, even with the ever-present urgency over getting to the rollercoaster in time. It still causes me to raise my eyebrow a bit, because employees really shouldn't have to put up with that kind of attention from customers. But if there's a lesson to be learned about being vocal over this scene is one should be careful about picking and choosing their battles, and I agree with you that the scene in the context of the whole episode doesn't rise to the level of garnering a lot of controversy.

On 4/15/2018 at 7:49 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

First, just before everyone leaves for the trip, Applejack tells Rainbow that "I made a list to help you keep the grandmares out of trouble". But has Applejack actually chaperoned them on any of their trips before?

I kind of doubt she has. In "Viva Las Pegasus," the impression I got from her in that episode was that she had never been to that city because of its decadent nature, and Big Mac has been the one being the chaperone for the grandmas all this time. Since she has likely never done this, she must have come up with the rules on her own, perhaps due to stories told by Big Mac upon his return from previous outings with them. Or, perhaps she's been a chaperone to Granny Smith, just not for outings to Las Pegasus.

Heh, I wonder who got the better deal - RD or AJ? RD certainly did want to ride that rollercoaster, but AJ most certainly did not want to have to go to Las Pegasus. By roping RD into it (before she could find another pony to take her class) she managed to avoid a trip to a place she dislikes.

On 4/15/2018 at 7:49 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Despite this, though, Applejack put the fear into God into Rainbow, implying that straying from the rules will result not just in repercussions with Applejack herself, but would also result in everyone having to go home and Rainbow's missing her only chance to ride the Wild Blue Yonder. So I don't really blame Rainbow for being overly strict with Applejack's vaguely-written rules. And I'm glad that ultimately, the Gold Horseshoe Gals seem to understand that Rainbow's being a "wet hen" was a result of enforcing Applejack's overly restrictive rules.

This is why I put so much of the blame for what happened on Applejack. If she had been less strict - or ironically, more vague/generic about what was allowed and what wasn't - Rainbow Dash would have let the GHG's go off and do their own things. Between the initial scenes with AJ emphasizing to RD what is and isn't allowed, and the old ladies essentially rewarding RD and grumbling so noticeably about AJ, I have a hard time doing anything but mostly blame AJ for this - except for the fact that RD could have defused the situation early by telling them up front about everything.

On 4/15/2018 at 7:49 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Finally, at the very end of the episode, we see Applejack's ghostly head winking, and I can't help thinking "Screw that, this happy ending is in spite of Applejack's apparition scaring Rainbow into strictly enforcing Applejack's vaguely-written and ill-considered rules"

It did seem like a bit of a non-sequitur, didn't it? Every other scene of "ghost AJ" was of her being critical. But here she's suddenly changed her mind and agrees with how the events at the end went down. Granted, this is all in Rainbow Dash's head, so who knows what's going on in there, lol? However, like the scene with the bellhop, this didn't bother me too much because despite the other ghost AJ's being strict, the way she talked and the way she was dispatched by RD were very funny and helped make this last one fit in with the silly nature of the episode.

One thing to think about is the difference between this illusion of AJ and the illusions Pinkie Pie dreamt up of the ReMane 5 a few episodes ago. There, they were clearly caricatures of the actual ponies due to the radically different personalities they presented. Here, the audience finds RD's version of AJ all too believable because of how she's acted in previous episodes when it came to following a strict set of rules - which is probably another reason she gets the blame by the audience for things going wrong - even if it was all RD's imagination.

12 hours ago, Ganondox said:

She [Twilight Velvet] is a grandmother though, to Flurry Heart.

I do wish Twilight's mom had also been along in this group. Any excuse to see her in action is fine by me. I suppose that would have made the story a lot more complicated because she wouldn't fit into the stereotype of the frail grandmotherly type which the premise of this episode relied on, however.

12 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

I'm not super upset about it or anything, but I didn't really find the attempted humor of that scene amusing

I found it amusing to the fact that I never expected to see an instance of a character being a blatant cougar in a show like MLP:FiM, where notions of characters having an overactive libido are generally avoided. It has it's merits for the use of shock value (and character development for Applesauce, I suppose) but beyond that all it makes me want to do is go .

