Batbrony

Yeahhhhhhhh... this comparison needs to stop. I'm not calling out you specifically, Nth, you're not the first person to make this comparison for this episode. People who both disliked AND liked the episode have been making it and it's driving me CRAZY!!! Building off of what Jeric said... Oo, oo, oo, teacher, pick me, pick me, pick m- wait, this is the Internet, I can just say something whenever I want. Anyways, "The Perfect Pear" is not only NOT a rehashing of Romeo and Juliet, it is actually SUPERIOR as both a romance and a tragedy to Romeo and Juliet (oh yeah, we're going there)! I'm gonna draw a few selections from my massive review of the episode to prove this point... "The family feud is an old story trope in much of literature (it's also something we even observe in history quite a bit). The most famous example in Western literature (at least the one most people probably think of first) would be "Romeo and Juliet," but I would argue it is not among the finest examples of a family feud in literature (and I would hardly be the only one to make such an assertion). While the lesson is powerful and the tragic elements inherent to a family feud are there, there's not quite enough for us, the audience, to latch onto emotionally in regards to caring about the Capulets and Montagues. Romeo and Juliet are teenagers who fall in love incredibly quickly and get married before they even really know what being in love for a lifetime truly is (and subsequently die before they know as well), and the only other supporting characters who we really are emotionally invested in in regards to the feud are Tybalt (Juliet's cousin) and Mercutio (who's not even a Montague, but just a close friend of Romeo) and they die before Romeo and Juliet even do. By the end of the play, any characters we were sort of emotionally invested in are dead, the only truly likable one left is Friar Laurence, and there are no Capulets and Montagues left who we know enough about to really care about them, other than the fact that they just lost two young members of their families because of their bitter feud (whose roots we also don't know much of anything about). The writing is certainly as poetic as anything Shakespeare wrote, and as I said before, the tragedy and powerful lesson are both there, but anyone who truly knows Shakespeare would never claim that "Romeo and Juliet" is his finest or most enduring work (even if it was their personal favorite)." I'd say that right there is enough to prove my point. "The Perfect Pear" does the exact opposite of almost every negative point I mentioned about Romeo and Juliet. The Apples and Pears as a whole are likable, not just Bright Mac and Pear Butter, which makes their feud all the more tragic; we actually know where the feud stems from; Bright Mac and Pear Butter spend years falling in love with each other and nurturing that love, making it far more believable, relatable, and appealing to the audience, not just the incredibly short amount of time that Romeo and Juliet take "falling in love" with each other as young teenagers at that (I would even argue their love wasn't fully developed in the slightest; as far as I'm concerned, they both die when they're still in the "smitten" stage, which can be a part of a loving romance, but it's a very early and undeveloped stage of it where raw emotions and passion are largely driving a couple's feelings for each other, and too much of the focus on their romance is placed on the forbidden nature of it, which isn't exactly appealing - for an example of how unappealing it is, a far more recent example of a romance (or rather a couple) where the focus is also on the forbidden nature of the romance rather than the romance itself is bucking Bella Swan with both Edward and Jacob in the Twilight series ); beautiful things come out of Pear Butter and Bright Mac's love, not just a beautiful family, but ultimately overcoming the tragedy of the feud itself years later, even after they're gone, whereas in Romeo and Juliet the two families (which we already don't very much like to begin with) just kinda feel shitty about themselves by the end of that play for what their feud led to, but we have no idea what comes after that. Again, I don't want to sound like we're dragging YOU in particular, Nth, for your point stated above; it's not just you, I've seen far too many people comparing this to Romeo and Juliet, and frankly doing that is both an insult to "The Perfect Pear" and gives too much credit to Romeo and Juliet.

Oh yes, this episode was more than worth the wait. This is one of those times where you know the DHX crew has not only paid attention to what the fandom wants, but probably known for years we've wanted to find out about the Apple siblings' parents. I won't dignify "Hard to Say Anything" with any kind of comparison to "The Perfect Pear," because I think it'd be bucking insulting to compare the worst episode of the show to the best episode of the show. I definitely cried, which I went into far more detail in the "Did you cry during "The Perfect Pear"" thread, but as for if there are anymore loose threads, I don't think so. That doesn't mean I don't think we'll keep learning more about the Apples (heck, I wouldn't be surprised if more happens with the Pear Family as well), nor that I don't think we could learn more about Bright Mac and Pear Butter or even never see them again. They could very well show up in more flashbacks, it would mostly hinge on (1) getting Felicia Day to come back and (2) using them sparsely and for good reason, since we don't just want them showing up willy nilly. If they do ever show up in anymore flashbacks, though, DHX also can't try to match or surpass "The Perfect Pear" in doing so; there's simply no point in trying to do that. It could still be emotionally powerful if they reappear in an episode featuring them in flashbacks, but what happened in "The Perfect Pear" was a singular moment in the Apple siblings' lives in which they learned about one of the most important things to happen to their parents in their own lives. Pretty much impossible to top that in terms of emotional power. Honestly, I don't need them to explore that. While I understand some people not being satisfied not knowing how they died, this to me was a powerful treatment of their deaths because of how much their absence is felt in the episode, and what we're 99% certain is behind that absence. But at the same time, the episode wasn't about their loss, even if that loss hovers in the background the entire time; it's a celebration of their life and the beautiful way they lived and loved each other and their family, and all that their love brought into the world, which more than anything else makes their deaths resonate so powerfully as a truly sad, terrible thing. Me? I don't need to know how they died after that, the fact that they're dead is more crushing than learning how they died, and somehow this episode was still more uplifting than sad despite all that, it's just that beautiful and did such a phenomenal job showing how strong and beautiful their love was.

I didn't cry the first time watching the episode, but I think that's just because I was too busy taking everything in. The second time I watched it I was crying my head off for about the last five minutes, from the end of the wedding scene through the very end. I don't cry nearly that much rewatching it now, but my eyes do almost always start watering up to some extent, if not outright crying, at some point, if not during "You're In My Head Like a Catchy Song," then during Grand Pear's reunion with his grandchildren and the final scene of the episode. As a side note, I also was balling for the second half of my own review of "The Perfect Pear"; that's not me trying to be egocentric or anything, it's just when I read through the whole thing, I wasn't prepared for how much emotion I'd put into all of it, and by the time I got to the second half, I was tearing up like crazy.

On a serious note, I had not realized how much I missed you starting these episode threads, my man. Glad to have ya back on some of these, no matter how long you stick to it.

