S08:E10 - The Break Up Break Down

[Brainstorm 4,106]

I was a little surprised to see Spike not with Twilight this episode, I know he can do things on his own, I'm just saying I almost never see him away from Twilight.

 

[Truffles 2,033]

4 hours ago, Brainstorm said:

I was a little surprised to see Spike not with Twilight this episode, I know he can do things on his own, I'm just saying I almost never see him away from Twilight.

He's an adolescent now; you know how teenagers can be - stubbornly independent even when they should know better. Though in this instance, he was hanging out exclusively with Big mac at the beginning because he's a hopeless romantic and wanted his friend's gift idea to come together perfectly.

[Truffles 2,033]

On 5/21/2018 at 3:13 AM, Music Chart Fan said:

Discord's saying that love "isn't real" is probably overstating the case. One can "believe in love" without necessarily believing in many of the stereotypes about it

It could be Discord's belief is love is nothing but a hormonal response built upon millennia of evolution to ensure any species puts procreation at a high priority. (heh) But such a clinical definition of sexual desire may not fit within the bounds of a Y-7 rating and it was simpler to leave it at him not believing anything?

On 5/21/2018 at 3:13 AM, Music Chart Fan said:

Why does Sweetie Belle push Big Mac so hard to help with the chart about potential secret admirers? Is Big Mac expected to know a lot about the CMC's male peers on the chart? And after Big Mac says "Not right now!", Sweetie Belle launches into her frustration about "having a secret admirer who's too scared to tell me who he is!". But, as far as I can tell, Big Mac doesn't know what the CMC have been up to, and doesn't even know that they're looking for Sweetie Belle's secret admirer.

Yeah, that was a little strange. I think, however, it was meant to be a continuation of the tension/suspense created by Sweetie Belle's "secret admirer" standing right before her even though she doesn't know he was the source of the gift she mistakenly received. You have Big Mac and her talking past one another, each one of them talking about their own issues, both not realizing the gift is the common connection between their two subplots. Then serendipitously, the conversion causes Big Mac to realize his mistake with Sugar Belle.

I guess if I was to retcon an actual reason for the girls to ask him for help, I suppose it would be that since their clubhouse is in the middle of the farm, perhaps they ask him for advice whenever he's working out there and they happen to be holding a meeting at the time? It's kind of a tenuous theory, though, since Mac's whole reason for not talking is because he decided he'd rather not give advice or opinions as we saw in the "Where the Apple Lies" flashbacks. But there may be an exception for his family and their friends.

On 5/21/2018 at 3:13 AM, Music Chart Fan said:

The oven in the Apple family's kitchen looks as though it has heating elements, which, as far as I know, are used in electric ovens. So it appears that the Apple family doesn't use gas, wood, or any other burnable materials to heat their oven.

Interesting observation! I had to go back and watch the beginning of the episode and you're right - the very first scene is a view from inside the oven! Considering ponies own lamps and phones in other episodes, it does seem like electricity has been harnessed in Equestria. That oven has been around in the background in other episodes that featured their kitchen, so presumably it's the same one. It kind of makes sense it would be electric (or gas) - if it burned wood it would require a flue like the ancient oven our family had for a while that came with the house. (That oven had an electric cooktop, though - go figure, lol!)

On 5/21/2018 at 3:13 AM, Music Chart Fan said:

As the pie is cooking in the oven, Big Mac is looking at what appears to be a mechanical timer, the kind which you wind up and then they count down to zero. But then the timer ticks up from 30 to 31;

I think the joke was the timer seemed like it was going in reverse for him, causing his frustration. I've seen that joke used before with a schoolroom clock, but I don't remember what show it was I saw it in anymore.

On 5/21/2018 at 3:13 AM, Music Chart Fan said:

Of course, Spike shakes hands with Discord on his "gentleman's wager", and only afterward asks about the details of what "loser mows my lawn for eternity" means. I don't recall seeing the two of them formally deciding who won and who lost, though, so it might not have mattered if the two of them kind of mutually forgot about it or dropped it.

The last scene in the episode absolved Spike of his bet, for the reasons you stated above. Earlier, Discord saw the light when he saw his friends totally down after Mac took it out on Sweetie Belle, and decided love was a worthwhile thing after all. In the end, he knew Spike was right, but of course he's not really one to say he's wrong - we only have the last O&O session of them together with Discord's reluctant mea culpa to see that trait.

