S05:E09 - Slice of Life

[Bubs 26]

Above all I would like a Celestia-centered episode. And I say this when Luna is my waifu and best pony: she's had quite some episodes where she had at least an important role and at least 2 episodes centered around her, where Celestia nearly never really had any role of significance or backstory. I was saddened when I read that Larson had written some backstory for her in Amending Fences, but it had been axed due to time limits of the episode.

 

Because of this I particularly liked the comic where Celestia goes on an adventure with Spike alone. Maybe a story similar to that might work in the show as well. Here's hoping for season 7 to right this wrong.

[Sonic5421 423]

Above all I would like a Celestia-centered episode. And I say this when Luna is my waifu and best pony: she's had quite some episodes where she had at least an important role and at least 2 episodes centered around her, where Celestia nearly never really had any role of significance or backstory. I was saddened when I read that Larson had written some backstory for her in Amending Fences, but it had been axed due to time limits of the episode.

 

Because of this I particularly liked the comic where Celestia goes on an adventure with Spike alone. Maybe a story similar to that might work in the show as well. Here's hoping for season 7 to right this wrong.

 

Yeah, same here. Let's hope Celestia gets an episode to herself in Season 7, or one with either Luna, or the rest of the Royal Family along with her.

[Saphira Rose 84]

This is what I hope gummy thinks when he is not alone!

[Thrond 3,263]

Gags in this which only work in the context of the fandom or pop culture:

1. Flower sisters
2. Twicane
3. Horse mask freeze frame
4. "Allons-y"
5. Maybe a couple background/character design aspects. 

And that's it, far as I can tell. Lot of other stuff obviously derived from the fandom, but there's always a self-contained joke behind it. Steven Magnet? Joke is that Matilda never knew he was a sea monster. The Doctor? Wide variety of jokes, several of which have nothing to do with Doctor Who, as far as I know. Sweetie Drops? Entire joke is that nobody expected her to be a secret agent, least of all her best friend. And of course that she and Lyra make a particularly big deal about their friendship. Methinks it's a bit more than that. Sure, the Vinyl/Octavia thing probably doesn't have a lot of original thought gone into it, but a giant turntable/speaker vehicle is a pretty amusing and novel idea on its own, and the episode nails their chemistry. 

 

The episode's awfully ill-disciplined though, hopping to a new character every few minutes and generally not hiding its roots in the fandom. I'm not sure it has quite the same organic feel as an episode like "Rarity Investigates!," but its manic flow is one of the things I find so exciting about it. It's just a nonstop barrage of clever gags without a single care for anything else. That some of its characters are genuinely memorable seems almost incidental. One thing which stood out to me is the time travel aspect early on, which is built up just to drop off unceremoniously. Despite allegedly being mandated, or maybe even because of that, it feels completely unrestrained, and I think that's a testament both to the unruly structure of the episode and to the genuinely well-crafted jokes.

 

And then there's Shining Armour crying at weddings, and then there's the sisterly banter between Celestia and Luna (best part of the episode IMO), and then there's the fact that it even has a nice moral at the end. There's so many strong ideas here that really overcome their basis in the hardcore fanbase, and while I think Larson could be hit-or-miss sometimes, this episode is a real testament to his skill. A lot of people like this episode, and yet I don't think it gets enough credit for being more than just "the fan service episode." 

 

Score:

Entertainment: 9/10

Characters: 8/10

Themes: 8/10

Story: 8/10

Overall: 83/100

Edited March 12, 2017 by AlexanderThrond

[zenith32 76]

I LOVED this episode! My only complaint is that 22 minutes was simply not enough for everything it had. I've always loved it when side/background characters get some attention for a change and this episode, being almost nothing but that, became an instant favorite. I haven't watched too many episodes over the last few months but this is one I definitely keep going back to.

[MetalBrony666 30]

Anypony seen the bronies react of this episode? 

 

[Moony the Cat 3,702]

This Episode was half cringeworthy, half good. I liked the references but i thought some of it was just laughable, but all in all, i was still pretty interested, so i liked it.

[Sparky Hoof 78]

I honestly don't see why anyone would hate this episode. In my opinion, I love episodes like this that appreciate the background characters and the troubles they go through every day. Everyponys personality traits showed through this episode I think would help the fandom instead of destroy it as said in past comments. Getting to know other ponies besides the mane 6, which at least one of them is in almost every episode, will give you the experience to know who the weird pony was who dropped those boxes on some pony else in the first few episodes.

I don't know about anypony else, but I particularly love this episode. Maybe I'm just weird. 

