Holiday Special - Best Gift Ever

[GiFTGewEhrSCHutzen-4 8,827]

Actually liked the Christmas Special, I also liked the scene with RD and Discord with a G.I. Joe Reference, with RD dressed as Storm Shadow, and Discord as Snake Eyes. Also, I felt sad for Marble Pie after witnessing Big Mac being with Sugar Belle. Also love the Derpy scene as well. Man, that was funny as hell. And one last thing, Discord as a Lumiere candle (Disney's Beauty and the Beast). Found that hilarious too. XD

[bigbertha 410]

Ranking the subplots:

1. Rarity: Everything about it was just nice

2. Rainbow/Discord: Seeing the two of them interacting was fun

3. Applejack/Fluttershy: Standard Flim and Flam stuff, but at least it was funny

4. Pinkie: Everything up to the Reindeers was pretty good, but the stuff with the Reindeers was dull

5. Spike: Cute, but not much else

6. Twilight: Just more evidence that the writers don't how to make Twilight funny outside of making her go crazy again. And making other characters self aware about this doesn't help. Twilight's "Pudding" face was so unnatural and "LOL random" that it just made me groan

 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

Oh this was so good and fun to watch. Ugh and how we all stress over Christmas gifts. 

Shining Armor's parkour though and Applejack's "yay". There were too many great things about this special. 

[BornAgainBrony 2,395]

On 10/28/2018 at 3:36 AM, Nightmare Muffin said:

guys. Guys, we need to talk about this. the new xmas special woke? “quit buying cheaply made yet overpriced dolls” yet hasbro’s big thing this year is releasing blind boxes with gimmicks we’ve seen before and rereleasing the same brushable gimmicks we’ve seen before with reused accessories Hmm

To be fair, Hasbro never did what Flim & Flam did. It wasn't about the quality of the doll. It was about the circular reasoning behind the marketing. "Gift of the Year."  I don't know if there's a specific name for the con but it felt similar to a pyramid scheme. I'm actually surprised F&F didn't just go ahead and do that.

[Twilight Luna 30,917]

......

Edited October 30, 2018 by Twilight Luna

[StitchandMLPlover 930]

I really liked this one. It was super predictable in terms of the plot but they did enough with it that it was totally worth watching. I loved the scene with the Apples,Pears,and Pies together at Applejack's. I loved the development of Shinning Armor and Twilight's relationship. I thought it was hilarious that it was Rainbow Dash who got driven mad by Discord this time to spice things up since Discord usually bothers Twilight. The songs were good especially the ending song. 

[BornAgainBrony 2,395]

I'm now pretty much sold on the idea that Discord was actually playing Tirek the entire time in the S4 finale. His gift was brilliant and it's not at all hard to see that he may have done the same thing for Twilight.

Ohhh, and yeah. Cadence finally got to actually do something cool without any help!

Edited October 30, 2018 by BornAgainBrony

[RDDash 18,847]

I am not sure I remember it exactly but since everyone is making such a big deal about AJs hat, they already had exact same argument with the hat salespony where Rarity is learned the lesson that every single hat deserves a chance to be liked by somepony

[DonMaguz 1,023]

AJ said the hat chooses the pony, like when her father gave her hers. But what if she meant the hat model and not exactly said hat? Sure, AJ has tons of hats and some of them have been lost... but every single one was the same model her father gave her.

Given AJ's line of work and her hobbies (like rodeo), it's no wonder that she might have so many replacements, and that we have only seen a little sample of her destroyed hats.

[Thrond 3,257]

 

14 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

"Okay guys, here's the deal: you refund everypony's money, and I won't shove every last one of these dolls up your ass, including the boxes.  Capiche?"

I don't think Applejack would get away with that. 

14 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

Oh, and Shiny and Candy were actually....like...into each other, there.  ...That was kinda hot. 

They definitely had some fun that night, if you know what I mean. 

[Purple Pharaoh 23]

This is going to sound like an insult but it's not meant as such; it came across as a very good fan fiction. They sure nodded to the brony audience in terms of inside jokes and yet it was still entertaining enough for kids who are not part of the in-depth fandom and didn't take away from the actual content at all.

Some of the things I liked:

The opening song was so catchy! My favorite MLP songs have always been the more theatrical/Broadway style ones.

