S05:E04 - Bloom and Gloom

[#1FluttershyFan 206]

This is probably my favorite episode so far this season. My favorite part was when Luna showed Apple Bloom the other CMC's dreams and when they met up in he same dream. The entire episode was amazing, though.

[Kivil 1,721]

Oh boy oh boy!!!! The time is approaching! Let us get our fan girl faces on and be happy!!!! -squee-      

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

I liked the episode. It showed us the fear of perhaps never being able to accomplish something you want to do and it is relatable . 

[CodyAlexThomas 3]

I honestly thought Apple Bloom was gonna get her cutie mark, in this episode, but this season they'll all most likely get their Cutie Marks! Here's what I think their cutie marks might be: 

Apple Bloom: Something that has to do with apples... Not too sure what kind of apple. xD

Scootaloo: Something to do with her scooter, for sure! 

Sweetie Belle: Singing! n.n 

This episode was really good and cute! This season has to be my favorite, so far!! 

[ggg-2 3,553]

Oh, Applebloom, you should know your family would never say anything like that or disown you. To them, family is something more sacred than any apple tree in Equestria. (....What? Too cheesy?)

[twotailedprower 0]

Now that I'm thinking about it, it probably is a dream. If so, then that's kinda disappointing, and a little clichéd.

[flyby4 387]

Oh, Applebloom, you should know your family would never say anything like that or disown you. To them, family is something more sacred than any apple tree in Equestria. (....What? Too cheesy?)

Never too cheesy. It's like a good Pinkie saying  

 

The Dream-Ception was really good I might add. 

 

​

[laurathevixen 3]

Loved the new Season 5 Animation! Much better than Season 2

[Persona22 205]

This came to my mind when I saw that scene in the episode

[NeonTheChangeling 91]

Is it me, or does Scootaloo's voice sound deeper?

i noticed that in a few parts...

[Stardust* 3,302]

When she gets the first cutie mark I thought, "OH this is perfect for her!" Even though she didn't like it much, I thought it was a perfect fit. Then when she gets it removed and tries to get the bugs it makes me so sad because I felt like she embraced the CM and was willing to get the job done and do it right.

[Scion of Arcadia 69]

 

So does this mean Apple Bloom gets her Persona? I'm calling it right now, it may not be a very Japanese (or Greek if you're going by 3) name, but dang it, I'm calling that her Persona is Johnny Appleseed.

[best poni 1,519]

Not my favorite, but I liked it. I could've been better though...

[ggg-2 3,553]

As terrible and heartwrenching as Apple Bloom's final nightmare is, after Brotherhooves Social, where it's revealed that Apple Bloom saw Big Mac as her hero when she was little and still does to this day, it gets even worse. Apple Bloom saw her brother, her HERO, berate her and even disown her. She knew it was just a nightmare, but the thought of her hero doing this to her in real life would more than likely shatter the poor filly completely.

[powerpuff-tsubasa 448]

poor apple bloom. this episode seems realistic at a certain point when your friends earned something you didnt. they might betray you for good.

[Thrond 3,263]

The best episode of season 5, and there's not even a contest. I might get slightly more enjoyment out of "Rarity Investigates!," but this is legitimately one of the most impressive episodes the show has ever had. Taking place in dreams allows it to cover so much ground in what Apple Bloom's anxieties genuinely might be, and so many of them are sympathetic even as they're clearly kinda childish. There's not a single point where the episode seems overstuffed, and yet there's so much stuff in here. Among Apple Bloom's fears are being ostracised, failing to protect her home, losing her friendships, and not living up to her family's expectations. Even if the specifics are a little silly, in broad strokes those are all very relatable. And then that bit at the end, where Apple Bloom thinks only she could be so silly as to fear cutie marks, and then Luna proves her wrong? That comes across to me as a message to the target audience that they're not alone. I honestly think that's more powerful than almost any of the show's other messages. 

 

Don't really know why Apple Bloom's shadow sounds so much like Starlight Glimmer in parts, or what its promises to help her mean, but it does allow for the episode to have a coherent thematic connection to other episodes in season 5 through cutie marks and whether they're desirable. Here, removing a bad cutie mark doesn't get rid of Apple Bloom's problems, and that strengthens the other main message about being comfortable with who you are regardless of what others think. Changing yourself for others won't help you. 

