S06:E21 - Every Little Thing She Does

[CastletonSnob 3,074]

Am I the only one who found the use of "chillax" cringeworthy? 

[Truffles 2,033]

Am I the only one who found the use of "chillax" cringeworthy? 

 

I was wondering where Starlight learned that term, but since it was learned from Rainbow, it kinda makes sense. 

 

 

So yeah no I'm not into this episode. I know a ton of you are going to try to say "But Starlight this" and "Starlight that" but that's not going to work. I'm sorry but mind control is such a massive ethical and moral violation that I can't overlook it. That's what I think, if you think anything different fine. I'm not like Starlight and going to try to make you think anything different. 

 

It's all good, I do see where you are coming from, and certainly in real life it would be a terrifying prospect to have someone capable of turning others into literal robots without an ounce of conscience, blindly following orders and no longer able to think for themselves.

 

I would think that just as angry as many are with Starlight, they should be angry with Twilight as well since she pretty much blew off and chuckled over the after effects the spell would have on her friends.

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

You can take Starlight out of Our Town, but you can't take Our Town out of Starlight.

 

The episode is fine as far as entertainment value goes. It's good for comedy seeing the shenanigans mind control gets the Mane 6 + 1 into. As far as Starlight goes, she still has a lot to learn, and I mostly accept that she's taking the role in these episodes that Twilight would have taken back in seasons 1 and 2 and making similar, albeit much further-reaching mistakes to what a young Twilight would have done in the same position (think "Lesson Zero").

 

Don't hate it because it was Starlight, because when it was Twilight it was one of the best episodes in the series. Granted "Lesson Zero" had much more entertaining and iconic moments, character growth, and continuity development, but at its core Starlight basically did the same thing Twilight did; used her knowledge to control others' minds in order to satisfy a selfish desire to get in a "friendship lesson". Starlight is going down the same path, so it's only fitting she makes a similar mistake.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Wind Chaser

[Radiance64 7,053]

This episode was alright, pretty good one. I think Ms. Glimmer might be a little too powerful for her own good though... at this rate she might be more dangerous as a friend than she was as an enemy.

[Kevin 160]

That was one of the funniest and best episodes of the season by far and definitely the most solid Starlight episode yet!

 

Of all the Mane 6 "bots", Pinkie was the highlight of it! Her blank stare was creepy, yet so funny at the same time!

 

I know it's easy to say "Well geez, Starlight, you didn't see this coming?", but let's not forget she's starting out with the friendship lesson stuff. Look how Twilight developed over the course of the series after all. Personally, I wish Spike had stuck around during all the antics, because he snarky commentary on everything would have been pure gold!

 

Vogel, you absolutely delivered with this episode and I'm looking forward to see what else you come up with!

[Professional Horse 94]

So when a villain is reformed, they should never do anything questionable ever again and become pure and clean good guys? How does that make any sense?

 

---

 

Forgiveness is one of the central themes of the show and those who dislike Starlight keep saying that she should've been punished. Why should redeemable characters be punished in this show? Why do people keep demanding that?

 

If Starlight, at the end, understands that what she did was wrong and apologizes, why shouldn't she be forgiven? Why can't there be sympathy towards her?

 

Just a reminder for people who keep shouting "MILLION YEARS DUNGEON FOR STARLIGHT!"

 

So, that was a fun episode. Really fun, actually. It was hilarious to see Starlight's spell fall apart so magnificently. She should never become a coder!

 

I was afraid that this episode would make me dislike Starlight, but that fear did not come true. I quite liked her in this episode. Probably because she shares a lot of traits with season 1-2 Twilight and is still a manipulating villain at heart. And I didn't feel angry at her for "mind controlling" the mane 5, because she used it after being freaked out, without malicious intent, and apologized afterwards. It was handled well in my opinion.

 

Spike was great in this episode, which at this point isn't a surprise. This is season Spike, after all. The mane 5 were also great with their comedy.

 

I didn't like everything in this episode. I'm still bothered by Starlight's magical abilities because they make no bloody sense (Twilight is an alicorn who has studied magic her entire life and is the ELEMENT OF MAGIC ITSELF but Starlight is still more powerful than her? What?!) and the montage felt a bit like a cheap repeating of the montage at the end of season 5 finale. I did really like it when angry Pinkie saw Starlight suck at baking and laughed, that was nice. Starlight had the idiot ball in her hooves sometimes and Twilight didn't really do much.