1 hour ago, Sinvanor said:

Except she was only ever following what Applejack said. AJ ruined the trip, not RD. And I'm used to RD being the plot device most of the time, but in this episode, totally innocent.

I wouldn't go as far to say RD was totally innocent, maybe 20% to blame (10% for failing to communicate, 10% for having an ulterior motive for going) and AJ gets the other 80%.

I mean, we only have to look at this to see why RD tried to follow AJ's instructions to the best of her ability:

That there is the look of a mare who will perforate your spleen if you screw up and let a family member get hurt.... <_<;

Maybe Rainbow should of had a talk with Spike in regards to dealing with getting saddled with an impossible task? =P

1 hour ago, Sinvanor said:

I do feel like she took it too far, considering she has authority being an honored and well known guest, I doubt the bellhop felt like he could say anything due to fear of reprimand for not dealing with a well respected and valued customer.

I think you are on to something there. I went back and looked at the frames of the GIF @Querch posted and noticed the change in expression by the bellhop just as he walks out-of-frame. There's a dramatic change to his eyebrows, giving a clearly annoyed look over having to deal with Applesauce and her advances. It does seem like the employees have to give VIP customers like these an extra personal touch and put up with whatever difficulties they present, including sexual harassment. (I still can't believe I'm saying that about an MLP episode, lol. )

Of course, I have a vague recollection there is a whole slew of background ponies who have been annoyed or otherwise had to put up with the actions of a main or secondary character over the past 8 seasons, so this might not be all that new.

3 hours ago, Querch said:

Take a look at her three eye positions:
1) Eye contact
2) Side eye
3) Looking to "cutie mark"

And let's not forget this quote: "You scrumptious morsel of frosted carrot cake!"

I initially laughed at this scene, but then I started to think about it for a bit and it actually comes off as a little troubling. Once I flipped it around and thought what the audience reaction would be if it were the young bellhop doing that to Applesauce instead, it became less amusing. In the age of the #MeToo movement I wonder if these kind of jokes have any place in a kids show anymore? Is her being a very old equine female and the bellhop being a young (but not underage) equine male make a difference? Is there a double standard? What if this were a scene of a human male boss forcing a female employee take her paycheck from his mouth? Or make her reach into his pants pocket? Would that still be funny?

Personally, I suppose I won't lose any sleep over this one scene of ardent cougarism, though I did feel bad for the bellhop afterward since he seemed very uncomfortable.

3 hours ago, Rhythm Red said:

Hmm. I can only think of one, and it’s just a question. Why are they closing the coaster? If it’s as exciting and popular as the episode shows, wouldn’t they want to keep it? That confused me, but it’s a relatively minor problem that doesn’t affect my view of the episode.

The ride may have been experiencing declining ridership, even if it was popular. The long lines we saw may have been because of the closing (and for all we know Flim and Flam may have only been bluffing about it closing forever just to get a bunch of patrons to show up and spend money.) Speaking of them, since they took over the businesses there, they may still be in the process of remaking the strip in their own image (the statues and doors we saw sure seem to indicate this) and this ride just doesn't fit in with their master vision.

2 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

Rainbow clearly does not want to teach at the school, so why doesn't she tell Twilight no?

I didn't quite get that impression. I felt like she just really wanted to ride this coaster before it closed and having to teach a class was getting in the way of that. It's true she thought she would be considered an egghead in the premiere, but she seemed to get into the role of being a teacher before the end.

9 minutes ago, Slipstream95 said:

I don't think RD at the time cared enough to find relatives of a magician she knows

That's a good point. Also the way that scene plays out with the two of them running off after Rainbow ruins their trick, I suppose she didn't have much of a chance to talk with him. Plus having her acknowledge the resemblance and get into a discussion would have easily added several minutes to the episode while it was sorted out.

