S07:E01+02 - Celestial Advice/All Bottled Up

[Truffles 2,033]

1 hour ago, Batbrony said:

though it was odd that neither Princess Cadance nor Shining Armor were there

They were there, though if you blinked you might have missed them, lol:

 

[Redhatbrony 59]

I have finished my Review,

Enjoy my work.

Redhatbrony, On second look Celestial Advice.

[Justin_Case001 4,891]

So....  Twilight's horn is now a holodeck, too...  huh.

 

Hi, everypony!  Justin Case has returned from the Nether for more pony reviews!

So, why are the first two episodes crammed into one topic, here?  Two completely separate episodes...  Oh well, whatever.  I'll review them both here.

I'm very happy with the season's start.  Very happy indeed.  Celestial Advice was excellent.  I loved it.  First off, it was very refreshing to have a premiere that wasn't a two-parter, and was a lighter, simpler story with no calamity.  There still had to be some type of conflict, but there was no villain.  After all, how many times can we have back to back two-parters with global catastrophes?  That formula needed to be broken up, and this was a very welcome change of pace.  It was a throwback to The Best Night Ever, in my opinion, which is something I have seen on many fans' wish lists, so this should make some folks happy.  It certainly made me happy.

I like how they're developing Starlight, and I like how the episode turned out.  I really have no quibbles at all.  I'm glad to see Discord still being a troublemaker.  You don't want him being sweet and genuine and perfectly behaved.  That would be terrible.

Of course, what thrilled me about Celestial Advice was the fact that frigging Celestia was in it!  Holy crap!  Finally!  Now, it's not the Celestia spotlight I want, but hell, dude, I'll take it!  It's better than nothing.  She appeared on screen!  For more than 0.68 seconds!  She had a SPEAKING ROLE!  More than just a throwaway line!  Like, WOW, man.  I'm blown away.  (Can you smell the sarcasm, here?)  But no, seriously, given how Tia's been treated for the longest time now, I was genuinely surprised and ecstatic to actually see her in front of the camera and connecting with Sparkle.  (Heh, Sparkle...  I love when Spike called her that, and I loved her reaction to it.  It was just....cute.)  Tia's role in the show and treatment by the writers has damaged her, perhaps beyond repair, and made her a joke in the fandom's eyes.  I can't deny that she has been portrayed as inept and useless.  But I love her, and the show makes no sense without her and her backstory.  I am thrilled to see the first step in turning her character around.  She offered helpful wisdom, and most importantly, showed some real emotional connection with Twilight.  For a long time now, it has felt like Twilight just forgot that Tia existed.  This episode really needed to happen, and I'm glad the writers agreed.  I especially loved the flashback sequence.  I mean, holy crap, we got to see some backstory that built up to the opening of the show, and we got to see Tia being a REAL character, with emotions.  It wasn't a whole lot, and I want more, but I'll take what I can get.  And Tia was really cracking up there, wasn't she?  I mean she was, like, cackling over there!  I'm surprised they didn't just make it a little polite chuckle.  It came off a bit weird to me, honestly.  When she started laughing, I seriously thought it was Discord just f*cking with Twi.  But hey, I applaud them for trying to give Celestia some more down to earth character and show more sides to her.

For sure, the highlight of the episode was, "I was not aware that I was an expression." 

 

Moving on to....y'know....that other episode....whatever it was called....the bottle one, that's it.  I definitely enjoyed it.  It didn't thrill me quite as much as the premier, but it was very solid.

I definitely welcome the development of Starlight and Trixie.  My Spidey-sense tells me that some ponies may already be miffed at the lack of Mane 6 screen time, but this development was badly needed.  If they were going to make Starlight a permanent cast member and introduce a friend for her, then they needed to have enough development to make this character and this friendship mean something.  I personally think that this episode should have happened before To Where and Back Again, but once again, I'll take what I can get.  And heck, I'd rather see them develop new characters than rehash old lessons with the mane 6.  Now, obviously, there's still plenty you can do with the mane 6, and I want them to get proper attention, too, but all I'm saying is that I'd rather have a fresh, meaningful episode with Starlight and Trixie than some throwaway episode with the mane 6 where they come off as dumbed down stereotypes of themselves, as in The Cart Before the Ponies.

