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

[PinkiePie97 913]

1 hour ago, Nye said:

 

I’m not sure why both of these are in the same discussion

 

It’s because they both aired on the same day.

[Twilight Luna 31,340]

Celestial Advice: it was funny to see Celestia have the similar freak out moments like Twilight does. Makes you wonder if that is where she gets them from. I got more of a mother/daughter vibe between the two of them instead of teacher/student. It was nice to see another side of Celestia that we don’t normally see.

All Bottled Up: A cute episode for Starlight and Trixie. These two just click together.

[Mortar 143]

S7E1: Two things stood out in this ep:  1) Celestia laughing.  Not just a little giggle like we've heard before, but a full-blown belly laugh.  My first thought was, "uh-oh, she's been taken over, or rplaced, some evil deed.  I mean, we've never heard her laugh like that before.  Nice to know she can.  2) Let down ending.  After this big buildup about Starlight moving on, she doesn't, or anything else, actually.

Overall though, it was a good episode.

[Senko 459]

Nice couple of episodes these I do enjoy the slice of life style ones and I can see Twlight as the kind of person who'd sign all her friends up to an escape room because she wants to share what she considers fun with them, usually she's doing the things they enjoy. I loved the way the clothes they were wearing changed through the song. I do think that stallion in the control both deliberately messed with them though he said the game didn't end till they turn the key, they turned the key ending the game THEN the cloth ticked over to the hour point meaning they beat the griffons record by 1 second not missed it by 2.

As for bottled up I spent most of the episode thinking Trixie was the stereotypical bad friend with an exception where she cast her first real spell turning things into teacups and getting so happy about it she really needed a hug and congratulations then annoying as her actions were. The ending though where she say's she loves Starlight because she gets angry sometimes makes me wonder if maybe she wasn't as oblivious to what she'd done as she pretended but was deliberately pushing Starlight to get proof she matters by having her friend blow up at her. A little warped but sometimes being scolded does make people feel better about mistakes especially from someone important to them. She is definately worried when Starlight dashes off right afterwards then when she comes back she keeps referencing her getting angry and when Starlight say's she's not mad at all there's a split second where her expression is way too worried for how she comes off afterwards. Starlight is literally Trixies first friend so she's probably as insecure and nervous about their relationship as Starlight is its just for her the way she protects herself is by being "The great and powerful Trixie who know's all and is amazing." So yeah I can see her deliberately goading her friend more and more because she know's she bucked up but their not getting angry at her like she know's they should . . .  if . . . they . . . really liked her. Basically the more Starlight bottles up her magic and doesn't act like herself the more Trixie starts to doubt she's really her friend and the more she reverts to her old protective personality while pushing to get a reaction. Especially if she really was as obvlivious as she seems she wouldn't have been so worried about Starlight. Even after they left Granny Smith she's looking worriedly at her not back at where she threw the nuts.

Celestia laughing was cute I do like seeing her protrayed as just a normal pony like when she grumped about Luna having to buy her own gift next time they attend a wedding and her wrapping her wing around Twilight as a hug was a adorable. I think she was rather enjoying watching Twilight's fantasy panics about Starlight out on her own especially the bug swatter. This is the mare who delibarately invited discord to a formal gala in the hopes he'd make it a mess.

[bigbertha 414]

Celestial Advice: I like this episode. It is annoying that the episode is made pointless at the end with Starlight not leaving, but it is still entertaining. Twilight's visions are all enjoyable with special mention to the Dragon Land vision and I like that Celestia was given a bit more character. 

Score: 7/10

All Bottled Up: This episode is mixed. I like Starlight's conflict, but I also find Trixie annoying. The song is hilarious in how overly cheesy it is, but the rest of the sup plot is really boring. The best part of the episode is the climax with Starlight's anger breaking loose, but it's not that long. One interesting thing is that the episode tries to make a parallel between the mane six having a great time and Starlight and Trixie having a terrible time. The interesting thing is that it never leads up to anything. When the mane six get back to the castle, there's no joke about how different their experiences were or anything. It feels like a missed opportunity.

Score: 4/10

[qwerE 96]

Celestial advice: I liked it, although it wasn't something special and epic like the previous season premieres. Watching how Celestia cared for Twilight in the past was really touching. The fact that Celestia also has moments when she feels worried was interesting, and made her feel more like a relatable character.

All bottled up: I actually liked the lesson a lot, but the story was incredibly boring. Trixie was so annoying and made me angry as well as Starlight. I know that she's supposed to be annoying, but her way of annoying Starlight wasn't entertaining at all. Discord is annoying to other characters but can be fun for viewers to watch, and I think he would have been a much better alternative to Starlight in this episode.

