S05:E04 - Bloom and Gloom

[Marimo 555]

Can I just say I found it to be BS when AJ said "Your cutie mark doesn't change who you are"?  If the pest part was accurate, then it clearly is contradictory, and a number of previous episodes, The Cutie Map and Magical Mystery Cure included, clearly contradict it, and in more than just talent.

 

AJ, I know what you meant, but you really should know better.

The pest dream was not accurate, the same way that the dream where the Apple family kicked Apple Bloom for having a non-apple cutie mark out was not accurate. The dreams are byproducts of Apple Bloom not fully understanding how they work and her fears of how others will react to it.

 

And those cases in other episodes are when ponies got messed up with a spell. Applejack is clearly talking about the natural course of things and how they work.

Edited April 18, 2015 by Marimo

[LunarEclipse1 22]

Is it just me or did Luna's voice sound different too?

[Dark Qiviut 22,681]

Can I just say I found it to be BS when AJ said "Your cutie mark doesn't change who you are"?  If the pest part was accurate, then it clearly is contradictory, and a number of previous episodes, The Cutie Map and Magical Mystery Cure included, clearly contradict it, and in more than just talent.

 

AJ, I know what you meant, but you really should know better.

Apples and oranges. The previous cases had the characters being either stripped of their marks or switched around. AJ's talking about obtaining your CM for the very first time.

[Alex Z 850]

I thought this episode was pretty good.

[MAIKUN 262]

If anyone has a link to the episode, that'd be awesome.. Youtube has blocked nearly all of them. Guess they really cracked down for some reason..

I wish YouTube stopped the whole blocking thing, that would be nice for uploaders though.

[Mesme Rize 15,692]

Very nice episode. I wouldn't say it was as good as the previous ones, but i think it's pretty hard to top them. But i still had fun with it. I like that they go a bit more into the psyche of ABs worries, the dream sequences where very nice (especially the one where she had to leave was dark) and of course, we got Luna again.

 

All in all, worst episode so far in the season, but dosen't mean much right now. It still get's thumps up from me.

[Trine 665]

I am still waiting for it to come online

Can't wait. Got everything ready for this episode!

[Twisted Cyclone 🚓 6,299]

Great episode to an already awesome season!

 

This episode reminded me a lot of the movie Groundhog Day. Am I the only one that thought that?

[Batbrony 16,089]

Welcome back everypony to another "Batbrony Reviews"!  OK, well this is definitely a... hard episode to talk about.  I've changed my vote once already from 'liked it' to 'loved it', but I'm going to change it back to 'liked it' as soon as I'm done writing this review.  There are I things that I really loved about this episode, and things that I... well, just didn't really care for.  Let's start with the... I don't want to say bad, but, how about, let's start with the 'meh'.

 

The episode got very repetitive.  There, I said it, and I'm certainly not the first person to say it.  Now, don't get me wrong, it got repetitive in very creative ways; each dream sequence was increasingly more nutty than the last, and it did become clearer and clearer that Apple Bloom was in a dream.  But it was so clear that she was in a dream after the first one that, I don't know, it felt like at least one dream sequence could've been cut out.  Or, better yet, they could've instead shown all three of the CMC with fully developed dreams, instead of simply following Apple Bloom's POV the entire episode.  Then, at least, the dream trope might not have gotten tired so fast.  Again, the dreams themselves weren't poorly executed, but they just got very repetitive all the same.  That's probably my biggest complaint about the episode; watching it, something just felt wonky about its execution.

 

Now then, let's talk about what I loved.  Despite some problems in the execution, I loved the writing here, really, I did.  For one, it's very clever of the staff to tie things up with the CMC and Luna by basically concluding a deliberate story-arc in the CMC dream episodes that has spanned 3 seasons.  That's very, very clever actually, and smart writing.  I also liked that, given that it centered on Apple Bloom, who is, more or less, the de facto leader of the CMC, this particular dream episode, unlike the previous ones, focused on their constant questing for their cutie marks, in this case their fears revolving around them and, more generally, their futures.  This sort of anxiety about not knowing what comes next, with all the possibilities that life presents to one, is especially suitable for children like the CMC to experience, knowing so little about what the future may hold for them.  Those themes resonated more and more as the episode continued, and I thought they were excellently written and well-delivered.

 

The CMC were very good here, I thought.  They didn't exactly do much since the entire episode was, simply, a confrontation with their fears and anxieties in a dreamscape, but still, this seemed like something they would worry about.  Their voices have definitely changed, especially Apple Bloom's and Sweetie Belle's; you can definitely tell that Michelle Creber and Claire Corlett are starting to go through puberty.  Some people mentioned Scootaloo as well, but I disagree; her VA, Madeleine Peters, is 19 now, I doubt her voice is changing that much at this point.  Besides the fact that they were cute and funny in their usual way, along with the fact that they confronted a problem that seemed very suited for them, I don't really have too much to say about the CMC given how repetitive the episode got and how much of it was in a dream.  They were characterized fine, I liked the lesson they learned, and Scootaloo getting to fly in a dream was too cute (even if it was brief), but other than that, not a whole lot to say.  As a quick aside, it's very cool for Babs Seed that she finally got her cutie mark, and I do hope we get to see her again sometime later this season. 

