Eiwly

Also something I caught on like my 8th rewatch of the episode. The second morning that Celestia makes pancakes, they have pineapple on them because the previous morning Luna was eating a pineapple! It's just a little thing, but yeah really does show Celestia pays attentions and cares

hOLY CRAP. JUST. HOLY FREAKIN CRAP!!! This episode was absolutely PHENOMENAL!!! I honestly don't think there are enough words to describe just HOW MUCH I LOOOVE this episode!! Not only do we get a better look at the princesses but also Starlight in a leading & important role?? JUST YESS!!! Aaaah I don't even know where to begin with this. Hmm perhaps with the premise & plot? I'll be honest, at first, by synopsis only, I wasn't too blown away with the idea. I mean, the characters involved? Yes that was exciting! But the whole idea over all sounded kinda bland if I'm honest. But MAAAN was the delivery wonderful! Sure it's a bit on the nose with the moral, the grass is greener n all that, but it's a 20 minute episode, and they jammed a lot in there, so I can let it slide. Thus, the pacing of the episode did come off as a little fast. But it didn't really bother me, so much was going on and I loved it all! But I did like how the focal point of the episode had a gradual shift from Starlight to the princesses. We go from Starlight taking on an important task, as designated by the map, to figuring out and trying to solve the problem, and eventually shifting to her working with the princesses, and then finally focusing on the princesses as they solve their friendship problem. To me, this had a nice smooth flow to the narrative, and worked really well, with Starlight being both a character and a device for forwarding the story. Now onto the characters, starting with Celestia and Luna. I thought this episode did a STELLAR job at really grounding them as characters. For most of the show, they've come across as these lofty, god-like beings, with (at least to me) little by way of personalities. This easily cemented them in reality, and gave a better idea of who they are. The problem they faced, lack of communication, was also one that one that was really mundane, which I felt made the episode all the more better. Anyone can fall into that dilemma where they don't completely convey their feelings, and it leads to a problem between people. Also, the show clearly showed Celestia and Luna as an extrovert and introvert respectively which I liked c: And then there's Starlight!!! AAAH I love her so much, and I think she did a great job handling the task here! Sure the cutie mark switch was impulsive, but I'll get to that in a bit. I liked how the showed her tackling the problem, figuring it out, and then confronting the problem, by talking about it with the princesses. And when her plan didn't work, she went with her gut and did what she thought was right, by having the two live a day in each other's life. Was it an impulsive switch? Yes. But was it malicious, which most of you seem to be implying it was? No, absolutely not. It was an instinctive move she did, to try and do what was right. Celestia even says later, that Starlight made the right choice by going with her gut, even if it didn't seem the best choice at the time. Basically saying, trust your instincts. Besides gotta force that freaky friday scenario somehow ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Also her conversations and reaction to music box Twilight were hilarious! Speaking of Twi, she really felt like an expy for the brony fandom in this ep. She flat out admits her bias and is appalled at the idea of the princesses not being the best at something X') Plus her constant need to like, BE THERE was just hilarious! Side note before I go on, can I just say how much I LOOOVED Starlight's interaction with Luna after the school ponies fiasco? I just really like how she was trying to encourage her to move on, and not dwell on was had already happened. I though this was a great scene, especially when we remember where Starlight was last season finale. Thought short, I thought it was great. Starlight's dream, when the ep really shifted focus to the princesses, was well done in my opinion. It really forced the two to face their problem head on, and shows how they work well together. Well, Celestia facing them head on with Luna's support, since she couldn't do anything in the dream realm ata this time. Honestly I don't really have much to say about this part. Daybreaker was cooool, and from Celestia's reaction, seems she's the real deal, even though its technically Starlight's dream. Speaking of dream's Luna's was just downright creepy. I'll admit, part of this whole sequence felt a bit gimicky, as it literally FORCED them to confront one another again and admit their wrongs to one another, but perhaps that's just a time sensitive issue. I think one of the strong part of the ep were Celestia and Luna's interractions. They fought like sisters, made up like sisters, and by the end, they were joking together just like the sisters they are. Also, to everyone griping about why Starlight was the one sent in this episode, I raise you this question: why not Starlight? She's plenty strong and talented with magic, and she clearly doesn't have a bias, as Twilight implies, and Celestia acknowledges this, by claiming no other would take the steps she did to try and solve this. I personally thought she was a good choice, showing her stepping out and really taking on a leader role, like was sorta hinted at last season finale. But maybe that's just my bias showing that I think she was a good choice. Aaaah I don't know what else to day. I rambled WAAAAY more than I wanted to, but I just loved this episode so SO much so I???? It was very well done in my opinion. Time to rewatch it like 10 more times~

