PacificGreen

Oooh, OK, so there's only one animatic, I've already watched it, but I just missed that detail. Honestly, they mentioned "school" and "teachers" so quickly I never even noticed it. I'm kinda wondering what a whole school devoted to friendship would look like though.

WHAAAAATTTT?!? I've gotta see this animatic now. XD

To me it kinda ranks in the middle maybe. I think I like it better than the older seasons just by how much more interesting the premises are and how much development the world of Equestria has gotten, but I feel like some episodes in the beginning of the season kinda drag it down. It did get significantly better by the second half of the season, but I feel kinda like my excitement for the series has worn down a bit as of this season, so it's not as good (or at least, exciting) as seasons 4 and 5, or even 6 (which a lot of people say was kinda the low point of the series?). Even so, it's pretty hard to top seasons 4 and 5, IMO. \ At the same time, seasons 1 and 2 really pack a nostalgia punch whenever I revisit them. My first days of bronydom were a pretty good time.

Yeah, I admit the whole premise may be a tad cliche, but I guess I kinda liked the fact that they took a cliched premise and made something interesting out of it. For instance, it wasn't just about Rarity accepting that it's what's on the inside that counts (which is true, but, again, would have been a pretty cliched resolution to the plot), but actually about turning her bad situation into something useful and using her new look (I really liked Raripunk/Punkity's look here XD) to help others' businesses. I also liked that they included all of the main characters in a way that their interactions felt very "not-forced". I think what I also liked about it was that it almost felt like a season 1-2 episode in terms of how slice-of-life it was, so it was almost like a refreshing touch of nostalgia for a season pretty heavy on introducing new characters and progressing characters' roles and development. Don't get me wrong, it's necessary for a show to advance its plot and characters (or else we'd just be complaining about how the show is always stuck in the same old characterization and stuff), but sometimes it's a good idea to go back to basics and have characters learn lessons in both creative and familiar ways. Yeah, I feel like I'm just rambling here, but to be honest, I replied to your post mostly because I probably feel the same way about popular episodes that I didn't really like (Parental Glideance, Fame and Misfortune), so I just wanted to articulate why I liked this particular episode. Just to shed some light on what I enjoyed about it. Yeah, I thought the same thing actually. Weird how they say they can't create stuff out of thin air, even though they've practically been doing it throughout the series with super unicorn magic :P. And did nopony seriously think about buying Rarity a wig or something?

I gotta say, I really liked this one. I liked that we had all of the mane characters in it (seriously, I've noticed a glaring lack of Fluttershy this season), and I feel like it was a creative way to work with an often-cliched moral. I might post my thoughts on this ep later, but I'm kinda busy now. So the important thing is that...I thought it was great.

Not sure if I said it before, but I liked this episode. It gave us some more looks at current changeling society, and Pharynx was pretty funny at times. I kinda like how he felt like one of those "longing-for-the-good-old-days" types of characters, and how the problem wasn't resolved by pressuring him to accept the new ways, but just by allowing him to show that he truly did care for the hive. I also felt (maybe there was? it's been a while since I've seen the episode) that there was genuine concern coming from Thorax for his brother, which kinda made you feel a bit for Thorax. There was a bit of wasted potential for a map episode- I thought it was the perfect opportunity to send Starlight and Trixie on their first friendship quest together..

I didn't like Fame and Misfortune all that much. I feel like such a heretic saying that, given how well-received the episode was by the fanbase as a whole.

I loved this animatic. Can't wait to see what happens next season! Also kinda makes you wonder who's the pony Chrysalis impersonated?

I enjoyed the episode. I feel like it was sorta poking fun at the trope of good guys causing destruction wherever they go, even if they're chasing the bad guy. And the episode did a good job of addressing that often-overlooked trope. I was at first a little disappointed by the end, since it seemed like they had forgotten it, but I'm glad they finally had that montage of Daring making reparations for all the destruction she caused. There may have been other downer moments in the episode, but I think the one that stuck out to me most was the slime pit scene. It just felt very anti-climactic, and the whole idea of just taking a leap of faith into the slime was a bit cheesy (even though it worked in the end). That didn't really damper my enjoyment of the episode, though, so it was still great!

If it's good enough, it just might. However, in the animation department, it's going to be competing against the likes of Pixar's Coco. And Pixar's movies are almost all universally acclaimed, so it'd be a tough feat to accomplish. Of course, anything is possible.

