S08:E10 - The Break Up Break Down

[heavens-champion 1,905]

So, where can I watch it?

[YoshiAngemon 223]

In all honesty, I was kind of expecting Sweetie Belle to go after a reluctant Rumble, probably scaring the guy away, like in 7:23 of the above video. It's not MY fault @SaburoDaimando liked to characterize Rumble as a "Junior Waifu Thief!"

[Truffles 2,033]

1 hour ago, ggg-2 said:

Wait, Sugar Belle's already a baker with her own self-run bakery. Why would she want to apprentice under Mrs. Cake?

Was going to reply, but saw @Batbrony's post above. Pretty much what he said - Sugar Belle is good at baking but she has a limited repertoire of recipes under her belt. Taking up cooking under another chef is a good way to improve one's talent.

This episode was great, and it's going to take a while to put all my thoughts together. This may be the first time in years I've seen an episode for a TV show and felt compelled to compile a list of my favorite quotes because they were just so damn funny. @Dark Qiviut has been posting his, and I'll try not to step on his toes. There's also some amazing visual gags that I didn't notice when I watched the leaked version that are worth pointing out.

And for me at least, this is just the warm-up. Spike may have been top-notch in this outing, but next week I feel like the final version of that episode is going to have him hit it out of the park. We'll see - so excited! In fact, the whole run of episodes starting with this one seem to be strong leading up to the mid-season hiatus. It's wonderful.

The downside? Waiting for Saturday to roll around felt like it was taking forever. Now I have to wait all over again. At least I now have this episode to rewatch a dozen times or more to keep me occupied.

[Dark Qiviut 22,438]

I don't know who was nuts enough to think Discord, Spike, and Big Mac would make a great team, but whoever it is, thank you! This dynamic is outstanding. Big Mac, Spike, and Discord all act like they knew each other for years, even though this trio only formed in season 6. It's organic, they play off one another, and share great chemistry.

Speaking of chemistry, Spike and Discord are outstanding in their best outings in probably the show. Discord's cynicism towards H&HD, and love in particular, plays off spectacularly with Spike, who's very optimistic. To think that only a few seasons ago, Discord was one of his enemies, but from the way they talked to each other and knew each other so well, you wouldn't think so. How they interacted with one another was among the multi-dozens highlights here, such as Spike criticizing Discord's pessimism to Spike intentionally teasing Discord for possibly having a crush on Fluttershy to Discord ignoring Spike's sappy romantic poem about Rarity. They know how to get under each other's skin without crossing the line, making their teasing all in good fun rather than mean-spirited.

One of the season's biggest improvements — the dialogue — is really shown here. Every line's so organic, even when it's somewhat expository, gelling together. Every line oozed with personality and passion, whether it's from the O&O squad or the CMCs. The dialogue allows for not just some amazing comedy, but also some heart. More 'bout the latter later.

The comedy here is golden! Every joke landed perfectly, from the dialogue responses to the satirically cheesy love music playing in the background as Big Mac rushes to Sugar Belle to Big Mac's drinking a barrel-load of cider to Sweetie's "Please say no." Oh, yeah, and that jab towards the greeting card industry by Discord is too funny.

Oh, yeah…

>Lyra and Bob Bon sharing H&HD bond & gifts

>best friends

Riiiiiiiight. XP

The CMCs were also fantastic here. All season so far, they've been at their A-game. The episode recognizes them as kids, but doesn't make them so obnoxious. They were right to wonder where that mysterious pie came from and search high and low to find him. But the and does a nice swerve: They may not have found that actual special somepony for SB, but had a magnificent time together, anyway. Sweetie's small speech at the end had quite a lot of heart in it.

Speaking of heart, as hilarious as TBUBD is, Confalone found how to balance it perfectly. Big Mac's sadness was somewhat over the top, but treated with the respect it deserves. His romantic feelings with Sugar Belle feel genuine, and you can tell by how he talked about the small stuff to Skeleanor, like how Sugar snorts and wiggles her nose when she giggles (something that @Nyactis Mewcis Catlum pointed out a while ago in a status). Big Mac doesn't talk much, so when he does, you listen. After they cleared up everything, it was all okay again, and they had a great end to Hearts & Hooves Day.

Discord's revelation of finally believing in romance works perfectly and marks my moment of the season so far: revealing to damage her wagon wheel. Why? 'Cause he believes it while remaining in character and figured out how to get them back together his way. Somehow, he predicted what Big Mac was going to do next. Really shows he cares for him as a friend.

Derpy was great in her role as mailmare.

Oh, and it has two morals, each executed masterfully:

1. "Don't assume. Communicate with your friends, and everything will work itself out."
    
2. "Don't be afraid to openly admit your feelings. Those who care for you will listen and understand." This one is my favorite of the season so far, because it's so relatable to everyone.

