S05:E17 - Brotherhooves Social

[Nuke87654 1,849]

What I feel about this episode that I will give a more in depth detail in my blog review, but I honestly liked the episode and especially loved the angle they took Big Mac's character in the episode and the lengths he went to spend some time with his little sister he wanted to make proud like he used to. 

 

I didn't mind the drag outfit as I felt it handled it well enough, and I liked that humor not dead yet despite how politically sensitive many folks are. As for the cries of the episode involving a transgendered Big Mac, I don't think so as a guy crossdressing =/= transgender, especially in context that he's doing it because he wanted to participate in a contest where there was no stallions or colts involved in an event called 'sisterhooves social'. Speaking of which, honestly I'm still wondering what is this cry for gender equality and stuff. Rainbow Dash's comment I felt was actually very gender equality considering it's a reverse on the trope of a guy declaring that just because he's competing against a woman doesn't mean he has to hold back for her. She's putting it out there that she is not going soft on Big mac in  a race just because he's a stallion, I don't see any issue with it. Finally, that whole quote of Big Mac not behaving like a 'lady' quote, I'll need to watch it again, but I honestly felt it was more pointing out that he should've behaved with decency and respect as one would expect from an upper class lady rather than wreck the course like he did in  his attempt to win it.

 

Really, I'm kinda disappointed that many people are taking things out of intended context or are taking things more in depth than it really is just so it can appeal to their sensibilities or justify feeling offended or so.

Edited October 4, 2015 by Nuke87654

[Truffles 2,033]

If she wanted to compete with him, wouldn't she, ya know, just let him enter?

 

I think she wanted him out of the competition because she knew he would be tough to beat, and, although RD usually welcomes competition, she was in the same mindset as Big Mac for getting that ribbon: She wanted to win so badly for Scootaloo that she was willing to get him kicked out - just like how Mac was willing to "break the rules" and don a dress just to get that ribbon for his partner, Apple Bloom.

 

I know we just had a lesson about RD and how loyal she is and how there's a cutthroat attitude in the Wonderbolts to do this sort of thing, but Mac is more of an acquaintance, so no disloyalty on her part, there.   Plus I'm willing to forgive her because it's all about the Scootalove! 

[Lyme Soundstick 266]

I like Big Mac more as a character now

 

Really liked this episode it made me laugh, facepalm and feel emotional

[Finia 260]

Apple Bloom's voice seems somewhat different. Maybe its just that the voice actor has grown up since. But it was a nice episode ^^

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

Speaking of which, honestly I'm still wondering what is this cry for gender equality and stuff. Rainbow Dash's comment I felt was actually very gender equality considering it's a reverse on the trope of a guy declaring that just because he's competing against a woman doesn't mean he has to hold back for her.

I was quite a bit interested by that quote. I imagine it would be normal in Equestria seeing how more of the ponies in power are female, but fittingly a role-reversal in the real-world context.

[midnightlegacy 172]

Don't be intolerant and bigoted. What's wrong if Big Mac is a transgender? He went and became a woman so willingly and did it perfectly with the whole transgender voice breaking up every now and then. This is the second time he dressed up as a mare. It's 2015 open your eyes.  

I'm not being intolerant and bigoted.  I never said Big Mac as a transgender would be a bad thing.  What I was trying to say is that anyone in their right mind would know that the theme of the episode was not to make Big Mac a transgender.

[Nuke87654 1,849]

I was quite a bit interested by that quote. I imagine it would be normal in Equestria seeing how more of the ponies in power are female, but fittingly a role-reversal in the real-world context.

 

I can see the interest, though outside of role reversing a trope, I don't see any thing to indicate this thing of equality issues that I'm seeing in this thread

Edited October 4, 2015 by Nuke87654

[The Coffee Pony 1,390]

I can see the interest, though outside of role reversing a trope, I don't see any thing to indicate this thing of equality issues that I'm seeing in this thread

 

 

From what I'm seeing, it's another case of people looking for things that aren't there.

[Soaring Symphony 372]

Holy crap we got a Big Mac episode.  I literally did not think that would ever actually happen.

[Summer Wish 102]

I wish to thank the writers of this episode...I haven't had a good joyful cry in years, it felt amazing. So thank you.

[The Coffee Pony 1,390]

Don't be intolerant and bigoted. What's wrong if Big Mac is a transgender? He went and became a woman so willingly and did it perfectly with the whole transgender voice breaking up every now and then. This is the second time he dressed up as a mare. It's 2015 open your eyes.

 

He only said that he doesn't see Big Mac as transgender. Just because someone disagrees with the notion that he's transgender does not mean they're transphobic.

[SkyBurner's_Legion 63]

Filled with comedy and a sweet ending! Loved it!

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,213]

So...this episode. Not what I expected, at all. The moment that Big Mac appeared in disguise, my jaw dropped. I was not expecting that in any way whatsoever. XD What a surprise this episode was. I was kinda expecting something a bit generic, but I ended up loving every bit of it. Big Mac was absolutely hilarious and the ending was incredibly sweet, we have been getting a lot of those this season. All sorts of feels. <3 

 

Another wonderful episode this season for sure, one of my favorites so far this season.