I have to say, I QUITE liked this episode, however, I feel like the overall lesson from it, is one more geared towards the older audience / parents who might be watching with young children. What I took away from this, is that people change, and that holding on to a memory of who they were, can hinder a relationship you have with who they are. I will say, I thought the plot with the two remaining CMC's was kinda week, since it was obvious from first glance, that they weren't gonna solve the problem with the dog until Sweetie Belle returned to them. But I do like how it implies the progression of time. Normally with simple slice-of-life shows, it's mostly implied that everything is stagnant, and they basically exist out of time. I do think it works in the shows favour, to show these characters changing and growing (in the case of Sweetie Belle), as the target audience continues to grow as well. It adds a level of relatability, even if most don't quite pick up on it. Also, since I know it irked many, I honestly don't think Rarity not noticing Sweetie Belle's growth is a big deal. I mean, how often do you notice the little changes in someone? Especially ones that require more interaction to notice, like what food someone might enjoy, or what they do for fun. These things are gradual, and not always apparent. Also, its stated that the two don't interact often due to their own commitments. Nothing wrong there. While I wasn't blown away with the ep, I really enjoyed it. I especially sympathized with Sweetie Belle, she's growing into her own pony, and it's nice that her sister wants her to remain close, but just didn't want to see the growth, and wanted her to stay young forever. I think that's something anyone who's looking back on their own younger years can recognize and understand. Like, who's parents (or family) ever really wants their young child to grow up? Rarity REALLY struck me as a parent type who just didn't want to acknowledge the truth in front of her. Really reminded me of my mom in years past~ Idk, I'm sure I'm rambling at this point, but I really just saw the episode as adapting to people growing and changing around you, when you might not be ready for them to do so. All in all, a good ep.

The fun thing about people is that they never stop growing or changing. FiM has done an AMAZING job of replicating ones growth in the mane 6, so I don't see why they'd switch focus. The mane 6 still interact, and are still friends, but like anyone, you interact and form friendships with people outside your squad. I think the show's done a great job of showing who the main characters are and how they grow as a group, now they're showing how they grow as individuals away from the group. This in turn opens up the possibility for side characters to grow like Starlight and Maud last weekend. The mane 6 will ALWAYS be the primary focus of the show, they're the franchises biggest selling point after all. But they don't have to always be TOGETHER. So no, they shouldn't switch to a new group, because the mane 6 haven't stopped growing. Adding new characters just freshens things up, and provides new sources of growth. Also isn't Sunset like permanently in EqG? I don't think she's ever coming back~

I think the big take-away from this ep, especially with Pinkie's role in it, is that while it's well and good to want something for others, sometimes you've just gotta sit back and wait for it to pan out in time, rather than trying to force the issue. So ya while I spent a good portion of the show annoyed at Pinkie, it's good to show that sometime you need to CHILL. Also idk who thought Maud & Starlight would make a good friendship pairing but I'd like to thank them for it. Like they don't seem like they'd click AT ALL, yet their interactions were honestly my fave part. They're more relaxed when they were together, and it was fun seeing them share info about what they like, without any stress of trying to impress. It's a nice, stress free friendship between two people with niche interests, who aren't there to judge one another. IDK it worked for me, and I hope we can see more of them. Sidenote though: I really like how Starlight's friendships all seem to have different flavours so to speak. Trixie & Starlight have a more upbeat friendship with more energy, while Maud & Starlight's is relaxed as I mentioned. All in all, a good, fun episode!

Honestly it wouldn't surprise me if her parents did turn out to be alive. Personally I'd rather the weren't alive, grim as that sounds, but since hasbro apparently has this thing about characters being "dead" dead, if they were to suddenly show up alive, it wouldn't phase me. Unfortunately from a story standpoint this change doesn't make sense. The apple family has been written as a fam of 4 for six seasons so far, with minimal mentions of the parents, they were mostly just glossed over when the did come up. So to bring them up no is gonna take some 'splaining to do. I'm hoping it isn't some shallow excuse that there were on another farm or smth. I'm still holding out for them to be flashbacks only.

I've never been a fan of equestria girls, I've seen it but couldn't get into it, but DANG I'll watch whatever hasbro puts out if starlight's in it! tHAT DESIGN~ she looks so pretty~ * o*

Starlight is EASILY my fave character, even though I can't exactly pinpoint the reason. I just love how she's presented in the show; she's awkward and has social anxiety but she is trying to be a genuine person and move forward from her past mistakes, which makes her relatable in my eyes. Also I like how she's something of a foil to Twilight, or who Twi used to be. She's incredibly talented and gifted with her magic, yet she let her fears get to her and used her powers in a misguided way. I do like that she is incredibly powerful, and no I don't think it's unrealistic. Again, Twi was strong before she became a princess, so it's not unreasonable or hard for be to believe. I just hope we get more of her and get to see her continue to grow in the next season~

I'm kinda excited for this now, especially with vocal talents like Emily Blunt, Kristen Chenoweth, and Sia I'm sure we'll get some REALLY great songs! haha that's all I care about rn :')