S06:E04 - On Your Marks

[Dark Horse 12,799]

So, this episode, which I forgot to give my thoughts on;   

 

As I may have mentioned in the past I was never the biggest fan of the CMC. Their episodes were rather uninspiring, always more of the same, comedy hi-jinks that didn't help them stand out very much from some of the better Mane 6 episodes. Crusaders of the Lost Mark was the exception for its culminating in 5 seasons worth of going through all that mediocrity to see the CMC finally get their cutie marks, and it was obvious how much effort they put into it to make it memorable.

 

I was kinda worried about where they'd go from there. Much like the CMC said themselves; now that they have their cutie marks, what now? I felt as though they could only go back down from here.

 

Thankfully, this episode proved me wrong.

 

I was really impressed with how they handled a post CM-CMC here. I enjoyed how they showed Scoots and Sweetie wanting to refocus on the things they enjoy doing now that they've achieved their goals, it really drove home a point from the last episode kinda saying "Yes! You did what you set out to do and now the world is yours again." or something along those lines. Basically, I was just happy to see them show some individuality and that they don't necessarily need to always be together.

 

Of course there was Apple Bloom who was the one to not be comfortable with all this. This was still something I liked to see, especially during her excellent solo number. The situation of having a big wide world with all kinds of activities and being absolutely stumped about where you'll fit in is something I feel many young adults coming out of school have fears of, because I sure know I did! The fact that she then tried her hoof at performance, a career path I now devote myself to, made it all the more relatable.

 

Tender Taps! Here was a character of the day that I loved. All I could see in him was my own 10 year old self getting up on stage for the first time and being absolutely mortified. Much like himself, it took me a bit of time to stop worrying about others during a performance and just focus on why I love acting in the first place. (Okay, what he's doing is essentially Ballet, but its the same idea.) I really liked what they pulled with the musical scores and animation for his dance routines too. They were fun little moments!

 

So yes, overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable CMC episode, making it two in a row for the trio. It pleases me to be able to get more invested into their characters now and I do really hope it continues, because given a good scenario they can be interesting characters, and this episode proves it.

[Rarity Is Best Pony 634]

This episode hit really close to home. I have gone through what Applebloom went through in this episode more times than I care to admit, and for the most they never ended as nicely as this episode implied. However I really liked that the show would tackle a subject such as this.

 

And let us not forget that incredible song that Applebloom sang.

[Phoenix Carann 6]

Moral of this episode:

 

If your friend has PTSD, leave them alone.

 

Though really, am I the only that thinks Scoots' and Sweetie's behaviour near the start is slightly off?

[wardomatic 370]

is there anything specific about this episode that was fun or strange or challenging to board?

 

edit: just noticed in the thread that you thought the song was a big challenge!

Yes, the song was the first major challenge for me since it was important to get timing and pacing right as well as make sure that the audience reads Applebloom's emotional state. What was fun was boarding out all the dance moves for AB and Tender Taps. Especially when AB bumps into all the other dancers! That was a lot of fun.  

*Sees Tender twirl around a lamppost and backflip off a wall* ......Holy bucking crap, did they just reference "Singin' In The Rain" on us? ......AWESOME, my favorite musical!

Yes! I referenced Gene Kelly AND Donald O'Connor for both of those dance moves. We wanted something BIG and what better way than to do a huge backflip a la "Make 'em Laugh"? I had fun boarding those sequences. 

[SomeRetroGeek 110]

I thought it was a pretty meh episode for me. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. Liked the song and the characters, but I was kind of hoping for Bulk Biceps character development from the teasers, and all I got was Knuckles from Sonic Boom as a pony. Feels like a filler episode to me, but written so it seems like it's important development for the CMC.

[Frequency Wavelength 45]

I like the slice of life feel this episode had and yes the Mane six doesn't have to be in all the episodes. Seeing Bulk Biceps made me smile, his part was written perfectly and it was nice to have him for some comedic relief. I had an overall warm feeling towards this episode, I'll look forward to further development and adventures of the CMC!

[Redhatbrony 59]

I have display my point of review in a video.

Feel free to enjoy it here.

https://youtu.be/cHZK72V1w3s

[Novaburst 15]

This was one of my favorite MLP Characters in that it showed what Apple Bloom and Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo would do when they aren't joined at the hip. How they tied in it in with the crusade of the girls to assist others with obtaining their cutie marks was simply genius. I would give this episode a 9/10 basically.   It has definitely become one of my little pony's episodes that I enjoyed the most.

[LHfunk 422]

Meh. Not all that interesting. I didn't care for CMC episodes before. Not much better now.

[Truffles 2,033]

It doesn't seem like Big Mac's leisurely trot would be nearly fast enough to cause all the apples to fly out of his cart when he "screeches" to a halt to avoid stepping on Apple Bloom.

 

I was more surprised that there was a scene of Big Mac very nearly killing his little sister in a crushing death...

 

I guess the other four rafters don't mind that Apple Bloom is just dead weight on the raft and not contributing to paddling.