The flaws of the story aside, I think the moral in this episode is something that can be relevant for everyone, even adults. I'm glad there is an episode about anger and talking about it to your friends: it's a very important part of friendship. If you don't like something about your friends, you should tell them so they can fix it. Confronting your friend about those things is hard, but it's a inevitable step in keeping your friendship.

[Moony the Cat 3,702]

I didnt know that this 2 Episodes are considered a two-parter because they didnt felt like it.

Well, the first part was pretty boring, i didnt liked it. As the start of Season 7 it was pretty weak in my Opinion. Most of the Episode just consisted of not very funny " what if" Scenarios that didnt really madder, since it was just Twilights imagination. And the decision at the end, which basically meant that nothing would change, just made me ask myself : What was the point of the entire Episode? It was basically an Introduction to nothing and i could have happily lived without it.

The second Episode however was pretty great, i liked the comedy elements and the dynamic of Starlight Glimmer of Trixie Lulamoon. Finally we get to see more of some different Characters than the main 6, i would love to see more of them.

I just thought the Idea of Evil thoughts turning to magic was kind off pulled out of nowhere, since it never happened before, at least not that i remember. It didnt really made much sense, but apart from that i still loved the Episode. So the start of Season 7 is pretty much half good and half bad.

[WashoutWonderbolt 4]

Both are just as funny as I remember!

[bigbertha 414]

Celestial Advice: This does not hold up on rewatch. When you know the ending and that Starlight isn't being sent away, any stakes the episode had goes away and all that's left is a mostly really boring episode. Some gags work and I like that there's some insight into Celestia's mind, but the episode doesn't go far enough into that. Most of the episode is Twilight worrying about doing something we know she doesn't end up doing.

Score: 5/10

All Bottled Up: This episode plays out so predictably. Of course Starlight is going to end up learning that she shouldn't hold in her anger through her plan backfiring. The actual climax when her plan backfires is fun, but it's very brief and the rest of her plot is really meh. There are some good jokes, but it's not enough to make up for the bland story and Trixie being annoying. As for the sub plot, I understand that it's going for a juxtaposition between how well Twilight and friends get along compared to Starlight's conflict, but I don't think it's pushed far enough. The song is great, but I wish the entire sub plot was pushed to that level of cheese. That could've been hilarious. Instead, it's mediocre aside from the song. 

Score: 5/10

[CypherHoof 26,482]

28 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

Celestial Advice: This does not hold up on rewatch. When you know the ending and that Starlight isn't being sent away, any stakes the episode had goes away and all that's left is a mostly really boring episode. Some gags work and I like that there's some insight into Celestia's mind, but the episode doesn't go far enough into that. Most of the episode is Twilight worrying about doing something we know she doesn't end up doing.

I disagree; We get confirmation that Twi being sent to join the Element bearers was a setup on Celestia's part, a chance to see Celestia as more than just a cardboard-cutout authority figure but a real pony with feelings and failings, and to walk though one of Twi's self-feeding freakouts with the aid of her hologram spell.  We also get to see Starlight's emotional dependence on Twi (something we also see from Fluttershy, oddly enough, in /Fame and Misfortune/) and how that reflects Twi's own emotional dependence on Celestia; It's an important episode and holds up well on rewatching.

 

28 minutes ago, bigbertha said:

All Bottled Up: This episode plays out so predictably. Of course Starlight is going to end up learning that she shouldn't hold in her anger through her plan backfiring. The actual climax when her plan backfires is fun, but it's very brief and the rest of her plot is really meh. There are some good jokes, but it's not enough to make up for the bland story and Trixie being annoying. As for the sub plot, I understand that it's going for a juxtaposition between how well Twilight and friends get along compared to Starlight's conflict, but I don't think it's pushed far enough. The song is great, but I wish the entire sub plot was pushed to that level of cheese. That could've been hilarious. Instead, it's mediocre aside from the song. 

Score: 5/10

I think the escape room thing is just padding; there wasn't enough of the Starlight lesson to fill out a full epsiode. Starlight's failure was predictable, but at least she is beginning to learn that jumping straight to throwing spells as her first solution almost invariably backfires for her; she managed to own her mistake though, and we actually saw Trixie apologise for a change, although her character development was nerfed for the later /change a changeling/. It's not a strong episode, although if FiM wasn't so wedded to the syndicatable 22 minute runtime, it would have made a good short.