Good evening everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews"! Wooh, goodness gracious me was this episode a breath of fresh air! Now, do not get me wrong, this whole season has been incredibly exceptional, but sometimes you need a break from the incredible. What exactly do I mean? Well... to be blunt, the last five episodes have ranged from very exceptional (in "Not Asking for Trouble" and "Discordant Harmony") to divisive for very good reason (in "Fame and Misfortune") to among the most amazing showings that MLP has ever had to offer (in "A Royal Problem" and "The Perfect Pear", my new personal favorite in the entire show). I don't think we've had stretches of awesome this consistent in a season since Season 2, and I kind of forgot how exhausting that can be sometimes. Make no mistake, I have adored every minute of Season 7 (with the exception of the unfathomable awful that was "Hard to Say Anything"), but the show can't be amazing every week, and sometimes we just need a break with a really solid, flat out good episode that is very Slice of Life in nature. Although it features two very unusual main characters we've rarely seen on the show, I fully believe that "Triple Threat" is exactly that, a solid Slice of Life offering that was just, all around, good. That's it, just good, and it's fine being just that. This shouldn't be a terribly long review at all, so without further ado, let's dive right in. This is "Triple Threat"! WOOOOOOOOOOOO, SUPERHERO LANDING!!! So, curiously enough, this was our first Spike-centric episode of the season. How does it hold up as far as Spike episodes go? Eh, alright. I've seen Spike written far worse in the past, but some of his character here did feel a touch OOC, even if the reasons for his behavior were understandable. Spike had a ton of responsibilities to juggle here, starting with (1) welcoming Ember to Ponyville, (2) welcoming Thorax to Ponyville after he realized he'd invited him there on the same day, and (3) solving a friendship problem that arose in the middle of their visits. Between playing ambassador to two visiting leaders of their respective people as well as solving a friendship problem which was unknown to him, Spike certainly had plenty to juggle. My beef with how he was written, though, was that about halfway through the episode, when he learned he had a friendship problem to solve, he seemed to (1) not consider at all that it might have something to do with Ember and Thorax and (2) forget altogether that the visiting monarchs should probably take precedence over the friendship problem. Granted, I get what he was doing: from the start of the episode he was trying to keep everything organized in a manner he'd learned from Twilight, by keeping plenty of lists, but that all went to shit when Thorax showed up and sent Spike into a panic. He probably figured he'd have all the time in the world to GIVE to Ember and Thorax once he solved the friendship problem. The problem is that he kept going out of his way to avoid Ember and Thorax in the course of trying to solve really simple "friendship" problems that were really just little disputes or spats, which seemed a bit off for Spike, even a really panicky one. Dude's been around long enough to know how to properly prioritize what is and isn't most important to address. The episode redeemed how it treated Spike a tad in my eyes at the end when it turned out that not only was he the one who created the friendship problem in the first place (which I thought was really clever), but the one who needed to learn a lesson as well (though I have no idea why that means he was the one who was glowing, and not Ember or Thorax considering they were the ones who solved the problem), but still, he was a bit frustrating at times. That said, the state of panic he was in the whole time was pretty hilarious (especially his "you've gotta be shitting me!" face when the friendship map summoned him), and Starlight's own schadenfreude-like amusement directed toward Spike at one point very much summed up the amusement I myself got from how everything was working out for him. Hardly the worst Spike episode ever, but not exactly a great or even good one, at least not for Spike. The best part of the episode has got to be, hands down, Ember and Thorax (arguably the true main characters of the episode as well). This was Thorax's first truly regular appearance, if we're being honest, since his debut episode; he was a largely supporting player in the Season 6 finale (mostly there because the plot demanded it, even if he was perfectly fine), and he barely had anything to do at all in the Season 7 opener. Here, he had an actual problem that needed resolving (which may even come up again later in the season if the episode title of Episode 17, "To Change a Changeling," is anything to go by), and even better it was tied to his role as leader of the new, reformed changeling pack (as an aside, I do find it a bit odd that they're not calling it a changeling hive anymore, but rather a pack, but whatever, doesn't bug me too much). Awwwwww yeah, cute deer bug pony loves da fire, he loves it so, so much! Ember too, in her first appearance since her debut, was just as pleasing to see. Like Thorax, she had a leadership problem that needed resolving as well, tied into her own people, the dragons. There were two things that worked especially well with these two. One was that they brought back the most endearing qualities the two characters had last time: Thorax was the same old adorable softie/deer bug pony he's always been, happy to share in as much love as he possibly can, and Ember was once again the most tsundere character the show's ever had, and on top of that she also had a ton of hilarious and adorable cultural misunderstandings going on with the ponies (the best being her eating Twilight's dining room - literally - and destroying Derpy's poor muffin in a misguided attempt to display friendship, both of which were just the best of a ton of hilarious cultural missteps in her interactions with the ponies). OK seriously, they could not make this deer bug pony more adorable if they tried! Though I do have to ask... how long, exactly, is his bucking neck??? The other was that these two worked out their own issues themselves, or rather, with each other! Yeah, in a bucking awesome turn from the show's usual formula of having either (1) the Mane 6, (2) Spike, (3) the CMC, or (4) Starlight Glimmer solve some kind of friendship problem, two supporting characters solved their own problems simply by talking and interacting with each other. In fact, they were both quite well suited for helping the other; Ember knew that Thorax needed simply to be taught how to be a more assertive leader and what he needed to learn to do so, while Thorax knew how to teach Ember to be more open about her feelings with others. Hell, they probably bonded quite easily since they were both leaders; they wanted Spike's help first and foremost, but frankly, it makes sense that that might be a bit much for the little guy. As much as he's gone through, he's still a baby dragon, and while his heart may be in the right place, I wouldn't say he's a leader, at least not yet. Frankly, Ember and Thorax were just better suited for teaching the other what they needed to learn, and when they finally did, they had a great dynamic together. I loved that once they realized what misunderstandings had just happened that they both started acting like the adults in the room, like everypony else was acting ridiculous (frankly, their being kept apart can't just be put on Spike considering Twilight and Starlight thought it was the best move too). Overall, loved these two here, and would honestly love to see more of them going forward. D'awwwwww, deer bug pony just can't get comfortable! Ember literally eating Twilight's castle is far cuter than it has any right to be... Besides these two main elements, the rest of Ponyville (as should be the case in any good slice of life episode in this show) was pretty much a character in and of itself, including in Twilight and Starlight (although they were supporting characters, they barely contributed to the resolution at all, so really most of what they did was initiate plot direction and gags throughout the episode). For their parts, Twilight and Starlight were pretty hilarious as they haplessly tried to keep Ember and Thorax apart (though while I understood why Ember was more interested in seeing Spike than those two since they're both dragons, I was a bit confused why Thorax wanted to see Spike more - he may be closer friends with Spike than the others, but friendship isn't an issue with him and I would think he'd know he should take his issue to another leader, not Spike of all ponies or dragons). Their funniest bit was easily when Ember bluntly pointed out how similar they look and even behave, a joke which both felt like it was poking fun at the "all you (blanks) look the same" line applied in a number of racial jokes as well as a tad meta even, considering many fans have drawn parallels between Twilight and Starlight, and they are quite undeniable considering they are teacher and student after all. The background ponies had a ton of bits in the episode, possibly their most this season; Lyra and Bon Bon got into an argument that Spike helped resolve, there were cute and funny bits with Ponyville residents all over the place as part of the celebrations for Ember's arrival (I loved that they were all very receptive of both Ember and Thorax, though they were understandably terrified of some of Ember's more aggressive displays, intentional or accidental), some background ponies argued over a chair for some reason (WAY more aggressively than they needed to), and of course, poor Derpy's muffin meeting its untimely demise against a wall on account of Ember... rather than of course meeting its demise, as it should have, in Derpy's belly. And overall it was just a lot of fun seeing two characters like Ember and Thorax just a bit out of their element in a town like Ponyville, but the rest of the town still going about its business as usual; frankly, a dragon lord and a changeling pack leader are probably hardly the strangest things these ponies have seen by this point. "You ponies all look the same." DAT'S RACIST, EMBER!!! All in all, like I said, this was just a good episode. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad, it was good. The lesson that Spike should have just told Ember and Thorax about each other right away, rather than simply assumed they wouldn't get along, is a VERY standard lesson (made only clever in the sense that Spike was the one who had to learn the lesson, rather than teach anything), though it did set up a delightful joke about how ponies are always just telling each other what friendship lessons they've learned (once again, another fun bit of meta humor). But as I said before, I'm perfectly OK with this episode just being good. I don't need every episode to blow my socks off, otherwise they wouldn't be special to begin with. And hell, I don't even need most episodes to be very exceptional, or at least so bad or divisive that everybody is talking about them. GOOD episodes, just solidly good, are the bread and butter of this show, and we need bread and butter for sustenance as much as we need the delightful decadence that are treats like "The Perfect Pear." The fact that this show's "good" is far more delightful than the average of most other animated shows of a similar nature is a credit to the high level of quality we've come to expect from MLP by this point. So yeah, overall, I very much enjoyed this episode for what it was, and that it didn't pretend in the slightest to be anything that it wasn't, and rather embraced being exactly what it was: a GOOD episode of MLP. That's all I've got for ya this week, everypony, until next time this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit* That "I just watched a good episode of MLP" feeling...

