S07:E22 - Once Upon A Zeppelin

[Batbrony 15,994]

Good afternoon everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews"!  Well at this point it shouldn't be any surprise that this season we were delivered yet another very exceptional episode, but here we are again, and boy oh boy was this one a long time coming for a very big reason.  We all know by now that family and legacy have been the two major themes of Season 7, and this week the show hit on that theme yet again with a major appearance (for the first time ever in the show) of Twilight's ENTIRE family!  We may have seen plenty of Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and even Flurry Heart in the past, but strangely enough, before this episode, her parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light, despite making multiple appearances in episodes throughout multiple seasons, had never had roles as main characters and had only spoken a few lines in a minor appearance in last season's "The Crystalling - Part 2."  This was always a bizarre oversight, not quite as infuriating as Celestia being so neglected as a character before this season, but very head scratching all the same considering (1) we've seen them make appearances in the show since Season 1, (2) they are the parents of the main character of the show (not to mention a princess of Equestria), a major supporting character, and the in-laws of another princess of Equestria (or another kingdom entirely if you're one of those folks who don't consider the Crystal Empire to be part of Equestria).  Well, after the show's writers finally rectified this strange oversight, I am happy to announce that Twilight Velvet and Night Light made splendid appearances and that both were not just likable as individual characters themselves, but also gave us a very solid glimpse into how Twilight and Shining Armor both ended up the way they are with parents like those two.  There's a lot of other great things to unpack from this episode, so without further ado, let's dive in!  This is "Once Upon a Zeppelin"!!!

So the episode start with, oddly enough, the best Spike and Twilight scene of all of Season 7 thus far, if not the best Spike scene of the season.  Now, the bad thing about this is it speaks to how little major attention outside of one OK episode Spike has gotten this season, but on the other hand he still has had some very good moments this season, and this one was a true gem.  The implicit and total trust and love that Twilight and Spike have in and for one another was on full display for about two minutes, if that, with Spike insisting that Twilight take a vacation for herself when her parents offered while he stay behind to handle her work load.  Twilight in turn objects by declaring that he's as much a family member of hers as the rest of her family (possibly the first time she's ever flat-out stated so clearly he is family), but Spike, while clearly appreciative of Twilight recognizing this, just takes everything in stride and still insists she take a nice break for herself.  This is all capped off by Spike humorously predicting to himself that Twilight's gonna start planning a schedule of activities for the trip any second now, which she then does.  While, as I said, a very short scene, there's a lot of heartwarming elements to unpack here.  Not only is Spike's offer very selfless and generous, especially considering he already functions as Twilight's assistant virtually 24/7, but the way he and Twilight treated each other like family didn't feel forced in the slightest.  Instead it felt like how two siblings would treat each other when one is just trying to do something nice for the other and who have the utmost confidence and trust in one another.  Contrast this with Season 1, where not only Spike was considerably less mature but also Twilight treated him very often more like a son than a sibling, and you have an idea of just how much these two characters' relationship with one another has matured and developed since the show began.

Ya know, I should be more surprised that Twilight would find vacation-scheduling/list-making while on vacation to be relaxing, but honestly after seven seasons I don't think any brony at all should be phased by this revelation 

Once the vacation itself begins the episode introduces a whole slew of characters, so we'll have to break down the episode by them bit by bit.  Starting with our main character, Twilight was quite good here.  I wouldn't go so far as to say this was her best episode of the season by any means, but if you're going to do 'Twilight stresses herself out unnecessarily because she's trying to juggle too much and please too many people without thinking about her own wants or needs' in Season 7, this is how you should do it.  It's no "Lesson Zero" breakdown where the fault and blame rested squarely on a much younger Twilight's shoulders because she was making bad choice after bad choice, no no, for the most part Twilight was trying to please both her family and the ponies on the cruise (more on them later) as best as she possibly could by keeping a stiff upper lip about it.  Her biggest mistake was that she underestimated how important devoting some time to herself would be in this situation, especially in the context of taking a vacation with her entire family, which is a very rare occasion for her these days given how busy she and the rest of them are (with the exception of possibly her parents, they seemed to be either retired or, if they're too young for that, just entering the twilight stages of their career-lives and seem to be very relaxed now that both kids are out of the house).  Her other mistake is that she failed until the end to set some boundaries for ponies outside of their family who, although well-meaning, were a little too pushy, clingy, or cloying at times in their desire to let Twilight know just how much they liked her.  These were undoubtedly a big mistakes, after all they're why there were any problems in the first place, but they are also very understandable mistakes, even for Twilight to make at this point in her life.  She's a goodhearted pony who always wants to do the right thing for any pony she can, and given her responsibilities as one of Equestria's own monarchs (technically) it's hard for her to unwind when around others these days.  Thankfully she learned her lesson by the end, and I can't even say her venting and lashing out at Star Tracker was that bad (more on him later too) seeing as, even though her anger itself wasn't good, her being brutally honest was how the rest of her family finally realized something was wrong for her in the first place (though they did keep asking if she was OK throughout the episode).  All in all, this was about as solid an episode featuring Twilight in Season 7 as you could ask for, at least in an appearance that, while quite exceptional, was hardly something we'd call one of her best showings ever.