When I first watched it in December, I watched a treat. Seeing it completed gives it such a fresh look, and it still holds up excellent. The Break Up Break Down isn't just the best episode of Season 8 so far, but one of the ten best of the show altogether, as well.

Edited May 19, 2018 by Dark Qiviut

[Ganondorf8 11,322]

Now that was a pretty good episode and one where none of the Mane Six made an appearance. I've got to give huge props to Peter New for his stellar performance as Big Mac especially when he goes through all of those emotions. I'll admit that the plot was predictable and there were a couple of cringe-worthy moments, but I was honestly shocked at how Spike figured out Sugar Belle's reasoning for wanting to talk with Big Mac without even realizing it. I thought that was just a throwaway idea and not the actual reason.

[ggg-2 3,553]

Knowing that Sugar Belle will be visiting Ponyville more often makes me want a Parent Map style episode in season 9 where Big Mac gets called by the Map to fix a problem unintentionally brought on by him neglecting Spike and Discord in favor of Sugar Belle. Or, maybe him introducing her to O&O.

Edited May 19, 2018 by ggg-2

[Sparklefan1234 171,632]

48 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Oh, yeah…

>Lyra and Bob Bon sharing H&HD bond & gifts

>best friends

Riiiiiiiight. XP

Yay! 

I love seeing Lyra & Bon Bon's relationship being shown as two ponies who love...Oooh, candy!  

In all seriousness, I liked this episode, Sugar Belle was adorable & I hope we see her & Big Mac get married in the future! 

Edited May 19, 2018 by Sparklefan1234

[FlareGun45 2,221]

It's nice that Spike has a starring role in an episode without Twilight appearing! A whole episode to himself without the Mane Six! Now that's just great!  

[CastletonSnob 3,074]

How is the next episode?

[Truffles 2,033]

1 hour ago, MegaSean45 said:

It's nice that Spike has a starring role in an episode without Twilight appearing! A whole episode to himself without the Mane Six! Now that's just great!  

It's funny, I didn't even quite notice the Mane 6 never made any appearances at all. For some reason when I watched the leak I thought they were standing around in the background, but that's not the case. This episode took that one idea of "Slice of Life" to a new level.

39 minutes ago, VG_Addict said:

How is the next episode?

Awesome, just like this one.

[Luminance 2,186]

Definitely a better episode than last week's episode, Non Compete Clause. And no mane 6 in presence.

Spike was pretty great in this episode written well and with enough support to carry an episode. Discord cleverly and outstandingly nailed it for his abilities and together with their interaction with Big Mac really shows how great these three is. Funny thing is, Discord denies his affection for Fluttershy, but of course which is a clever way from the writers that they know what they're doing! 

This episode works especially for these three characters. The dynamic and dialogue between the three is really a great way to expand and to freshen up the show as a whole. It was funny, endearing, entertaining and it brought alot from these characters that we don't really get to see often. I want more from the trio.

Communicating is the key in this episode as loose interpretation of words can come off as the wrong way with Sugar Belle and Big Mac's relationship. The way it was done was good and it thickened the plot of the episode well enough with a good resolution. Also the Cmc's was an added bonus on their little quest of the mystery admirer. A little bit of everything works out at the end.

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.

 

[Will Guide 21,360]

I love the resolves:

Big Mac and Sugar Belle realized there was a misunderstanding

Discord helped to get them back together after doing the wrong thing of giving Big Mac bad advice.

The CMC realized the letter was a mix-up but took it quite well.

And Spike apparently seems to ship Discord and Fluttershy together.

All in all, this was a fine episode to me.

[Dark Qiviut 22,438]

The scene of Chef Discord counting the teas he loves is a showcase of masterful editing. They lowered the audio quality to replicate it to that of the old analog/rabbit-ear TV design.

[Oleks 1,993]

So, an episode without the Mane Six, but with Spike and CMCs, huh? 

I'm not a fan of romance-related FiM episodes (and this season had enough of them already), but this one had a thing I really enjoyed - Discord. And this time it had nothing to do with references or the usual Discord's humor. I really like the fact that he has more friends now, and he really cares about them. And his views on love and holidays are quite relatable.

Also, Ponyville mail service really needs better supervision. 

