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TheTrueMelissa

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  1. TheTrueMelissa
    Rarity asks Fluttershy to mind the Manehattan location of Rarity For You. Fluttershy's insecurity leads her to take on various snooty personas, and she then gets so into her LARPing that she drives all the customers away. Rarity points out that she asked Fluttershy because she wanted Fluttershy's own kind personality, and Fluttershy relaxes. This was frankly terrible. Kindness is both part of Fluttershy's special talent *and* her designated Element of Harmony. I have trouble believing that she so easily slid into meanness when she wore a different costume. In fact, it implies that her real nature is rather mean and her standard kindness is a crafted pose ... which makes no sense for the rest of her history. Anyway, lame episode, but I did enjoy Spike understanding the racoons' charades.
  2. TheTrueMelissa
    Maud Pie, who lives in Ponyville now, finds a boyfriend. Pinky Pie can't stand him. Not only is he taking Maud away from her, he's incredibly annoying! She consults her other sisters, who point out that he makes Maud happy, and Pinky realizes that what matters is that Maud likes him. He even gives Pinky good advice on how to throw a party for Maud: with lots of advance notice and with Maud not in attendance. I liked this. The rest of the Mane Six learned that lesson re Pinky herself, and now Pinky has learned it too.
  3. TheTrueMelissa
    Hi, and welcome back! I'm pretty new here. I watched the first half of the series with my son, when he was little, and I recently decided to return and finish it. The roleplaying sounds fun. I'd like to try it at some point, though I should probably finish the show first.
  4. TheTrueMelissa
    Both Trixie and the Flimflam brothers do nothing wrong during their initial appearances. We're expected to dislike them for their personalities, not because of any actions. Odd lesson for a children's show, isn't it?
  5. TheTrueMelissa
    Thorax, the relatively new King of the Changelings, has a brother named Pharynx who didn't accept the peaceful new ways. The gang keeps trying to convert him to the path of love, but he refuses to give up his warrior's ways and eventually concludes he must leave his beloved hive. Then, when Thorax goes to find him and a monster appears, Pharynx intervenes to save everybody. The hive realizes it still needs some warriors, since not everyone else is peaceful. I liked this one. It was more for the older viewers, though kids probably got it. Just beaming love in all directions is okay for many situations, but not all. The changelings seem like a metaphor for abuse survivors. They grew up in a harsh and hateful environment under Queen Chrysalis, where they were always starving for love and snatching any scrap of it just to survive. When healthier people introduce them to real affection, they filled up from the inside and could heal. Pharynx wasn't unfixable, but he had a slightly different nature and required a different approach. He now uses those old skills to defend, not attack, and that was what *he* needed to metamorphose into his true form.
  6. TheTrueMelissa
    Rarity mixes up condition with hair remover and dissolves most of her mane. This is a real problem, since she has an upcoming photoshoot. She tries to hide the problem. Her friends have both magical powers and considerable crafting skills, yet none of them can make her a wig (they have literally made wigs in other episodes). She then decides to "shine from the inside out" and adopts a punk look which suggests that she did it on purpose. Behind her back, her friends hire Photo Finish to do a creepy photoshoot while she's just walking around town, and this is then featured in a magazine without Rarity's permission or even knowledge. I didn't care for this one. We've got some dubious messages here. Rarity, the epitome of feminine elegance, adopted a look very much against her personality and managed to carry it off. That doesn't mean she wants to be seen all over Equestria in that state. Also, big no to the creepshoot. Oh well. There've been several great ones recently, and I can't love 'em all.
  7. TheTrueMelissa
    Fluttershy has Discord over for tea every week, and he realizes he should return her hospitality. He tries to tone down the chaos so she'll be comfortable, and worriedly creates a home so conventional that he begins to fade away from lack of chaos. Fluttershy, who may be the least anarchic pony in Equestria, must create some chaos to restore her friend. The moral's predictable, but getting there is fun. Discord's devotion to Fluttershy, his first and best friend, is adorable.
  8. TheTrueMelissa
    Pinkie Pie visits Yakyakistan for Yaktoberfest. The yaks need help but are too proud to ask. This one was mediocre, IMO. The Yaks are stereotypical, but not in a single way. They're like German Viking Klingons.
  9. TheTrueMelissa
    Celestia and Luna have been squabbling, and Starlight learns that each believes the other doesn't appreciate her work, so she switches their cutie marks. Both are soon in over their heads. Luna's failure at Celestia's job isn't so bad, but Celestia's lack of expertise with nightmares could scar Starlight's psyche forever. This was really good. Daybreaker was appropriately menacing, and the real menace to Starlight added some tension. I wonder if we'll see Daybreaker for real? That would be awesome.
  10. TheTrueMelissa
    I loved this one. It was great to see minor characters stepping up to save the day. I didn't think I'd like Starlight, but she's growing on me. I loved how a lack of magic made Trixie's illusions important. I do find it slightly implausible that an entire species had never thought of this until Thorax came along. We also never get an explanation as to why he was born different. In my head canon, it's because he's a king changeling, and those who might potentially rule have a greater ability to consider others, invent, and see the broader picture. It makes sense. Chrysalis, for all her many faults, is serving her people via a very creative scheme.
  11. TheTrueMelissa
    Does anyone want to do another watch party for the end of S5? This time I know to set up a Discord event, so it'll go more smoothly. :) I haven't seen this part of the series yet. It'll be new to me.