I'm surprised Rainbow dash didn't make a comment. She's seen Trixie's act and has been around her enough (now that she lives in Ponyville) to recognize a potential relative.

9 minutes ago, Mesme Rize said:

As Caddicarus once said:

DDR is Everywhere

DDR is anywhere

DDR is even there

Ponies have it easy! There's only four pads and they have four hooves! One hoof for each pad! =)

Yes. Though I'd be surprised if she'd do it before the end of the series. Spitfire and Soarin seem to have a lot of life left in them yet as co-captains. Though I suppose Soarin would be the more likely one to retire. (Boo)

If there had never been any leaks, the fans would be in a massive posting-fest wondering (at least with all the stuff at the beginning) whether it was part of a dream sequence or the real thing. And while it technically might be spoilers, we'd have no idea for sure whether it would end up true or not, or perhaps just a temporary condition.

Thanks to the leaks, there's no need to wonder. =)

26 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

My theory is that RD was (very justifiably) worried that AJ would kick her ass if she let anything happen to them

RD's motivation was AJ specifically told her she'd miss going on the ride if anything happened to the grannies if they got over-excited. While it's not a direct reflection on AJ (since it's all RD's perception) it still reflects badly on AJ because her overbearing cautiousness was used as a plot device to force RD to act the way she did. The whole thing was a bit of a trope, but like I said earlier it wasn't overly oppressive so I managed to like the episode anyway.

EDIT: Oh you replied, I'll have to see what you wrote and edit this again, lol. XD

4 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

I disagree with that take concerning AJ, I really don't think this episode or the writers at large have anything against her.  She's frequently depicted as being the most mature member of the group, especially when it comes to basics and practical matters, and her biggest fault is when she overthinks things or gets stuck into a routine even if the routine doesn't make sense.

I don't feel they have anything against her (though the rumors about G5 seem to indicate they do have some frustrations with her) and I agree she's the most mature of the Mane 6. But like I said above, her cautiousness (which really didn't show up until "Somepony" ) was the plot device and the only takeaway I got from the reactions by the grannies to finding out RD was acting the way she was acting was due to AJ's advice was that RD shouldn't have listened to AJ in the first place. Or perhaps communicated better with the four of them and told them earlier she was acting on AJ's strict instructions?

11 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

Is that kind of petty and shallow?  A little, but if anypony in the Mane 6 would worry about that kind of social acceptance, especially in the group she's been trying to get into her entire life until recently, it'd be RD.

Agreed. I have no issues with RD wanting to emulate the WB - they are her heroes, after all.

1 hour ago, Batbrony said:

Not a terribly strong episode as far as the lesson goes, or rather, it was just hard to say what lesson at all they were trying to convey.

The lesson I took away from this episode was ponies should pay no attention to Applejack's advice, which is unfortunate because it seems like she (or more specifically, her conscience as perceived by Rainbow Dash) was thrown under the bus to create the main conflict for the episode. She's pretty much never going to live down what happened in "Somepony to Watch Over Me," and it seems like the stick-in-the-mud aspects of her character are what the writers tend to gravitate towards when coming up with ways on how to use her.

It's kind of like how Spike used to get written as being out-of-control of his greed as a plot device, even after it wore out it's welcome.

Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised by this episode, even if a lot of it was predictable. Most of the jokes landed squarely on the mark - even the ones that seem to be grossing out a large part of the fandom with Auntie Applesauce constantly hitting on the younger stallions, going so far as to drop some suggestive innuendo XD )

Rainbow Dash was a victim of sorts and I did feel sorry for her to a point like I thought I might, but the trouble she had to go through was never overly oppressive and she got what she wanted in the end - which I wasn't sure would happen - it could have gone either way of her achieving her goal or having it not work out, but having fun anyway.