On 5/21/2018 at 3:13 AM, Music Chart Fan said:

Is it also "confirmed" that the CMC are a romantic love triangle among themselves?

Nothing can stop fans from shipping characters who  have the slightest bit of intimacy with one another, even if those characters state they are only "special friends." XD (Actually, out of context that line makes it seem even more likely, lol.)

 

On 5/21/2018 at 12:55 AM, Justin_Case001 said:

I think that Discord was poking fun at the fandom when he told Spike that the O&O character he liked was just a 1-dimensional paper cutout.  I think that was little jab/nod to people with pony waifus, or just any of us folks with pony crushes.  I liked that.

That was my take on that bit of dialogue, too. A gentle poke at fans who gets crushes on fictional characters. (Of which, I plead guilty.) XD

Though Spike's final word on the matter disarmed Discord's logic, or at least seemed to say he pretty much didn't care. I guess Spike took Celestia's advice about fantasizing to heart? XD

Edited May 23, 2018 by Truffles

[Music Chart Fan 819]

1 hour ago, Truffles said:

Considering ponies own lamps and phones in other episodes, it does seem like electricity has been harnessed in Equestria. That oven has been around in the background in other episodes that featured their kitchen, so presumably it's the same one. It kind of makes sense it would be electric (or gas) - if it burned wood it would require a flue like the ancient oven our family had for a while that came with the house.

Yeah, that's a good point. I was thinking that the Apple family, on other occasions, has seemed to want to do things the "old-fashioned" way (or just continued to do things the same way out of force of habit), and I wasn't sure if using an electric oven would be consistent with that ethos. But on the other hand, we've seen that making and selling pies and other baked goods is a part of the Apple family business. And I'm no expert in baking or cooking, but a few sources I read said that electric ovens generally provide more dry (and possibly more even) heat, and therefore might be preferable for baking (as opposed to gas ovens, which generally provide more humid heat better for cooking roasts or other moist foods). So this might be a case where the Apple family uses an electric oven because it's better for their business.

Also, from what I saw, electric ovens will have a "baking" heating element on the bottom of the oven, and some ovens also have a "broiling" heating element on the top of the oven, but we see heating elements on the sides and the top of the Apple family's oven (and presumably on the bottom as well). We might think that having heating elements on multiple sides of the oven like that could help with cooking more baked goods faster (although I don't know how that might affect the baking process). So the view of the Apple family's oven we see in the episode could even be a visual cue that the Apple family has a more advanced oven model because they make a lot of pies and baked goods as part of their family business!

[Brainstorm 4,106]

17 hours ago, Truffles said:

He's an adolescent now; you know how teenagers can be - stubbornly independent even when they should know better. Though in this instance, he was hanging out exclusively with Big mac at the beginning because he's a hopeless romantic and wanted his friend's gift idea to come together perfectly.

Oh, I see.

And it was also good to see Discord found a way to express his powers without getting in trouble, with ogres and oubliettes.

[Toastypk 923]

That was real cute!

Btw, if it hasn't been mentioned, apparently the Sweetie Belle side plot was inspired by a show crew accidentally writing Sugar Belle instead of Sweetie Belle in some fashion.

[KH7672 1,604]

1 hour ago, Toastypk said:

Btw, if it hasn't been mentioned, apparently the Sweetie Belle side plot was inspired by a show crew accidentally writing Sugar Belle instead of Sweetie Belle in some fashion.

That is not surprising to me in the slightest considering I fell for a similar thing. I believe it was in the Season 8 waiting thread someone regarding the leak abbreviated Big Mac and Sugar Belle as BM and SB and was talking about their relationship and it jumped out to me as Button Mash and Sweetie Belle (a ship I personally do not like) but wow is it crazy how similar names are in this series .

Edited May 23, 2018 by KH7672

[Toastypk 923]

2 hours ago, KH7672 said:

That is not surprising to me in the slightest considering I fell for a similar thing. I believe it was in the Season 8 waiting thread someone regarding the leak abbreviated Big Mac and Sugar Belle as BM and SB and was talking about their relationship and it jumped out to me as Button Mash and Sweetie Belle (a ship I personally do not like) but wow is it crazy how similar names are in this series .

Sweetie Belle gets all the colts?

And this is the closest you'll get to a shipping chart in the real show

Edited May 23, 2018 by Toastypk

[CypherHoof 26,482]

2 hours ago, Toastypk said:

Sweetie Belle gets all the colts?