So, I liked the premise of Bottle, and it filled a developmental gap.  What I especially liked about it was the character maturity displayed by Starlight.  (Just, stick with me for a second, here.)  After those three ponies became infected with Starlight's anger, I totally expected the entire town to become infected, and then Starlight would go way overboard trying to fix it, or maybe even cover it up or something, and then Twilight would come home to a horrendous mess to clean up.  That's what Starlight would have done in the past.  Instead, she fixed those three ponies with little more than a thought, and then simply told the truth, owned up, and fixed it.  That was definitely personal growth.  It didn't blow up way out of proportion, and it was way more interesting than if it had.

The scenes with the six in the puzzle room were okay, if a wee bit contrived.  The song was forgettable.  When they first said that they were going to a friendship retreat, I was picturing a legit wilderness retreat where they attend friendship seminars and workshops and have all these deep discussions and bond and sh*t like that.  That would have been so friggin' awesome.  That sounds like paradise to me.  I want to go on a friendship retreat with the mane 6....

Oh, almost forgot--I like that we got some lore explanation surrounding magic.  E.g. Stuff can't just disappear, but can only move.  Also, we got a bit of an explanation as to why Starlight is so powerful.  Many fans have long been irked at Starlight's power level, wanting an explanation for it.  I have always defended her, saying that her power needs no explanation other than natural born talent.  But today, she explained how her magic is tied to her emotions.  It isn't much, and it doesn't explain why she has so much magical power to begin with, but it's better than nothing.  (An explanation of why she's so powerful to begin with could be, say, that she's the ancestor of Starswirl, as is my headcanon.)  At least her explanation gives a bit of insight into why she was more than a match for Twi when they fought.  If Starlight's magic is fueled by emotion, then she would have obviously been extremely potent during that fight with Twi, as she was basically a frothing mass of hate and fury--a Kratos level of anger.  I also think this opens the door for more lessons that Starlight could learn.  She needs to learn emotional control to stabilize her magic.  I'm not sure who would be best to teach that, though.  We need a Vulcan pony.  Perhaps Luna could do the job.  She seems well suited.  She'd have a lot to say about letting anger consume oneself.

Best line: "Mini Twilight."

Really good start.  Really happy so far.

And the logo is now the movie color. 

[JH24 385]

The episodes were enjoyable but not really the best. I don't know what it was but something felt a little off. The pacing, the dialogue, some of the characters, but both episodes did have their good moments. I found Trixie's portrayal in the second episode over the top though. With everything Trixie and Starlight have gone through you would expect her to be at least somewhat "less indifferent."

The song in the second episode really felt like padding and over the top. Too cliché and without a real good reason. Though I appreciate the joke at the end. Also Pinkie seems back to her hyperactive self, I hope that was just one time. 

Edited April 16, 2017 by JH24

[Batbrony 16,055]

7 hours ago, Truffles said:

They were there, though if you blinked you might have missed them, lol:

 

That is honestly the laziest I've ever seen them animated and included in any scene, it's like, what's even the point of including them at that point??? 

[BloodDrops 762]

On 10/04/2017 at 4:44 PM, PathfinderCS said:

Title: Celestial Advice
Air Date: April 15, 2017
Written by: Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco
Synopsis: Twilight Sparkle agonizes over Starlight Glimmer’s future and receives some much-needed advice from her very own mentor – Princess Celestia.

Title: All Bottled Up
Air Date: April 15, 2017
Written by: Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco
Synopsis: While the Mane 6 are on a friendship retreat, Starlight Glimmer loses Twilight Sparkle’s friendship map. Afraid her anger might get out of control, Starlight Glimmer casts a calming spell while the ponies search for the lost map.

Of course remember to join us at the CMC Clubhouse on Equestria.tv!

You know, I had this same feeling of House MD after the 5th series. Nothing really happened and it all was done before,

6+7th season was just made as a cash cow.

8th season was just to tie everything up, though that could have happened in season 6.

song in All Bottled Up was most cringe song ever in MLP. Was even worse then 'help twilight win the crown'

If I wanted to cringe I would watch 'first dates' instead, because that's got a better story line then MLP now. 