Good evening everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews"! Wooh, goodness gracious me was this episode a breath of fresh air! Now, do not get me wrong, this whole season has been incredibly exceptional, but sometimes you need a break from the incredible. What exactly do I mean? Well... to be blunt, the last five episodes have ranged from very exceptional (in "Not Asking for Trouble" and "Discordant Harmony") to divisive for very good reason (in "Fame and Misfortune") to among the most amazing showings that MLP has ever had to offer (in "A Royal Problem" and "The Perfect Pear", my new personal favorite in the entire show). I don't think we've had stretches of awesome this consistent in a season since Season 2, and I kind of forgot how exhausting that can be sometimes. Make no mistake, I have adored every minute of Season 7 (with the exception of the unfathomable awful that was "Hard to Say Anything"), but the show can't be amazing every week, and sometimes we just need a break with a really solid, flat out good episode that is very Slice of Life in nature. Although it features two very unusual main characters we've rarely seen on the show, I fully believe that "Triple Threat" is exactly that, a solid Slice of Life offering that was just, all around, good. That's it, just good, and it's fine being just that. This shouldn't be a terribly long review at all, so without further ado, let's dive right in. This is "Triple Threat"! WOOOOOOOOOOOO, SUPERHERO LANDING!!! So, curiously enough, this was our first Spike-centric episode of the season. How does it hold up as far as Spike episodes go? Eh, alright. I've seen Spike written far worse in the past, but some of his character here did feel a touch OOC, even if the reasons for his behavior were understandable. Spike had a ton of responsibilities to juggle here, starting with (1) welcoming Ember to Ponyville, (2) welcoming Thorax to Ponyville after he realized he'd invited him there on the same day, and (3) solving a friendship problem that arose in the middle of their visits. Between playing ambassador to two visiting leaders of their respective people as well as solving a friendship problem which was unknown to him, Spike certainly had plenty to juggle. My beef with how he was written, though, was that about halfway through the episode, when he learned he had a friendship problem to solve, he seemed to (1) not consider at all that it might have something to do with Ember and Thorax and (2) forget altogether that the visiting monarchs should probably take precedence over the friendship problem. Granted, I get what he was doing: from the start of the episode he was trying to keep everything organized in a manner he'd learned from Twilight, by keeping plenty of lists, but that all went to shit when Thorax showed up and sent Spike into a panic. He probably figured he'd have all the time in the world to GIVE to Ember and Thorax once he solved the friendship problem. The problem is that he kept going out of his way to avoid Ember and Thorax in the course of trying to solve really simple "friendship" problems that were really just little disputes or spats, which seemed a bit off for Spike, even a really panicky one. Dude's been around long enough to know how to properly prioritize what is and isn't most important to address. The episode redeemed how it treated Spike a tad in my eyes at the end when it turned out that not only was he the one who created the friendship problem in the first place (which I thought was really clever), but the one who needed to learn a lesson as well (though I have no idea why that means he was the one who was glowing, and not Ember or Thorax considering they were the ones who solved the problem), but still, he was a bit frustrating at times. That said, the state of panic he was in the whole time was pretty hilarious (especially his "you've gotta be shitting me!" face when the friendship map summoned him), and Starlight's own schadenfreude-like amusement directed toward Spike at one point very much summed up the amusement I myself got from how everything was working out for him. Hardly the worst Spike episode ever, but not exactly a great or even good one, at least not for Spike. The best part of the episode has got to be, hands down, Ember and Thorax (arguably the true main characters of the episode as well). This was Thorax's first truly regular appearance, if we're being honest, since his debut episode; he was a largely supporting player in the Season 6 finale (mostly there because the plot demanded it, even if he was perfectly fine), and he barely had anything to do at all in the Season 7 opener. Here, he had an actual problem that needed resolving (which may even come up again later in the season if the episode title of Episode 17, "To Change a Changeling," is anything to go by), and even better it was tied to his role as leader of the new, reformed changeling pack (as an aside, I do find it a bit odd that they're not calling it a changeling hive anymore, but rather a pack, but whatever, doesn't bug me too much). Awwwwww yeah, cute deer bug pony loves da fire, he loves it so, so much! Ember too, in her first appearance since her debut, was just as pleasing to see. Like Thorax, she had a leadership problem that needed resolving as well, tied into her own people, the dragons. There were two things that worked especially well with these two. One was that they brought back the most endearing qualities the two characters had last time: Thorax was the same old adorable softie/deer bug pony he's always been, happy to share in as much love as he possibly can, and Ember was once again the most tsundere character the show's ever had, and on top of that she also had a ton of hilarious and adorable cultural misunderstandings going on with the ponies (the best being her eating Twilight's dining room - literally - and destroying Derpy's poor muffin in a misguided attempt to display friendship, both of which were just the best of a ton of hilarious cultural missteps in her interactions with the ponies). OK seriously, they could not make this deer bug pony more adorable if they tried! Though I do have to ask... how long, exactly, is his bucking neck??? The other was that these two worked out their own issues themselves, or rather, with each other! Yeah, in a bucking awesome turn from the show's usual formula of having either (1) the Mane 6, (2) Spike, (3) the CMC, or (4) Starlight Glimmer solve some kind of friendship problem, two supporting characters solved their own problems simply by talking and interacting with each other. In fact, they were both quite well suited for helping the other; Ember knew that Thorax needed simply to be taught how to be a more assertive leader and what he needed to learn to do so, while Thorax knew how to teach Ember to be more open about her feelings with others. Hell, they probably bonded quite easily since they were both leaders; they wanted Spike's help first and foremost, but frankly, it makes sense that that might be a bit much for the little guy. As much as he's gone through, he's still a baby dragon, and while his heart may be in the right place, I wouldn't say he's a leader, at least not yet. Frankly, Ember and Thorax were just better suited for teaching the other what they needed to learn, and when they finally did, they had a great dynamic together. I loved that once they realized what misunderstandings had just happened that they both started acting like the adults in the room, like everypony else was acting ridiculous (frankly, their being kept apart can't just be put on Spike considering Twilight and Starlight thought it was the best move too). Overall, loved these two here, and would honestly love to see more of them going forward. D'awwwwww, deer bug pony just can't get comfortable! Ember literally eating Twilight's castle is far cuter than it has any right to be... Besides these two main elements, the rest of Ponyville (as should be the case in any good slice of life episode in this show) was pretty much a character in and of itself, including in Twilight and Starlight (although they were supporting characters, they barely contributed to the resolution at all, so really most of what they did was initiate plot direction and gags throughout the episode). For their parts, Twilight and Starlight were pretty hilarious as they haplessly tried to keep Ember and Thorax apart (though while I understood why Ember was more interested in seeing Spike than those two since they're both dragons, I was a bit confused why Thorax wanted to see Spike more - he may be closer friends with Spike than the others, but friendship isn't an issue with him and I would think he'd know he should take his issue to another leader, not Spike of all ponies or dragons). Their funniest bit was easily when Ember bluntly pointed out how similar they look and even behave, a joke which both felt like it was poking fun at the "all you (blanks) look the same" line applied in a number of racial jokes as well as a tad meta even, considering many fans have drawn parallels between Twilight and Starlight, and they are quite undeniable considering they are teacher and student after all. The background ponies had a ton of bits in the episode, possibly their most this season; Lyra and Bon Bon got into an argument that Spike helped resolve, there were cute and funny bits with Ponyville residents all over the place as part of the celebrations for Ember's arrival (I loved that they were all very receptive of both Ember and Thorax, though they were understandably terrified of some of Ember's more aggressive displays, intentional or accidental), some background ponies argued over a chair for some reason (WAY more aggressively than they needed to), and of course, poor Derpy's muffin meeting its untimely demise against a wall on account of Ember... rather than of course meeting its demise, as it should have, in Derpy's belly. And overall it was just a lot of fun seeing two characters like Ember and Thorax just a bit out of their element in a town like Ponyville, but the rest of the town still going about its business as usual; frankly, a dragon lord and a changeling pack leader are probably hardly the strangest things these ponies have seen by this point. "You ponies all look the same." DAT'S RACIST, EMBER!!! All in all, like I said, this was just a good episode. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad, it was good. The lesson that Spike should have just told Ember and Thorax about each other right away, rather than simply assumed they wouldn't get along, is a VERY standard lesson (made only clever in the sense that Spike was the one who had to learn the lesson, rather than teach anything), though it did set up a delightful joke about how ponies are always just telling each other what friendship lessons they've learned (once again, another fun bit of meta humor). But as I said before, I'm perfectly OK with this episode just being good. I don't need every episode to blow my socks off, otherwise they wouldn't be special to begin with. And hell, I don't even need most episodes to be very exceptional, or at least so bad or divisive that everybody is talking about them. GOOD episodes, just solidly good, are the bread and butter of this show, and we need bread and butter for sustenance as much as we need the delightful decadence that are treats like "The Perfect Pear." The fact that this show's "good" is far more delightful than the average of most other animated shows of a similar nature is a credit to the high level of quality we've come to expect from MLP by this point. So yeah, overall, I very much enjoyed this episode for what it was, and that it didn't pretend in the slightest to be anything that it wasn't, and rather embraced being exactly what it was: a GOOD episode of MLP. That's all I've got for ya this week, everypony, until next time this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit* That "I just watched a good episode of MLP" feeling...

