Thrond

I can't really say people are wrong that the CMC probably should be more mature than this, but the thought literally never crossed my mind until I read people's responses to this. When I said "it's good that this feels like earlier seasons," I hadn't read the thread very far and thought people were merely complaining that it wasn't conclusive enough. I guess part of it is that I've always been of two minds about how responsible the CMC are; I find some of the episodes where they help others to be very satisfying, but I also think it's bizarre that not only fellow kids but also parents are going to literal children for cutie mark advice. It seemed inconsistent with, say, the fact that they never moved up a grade level from Cheerilee's class. We also saw them being chaperoned as late as season 8 in "Surf and/or Turf," and nobody complained about that, but at the same time we've also seen them travel on their own as early as, what, "Parental Glideance"? I dunno, this didn't even register to me as "the final CMC episode" for me, which I guess is the problem if you still pay attention to continuity in this show; I kinda try to ignore it when it's not relevant. I felt pretty strongly that people were overreacting earlier this season regarding Celestia and such, but I don't have a strong defense for this one. As a side note, I can understand not wanting them to make the same mistakes they usually make, because those have always been tied to their youth and inexperience. But some of you seem to have wanted an episode where they're in the right from start to finish, and I don't understand that. I'd actually say that this is a bad offender, because I think having Twilight just get over her anxiety so she can become a better ruler of Equestria is a terrible idea.

Going to Seed - I just like the warm, gentle tone here. I like how it has a conflict without getting too tense, and it has a lot of solid cute and funny moments that keep it from feeling overly mild to me. And sue me, I think the moral about letting your imagination run wild sometimes - and more importantly, allowing yourself to have some fun instead of working all the time - is a solid one. Keep Calm and Flutter On - I really enjoy Discord's antics in general, and this actually has a lot of the same strengths as Fluttershy's season 6 episodes: she's thoughtful and kind-hearted, and even wants the best for people she doesn't really like (like Discord at this time), but can also stand up for herself when needed. And I must admit that I've always enjoyed the sheer optimism of every villain in this show reforming, even though this one only has Discord agree to be slightly less awful. A Royal Problem - I have a soft spot for this because it did a lot to humanize Celestia, who until this point I had always felt could have been a more relatable character than she was. But it also helps that this has a really good moral about how we underestimate jobs we don't understand, and both the sisters and Twilight are really funny in this. Admittedly I'm kinda dreading a rewatch, because some of the details are... less than convincing, but I still think what this does well stands out. Secret of My Excess - Very fun as a monster movie riff; seeing Spike rapidly become greedier and greedier is really amusing, as is watching him become giant and trample through Ponyville. And Pinkie Pie assaulting Spike with cakes is classic. Not a fan of how this treats the Spike/Rarity relationship, however. He's too young for her. The Break Up Break Down - Still not entirely sold on the conflict here, which is a really predictable misunderstanding story that I feel only happened due to characters being dumb, but the little moments are pretty consistently great. As in their first episode together, I really enjoy that Spike and Big Mac are nearly as silly as Discord, so they have a very different dynamic from Discord and anyone else. Swarm of the Century - See above; in this case, because the show hadn't fully established its internal logic yet, the misunderstandings are even more frustrating to me. But it's season 1 so there's still a lot of cute and funny moments, as always, and Pinkie Pie rummaging for musical instruments with no context is one of her defining moments. Applejack's 'Day' Off - This episode is really slow and mild; I find it boring, mostly, though Dash still being defensive about going to the spa in season 6 got on my nerves, and having a whole extra scene at the end just so they could repeat the moral annoyed me. And everything in this episode takes longer than it should. Rainbow Falls - This episode doesn't make any sense, but I do like Rainbow Dash's internal conflict in it. Princess Spike - This strikes me as one of the show's blandest episodes. It just doesn't do a lot that's creative or interesting. And I always thought that Spike's decision to abuse his power came out of nowhere, and that the conflict resolved itself too easily.

That would enhance the idea that adulthood doesn't automatically grant expertise, but it might undermine the idea that being an adult is more than just physical appearance. If children can know more than adults, then why do the CMC need chaperones? There's an answer to that, but the episode might have gotten bogged down answering it.