Holy shit, that's cute!!! 

Moving on, the Royal Crystal Family (or should it be Imperial Crystal Family since it's an empire???  Whatever, point is, it's Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and Princess Flurry Heart) had a pretty great showing as well.  Flurry Heart, while she didn't have much beyond some cute and funny appearances, was her usual, adorable self.  Probably her funniest bit was where she was at a playtime with a bunch of other foals and couldn't help but keep trying to stack them on top of each other like building blocks with her magic.  Besides that, though, wasn't too much else to her, although her surprised reaction to Twilight doing something off-schedule was both hilarious and also suggests she may be starting to understand adults more and more... that or the writers just did it for the sake of making the joke even funnier.

Today's episode features Princess Flurry Heart in "Shit You Do When You're Bored, a Foal, and Have Wayyyyyyyyy Too Much Magic" 

Shining Armor was one of the best scene stealers in this entire episode, which is pretty impressive when you consider that a "airsickness/seasickness" running gag is pretty hard to make funny in anything.  I think what made it work here is that it not only gave us a look at Shining Armor's dorkier side (which is usually when he shines the most) but we also got to see him hilariously trying to handle airsickness which he tried to insist wasn't a thing the entire time in front of his ENTIRE family, quite literally.  His sister was pretty much laughing her ass off at him, his wife was quietly trying to help him save face, and his parents (especially his mom) were pretty much coddling him (the funniest bit being when his mom literally lifted him out of the water with her magic, an image which just looked hilarious considering he looks to be a head taller than her).  Don't get me wrong, Shining obviously wasn't just the butt of jokes; he still looked out for his sister and family and seemed to have a good time, but my goodness, "Airsick Shining Armor" was a terribly fun running gag.

"I'M THE KING OF THE WORL- oh buck, nope, not good!" 

"As your LSBFF, I am obligated to find joy in your suffering."

"I bucking hate you sometimes, Twilight."

Finally, Cadance herself had an exceptionally solid showing with a bit of a subplot of her own evening, a pretty subtle one at that.  The entire trip she seemed to look out for Twilight the most out of the entire family, most likely because she could relate the most to what Twilight was dealing with.  They all wanted to make sure she was doing alright, but Cadance in particular kept approaching her and, after Twilight's breakdown, was able to tell her exactly what she needed to hear.  She explained that part of being a princess means accepting that you can still be a good princess even if you are unable to please everyone 24/7.  You have to be able to take care of your own needs still, and sometimes even wants are needs (such as Twilight needing some time to relax with her family).  Cadance both explained and showed this in the episode in how her first and foremost priority, in most scenes, was taking care of Flurry Heart, and watching out for the rest of her family while she was at it.  This is best displayed when Cadance explains as much to Twilight and Iron Will when they learn the exact nature of the air cruise, as well as when she makes sure her daughter doesn't get smothered with attention from complete strangers who just want to see their kids befriend a baby royal princess, even though they're well meaning.  She's very protective throughout the entire episode, and much of that includes being protective of her family's privacy.  The fact that this never came off as snobbish was very impressive, you could really sympathize with what Cadance was going through and why she was doing what she did, and I even found myself wondering if this is what watching out for their kids in real life is like for major celebs or public figures.  But overall, as far as being the bearer of an episode lesson goes, this was definitely one of Cadance's best showings ever in that regard, especially in her role as a mother and her mentoring Twilight as her sister-in-law, friend, and fellow princess.

This, however, will probably haunt her nightmares for quite some time... and mine, too.   Seriously, who the hell sold that in the first place???