And this is the closest you'll get to a shipping chart in the real show

her zap apple cider brings all the colts to the yard.... 

[Truffles 2,033]

Even after seeing this episode at least a dozen times, I'm still catching things I missed, like Discord's creating extra digits as needed.

[Justin_Case001 4,881]

On 5/22/2018 at 9:09 PM, Truffles said:

It could be Discord's belief is love is nothing but a hormonal response built upon millennia of evolution to ensure any species puts procreation at a high priority. (heh)

So....what you're sayin' is Discord shares Rick's thoughts on love?

Spoiler

 

I like it!  (Just substitute "chaos" in place of "science".) 

[JCKane 345]

Dang, this episode was awesome!  a few funny lines that got me laughing. "For a former friendless, immortal despot, you're pretty cynical." being one of them.  Also love the call backs to other episodes like the Guy's night one.  And another episode about Romance which is rare.  ugh... bugging me I can't remember the other quote that really got me laughing... only remember that one because it was in the pole

[Sh Pie 65]

As expected from Discord, this episode was pretty awesome. I loved the scene in the bar when he was teaching Spike and Big Mac the art of cool leaning. Their dynamic is really natural and brings a lot of humor. Of course there was also the sideplot with my favorite cute CMC trying to find her non-existent secret admirer after receiving the pie intended for Sugar Belle. It's interesting how easily a misunderstanding can be caused when 2 ponies have really similar names. Big Mac on the other hand should've just talked to his girlfriend instead of immediately jumping to the conclusion that she was going to dump him. This is the typical cliche you see in soap operas all the time. It's not a bad trope when used in moderation though and here it's important to teach viewers the moral. It was also a funny moment when Big Mac starts leaning unconsciously as he pre-emptively breaks up with her and then Sugar Belle calling him out on it. I like how this ship draws out the more talkative and emotive side of Big Mac and even the softer side of Discord after he helped them make up from behind the scenes.

I noticed after the breakup that Lyra and Bonbon (the background ponies who were important in the 100th milestone episode) exchanged Hearts and Hooves Day cards. Hmmm, does this mean their relationship has escalated to a level that is no longer platonic and they are actually homosexuals? It was the same montage that featured other romantic pairs including the recently formed Maud/Mud ship. I just thought I'd bring it up since most fiction only has heterosexual relationships except for soap operas which are more grounded and therefore include a variety of hetero, homo and bi characters.

[JCKane 345]

On ‎6‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 12:56 PM, Sh Pie said:

I noticed after the breakup that Lyra and Bonbon (the background ponies who were important in the 100th milestone episode) exchanged Hearts and Hooves Day cards. Hmmm, does this mean their relationship has escalated to a level that is no longer platonic and they are actually homosexuals? It was the same montage that featured other romantic pairs including the recently formed Maud/Mud ship. I just thought I'd bring it up since most fiction only has heterosexual relationships except for soap operas which are more grounded and therefore include a variety of hetero, homo and bi characters.

I would like to point out that they exchanged gifts, not exactly cards.  But it wouldn't be unheard of for friends to exchange gifts on a 'valentine's day' equivalent.  As they could see it more as a 'time to celebrate love' even if it just means 'love one has for their friends'.

While they're also not kids... kids do exchange valentine cards even though they don't exactly 'like like' said person.  And the Cutie Mark Crusaders did go out of their way to give that big card to their teacher for the holiday in the first episode this holiday showed up.  So it could of been a simple gesture like that.

[BlinkZ 1,151]

I"m not good at long revies like others but eh never was one for shipping but this episdoe is great. Kind of saw the whoel moving ot ponyville thing coming.

Yes Hasbro we get it you have lesbian couple in the show.. -_- i don't care. (sorry)

 

[Soaring Symphony 372]

Why did a Hearts and Hooves Day episode come out in the middle of May?  Valentine's Day is in February. 

[Barnstormer 112]

I have a love/hate view of this episode. While there were a lot of awesome elements and it was fairly sweet, I'm also kind of sick of the 'easily avoidable mistake/issue that happens simply because two characters refuse to talk to each other properly' trope.