[bigbertha 414]

This episode was fun, but it was also a missed opportunity. I feel like this episode should've been more like "22 Short Films About Springfield" in the way of using ALL of their available characters. That episode used the main cast and the side characters along with random characters like Ian (Very Tall Man). Doing something similar would've fleshed Ponyville out a lot more. It would've been great if we saw not just background characters interacting with each other, but also background characters interacting with side characters and even main characters. There were a few side characters that got moments like Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor. But, I feel more could have been done with this. The mane six should've been a part of the episode with the background character and not shoved off for a gag.

Still liked the episode though. Just a suggestion for the 200th episode.

Score: 7/10

[Twilight Luna 31,375]

This episode was great on so many levels with all the references, more Derpy screen time, and of course the royal sisters arguing over the wedding present. 

I think this episode is a big STHU from the writers to the fans who wanted more and more references in the show.

[Meushell 52]

I liked it in some points, and didn’t in others. I think Celestia and Luna bickering was the best part. I also liked the Mane 6 being in the background to the point where they were accidentally left outside. It was nice to see Derpy in such a big role. I never really noticed Sweetie Drops before, but I did like her secret background, and her friendship with Lyra.

[qwerE 96]

As a person who did not know about any of the memes, I recognized almost none of the references so it did feel a bit weird, but was still quite entertaining to watch. Now I know what they meant, thanks to the pony fandom wiki and various Youtube videos. I think it's nice that they made an episode that focuses on the background ponies for once, for the 100th episode. However, I think it would have been better if the jokes in the episode were more recognizable for people who didn't follow the memes. Maybe some flashback scenes to show where the background ponies were in previous episodes would have been nice. Great episode nonetheless.

Edited October 27, 2018 by qwerE

[bigbertha 414]

I still think this is a missed opportunity. Seeing background characters get the spotlight is nice, but I wish the main characters got things to do too other than being shoved off on a monster fight. Despite that, what we get is fun. I don't think anything is really great, but there are still many enjoyable sequences and good jokes. 

Score: 7/10

[Rikifive 24,187]

As much as I liked background ponies getting bigger roles, this episode was a complete mess. Everything by little, not much did make any sense.

Mainly Bon Bon - Out of nowhere being a secret agent? Revealing that and then just doing random stuff-- which actually was pretty much nothing? Idk what happened and what was the point of any of this. I don't buy it.

feels like someone was drunk when writing scenario for that one. 

It's really nice, that background ponies got more screen time, but not at the cost of having complete mess, where other things were put there just.. to be there for lols.

I kinda got lost there I suppose, it was just weird.

I threw 2/5; wouldn't watch again. 

[moh310 23]

man it felt like we were never gonna get another male character. I really like doctor and derpy , what a cute ship 

[moh310 23]

this episodes great cause vinyl scratch is in it lololol. Love how she never stops the wub.

[Truffles 2,033]

On 6/14/2015 at 2:57 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

So Bon Bon says she captured the bugbear, so it presumably was in captivity...somewhere...but it escaped

She says it escaped from Tartarus "years ago" and has been on the loose until now. Since a little more than a year has passed since the beginning of the series, it can be surmised it escaped before the time Tirek escaped when Cerebus left his post. Tartarus doesn't seem all that secure, does it? Lol.

[JMTV99 1,353]

10 out of 10 God-Tier masterpiece! Nuff said.

[Astralshy 26,654]

I don't think you're doing this episode justice. I give this one infinite + 1  out of 10 Muffins

This episode is just crazy, but I love it because of it. There are so many hilarious stuff and good stuff. For people who are going for logic plot lines, this is maybe not the best episode. But if you just want to have some crazy fandom and mlp fun this one is really hard to beat. I'm up for both :)

Here is a short list of crazy and good stuff ...

• Derpy is here and she speaks. Now I'm guilty of omission. She never speaks more than in this episode. And I love it
• This background pony episode having besides Derpy so many other ones coming back and speaking and being the main focus in this episode
• Bonbon's secret
• The Dialog between Bonbon and Lyra. Precious. Even if I haven't found out why Lyra is quoting Carl
• The moment where Sweetie Bell says: "Maybe it's just a friendship problem, and it'll all be cleared up in half an hour or so." -> This is so self aware ...
• This music duet
• This crazy ride ..
• Twilight's can is back and it's rotating
• There is this moment where the creators put this photo in it .. What an easter egg xD
• This inner monologue. Are you kidding me ?!

This neither complete or sorted. I don't know where to start. This episode is truly one episode to celebrate and praise the background ponies as the fandom as whole.

 

[JMTV99 1,353]

11 hours ago, Astral Soul said:

I don't think you're doing this episode justice. I give this one infinite + 1  out of 10 Muffins

This episode is just crazy, but I love it because of it. There are so many hilarious stuff and good stuff. For people who are going for logic plot lines, this is maybe not the best episode. But if you just want to have some crazy fandom and mlp fun this one is really hard to beat. I'm up for both

Here is a short list of crazy and good stuff ...