Still watching the episode, but... Haha, Ember eating the castle wall. Good one, MLP staff. Also, I love how Ember lampshades the similarities between Twilight and Starlight.

I'm actually kinda looking forward to this episode. Yes, Spike has done some pretty stupid things in the past, but the degree to which it annoys me tends to depend on the episode. Princess Spike basically had a bunch of hivemind delegates, contrived inconveniences for Spike, and Spike going to extremely unnecessary ends to try and help Twilight. On the other hand, I feel like this will be one of those basic misunderstanding/don't pre-judge how you think two people will get along kind of episode- my guess is that Spike will do all he can to keep them apart, only for them to actually meet up (either behind his back or not) and explain to Spike that they actually kinda get along because they have a lot in common (such as that their races have been misjudged by ponies before). It's a very "we-could-have-avoided-this-if-you'd-just-been-honest-with-us" sounding synopsis, which is a little bit overdone with the series, and Spike is a little naive and tends to make well-intentioned but sometimes rash decisions, but I'm hoping the interactions between Ember and Thorax will make this ep more interesting. As long as Spike isn't made out to be some bumbling idiot (which I feel the writers have done a lot to steer clear from), I'm thinking it should be okay.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. You know, I feel like I've always heard of the nasty and/or entitled parts of the fandom, but rarely have I actually experienced them. To be honest, I feel like I can't really relate to what you described in your post- maybe it's cause I'm a little myopic and was part of the pandering craze myself, who knows. But that's okay, because we have different experiences and different ideas of what the fandom has looked like. In my opinion, it's not wrong at all to criticize certain aspects of the show, debate who is best pony, or to wish to see certain fan favorites featured in the show. Heck, with several background characters making reappearances this season, I'm actually kinda wishing my favorite BG ponies would reappear in the show as well. I can agree with you, though, that we can get a little carried away with it and forget about the real purpose of the show and the things it's intended to reflect. And that we need to understand how much time and energy the staff put into the show, even if they may make a less than favorable episode or two, and maybe learn to be a bit more appreciative.

I think you articulated my biggest complaint with this episode better than I could have. I know some people can be very vocal about their opinions regarding the show (I've expressed on more than one occasion my dislike for the characterization and plot in "Princess Spike" for instance). And I think there are good rebuttals to common criticisms of the show- the Fluttershy one is a good example. People criticize her for often falling back to her shy, unassertive self, or her lack of consistency, but, as she pointed out, can anyone really say that they immediately started behaving better after learning a lesson and never lapsed back to their former tendencies? There are some lessons in life you have to go through more than once. So do I think it's important to keep in mind that these ponies aren't perfect and address these complaints? Of course. That doesn't change the fact, however, that these are still legitimate complaints to be made against characters. I don't think I can really fault people for not liking Rarity because they think she's shallow (heck, pre-season 4, that's what I thought about her, even though I didn't really dislike her or anything), or pointing out that they don't like Fluttershy because she too often goes back to being a doormat. As long as those assertions are reasonable and grounded in at least some evidence, and the critics pointing out such things are not being overly rude, they have a right to think what they do. However, the biggest problem with the ep was that it seemed to be saying "Those people are a**holes". And I think it's because of what you pointed out- that making the analogy between fans harshly (but perhaps fairly) criticizing a show and its characters, and townsponies trashing their fellow ponies, kinda fell flat. They're not really the same situation. I feel like that comparison kinda would hurt the case for the lesson they were probably intending to go for. That criticism aside, I feel like Toola Roola and Coconut Cream being brought in at the end gave the ep a more nuanced moral however, rather than just "Yeah, we know we're not perfect, now shut up about it." My favorite way of interpreting this episode is that it's kind of a lesson to both the mane characters and the fans- kind of like a lesson for the show staff and the pony fans: 1. The characters we know and love aren't perfect, and that's what exactly what makes their stories so interesting and special. 2. There will always be people who criticize you or the things you do, and that's fine. You may not be able to change their opinion of you, but you can change how you let those opinions affect you. 3. If your story genuinely inspires even one person (or group of people) to be better people, that's where the real reward is.

I was honestly a little confused by this one. The song they sang at the end about how they're not perfect sorta felt a little...discontinuous from the beginning of the episode? I might have missed something, but I thought everyone was just arguing about whose stories they liked and didn't like/who's the best pony, not about how imperfect they are? I was hoping the lesson would be about how they missed the point of the friendship lessons, but the direction of the episode felt a little...off to me? I'm kind of hoping it becomes a meme.