Marble Pie...heartbreaking (I didn't LIKE this per se, but it's nice continuity and gives a sympathetic quality to otherwise unremarkable character)

The Apple/Pie/Pear togetherness

Rainbow Dash and Discord interacting

Fluttershy shooting down AJ's yay.

Flurry Heart dressed like a star. I'm not a huge fan but that was cute. I can't deny it.

Twily bananas is best Twilight. 

Pinkie Pie being the right amount of enthusiastic and comical without being being grating.

Rarity being generous without being heavy handed about it.

A.J.'s sweet comment about her father and her hat.

[Truffles 2,033]

On 10/28/2018 at 8:26 PM, DonMaguz said:

I was a bit annoyed at Spike wanting to switch at all costs and he performed a jerkish move on Fluttershy to achieve his goal.

On 10/29/2018 at 3:55 AM, bwrosas said:

Was the whole Sub-plot of Sparity, mostly Spike wanting to get a gift for Rarity, and when he finds out he didn't get her, the lengths he goes to, to get her, even going as far as a quick talking/smooth talking Fluttershy into a trade (because she just happens to have Rarity, and Spike has RD), is one things fans didn't like.

Eh, I think it keeps Spike from becoming a Gary Stu if he has a few dark streaks like this, and it shows he still has some "typical" dragon in him. The funny thing is this scene is worse than it seems. If someone saw these screenshots...

...without any context, a first-time viewer would think he's the villain in the series. But as was stated by others, he could have asked and Fluttershy would have willingly traded with him. Plus he was so happy and excited to find Rarity's Secret Santa, it pretty much disarmed the scene for me.

It is curious, however, why he thinks he needs to trick others in order to get certain things. I'd love to blame Sludge's con artistry for rubbing off on Spike a little too much for this behavior, but he acted this way back in S3 in "Just for Sidekicks" - and with Fluttershy again no less! And he also stated he was going to sweet talk a valuable hoofball card out of Big Mac back in the opening of "The Cutie Map." So this is just how he behaves sometimes. I don't know if it's just a lack of maturity, or if there really is some instinctual dragon behavior in that otherwise big heart of his that refuses to be completely suppressed.

I guess if nothing else, this is (S9 spoiler ahead):

Spoiler

practice for the animators when he gets turned evil for an episode, if the leaks are indeed true.

 

 

21 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

And don't get me started on how Twilight used Spike as live bait to distract him. C'mon, man! Does Father Knows Beast matter at all?

My initial reaction to this was an angry, "Hey!" But I have to believe Twilight would never intentionally hurt Spike and I calmed down as the scene played out. More than the safety issue, it was the fact that she scared him which made it unsettling.

 

20 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

Oh, and incidentally, does he just not have any long term memory, or what?  Why was he trying to act all nonchalant and cover for himself when he freaking told Rarity that he has a crush on her in Secret of My Excess?  And he was doing that with everypony, as if they don't know.  Doesn't he realize that it's not a secret?  And then he spilled his guts with that song!  Why try to hide it anymore?

What was weird is Rarity seems to have no memory either. When he acted all goofy around her while she was describing the hat she had ordered (and he pretty much gave away he was thinking about her again) she just sat there confused and them shrugged it off. One would think she'd remember what happened in "Secret of My Excess." She certainly remembered the "being grabbed" part of it during "Molt Down." XD

At least the rest of the Mane 6 seem to remember, though. AJ's line to him about not having Rarity was hilarious. XD

20 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

I liked that they included a brief shot of the Sisters, and seeing Ocellus at home with Steve and the other changelings was cool.  Too bad we didn't Yona with the Yaks, or Gallus with the griffons, or Smolder with Ember and the dragons.

That scene of Gallus leaving is interesting: Last we saw, he didn't want anything to do with having to return home for the holidays, but he had no problems with it here. If this special really is covering the events of the very next HWE, I wonder what happened in the interim for him to change his mind? Did Grandpa Gruff, Gabby, and the young griff reluctantly agree to have a pleasant get-together this time? Nothing in the finale seemed to indicate the griffons were affected, so having the magic disappear and return shouldn't be a factor.