I've seen folks wondering why RD would care about a rollercoaster since she's the fastest thing on the planet, but I can see how she'd want to go on the ride. It's one thing to fly around but have to work at it to keep going so quickly. It's another when you can just sit back and let a ride take you on an exciting journey, not being sure of how it will feel or what surprises it has in for you. Plus since the Wonderbolts were the ponies who got her interested in it (yay, Soarin speaking appearance!) I can see how she'd want to be in on the fun they had.

I was amused that they reused the backgrounds for the arcade from "Viva Las Pegasus" and I think some of the same ponies were still there at the machines, lol. And I was totally surprised to see Trixie's "dad" who appears to be a fairly successful showpony. I hope he isn't a one-shot Easter Egg and they work him into a future plot, maybe in the rumored episode where a bunch of the pony families get together?

The Rick and Morty ponies I missed, however, and only saw them in the screenshots posted later.

So if I'm going to sort the GM Berrow episodes, I would put "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows" on top, followed by this one, then "Daring Done?" and pulling up the rear is "Fluttershy Leans In."

Can't wait to see the final version of this episode as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between Spike and Smolder. I only watched it once to keep it as fresh as it can possibly be when it officially airs. So just like with episode 10, I'm a little hazy on all of the details now.

The real payoff for this episode (not that I wasn't giddy by the end of this one, mind you  ) will be how the circumstances surrounding the events of this episode affect the rest of the G4 series moving forward. Things will be different, that's for sure - though if season 4 was any indicator, maybe not all that different. 

On 4/10/2018 at 7:35 PM, ShootingStar159 said:

So, not having seen this episode when it leaked, I still have to say that having SugarMac in the opening sequence, right there front and center kind of takes a lot of my suspense at the synopsis away.

This is one of those episodes where the journey is more important than the destination. All of the characters who appear have so many great scenes together and some very amusing side stories it really doesn't matter that the main premise is a bit well-worn in terms of TV tropes. I thought I was going to dislike this episode upon first reading the episode description for that very reason, but it totally surprised me by how funny and charming it is with its excellent use of continuity.

And two of the characters who appear in this episode are two I would never have guessed would be present (or even needed) from reading just the episode description alone.

On 4/11/2018 at 12:50 PM, VG_Addict said:

After watching the animatic, I can pretty much guess how the episode is going to go.

I hope you're wrong, but I have a feeling you're right.

But maybe the episode will surprise me?

I'm beginning to feel like the leaked episodes can't get here soon enough.

On 4/10/2018 at 5:22 AM, blackstarraven said:

On 3/27/2018 at 11:31 PM, Truffles said:

He could presumably order guards to physically prevent the teachers and students from meeting, have the Mane Eight thrown in jail, or, if he goes off the deep end, even personally attack the Mane Eight or the non-pony students.

...

I can imagine a negative spin that could be put on that: "Princess Celestia fires/arrests head of EEA so favored student Princess Twilight Sparkle doesn't have to follow the same rules for her school as everybody else".

I actually have a pretty good insite / answer to this.

The Answer to this is simple: No.. No he can't.

The incite is also simple: He can't because the school doesn't actually REQUIRE accreditation. It's clearly not being pitched as the primary education of the students attending.

I think this is misattributed somehow. @Music Chart Fan wrote the above text, not me. I generally agree with you that he can't throw them in jail and attacking them would be political suicide, which is why he could do nothing after Twilight broke his magic seal other than flee the scene.

Like I said in my post elsewhere, his only punitive power seems to be to seal off the school from anyone entering it. Presumably having the school closed would drive the pony parents to seek to get it opened again, perhaps through meeting with the teachers/headmaster and getting whatever it is that is breaking the rules fixed.

In Twilight's case, the main problem was having other species besides ponies attending and I don't think Celestia would have sided with him on that anyway. (How she managed to miss that little rule when dealing with the EEA and her own school is a whole other mystery, however.) No amount of meetings would have helped, which is one of the reasons why Twilight decided to step up and simply open the school on her own.

On 4/8/2018 at 3:31 AM, Justin_Case001 said:

But holy crap, dude--I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything good to say about Fake.

Don't worry, your video insert of Krusty made reading your review all worth it.