[Truffles 2,033]

56 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

That is honestly the laziest I've ever seen them animated and included in any scene, it's like, what's even the point of including them at that point??? 

Shining Armor does look extra basic here, doesn't he? I'd have to go through the whole episode again to see if they appear anywhere else, but this might be it.

Heh, I didn't even notice them here at first, either. I was paying more attention to Spike's reaction to Luna trying to get the medal over Thorax's antlers, anyway. XD

 

[Thaliel 116]

A more than decent start into the new season.The only points of critique I would have are

1. the two episodes have no real connectiing storyline

2. Trixie's change in perspective in the 2nd part came somewhat abrupt

[Krashface 534]

 wait wait wait, what-how... the hell I've lost till now, my friends ?

[VengefulStrudel 1,486]

I thought both were very enjoyable episodes. Normally, I'd rather a Season Premiere (and Finale) be more adventurous, with a big bad villain posing a major threat, but I am a-okay with these two being Slices of Life.

Both episodes had their funny moments and were all-around enjoyable for me. Plus, Celestia got some screentime, yay! I liked that they portrayed her as less-than-perfect as well in the flashback. We all have our panicky moments, even sun-raising princesses!
I swear though, that Ember/Starlight fantasy was a Predator reference.

 

As for the second episode, I didn't expect the title to be so literal. x) I really enjoyed the Starlight/Trixie dynamic though, and hope to see more of 'em in the future! I also liked how Spike was so blunt in both episodes. ("Are you guys sure you don't wanna come?" "Yeah, I got comics to read." Lol'd.)
Also, I swear I love Bulk Biceps more than the last time everytime he's on screen. xD

 

A good start in my book - I look forward to the rest of the season!

[BloodDrops 762]

17 minutes ago, VengefulStrudel said:

big bad villain posing a major threat

fresh out of those

you just need a herd of zombies to come from ever tree forest and cause trouble.

 

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

I'm much more a fan of "All Bottled Up" than "Celestial Advice". Both back-to-back episodes by the same writing team (Lewis & Songco) show some consistent tendencies and where these writers seem to put in their best work. The second episode seemed to put them more in their element; the narrative's use of fourth wall humor (foreshadowing the song) and the comedic editing (using Ironic Echo Cuts almost to the edge of their capacity) bolstered what Trixie could do on her own by messing everything up. It fits better for writers whose background comes from animated genre comedies like TUFF Puppy. In the first one, you could tell they had much more fun writing Spike (the snarky version decided to show up for this one while the helpful one did the second) and Discord than most of the other characters.

The first episode really felt more like a cap on what Season 6 was doing with its Starlight appearances, mainly setting up her new role alongside Twilight. The second one really felt different from a Season 6 episode and I hope it sets the tone for this season. It really proved to me that Starlight and Trixie can continue to carry episodes and that Starlight's comparisons to young Twilight aren't just blowing steam. The best thing she could have going forward, however, would be a more regular supporting cast beyond Discord and Thorax, who are unlikely to be any more than recurring characters. It will give her more of an independent identity, rather than keeping her as the Sixth Ranger of the main group, and will reduce their reliance on the same character pairings multiple times over.

Other things of note: it's great to see Celestia be a bit more of herself, but an abundance of expository dialogue early and an overall slow progression show that Songco/Lewis' talents lie more with exploiting the self-awareness of the episodes themselves than the continuity. While it's still a bit of a bummer that none of the original writers from the first two seasons are around anymore, promoting Songco/Lewis into the story editor role gives hope that some things will change from Season 6.

[The Nth Doctor 662]

Oh boy, we get to learn more about Starlight's friendsh-

Aaand she's already graduated 

*sighs*

The writers keep dropping the ball hard

My hopes for this season are not high

 

[JH24 385]

Wow, I'm slow. I only now realized that in "Bottled Up" Spike was washing all the cups Trixie had made earlier. Poor guy.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

I love both of them, they have relatable morals and some good humors. All the characters works here, nothing out of place. 