20 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

Ah, ye olde compression of time, where it takes all day to reach Canterlot by train, but Pinkie can go to Yakyakistan and back in an afternoon.

At least they remembered to have Fluttershy mention she had no bits for the return train ride from Rainbow Falls after she got ripped off.

13 hours ago, Bas said:

Did Rarity and AJ gift anything? Only that old doll RD threw away right after?

Rarity didn't have anything. It appears that AJ gave Spike one of Flim and Flam's crappy dolls as a consolation gift, which he immediately managed to break. XD

 

Edited October 31, 2018 by Truffles
typo

[Phosphor 11,522]

Finally watched this and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I laughed my butt off when Twilight was stressing out over everything. From long lists, to diagrams...Oh, Twilight, only you can make pudding so complicated. 

Also, yayy! on Derpy getting another speaking role. I think they got the post office scene right too. It really is like that. 

[Midnight Solace 5,129]

I love how Twilight was stressing out most of the time.

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, this was an okay special episode. It has its nice moments throughout, although I would say that I liked some subplots of this episode more so than others. I'm not really a fan of the Yaks, nor of seeing Equestrians fall for yet another of Flim's and Flam's schemes (at least until one or more of the Mane Six put a stop to them), so I didn't really find those subplots very entertaining. However, Twilight's going "Twily-nanas" and Spike's mission to get Rarity's name and then figure out what to get her were okay, and I generally liked Discord's pushing Rainbow to get a good gift for Fluttershy, as well as Rarity's demonstration of generosity to Pistachio and his family.

The three reindeer - Aurora, Bori, and Alice - are pleasant enough characters, but their existence and introduction in this episode seem to come completely out of nowhere. We have a character that can see into the past, and another character that can see into the future (plus a third in the present that keeps the two of them in line). And what do these characters do, exactly, especially considering these great abilities that they apparently possess? Have they just been sitting in their house at the north pole, in secrecy, doing nothing in particular for the whole run of the show? Are they supposed to be the equivalent of Santa Claus, except that they actually exist and actually give gifts to people? But two minutes after they're introduced, the scene with them is over, and we don't see them again until the last few lines of narration (and a one-second flashback). It seems strange to me to introduce these new characters with great abilities, only to be used for essentially a single subplot, and to be seen for about three minutes total in the episode.

This episode also had a couple of surprises in the romantic feelings department. The portrayal of Spike's crush on Rarity seemed to be stronger in this episode than it's been in a while (although, of course, some Rarijack fuel also had to make an appearance), and I'm not sure how I feel about that still not being resolved. And I completely forgot about Marble's implied feelings for Big Mac a few seasons ago until that was suddenly brought up in the scene of Marble being crushed at seeing Big Mac and Sugar Belle snuggling up to each other. So now that situation with Marble seems to be left unresolved for now, as well.

I don't think I have any other bigger-picture observations, so here are the rest of my miscellaneous observations:

If the Student Six are leaving to go home for the holidays, then this is presumably a different year than the one shown in "The Hearth's Warming Club", since in that episode, the Student Six had all agreed to stay at school with Gallus for the winter break.

Boy, that's some strong parchment that Twilight used for her big list that Spike's hauling around.

If Twilight is grading midterms just before Hearth's Warming Eve, then that must mean that Friendship School classes span at least both of what we would consider the fall and spring semesters.

Using the term "Hearth's Warming Helper" to mean essentially a gift exchange seems a bit weird to me; I've never heard of people using "Christmas Helper" or "Holiday Helper" to refer to a gift exchange. Plus, the alliteration with "helper" makes my mind think of Hamburger Helper.

In order to do the gift exchange, Twilight tears off the top of her checklist to make slips of paper to write the names on. So what, was that part of the list not important? Did it just so happen to cover the shopping for Twilight's friends that she no longer has to do?

Also, was it really necessary to draw everyone's cutie marks (or Spike's wing), rather than just, you know, writing people's names? It reminds me of how, in "The Break Up Break Down", Big Mac addressed his boxed pie to Sugar Belle by drawing pictures of sugar cubes and a bell, rather than writing her name (and her address!).

Since seemingly no one else besides Applejack has done a gift exchange before, I half-expected someone to draw his/her own name and just go with it, not realizing that everyone is supposed to be buying gifts for someone else.