On 4/8/2018 at 3:31 AM, Justin_Case001 said:

How long has it been since she achieved her series-long dream, and we still haven't seen her fly in a show?

I thought she flew in a show for Scootaloo in "Parental Glidance?" Or am I mistaken?

20 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Overall, I agree with many of the posters here in not liking the episode, although it had a few amusing moments.

That pretty much sums up my feelings exactly. I found it loaded with problems, but the problems didn't leave me angry at one or more characters like some other episodes I haven't liked have. It's the kind of episode you watch a time or two and then shelve it away to make room for other, better episodes in the season it's a part of.

20 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

And of course, if Fluttershy's attitude is that "the couture in this shop is far too brilliant to even consider selling", then how does the boutique stay in business?

This explanation seems to be in conflict, though, with Fluttershy's saying in her apology that "I got so caught up trying to please all of your customers". Believing that the customers are unworthy to buy Rarity's outfits doesn't seem compatible with trying to please the customers. And it's hard to see how telling customers that they're not good enough for the outfits that they're considering is trying to please them, either. Or, in one case, Fluttershy is reading something behind the counter and tells a customer that "I would seriously help you right now, but, like, I don't wanna, you know?". How is doing that trying to please the customers?

This is one of the biggest bits of confusion with the logic in this episode. it was like the catalyst for Fluttershy's snootiness was created and pushed forward early in the episode's planning stages, but then in the resolution they have to get her off the hook by having her come up with a statement that tries to excuse her terrible actions to everyone - including her friends. It would have made more sense if she simply said she fell back on her S1 assertiveness training to deal with the customers and forgot about the part involving keeping them happy and dropped the part in her apology about her "only pretending" altogether. The idea that she had runaway snootiness is a plausible one, but the episode got too caught up in repetitively showcasing all these personalities of hers to explain things.

21 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

The rest of the Mane Six other than Fluttershy had reasons why they were busy and couldn't run Rarity's boutique, but they were all apparently able to drop everything and go to Manehattan to investigate Fluttershy's behavior. Did they all miraculously finish the things they were busy with before?

I guess maybe because it was an emergency they decided it was the right thing to do? I think you might be right though that a lot of their reluctance was that they just simply didn't want to be sales clerks in Rarity's shop, knowing how difficult it would be.

9 minutes ago, Ganondox said:

To be fair, time scales in pony, especially when traveling, haven't made any sense for a long time. 

True. I guess it felt extra egregious this time because it was a group of non-talking raccoons instead of ponies, lol.

2 hours ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

And why didn't the raccoons just go to rarity, rather than to the mane 6 first, who just got Rarity, themselves? Manehattan is a lot closer to Canterlot than it is to Ponyville.

Perhaps they knew Spike was the only friend of Fluttershy's that would be able to understand them? Granted, if that's the case then the episode failed to make that point and could have been time better spent in the cold open.

They could have gone to Discord, too. He would stand a better chance at understanding them than even Spike.

I like @gingerninja666's reasoning as to why they didn't go to Rarity - they didn't want to interrupt her doing her presentation. But the whole travel thing with the racoons - it doesn't make a lot sense no matter where they went; they'd still have a long journey to either Canterlot or Ponyville.

I'm OK with the new design now, but I still prefer his old form. It says more about a character when he looks like he'd be nasty but is really a sweetheart on the inside.

Besides, this will forever be my favorite shot of him:

Poor little puppy-dog-like changeling!

43 minutes ago, We. said:

Although, hearing that Spike is great at Charades was a nice little moment. Wouldn't you agree, @Truffles?

Indeed, especially after Rarity snubbed him in the list of ponies she was seeking help from. Interestingly, he specifically mentioned it as "dragon charades." I'm not sure what the difference between regular charades and dragon charades are, but I guess the raccoons are into it. XD

Actually, one could come up with a whole headcannon that dragon charades is their version of the game passed down to their friends the buffalo, and they being one with nature passed it on to various wildlife like the raccoons. I'm still not sure that explains a difference in style, though. lol.

