S02:E24 - MMMystery on the Friendship Express

[Eenohay 318]

I've rewatched it in high quality and here's my review.

 

While the episode was somewhat funny, it has the most ridicoulous plot ever. I hate having to call it canon. It's the story of the Cake the Cakes made for a contest, and it has to go from Ponyville to Canterlot. For some reason they decide not to move it in a stable cart or simply levitate/teleport it, but to move it the most awkward way possible.

 

Anyways we're in the train, yet again there's no Spike, so I suppose he's once again taking Twilight's, Fluttershy's and probably Rarity's shores. Applejack who we all now loves to eat, wants to eat the cake. Well anyways, there are some new characters and the revamped Pony Joe who now is Donut Joe and talks pretty childish. There's a french Gryffon, anda a saber what a French Gryffon is doing in Ponyville (This raises the question, with the large amount of french words in the show, is the land of the Gryffons France? This would make Gilda the exception and not Gustave), and there's a mule. I never liked those much. They all seem pretty confident and stuff.

 

Then they leave the deserts right there in the open. What about locking them away in a fridge? (And Fridges do exist, there was one in Applebuck Season) Pinkie stays to watch it because she's super paranoid and some ponys come at night. The next day, it's revealed that a huge part of the cake has been eaten! Pinkie forgets her super amazing deduction skills from A Friend In Deed and goes straight for the bakers without fundaments, each with their little movie clips that I must admit were funny. But how did Twilight prove her wrong? Okay, Gustave doesn't gave teeth, but what about the other two? Twilight didn't say anything that actually proved them innocent, tsk tsk tsk. And how come she never suspected of Applejack?

 

Then they go through the tunnel, there's the screams and when they come out all of the deserts have been destroyed in about 2 seconds and everyone is back into position. "I have no idea who do done dit!". Okay then Twilight takes over like she failed to in Feeling Pinkie Keen, she finds clues that she refuses to show us just like Sherlock, and then she knows who did it. Then she finally reavels it was Rainbow, Fluttershy and Rarity and she's right. They all confess and stuff. Ok, WHAT?! Pinkie was taking care of a cake made by her bosses, that took months of planning and testing, to a national competition judged by Celestia herself and they EAT IT?! SERIOUSLY?! Do you know in what kind of trouble did they get her into?! They are certanly the worst friends ever! How could they! I simply can't get over that, it completely ruined the episode for me.

 

And then there's the bakers, and they also ate each others work (In less than two seconds). What the hell kind of baker eats their opponents work! Do they have no principles?! They are also idiots! Yes, the episode was ruined twice for me.

 

And then there's the lesson, do not make assumptions of your friends without fundaments... Hmm... didn't we get that same exact lesson in Party of One? Yes we did, and back then Pinkie actually deserved it, but now who really cares she did that if at the end everyone acted like idiots except for Applejack and Twilight! And yes, this lesson would have worked if Pinkie had accussed Applejack, which was of course the obvious thing to do! Why didn't anybody suspect of her?! And why didn't she talk anymore by the end of the episode?

 

In conclusion, one of the worst episodes this season, right there with Mare Do Well

[ASpark 49]

Just watched it and there are SO. MANY. REFERENCES. I'm sure I even heard Pinkie say "My dear Twilight" as well. I thought the part where Pinkie starts to mock famous movies as theories was hilarious. I absolutely loved that James Bond reference. They even showed Donut Joe being surrounded by mares. And nice to see Samurai Jack getting some love, but it just wouldn't be the same without that old-timey silent movie bit.

 

This was a rather funny episode, but it fell flat near the end. Although Rarity's confession was brilliant.

 

Actually, I was expecting Applejack to eat the MMM too, but confess before Twi and Pinkie even started investigating, with lots of sobbing and drama and stuff. But unfortunately, she's too honest to even do that.

[KBz 498]

Pony Joe is in a 007 reference. >_<

[--- 41]

Of course AJ didn't eat the cake. She is the element of honesty! I am super happy they stuck with that characterization rather than incriminating her along with everypony else.