 

Oh, and visually this episode is just incredible. I keep picking up on new details, like how Apple Bloom's potion cutie mark has an apple inside it despite that meaning absolutely nothing. Doesn't have to make sense, because it's in a dream. Characters appear and disappear as they're necessary, simply because Apple Bloom is conjuring them through her train of thought. And that one scene, where AB is on the table with her family chewing her out in each other's voices? One of the most stunning moments in the entire show. This episode just has such a tight control on its own style and atmosphere that it would be great even if it weren't deep and powerful. 

 

Josh Haber doesn't deserve half of the hate he gets. Gonna miss him. 

 

Score:

Entertainment: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Theme: 10/10

Story: 10/10

Overall: 100/100

Edited February 5, 2017 by AlexanderThrond

[Miles 2,512]

It had been a while since I'd watched the show, so I recently watched a few episodes. I just re-watched this episode, and there's one thing I wanted to bring up here... 

 

I didn't feel it as much this time, but I remember the first time I watched this episode, I got a bit emotional when it showed Scootaloo being able to fly in their mashed together dream.  I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's like a mixture of sadness and happiness at the same time. The realization that she's able to fly in her dreams and be so happy about it, you know. It's just something to kind of think about.

[Moony the Cat 3,702]

Luna really took her time this Episode but otherwise it was entertaining^^ I liked it.

[bigbertha 414]

I thought this episode was very dull. There's nothing that it really gets wrong, but there's nothing really stand out about it. I like the ending and how it closed out the Luna visits the CMC's dreams mini-arc, but the journey getting there was too uninteresting for it to be worth it.

Score: 5/10

[Meushell 52]

This was a well done episode, and I like the dream itself becoming less real as it went.

On 3/10/2017 at 3:01 AM, Miles said:

I didn't feel it as much this time, but I remember the first time I watched this episode, I got a bit emotional when it showed Scootaloo being able to fly in their mashed together dream.  I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's like a mixture of sadness and happiness at the same time. The realization that she's able to fly in her dreams and be so happy about it, you know. It's just something to kind of think about.

That was really sweet. I hope the show addresses this. Either she learns to fly or she learns she’ll probably never fly. (If they have addressed it, then I’m not there yet.)

[qwerE 96]

I liked this episode. Watching Applebloom get all sorts of cutie marks was really fun! Applebloom becoming a pest pony was also incredibly interesting, and I would've loved to see more of it.

However, I didn't like how the pest pony's cutie mark looked. It looked quite horrible, and didn't go well with Applebloom. I was actually really glad when it just turned out to be a dream, just because of that.

Luna bringing all three of the CMC together in a dream was also fascinating. If they can actually meet in dreams and can all remember it, which I presume, Luna's powers would be able to be used to hold secret meetings and such. That seems like quite a powerful effect.

[bigbertha 414]

This is a pretty great episode. Making the entire episode a series of nightmares allows it to be more visually interesting than average episodes and this episode takes full advantage of that. While not all of the nightmares are really enjoyable, they're all thematically relevant and do a good job of exploring Apple Bloom's fears. The ending is the best part with a great message for kids about how everyone worries about their future and that it's okay. This is the first episode in a while to be really interesting visually and still have substance, so just for that it's commendable. 

Score: 8/10

Edited January 27, 2019 by bigbertha

[Rushing cash 836]

I really like this one, the writing was clever here, showing each and every doubt of AB in a dream in very creative ways. The moment she got her CM it was clear to me it is a dream so the episode was predictable but the way it was presented was fun. The shadow in the dream has the same philosophy as starlight, so I thought it was foreshadowing something.

The dream in which her family get rid of her was hilarious, I love that moment! And its always nice to see best princes so it was a nice bonus. 9/10  

[Astralshy 26,625]

On 2021-04-12 at 4:06 AM, Monotonality said:

Boy oh boy this one was very very interesting. The multilayed dream sequence is something I share myself. I love seeing how Luna helps those in dreams, she always comes out of the moon within dreams. One of the best episodes I've ever seen honestly.

I agree this was a very interesting episode. Well this maybe not for everyone but I really liked it.

From AB perspective it also makes sense a to worry about this stuff sooner or later. To put this in dream sequences was a good choice and was well executed. This also gave them another possibility to put Luna back in the show as one to guard dreams.

What I liked here were the little details like the hints before and during AB first dream like the sudden appearance of the pest pony (the show doesn't do it) or like SilverSpoon being the one who starts the bullying (normaly Diamond Tiara does that) etc. This pays off especially at rewatches. Also the dreams for Sweetie Bell and Scoots made sense and the first thing Scoots is doing when she is told that she's dreaming ... :)

 

 

[JMTV99 1,353]

I personally think it's one of the weakest of the CMCs meets Luna episodes, but it was okay on it's own.