Now that we've got the familiar faces out of the way, it's time to get into some of the juicier and unexpected bits of the episode... which were admittedly a bit of a mixed bag, though largely solid on the whole.  First of all, let's talk about, you guessed it... Twilight's parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet (voice by Charlie Demers and Patricia Drake, though they had been previously voiced by Andrew Francis and Tara Strong).  How were these two?  Oh, a whole lot of fun!  They weren't the amazing soccer parents that Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistle were, nor were they the sweetest of couples with an amazing romantic backstory to go along with it like Bright Mac and Pear Butter were.  In fact, their appearance, while anticipated, wasn't nearly as fandom-mind-blowing as those previous two sets of parents were, considering, as I mentioned earlier, we've seen these two many times before.  And yet it was still a very satisfying appearance all the same in which we got a very solid idea of how these two produced the children they did.  First, you have Night Light, who, although both he and his wife are pretty grounded for the most part, is definitely the more straight-laced of the two.  I mean, the guy's favorite thing to do on the airship for crying out loud is BINGO!  This is the type of guy who, like Twilight, probably loves nothing more on a lazy Sunday than curling up in his favorite chair with a good book and a cup of tea, and I could easily see the majority of her love of organization, lists, and scheduling coming from him mostly.

Not that Twilight Velvet seemed out of sorts or anything, but out of those two, she was, very surprisingly, the wild child of the two!  I think many bronies were caught off guard by this character development, but at the same time most I've spoken to (myself included) welcomed it, as it quite refreshingly helps distinguish the two parents from each other.  She still seems very similar to her husband and daughter, but she definitely has a bit of the "thrill junkie" within her; heck, speaking as someone who keeps a lot of his own likes and habits "close to the vest" myself, I could totally see Twilight Velvet being the same way.  Not necessarily being dishonest in public about who she is to others, but simply keeping a lot of her own private likes and habits to herself, only occasionally cutting loose with them.  The best bit in this, of course, was Twilight Velvet's literally riding a barrel over Neighagara Falls, a scene which was as hilarious as it was adorable.  Twilight Velvet's reaction and adrenaline from it all was priceless, her wet mane whipped over her face looked adorable, and Night Light coming up and pecking her on the cheek to her delight while her face was still covered was even MORE adorable!!!

And now Batbrony presents... lewd conversations with the Sparkles.  Read at your own peril 
 

Spoiler

 

"I AM SO HIGH ON LIFE RIGHT NOW!!!" 

"Wow... so uh, dad, if this is mom's idea of "relaxing" while on vacation, what exactly does she mean when she says you two are gonna have a "relaxing" night in?" 

"Well, uh, you see... oh boy.  Ya know what, I think I'll let Cadance handle this one." 

"Huh?" 

"Well it's just that it's a bit more in her area of 'expertise' and might be less awkward if she explains it to you." 

"I still don't follow." 

"Don't worry, Night Light, I got this." *Cadance whispers very lewd things* 

"OH CELESTIA, NO, WHY?!" 

"Hey, why do you think I married your brother?  He had to impress me in quite a few areas that I am VERY picky about!  Kinda comes with the whole "being the Princess of Love" territory and all." 

"OH SUN, MOON, AND STARS NO, WHY, WHY?!?!  MY POOR, LOST INNOCENCE!!!  YOU ARE ALL HORRIBLE, FILTHY PONIES AND I HATE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!" *runs away* 

"Wow... didn't think she'd take it that badly.  I really never pegged Twilight as that much of a prude, especially with all the books she reads.  Boy am I glad your son got his 'special traits' from your wife." 

"Yeahhhhhhh... I better go talk to her.  Before she throws herself off the zeppelin." 

"NOT BEFORE YOU TAKE ME BACK IN OUR CABIN!!!" 

"Sweetie, we're not the only ones staying there!" 

"I DON'T CARE!!!" 

 

MAJESTIC AS BUCK!!! 

My lewd jokes about Twilight Velvet's "wild" side aside, this was the bucking cutest shot in this entire episode and it is as sweet as it is pure and innocent.  It's amazing how just a little peck on the cheek from Night Light and the smile it brings out on his wife can reveal so much about how much they love one another, and I'm sure that many married couples or just people completely in love with one another could tell you (speaking as someone madly in love myself) that little gestures like that between two loved ones are some of the best parts of getting to shower love upon someone else you love.  Doesn't always have to be a sweeping gesture, sometimes little reinforcements of one's love for another like that mean all the world to them.  Also, c'mon, I mean... LOOK AT HOW BUCKING CUTE THAT IS!!! 

Of course, they had more good bits than just that.  Their policy about accepting free tickets to a cruise, no questions asked (even though they had no idea what contest it was for to begin with), was too funny (especially how it came back to bite them in the flank later, not to mention it sounds like the setup to a slasher film); their looking out for their children was quite fun to see (especially the aforementioned scene where Twilight Velvet literally lifts Shining Armor from the water with her magic); and their soaking up attention from cruise participants thrilled to see the princesses was pretty funny too.  Overall, they were just a cool, cute couple who behaved for the most part pretty much exactly as you'd expect Twilight's parents to behave - dorky, straight-laced, and just a little bit crazy, with just enough wrinkles and unique character traits thrown in there to make them stand on their own as their own characters.  It was a great showing from the both of them and I am happy we finally got to see these two in expanded roles!  Hopefully we'll get to see even more of them in the future.