• Derpy is here and she speaks. Now I'm guilty of omission. She never speaks more than in this episode. And I love it
• This background pony episode having besides Derpy so many other ones coming back and speaking and being the main focus in this episode
• Bonbon's secret
• The Dialog between Bonbon and Lyra. Precious. Even if I haven't found out why Lyra is quoting Carl
• The moment where Sweetie Bell says: "Maybe it's just a friendship problem, and it'll all be cleared up in half an hour or so." -> This is so self aware ...
• This music duet
• This crazy ride ..
• Twilight's can is back and it's rotating
• There is this moment where the creators put this photo in it .. What an easter egg xD
• This inner monologue. Are you kidding me ?!

This neither complete or sorted. I don't know where to start. This episode is truly one episode to celebrate and praise the background ponies as the fandom as whole.

 

Yup. That's about sums it up.

[bigbertha 414]

This is probably the episode I feel the most conflicted on. There's a lot of stuff I really like, but there are so many things that bug me. I can't get over the mane six being shoved into the background. I'm fine with putting a background character in the spotlight, but that doesn't mean the mane six have to be shoved out. They can just play supporting roles. This especially bothers me because the episode is about Cranky and Matilda getting married. Pinkie is the one who reunited them so it feels wrong to leave her out. 

There are some other things I don't like too. I don't like the Doctor. Everything about him is so forced. I don't like Gummy's bit. He's a lot funnier when everything about him is left vague. 

But I can't dislike the episode overall because there's still a lot of good stuff. Derpy, Lyra and Bonbon, Vinyl and Octavia and the whole sequence of them getting to the wedding (aside from Gummy's bit), Steven Magnet, Celestia and Luna, and the Mayor's speech are all great. 

I get why people love this episode, but it just doesn't do it for me.

[JMTV99 1,353]

8 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

This is probably the episode I feel the most conflicted on. There's a lot of stuff I really like, but there are so many things that bug me. I can't get over the mane six being shoved into the background. I'm fine with putting a background character in the spotlight, but that doesn't mean the mane six have to be shoved out. They can just play supporting roles. This especially bothers me because the episode is about Cranky and Matilda getting married. Pinkie is the one who reunited them so it feels wrong to leave her out. 

There are some other things I don't like too. I don't like the Doctor. Everything about him is so forced. I don't like Gummy's bit. He's a lot funnier when everything about him is left vague. 

But I can't dislike the episode overall because there's still a lot of good stuff. Derpy, Lyra and Bonbon, Vinyl and Octavia and the whole sequence of them getting to the wedding (aside from Gummy's bit), Steven Magnet, Celestia and Luna, and the Mayor's speech are all great. 

I get why people love this episode, but it just doesn't do it for me.

Okay. That's completely fair.

[Tom Gallagher 33,588]

26 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

This is probably the episode I feel the most conflicted on. There's a lot of stuff I really like, but there are so many things that bug me. I can't get over the mane six being shoved into the background. I'm fine with putting a background character in the spotlight, but that doesn't mean the mane six have to be shoved out. They can just play supporting roles. This especially bothers me because the episode is about Cranky and Matilda getting married. Pinkie is the one who reunited them so it feels wrong to leave her out. 

There are some other things I don't like too. I don't like the Doctor. Everything about him is so forced. I don't like Gummy's bit. He's a lot funnier when everything about him is left vague. 

I get why people love this episode, but it just doesn't do it for me.

Sorry everypony but I have to completely agree with this opinion. More than anything on the show, I absolutely hate it when the Mane Six get shoved into the background which is one of the reasons why I hate the Students so much in latter episodes.   I don’t even mind when the CMC take over because at least they’re fun to be around.  An episode without my favourite six ponies is already a letdown for me.  
Again, if you like this episode, that’s absolutely fine. But for me, it’s the only one I’ll ever consider to be overrated.

(And I love Gummy a lot but his bit didn’t make me laugh at all.) 

Edited May 1, 2021 by TomDaBombMLP

[Cash In 22,313]

Slice of Life is an episode I've had all sorts of feelings about over the years. On my first viewing, I knew nothing about the fan memes and references, so for 22 minutes, I was thinking "What the fuck is going on?" As I kind of dipped my feet more into the fandom, I understood this episode a bit more and while I like it and think it's a fun episode, I don't really enjoy it as much as most people. There's some weird stuff about it that bugs me, which I can't really explain. Like I said, it's fun to watch because of how crazy it is, but I can't really give it more than that.

[Ika Musume 54]

This is my favorite episode of all time. Any time someone asks for a request, this is the episode I give. It's so hilarious, and also features some of the very coolest characters.