The Second Opinion

With Rarity kept offscreen throughtout act 2 (except in the characters' imaginations) I actually thought this episode ended up being more about Spike - or at least, just as much about him. And for that, while I still thought it was only decent, it was still probably Spike's best episode all the way through season 3. 

But Rarity kinda returned the favor by stealing the show in The Secret of My Excess. 

That is a very interesting story you got there it is always neat to read and see what got other people into the happy land of pastel ponies

 

Anyway Welcome here on this forum dedicated to this show and I'm sure you will enjoy here. The community is so friendly and nice it is so wonderful <3

Hey, thanks a lot! I'm definitely looking forward to getting involved around here.

My Favourite Mane 6 Pony: Rainbow Dash

How did you find MLP Forums?:

How you became a fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic:

You'll probably get a kick out of this story. 

The first time I heard about bronies, it was from my girlfriend in college complaining that her friend had become one and was trying to get her to watch the show with him. It wasn't the best possible first impression (especially for a guy raised in a house where both parents considered Sunday football and amateur wrestling family traditions). Plus, when I met this guy, he seemed like the kind of carefree goofball I was expecting, and I ended up assuming that bronies were some sort of cult based on irony. But when I heard that they really just thought the show was that good, I actually didn't have too much trouble believing it. As a hopeful up-and-coming movie and TV critic, I was well aware that animation had crossed age and gender barriers before (Avatar: The Last Airbender, countless movies from Studio Ghibli, etc.).

Flash forward to when I finally checked it out, and I didn't actually think it was anything special at first. I started with Sweet and Elite, and out of context, it seemed like the same old My Little Pony - smarter and better made but the same show none-the-less. But after a couple more episodes, I warmed up to it just enough to get curious. What was the big secret to the phenomenon? Did the show really deserve the following? And most interesting of all, why were so many bronies saying that the third season and the first movie had jumped the shark? 

I ended up starting a series of v-logs reviewing the show episode by episode. I wanted it to be a big "is it or isn't it?" type series about whether the show was any good, as I had no intention of ever becoming a brony. But it grew on me very quickly. In context, it didn't take me long to see how good the show was, not only at general creativity but at portraying and exploring its characters, even (horror of horrors) making me identify with them - Rainbow Dash in particular. Not to mention that Pinkie Pie was funnier than anything I'd seen in a long time. It soon became clear that my series was for fans of the show who wanted to see a fresh reaction and a new perspective.

In spite of this, my own reaction was sort of complicated. As a viewer, I still didn't quite think it was good enough to place alongside my all time favorite shows, but as critic, I was absolutely fascinated. This was probably the only show I'd ever seen succeed so well for the reasons it did. It was a beautiful example of the barriers that can be crossed when you focus on character first and gender second. So in my own way, I was hooked, and I kept looking for ways to make my series better, trying everything from commentaries to Channel Awesome style reviews. Then, I got a message from Channel Frederator saying they wanted me to make videos for them.

So yeah, My Little Pony is my job now, and I couldn't be happier. (Though I do sometimes look back wondering how the heck this happened.) But it's clear that if it's going to work, I need to start getting more involved in this fanbase and seeing a wider range of opinions. So here's looking forward to getting to know you guys!