In yet another returning character, we, surprisingly, saw the return of Iron Will in this episode!  The reason I list him here among newer elements is because (1) his return was so unexpected (seriously, I would never have pegged him to show back up in this of all episodes) and (2) he was written kind of... differently than in his first appearance.  Let's recall, in Iron Will's first appearance in "Putting Your Hoof Down" he was, at the most, a minor antagonist, if even that.  He didn't come off as deliberately malevolent or anything, just a bit of a shrewd businessman and slightly bully-ish in the way he threw his muscles around to intimidate others.  But he was still a minotaur of his word who set out to ACTUALLY help ponies become more assertive, and when Fluttershy insisted that she wasn't satisfied with his services, he kept his end of the bargain and stopped demanding payment from her.  He seemed like someone who overall was, at the end of the day, pretty decent, even if he was a bit of a hothead as well.  Here, Iron Will was far more of a jerk and written as, if I'm being honest, a bit of a con artist as well.  I mean, he did try to deliver a quality product to his customers until the end of the episode, but he bamboozled Twilight's family into taking the trip in the first place and then, when they finally decided they were done letting him drag Twilight all over the place at the end of the episode and explained the situation to the other ponies onboard, just skipped out on his angry customers for some bizarre reason.

Now, make no mistake, hearing Trevor Devall in this role again (one week after he reprised his role as Thunderlane as well) was hilarious and a lot of fun, and for the most part Iron Will was still his old, over-the-top, bombastic self (like a... jerkier Mr. T, if you will).  But again, his presence here was confusing at times, especially in his interactions with Twilight considering... well, he'd technically never even met her before!  He'd met Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy previously, but certainly not Twilight.  Now I'm sure it's both possible Twilight saw him around town and heard about him from her friends, but still, as far as we know, those two individuals had never actually met each other.  Heck, I was confused as well how he'd heard about Twilight's tour of Cloudsdale; his other stories about her were obviously made up, but that first one was legit, unless of course he thought he made it up and instead accidentally told a legit story about Twilight.  However, if I'm being perfectly honest, most of my critiques for Iron Will here are largely me nitpicking.  He was for the most part a treat to see; his story about getting into the themed cruise business because the assertiveness-seminar market had dried up was as hilarious as it was random, and his exit at the end, like with everything involving Iron Will, was hilariously over the top!  Overall, he had a fine showing, and was a lot of fun to see once more.

Finally, we come to the cruise passengers themselves, who, let's be honest, were an obvious allegory and stand-in for the fandom, particularly fans when they encounter show makers and celebs at pony conventions.  As in "Fame and Misfortune," their presence here was both mixed and very meta.  However, it was definitively superior to the depiction of the fandom in "Fame and Misfortune" for a number of very good reasons.  Generally speaking, the cruise passengers here, while often depicted in a negative light, were also depicted in a positive light as well (I'd say the balance between the negative and positive was 50/50) and they had a satisfying resolution to their place in the story arc.  In contrast, "Fame and Misfortune" felt very raw and hostile in its treatment of any ponies who were supposed to be representing the fandom (with like the exception of one or two characters), and had barely any resolution with them even.  As I said in my "Fame and Misfortune" review, there is nothing wrong in concept with the show delivering a message aimed squarely at the fandom about how we act as fans and how we should act; the problem there is that it feels more like the show makers venting about the fandom than actually, constructively saying anything about it.  By itself it was just a meh episode for me, and I still stand by my earlier conclusion that it is such a divisive episode that there is no one right way to feel about it, whether one loves, hates, or just doesn't care for that episode; however, this episode's existence does bring down "Fame and Misfortune" quite a bit, since it was a far better handling of how the show should and can critique the fandom while still having plenty of positive things to say about it.  Were the passengers oftentimes too exuberant, clingy, or nosy in their adoration of the princesses, especially Twilight?  Sure, but the worst their behavior got was awkward to cringey, and they never treated Twilight or her family like assholes or jerks as so many ponies in "Fame and Misfortune" treated Twilight and her friends.  They also had a better excuse for their behavior in that they thought from the get-go that the princesses were there as a part of the cruise specifically to see them, meaning they would never think of treating them like this in regular, day-to-day life; now, as a brony, while I would argue that going to a con doesn't give one license to just leave your brain and good sense behind and treat con guests however you want, there is an expectation at cons that celeb guests are there to see fans, unlike say if you randomly encounter a celeb in real life at a store or restaurant.  Once these passengers were explicitly told by Twilight that she could use some space and time to be with her family, they were very respectful of her wishes and realized that they'd been misled by Iron Will.  Once again the overall message directed at the fandom was that just because you're a fan of someone doesn't mean you should feel entitled, no matter what the circumstances are, to butt too much into their business, even if they're taking time to hang out with you, but it was delivered and executed so much better in this episode than it was at all in "Fame and Misfortune."