Well thank you so much for the kind words and compliments, my friend, that was all super nice of you to say! Glad you enjoyed the review so much, and yes, this episode will probably always be my favorite episode of the show as well and will always hold a special place in my heart. Also, for the record, you are at least the third person I know of (one of them being me, but hey, it counts) who has cried after reading this review. And I certainly don't think that's a bad thing at all, sometimes crying is a good thing indeed.

Hey, thanks so much for taking a look at my review and responding to my comments. Now that I know even more about your particular perspective, I can better appreciate where you were coming from. I would never demand that EVERYBODY consider this their favorite episode, that'd be contrary to the type of fan I try to be in general. This is still art, and the appreciation of it is thus ultimately subjective, so if it didn't personally resonate with you as much as it did with me, absolutely nothing wrong with that. And I apologize if at any point I came across as aggressive at all in my first reply, that wasn't directed at you at all so much as just a reflection of how passionate I am about this episode. Thanks again for reading my review and hearing out my points, and have a nice evening!

Go for it, as long as your fic is in you're good.

A very solid review overall, though I will disagree with you that the "avoidance" of explicitly stating the Apple parents fate is "cowardly." Neither I nor @Jeric felt that the episode was vague at all; we both understand that there is a very vocal set of bronies who believe that it needs to be flat out stated what happened, but this episode was about as clear cut as the show could be without straight up stating they died (I mention Jeric here mostly because he's had some very personal connections to this episode and seemed very impressed by their handling of the subject of death here, but he could tell you his feelings about that in his own words better than I can). (1) Multiple characters tearing up or just saddening at the mention of the parents, namely their own parents (i.e. Grand Pear - Pear Butter's father, Granny Smith - Bright Mac's mother, Burnt Oak - Bright Mac's best friend, when Big Mac asked if he could talk to him more about his dad, Mrs. Cake - Pear Butter's best friend, sadly frowning when AJ initially asks about their mom). (2) Most characters, including the children, referring to them in the past tense many times. They wouldn't do that if they simply didn't know where they are (i.e. Hey Arnold style, and frankly that's a show that had a bucking weird way of dealing with his parents for most of its run). I know it's not an actual declaration, but it's as close as this show may be willing to come to making one. I don't even think it's because they think kids can't handle the concept of death, it just may not be that they believe that being so explicit about it is appropriate for the nature of this show. You're also not the first person I've seen complaining that we don't seem to know how much the Apple siblings knew their parents, but I believe you may be missing a very simple explanation. Big Mac and Applejack clearly had somewhere from 10-12 and 8-10 years of knowing their parents, respectively; Apple Bloom is the only one who may have been a foal when they passed away. Jeric himself has pointed this out, being a parent himself, and I agree readily with it, that very often there is a lot about their parents that children don't know for years. At the age of 8-12, would you have most likely asked your parents how they fell in love or got married? More than likely not, since that's really not something children worry about at that age; they mostly just care at that point that their parents have always been there for them, and they're not quite at the point of wondering how they got together in the first place, unless they're VERY inquisitive ones. So did Big Mac and Applejack at least know their parents well enough that they knew what wonderful ponies they were and how much they loved them? Absolutely, I have no doubt about that. Apple Bloom may even have minor memories depending on how old she was when they passed away. But it's not surprising at all to me that they'd never heard this story, especially considering there was such an awkward family situation at the heart of it. As for it being mushy (which I know you said you liked), I will say there is more truth to that than you may think. It may seem on the surface that it was cliche stuff they were showing, but speaking as someone who is currently very much in love with my own girlfriend (to the point that we have both told each other we very well could be each other's "THE ONE"), what made Pear Butter and Bright Mac so endearing was how very normal all of their acts of love were. They felt, somehow, in a 22 minute episode like a couple you could see getting together exactly like this in real life. I go into much greater detail into all of this in my episode review (which I will link you to below), but that's the best way I can explain it; the whole episode is a celebration of the remarkable beauty one can find in the normal, normal meaning a couple who, on the surface weren't anypony particularly remarkable, and yet they created something truly remarkable and beautiful simply in their loving each other. I don't want to sound like I'm lecturing you or anything, overall you had a very good review. And if you didn't like this episode as much as I did, that's perfectly alright, not everyone needs to have. You just brought up a number of complaints I've seen others making about elements in the episode which I believe can be defended quite ardently. But overall, I agree with most of your points and am glad you enjoyed the episode. Like I said, I would be honored if you read my own review of it; it's considerably longer than yours, I must admit, but it was a real treat getting to write it and I honestly don't think I'll ever be able to write a better review for any episode. This is undoubtedly my favorite episode of MLP now, and I don't believe that will change anytime soon. Thank you for the fun review read, and have a nice day. https://mlpforums.com/blogs/entry/22618-batbrony-reviews-s07e13-the-perfect-pear/

Thanks Mesme, glad you enjoyed it. It was a true pleasure getting to write this one, no other review has ever felt more fulfilling to make for me.

@Mesme Rize here buddy, thought you might like taking a look at my review of "The Perfect Pear" since you seem to have really liked that episode. Enjoy! https://mlpforums.com/blogs/entry/22618-batbrony-reviews-s07e13-the-perfect-pear/

Oh wow, thanks very much Silver! Glad to hear you could put together a little something for the contest, we've certainly missed seeing you around. Can't wait to read it, your fics are always quite a delight to go through.

Oh I've been writing it for years, so trust me, you have plenty to read! Many thanks, can't wait to hear what you think of it. If you like it, please don't forget to like and favorite it, and always feel free to leave comments and questions on it.

Almost... there are of course exceptions to this rule. Both good, if not downright amazing... And, well, bad, like...

Afternoon everypony! After a far too long of a hiatus, I am happy to announce that the latest chapter of Batmare Begins, "Flint Meets Steel," is now officially up! If you're a first time reader of it, you can click here to get to the fic itself. A huge thank you to my long time followers for your patience and understanding, and I hope you very much enjoy the chapter! To any new readers, likes, favorites, and follows are always appreciated, and to all of you, as always feel free to leave comments below, especially if you yourselves have any questions, critiques, or suggestions! Lord willing, the next update will take far less time to put together, but I guess I can't say for certain seeing as real life business tends to always get in the way in some way or another. For now, I hope you enjoy this latest update, and thank you again for your continued interest in my story and characters, it's a huge part of what makes writing this all worth it to begin with. Have a good day everypony, until next time, this is Batbrony signing off! I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit*

Afternoon everypony! After a far too long of a hiatus, I am happy to announce that the latest chapter of Batmare Begins, "Flint Meets Steel," is now officially up! If you're a first time reader of it, you can click here to get to the fic itself. A huge thank you to my long time followers for your patience and understanding, and I hope you very much enjoy the chapter! To any new readers, likes, favorites, and follows are always appreciated, and to all of you, as always feel free to leave comments below, especially if you yourselves have any questions, critiques, or suggestions! Lord willing, the next update will take far less time to put together, but I guess I can't say for certain seeing as real life business tends to always get in the way in some way or another. For now, I hope you enjoy this latest update, and thank you again for your continued interest in my story and characters, it's a huge part of what makes writing this all worth it to begin with. Have a good day everypony, until next time, this is Batbrony signing off! I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit*

Your observation about Starlight is a very good one, this was a rare time where she plays a major supportive role; usually if she has a lot of screen time, it's because she's the main character of the show. I think in many ways it hammers home the point that no matter how many folks may either miss the point or take their love of something to an unhealthy length, the most meaningful ones will still be those who've taken the lessons to heart and let them change them for the better the most (Starlight obviously being a great example of the latter given everything she's learned from the Mane 6). I can't call it a flawed masterpiece myself, no matter how much I like the lesson, but again, I won't say anyone is necessarily wrong for loving or hating this episode, as long as they can at least provide solid reasons for it. Like I said, the one thing no one should come away from this episode feeling is personally insulted; that just means they're looking for something to be insulted about, not to learn an actual, introspective lesson, even if it is delivered in a biting manner.