Two Lady Writers made me disappointed with their Legend of Everfree, but these eps are their best, i enjoyed them so much even i am sick , they are deserved to be story editor of this season and i want to see more of their episodes.

Celestial Advice: 9/10

What i like:

Celestia's characterization is fantastic.

All fantasy scenerios are funny to watch.

The transition between scenes are good.

Discord still troll Twilight.

Funny scenes are amusing to watch.

What i dont like: I cant think of any bad to say about this ep...

All Bottled Up: 9.5/10

What i like:

It good to see her "QUIET!!!" face again.

Trixie is so annoyingly cute.

Starlight and Trixie friendship is getting stronger and stronger. That is a true friendship.

Starlight really learn her lesson. Her reasons to bottle up her anger are understandable, like me.

I like how they switched the scene between StarlightxTrixie and the mane 6 like:

Trixie: Starlight, can you help me, please?!

Applejack: Uh, Twilight, can you help me, please?

 

 Escape Room is kinda interesting, even i dont know anything about them 

Spike is awesome again.

What i dont like: I cant think of any bad to say about this ep... again 

 

[Eggy0 103]

So in the second episode the whole table did disappear... I'm eating my hat. I thought it would only be the top part. But that being said... It was actually Trixie who lost it and because she tried to teleport the apple but missed and hit the table instead, as opposed to what the synopsis said. And the table was actually just that: a table, not connected to the rest of the infrastructure. And from what I saw previously, people left and right were going "How can Starlight lose an entire table that's part of the floor"!

Anyhow, both episodes were... enjoyable. Not quite energetic or interesting as a premiere, but I think that's a nice change of pace as we've always been getting two-part adventure-filled episodes as premieres. Seeing how Celestia had the same fears as Twilight really adds to her character as well; it shows that even a wise old ruler like her is not perfect and can be just as clueless as a normal pony sometimes. And after watching the second episode, now I know that ponies (and maybe other creatures but I'm not sure) can see and acknowledge the magic aura that appears whenever somepony uses magic. Not certain on color visibility though, but they can see the aura itself.

Also I really liked the part where the Mane 6 missed the record by 2 seconds because they sung a song.

[Thrond 3,263]

2 hours ago, The Nth Doctor said:

Oh boy, we get to learn more about Starlight's friendsh-

Aaand she's already graduated 

 

2

Well... except for the part where she didn't graduate after all. 

Edited April 16, 2017 by AlexanderThrond

[Thrond 3,263]

Also, my first thought when Trixie made the map disappear was that she deserves another medal for it. But then they had to go and get it back. 

A proper ranking of the season premieres, for me:

1. "The Crystalling"
2. "Friendship is Magic"
3. "The Return of Harmony"
4. "The Cutie Map"
5. "The Crystal Empire"
6. "Celestial Advice"
7. "Princess Twilight Sparkle"

Edited April 16, 2017 by AlexanderThrond

[Baykush 328]

Wow, I wasn't really expecting that there wouldn't be a two-parter this time, but I think it paid off for the most part. I've been wanting a season premiere that isn't a two-parter for a long time, specially because The Return Of Harmony was initially written as the finale of season 1, so technically Lesson Zero could be considered the actual start of season 2 (it even set up the formula of that season and everything), and imo it works much better that way.

Now, about the episodes themselves: 

Celestial Advice:

I'll have to wait until I watch it again to make a definitive judgement, but so far I think Celestial Advice might be one of the best episodes of the show.

Positives.

• It's a direct continuation of the events of last season.
• Twilight was great in this episode, the perfect reminder she's still a fun and interesting character. 
• The spell to see one's fantasies was a very interesting concept, and it was used perfectly. How sometimes fantasies become completely ridiculous when you apply them to real life but still show valid fears and concerns, how other people would react if they saw them, and of course how hilarious they were.
• I kind of already said this but the fantasies were great and hilarious, specially because of the dialog. How the changeling attempts to make Starlight look bad, how Twilight pictured Ember and Starlight together, how Sunburst and Starlight tried to create a transmutation circle to resurrect their dead mother spell that backfired, etc.
• "I wasn't aware that was an expression, and appropiate one at least, for even I don't know the answer". 
• This is also Celestia's best appearance since Celestia's Ballad, and the more "human" one (yeah, she's a pony but you get me right?). How she guided Twilight but let her take her own decisions, the comments she made, and how she related Twilight's struggles to her own, it was specially heartbreaking to see her looking at Luna in the moon and deciding she had to send Twilight away, and very sweet how long it took her to do so.
• The gag with Pinkie Pie setting up the party and then literally vacuuming it.
• I actually wanted to see Starlight graduating and Twilight sending her away to live her life, it felt a little too soon to do it though (I think the finale would be a good time for that), so I was glad when they decided it still wasn't time.