  12. TheTrueMelissa
    This was nice. I liked Diamond Tiara having a story of her own, making her act like that. I guess she reached an inner crisis here, yelling at her best friend and all, and finally just dumped it all out there... to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who of course were on the case. I'm not sure why they say they all have the same mark, because they don't. Their marks are each a shield with a different emblem. If it's true that the shield means helping others, then perhaps (e.g.) Sweetie Belle is destined to be a music teacher rather than a musician. Although, in case, you'd think Cherry Jubilee would have a shield backing her cutie mark. I guess this is some special thing for the CMC, then.
  13. TheTrueMelissa
    I liked this one a lot. The "villain" turned out to have her reasons, which should happen more often in children's media. "The Rules of Rarity" is a great song.
  14. TheTrueMelissa
    This was a bit meh, IMO. I had trouble believing Twilight didn't alert when Spike mentioned Lyra Heartstrings. I also had trouble believing she didn't know the names of her friends. How is that possible? This episode acts like your friend group is assigned to you by some central office. Moondancer's story reminded me of the decades-long rampages of revenge which powered the supervillains in DC's Silver Age.
  15. TheTrueMelissa
    This was magnificent. Utterly beautiful. When I'm rewatching in the future, I'll be glad when it's time for this one.
  16. TheTrueMelissa
    Okay ... I think I missed something. Gilda and Rainbow Dash and Pinky Pie are dangling from a rope into a chasm, in peril of plunging into the depths below, but Rainbow Dash and Gilda can both fly. Is the chasm too windy for safe flight? No, they're not really blowing around on that rope; Rainbow Dash has flown in much worse conditions. I rewound and rewatched some, to see if I'd missed an explanation of some anti-flight spell, but I didn't find one. Did I miss something, or did the writers forget that the two winged characters, who met at flight camp and fly constantly, can in fact fly? I just checked a summary, and apparently it's supposed to be because of the wind. That's absurd. Rainbow Dash literally manages the weather, but strong wind foils her? Oh well. It's been a strong season so far. Can't hit 'em all out of the park.
  17. TheTrueMelissa
    My first thought was that someone must have re-read A Wrinkle in Time. "Alike" and "equal" aren't the same. My best guess is that the spell didn't touch the pony's inner talents, only their surfaces appearances. They all looked alike except for mane color, right down to their cutie marks, but did it even out their underlying skills? We don't see enough to be sure if they've all lost their skills or if they're just determinedly ignoring concepts like "better at this" on ideological grounds.
  18. TheTrueMelissa
    This one was a little disturbing. Troublehooves isn't deliberately trying to entertain people. They're laughing at his clumsiness, as he earnestly tries his best. He didn't get his cutie mark when he discovered a love of clowning; he got it when an accident embarrassed him. Also, an upside-down horseshoe doesn't symbolize clowning (but is a classic symbol of bad luck). I was disturbed when the fillies started pushing at him with "You've always wanted to be part of the rodeo, right? Well, this is the only way someone like you ever could." Troublehooves now faces a future of trying his level best to perform rodeo feats, failing spectacularly, and being laughed at. This is exactly the misery he wanted to avoid, but now it's good because three little girls said so.
  19. TheTrueMelissa
    This episode is a mixed bag for me. Maud's hilarious, especially when interacting with Pinky, but the messaging is dubious. Pinky's friends seem to think that they have to find Maud entertaining in order to hang out with her. Most people have relatives they find tedious, so I'm not sure that's a good message. I also think it's odd that they can't find one single thing to like about Maud until Pinky is randomly endangered and Maud saves her. Random lethal danger is pretty normal in cartoons, so okay, but "we all love Pinky Pie" is a pretty terrible thing to have in common, especially when that's all. It makes me think of divorcing parents who hate each other, reminding themselves through clenched teeth that "we both love Timmy." Seems like a little more thought could have been applied. Rarity has her own talent for gemstones, so perhaps they could have discussed that. Maud's strong and used to farm work, so you'd think she'd have some things in common with Applejack. Etc. It's strange that they couldn't find one single thing in common, when everyone was allegedly trying. It's also strange that the Ponyville ponies thought that was required. It was still fun, though.
  20. TheTrueMelissa
    Loved this. Loved it. Loved Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy teaming up, and it's not even because flying is required. Loved their RPG quest to trade their way to the quest item. Loved Rarity and Applejack angrily snarling at each other over who's a better friend. Also loved Rarity's version of an angry snarl. Fluttershy's really doing what Applejack and Rarity are performing. She goes too far, much too far. Fluttershy can't say no, which gives the others some responsibility not to take advantage of her, and Rainbow Dash struggles with that sometimes. You know, Equestria has a lot of these ceremonial jobs which require a princess. Before Cadence was born and Luna returned and Twilight ascended, Celestia must have been one busy lady.
  21. TheTrueMelissa
    I've now gone past the point I watched the first time, so I'm seeing these for the first time. This was fun. Pinky Pie came off as a little selfish for most of it. Why is there even such a thing as the "headliner" of someone else's party? Perhaps she ditches that idea when she realizes it's supposed to be about Rainbow Dash. Cheese Sandwich's cutie mark doesn't seem to have much to with his calling. I guess it's possible to choose other paths. I liked Cheese Sandwich. Maybe he'll turn up again.
  22. TheTrueMelissa
    I've restarted the Zoom meeting for further coordination. We can go ahead and start watching, if we want. I'll just restart it again for the next episode.
  23. TheTrueMelissa
    Everything's working. We're starting in about 20 minutes.
  24. TheTrueMelissa
    I'm going to set things up now. In a few minutes. You should be able to join. I'll keep you posted. You should be able to come in now. See you in about half an hour!
  25. TheTrueMelissa
    It's only 2:30 my time, so we've still got two and a half hours as of this posting.
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