Well then... that was... odd. Certainly not bad, and I don't even find myself disagreeing with the lesson of this episode, but it was quite odd to watch to say the least. I honestly don't think we've ever had an episode as blatantly meta as "Fame and Misfortune," and it leaves me in a strange place when it comes to reviewing it. But I'm gonna try my best, since it's still an episode of MLP, and like I said, not a bad one, even if I don't know completely how I feel about it. Without further ado, let's begin, this is Batbrony Reviews "Fame and Misfortune." I won't lie, that is undeniably one of the most adorable faces Twilight's made in some time So let's not beat around the bush and get straight to the point: this episode is a biting critique of both the worst behavior displayed by nerdy fandoms in general, and specifically the brony fandom in particular. What happens? Twilight Sparkle rediscovers her old friendship journal she and her friends put together, and decides to distribute it all across Equestria in the hopes that ponies will take the lessons to heart. This plan seemingly backfires, however, when suddenly the Mane 6 are being treated like celebrities, and as a result being hounded and harangued in the absolutely worst ways that celebrities are. Worst of all, none of the ponies harassing them seem to have taken any of the lessons to heart and are more interested in far more trivial, superficial matters. The friends are almost overwhelmed by all of this insanity, but take comfort in each other at the end, as well as the fact that some ponies (namely G4 Toola Roola and her friend Coconut Cream) show them that they have taken their lessons to heart and haven't missed the point of the journal, even if many others have. That's as simple a summary as I can give, and it's really not that complex of an episode overall. It's still an odd one, and I certainly have my criticisms despite appreciating the lesson. Let's start with my criticisms before we touch on the positives, just to get them out of the way. For starters, this episode has a single-sided depiction of celebrity-hood, and a negative one at that. I don't think the bad things they show happening to the Mane 6 as celebrities are necessarily inaccurate, not at all, being a celebrity is an exhausting, 24/7 endeavor I am sure and fans can be super weird, if not downright uncomfortable at times. But they don't show the fact that being a celebrity comes with its own set of perks as well, and not just superficial ones; while MLP creators and artists may, in the grand Hollywood hierarchy, only be minor celebrities for the most part, they still have access to a lot of opportunities that their fans do not for the most part. Plus, come on, they get to make an awesome show about magical ponies; hard work as that may be, I'd still say it's pretty awesome. Point being that being a celebrity of any level isn't JUST the nightmare that the show depicted here, there's more to it than that. I will admit, though, that I appreciate that they took our longstanding critique that the Mane 6 were never treated like celebrities by the rest of Equestria despite saving it so many times; after this episode, I'm perfectly OK if they aren't ever again seeing as ponies treated them so bizarrely. I far prefer getting to see them lead their lives as normally as possible when they can. My second critique is that I wasn't particularly fond of seeing mainstay background ponies treating the Mane 6 like assholes. The new characters I didn't care about, and while I understand that they couldn't just make new character models and were most likely just recycling characters for convenience's sake, it was still not particularly pleasant seeing background characters we've come to love act OOC and like total jerks. Granted, like much in this episode, it will probably be forgotten entirely going forward, so I'm pretty forgiving of it overall with that in mind, but still, I wasn't all that fond of it at times (except of course when Pinkie had that hilarious line, "YOU'VE KNOWN ME FOR YEARS!!!!!!" That was golden and I cannot hate that line at all). I will admit, though, that I did enjoy seeing them criticize the "Best Pony" fad, or at least how some people treat it; it's alright if you have a favorite character for your own personal reasons (I should know considering Derpy is mine), BUT having a favorite character doesn't mean that they are superior to the others for EVERYBODY just by virtue of being your favorite, or that you need to prove their "superiority." Just be content with why you like them more than the others, while also accepting that the Mane 6 simply wouldn't be as special as they are if even one of their members weren't a part of their group. The episode definitely did a good job at hammering that point home towards the end, and I applaud them for addressing that particular niche in the fandom. The third critique I have isn't much of a critique, more like just an expression of how I personally feel about the episode. The target of this episode is the fringe elements of the fandom, namely fans who turn their liking of the show into an unhealthy thing for both themselves and others in a variety of ways. The biggest critique I have of how this is shown is that I believe it is especially targeted at the con-going crowd, ya know, bronies who regularly attend pony cons and get the most chances to be around the show's creators. There's nothing wrong with that either, but in my case, it means that the lesson didn't actually resonate with me all that much. Why? Not because it's a bad lesson, but because I'm not a part of that crowd. In my entire life, I've been to a grand total of one convention, last year's BronyCon. It was a great time where I got to meet a bunch of cool bronies and creators, both from the show and in the fandom, and yes, I also got exposed to in those few days some of the more uncomfortable sides of the fandom, i.e., fans who take certain things about the show too seriously, fans who don't have good self-awareness and can make others uncomfortable because of their behavior, fans who feel entitled to certain treatment just by virtue of loving the show, fans who think they prove their "status" in the fandom by owning the most merchandise that they can, etc. These