Honestly this isn't even that different from how he behaved in the actual episode...

The most obvious stand-in among these passengers, of course, was Star Tracker, and I'm even more mixed in my feelings about him than I am the passengers as a whole.  For starters, I couldn't figure out whether this guy was supposed to be a teenager or an adult (I'm leaning towards the former but still, not sure), and whether he's one or the other does put his behavior into a different context.  Also, while by the end of the episode we realized that he too was, overall, just a well-meaning pony who was really excited to see Twilight, the delivery in some of his humor was... odd.  Like, my best guess is that the writers wanted to make it seem like he was just a really, really awkward pony, largely for the sake of humor.  The problem, however, is that he does things like (1) keep invading Twilight's personal space WAYYYYYYY too much, (2) awkward gestures like continually biting his lip around Twilight or combing back his mane, and (3) talking with a very odd tone in his voice that his behavior ultimately came off for much of the episode as less awkward and more... creepy, really, especially in a sexually stalker-ish kind of way.  Again, I really don't think that that was the intent of the character, but for me, that's simply what he came off as for much of the episode.  Also, his freakout from Twilight stepping on his hoof was WAY too over-the-top.  No offense Star Tracker, but frankly, ya acted kind of like a pussy in all that; I mean dear Lord, my mom doesn't flip out that much from someone stepping on her foot!

Seriously man, NUT UP!!!  I'm not even one to usually say that, but sheesh, grow a pair! 

Thankfully he was pretty cool by the end of the episode (though his standing up for Twilight to Iron Will felt a little forced, and I never really dug his voice actor; I couldn't figure out if it was an actual VA doing a bad, awkward teenager/obsessed fan voice or an actual fan who just wasn't very good at voice acting).  Overall, as far as meta-stand ins for the fandom go, Star Tracker and the other passengers here, while not perfect in their delivery, were a significant step above the incredibly hostile, angry, and at times downright cruel crowds that Twilight and her friends encountered in "Fame and Misfortune," and in that respect they felt like they were a part of delivering a far more helpful and constructive message to the fandom than the latter were.

This, however, will forever and always be terrifying 

Besides all of these players, there were plenty of other things that caught my attention in this episode for both better and worse.  Finally getting to see an episode featuring a zeppelin the entire time was pretty awesome, and the design of the airship here was sweet.  The one thing that bugged me with it was how the passage of time and distance seemed to work; the tour scene in particular was bizarre in that Iron Will seemed to point out locations in a matter of minutes that should be hundreds of miles apart from each other, and there's no way the ship was moving fast enough to get to those that quickly (hell, his pointing out Canterlot second on the tour was downright confusing considering they TOOK OFF from Canterlot).  I get that that was largely because the show had to be fit into 22 minutes, but still, it was an odd flaw all the same.  Some of the activities, particularly barrel riding over Neighagara Falls and Shining Armor's boat race, were hilarious, though I will say it's a shame that we didn't get to see a full scene of the actual Frozen North Stars.  The one thing about that scene that bugged me was that Twilight's family didn't seem to consider at first that she'd be upset that she missed literally the one thing she'd wanted to do with all of them more than anything else the entire trip, but again, that's a minor nitpick.  Getting a pretty even dosage of day and night scenes was pretty cool and unusual as well, as were the sheer number of settings in this whole episode.  All in all, while not a flawless episode, this was still a very exceptional Season 7 episode and, especially for all of the new elements it had like getting to see more of Twilight's parents, a delight to watch on the whole!  We've only got 4 episodes left everypony, and I've got a feeling they're going to be rather delightful (and please, while I'm on the subject, don't watch the early episode leaks so that we can support the official DHX releases of them, or if you do, please don't spoil them for anyone else).  That's all I've got for ya everypony, until next time, this is Batbrony signing off.  I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit*

This is what Spike gets for doing nice things

[Spilight98 166]

WOW I COMPLETELY FORGOT THERE WAS AN EPISODE THIS WEEK ( dmn u mlp movie for making me forget )

Anyways in my opinion this was an amazing episode

The opening scene was really charming and it was really selfless of Spike to let Twilight go on her vacation while he stayed behind working.

Also it is finally confirmed Spike is part of Twilight's family  That is the one thing i always wanted to hear .