Negatives

• I guess Discord was kind of mean to Twilight, but to be fair hadn't it been for that Twilight wouldn't have figured it out, so I'll let it slide and just take it as Discord helping in his own way, and he does like to mess with Twilight to do so.

All Bottled-Up

Oh look, it's a metaphor but it's also a literal title, how meta... just like the rest of the episode! Tbh I have some mixed feelings about this one, but it was actually very enjoyable regardless, I do need to see this one again to see what I think about it.

Positives

• It kind of follows the last episode but it can be watched on its own as a normal episode.
• Starlight was great this episode. Sure, she still messes up using magic when she shouldn't but this time it wasn't for her own benefit, and it was a very understandable problem that I guess I can relate to.
• I liked the idea of Starlight teaching Trixie magic
• It was very funny.
• How the mane 6 lost because they were singing was hilarious.
• The song is great if you see it as a parody. It's kind of cringe-worthy but the contrast with what was going on in the episode was kind of funny. 
• I loved how Trixie said that if they never messed up how would they have more episodes fun.

Negatives

• The Trixie and Starlight plot could've been its own eleven minute episode. The other plot was just filler and a build-up to the song joke, which was hilarious but wasted a lot of time, and it probably would've been a good episode if it was its own episode.
• The song sucks if you don't see it as a parody. 
• The transitions between the two plots having one character say something related to what the other character had just said was fun at first but got old pretty quickly.
• The mane-6 felt like backgroud ponies this episode.
• Spike stayed in the castle but didn't do almost anything this episode.
• The "angry magic" thing came out of nowhere.

[JH24 385]

1 hour ago, Baykush said:

 

Negatives

• I guess Discord was kind of mean to Twilight, but to be fair hadn't it been for that Twilight wouldn't have figured it out, so I'll let it slide and just take it as Discord helping in his own way, and he does like to mess with Twilight to do so.

 

Yeah, I felt the same way. I liked how they let Discord take on a mentor role once again with Twilight. (He did the same in the premiere and finale of season 4 and in "What about Discord?")

In a way his approach, giving Twilight a push in the right direction, is exactly what she needs at times. It really felt he was serious about helping both Twilight and Starlight, but he wouldn't be Discord if he hadn't some fun doing so. He always seems to enjoy messing with Twilight.

Edited April 16, 2017 by JH24

[Sonic5421 423]

Okay, after watching the first episode of Season 7 with Celestial Advice, that episode, for the most part, redeemed To Where and Back Again somewhat in my eyes with making up for Celestia's treatment there by having her in a more active role here as Twilight turned to her for advice, and we get to see some character development for Celestia that probably had been a long time coming.

It may not have been a full Celestia-themed episode, but it still made up for To Where and Back Again as Nicole Oliver really gave Celestia a workout here. I loved her laugh as we've never heard Celestia laugh that heartily before, and some backstory regarding Celestia's point-of-view regarding sending Twilight to Ponyville back in the season premiere. One look at the Mare In The Moon, and Celestia tearfully knew what she had to do. She even spoke to Mayor Mare about it, and got a first-hand look at the Element of Harmony bearers that would become Twilight's best friends as well. Then we get her paranoia about what Twilight might encounter in Ponyville, such as the Manticore or Tartarus, and her heartbreak when she finally watched Twilight leave to begin the Summer Sun Celebration preparations in Ponyville. Truly a heartwarming moment between the Princess of the Sun and the Princess of Friendship.

