S06:E06 - No Second Prances

[KatonRyu 1,033]

Starlight was in it, making it a fun episode to watch all by itself. Twilight did piss me off in this one, though. She really should have trusted Starlight and Trixie more. If it hadn't been for Starlight's own character development, Twilight's distrust could have easily sent her back to being evil (considering her reason to turn evil was so stupid to begin with).

 

I also like that Starlight and Trixie get along so well. In a classic 'pair the spares' move I can now easily keep Starlight out of the way of my SunLight fantasies.

[I Bring Da LULZ 131]

Despite the ending being kind of a mess between the 3 main characters, I really, really liked this episode! Seeing Starlight meet Trixie in the spa alone made me go "wait, wait, waitwaitoh oHHH OHH YESSS THIS IS GONNA BE WONDERFULLL" 

[Brainstorm 4,109]

I'm glad this episode showed Trixie's reformed and Starlight gained more trust.

[Excellente 0]

I personally think the episode was really good.

[Nye 1,652]

"How do you get your hair to do that all the time?" Best quote ever.  

[Ruddboy Olaf 10,628]

I will say that this is my favorite S6 episode, so far. Starlight and Trixie really shined, and I appreciate the appearance of Harry Houdini/Hoofdini.

I now know what people see in StarTrix.

[bigbertha 414]

I love this episode. It's one of those rare episodes past season 3 where Twilight actually has character flaws and a personality. It makes sense that a character from Twilight's past coming back would bring back some of Twilight's old personality, just in a more passive aggressive way. Trixie is a great foil for Twilight here making her finally confront flaws in her teaching that were teased in "The Crystalling".

Starlight was also pretty great despite some forced dialogue about her past in the beginning. Her friendship with Trixie feels genuine and they have a great chemistry.

This episode also makes Trixie an interesting character. It exposes some of Trixie's insecurities in a very natural way.

The only issue is that the first act doesn't have a lot to do with the rest of the episode, despite still being a little funny. It also shoves Starlight's past in our faces a few too many times.

This season needed more episodes like this to really flesh out Starlight before the finale.

Score: 10/10

 

 

[qwerE 96]

 Just wonderful. This episode gave Starlight and Trixie some attention, and I loved how they got along so well.

Starlight was friends with the mane 6, but it felt kind of awkward seeing them together. However, Trixie is somewhat different from the mane 6 - she has a dark past, just like Starlight. They really seem to understand and care for each other, and such genuine friendship is something that was almost never seen outside of the mane 6.

Did Twilight have to abandon princess Celestia, though? I felt so bad for her...

[Thrond 3,263]

Problem 1: Twilight's behaviour is ridiculous here. She's right to not trust Starlight, but the pressure she put on Starlight to suddenly make a new friend before Celestia arrives just feels stupid and selfish. All of this makes her hard enough to sympathize with, and the episode's focus on Starlight just makes her seem all the more distant. Plus, she should have told Starlight outright that she doesn't trust her. She wouldn't be unjustified in doing so. 

Problem 2: Starlight is a difficult character to relate to and sympathize with. The first few minutes of the episode see her increasingly making questionable decisions, including the downright horrifying decision to cast a spell on Big Mac as if there's nothing wrong with it. She doesn't seem introspective at all about her misdeeds, all of which makes her constant joking about them hard to take. She knows that she did something wrong, but does she know why it was wrong? She mopes about Twilight not trusting her, but everything she does here suggests Twilight is entirely right in that. So not only is the moral a rehash of something stated in "The Crystalling," but it's also difficult to accept because Starlight doesn't seem trustworthy.

Furthermore, that lack of introspection makes it seem like the only reason she befriended Trixie was because it wouldn't force her to be a better person. Her self-pity feels unearned, and that furthers the lack of self-awareness which defines her behaviour here. The entire episode is predicated on Starlight being sympathetic, so because she isn't, all of the other weird decisions become much harder to justify. 

Problem 3: Some of the stuff with Trixie is overly dour. She's by far the highlight of the episode, which does a lot to deepen her motivations, but there's moments here which seem borderline cruel to her. Furthermore, a lot of her dialogue is sort of expository, and she's not given quite enough time to display her boisterous personality. The balance between sensitivity and ego which makes her so charming from about this point on isn't given enough space to breathe. 

Problem 4: Twilight and Trixie's rivalry seems unreasonable. Trixie's main motivation for not trying to befriend Twilight is underdeveloped and seems rather selfish, whereas Twilight's reason to distrust Trixie seems to be largely her own fault - see problem 1. 

Problem 5: Trixie continuing with the manticore stunt doesn't make much sense. Her dialogue suggests she wants to be saved, so clearly it isn't an attempted suicide, but then, why not call the stunt off?

There's some good stuff here: it's interesting that Starlight is still in an awkward place morally, there's a lot of good stuff involving Trixie, and the two's chemistry is immediately apparent even this early. And as much stuff as this episode blunders, at least it screws up interestingly, which is a rarity in this show. I'll take frustrating over boring any day... but My Little Pony has so many episodes which aren't either that I don't see myself returning to this much. 

Score:
Entertainment: 5/10
Characters: 4/10
Themes: 4/10
Story: 2/10
Overall: 38/100

[bigbertha 414]

That scene of Starlight messing with Big Mac really screws with this episode. The entire episode is about how Twilight is wrong in believing that Starlight could be influenced negatively by Trixie and how Starlight is changed, but that scene gives the impression that Starlight isn't actually changed. There's also the fact that Trixie guilt trips Starlight into missing the dinner. All of his makes Starlight brushing off Twilight seem a lot less justified and makes her unsympathetic, which is a big problem when the entire episode is about Starlight being sympathetic.