Eh, at least FlutterCord is basically canon now. XP

[Allen 1,387]

This is another Hearts and Hooves Day episode. Big McIntosh was about to give a heart pie to Sugar Belle for Hearts and Hooves Day. Big McIntosh was heart-brokened from Sugar Belle saying that they'll both leave each other in rotten luck, but at the ending part they both together again as a re-engagement during the day of Hearts and Hooves after helping her when she fell to the mud. Don't worry, Sugar Belle, I'll clean the mud off of you with shampoo and water to make your hooves, mane, and coat clean as always!  Don't leave him, Sugar Belle; you still love him since last year! Big McIntosh, don't be harsh like this. Breakups are not worth it that way! This is the blast from the past from "Hard to Say Anything" (S7E8) episode. The Cutie Mark Crusaders shares laugh over the mix-up, and Discord admitted that he believes in love after all. I cheered up for that too! 

And this episode, is great when they share love with each other during the day of Hearts and Hooves and do so being together again between Sugar Belle and Big McIntosh with luck! 

[Brainstorm 4,106]

Big Mac sure was surprised when one of Spike's hunches was correct, about SugarBelle's wacky cousin who hasn't been on his own.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

I rather enjoyed the episode. Poor Big Mac. He went through a lot before everything was settled.

[Senko 459]

On 5/20/2018 at 5:25 PM, tm2dragon said:

I really REALLY want to watch this episode! T_T Sadly, can't find a version that doesn't have the subtitles burned in (can't turn them off, they're part of the video), and they are SUPER distracting!  Am I the only one with this problem?

Oddly I have the other problem I prefer it with subtitles and can't find one without.

On 5/21/2018 at 9:56 AM, Truffles said:

@Dark Qiviut

• I have to think some of the colts in town would have asked the CMC out by now, especially because of the intimate way they have to interact with the town's ponies to solve their cutie mark problems. One would think a relationship could easily spring from that. (Heck, many in the fandom shipped Tender Taps with Apple Bloom from that exact sort of thing!)

 

Perhaps they think the CMC's are the same kind of "best friends" as LyraBon and are looking elsewhere for love? Pip definately seeemed to be going somewhere in a hurry on heart's and hooves day.

Some cute and funny moments here most of what I could say has been said so I'll just say did Discord fix Sugar's wagon or did Big Mac really repair a splintered branch by hammering it back on?

Edited July 2, 2018 by Senko

[FirePuppy 734]

On 5/19/2018 at 4:55 PM, Star Light said:

This episode was pretty good. Without the mane 6, it gives room to help other characters grow. So far, this one I enjoyed the most out of Season 8.

 

I think this episode was by far, the WORST PIECE OF GARBAGE EVER!. Nowadays they never give any of the Mane Six even a brief appearance to episodes that focus on the other characters. What's more, in that Pinkie Pie episode, The Maud Couple, I was really hoping that the rest of the Mane Six will be absent for the first time in a Pinkie episode, but at the last minute, they ALL appeared anyway!

For the rest of the season, I don't want to see more than one more episode with no Mane Six whatsoever.

Even yet, Fluttershy and Pinkie still each need an episode without any of the rest of the Mane Six appearing at all, as so do the three princesses (Celestia/Luna/Cadance) and Sunburst.

[Buttonmash1973 1,026]

Looking back in Winter when the leaked version had a song and different music at the post office.

[Dynamo Pad 11,270]

I found this episode to be pretty enjoyable. I like how we get another Hearts and Hooves day episode, since we haven't had an episode like that since season 2. Discord was really funny and enjoyable in this episode. I also like how he went through the different types of tea when he was on the TV. I could really see Discord hosting his own show on tea. It was surprising to see how down Big Mac was feeling when he thought Sugar Belle broke up with him. I found it pretty interesting how the mail ponies worked in the post office. I also liked how the crusaders thought that Sweetie Belle thought she got a secret admirer. I did like how they asked Button Mash if he had sent the pie. I could be wrong, but I wonder if that was a nod to the fan pairing of Button Mash and Sweetie Belle. It was also pretty funny how Sweetie asked Snips and Snails, while at the same time hoping they didn't send the pie. It was shocking that Big Mac just ended the relationship, but it was great to see that he went back to Sugar Belle to talk things out. The moral was really well done and the comedy was pretty funny. All in all, I thought this episode was pretty good. I hope we get to see holidays like Hearts and Hooves day, appear later down the line in the series. 

[Senko 459]

"Did you two send me a pie? Its ok to say no." 'please say no, please say no, please say no' very much a young girl dealing with the possibility of a boy she doesn't like liking her.