Perhaps there is a rule in Equestria that ponies in the middle of a musical number don't have to contribute to the job at hand if they don't want to?   

 

 

As Apple Bloom is leaving the dance studio after being told that she can't do partnered dancing, we see Tender Taps with his dance clothes on, but literally two seconds later, as he's in the doorway to leave and talk to Apple Bloom, his clothes are gone, probably so that we can see that he's a blank flank. Where did his clothes go in such a short time? Are the dance clothes property of the dance studio and therefore must be removed before leaving the premises?

I found this amusing. Tender Taps should have gotten a cutie mark for being a quick-change artist!

 

As for who owns the clothes, I figured they belonged to the studio.

 

 

One thing this episode kind of unwittingly (and unfortunately) highlighted is for all this time the CMC didn't actually seem to have anything in common to keep them together as friends other than their quest to get their marks. The episode implies they have no shared interests, and it's only their new mission helping others that is going to allow them some sense of camaraderie. A very strange little group of friends, but if it works for them, I can't complain. 

[Music Chart Fan 818]

I was more surprised that there was a scene of Big Mac very nearly killing his little sister in a crushing death...

 

Eh, it doesn't seem to me that Apple Bloom would be in mortal danger if Big Mac were to accidentally step on her. If we look at the force with which he puts his front hooves down as he trots along, would that really be enough to kill Apple Bloom? In fact, if we look at his walk cycle, I'm not even sure that he's lifting his front hooves high enough off the ground for Apple Bloom to fit under one of them, anyway. The situation might look more dangerous because Big Mac lifts his front hooves so high off the ground as he stops himself.

[PiratePony 8,473]

Eh, it doesn't seem to me that Apple Bloom would be in mortal danger if Big Mac were to accidentally step on her. If we look at the force with which he puts his front hooves down as he trots along, would that really be enough to kill Apple Bloom? In fact, if we look at his walk cycle, I'm not even sure that he's lifting his front hooves high enough off the ground for Apple Bloom to fit under one of them, anyway. The situation might look more dangerous because Big Mac lifts his front hooves so high off the ground as he stops himself.

Nah man, he almost turned her into Apple Sauce.

[The Nth Doctor 652]

You'd think Apple Bloom would know better by now

[ggg-2 3,550]

We probably won't see him again unless it's a cameo, seeing as how his voice actor is a professional singer, rapper and actor in Canada, but i'd love more Tender Taps because well, look me in the eye and tell me he isn't absolutely bucking adorable!

[weesh 690]

We probably won't see him again...

 

I really hope we do, if only because I really hope they develop Applebloom into a dancer.  It would be really sad if they planted that seed and then forgot about it.  

[Liam_marshall 42]

i most say i loved this episode i aways love a cutie mark crusader episode 

[ggg-2 3,550]

First meeting since they got their cutie marks? Bullcrap, Applebloom, you called a meeting after your Cute-ceneara.

[Twilight Frost 271]

I really feel this episode could had been a lot better imo. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. 

[weesh 690]

I really feel this episode could had been a lot better imo. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. 

 

what was dissatisfying to you?

[Twilight Frost 271]

what was dissatisfying to you?

I don't know, I think they went a little too heavy on the parts where she couldn't find anything she could do alone as well as this entire time she has been an engineer/ art and a good designer. I think leaving that out made it feel a little bit off. 

[Sh Pie 65]

This was a decent CMC focus episode and the first time since they got their Cutie Marks. They appeared in 2 consecutive episodes following Season 5 episode 18 just to establish continuity but now they're back and the new arc for them is no longer about getting their Cutie Marks but helping other ponies get theirs. For Applebloom, this episode was about finding a new purpose in life due to the fulfillment of her previous one and since she has little in common with Sweetie and Scootaloo besides being best friends and former blank flanks, she experiences the most difficulty.

 

Tender Taps is a nice new background pony and he's a blank flank. Applebloom helped him get his Cutie Mark in choreography by encouraging his confidence. With the CMC splitting up to find more blank flanks three times faster, I speculate that Sweetie and Scootaloo will have a focus episode each before this season is finished.

[Odd Ball 230]

While I did like Tender Tops as well as the fact that the show is creating more male characters, I’m annoyed that they used the same skin and mane colours of Scootaloo (a bit darker, but still). Also I wish they would create more unicorn and pagasus fillies, as pretty much all the new fillies introduced are earth.

[Emiko Gale 199]

I'm kind of upset Apple Bloom's interest in carpentry didn't show up in this episode...Otherwise I felt this episode was good.

[weesh 690]

I'm kind of upset Apple Bloom's interest in carpentry didn't show up in this episode...Otherwise I felt this episode was good.

 

i actually appreciated that she got interested in a less apple-ly sort of thing..

that fact makes it feel more like HER deciding it, rather than her family.

[Lagrangian 64]

Hit a bit in the feels, though I have the opposite problem of Applebloom.