[Rushing cash 836]

That's the only premier which is not a 2 parter, it makes it unique and a nice change of pace and both episodes written by my favorite writers, the lady writers!

Celestial Advice: We finally got to see celestia being herself and helping out twilight by sharing her own experience on the matter, making her more relatable. Discord was great in here, he is chaotic while still being friendly with the other characters(I enjoy his interactions with trixie a lot), and over all the comedy was nice. Nothing incredible happens and no big game changes happen, but as a slice of life its pretty good.   7.5\10

All Bottled Up: The episode revolves around trixie and starlight, that is a good thing by itself(I really like their interactions) and while the parts of the main 6 are a bit boring it still has its moments and the way they show the contrast between starlights problems and the main 6 team work exercise was entertaining(I like the song although I feel like I shouldn't since its so cheesy and cringe worthy, its a guilty pleasure song for me). And I can interpret trixies words("the starlight I love...") anyway I desire.   8.5\10    

[SunburstRainbow2019 3]

Celestial Advice: I literally honestly thought that Twilight was REALLY gonna send Starlight somewhere HORRIBLE! Thanks Celestia...

 

Bottled Up: Interesting episode too see Starlight's emotions bottled up, but hoo-boy did things get outta control when they got out.

[Spidey10 846]

Did a little MLP Netflix marathon while sick a few days ago and Rewatched Celestial Advice. I can't believe I forgot about that awesome Predator handshake (AKA the greatest handshake of all time) reference in the episode.

[Astralshy 26,421]

The season seven premiere is special because there are two separated two episode. Celestial advice and All bottled are both really good episode. To learn that Celestia was you as unsure as Twili is was really interesting. I was also fascinated to see Twili fantasies was running away. In my opinion a really loveable episode.

All bottle up I find even more interesting for me. Starlight's behavior to bottle her anger up was probable not the best decision to begin with. Can you blame her? Trixie reaches almost a new height in annoying ponies. The morale behind this is a basic, but a important one. And of course, I love the song in this. It was also nice how these two parts were intersected while song was going on. It was also a shame that mane six did not make the new record, but the song was worth it

 

[JMTV99 1,352]

Well, at least it's not 'The Crystalling'. 

The best moment of Celestial Advice was the backstory of Twilight. I really love that scene and I really wanna see more of it. Plus, Celestia is really amazing in this episode and she has the best character growth in the entire series.

All Bottled Up is No Second Prances done right. I really like Starlight and Trixie in this episode. They played off each other very well. I'll admit, it is scary (yet relatable) that Starlight bottled up her anger and Trixie didn't apologize until Starlight called her out on it. I don't know why, but I really want to know more about her and impulsiveness because we've rarely seen that in Season 6. The Main 6's plot is nothing to write home about, but the best part was the song. It's so catchy, so upbeat, and it was so fun.

Not the best episode of the season, but at least it was watchable.

[bigbertha 414]

All Bottled Up is such a spiteful episode. The mane six act like robots who just spout random shit about friendship and get into no conflicts just so the episode can prop up Starlight.

"Why would you want to watch these old boring characters when you can watch our new characters who actually get into conflicts. They're so much better and more interesting!" And there isn't even a punchline at the end. The mane six just come back and suggest going to the spa. They never find out what Starlight and Trixie did and Starlight and Trixie never find out what the mane six did. So what was the point? The song is funny on its own, but it also feels so insulting taken in context of the episode.

[Adariousmist 124]

I had a better experience with Celestial Advice than All Bottled Up.  I found myself replaying Celestia's laugh scene a few times, it was priceless.  With All Bottled Up, I think I'd have related most to Starlight.  I feel (much like with Rarity) that Trixie's character and personality are in total conflict with me, to the point they are both among my least liked.  

[MichaelWFX 35]

The second episode was more fun than the first

[Iforgotmybrain 5,501]

Like both episodes, the second a bit more than the first. The scene in the first episode where imaginary Changeling Starlight basically goes and commits bug racism is surprisingly funny. And the 2nd episode is practically dedicated to just Starlight and Trixie and their dynamic together which I love. I do think the episode would’ve been better without the Mane 6 escape room scenes. Just didn’t add much to the episode and kinda disrupted the flow.

[Antiyonder 1,090]

The episodes are present at the beginning of this video:

The episodes by themselves will be posted when uploaded.

Also to note is that the third episode is Daring Done despite it not being listed and To Change a Changling is the fourth episode instead of third.  Also,, It Isn't the Mane Thing About You is absent from the video.

Edited September 19 by Antiyonder