were all there to be sure, and yet, that's the only time I've gotten to see it. Now any fan can certainly be exposed to the ugly side of the fandom online as well, but it's far different in person, when you get to see hundreds if not thousands of bronies gathered together. I myself have only gotten to see that once, and many bronies can't even say that, so really, I think for folks like myself who are not a part of the regular con-going crowd, this episode isn't going to resonate as much with us. That's OK, all episodes have varying levels of effect on people depending on what they can personally take from it; I know that many bronies didn't feel that "The Perfect Pear" resonated with them as much as it did with others, and in many of those cases, they're bronies who've never had a romantic relationship or a really deep one, so it's understandable that they may not get why that episode resonated so strongly with others who have been in love with another. But the reason I do still list it as a critique is because the target audience of this episode is so narrow; con-going bronies either have the good fortune of living very close to where a big con is regularly held, or they have the resources to get to multiple cons each year. Ultimately, that's a small segment of the fandom, even if it is an important segment. An episode like "The Perfect Pear" by contrast could easily resonate with anyone who's ever been in love, or just wants to understand the deeper effects of a pure love in general, meaning it has a far more universal audience, to the point that I believe that even people who don't watch MLP could get a lot out of it. Replace that tree with a body pillow, and you've got an eerily accurate scene one could easily encounter at one of our cons So, even if this episode doesn't resonate with me very strongly, why do I still think it's a good episode? Because it still has a good lesson, even if it's a very meta one that probably won't ever be brought up again. For me, this was 22 minutes of the show's creators venting about the hardest aspects of dealing with this fandom, and I'm OK with that. This is a weird fandom by nature, and in general that's usually alright, but at its worst it means that the show's creators are often confronted by dozens of fans with silly critiques, demanding and entitled behavior, or just take their love of the show to uncomfortable levels. Worst of all, they forget what the point of this show is to begin with, teaching good lessons to others and helping them be better for learning those lessons. Overall, my biggest takeaway from this episode for the fandom is that, if you have the opportunity to express your love for the show in public, especially to its creators, don't do it in a way that isn't good for anyone. Don't harass them, don't act snobbish or entitled around them, don't act as though they are there (at a con or such) for you. Being a fan and getting to share in your love of the show with a creator means doing just that, sharing, showing how much you appreciate the work they've done, and the stories and characters they've created. I'm not saying you can't be critical of the show, I've done just that up above after all. But it's one thing to be critical of certain things in an episode of the show. It's another thing entirely to take certain flaws as a personal affront, or to act like a jackass about certain problems. In the grand scheme of things, a bad episode in this show, even one as horrendous as "Hard to Say Anything," isn't going to be the end of the world; it'll just be a bad episode and, while you can be upset about that, you shouldn't let it affect you or others too much. As the song in this episode goes (which sounded a bit too epic to be warranted for this episode, but I won't complain since it was still a super lovely song all the same), "We're not flawless, we're a work in progress." This doesn't just apply to the characters, it applies to the show itself. The creators are always trying to see how they can improve upon the already great stuff they've made, what new things they could add to make it even more special. When episodes like "The Perfect Pear" happen, we see the greatest fruits of their labors and ambitions, proof that they truly are trying to push the boundaries of what they can accomplish in this show. But that doesn't mean there will never be buck ups or mishandled episodes either, and while we don't have to like those episodes, we shouldn't blow them out of proportion either. Being a good fan means trying to use your love of something to share in celebrating it with its creator, and offering helpful critiques and advice when you can. It doesn't mean inconveniencing creators or even making life harder for them; if that's going on as a result of your behavior, then you're doing something wrong as a fan. Do you have to like this episode? I don't think so, no. I don't think anyone should be personally offended by it, but if it didn't resonate with you very strongly like in my own case, that's alright. And hey, if you loved it and had a blast at its meta nature, that's great, keep on loving it. This episode is already creating very split opinions on it in the fandom, it seems, and I'm neither surprised nor do I think that's a bad thing, necessarily (just don't make the creators lives a living hell for making it, folks, OK?). So what's my advice for all of us to take away from this episode? Simple: love the show, critique it where it's warranted but in a reasonable manner, and show your love to the show's creators in a healthy, positive, uplifting, and grounded manner that leaves both you and them feeling better. Don't be a jackass, don't act like the creators "owe" you anything, and don't forget what this show is all about in the first place. Learning some good lessons about life, taking those lessons to heart, and practicing them in your own lives as best as you can for the good of others and yourself. If we do that, then we're proving that the show creators' efforts have all been worth it. That's all I've got for ya this week, everypony, until next time this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit* Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch "The Perfect Pear" again... DON'T JUDGE ME, YOU KNOW YOU DO IT TOO!!!

