Thrond

48 minutes ago, seldiora said:

damn son, you got real high standards. Which episodes do you give 100/100?

I've re-watched this one since, but I only raised it to an 85/100; there's something about it which I still find a little distancing even with as much as I love about it. I think the main deal is that everything here is brand new to me, so I'm not inherently invested in the Apple/Pear conflict, which is what I think the episode's most powerful idea is based on. Otherwise, I think the romance is delightful, but cannot fathom what people find so impressive about it. 

Anyway, you can find all my scores here. It's still a little incomplete at the moment, but I'm working on that. However, I think it has all the episodes I would rate 100/100, which are as follows:

"Party of One"
"The Best Night Ever"
"Lesson Zero"
"The Last Roundup"
"Hurricane Fluttershy"
"Wonderbolts Academy"
"For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils"
"Bloom and Gloom"
"Rarity Investigates!"
"A Hearth's Warming Tail"

3 hours ago, Adamgreen said:

Huh. Surprise there's no 28 pranks later  

I think that episode is kinda funny and has a nice atmosphere.

27 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

It's interesting to see your opinion of "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?", which is well-loved by fan but being heavy-criticized by crttics.

I just don’t like anything in that episode. The jokes are lazy, the action is weightless, and if I recall correctly, Luna’s arc is barely present until the end, when it’s resolved in a borderline offensive manner.

30 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

I wonder why "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows" in this list, this is just a harmless fun episode and less annoying than some episodes like Show Stoppers, Somepony to Watch Over me, or infamous Rainbow Falls.......

It’s a single joke repeated endlessly. Can’t stand it. “Show Stoppers” barely missed the list, “Rainbow Falls” is at least way more ambitious. 

31 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

wait a minute, no SPIKE AT YOUR SERVICE?! Uh, ok, I am tired to see the same episode being bashed every year anyway 

Guilty pleasure. I find that episode funny, as nonsensical as it is. Has some really nice dialogue and an endearingly casual tone. 

3 hours ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

Numbers "one" & "four" on that list are two of my favorite episodes. 

I haven't really seen "Magical Mystery Cure" in a while; there's specific aspects of it which really get on my nerves, but the songs do sound nice. With "Look Before You Sleep," I just can't stand Rarity and Applejack's bickering. 

1 hour ago, Music Chart Fan said:

I haven't commented much on your posts or blog entries in your time here, but for what it's worth, I've appreciated reading your methodical and regular reviews of episodes. You probably take a significantly different approach to watching the show and analyzing it than I do, and because of that, your episode reviews have often highlighted elements and angles that I would have missed or wouldn't have considered otherwise. So, as your episode reviews are ending, I just wanted to let you know that I've enjoyed seeing your thoughts on episodes and how they've compared to (and differed from) mine.

Thank you very much! And, while we're on the topic, I must say that I feel the same about yours. 

@The Artist Formerly Known As A.V. 

I honestly feel "The Crystalling" managed it in mostly the same way: they were just preoccupied. And I didn't care at all about bringing Starswirl back, so I can't say I preferred this episode's excuse for their absence. 

@The Artist Formerly Known As A.V. You know, I keep hearing that both the "Legends" comics and the movie prequel comics were interesting, so I honestly wonder if they would be better than the show/movie. Not exactly a high bar, but I've known the comics to get away with stuff the show never could. 

2 hours ago, n1029 said:

The premise wouldn't have made sense with someone like Applejack or Fluttershy but it's perfectly tuned for Pinkie and RD's comedic interplay. They have matured, but they still occasionally lapse into childishness and have previously done so in season 7. Also, RD saw what happened with Pinkie in Party of One, so it's a little more understandable that she'd be hesitant to take the risk.

It's not just the characterization. It's also a tone thing. As I said, the narrative feels simpler and less sophisticated than even the show's early episodes, and the fact that every character takes it so seriously reminds me more of small children than what the show usually does - again, even in season 1, I felt like the narratives were based around slightly more mature problems than we see here. It just feels out of place, and it puts way too much weight on the humour's shoulders. Which the jokes are definitely up for the task of, but it gets slightly tiring. 

2 hours ago, n1029 said:

Regarding Tank, apparently she had only done it once recently, and in the scene where she throws it down the chute she had just been woken up by Pinkie and didn't have much ability to think straight. My headcanon: She had been planning to get a grinder installed for her feeding tube and Pinkie just caught her too soon, and after that scene she immediately went down to Tank to make sure he was ok (and also to ensure Pinkie didn't notice). The scene itself is charmingly slapsticky enough to make it forgivable in my eyes.

I honestly find it hilarious, and in retrospect I suppose that chute was more likely installed so Rainbow could feed Tank normally. Still, it again makes her seem overly immature that she tossed the whole pie down, knowing that it hurts Tank, rather than just talk to Pinkie. 

The thing is, this does feel more like what I like about this show than most other episodes this season, but like "It Isn't the Mane Thing About You" and even "Once Upon a Zeppelin," I feel like there's something missing. Doesn't stop me from smiling whenever I think about it, though. 

@Lambdadelta I was complaining about that in an earlier draft, but when scrubbing for examples, she seemed fine aside from being incredibly hyper, which is also true of Fluttershy and the supporting cast. 

@StitchandMLPlover Indeed, and I think it's because it's so easily to relate to and sympathize with her that the moral has so much impact. 

29 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

(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.

This is one of those cases where I wasn't really sure how someone who hadn't been hearing theories about the Apple parents' death for years would react, but when you spell it out for me, I come to appreciate the subtle way it was handled here a lot more. I'm still a little off-put by people I've seen who insist the parents must be alive, but then again, they'd probably require explicit detail to be convinced, so maybe I shouldn't consider their opinion that much. (In my rundown, I think I'd bump the "Story" score up to an 8 or even 9; I haven't enjoyed a fan favourite this much since season 4 at least.)