 

 

Good to see these silly fillies once again up to their usual shenanigans

 

As for the dreams themselves, I'm really just gonna comment on the aesthetics more than anything since it was clearly a distortion of the CMC's reality.  The animation looked very lovely most of the time, there were definitely some very trippy visuals as we've come to expect from the dream episodes, and some of those visuals made for some very funny visual humor.    Big Mac talking as extensively as he did was probably the trippiest part of those sequences (and most amazing, to boot  ), along with Apple Bloom's shadow that everyone (myself included) was wondering the entire time if it was Princess Luna or Starlight Glimmer.  The shadow being AB's own shadow, that is, her anxieties and fears, more or less, was a very cool bit of writing.  However, what was not so cool was when Sweetie Belle's dream cropped up.  :okiedokielokie:   Not because of the dream itself, but because it was advertised by DHX prior to Season 5's premiere.  I have a working theory now that M.A. Larson is slowly but surely corrupting the rest of the DHX staff and turning them all into belligerent trolls, because whoever greenlighted marketing that scene knew EXACTLY that they were just teasing us and setting us up for a MAJOR disappointment!  I'm not mad, in fact, it's an excellent bit of trolling if I do say so myself, but it still got me like a sucker punch to the gut. 

 

 

Yeah, those bucking teases and trolls at DHX knew exactly what they were doing   

 

Princess Luna was, well, Best Princess as usual.  She was definitely in the episode for a solid 5 minutes, and I loved getting to see her so extensively.  I've made it no secret that I adore her design, and it was really cool getting to hear how much she's changed since "Luna Eclipsed".  I know some people complain now that she's not as fun sounding as she was in that episode, but I like it and it makes sense too that she'd be much more gentler and soft spoken as time has gone on after that incident.  She did a great job delivering the message, and there were, as in the previous dream episodes, allusions to the idea that maybe some of these very same experiences the CMC are going through, Luna herself has struggled with in the past (especially the theme of not accepting yourself for who you are and letting your anxieties eat away at you).  It was a little predictable that she was gonna show up, and I do hope very much we get to see her more this season in other settings outside of dreams, but all the same her appearance here was very pleasant to see.  She even got in some pretty funny jokes and one-liners before the episode ended.  :comeatus:

 

 

I do so love watching how these ponies' crazy dreams play out  :comeatus: 

 

Finally, I'll just comment on some more aesthetic touches.  As I said, the animation was gorgeous as usual, especially in some of the crazier dream sequences.  The short lullaby that Applejack sang was completely unnecessary and pointless, but it sounded lovely all the same and didn't do any harm either.  Overall, while this may not have been an episode I loved in every respect, there were things that I loved about it, especially the writing, and it's definitely one that demands a second viewing, if only to piece together the exact sequence of events going on in this episode.  Can't wait to rewatch it, and still very happy with how Season 5 is going so far.  Till next week, everypony, this is Batbrony signing off.  I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*

[rpc8169 238]

Great episode to an already awesome season!

 

This episode reminded me a lot of the movie Groundhog Day. Am I the only one that thought that?

I was thinking that too.

 

"Groundhog Day 2 - Pony Edition, Coming spring 2015!"

[Argumedies 1,749]

Great episode to an already awesome season!

 

This episode reminded me a lot of the movie Groundhog Day. Am I the only one that thought that?

Ive seen a lot of references to ground hog day but thats not the case here as it was dealing with dreams its more like inception

 

There were other movie references like Ghostbusters and i was half expecting someone to tell bug-bloom not to cross any streems lol

[Marimo 555]

However, what was not so cool was when Sweetie Belle's dream cropped up.  :okiedokielokie:   Not because of the dream itself, but because it was advertised by DHX prior to Season 5's premiere.  I have a working theory now that M.A. Larson is slowly but surely corrupting the rest of the DHX staff and turning them all into belligerent trolls, because whoever greenlighted marketing that scene knew EXACTLY that they were just teasing us and setting us up for a MAJOR disappointment!  I'm not mad, in fact, it's an excellent bit of trolling if I do say so myself, but it still got me like a sucker punch to the gut.

DHX does not make the advertising. Those promos are made by the people at the network Discovery Family. Larson doesn't even get into contact with people outside of the writing staff when working on the show.

[Batbrony 16,089]

DHX does not make the advertising. Those promos are made by the people at the network Discovery Family. Larson doesn't even get into contact with people outside of the writing staff when working on the show.

 

I was mostly making a joke (obviously Larson and the writing staff wouldn't worry about marketing), but I'm still convinced that whoever put that together didn't know exactly what they were doing! 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,167]

Yeah, I changed my vote from loving it to liking it as it's not on the level of Crystal Empire or Cutie Map for me, BUT it was still a solid episode for what it was. Granted I preferred Toils and Sleepless personally, but it was still an enjoyable watch.