 

A very minor point, but Dashie is shown flying inside a moving train. Wouldn't it sort of not work like that? I mean towards the beginning, when the other ponies are walking and she is flying slowly along with them. Physics...??? Again, I realize this is minor.

[Eenohay 318]

Of course AJ didn't eat the cake. She is the element of honesty! I am super happy they stuck with that characterization rather than incriminating her along with everypony else.

 

A very minor point, but Dashie is shown flying inside a moving train. Wouldn't it sort of not work like that? I mean towards the beginning, when the other ponies are walking and she is flying slowly along with them. Physics...??? Again, I realize this is minor.

 

Lol, have you never seen a fly inside a train/plane/car/bus? It works, mate.

 

(As long as the train goes at a steady speed, you can jump in it (or fly in it) and it will be like if you were doing it in solid ground, because you are traveling at the same speed than the train, and when you jump you keep traveling that speed, I mean, why wouldn't you?)

Edited April 8, 2012 by Eenohay

[Ashbad 969]

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

Just watched it today.

 

"Chocolate mousse moose": Swedish Chef reference?

ROTFL "Who turned off the moon?"

"He's big, gruff and messy!" Thank you, Twilight, for clearing me out of Pinkie's scenario. :3

Speaking of scenarios, anypony notice that none of them respects the "bite mark" thing?

 

And in the end, they turned a bunch of fail into a pile of win... only for Pinkie Pie to eat it all up. Sounds legit.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

Pony Joe is in a 007 reference. >_<

 

 

 

 

I think we all got the reference

Edited April 8, 2012 by Tom Da Diamond

[Cloud_Jumper_189 56]

I've rewatched it in high quality and here's my review. While the episode was somewhat funny, it has the most ridicoulous plot ever. I hate having to call it canon. It's the story of the Cake the Cakes made for a contest, and it has to go from Ponyville to Canterlot. For some reason they decide not to move it in a stable cart or simply levitate/teleport it, but to move it the most awkward way possible. Anyways we're in the train, yet again there's no Spike, so I suppose he's once again taking Twilight's, Fluttershy's and probably Rarity's shores. Applejack who we all now loves to eat, wants to eat the cake. Well anyways, there are some new characters and the revamped Pony Joe who now is Donut Joe and talks pretty childish. There's a french Gryffon, anda a saber what a French Gryffon is doing in Ponyville (This raises the question, with the large amount of french words in the show, is the land of the Gryffons France? This would make Gilda the exception and not Gustave), and there's a mule. I never liked those much. They all seem pretty confident and stuff. Then they leave the deserts right there in the open. What about locking them away in a fridge? (And Fridges do exist, there was one in Applebuck Season) Pinkie stays to watch it because she's super paranoid and some ponys come at night. The next day, it's revealed that a huge part of the cake has been eaten! Pinkie forgets her super amazing deduction skills from A Friend In Deed and goes straight for the bakers without fundaments, each with their little movie clips that I must admit were funny. But how did Twilight prove her wrong? Okay, Gustave doesn't gave teeth, but what about the other two? Twilight didn't say anything that actually proved them innocent, tsk tsk tsk. And how come she never suspected of Applejack? Then they go through the tunnel, there's the screams and when they come out all of the deserts have been destroyed in about 2 seconds and everyone is back into position. "I have no idea who do done dit!". Okay then Twilight takes over like she failed to in Feeling Pinkie Keen, she finds clues that she refuses to show us just like Sherlock, and then she knows who did it. Then she finally reavels it was Rainbow, Fluttershy and Rarity and she's right. They all confess and stuff. Ok, WHAT?! Pinkie was taking care of a cake made by her bosses, that took months of planning and testing, to a national competition judged by Celestia herself and they EAT IT?! SERIOUSLY?! Do you know in what kind of trouble did they get her into?! They are certanly the worst friends ever! How could they! I simply can't get over that, it completely ruined the episode for me. And then there's the bakers, and they also ate each others work (In less than two seconds). What the hell kind of baker eats their opponents work! Do they have no principles?! They are also idiots! Yes, the episode was ruined twice for me. And then there's the lesson, do not make assumptions of your friends without fundaments... Hmm... didn't we get that same exact lesson in Party of One? Yes we did, and back then Pinkie actually deserved it, but now who really cares she did that if at the end everyone acted like idiots except for Applejack and Twilight! And yes, this lesson would have worked if Pinkie had accussed Applejack, which was of course the obvious thing to do! Why didn't anybody suspect of her?! And why didn't she talk anymore by the end of the episode? In conclusion, one of the worst episodes this season, right there with Mare Do Well

You kidding? I disagree completely. Great episode. The references alone carried it into my top 10 of the season, and it was also better than a lot of other episodes this season.

[Marshmallow 1,134]

To me, the best thing in this episode was...

 

...

 

HATS!

 

[GThing64 11]

To me, the best thing in this episode was...

 

...HATS!

 

Maybe Amy Keeting Rogers used to work for Valve?

 

On the subject of our Grand Galloping Writer, she seems to feature a lot of talking non-pony characters in her episodes. A mule appeared in 'Applebuck season', plus she wrote Zecora's introduction episode and 'A Dog and Pony Show', while 'A Friend in Deed' featured a cow, two donkeys and Zecora, and then there's this episode. Also noticed that she had connections to Derpy before 'The Last Roundup', but that's a different story.

Edited April 8, 2012 by GThing64

[butter scotch 79]

How come pinkie is writing the letter if her friends eat the cake that mattered very much to their friend?

[Fluttertree 19]

Well, Rarity eating some of the cake makes sense. After all, you could say she took a 'generous' bite of the cake!

 

Joking aside, I thought this was a hilarious episode, and the funniest parts had to be Pinkie's imaginary crimes. I'm confused about Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash eating the cake, especially after Pinkie made such a fuss about it, but the mass of references make up for it in my book.

 

And now we're onto the finale, after which we need to survive the between-seasons period. But, we'll weather that storm together when it comes!

Edited April 11, 2012 by Fluttertree

[Evilshy 5,089]

Awesome episode. So many references. Nothing I can say that hasn't ready been said.

 

But... that cake... it intrigues me...

 

*goes off to calculate approximate density of the cake*

[Pony Joe 582]

Probably because they had already apologized to Pinkie, and because she learned a lesson that hadn't been addressed in the show yet.

 

But you're right, they could have easily told this episode from Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy's perspective and had a moral about admitting to your mistakes.

[Envy 5,996]

Not my favorite episode, but it was still pretty good. Cute would be a good word to describe it in the end. lol

 

I thought it was funny how it really kind of foreshadowed Apple Jack being the one to bite into the cake, but in the end she was the only one of them all that was innocent.

[The Enduring Man-Child 22]

Another epic Pinkie episode. After being very scarce for the first half of the season, she's back with a vengeance. And who isn't happy at that fact?

 

No way the target audience would get the movie parodies or the reference to Julia Child (whom I used to watch back when PBS was NET).

 

It just keeps getting better.

[RippedOffMattress 314]

This has to be one of the best! I really loved the outside source references. Especially the James Bond one! The plot was funny, and it actually reminded me of Paper Mario.

 

Throughout the second season, Pinkie's dialogue and humor has been known to be at times, forced. (especially after the Mare Do Well episode) This episode however, went back to her original silliness, and that's what made it great!

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

An okay episode, although not one I was really in love with.

 

I don't particularly enjoy mysteries of this sort. So when I saw it was going to be a mystery episode, I prepared to be bored. Whilst I was entertained, it isn't going to be making it into my top five episodes at any point whatsoever. This is mainly due to my bias against these "who dun it" plots which I find just so cliché and overdone.

 

As well, I'm not one of those who really takes joy in outside references in MLP. I don't dislike them, but they don't excite me either. Also, I thought the plot was kind of nonsensical and am not usually one for Pinkie's humor. (What a stick in the mud I am!)

 

Saying all of that negative stuff, let's get to the good parts. In some points, it DID exceed my expectations. Such as Rarity's hair covering her missing eyelash. I honestly thought it was an animation flaw as I spotted quite a few in this episode. (I guess it was more carelessly animated for the upcoming Season Finale. So they can get out their best animation) That was smart though to include that sort of foreshadowing. It impressed me.