The Saddle Row Review - This is a really good mockumentary sitcom, and it really underlines the potential of these characters for such a format. I honestly wish the show did more genre experiments like this, because it's such a breath of fresh air for a show that's usually so formulaic. Sweet and Elite - Has a lot of great moments, like the goofy cold open and Pinkie's party cannon and Twilight's dancing, and does a really good job of making Rarity's early-season vanity relatable. I really liked seeing her ultimately embrace her small-town roots. She wasn't my favourite character in the first three seasons, but this episode does a particularly good job of grounding her before season 4 would tone down the vanity a bit. Slice of Life - Bold move to take this corporate-mandated fan-pandering episode and crank the absurdity up to 11. This is best known for its references to the fandom, but I think it's so great specifically because it never quite goes where you would expect it to. Almost every joke here works even without understanding the reference, and the general tone is goofy and surreal enough that pretty much anything seems to fit. Pinkie Apple Pie - Feels a bit lightweight to me, but there's a lot of charm here, and it's filled with great Pinkie Pie moments. I think this does an especially good job of grounding Pinkie's hyperactivity in her emotions; she's weird, but I could always sort of tell where she's coming from, which isn't always true of her. Spike at Your Service - Probably belongs lower, but it's kind of a guilty pleasure for me. Spike's behaviour here is kinda irritating, and doesn't make any sense, but the mane six get a lot of great lines, and that keeps me coming back to this one even though it's really flawed. Sweet and Smoky - This is pretty bland. Just another "be yourself" moral from a show with a lot of them. Bridle Gossip - This has some funny moments, especially the poison joke pranks, but for the most part it's kinda basic and predictable, and there's a few too many contrivances for my taste. And I don't like seeing these characters being so judgmental. Honest Apple - I feel like Applejack and Rarity always bring the worst out of each other, and this is a great example; Applejack's insensitivity is just annoying here, and the story feels like rote moralizing as a result. Plus, Rarity kinda seems to get herself into this issue; why didn't she stop Applejack? And really, what did she think would happen? Non-Compete Clause - This is mostly just petty bickering and I find it really dull. Plus, such a shallow reading of these characters just doesn't seem to fit the context of the friendship school, which doesn't let the show ignore continuity in service of story, but this also isn't a very insightful story to begin with, so it doesn't even have that aspect to redeem it.

Agree to disagree.

Ehh, I think that’s reading too much into it. I know the CMC will become adults eventually, just not on-screen. I have an easy time taking that for granted; the idea that we would see them grow up never seemed likely to me. We can safely assume that most adults didn’t use a magical flower to grow up.

My Little Pony pretends to be serialized but I still mostly view it as an episodic show, if only because it makes the most sense like that. I guess saying "I think these characters are exactly the same age" isn't entirely correct; it's more that the show isn't consistent or detailed enough that I can pin down any sort of progression. So I don't think about it very much, because I don't consider it important. You don't have to agree with me. I'm just hoping you kinda understand where I'm coming from.

It's more than the character models that make me think that, but sure, the show is messy in a lot of ways. It just doesn't really bother me here because I think this is a good story. Maybe I just have low expectations, I dunno.

I agree in that specific case - Twilight shouldn't become ruler of Equestria - but I meant more that, for all that Twilight has been through, I basically perceive her as being the exact same age she was at the start of the show.

I don't think time works that way in this show.

I always found that episode kinda confusing in light of the show's unclear time scale, which is I guess why I wasn't thinking about it here. It's true that kids who watched My Little Pony in 2010 are older now, but I also think that this children's show should still have characters who match its target demographic. Most of the main characters are obviously adults, which is a weird thing for a cartoon like this. I guess they could have had the student six take over, but that leaves less space for the CMC. I also don't care very much about the show's continuity anymore, so that probably influences my opinion too. What I meant is that, because the CMC just have a vague idea of "adulthood," the fact that they don't know exactly how old the flower makes them is appropriate. As far as they're concerned, they're just "grown up" now and that's all that matters. I'll admit, however, that Biscuit and Spur are around the age that I had assumed the CMC were at; I'd always thought they were entering adolescence.

I like that they’ve matured, but the new responsibilities they’ve taken on have always seemed quite bizarre to me. I liked most of the episodes about them solving cutie mark issues, but I also think they’re doing way too much for mere children. If the show was gonna have them grow up, it should have gone all the way with that. It didn’t, and it still mostly presents them as children, so there should be some balance. And I don’t think this is that inconsistent; the CMC don’t do a lot of adventuring on their own, and just because they can give advice on some things doesn’t mean they know everything. That comment about age ambiguity was not meant to reference continuity. I just think it was an appropriate choice for this specific story. Also, I should clarify that I have never thought of the CMC as adults, and have never believed that the show’s timeline matched ours. Their behaviour always suggested children to me except when they’re talking about cutie marks, which is why their current role seems strange to me.

All good points. But I do think seeing the ruined future affected her composure, which made it easier for Twilight to get through to her.

So only Twilight and Spike were able to fit through the space time continuum, and Starlight travelling through broke it? That makes some sense, though I think it goes against the point of that scene. If that wasteland isn’t really an alternate future, why should it convince Starlight not to change the past?

