S02:E23 - Ponyville Confidential

[Darthy Hooves 106]

"Ponyville Confidential" is all about "Karma" & in the end "Karma" caught up with Diamond Tiara, bigtime!!!!

[bigbertha 414]

This is a surprisingly cynical episode. Ponyville is full of hypocrites who don't care about bad things happening to others and only care when they get targeted. I can't exactly fault the episode for this view as it is realistic, and it does come out with an optimistic message at the end. The CMC realize that even if everyone enjoys, that doesn't make it morally right and it can still cause consequences. That's a surprisingly nuanced moral. I like it. 

The episode is also very funny. The episode takes itself more seriously than normal, but it has some really great gags along with it so it doesn't get too boring.

The only issue is that Cheerilee disappears after her first scene until the end. It's a necessary contrivance and I don't have a big problem with it, but it does get distracting when she appears at the end.

Score: 9/10

 

[Lord Midnight Madness 1,543]

I like this episode. They stalked everybody looking for good gossip kind of like the tabloids.  This relates to a real life issue and that's why I think it's one of the better CMC episodes.

[Rushing cash 836]

It was an entertaining episode, however the way the ponies reacted to the cmc is a bit extreme, sure some might react this way but ponies like twilight should have behaved more appropriately, and some parts of the episode just felt off to me. 6\10 

[Lucky Bolt 35,061]

This was an okay episode, funny too. 7/10

[Justin_Case001 4,876]

I usually didn't care for CMC episodes pre-Crusaders of the Lost Mark, but this one was alright.  Nothing to say about it, really, it was just... alright.  Enjoyed it.

[ZiggWheelsManning 9,750]

I like the funny moment of Scootaloo's failed attempt to interview those baby birds in the nest.  Odd she didn't first seek help of her favorite foalsitter Fluttershy to not only communicate with them, but to also fly Scootaloo up to a safe branch to write down all the info she needed on them.  Missed opportunity that Fluttershy didn't teach the chicken on how to speak bird.  

[North Star 5,126]

But Namby Pamby was a great editor is one of my fave lines in all MLP

Diamond Tiara is actually a great character in this. Also Rarity

[Cash In 22,180]

Here we have more of the CMCs being eager to get their cutie marks and not really thinking about their actions.

Journalists going too far with their stories and devolving into gossip is something that definitely happens in real life, so I felt that it was quite fitting that the CMCs would do the same. I think that reflection is why I actually enjoyed this episode quite a bit.

There is an interesting mesh between silliness and seriousness here. I still enjoyed all the gags though. "Celestia just like us" still makes me laugh. Also, I've always loved how Diamond Tiara is basically the equivalent of a mob boss in this episode. :p

Overall, I like this episode quite a bit. I always saw it as one of the more underrated ones.

Edited February 27 by Cash In
Updated thoughts

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Looking back at this episode, it's actually much deeper than what people think. Yes, it's about gossip and how it can hurt badly, but let's dive deeper. 

You see, the CMCs want their cutie marks so badly. It's one of those "I'll do anything to try and achieve this goal", the goal being to get their cutie marks. Here's where the downfall happens. The downfall actually starts with Diamond Tiara assuming her position as editor. She basically "uses" the CMC since they're swept in the hype of getting their cutie marks (since Featherweight got his cutie mark in this episode) and causes all of Ponyville to turn on the CMCs because of the hurtful gossip through the character of Gabby Gums. Diamond Tiara gets what she deserves at the end, and this goes to show that people can misinterpret their talent and use that to hurt others. As others said, Diamond Tiara was literally a dictator in this episode...and honestly should've suffered a more severe punishment, like suspension. 

[Astralshy 26,343]

I've always liked this episode :> Tells an important message about gossip and effects it has. Also how it's impossible to get into a very bad place by many small steps.

It was also interesting how Big Mac and AJ switch places in this episode xD

On 2021-01-11 at 10:28 PM, abrony-mouse said:

But Namby Pamby was a great editor is one of my fave lines in all MLP

Diamond Tiara is actually a great character in this. Also Rarity

Yes, I definitely remember this joke xD

[Hadrien 950]

Aaaaaah, the "Gossip is bad" episode. A classic of children shows, this one could've been a lot worst. The CMCs really are starting off by trying to be legit reporters, working hard to come up with interesting story. And it's only after Diamond Tiara (her again !?! Is she the only other girl in town who can do *anything*) pushes them to write garbage stuff about the people around town that the girls starts getting corrupted by the popularity. And then they're forced, by their own hubris, to dig deeper and deeper until they start making stuff up just for the shock factor, just as people usually do when forced into those kind of situation. Yes, they could've just let go when it started to hurt people, but at that point, it was already too late and they didn't want people to know it was them writing bad stuff. And DT used that to her advantge, and pushed the CMCs even further. So again, everything could've been avoided if the girls just told DT to get lost.

Overall, the cringe aint as bad as I thought it would be from a Gossip episode. DT's still a pain, and the CMCs are still cute, so I'll give it some slack.

7/10, at least it was interesting to see what garbage the CMCs would uncover or make up.

[rexxypony 0]

I think @Starlight Songsaid this too but does anyone else think that this episode is about the show gossip girl?  The show gossip girl is about a girl that writes a blog about the people at her school with a bunch of gossip in it. This episode is basically the same thing! Plus the quote at the end, “signing off for the very last time,  xoxo gabby gums”  at the end of EVERY gossip girl episode it says “xoxo gossip girl”. I hope me and @Starlight Song aren’t alone on this on cuz this episode is driving me crazy!

[Antiyonder 844]

YouTube upload of the episode:

[Rushing cash 836]

Well, I have to say that the episode have grown on me, its not a top tier or anything but its a good one. Rarity was at her best here with some classic moments and the interactions between Rarity & sweetie as well as the interactions between the foals were entertaining while also interesting. Seeing DT working with the CMC and not insulting them (despite forcing them to do things they did not want) was a refreshing take on their relationship. My favorite scenes were Rarity snooping in SB's bag and Rarity saying she will destroy her .