Also we finally get to know Twilight's parents a bit more which is really awesome as well.

The return of Iron Will was amazing as well. Seeing him return after like 5 seasons or something is really nice. For he is an amazingly overly manly character which i enjoy XD. 

The entire Sparkle family was entertaining as well.

And Star Tracker was freakin hilarious that guy was just so creepy 

Twilight also was entertaining to watch especially when she had her mental breakdown.

I consider this a solid 9/10 episode probably my favorite episode of the season.

(Also batbrony that is one hell of a review I couldn't say it better myself)

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2017 by Spilight98

[Sh Pie 65]

This was a solid Twilight focus episode. It's rare for Twilight's and Shining's parents to be in the foreground so that was nice. Last time Iron Will appeared was that episode where he accidentally turned Fluttershy in to a bully, he's capable of making some pretty crazy dilemmas! Especially with his savvy, putting objectionable stuff in the fine print and taking money first.

You know what I call irony? A pony called Star Tracker being partially responsible for Twilight missing the stars. I thought that was humorous but I only noticed after I was finished pitying Twilight. The whole vacation is kind of a bad joke for her. She tried to escape her princess life for a while but Iron Will had other plans.

The moral is that celebrities are ponies as well. Fans have difficulties treating their idols as they would their peers since they have a significantly greater respect for them. But idols have the right to their own personal space and that includes both physical and metaphorical space, she's a nerdy pony who likes to have alone time and she's entitled to it. Star Tracker learns his mistake after realizing how his uncomfortable behavior had affected somepony he respected and appreciated.

Iron Will made a spectacular exit with his parachute and he escaped with all the money as well, not bad.

Overall, I thought this was pretty decent and put some obscure characters in the spotlight.

[MilkTea 283]

Only just got around to seeing this episode now :’o

Im glad we got to see Twilight’s parents again! I think they only got to speak like, once in the entire series so hearing their voices again sure is nice.

Despite how creepy Star Tracker was acting, I actually ended up liking him a fair bit. He wasn’t a bad guy, just a nervous fanboy. (And I’m not usually one to ship one shot characters with the main cast, but this case is quite tempting, just because of how hilarious it is xD) I hope he appears again in the future!

[Ivan The Adorable 304]

My favorite thing about this episode is honestly probably that Iron Will is an antagonist that's learned nothing.  Or actually become worse, even, throwing out some of the pretense of not being an exploitative businessman. satisfaction NOT guaranteed, chumps. 

I was a little disappointed at first that Spike wasn't coming, but they gave him s great character moment instead of shuffling him aside and it does make sense that they needed him not to be there to  nip the anxiety of the episode in the bud with his straight talk. All the same, curious how he interacts with Twilight's parents. 

Star Tracker definitely makes an uncomfortable character for me. I get they're going more for awkward fan, but listen. PSA as a dude, as a brother, as a fan: don't be like that and don't make the subject of attention have to stand up for themselves. It's not okay. Like I know that's not what the episode intends to say, I'm just pulling it out and slapping it down cause I don't like it being broached in half measures. 

But not getting off track too much, it was great to see all of Twilight's family in action. Shining Armor and Cadance have really come into their own as characters these last couple of seasons, and as much as new rambunctious baby characters have burned animation fans in the past, Flurry Heart has been a really good addition to all of Twilight's family dynamics. Also genuinely a creator of funny. I nearly lost it when she started stacking babies.

If there's any sore spot with this ep for me, it's that Twilight's princess learning arc has gone on for a reaaal long time with not a lot of competence to show for it, but that's mostly incidental

[StitchandMLPlover 930]

Since my computer hard drive died I never had the chance to review "Once Upon a Zepplin". I really liked that one as it showed more of Twilight's need to be the perfect princess and we got to see her mom and dad with established personalities. As soon as I saw the flying boat I thought of the movie trailer so I wonder if any of this ep ties in with the movie. 
 

[azbat 301]

Whenever Twilight Velvet speaks all I hear is Ms. Peachbottom from "Games Ponies Play" (same VA). Both are highly energetic. but one is claustrophobic and the other loves confined spaces.

[ImpctR 155]

On 10/9/2017 at 7:36 AM, Twilight Kyle said:

I aint readin all that.

You haven't seen it all. (//scrolls down from the the top of this page)

 

I disagree with Star Tracker's portrayal as creepy. The pony is supposed to be a cute fanboy of Twi, if anything I would love to have someone adore me so much. If it becomes too much, there is always the way to ignore him but I still don't find it wrong. Why are some so scared of someone adoring you to follow you like that. Irl it would be creepy mostly if your follower was a man that you know nothing of, dont know what they are up to or could do. An innocent and probably cute looking teen as the situation portrays that would suggest he has good intentions and honest interest is creepy? please. 