On 4/7/2018 at 11:32 AM, Zantetsuken said:

This is a shining example of an episode disregarding nearly everything about the character involved that has been established over the last 7 years to make the episode's plot work.

Yeah. Josh Hamilton sacrificed a fair amount of continuity for the sake of some gag he wanted to have in this episode. Fluttershy forgetting she cares about animals due to her "playing a character" stretches believably a bit too far. And some of the ideas in this episode don't make any sense:

For this episode to work, Fluttershy suddenly had to have no knowledge whatsoever of sewing or fashion, even though she's demonstrated both in Season 1. Her not being able to sew the elephant cozy I could see (knowledge vs. skill in putting it to use are two different things) but come on - she would know well enough you can't figure out a thread count by trying to count the actual threads with a magnifying glass.

Now, one could argue Rarity actually didn't pick Fluttershy first because she knew how shy she was. But as @Jeric said, Rarity herself admitted in the episode how far Fluttershy had come in getting over her shyness. So there's no reason she wouldn't have gone to her first.

Then there's the fact that the montage of skipping Flutters required Rarity to conveniently avoid asking Spike. If she had asked him, he would have agreed without hesitation and then there would be no episode. He was another sacrifice in order to do the montage gag. (Although one explanation is perhaps Manehattenites wouldn't accept a dragon as a sales clerk?)

I think the episode would have worked better if Rarity had simply asked Fluttershy first and worked her knowledge into the decision. I didn't care about the montage gag enough to sacrifice the lack of logic this episode had to exhibit. Then it would be because of the rude customers that caused her to take on these alternate personalities. Makes more sense to me, anyway.

Then there's geographical continuity. Ponyville, Manehatten, and Canterlot are now somehow walking distance between one another (even though Rarity did say she had to catch a train to get to Canterlot.) Maybe the have bullet trains now thanks to Twilight and Starlight's magical abilities? I can believe once Twilight was involved, she could teleport everyone from city to city, but that still doesn't explain how the cute trash pandas made it all the way from Manehatten to Ponyville in a short enough amount of time to warn Spike about the situation before the Canterlot fashion show ended.

I guess I don't mind the geographical continuity issues all that much, but it sure is strange and takes me out of the story when it gets brought to my attention.

On 4/7/2018 at 11:05 AM, Jeric said:

Not sure the writer needed to bring in the whole group in the last act either.

On 4/7/2018 at 12:02 PM, Denim&Venom said:

But the last act fell flat. Rarity calls Shy out on her BS after the effort Shy put in, only for her to suddenly up and apologize, drop all those persona's like nothing? Apparently she knew she was wrong, yet said all those things anyways?

I'm actually of the opposite opinion on the last act with the whole intervention thing - bringing everyone in kind of saved the episode for me. I was dreading the notion that we might be in for an entire episode of Fluttershy doing nothing but going through these personalities, only to come to a realization on her own how bad it was or have Rarity swoop in to make everything right. It was already getting dull for me partway into the second round with the personalities, so switching up the situation was an improvement.

Not that I disagree with @Denim&Venom statement about the resolution. That was another thing that made no sense, and it seemed to be that way just to have the firing gag in there where the multiple personalities had to be "fired" to bring the real Fluttershy back. It was a funny scene, but it was weird.

On 4/7/2018 at 12:09 PM, MegaSean45 said:

There was a similar experiment at some college of some kind of prison experiment that was supposed to be a few weeks long, but ended in just a few days cause the students playing as guards were just beating up on those poor students

Wow, I had forgotten about that. One thing that is different there is some of it was due to mob mentality that reinforced the beliefs of the students thinking they were guards and the others were the prisoners. I'm not sure what caused Fluttershy all by herself to fall so deep into these personalities that she couldn't turn it off.