34 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

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.

I still think the episode might have been even more poignant if we got a little more detail about the Apple siblings' relationship to their parents, but there might not have been room, and the melancholic undertones present are more than good enough. I'm not bothered that they don't know this stuff, but if there was something more specific to their reactions, I think the episode might have been even more powerful. However, this is a criticism which I don't feel as strongly about as when I wrote this review. 

37 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

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'm asexual and have never been in a relationship, so as endearing as I find romance stories, I can't really relate to them. I mostly agree with all the things you praised in your review, but while I was moved by this episode, I'm not really one to wax poetic about the wonders of love (to me, it's just one of many ways for other people to find happiness), so as moved as I was by what the Apple parents went through to be happy together, I can't really relate to the specifics, so this episode isn't really as important to me as it is to you. 

I also don't really view them as any more normal than anyone else in this show. I've always identified witch characters in this show because of their quirks and archetypes, so these characters don't necessarily resonate more with me than others in my other favourite sentimental episodes - although I have the same distant affection for them that I have for, say, Snowfall Frost in "A Hearth's Warming Tail." I think a lot of that is just me, and I see the main themes of this episode far more clearly in retrospect than I did when I watched it, but while I do love this episode, the mushy aspects don't mean enough to me to call it my favourite of the whole show.

But then, it wouldn't be the first time an episode I liked had a stronger emotional impact for me on second watch, and the only real difference between our opinions is that your affection is even more intense than mine - this is merely one of my favourite episodes ever (like, top 30, perhaps), and somehow that makes me feel like my opinion is one of the more negative out there. Good episode. 

6 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

My problem with it is it's very disingenuous and archaic. If it was referenced, then the exchange lacks weight.

It's just weird to me that this was brought up over a season after that complaint had died out. 

25 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Apparently, Breezies wasn't mentioned at all here.

That hurts the scene and exchange between Fluttershy and the fans even more. Fluttershy had to learn a really tough lesson on assertion there, when she had to eject the breezies from her home. If she stayed complacent, then they'd remain stranded in a foreign and dangerous land. It was ignored out of contrivance.

Ehh, that's a nitpick. I was still complaining about Fluttershy learning the same thing over and over again as late as season 5, so it's not like these fans are unrealistic. 

On 6/22/2017 at 7:23 AM, A.V. said:

 

Actually, the whole fading-away thing seemed to begin only after he 180'd his dimension itself.

 

See Fisher King and Fisher Kingdom (TV Tropes) for the gist.

Sure, but it still turns what could have been a deeper internal conflict into a comparatively impersonal external conflict. Making the stakes more personal trivializes Discord's lesson. 

(Sorry about the late response, just noticed this.)

2 hours ago, The Undefeated of the Weast said:

 

Indeed. 

4 hours ago, Lambdadelta said:

It look like S7 will be your worst season , excluding S3 of course.

Season 5 would probably have similarly low scores. I like season 3. 

I tend to enjoy this episode about up to the ending, partially because I respect its ambition, partially because the continuity is appealing, but mostly because until the ending it reads just as easily like Twilight's overreacting to her supposed misdeeds. I really thought that this episode was going to have a message about how friends drift apart and how some people just don't want to be friendly and extroverted, but then it goes into its ending and, despite how many strong emotional tricks the episode pulls out, just about every single one of the issues you've listed here becomes hard for me to ignore. 

Moreover, the fact that Moondancer's reclusiveness is a bitter defense mechanism doesn't really ring true, and as a result, I find Twilight bothering her so much to border on stalking. It's hard enough to get behind Twilight when the episode grants her zero flaws, but then her actions become difficult for me to justify despite the episode clearly thinking they're downright necessary. Maybe if we saw how Moondancer's actions were harmful to her, it'd make sense, but they leave that exclusively for recollections, flashbacks, and the ending. It seems like she's just an introverted person who doesn't want annoying ponies bothering her all the time with stuff she doesn't care about. 

In addition, I can't help but feel that Twilight being the cause of Moondancer's reclusiveness only serves to justify Twilight's paranoia, which is doubly frustrating because Twilight doesn't learn anything.  Anything you could see as this episode's main lesson is something she already knows from the past four and a half seasons.

Season 5 frustrated me because of episodes like this and "The Mane Attraction," where a main character only exists for us to see a completely new character who we have no reason to care about. Moondancer is probably the worst example, because at least Coloratura has an understandable issue even if she lacks personality. I can't be invested in Moondancer if I've only known her for half an episode, and if her issues are only explored for half of that. 

Usually, I'd comment that it's good this wasn't a map episode, because I think the map is a really lazy plot device which only exists as a storytelling crutch, but it honestly wouldn't be all that much worse than the actual setup of the episode, where Twilight neurotically feels she needs to fix a previous mistake based on an offhand comment from Spike. Again, justifying Twilight's neuroses doesn't feel like the correct course of action for this episode. Still, I guess I'm glad Larson tried to have a character-relevant reason for Twilight to go to Canterlot. 

Part of the issue, I think, really is length. There's obviously more behind Moondancer's issues, but they're explored at such a surface level that, without an intrisnic emotional connection, they don't even make all that much sense. The episode might have been much more understandable if we knew more about Moondancer and why she was reacting this way, but all of this stemming from Twilight Sparkle - Twilight Sparkle of all ponies - not attending a single party isn't particularly believable for me. 

I appreciate the review - it's so cathartic to find someone who shares my thoughts on this one, when everywhere else I turn I see heaps of adoration for it.