Also, glad to see that we still got that awards ceremony to thank Starlight's Suicide Squad for having helped save the Mane Six and Royal Family from Chrysalis and turned one of Equestria's most feared enemies into one of their most powerful allies as well, and everyone was there to celebrate, including Mayor Mare, Double Diamond and the others from Starlight's old village, Cadance and Shining Armor with Sunburst, the Crusaders, and a few of the reformed Changelings as well. They seem to be doing a pretty good job making amends with everypony and integrating into pony society.

 

As for the second episode, All Bottled Up, it was nice to see the Mane Six taking some time to go on a Friendship Retreat to Manehattan while Trixie and Starlight looked after the castle. Also, nice to see how when Starlight loses her temper at Trixie, it manifests as a red storm cloud that she tries to control before resorting to bottling it up, which only drains her physically and magically, so when the bottle breaks and infects Bulk, Granny Smith, and the jeweler with her anger, Trixie suffers the inevitable wrath before Starlight regains enough strength to recall it and give Trixie a good tongue-lashing ending in her famous "QUIET!!!" look from The Cutie Map.

Either way, Starlight and Trixie reaffirm their friendship won't be broken by things like anger and ignorance, the Mane Six enjoy themselves while getting a reality check about songs being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and things went pretty well in this episode.

 

I think I'll give Celestial Advice a 10/10 for really making up for Celestia's treatment in To Where and Back Again, and a 9.5/10 for All Bottled Up as we got some nice banter regarding Trixie and Starlight.

Not a bad way to start off a fresh season of Friendship is Magic after what I thought of the previous season finale.

[Discordrules123 10]

I thought the season 7 premiere was okay for the most part. Some of the humor that was involved was pretty enjoying, like Twilight's visions of where she would sent Starlight to, as well as the flashback where Celestia was nervous about sending Twilight off somewhere. The downside though is that there wasn't really much to the episode's storyline, probably because most of the season premieres and finales would have the characters going on some kind of adventure. It is understandable that they would only be able to fit that kind of storyline into a two part special though. 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@Discordrules123

Just letting you know that I merged your topic with the episode thread that already existing. A singular thread discussing your thoughts on an episodes is best either posted in the episode thread or as a blog.

Thank you.

[ImpctR 155]

Aaand back we are to MLP with the brand new Season 7 after past several months!

 

Celestial Advice

It's been 2 days after re-watching 'To Where and Back again' to make the connection with the previous season finale and so far, the continue is good! For the first time not a 2-parter with the start of the season. This is also why the episode felt less important (or it would have been had there been other plans about Starlight), and as such, not much to say about. It was a nice episode the goes on from where the previous one left, I would say 'okay episode'.

For a starter, the animations, effects and overall expression seem to me better and better, having them best done with this new season. I like how nopony was there just to be filler for the audience but had some relevance to being at the celebration.

Spoiler

Good to see Discord funny from time to time. The episode presented interesting interactions when SG was seen with the changelings or the dragons, they should have added the yaks instead of the changelings maybe or instead of the dragons. But hey a chance to see Princess Ember again. We saw some of the past about Celestia, her choice and how Twilight came to Ponyville. Now Celestia finally was more interactive than just a decoration unlike the previous 1-2 seasons.  - Celestia was so acting like a royal person when  she said 'Please go on' the next moment laughing, was that trollestia or molestia reference   Inb4 someone says out of character.

I thought SG would be sent somewhere, it felt like big worries in the end for nothing culminating. So okay.

I'll comment another day on the second episode.

Edited April 16, 2017 by ImpctR

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

Loved the Celestial Advice episode. It had me hooked from start to finish. It's like every minute brought something to the table and got you curious for what's coming up next. It was fun to watch!

Those moments where princess Celestia shared her thoughts and feelings when she sent Twilight away... Let's just say it makes me glad I hadn't turned my back on the show. Humanizing princess Celestia in this manner has been WAY overdue! This moment, to me, was the high point.

---

As for All Bottled Up, the good of the episodes just barely balanced out the bad. This is looking like one of those episodes that will age terribly down the road.

Trixie always came across as insufferable but this just sets a new low for her. I can understand being insensitive to people to whom she shares no connection but to be such a thorn to the only pony who was willing to approach her? No, Trixie, just no...