So what did I like? I did like the one bit of continuity with bringing back the three raccoons, aka, the cute trash pandas. The scene with Spike and the three of them miming the situation was cute, and I laughed when Fluttershy tricked her friends out of the store, even if it didn't make sense because she knew what she was doing. And I like how all her friends didn't hesitate to come and help Fluttershy out of whatever it was she was going through. That gave me a nice warm fuzzy feeling. Andrea Libman seemed to be having fun in all of these different roles, so that made me happy, too.

I guess I would classify this episode as fun on the surface, especially if you never watched the show before. But the continuity and logic issues really make it hard to fully enjoy. I feel a bit like I'm becoming one of those "Fame and Misfortune" fanboys again on this episode, so I suppose I'll give it a like - and by doing so I pretty much have to give last week's episode a like as well (EDIT: I couldn't do it - at the hiatus I re-rated both down to "meh"), even though in both I felt the first two acts were kinda dull.

1 hour ago, Lambdadelta said:

Is it a spoiler or your prediction?

I just want to watch the episode with optimism.   I dont like a bad Fluttershy episode *Fluttershy Leans In memories came back to his mind*.

 

It's not spoiler, and it's (hopefully) not a prediction. I point it out as a possibility but am relieved Josh Hamilton has authored this one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed all the same!

1 hour ago, Lambdadelta said:

The best last RarityFluttershy episode is Green isnt Your Color. I have a feeling Fake cant beat Green anytime soon. I expect it to be a decent episode at least, its Fluttershy and Rarity episode, two my favorite mane 6, what could go wrong?

Wellllll.... (Puts on his Debbie Downer wig)

• The customers could be obnoxious and unlikable, turning what should be a fun experience of Fluttershy getting to roleplay into something painful to watch.
• Fluttershy's power trip ends with her getting needlessly bashed by the writer when it all goes wrong.
• Rarity comes off as uncaring and out-of-touch when she saddles Fluttershy with the task of running her shop.

In short, "Princess Spike - Fluttershy Edition."

I admit I made the same comparison last year with "Fluttershy Leans In," all because of how much I disliked the clueless experts and how they reminded me of the delegates.

If the premise is accurate, the comparison is more apt here however, since Fluttershy => Spike, customers => delegates, Rarity => Cadance. I hope I'm wrong though. The message in this episode is a lot more uplifting than the one they chose for poor Spike, and it seems like letting Andrea Libman get to go wild and play a bunch of characters is something that might have been the inspiration for this episode.

OTOH, they probably thought the same thing when coming up with that scene for Ashleigh Ball in "Newbie Dash".... <_<

19 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Truth be told, I've been kind of run down in real life recently, too. I passed my PhD defense (in polymer engineering) a couple of weeks ago, but my committee said that I needed more data in my written dissertation, so I've been really busy this past couple of weeks compiling over 300 pages of tables of data from my research to add to it.

Congrats on at least getting the first half of your thesis done! I don't envy you for the rest of the work, especially having to distill a bunch of data. Ugh. I have enough trouble just doing my own taxes. So many forms when you're self-employed and have investment income thrown into all that mess. =P

15 hours ago, JH24 said:

For some reason, I found him endearing the first moment he appeared, and I was worried he would be the classic bad pony who tries to drive a wedge between Pinkie and Maud. I was glad to see that wasn't the case and that in the end it was Pinkie who was in the wrong.

I was relieved he wasn't a typical antagonist as well, so I will give the episode that. He was (perhaps) inadvertently annoying to Pinkie because of his literal responses to every interaction with her. In fact, I can relate. His catchphrase of starting most sentences with "technically" reminded me very much of how I sometimes write posts here on this forum, starting a sentence where I disagree with something with a "Well, actually." That's pretty much the same thing as starting with "technically," (and just as annoying, I suppose X3 ) and is something I've tried to avoid when I can catch myself doing it.

I suppose the one thing that allows me to take Pinkie's side is he doesn't see to have an "off" switch where he can turn the literalness off and speak about something on an emotional level. I think that's one of the main things that drives her crazy (in addition to his stealing her time away from her sister) since she sees things from such an opposite point of view.