 

To sum up, I liked it. Not going to give a score because scores are stupid.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Professional Horse

[weesh 690]

 

 mind control is such a massive ethical and moral violation that I can't overlook it. That's what I think, if you think anything different fine. I'm not like Starlight and going to try to make you think anything different. 

 

at least they called her out on it, and were very upset.  I was really glad about rainbow's outburst.

 

the bad thing would be if they did something really horrible and then tried to justify it (like hazing in newbie dash).

I'm ok with bad things happening, if they actively confront it.

[Zantetsuken 364]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aENX1Sf3fgQ

 

So this episode was a filled to the brim with references
 
I'm just going to like... say I liked this episode and stuff. However I kind of knew it would be good being Written by Mike Vogel and stuff.
 
I like Starlight Glimmer and I love how monotone all the mane 5 sounded while hypnotized. This episode was real fun if not a bit predictable at points especially in the second act, however an episode can be predictable but still good. This episode was predictable in the best way.
 
I don't really have much more to say 
7.4/10

Edited September 24, 2016 by Zantetsuken

[Golden Star 149]

Excellent episode! Got a Sorcerer's Apprentice meets The Stepford Wives vibe from it which led to many hilarious moments, as well as some good character development for Starlight and a strong, relatable lesson. It seems to me like she still has severe anxiety and when triggered, magic is her personal safeguard, but she needed to learn it doesn't solve everything. I also like how she gave a sincere apology and not everyone forgave her instantly, so she still had to work to make amends. OK, it's not Sunset Shimmer/Rainbow Rocks quality, but it still worked fine IMO. I don't think the episode's pacing was the most consistent, and I also don't think it's going to convert too many Starlight haters into fans, but as someone who has always liked her since reformation, I really liked this one. On initial viewing, a 9/10 from me.

[BlackWater627 700]

This episode was alright, pretty good one. I think Ms. Glimmer might be a little too powerful for her own good though... at this rate she might be more dangerous as a friend than she was as an enemy.

You know the saying. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. 

 

 

 

the bad thing would be if they did something really horrible and then tried to justify it (like hazing in newbie dash). I'm ok with bad things happening, if they actively confront it.

 

I agree. I actually like it when they bring up serious issues as long as they are faced as issues rather than "just how things are." Starlight has a ways to go on friendship. Kinda like Discord. But they are making honest efforts and apologize when they need to so it's cool. 

[StitchandMLPlover 930]

SPOILER ALERT!!! I really like this episode! It was nice to see the dynamic between Twilight and Starlight when they practice magic, it is adorable and reminds me of how my mentors and I interact with each other. It was great to see much more of the castle and I also really liked how we got another scene between Spike and Starlight. The part where Starlight casts the spell on the other Mane 5 reminded me of the episode of Lilo & Stitch The Series titled "Hunkahanka" where Lilo casts a spell on a boy she has a crush on named Keoni using an alien experiments powers, to get him to like her but all he does is say "whatever you want Lilo" . I liked how the spell she used here was very in character in that she controlled ponies minds and took away their free will as she had done with the cutie marks. It was interesting to see the pressure Starlight puts on herself and her intense anxiety brought on by fear of failure. I relate to this. This MLP episode seemed to have multiple lessons, one being don't overcomplicate things in your mind, don't think that you have to be good at something in order to enjoy it and don't rush through things.I love how Twilight was firm but patient and forgiving of mistakes as any good teacher should be. It was also fascinating to find out casting a heavy duty spell on a pony can make them feel like crap the next day. I felt sorry for the Mane 5. We need more Starlight episodes like this!!

Edited September 24, 2016 by StitchandMLPlover

[Cleverclover 1,526]

I ask for a genuine episode in which Starlight builds a friendly relationship with the mane five, and I get this... 

 

Seeing the mind-controlled mane five was not even the slightest bit funny to me. It was terribly painful to watch. These are all characters who I care deeply about, and I was literally seeing their free will being stolen away by Starlight, who utterly infuriated me by acting mind-numbingly ignorant as to why they were acting the way they were. I really do think the idea that this episode was meant to be Starlight's Lesson Zero, but where using a spell was Twilight's last resort, it ended up being Starlight's first resort. 