 

Then there was the bringing back of griffons and donkeys/mules. That was pretty cool to see them really expanding the sentient species that live amongst ponies. I thought Gustave was hilarious-looking, and Pony Joe was probably my favourite of the new desert chiefs. I love his accent and gruff mannerisms.

 

Also, I have to admit that Pinkie Pie's fantasies were pretty amusing. My favourite was Pony Joe's James Bond one with all of the mares swooning over him. That got a small giggle out of me. Her imagination was insane. I was also amused by her one line about Twilight being the one who asks really obvious questions. Nice reference there to Sherlock Homes.

 

And watching this episode made me really hungry too, for the record. So was Celestia. Enjoyed the continuity with her liking of desserts.

 

Lastly, I will praise this episode for its quippy dialogue. It did have some pretty entertaining dialogue and lines to listen to. A lot of quips out of Twilight and Pinkie Pie's exchanges with the chiefs.

 

So overall, it was an okay episode. But not my favourite.

[DrOphthalmos 497]

This episode was funny but there were a few things that annoyed me a bit.

 

1) Transporting the cake to the train

 

Others of you have mentioned that the way it was taken there was completely illogical. Yes, it would have made more sense to put the cake in a cart and then have a PONY pull the cart. But then again... Big Mac could barely lift the cake. Big Mac can pull a house. Was this cake made out of dark matter? Would the cart have been crushed by the sheer awesomeness of this cake?

 

2) The way the cake won at the end

 

The judges gave it first prize without even tasting it. Frankly, while it was made out of different yummy components, I hardly think it should have won just on looks alone. If Hoity Toity had been the one judging, I'm pretty sure this would have been his critique:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AG6euNB0IM

 

The cake was definitely a pile-on mishmash. I'm not even sure all those different flavors would work together. Pinkie Pie should have gone into a diabetic coma after eating that thing.

 

3) Why did the Cakes not come?!

 

Seriously, you work for months on something and then don't go to the competition yourself? And, how will the Cakes receive the news that their masterpiece didn't win but rather a pastry chimera made partly out of their work?

 

4) Weak lesson and poor friendship

 

We already know not to be overly suspicious - as somepony mentioned, this was already learned in Party of One (and by Pinkie Pie to boot!). If anything, RD, Fluttershy, and Rarity should have been writing a DO-NOT-SABOTAGE-YOUR-FRIEND letter. Though, I guess you could argue Rarity learned (or should have learned!) that lesson after entering a flying competition against Rainbow Dash when she was there to supposedly support her in the Sonic Rainboom episode.

 

All in all, the episode was fun so I can overlook these things - well, mostly. Obviously they still bothered me enough to post them!

Edited April 9, 2012 by DrOphthalmos

[Guest]

This episode is gonna be fun, I can tell xD And also... BIG MAC!!! HOW CAN YOU PULL A HOUSE YET NOT BE ABLE TO CARRY A CAKE WITH EASE!!!

 

The cake's secret ingredient is dark matter!

 

Which can only mean one thing...

Applejack is Pinkie's next target.

 

Expect a "Cakes" fanfic soon...

 

 

My God.

[XMark 18]

Apparently ponies have poor impulse control around sweets. Even Princess Celestia seems to have a weakness for cake (in the last episode as well)

[Ashbad 969]

 

The contradictions with physics in this episode are quite numerous, it seems.

[Vicke 3,187]

The episode was good.

It had it moment. Gotta love the donkey ninja.

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

One thing I must definitely say is that on a second viewing, this episode was much funnier than I initially thought it was. I think it must've been the way I was constantly interrupted when I tried to watch it the first time, because there were a number of little things I missed.

 

I would say more and offer up my usual wall of text, but I actually decided to forgo posting that here for once because it mostly contained things I already discussed here in the thread. If you would still like to see it, you can see it on my Tumblr account.

 

A last final thing I noticed that I found amusing: during Pinkie's Gustav fantasy, Gustav is showered with the destroyed cake in a way that looks far too much like...well, I'm not sure I can even say what it looked like to me without violating the forum rules, but it definitely looked dirty.

Edited April 9, 2012 by Kyronea