[Thrond 3,263]

[bad opinions deleted]

Edited May 20, 2018 by AlexanderThrond
sleep-deprived post I no longer stand by

[Misty Shadow 7,913]

3 hours ago, heavens-champion said:

So, where can I watch it?

https://mega.nz/embed#!ijRlkY6D!xiX2lwRlqccTNn8J5exH9VAAFYqTOP9Llv82fPh7R5M

I didn't go in expecting much from this one not being a fan of Hard to Say Anything, and guess what? I was pleasantly surprised once again. The plot was nowhere near as straightforward as it could've been and had me curious of what was going to happen next the whole time. While we knew that Sugar Belle wasn't really going to break up with Big Mac, I actually laughed at Spike's attempts to rationalize what Sugar was really talking about and explain how what we saw coming would happen. "Even I don't buy that one!". Then it turns out at the end that guess of his was right. It's funny to me because they did a good job making it seem like there was nothing else Sugar could've meant besides breaking up with him in the conversation they eavesdropped on. They also did some clever things for the Cutie Mark Crusaders plot, like having Sweetie Belle's name being similar to Sugar Belle's as a way to explain the confusion of who the package was for and Button Mash's cameo as one of the ponies they thought Sweetie's secret admirer was. And to top it all off, we get to wonder what caused Discord to not believe in love...nah, I'm kidding. We know for a fact at this point that he and Celestia totally dated.

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

Aww, that was such a cute episode 

I liked this one a lot. I hate the silly mix-up style plot where someone overhears something and makes assumptions, however this episode did so many things right that I can look past that. The humour was on point, especially discord, and it got proper real too (commercialism, student debts) which was great. It was also sweet to see how much Sugar Belle and Big Mac love each other, and I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. The inclusion of the CMCs was also great and their ending was just as sweet as Sugar Belle and Big Mac's. All around a great episode, one of the best this season, though it doesn't quite beat Horse Play.

[Goat-kun 2,527]

A correctly prepared love misunderstanding missing the wow effect that would elevate it above others of its kind.

[Sonic5421 425]

After watching this episode, I did enjoy seeing the chaotic antics of Discord as he and Spike tried to help out Big Mac until he took his anger over everything regarding Sugar Belle out on Sweetie Belle, realizing his error and making amends with Sugar Belle afterwards, with a little help from Discord.

Also, nice to see the continuity from Discord, Big Mac, and Spike still having their Boys Night with Ogres & Oubliettes as well. Not to mention seeing that Sugar Belle will be spending some time as a student to Mrs. Cake at Sugarcube Corner so she can be with Big Mac more often.

As the latest Hearts & Hooves Day themed episode, I give it a 9.5/10.

[ImpctR 155]

OK influenced by the overall mood, I can give it a 5/5 because I started liking these two very much, I was with the setting 'I don't care that much about Big Mac and Sugar Belle' but that has changed a bit. A nice episode by Nick Confalone.

A pleasant surprise: Discord, it's been a while and I was wondering when he was going to show up in some episode. Good to see him in his usual sarcastic way. Since when are they so good friends with Spike? I've forgotten but I remember that episode featuring the D&D game that reappears here, which name I also forgot. Well the other one was Starlight's game with Sunburst, maybe there was another episode with another game, never mind.

BigMac talking again, nice, and I just started adoring him and Sugar Belle, they are so cute, I was afraid that any of them could be with a broken heart but it looked like they didn't believe there was anything to cause a sudden break up for real to take it badly, so this made the episode pleasant.

I almost got my eyes wet when they explained each other the miscommunication and the reunion that happened, and I don't get emotional from mlp episodes, im like Discord, indifferent and cold but this moment changed it almost.

Lyra and Bon Bon love yay, there is never redundancy of seeing those two <3

Not caring much about CMCs and their secret admirer's story, sorry. Funny: Did Spike blush over the skeleton paper pony? New ship goodbye Rarispike? A nice tickle at the rarispike ship and their supporters.

Overall a slice of ep that is not my type of fave episodes but I'm pleased with such light episodes too sometimes.

 

[RDDash 19,189]

Oh fine I will give this episode a pass, it was still a meh type of episode that did the Valentine day in the middle of May(I guess) I don't think I like Discord episodes that much, don't really care about DxD, and he is very much at fault in this episode.

Edited May 20, 2018 by R.D.Dash

[YoshiAngemon 223]

Just now, R.D.Dash said:

Oh fine I will give this episode a pass, it was still a meh type of episode that did the Valentine day in the middle of May

If Discovery Family were STILL the Hub Network, then the seasons would've begun in the fall, and we would've had this episode air during February, and the upcoming Hearth's Warming Eve episode air in December.

[RDDash 19,189]

Just now, YoshiAngemon said:

If Discovery Family were STILL the Hub Network, then the seasons would've begun in the fall, and we would've had this episode air during February, and the upcoming Hearth's Warming Eve episode air in December.

not that big of a deal

[Jon the VGNerd 885]

Great episode, and want to see more of Skelenor. She deserves more development and screentime; no voice actress is needed. She may be just a cardboard and doesn't normally speak, but to see her show her bashful yet caring nature (even though she wanted Big Mac and the two teleport back) when it comes to Big Mac is amazing in itself, especially when she gave Discord the "help him out" look.

Goodness, I wanna see her more! 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Not as bad as I thought it would be. Feels like some people in society today, overhearing something and then making assumptions after...but yet another character with super adorable laughter: Sugar Belle!