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, I found this episode pretty ordinary; nothing really interesting or unexpected happens, and I don't foresee watching this episode again anytime soon. Apple Bloom's over-the-top praising of Applejack, her obliviousness to Big Mac's feelings, and her moping around after Applejack is gone just warrant an eye roll and an "Oh well, I guess kids will be kids" reaction from me. And Big Mac's antics at the Social were more-or-less standard cartoon fare. I was thinking as Big Mac is smashing through the obstacle course that that shouldn't really be allowed, since he's not going through it as intended, and as it turns out, it wasn't allowed. At least it's nice to see Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo working together in this episode.

 

As for the ending scene with Big Mac and Apple Bloom, while I can see the feelings that were supposed to be evoked, I wasn't really feeling them, myself. I guess I don't really relate to Big Mac's feelings or his situation, particularly all the talk about being a "hero" to Apple Bloom. "Hero" seems like a strong word to use, and something which it may not necessarily be realistic to aspire to be. I'm the second oldest of nine kids, and I don't know that I've ever been my siblings' "hero", but then, I don't feel like I've tried to be their hero, either. For me, it's plenty good enough if my siblings and I are good friends, if we help each other out when we can and learn some things from each other to make our lives a little bit better - no need to be a "hero".

 

Here are my other noteworthy observations from the episode (not so many this time around):

 

Granny Smith and Big Mac are looking for the ribbon from when they hosted the very first Social so they can give it to the winner this time, but why would the Apple family have the winner's ribbon from the first Social? Wouldn't the winner of the first Social have the ribbon? Did the Apple family both host and win the first Social?

 

Apple Bloom tells Big Mac to "hold that thought" just so that she can tell Applejack that she's "the most awesome sister ever". Did that really require interrupting Big Mac? That thought just couldn't wait until after Big Mac said what he wanted to say?

 

Applejack tells Apple Bloom that her being summoned by the Cutie Map might just be a false alarm, but has being summoned by the Map ever been a false alarm? Bringing that up as a possibility seems to be just setting Apple Bloom up for disappointment if that's never happened before and there's no reason to suppose that it would happen.

 

Apple Bloom asks Applejack "Can't you just tell that map it'll have to wait a couple days?", to which Applejack doesn't really have a good answer. That makes me wonder what would happen if some (or all) of the Mane Six were summoned somewhere and they didn't immediately go to solve the problem. Would they continue to get "called" until they went and solved the problem? Would the Cutie Map ever summon them for a legitimate emergency, e.g., some situation where death or serious injury would result if they didn't immediately respond? The friendship problems for which the Map has summoned the Mane Six so far haven't really been emergencies in that sense.

 

If the judges knew all along that Big Mac was pretending to be a lady, then they could have just said "Okay, since Applejack isn't here, we'll let you compete in her place this time", so Big Mac's whole charade could have been avoided. I suppose that some of the other competitors and/or spectators might have complained, although the judges could have pointedly only allowed it in Applejack's absence, or they could have cited their "loose policy" about what counts as a sister. Since Big Mac was revealed in the end, they still might get some of those complaints anyway. Maybe the judges didn't want to set a bad precedent of allowing all kinds of other non-sisters to compete, but then again, they didn't keep their "loose policy" a secret after Big Mac was revealed. So I'm not really sure what the judges were thinking.

 

When Apple Bloom and Big Mac are jump roping, is there a reason why Big Mac can't, or won't, jump over the rope? Is it supposedly "unladylike" to jump?

 

When Big Mac flings the bale of hay behind him during the race, why don't Berry Punch and her sister attempt to move out of the way (e.g. to the side), rather than stopping in their tracks, watching in horror, and flinching as the bale of hay nearly lands on them?

 

During the part of the race where the competitors have to balance an egg on their muzzles and carry it to the basket, one of the kids is carrying the egg on her hat instead. Is that really allowed? Was her carrying the egg like that approved ahead of time?

 

Apple Bloom tells Big Mac "Guess both of us have been holdin' back when it comes to expressin' ourselves"...except for when it comes to telling Applejack how awesome she is, as seen in the beginning of the episode.

[roptiriolg 49]

3/5 . I know why most liked it,hearing Big Mac share his thoughts for once was great and much better, eeeyup? Though not enough to substitute for the rest. Okay seeing him dress up like that was fun for a while but i've seen that kind of plot many times, so later i was like what? then went like :meh: From what I'm seeing the episodes by D Polsky have always been the lesser ones.. not that every ep has to be the greatest.

[Cloud Strife 928]

Big Mac, as much as i love him and especially in this episode, seemed......OOC at times. I mean, a sweet humble guy like him not caring about good sportsponyship AND vainly complimenting himself when they said that Orchard Blossom was Big Mac in a dress, and he was trying to maintain his disguise. Really?