 

I'm even more astounded by how casually Twilight reacted to the fact that her student had cast a control spell on her best friends. The scene where she realized what Starlight had done was omitted completely, and the next scene jumped straight to the aftermath, which showed Starlight still not having the slightest idea as to where she went wrong, indicating that Twilight did not reprimand her at all after she realized what had happened. Additionally, fact that Starlight did this clearly demonstrates a massive failure on Twilight's part, since as her student, Starlight has apparently learned that there's no boundary that you can't cross with magic to get want you want. In fact, I think Starlight's blunder here was actually foreshadowed in No Second Prances. Remember at the beginning how Twilight said to set the table without using magic, yet Starlight ignored her and did so anyway? Twilight did not reprimand her for this in the slightest---she allowed her student to get away with disobeying her. What Starlight learned there is that there's nothing wrong with using magic even in situations that don't call for it. So why would Starlight honestly expect that there would be any consequences for doing this? 

 

And lastly, we got yet another montage to imply that the mane five are friends with Starlight, something that would be MUCH BETTER conveyed if we actually saw genuine interaction between them. What I get from this is that the mane five's relationship with Starlight does not matter. All we really need to know is that she's on good terms with them, and that's about it. We'll most likely never see the sort of close relationship that Twilight and Spike seem to share with her. Perhaps that means, as I somewhat expect, that Starlight will packing up after this season. 

 

I'm glad that Starlight apologized but this still felt more like a slap on the wrist. I think she should have been punished in some way by Twilight, who has clearly been more lenient on her that she should have been. 

 

Oh, and Starlight is clearly OP and far more powerful that Twilight. Yippie...

 

Also, I'm certainly not looking forward to the finale now. This was apparently the show's last chance to sell me on why I should love and support Starlight, and it failed for me. 

Edited September 24, 2016 by Cleverclover

[CastletonSnob 3,074]

I really want more interaction between Spike and Starlight. 

[ph00tbag 108]

So let's get the elephant in the room out of the way.

It's not so much a problem that Starlight used a spell to make ponies do what she wants. Refer to my post in the teaser thread to read my thoughts on the ethical implications of mind control in the world of MLP. That's a question of using a spell that's neither good nor bad in a way that's bad. On the surface, that's a moral quandary that is presented and resolved as a learning opportunity for Starlight, and it's done in a way that's honest and real. Starlight tries to solve a problem using her strengths, and in so doing causes more problems than she solves, and has to apologize. In particular, I felt that the resolution of it all was very well-crafted. But even in that, I felt that the real problem was highlighted: Starlight already knew that using mind control to make ponies do her bidding is wrong. It feels like there's a degree of regression, there. Though I'll cop that she seemed to be grappling with some social anxiety issues at the time, and may not have been in her right mind. The poor girl was literally having a panic attack in the library. Interestingly, the spell-casting seemed to calm her down. One wonders if the spell-work was more of a displacement activity, unattached to the spell's goals. Not that it makes the results any less problematic, but I think it makes them more understandable.

 

So that's out of the way! Let's talk about why, despite the dissonance of Starlight's use of mind control, I liked the episode.

 

There's a couple other things that I think get laid aside too quickly in the discussion of the episode. For one thing, I really liked the subtle development of Starlight's relationship with achievement. Starlight is so accustomed to performing exceptionally, and being recognized for it, that she's terrified of the perceived consequences of being bad at something, so she avoids novel experiences, and the ponies that would guide her through those experiences. This is a conundrum observed in childhood development, as well, where children who are praised for making attempts at new things tend to perform better overall, and tend to improve at everything they try, while those who are praised for initial achievement tend to idle at the place of that achievement, and rarely try new things or improve. Starlight displays this tendency to a T, and I'm glad that Twilight, rather than make a fuss about the mind control thing, focuses on convincing Starlight that it's okay to suck at some things, but it's important to have fun with them, nonetheless.

 

I also really liked the episode's explicit message, that while being able to offer your own skills to your friends is important to friendship, being able to share in the things your friends enjoy doing is also important. You can get to know someone really well by letting them share their skills and interests with you, and it will make them like you more to know that you appreciate the things they can do. And in fact, your own lack of skill in those things can be a bond-forming experience. In a nutshell, it's not really important what you do with your friends, as long as you make an effort to have a good time with them. Starlight was so caught up with what she was doing, that she lost focus on why she was doing it. Not that she ever really had a focus on it.

A few observations:
Starlight has a "NO EQUALS" drawing in her room. I laughed harder than I should have.
Pinkie Pie is a fan of Lazy Town maybe?
Applejack's references.
It's hard to stay mad at somepony who's covered in flour.

[Truffles 2,033]

Some more misc comments:

 

- It was interesting to see Twilight eager to test Starlight's teleportation abilities. It's like she still feels she has to prove something because she could only out-cast Starlight to a draw in the S5 finale.

 

- Starlight mind controlling wasn't morally good, but Twilight creating sentient life from an apple? Now that's some OP magic there... Even though she kind of did the reverse with her turning a bluejay into an orange way back when. (Was that Lesson Zero?? Nope, Too Many Pinklie Pies, thanks, @@Trixie Heartstrings!)

 

- I thought Spike was going to have a fit when Starlight wrecked the library, but fortunately Starlight fixed it all up. With yet another spell. X3

 

- Spike's voice seemed off, kinda hoarse. It sounded like his VA had a cold or something.

 

- Spike was so snarky in this episode, and yet he did get to be the voice of reason with Starlight. They did push his snark pretty far though. He nearly came off sounding like a jerk.

 

- Pretty neat to see so many new areas of the castle. The aforementioned rooftop pool, but also Starlight's bedroom, the foyer and the castle kitchen!

 

- I wonder why there's a replica of the Crystal Heart in Twilight's foyer?

 

- "No time for a song!" XD

 

- I'm beginning to think a "moon" is the same thing as a day. That is, every moonrise counts as one moon. Though I don't know what Twilight was so concerned about then in "Equestria Girls" when she couldn't get back before 30 moons...

 

- I kinda wanted to see crazy Starlight like we got for crazy Twilight. I'm sure someone will do some artwork. XD

 

- Fluttershy covered in bugs - LOL!

 

- Surprised to hear the out-of-the-blue ref to SSCS6K again. Mike Vogel loves his episode refs. I was surprised Twilight didn't ref her own experience with the Want-it-need-it spell.

 

 

So, that was a fun episode. Really fun, actually. It was hilarious to see Starlight's spell fall apart so magnificently. She should never become a coder!

 

It funny you say that because all of Starlight's newly-created "ponybots" felt like they were nothing more than computers and she was busy giving them code to interpret and execute. XD

Edited September 24, 2016 by Truffles

[Megas 27,594]

The episode had it's moments, but it really doesn't do Starlight any favors, especially when she needs it the most, and continues to make Twilight look bad this season

 

[Batbrony 16,054]

 

OK, good morning everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews."  This week's episode was some classic MLP, a delightful combination of entertainment with a well-written story and a excellently executed lesson.  It was also a nice return to form for Starlight Glimmer, as well as probably the most she's interacted with the entire group of Mane 6 this season.  Without further ado, this is "Every Little Thing She Does."

 

So oddly enough, this episode was kind of a spiritual successor to "Lesson Zero" back in Season 2, albeit not quite as hilarious as that episode.  Starlight, as we saw, still has a bit of a problem with how she understands the concept of friendship, namely in that she's quantifying it.  She thought, going into this episode, that being good at friendship literally means you're skilled at whatever you do with your friends, and if you're not, then you're being a bad friend.  Given that so much of her self-worth her whole life (in her mind) has been measured by how good she is at magic (something that's very much still apparent in this episode as well), this is understandable; even after her reform, her initial friend of the group was Twilight, and one of the things that Twilight was most impressed about Starlight early on was how powerful she was at magic.  I won't say that Twilight was a part of this problem, then, because frankly this is on Starlight and her inability to properly convey her anxiety to Twilight, but it's perfectly logical that given that she's now living with Twilight and was trying to distract her with how her magical skills continue to improve, she would in turn think that Twilight similarly would "grade" her when it comes to magic (it does not help that Twilight tends to keep lists and records about EVERYTHING).  So the problem that Starlight had was actually really good because it felt believable; some episodes this season have struggled because the problems they dealt with felt like they belonged in earlier seasons of MLP, but here, it did not feel like this lesson learned was inappropriate or the problem forced.  Starlight wasn't unnecessarily incompetent, Twilight correctly identified and addressed the problem as soon as she knew it was happening and understood it, and the pacing was just right, with just enough attention given to setting up the problem, seeing it unfold, and having it addressed.  In the end, Starlight learned a valuable lesson about what it means to be a good friend, and I imagine that going forward she'll be more comfortable with all of the Mane 6 now, not just Twilight.  The only problem I will raise with how this episode unfolded is that I feel like we saw Starlight engaging in many of the same activities she was so nervous about today at the end of last season when she first befriended the Mane 6, but I can forgive that considering it was so quick and took place in song.  Overall, this was yet another really, really solid episode for Starlight, and she continues to delight as a member of the main cast.

 

 

Well now, that certainly doesn't look healthy   

 

 

Not gonna lie, I REALLY want to know the whole story behind this!   

 

As I said earlier, as far as the humor and entertainment factor of the episode goes, it (like the lesson) very much resembled and felt like a spiritual successor to "Lesson Zero."  Like in that episode, things escalated out of hand FAR more than one could have anticipated going into this episode to the point of insanity, yet it felt like an insanity that could actually happen in this setting.  Just like how Twilight melting down and freaking out was completely believable in "Lesson Zero," things going crazy after Starlight cast a number of mind control spells on the Mane 6 made, well, perfect sense.  The fact that the insanity "made sense" only made the humor all the more enjoyable to see as it unfolded, and the Mane 6 under Starlight's mind control spell were a delightful combination of hilarious, creepy, and utterly useless.  I myself particularly enjoyed Applejack, and give major props to both the writers and Ashleigh Ball on a hilarious turn as our favorite country mare.  The 'chillaxing' running gag was pretty hilarious as well, more so when they were joking about understanding the concept as opposed to just saying the word a bunch.  And it was also hilarious to see Pinkie Pie as the most pissed off of all of the Mane 6 about the mind control spell, and what's more because she burned cakes while under Starlight's influence.  Finally, in a turn for a joke I never thought I'd see even on this show, I'm pretty sure that the Mane 6, after being freed from Starlight's powerful mind control spell, were intentionally depicted the next day in a state that resembled having a hangover.  Some of the gags they pulled at the start of that scene were hilarious, particularly Rarity's insisting that the Mane 6 make as little noise as possible, and it's a great use of adult humor in a kid's show because obviously most kids would never understand that that was being referenced.

 

 

D'awww, the poor, adorable dear... she has no idea how much she just bucked up   

 

 

That's it Twilight, you let her know!  So, you got it now Starlight?   

 

 

Damn it  :ninja: 

 

Animation-wise, everything was top notch as usual, particularly the facial expressions, which really felt spot on here.  It was nice getting to see an episode that wasn't just set in Twilight's castle but actually explored it a ton as well; we got to see the kitchen, the library, the foyer, the basement, Starlight's room (which we'd never seen before), and even the roof at the end!  It really felt like we got to explore the castle more than ever before, and that's always nice when we get to see not just a new setting, but more of a setting we've seen plenty before, but haven't necessarily explored in-depth.  Finally, I thought the final shot of this episode was just really nice; it feels like it's been awhile since we got to see all the girls just relaxing with each other to end an episode, and seeing that (with the addition of Starlight awkwardly trying to relax with them) was really nice to see yet again, especially all the different ways they were unwinding, or rather, chillaxing at the end.  Overall, this was just a really, really solid episode and I can't really find a fault with it.  It wasn't quite the level of amazing that "Lesson Zero" is, but it was very exceptional all the same, and a solid addition into Starlight's existing canon and ongoing character arc.  That's all I've got for ya'll today everypony, until next time this is Batbrony signing off.  I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit*

[Allen 1,387]

Yes, so far so good with this episode. Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike go for a round trip to Canterlot, I know Starlight Glimmer what she's doing inside the castle with her friends. "You can't make them a mess like this!" Also, at the end of this episode, everything should be clean inside her castle and made a great work with Starlight Glimmer's friendship lessons! 

[Photon Jet 5,491]

This was a wonderful episode! It had some great moments which made me laugh.

 

As soon as I saw the opening, I knew it was gonna be good.

[Dark Qiviut 22,388]

The main flaw in this entire episode is the pacing. There was a full act of Starlight REALLY screwing up, but her remedy is more confined to a montage. Yes, the audience sees Starlight apologizing and then making it up to them by fixing everything. Unfortunately, you only see bits of her working, and their relationships are camouflaged by music playing in the foreground. Therefore, it feels less rewarding when Starlight fixes everything.

 

Is it a good episode? No. But is it bad, either? No. Spice Up Your Life is a little worse. Every Little Thing is somewhere above the middle.

 

If I were to fix this episode, the pacing would be the first thing on my mind, but this is one where I have to be more careful. Her biggest flaw is she feels the need to resort to extreme measures to resolve a problem and is very blind about the consequences of said actions. You have to really show the audience what she's doing is wrong and make it impactful, but you also don't want to diminish her biggest flaw. Making her quickly realize hypnotizing her friends was a big mistake shortchanges her whole character.

 

Here's a solution.

 

1. Twilight and Spike are away overnight and return the next morning.

 

2. When it goes really haywire, Starlight cancels the spell. Physically and psychologically affected by the spell, Starlight realizes her idea was worse than expected. She takes her frustrations on the books and stays in her room to calm down.

 

3. Calmed down, she returns to the round table. Everyone is furious at her and scold her for using spells on them. Starlight tells them she realizes what she did was wrong. She felt very nervous and wanted to impress Twilight to not disappoint her. But by choosing this method, she only made things worse. She apologizes and looks down, feeling ashamed of herself.

 

4. The RM5 remain upset, hurt, and disappointed, sees this as an opportunity to bond better with her. Starlight asks for help. Little by little, they clean up the castle. It takes much of the evening and night, but they're able to clean up.

 

5. Twilight and Spike return home and notice everyone fast asleep at the round table with a scroll in the middle. Twilight and Spike read it as they walk quietly away. Cue Starlight's voice as she reads it.

[ggg-2 3,552]

And Starlight gets no punishment. And am i the only one who imagined the Goldie Delicious mentions as a callback to Pinkie Apple Pie? (my personal favorite season 4 episode)

[Sonic5421 423]

So while Starlight is getting more and more experienced in magic spells with Twilight, she was slacking in her friendship lessons out of fear of failing at something she was not good at.

 

So what does she do while Twilight and Spike are away in Canterlot with Celestia? Use a combination of spells to try and accomplish her friendship lessons with the rest of the Mane Six all at once. Unfortunately, by trying to take a shortcut out, she ends up wrecking Twilight's castle in the process, and gets a stern reprimand from the Princess of Friendship as well, who's not angry with Starlight, just disappointed.

 

Starlight makes up for her mistakes with apologizing to the Mane Six and trying again, and ends up learning more out of her lessons than she originally thought, ending with all of them enjoying some R & R on the roof of the castle.

 

This was a very nice episode to help set Starlight up for her mission in the finale and I give it a 9/10 as my rating.

[The Nth Doctor 662]

And Starlight once again basically gets off scott-free for mind-rape

 

*claps* Bravo

 

Twilight, you suck at your job of reforming villains

Edited September 24, 2016 by The Nth Doctor

[BastementSparkle 20,326]

 

 

And Starlight gets no punishment.

 

She realized what she did wrong at the end, apologized, and tried to make up for it. She also basically cleaned the entire castle as well, even with some help.

 

 The point of a punishment, a good punishment is to teach someone a lesson. Punishing her when she's already realized what she's done is wrong and is trying to make up for it seems pointless to me, it helps nothing.

[Cirrus. 1,089]

I thought it was an entertaining episode. The plot was fairly predictable  but I don't care because IT'S TV Y and pretty entertaining for that rating.

 

 

one of my favorite things in the episode was...

 

 

I was literally like WOAH... WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?

 

I knew she was probably going to get too many animals, But I was definitely NOT expecting infested Fluttershy!

Edited September 24, 2016 by Cirrus.