[Thrond 3,257]

4 hours ago, ImpctR said:

I disagree with Star Tracker's portrayal as creepy. The pony is supposed to be a cute fanboy of Twi, if anything I would love to have someone adore me so much. If it becomes too much, there is always the way to ignore him but I still don't find it wrong. Why are some so scared of someone adoring you to follow you like that. Irl it would be creepy mostly if your follower was a man that you know nothing of, dont know what they are up to or could do. An innocent and probably cute looking teen as the situation portrays that would suggest he has good intentions and honest interest is creepy? please. 

It's creepy that he gets so close to her. He's awkward and seems to be clueless about social norms, so I forgive it, but only so much. 

[SparklingSwirls 21,261]

This episode made me feel a little uncomfortable due to some personal reasons , but the episode itself was pretty good. Nice to see Iron Will come back and it was a good idea to see how all of Twilight's family members would play off each other, plus the Spike part was done well too. I think Twilight forgave everybody a little too quickly but that's sort of a given, given that the episode only had a few minutes left. Star Tracker was a bit of a jerk but I think that was the point, so I won't complain much there  

[Ivan The Adorable 304]

31 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

It's creepy that he gets so close to her. He's awkward and seems to be clueless about social norms, so I forgive it, but only so much. 

Same. He's forgivable, for sure, but we definitely need to teach people that obsession isn't something to glorify.

What we consume can't be our identity. Admiration shouldn't turn to idolization. Fandom is bad when it's synonymous with fanaticism. I worry our community doesn't do enough to reel in these attitudes sometimes...

[Meeps 297]

Loved seeing the entire family together! I feel that very often in cartoons, parents are the first thing the creators try to remove from the picture. I recall most of the cartoons I watched growing up either having the main character be an orphan, live with other characters of their age, be in an alternate universe where parents are never brought up, or parents being a distant subject without an actual character to attach their persona to. The fact MLP has no problem tactfully including parents is great to me!

Twilight's brother is simply adorable to me. I feel like I don't see him enough in the series, so when he's finally on screen I get excited. I've also enjoyed Cadence's maturity from day one of having her introduced. Also cool to see Spike make an appearance, however brief, and the lesson was delicious. It's an issue I feel many have at least encountered before, and it's great to think that perhaps someone may take the lesson of making time for themselves to heart and live better for it.

My nit-pick that really doesn't matter would be how Shining was automatically free to enjoy his favorite activities, while Cadence was routinely assigned baby-duty. It's possible Cadence truly didn't mind, but having to listen and see so many in real life complaining that they have the unfair share of the duties with their children (of both sexes, haha) I felt a feather rustle ! Overall, great episode, though!

[Quarium 108]

I like this episode a lot, the lesson and situation it presents hits close to home because I tend to be a bit too worried with pleasing others to the point where I neglect my own emotions or well being and have a hard time setting up boundaries. I feel like that's a very important lesson for this show to tackle and to do so in such a funny and quirky episode just makes it even better.

Broke my heart when Twi missed the stars tho, I assume I wasn't the only one that feel goddamn awful at seeing her tear up for a moment.

[Brainstorm 4,092]

I was wondering, when Twilight gets back to the castle, she should have StarTracker meet Spike and have a small cruise which includes Spike.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Brainstorm

[Steve Piranha 28,742]

After this episode, I now understand why Shining Armor wasn't pleased by Peachbottom's flirting  

 

[FizzyGreen 908]

was fuckin' gay, you watch a show about ponies, what's wrong with you???
jk hue

was pretty cute, the fan ponies might be perceived as over exaggerations but realistically, and, quite shockingly, is this closer to reality than you might think.

Was pretty cool to see iRoN wiLL again, a capitalist to the core. That guy must understand about business! But the episode had nice moral and stufffs and spikes some nice poses. Was funny and cute.

Pretty rad. 4/5

[Nye 1,652]

This episode was cool. This being the second episode featuring Twi’s parents. (Long time no see) Iron Will was pretty inaccurate during the tour. Shining Armor getting air sick was really funny as well. Overall, pretty cool.

[Allen 1,371]

Princess Twilight Sparkle have a vacation on this episode! She meetup with her parents once again along with Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart to be on board on the flying cruise ship at high altitudes!  When going on board the ship, that's Iron Will again flying the ship in a zeppelin cruise.