Also, the first act really isn't connected to the rest of the episode and isn't funny. Maybe just the scene with Big Mac could've been cut so Starlight seems sympathetic as none of those other scenes seem like they were her fault. The episode should've given more time to setting up the impression that Trixie could've been using Starlight. That's a big emotional climax, yet the entire episode builds up Starlight and Trixie's friendship as genuine, which makes the conflict at the end seem contrived.

The entirety of the climax is a mess. The fact that Starlight skips out on Twilight's dinner is completely forgotten about once it's revealed that Trixie maybe kinda sorta only made friends with Starlight to get back at Twilight but not really. That mess of a conflict is apparently enough for Twilight to forget that Trixie was a bad influence on Starlight and to let Starlight do what she wants, despite the episode not justifying that at all.

The episode tries to give character depth to Trixie, but it doesn't make much sense. I mentioned that the entire conflict between Trixie and Starlight feels contrived, but even after that, it doesn't make sense. Trixie's performance on stage makes me think she gave up on life, yet when she's doing the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive, she's pleading with Starlight to come back and save her. Maybe she knew in her heart that Starlight would come back, but it comes off as jarring.

The only really good thing here is Starlight and Trixie's chemistry. They are really fun together and keep this episode from being too bad.

Score: 3/10

Edited February 12, 2019 by bigbertha

[Cash In 22,314]

I really enjoyed this episode, as it gave Starlight a lot more depth. The first two episodes already did this, but it definitely expanded on to it. Seeing more of Starlight's struggles and helped me to connect and sympathise her. Trixie's reappearance caught me off guard when I first saw this episode, but it was good to see her again - especially on account that she turned over a new leaf and wasn't causing havoc. Her chemistry with Starlight was pretty cool to watch and made the episode a lot more enjoyable. Twilight's adamance towards Trixie did seem a little bit hypocritical, but it defintley added to the theme of the episode.

[Rushing cash 836]

I really enjoyed starlight this episode, how she did not know who the wonderbolts were(and rainbows reaction), and how social awkward she is. Trixie was a nice addition and twilights reaction may have been slightly over the top however was understandable considering what trixie did and her behavior before and during this episode(taking into account starlights past, as her mentor you would want to avoid her befriending someone like trixie). And of course I love trixies relationship with starlight, its complicated and the personalities play of one the other nicely(I totally ship them). I cant ignore the fact that trixie almost killed herself, it was one of the darkest moments in the show no doubt, however twilight was completely unfazed by it was a bit weird... anyway it was an outstanding episode 10\10  

[JMTV99 1,353]

I really wanted to like this episode. I really do. But I'm sorry, Twilight's utter incompetence forces me not to like it.

I don't think it's one of the worst episodes, but I find it very disappointing.

While it did have cute moments here and there and some the gags are pretty funny, but it's not enough to save this episode for me.

With that said, there's one thing that I do give this episode credit and I'm glad that they kept it in the later seasons is that Starlight and Trixie do make a very interesting chemistry and they played off of each other very well.

[phantompone1148 126]

while it was nice to see trixie return, i wasn't a fan of how Twilight acted in this one. 

5/10

[Gale Wind 82]

I gotta agree Twilight was annoying in this episode.

[J.J 923]

8 hours ago, Gale Wind said:

I gotta agree Twilight was annoying in this episode.

It gives you something to condemn Twilight for sure, but I actually think it makes the episode better, this gives us a chance to humanize Starlights and Trixies friendship, to show others no, just because YOU don't like someone or somepony doesn't mean that their friendship with someone else will inherently lead to something bad...

It shows us that we can all make misconceptions about others, there's a lot of good to having Twilight be a snob, it shows you that the vibe was true and Starlight's genuine persistence to kindle the fire she felt with Trixie was real...  

You have to TRUST YOURSELF about how you feel about someone or somepony, and that is what this episode ultimately says in the end, not even the Princess of Friendship can tell you what friends are right for you, you have to make the choice within your own heart... 

Their friendship is great lol, they are both something that the other is missing, one the confidence and common sense, the other the ability the genuine ability to follow through with these sentiments despite having them...

[DesuPony 40]

Definitely my favorite episode of the entire show! it has dashie, it has trixie, it even has derpy! all 3 of my favorite ponies in 1 episode is just mwah. 10/10

Edited December 16, 2022 by DesuPony

[Iforgotmybrain 5,682]

Twilight talking about dinner plates and utensils like she’s an English teacher. Also having plates with your cutie mark on them feels a little egotistical lol.

Which I guess kinda fits Twilight in this episode, she’s honestly a bit out of character. Like girl you’re talking to and mentoring a mare who enslaved dozens of ponies, who ran a dictatorship, who tried to basically end the world just a few episodes ago, and you’ve already forgiven her. But you’re still uptight about Trixie? The same Trixie who I’m pretty sure already apologized to you how long ago? Come on, Twilight! At least she comes around at the end, but still!

That said I do really like Trixie in this episode, seeing her trying to move past her reputation and past mistakes while knowing a lot of ponies still kinda hate her guts. Having her put on magic shows again. Her and Starlight definitely carry this episode unsurprisingly. Their dynamic together is just so good, perfect, even. It’s easy to see why so many people ship them together (including myself).

Seeing Derpy and DJ Pon3 was cool, and Cranky was great. How does she get her hair to do that?

I guess my only issue with the episode is Twilight being a bit off. Besides that I do love this episode, if you couldn’t tell by how much I’ve written about it when compared to my past comments on most other episodes lol.

[Antiyonder 1,153]

YouTube upload of the episode: