S06:E22 - P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

Well, it definitely wasn't what I was hoping for.  (I never watch trailers.)  I was hoping for an entire episode filmed from a p.o.v. cam of a nameless, mystery background pony going about her day in Ponyville.  It would literally look like a first person shooter.  Oh well, whattya gon' do?  It was pretty enjoyable anyway.  I liked it, though it was a rather cliché premise, and a very predictable storyline.  It wasn't all that fresh, but I give it a pass because the three stories were fun and funny to watch, and sea monster guy was cool.

 

Rarity's Rose costume was awesome, and AJ's tuna boat getup was a riot.  But pirate AJ really stole the show.  She was incredible.  I think pirate AJ is now my favorite character on the show.  I think I'd like her to be a pirate all the time now, and all of Ponyville should just call her "Cap".  Okay, not really, but she was amazing.  Pirate AJ fan stuff is just going to explode.

 

I always like it when characters on a show exaggerate the traits of others in a retelling of prior events.  It always makes for a lot of laughs.  However, I was disappointed by their stubbornness and immaturity.  I hate it anytime the ponies act immaturely and bicker like that.  It's alright to get angry at your friends once in awhile (and the moral was good), but I wish they wouldn't act like 5-year olds, what with all the (cue whinny voice) "She started it!  No she did!  It's all her fault!  No, it's her fault!  Why should I apologize!  She should apologize!  I'm not apologizing until she does!  Boo hoo!  Waaa, waaaa, waaaa!"  Give me a f*ckin' break.  They're lifelong friends, they've been through hell and back, they've been to the ends of Equestria and back, and they're friggin' adults.  You could still do the same story and the same message, with all of the same laughs, but not have them act ridiculous.  It didn't really annoy me until they got on the docks together and started bickering again and refusing to apologize.  Oh well, it's a tv trope that's not going away any time soon.

 

I still liked it.  First episode in a long time that made me laugh out loud.  Twilight is f*ckin' Yoda now with telekinesis (much to the chagrin of many fans, I'm sure).  Did you see how effortlessly she lifted the entire flipping ship?  I mean, it wasn't a full schooner or anything, but still, that's impressive.  She was pushed to the breaking point to move the ursa minor.  She did this ship with the ease of a pencil.  I think it's rather cool, though I'm sure many are hoping mad at her overpoweredness.  Well, what can I tell ya?  Write the devs.  Ask for a nerf in the next update.

 

I was tickled that we got a little adorkable academic Twilight today.  She was cute, and, I thought, very much her old self.

 

I also thought it was hilarious how they were apparently right near the docks after they capsized, when each of them described it as being stranded in the middle of the ocean.  Now I want a spin-off pony movie where they actually are pirates and have high seas adventures.  Pony Pirates of the Caribbean!  Make it happen!

 

 

the ending leaves a really bad taste in my mouth, especially with the show once again making Twilight a "voice of reason" character, which reminds me of my least favourite part of "Rainbow Falls." I hate what this show has done with her for most of the past three seasons, and this reminder that most writers view her as an infallible moral delivery device really upsets me.

I could see that, and I really hate Rainbow Falls, for every conceivable reason, but I dunno, I don't feel like the writers see Twi this way.  Maybe I haven't noticed, but it doesn't seem to me that they've been making her an overly wise, perfect voice of reason.  She has gained wisdom, but she's worked hard and learned a lot, and I feel like she was always portrayed as the wisest character, just fairly ignorant to social interaction in the beginning.  But you know, it does feel like Twilight was too wise here, and the others comparatively too dense and stubborn, but I really think that the problem wasn't Twi, it was the others being written as too immature, as I talked about earlier.  Perhaps this happens a little often, which would just emphasize Twilight as the wise voice of reason.  But then again, there's been several instances this season where she seemed a tad dumb.  I wasn't the only one to notice that, and I for one was happy to see her being smart and wise today.

 

 

And, y'know, this really is an absurdly predictable and simplistic storyline

Yeah, it was that, for sure.

 

 

Anyway, I enjoyed it, but I'm bummed that there's been nothing in S6 that's really blown me away.  It's almost over, and there's been no Mane Attraction.  And there's been no breakaway hit song, either.  Every song this season has been forgettable and bland for me.

 

Oh well.  In any case, Captain AJ be the funniest creature on land, sea, or sky, says I!

 

And then there's this:

 

 

That had to have been what they were going for.  But I think this episode give us enough information to answer the most important, age-old question--The Perfect Storm: will it pony?  YES.

 

And that's it for today.  Thanks for liking and commenting.  You know what time it is.

[Thaliel 116]

pirate applejack was highly entertaining

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

I liked the episode . I like all the clothes that Rarity was depicted to wear during each point of view :D. Was lovely to see. It was a bit on the meh side, but that Sea Monster really saved it for me. That goofy look and the friendly behavior was lovely to see <3 <3. 

 

Nice episode overall I must say  

[Fluttery Shy 101]

I think it was pretty meh, like the meh is real. There were some parts I really enjoyed. Especially the Darling Darling Darling Rarity, however it felt like there was something missing. But the solution felt pretty unsatisfying. Like really? Some random sea creature caused it, because they like bloody cucumber sandwiches? The ending kinda ruined it for me tbh. Still the animations were pretty good. So apart from the end, it was pretty good, not outstanding, but good.

[TheWhiteBowser 187]

For me the episode was a bit lackluster. I kinda wanted the Trihorn Bunyip to be threatening, and I wanted there to be a third party Twilight could go to, to get the REAL story. I mean problems like this in real life are only truly solved with a third party. I thought one of the seamen that Rarity brought on board the ship was going to give the real unbiased story. But that never happened. 

We got to see more an example of how Twilight is great at solving friendship problems, and I like the reference to Titanic with Rarity's attire. Pirate AJ was funny and I LOLed when Rarity just threw away her own food after letting Pinky taste it.

All in all it was Meh... Nothing special. 

Next week's episode though is shaping up to be a whooper doh. At least from the wikipedia description...

[Thrond 3,257]

I could see that, and I really hate Rainbow Falls, for every conceivable reason, but I dunno, I don't feel like the writers see Twi this way. Maybe I haven't noticed, but it doesn't seem to me that they've been making her an overly wise, perfect voice of reason. She has gained wisdom, but she's worked hard and learned a lot, and I feel like she was always portrayed as the wisest character, just fairly ignorant to social interaction in the beginning. But you know, it does feel like Twilight was too wise here, and the others comparatively too dense and stubborn, but I really think that the problem wasn't Twi, it was the others being written as too immature, as I talked about earlier. Perhaps this happens a little often, which would just emphasize Twilight as the wise voice of reason. But then again, there's been several instances this season where she seemed a tad dumb. I wasn't the only one to notice that, and I for one was happy to see her being smart and wise today.

 

I feel like I'm a lot nicer to the characters this season than everyone else, but I can't think of any cases where Twilight was necessarily "dumb." She seemed to get off pretty reasonably as far as I can tell, excepting "No Second Prances." I appreciate giving Twilight some of her old personality back, but I can't stand how she's made the goddamn team mum as if she's not a three-dimensional character with personality flaws all her own. This plot wouldn't happen in reverse anymore, that's all I'm saying. I didn't like "No Second Prances" very much, but at least she was actively flawed in that.

[JH24 385]

Not the best episode of the season, but I enjoyed it. Lots of funny moments and expressions. Also, nice to see the return of "dramatic" Rarity with the fainting couch and ice cream. Her outfits were lots of fun as well.

Edited October 2, 2016 by JH24

[Sonic5421 423]

It was an alright episode. I did like the moral lesson in it.

 

 

Also, did anyone happen to notice the oddly similar flag of the Canadian Province of British Columbia (BC) being flown on that ship?

 

 

I was not quite sure what flag that was on the galleon since it was not Equestria's, but it's a shame it was lost with the ship when it was accidentally sunk by the Bunyip.

 

Also, there's a lot of stuff I did not mention in my last post that I enjoyed from the episode as well, such as the clothes Rarity is wearing in each version of what happened, and how each character acted from each storyteller's point of view. That was amusing and funny. I'm glad Twilight was able to sort everything out and prove once more why she is the Princess of Friendship and leader of the Elements of Harmony when there is conflict between her friends because of minor incidents.

[MovieLord101 140]

Funny episode. Also, why do I get the feeling that Applejack viewing Pinkie Pie as a goofy moron in her telling of the incident came off as a "Take That" to how she was nearly flanderized in Season 4 (ESPECIALLY the "Filli Vannili" incident)?

[cider float 2,535]

Not going to win rewards but not too cringey I suppose. I think the exaggerations were a little on the weak side though. The resolution was a bit lukewarm though.

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, I think this episode resembles "Applejack's Day Off" in that there's not really anything egregiously wrong with it, but there's also not much that sticks out about it either. There's a fair bit of contrivance to the episode - both with how uncharitable Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie are about each other's actions and intentions, and with how Twilight instantly solves the "mystery" with a solution that comes out of nowhere. I might have liked the episode to have more piecing together of the stories by Twilight and Spike, with the audience being able to follow along with a process by which the "mystery" of what actually happened on the boat trip was solved. But it seems that, after the three accounts of what happened, there wasn't enough time to do something like that and come to a resolution.

 

The main "problem" of the episode - that Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie all planned activities out of the others' elements to do, and couldn't agree on which ones to do - would seem to be solved simply enough. Maybe the three of them could pick one pony's activities to do, or they could see how they could mesh together some of the activities that each of them planned. I wouldn't think that the latter would be that difficult - why couldn't they eat fancy food and play games of some kind while en route to Plunder Cove to search for treasure? So, again, it's a bit contrived that these three good friends couldn't seem to work something out. Personally, though, I would say that Applejack's idea of following a treasure map to an area to search for treasure seems like the most likely thing that you would use a ship to do; you don't have to be on a ship to eat fancy food or whack a pinata or whatever.

 

The whole thing with Twilight and Spike (and the audience) not finding out until later that the ship sank in the harbor was also handled a little strangely. Rarity does seem to dodge Spike's question about how the three of them got back after the ship sank. At Sugarcube Corner, though, Spike asks Pinkie how the three of them were rescued, and Pinkie is about to answer, but then she has to pull the burning muffins out of the oven. If Twilight and Spike had waited a minute for her to do that, then couldn't they have just asked Pinkie again? She wasn't being particularly dodgy about answering them. Then Twilight and Spike never even attempted to ask Applejack how the three of them got back. Finally, the three of them look surprisedly at each other when Spike angrily asks the three of them at the dock, before the truth is finally admitted. So it seems like the episode might be implying that the ship's sinking in the harbor was too embarrassing for Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie to admit. But couldn't they have incorporated that into their complaints about each other? For example, couldn't they say something like "Applejack/Rarity/Pinkie was so busy pretending to be a pirate/acting "sophisticated"/playing games that we never even left the harbor!"?

 

When Twilight and Spike are looking over the three accounts, Spike says "All their stories are so different!" and "They were all on a ship that sank, and...that's about it", but most of the basic events are the same: Rarity bringing fancy food (and other stuff) aboard; Pinkie bringing fun food and a bunch of games; Applejack bringing a treasure map and wanting to go look for treasure; both Rarity and Pinkie trying to serve their food before Rarity's food gets thrown overboard; Pinkie trying to get the other two to whack the pinata; and their fighting over the map while (supposedly) neglecting the ship as it sails into a storm. The precise actions of who did what and who's to blame for different things aren't consistent, and that would be what would have to be worked out. But of course, with all of those common elements, Twilight's instant fixation on the cucumber sandwiches (out of all the food described), the bubbles after Rarity's food is thrown overboard (which no one explicitly mentions or calls attention to), and the wave that sank the boat (out of context of the supposed storm that all three of them said occurred) is really random and doesn't make sense. And the fact not just that Twilight thought of those random things first, but that those random things lead to the exact solution, comes across as a little too contrived, like the episode needed to rush to the resolution because it ran out of time.

 

That's about all of the overall points about the episode I wanted to make, so here are some other miscellaneous observations:

 

At the beginning of the episode, when Spike is sweating and panting and asking Twilight to slow down, I couldn't help thinking "What happened to the Spike who could run down 83 stories of stairs with no problem?".

 

Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie emerge from the train at Ponyville still covered in mud, seaweed, etc. Couldn't they have cleaned off somewhere before getting on the train? Would the train operators be okay with them traveling on the train in that state?

 

Does the apple on the ship's sail imply that the ship belonged to someone in the Apple family?

 

After Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie are called back to the docks for a "friendship emergency", the three of them all angrily ask what the others are doing there. First, as pointed out already, we might think that the three of them would run into each other on the train or elsewhere when traveling to the harbor, especially considering that they all got there at very close to the same time. But also, wouldn't they consider that the others are there because they're all Elements of Harmony and sometimes they're all needed to "rainbow blast" a villain or something like that?

 

While all of Applejack's, Rarity's, and Pinkie's accounts mention a storm, in the flashback where we see the boat sink in the harbor, no storm is seen. Was that intentional, showing that all three of them lied about the storm, or was that just an oversight in showing the flashback? (As an aside, that flashback shows the three of them standing in ankle-deep water next to the dock after the boat sank, which is obviously unrealistic, but I guess that was probably just for comedic effect.)

 

Geez, Twilight, just casually show off your magic powers by levitating the entire ship over the wave, why don't you!

 

If cucumber is the favorite food of the tri-horned bunyip, why did Twilight have to make it into a sandwich before throwing it in the water to attract the bunyip?

 

Also, how does Twilight know that the bunyip she attracted is the same one that knocked over the other three's boat? Does Twilight know for a fact that only one bunyip lives in the area around that harbor?

 

Why does the tri-horned bunyip, which lives in deep water, have a nose like a dog?

 

Finally, at the end of the episode, Applejack dredges up a treasure chest with apparently real treasure in it, which, if they get to keep it, would seem like the most valuable use of the boat trip. Also, I wouldn't be so sure that the chalices from that chest are clean enough to eat out of.

[Midnight Seashell 206]

So many different ways to tell one story.

[Heavenly Inexplicit 309]

At the beginning of the episode, I noticed that when Twilight Sparkle read each of her friends' messages, her voice changed with each message. When she read Rarity's letter, she spoke like Rarity. When she read Applejack's letter, she spoke like Applejack. When she read Pinkie Pie's message, she spoke like Pinkie Pie.

 

I like this, because I think that this is a subtle way of showing how much she is connected with her friends. Or maybe everyone does that. I don't know for sure, but I know that I don't.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Sadly, when Pinkie see Applejack as nice, loving pony, while in contrast, Applejack regards her as a retarded. 

edit: After the several watches, i noticed there was a monster on the map  so the monster has been foreshadowed in the story. Doesnt excuse for the weak solution, but i removed the monster part as a negative point, 8.5 out 10.

Edited October 3, 2016 by Lambdadelta

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

I absolutely loved this episode reminded me of the older ones from the seasons gone by 

 

9^1/2 out of 10 I really did love this one.

 

Here is my video review as per normal, if you can spare some time take a look.

 

[Redhatbrony 59]

I think it was a really good episdoe.

I love the film Rashomon and this episode reminds me a lot on this film.

So I love it too.

More of my point view in my review.

https://youtu.be/dLEs2QAASow

[wardomatic 370]

This was probably my favorite episode to storyboard, along with The Times They Are a Changeling. It was crazy hectic working on it, though, as I boarded out all the flashback stories each of the ponies told (in their own viewpoints). Was a LOT of fun doing expressions for Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and interesting to see how each of the ponies viewed each other. 

 

Maybe i'm missing something, but people are saying this episode is a reference to something called Rashomon. Can someone tell me what that is?

To answer your question, ggg-2 - RASHOMON is a classic film from 1950, directed by Akira Kurosawa. It's considered a classic because of the way the story is laid out: there's an event that happened and it's told by three different people - with three different versions. Now, they call it the "Rashomon effect" - and P.P.O.V.'s story is done like that. It's a pretty fun technique, story-wise, as we get to see interesting characterization for each pony telling their version of the story. 

 

For reference for this episode, I watched RASHOMON (would've been my 2nd time) and took notes and sketched out some staging and layouts for possible ideas. I had some interesting boards that borrowed heavily from the film at one point in the MLP story, but it proved to be taking up too much time. However, sketching from the film did help me get in the right mindset and helped with other staging, etc. 

Edited October 3, 2016 by wardomatic

[Buttonmash1973 1,024]

Not my favorite episode of S6.

[Delzepp 2,939]

I absolutely loved this ep, saw it twice more right after X3

 

[Brightbart 268]

Twilight does not pay Spike enough for his services. 

[Luminance 2,181]

I notice that Spike is ambidextrous and don't go to sea packing cucumber sandwiches that may eventually destroy your fellow acquaintances.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

I thought it was a pretty entertaining episode although my only gripe would have to be the ending. It just happened without anything to give it a proper resolution. It felt like it slammed into a wall. Once again, the facial expressions are priceless and Applejack being portrayed as a rustic pirate was highly entertaining. Ashleigh Ball deserves credit for that fake accent.

​Also, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie shared with the audience how they truly feel about the other. Applejack, for example, views Rarity as being far too snobbish while she views Pinkie as being a few apples short of a basketfull.

[SBaby 660]

I'm actually surprised it took this long for FiM to have an 'Everybody Tells the Truth' episode.  But it wasn't too bad.  It was more of the idea of how people remember things differently or selectively remember things that don't make themselves look bad, and how people view others differently.

Edited October 7, 2016 by SBaby

[TranceBrony 16]

Good episode. I loved how there were different sides to how the story may have actually happened. 

Twilight was great at investigating the case.

7.5/10

[BlinkZ 1,151]

Still kidn of on the slidelines about this episdoe. It felt like godo old season 2 or 3 but overall just felt meh to me.  Granted thier were funny moment and you can see Rarity view Pinkei as annoying and such.   I mean Applejack seeing Rarity as a snob..well that right onthe money with sleepless in Ponyville. classic.

Still despite that it was kind of just passable for me didn't leave any impression.