Well then... that was... odd. Certainly not bad, and I don't even find myself disagreeing with the lesson of this episode, but it was quite odd to watch to say the least. I honestly don't think we've ever had an episode as blatantly meta as "Fame and Misfortune," and it leaves me in a strange place when it comes to reviewing it. But I'm gonna try my best, since it's still an episode of MLP, and like I said, not a bad one, even if I don't know completely how I feel about it. Without further ado, let's begin, this is Batbrony Reviews "Fame and Misfortune." I won't lie, that is undeniably one of the most adorable faces Twilight's made in some time So let's not beat around the bush and get straight to the point: this episode is a biting critique of both the worst behavior displayed by nerdy fandoms in general, and specifically the brony fandom in particular. What happens? Twilight Sparkle rediscovers her old friendship journal she and her friends put together, and decides to distribute it all across Equestria in the hopes that ponies will take the lessons to heart. This plan seemingly backfires, however, when suddenly the Mane 6 are being treated like celebrities, and as a result being hounded and harangued in the absolutely worst ways that celebrities are. Worst of all, none of the ponies harassing them seem to have taken any of the lessons to heart and are more interested in far more trivial, superficial matters. The friends are almost overwhelmed by all of this insanity, but take comfort in each other at the end, as well as the fact that some ponies (namely G4 Toola Roola and her friend Coconut Cream) show them that they have taken their lessons to heart and haven't missed the point of the journal, even if many others have. That's as simple a summary as I can give, and it's really not that complex of an episode overall. It's still an odd one, and I certainly have my criticisms despite appreciating the lesson. Let's start with my criticisms before we touch on the positives, just to get them out of the way. For starters, this episode has a single-sided depiction of celebrity-hood, and a negative one at that. I don't think the bad things they show happening to the Mane 6 as celebrities are necessarily inaccurate, not at all, being a celebrity is an exhausting, 24/7 endeavor I am sure and fans can be super weird, if not downright uncomfortable at times. But they don't show the fact that being a celebrity comes with its own set of perks as well, and not just superficial ones; while MLP creators and artists may, in the grand Hollywood hierarchy, only be minor celebrities for the most part, they still have access to a lot of opportunities that their fans do not for the most part. Plus, come on, they get to make an awesome show about magical ponies; hard work as that may be, I'd still say it's pretty awesome. Point being that being a celebrity of any level isn't JUST the nightmare that the show depicted here, there's more to it than that. I will admit, though, that I appreciate that they took our longstanding critique that the Mane 6 were never treated like celebrities by the rest of Equestria despite saving it so many times; after this episode, I'm perfectly OK if they aren't ever again seeing as ponies treated them so bizarrely. I far prefer getting to see them lead their lives as normally as possible when they can. My second critique is that I wasn't particularly fond of seeing mainstay background ponies treating the Mane 6 like assholes. The new characters I didn't care about, and while I understand that they couldn't just make new character models and were most likely just recycling characters for convenience's sake, it was still not particularly pleasant seeing background characters we've come to love act OOC and like total jerks. Granted, like much in this episode, it will probably be forgotten entirely going forward, so I'm pretty forgiving of it overall with that in mind, but still, I wasn't all that fond of it at times (except of course when Pinkie had that hilarious line, "YOU'VE KNOWN ME FOR YEARS!!!!!!" That was golden and I cannot hate that line at all). I will admit, though, that I did enjoy seeing them criticize the "Best Pony" fad, or at least how some people treat it; it's alright if you have a favorite character for your own personal reasons (I should know considering Derpy is mine), BUT having a favorite character doesn't mean that they are superior to the others for EVERYBODY just by virtue of being your favorite, or that you need to prove their "superiority." Just be content with why you like them more than the others, while also accepting that the Mane 6 simply wouldn't be as special as they are if even one of their members weren't a part of their group. The episode definitely did a good job at hammering that point home towards the end, and I applaud them for addressing that particular niche in the fandom. The third critique I have isn't much of a critique, more like just an expression of how I personally feel about the episode. The target of this episode is the fringe elements of the fandom, namely fans who turn their liking of the show into an unhealthy thing for both themselves and others in a variety of ways. The biggest critique I have of how this is shown is that I believe it is especially targeted at the con-going crowd, ya know, bronies who regularly attend pony cons and get the most chances to be around the show's creators. There's nothing wrong with that either, but in my case, it means that the lesson didn't actually resonate with me all that much. Why? Not because it's a bad lesson, but because I'm not a part of that crowd. In my entire life, I've been to a grand total of one convention, last year's BronyCon. It was a great time where I got to meet a bunch of cool bronies and creators, both from the show and in the fandom, and yes, I also got exposed to in those few days some of the more uncomfortable sides of the fandom, i.e., fans who take certain things about the show too seriously, fans who don't have good self-awareness and can make others uncomfortable because of their behavior, fans who feel entitled to certain treatment just by virtue of loving the show, fans who think they prove their "status" in the fandom by owning the most merchandise that they can, etc. These were all there to be sure, and yet, that's the only time I've gotten to see it. Now any fan can certainly be exposed to the ugly side of