Oh no, I have to be a grouch. A Hearth's Warming Tale - This would be a pretty great version of "A Christmas Carol" regardless, given how great the songs and visuals are, but I especially love how this bends the story to make it a metaphor for Starlight's own past, even omitting key details from the Dickens novel. It's a story of someone who thought she was helping people when in fact she was only hurting herself. Rarity Takes Manehattan - This has a special place in my heart for shifting Rarity's character away from her vanity in the first few seasons, and it's also just really charming in general. The conflict between her generosity and the cynicism of the big city is irresistible to me; this suggests Rarity can serve as a moral example while still allowing her to make mistakes and doubt herself. Frenemies - This thing's just packed wall-to-wall with great jokes. I like that it's a fairly lighthearted adventure, putting emphasis on cartoon scenarios even though it's part of a larger storyline, and the villain's personalities are a nice change of pace from the usual main characters. And seeing them in such a silly light makes it a whole lot easier to accept them learning the magic of friendship - especially if it's in their own bumbling evil way. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone - I find this one kinda dour and dull. Neither Dash's prejudice nor Gilda's change of heart made a whole lot of sense to me, and the emphasis on jokes about how bad Griffonstone is leave a bad taste in my mouth. Most of all I just find it hard to believe that nobody in Griffonstone ever even tried making friends. That just seems too fundamental to having had a society in the first place for it to just randomly vanish. This seems like a pretty good example of how weak this show's worldbuilding used to be. Apple Family Reunion - I just don't find this very interesting. I don't really care about Applejack bungling her family reunion, and it's way too mild for my tastes otherwise. Look Before You Sleep - Seeing Applejack and Rarity bicker has always felt like pulling teeth to me. This is actually the most painful example, but the fact that this how their friendship is usually portrayed makes me uncertain why they're friends at all. They seem to have nothing in common. The Parent Map - I found both of the parents deeply annoying, and didn't find any of the jokes very funny. Plus I got very tired very quickly of the obvious parallel between the parents' approach to the town and their approach to parenting, and I felt that Starlight and Sunburst should have figured out that their relationship with their parents was the problem almost immediately. And oh god the Cutie Map just makes no sense at all. Hard to Say Anything - Am I supposed to laugh at Big Mac harassing Sugar Belle? Am I supposed to laugh at him taking romantic advice from literal children? Am I supposed to laugh at an outdated Justin Bieber parody? And why, after all of this, does Sugar Belle still decide to be in a relationship with him? Everything he does in this episode seems repellent, and I wouldn't find it so easy to forget that because he apologizes and decides to play nice. The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well - Okay, I get it, Dash's ego has gone to far. Do they need to have several scenes of her failing at everything? At some point she can't even open a jar of peanut butter, and stuff like that makes this episode feel mean-spirited to me. Plus, the way the mane six praise their own roles as Mare-Do-Well makes the entire moral feel kinda hypocritical.

It's hard to say. I'm not sure how keeping the mane six apart would stop Daybreaker, because they didn't actually stop Daybreaker at any point. And as far as we know, Daybreaker has never actually existed. But the fire theme seems to make sense for such a desolate landscape. Sometimes I wonder if that was supposed to be Starlight's timeline, but that seems like a stretch.

I will say that I enjoyed this a lot more than "The Last Crusade," because this felt like it focused on storytelling and theme whereas "The Last Crusade" ignores more interesting possibilities in its push towards finality. Nonetheless, I think that this show's actually doing a very good job with everyone who isn't the mane six.

This is very good! The CMC have often been treated like little adults lately, even though they still kinda act like children, so it's really nice to see a story where they behave in a way that seems more true to their age. It reminds me of those three solo episodes from seasons 3-5, the ones with Luna, in that it seems like an authentic portrayal of kids' perspectives; the way the CMC act, and especially the lyrics in the song, reflect what they think adulthood is about while making it clear that they basically have no idea what they're talking about. I was honestly just expecting them to get lost, but the way this winds up being about how adults have a responsibility to be authority figures was even more interesting. And the sense of peril here doesn't feel forced at all; this story is inherently about how kids going off on their own, without the maturity and experience of adults, can be dangerous. It's the ideal blend of this show's fantastical and slice-of-life elements. Plus the song is fun, even if it sounds a lot like every other song in this show, the storytelling is fast-paced, and there's a bunch of funny little moments even though this sticks pretty closely to theme. It's pretty great. A few funny observations and additional points: The fact that this could have happened in pretty much any season is a positive feature. It means this episode doesn't have any of this season's excruciating attempts at finality. It just tells a good story. I'm honestly kinda relieved that this basically ignored the CMC's increased responsibilities and Twilight's preparation to rule Equestria, but I did wonder where Sweetie Belle's parents and Scootaloo's aunts were. That's one bit of continuity I do wish this had kept. I was about to ask that more generally of all three, and then I remembered that Apple Bloom's parents are, uh, not around. Then I got sad. They didn't even bother asking Pinkie Pie to accompany them? She should feel insulted by that. I also liked that this episode didn't foreshadow the flower a whole bunch. The CMC accidentally use it almost immediately after it's introduced. This episode doesn't waste time. The CMC don't even know how old the flower has made them, which is exactly the point. This is one time that the show's age ambiguity really works in its favour. Do the Wonderbolts do weather control? What is their job description? Scootaloo talking about "food on a stick" just reminded me of the old "Scootaloo is a chicken" meme. She had better watch out. Oh my god that new creature is so cute. I want a plushie of it.