Princess Twilight Sparkle, you did not miss the Northern Stars when you see that light in front of you! Why did you cry if that's too late for you to see that?!  You didn't miss that whilst the other ponies on board, including your parents, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart, are watching that first! Princess Twilight Sparkle, don't be disappointed but don't worry, you'll see that next time! At the epilogue part, the Northern Stars showed up in the skies again since you didn't have a chance to see that the first time and you see that at last when hugging each other before returning to Canterlot, you're fine now! 

So this is another excellent episode for me, and another favorite episode with a main focus of Princess Twilight Sparkle! 

[Thrond 3,257]

The Cadance stuff here is still a total bummer for me. They had a golden opportunity to expand her personality by giving her an actual personal interest, and instead they just tethered her to the baby. The show's most underrated character deserves her own episode. 

Furthermore, Star Tracker is kinda creepy, so I can't get entirely onboard with how sympathetic the ending is towards him. I don't want a full condemnation, but he should have learned something too. I don't find him quite as funny or endearing as I did the first time, and Twilight really does have a point. But there's still something endearing about his dorky enthusiasm. 

Otherwise, I figure this could have a few more narrative deviations and be a bit more subtle; I find this show more entertaining when every single scene isn't building to the moral. Essentially this is the least egregious offender of all of the same problems in every other season 7 episode, and it's one of the few times I was able to look past them, as those specific scenes are still largely delightful, as Shining Armour and Twilight's parents are hilarious, while Twilight's parts finally acknowledge how being a princess might amplify her perfectionism. Watching this after a bunch of my favourite episodes makes it seem a little less impressive in comparison, though, so points are deducted accordingly, nonetheless, this is still a significant bright spot in my least favourite batch of episodes. 

Score:
Entertainment: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Themes: 9/10
Story: 8/10
Overall: 83/100

[bigbertha 410]

This is a really great episode. The only complaints are that Star Tracker can get a little too creepy and Twilight's parents signing the prize forms is really contrived, but other than that, this is really well done. The comedy is really strong throughout, and I'd say it's one of the funniest of the season. Twilight is interesting which is very rare for an episode post season 3. Her struggles are relatable and still fun to watch, and they lead to a great moral. The rest of Twilight's family all get time to shine and even Iron Will comes back. His exit at the end of the episode is by far the funniest moment of the season.

Score: 9/10

[bwrosas 252]

Good Ep.  But what they should done, is when Twilight finds out that her parents don't know what contest they won to get the cruise, she (possibly along with Cadance) should've started to do some investigating to find out what was really going on, especially when ponies start to suddenly surround them a bit later.

I mean you could still have Twilight agree to the terms with Iron Will, but use it as a cover to allow her family to investigated, to try and find evidence to expose Iron's true intention to the rest of the ponies on the cruise.  I mean you could even Star Tracker help out if you like.

But beside those slight changes (they should've made/I've would have made), overall it was a good ep. (even with it's slight jab at the fans)

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

I rather liked this episode, I loved seeing Twilight's parents again and seeing the whole family try to bond on a cruise, Iron Will wasn't too bad in this episode and he provided some good laughs, and yeah like bwrosas said I would have liked to see Twilight and Cadance investigate what was really going on on the cruise, now that would have been cool to see. 9/10

[qwerE 95]

The episode itself was very funny. As for the story, I found it a bit weird. It just didn't feel like what would actually happen in the MLP universe - It had too many 'realistic' moments. Not much to say other than that.

[Moony the Cat 3,695]

In earlier Seasons i was a bit sad that Twilight hadnt as much fans as i thought she should have, after saving the world multiple times so im happy that she is now considered a star and a found the episode very interesting. I liked it.

[bigbertha 410]

 This is pretty similar to A Health of Information in the sense that the moral is made incredibly obvious and is shoved in your face in every scene. This episode doesn't suffer from that as much because it's really funny. So many of the scenes have legitimately funny jokes which is pretty rare for this season. It helps that Iron Will is back and he's actually more enjoyable than he was in Putting Your Hoof Down. I love that all he learns from Putting Your Hoof Down is that his "money back if not satisfied" guarantee was stupid. 

The story itself is fine. Twilight is a bit more interesting than usual and her breakdown moment is pretty effective, but most of the appeal of the episode comes from everything happening around her. 

Despite everything the episode has going for it, there are some problems. For one, Star Tracker is creepy. I know that's the point, but that doesn't make him any less creepy. And some of the dialogue is really bad. Especially the introduction to Twilight's parents. They're fun characters overall, but their introductions are so forced. And the story itself is essentially the same thing happening over and over again until Twilight's breakdown. Granted, the scenes are funny, but there's still a problem there.

Overall, a great episode. If the comedy wasn't there, this would've been a lot worse, but with the comedy it's really enjoyable.

Score: 8/10

Edited March 23, 2019 by bigbertha