the fandom online as well, but it's far different in person, when you get to see hundreds if not thousands of bronies gathered together. I myself have only gotten to see that once, and many bronies can't even say that, so really, I think for folks like myself who are not a part of the regular con-going crowd, this episode isn't going to resonate as much with us. That's OK, all episodes have varying levels of effect on people depending on what they can personally take from it; I know that many bronies didn't feel that "The Perfect Pear" resonated with them as much as it did with others, and in many of those cases, they're bronies who've never had a romantic relationship or a really deep one, so it's understandable that they may not get why that episode resonated so strongly with others who have been in love with another. But the reason I do still list it as a critique is because the target audience of this episode is so narrow; con-going bronies either have the good fortune of living very close to where a big con is regularly held, or they have the resources to get to multiple cons each year. Ultimately, that's a small segment of the fandom, even if it is an important segment. An episode like "The Perfect Pear" by contrast could easily resonate with anyone who's ever been in love, or just wants to understand the deeper effects of a pure love in general, meaning it has a far more universal audience, to the point that I believe that even people who don't watch MLP could get a lot out of it. Replace that tree with a body pillow, and you've got an eerily accurate scene one could easily encounter at one of our cons So, even if this episode doesn't resonate with me very strongly, why do I still think it's a good episode? Because it still has a good lesson, even if it's a very meta one that probably won't ever be brought up again. For me, this was 22 minutes of the show's creators venting about the hardest aspects of dealing with this fandom, and I'm OK with that. This is a weird fandom by nature, and in general that's usually alright, but at its worst it means that the show's creators are often confronted by dozens of fans with silly critiques, demanding and entitled behavior, or just take their love of the show to uncomfortable levels. Worst of all, they forget what the point of this show is to begin with, teaching good lessons to others and helping them be better for learning those lessons. Overall, my biggest takeaway from this episode for the fandom is that, if you have the opportunity to express your love for the show in public, especially to its creators, don't do it in a way that isn't good for anyone. Don't harass them, don't act snobbish or entitled around them, don't act as though they are there (at a con or such) for you. Being a fan and getting to share in your love of the show with a creator means doing just that, sharing, showing how much you appreciate the work they've done, and the stories and characters they've created. I'm not saying you can't be critical of the show, I've done just that up above after all. But it's one thing to be critical of certain things in an episode of the show. It's another thing entirely to take certain flaws as a personal affront, or to act like a jackass about certain problems. In the grand scheme of things, a bad episode in this show, even one as horrendous as "Hard to Say Anything," isn't going to be the end of the world; it'll just be a bad episode and, while you can be upset about that, you shouldn't let it affect you or others too much. As the song in this episode goes (which sounded a bit too epic to be warranted for this episode, but I won't complain since it was still a super lovely song all the same), "We're not flawless, we're a work in progress." This doesn't just apply to the characters, it applies to the show itself. The creators are always trying to see how they can improve upon the already great stuff they've made, what new things they could add to make it even more special. When episodes like "The Perfect Pear" happen, we see the greatest fruits of their labors and ambitions, proof that they truly are trying to push the boundaries of what they can accomplish in this show. But that doesn't mean there will never be buck ups or mishandled episodes either, and while we don't have to like those episodes, we shouldn't blow them out of proportion either. Being a good fan means trying to use your love of something to share in celebrating it with its creator, and offering helpful critiques and advice when you can. It doesn't mean inconveniencing creators or even making life harder for them; if that's going on as a result of your behavior, then you're doing something wrong as a fan. Do you have to like this episode? I don't think so, no. I don't think anyone should be personally offended by it, but if it didn't resonate with you very strongly like in my own case, that's alright. And hey, if you loved it and had a blast at its meta nature, that's great, keep on loving it. This episode is already creating very split opinions on it in the fandom, it seems, and I'm neither surprised nor do I think that's a bad thing, necessarily (just don't make the creators lives a living hell for making it, folks, OK?). So what's my advice for all of us to take away from this episode? Simple: love the show, critique it where it's warranted but in a reasonable manner, and show your love to the show's creators in a healthy, positive, uplifting, and grounded manner that leaves both you and them feeling better. Don't be a jackass, don't act like the creators "owe" you anything, and don't forget what this show is all about in the first place. Learning some good lessons about life, taking those lessons to heart, and practicing them in your own lives as best as you can for the good of others and yourself. If we do that, then we're proving that the show creators' efforts have all been worth it. That's all I've got for ya this week, everypony, until next time this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit* Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch "The Perfect Pear" again... DON'T JUDGE ME, YOU KNOW YOU DO IT TOO!!!

That's perfectly OK, as I have yet to go through your fic plus the contest is still technically ongoing until the stroke of midnight tonight. Best of luck to all participating, and remember, to those who have yet to submit their fics, you have less than 24 hours left to do so!