[Rappy0 338]

That episode was so boring...really nothing to bring me back, Luna had much better episodes not really all that much humor I think I only laughed once, reused animations and lines, plot moving at a snails pace...I don't hate it there's nothing to hate because nothing happens until the last 5 minutes. It seems Josh is still a lazy writer.

[mars 4,863]

This episode was alright. I wasn't expecting anything major, so I'm not very disappointed. It was a nice little episode, in its own right.

 

Babs Seed gets her cutie mark: Hairdressing? I knew it! Well, at least I knew it when I saw she got scissors. Good for Babs.

 

Applejack's Lullaby: So adorable! I just love Applejack's singing voice.

 

Pestpony cutie mark: Honestly, that was a pretty cool mark. It's definitely not something I'd want to do, but the design was awesome. When that random pony showed up, I joked that it was their grandpa (since we've never seen him!) Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were being buttheads, as usual. But what's their talents again? Isn't it just the physical representation of them being rich? They don't really get to talk about dumb marks. Apple Bloom's events in the forest were so cool. I didn't think there was a shadow. I thought it was Luna being dark and mysterious. By the way, those bugs (I forgot what they were called) were awesome. Lightning bugs for the win.

 

Potion making cutie mark: Dude. This is the cutie mark she needs. I really, really, really hope that she gets a mark in potion making. I was sort of hoping that she'd say "Oh wow! This is the cutie mark I want!" But it's not so simple... Now that she got it in dream, does that mean she's not going to get it for realsies? That would really blow. Apple Bloom also got a taste of her own medicine when she was kicked out of the crusaders, since that's what they did to Babs. I'm glad that at the end of the episode, she sees the error of her ways. I really liked Sweetie Belle and Scoots in this part, even if they were being really cruel.

 

Dolphin Cutie Mark: That was... Quite a sequence. And probably the most I've ever heard Big Mac talk. I wonder how many ponies change their names once the get thier cutie marks. That'd make sense as to why ponies have names that are literally their cutie marks. Maybe ponies like Diamond Tiara and Rainbow Dash just got lucky with theirs, and they didn't have a need to change their names.

 

Her Shadow: Oh, okay. Her shadow. That works too. I was really expecting Luna doing it all to teach her a lesson, but that's fine. I was also wondering if maybe it was a genie pony, but that was sort of a 'yeah right' from the beginning.

 

Luna: No one was surprised to see Luna right. Okay, good. Can I just say how glad I am that she's becoming less formal in her speaking? It's like everytime we see her, her speech becomes more modern and I very much appreciate that. I didn't really like Luna's royal speak (though it was amusing). The door sequence was really interesting, and reminded me a bit of Monster's Inc. ;

Does she only goes into the dreams of fillies and colts? Well, I know she probably can go into the dreams of anypony, but do you think she prefers helping out children? Maybe it's because she can be less formal around them, and not as regal.

 

Edit because I totally forgot:

 

Sweetie Belle's dream sequence: Oh.. That's a little disappointing. From the season preview I'd thought it'd be something more exciting. Like Sweetie Belle entering a singing contest and realizing her special talent.

[MAIKUN 262]

Think it's time for Scootaloo to get a new voice actress because of the puberty change...

[Mesme Rize 15,692]

Did somebdoy else, besides me, got Groundhog Day vibe from it?

 

[Gearbox10mm 794]

"You ever hear of Twitter-mites?"

 

*Slow claps* 

 

Here you go Josh Haber, you get a cookie.

[Firedog 321]

http://s10.postimg.org/bsoylqh95/Dailymotion.png

 

 

Need...... Dailymotion link....... I NEED PONIES!! Ponies or riot!!

[Gearbox10mm 794]

OK, with the Groundhog Day and Ghostbusters references the only thing that would have made this episode better was if they had gotten Bill Murry to voice the pest catcher pony.

[Espurr 449]

It didn't feel like a progressive episode. Sure, it dealt with dreams and sure Babs Seed got her cutie mark (yay Babs!) but really, it didn't feel real. Maybe there wasn't enough adventure for me?

[Jeric 46,894]

Hmmm... yup, Princess Luna's still Best Princess. :comeatus:

 

Also, everyone at DHX is officially a BUCKING TEASE for that Sweetie Belle dream sequence! They knew exactly what they were doing when they showed that in advertisements prior to the new season, those jerks! It's apparent that M.A. Larson is corrupting them all, teaching them in the ways of his trolling-ness. -_-

That alone soured my first impression of an otherwise decent episode.

[Batbrony 16,089]

That alone soured my first impression of an otherwise decent episode.

 

That was downright borderline cruel on the trolling scale, seriously! 

[Trine 665]

Luna helps everypony on their moral guidance. What a nice episode this way ^^

Yep. Apple Bloom got a letter from Babs saying she got a cutie mark for hairdressing, apparently.

Although we haven't seen the mark, that was kinda interesting. Discovering their special talent is so unexpected ^^

Edited April 18, 2015 by Trine