 

You have two separate points on this so I will cover them both-

 

1. Big Mac does care about good sportsponyship, but he was very desperate to make Apple Bloom happy and proud to be his sister. He looks rightfully ashamed when he's called out for the fact he wasn't a good sportspony which indicates that yes, it's definitely a virtue for him. Sometimes, though, you will break virtues or make exceptions for the people you love. That was what Big Mac was doing; he stopped paying as much attention to being a good sport out of desperation. When people are placed in situations that feel like high stakes to them, sometimes common sense or even morals get thrown out the window; a very commonly cited instance of this is when an animal is cornered. Ordinarily the animal is docile, or likes humans, but when cornered can lash out at even the innocent.
2. He's putting on an act, of course he's complimenting himself. A lot of actors do this - they'll play a character much unlike their usual persona, and in order to keep it up, they'll do things that they would never do. I mean, would you honestly believe that someone playing as a serial killer for a play would actually want to kill people? It's part of the occupation. While Big Mac is not a professional actor, he's doing essentially the same thing. If he acts like Big Mac, people will call him out on his bluff.

Again, even bearing all that in mind, I caution against saying he's being "OOC" when we've barely even seen him do anything in the show to begin with. All we can glean is that he's a hard worker, and that he has some sense of sensibility/older brotherlyship. Up until this episode, we didn't know to what lengths he would go for his family, and who knows? He could've been a total cheater when it comes to competitions, but still be the hardworking pony we know and love.

[The Coffee Pony 1,390]

You have two separate points on this so I will cover them both-

 

1. Big Mac does care about good sportsponyship, but he was very desperate to make Apple Bloom happy and proud to be his sister. He looks rightfully ashamed when he's called out for the fact he wasn't a good sportspony which indicates that yes, it's definitely a virtue for him. Sometimes, though, you will break virtues or make exceptions for the people you love. That was what Big Mac was doing; he stopped paying as much attention to being a good sport out of desperation. When people are placed in situations that feel like high stakes to them, sometimes common sense or even morals get thrown out the window; a very commonly cited instance of this is when an animal is cornered. Ordinarily the animal is docile, or likes humans, but when cornered can lash out at even the innocent.
2. He's putting on an act, of course he's complimenting himself. A lot of actors do this - they'll play a character much unlike their usual persona, and in order to keep it up, they'll do things that they would never do. I mean, would you honestly believe that someone playing as a serial killer for a play would actually want to kill people? It's part of the occupation. While Big Mac is not a professional actor, he's doing essentially the same thing. If he acts like Big Mac, people will call him out on his bluff.

Again, even bearing all that in mind, I caution against saying he's being "OOC" when we've barely even seen him do anything in the show to begin with. All we can glean is that he's a hard worker, and that he has some sense of sensibility/older brotherlyship. Up until this episode, we didn't know to what lengths he would go for his family, and who knows? He could've been a total cheater when it comes to competitions, but still be the hardworking pony we know and love.

 

Agreed! I he can't really be OOC because he's hadn't had nearly enough time to be an actual character. For the most part he was pretty much a character that was shoved in the background and was, for the most part, an almost mute character that said "eeyup" or "nnnope". Over the course of these 5 seasons, I've only seen him speak in full sentences a total of 4 times, counting this episode. As much as I hate to say it, you could argue that before this episode aired he was a 1D character.

Edited October 4, 2015 by The Coffee Pony

[SciTwi22 2]

My first reaction to Big Mac in drag:

[Kaleidoscopic Clutch 83]

I was so happy to see Big Mac in drag.  It really took the show to a new level for me today.  He really committed to that female persona!  Eeyyup!

[Nuke87654 1,849]

Watched it again so I may do a review on it tommorow. To clarify that whole 'unladylike' comment, she mentions in addendum 'or any pony in general'. It does feel like it was meant to indicate for someone to behave well in general. The lady comment seems more of her wishing some proper sports etiquette and good behavior as one would expect from a lady and gentleman in any event.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Nuke87654

[Flearia Dragondanser 918]

I watched the episode and I acctualy think he looked good Not like all other kinds of dressup stuffs you usualy se.

[Jangocoolguy 433]

That was a flipping hoot!

 

If Macintosh in a dress wasn't funny enough, him going full on "Southern Belle" had me in hysterics!

 

It was also quite touching as well, watching him try to try to reconnect to Applebloom at the beginning and opening at the end.

 

And the part about the social having a loose definition of sister makes me curious about Berry Punch and her foal and Amethyst Star/Dinkie Doo.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Jangobadass

[manic 121]

I honestly didn't care for two-thirds of the episode. Big Mac in drag was -- well -- interesting. I find it unusual that Big Mac gets his first episode and the first thing the writers do is put him in a dress. It felt not only like cheap comedy but also quite out of character for him.

I actually thought it fit perfectly. He's been shown several times to have so-called 'effeminate' tendencies (doesn't necessarily have anything to do with LGBT) - Smartypants, Princess Big Mac, and now this. I personally wasn't surprised at all. 

[Luffyiscool 397]

This episode gave me flashbacks to Mrs Doubtfire, and that's a good thing.

RIP Robin Williams.

 

This week's mini PMV:

[4april 374]

I loved this episode and I think it is the best of season 5 so far. I never expected to see an episode which focuses on Big Mac and Applebloom. And I especially liked the ending and this part:

 "But don't think me and Scootaloo are gonna take it easy on you just 'cause you're a stallion!"