When Spike asks Applejack if it's against the rules to trade names, he gives an example of "Like if I had a better idea for somepony special? I mean specific?", but that's a strange thing for Spike to be saying, since later on it's revealed that Spike has no ideas for what to get Rarity.

When Pinkie scatters the presents in her room, one of them lands on Limestone's head, and she rips off the wrapping paper and opens the box to show her face with nothing in front of it. So what, was that just a gift-wrapped empty box?

Discord says that Fluttershy told him about the gift exchange, but how long has it been since everyone drew names - no more than a couple of hours or so? Does Fluttershy talk with Discord that frequently?

Why are Flim and Flam selling what appears to be a mass-produced toy at something called the "Rainbow Falls Hearth's Warming Craft Fair"? Does this craft fair have organizers who give out or rent out spaces for people to (presumably) sell their crafts? If so, did Flim and Flam mislead or lie to the organizers about what they were selling? Did the craft fair organizers not really care whether sellers at the craft fair were actually selling crafted (rather than mass-produced) goods?

If Rarity was getting her package delivered to her boutique, so that she could then give it to Applejack for her gift, then why was Applejack's name or Sweet Apple Acres ever involved in the mailing process? The post office doesn't need to know that Rarity's package is actually a gift for Applejack, so why wasn't the package just addressed to Rarity's Boutique, period? Did Rarity order gift wrapping and a label saying "For Applejack" before the package was shipped? If so, are there not standardized labels or protocols for stating where packages are actually supposed to be shipped? Maybe not, considering that back in "The Break Up Break Down", Big Mac's package for Sugar Belle had nothing more than a drawing of sugar cubes and a bell on it.

But then, if Rarity's package did have a "For Applejack" label, then why did Oak Nut and Butternut open the package thinking that it was for them? Since they weren't expecting to receive a package, did they not look for a label indicating who the package was from or what it might be?

Oh, goody, we have another intentionally designed meme on our hands with Twilight's "puuudding" line and the accompanying face. I don't see any good reason why Twilight would have made that face or reacted that way, other than just to intentionally create the next meme.

Fluttershy says that she and Applejack never got presents for Rainbow or Spike, but didn't Applejack have fire-dancing sticks and a Power Ponies comic earlier? She was carrying those things in a bag as though she had already bought them. Or was Applejack just carrying them around as she considered buying them, but then never actually bought them?

In Twilight's kitchen, Cadance was holding Flurry Heart, so in order to get away, Flurry Heart teleports a sack of flour into Cadance's arm at the same time that she teleports herself away. But does that sack of flour really have the same weight and feel as holding Flurry Heart, such that Cadance never even notices the difference? Do Shining Armor and Twilight not see and point out that Cadance is holding a sack of flour where Flurry Heart used to be? Furthermore, Flurry Heart is flying around and messing with stuff just behind Twilight, right in Shining Armor's and Cadance's line of sight. Do the two of them really not see Flurry Heart moving around behind Twilight? Plus, if Flurry Heart is prone to teleporting off and using her magic to mess with things (and potentially endangering herself), shouldn't Shining Armor and Cadance have learned to keep a closer eye on her?

Fluttershy asks the winterzilla "Your family is gone for the holidays, and you're all alone?" and it nods in agreement. So what, that's the reason that the winterzilla was destroying property and acting threatening toward everyone, rather than just animal instinct? I didn't even know that the winterzilla's threatening actions needed an explanation.

Wow, Spike's cardboard-and-craft-string guitar (with only 3 different strings, no less) sounds remarkably good. And I don't know if we've seen Spike play guitar before.

In the final song montage, we see the Apple and Pie families at Sweet Apple Acres, and Big Mac and Sugar Belle are looking out the front door before Big Mac hugs Sugar Belle. Are they looking up at the night sky? Did the shooting stars representing Pear Butter and Bright Mac pass by again?

On 10/28/2018 at 6:59 PM, Truffles said:

The next time I see it I'll have to pay closer attention to that scene with Thorax and see if he's celebrating like Ocellus say changelings do. 

I actually had to double-check this, because at first I thought that the scene of changelings celebrating Hearth's Warming Eve from this episode might have been recycled from "The Hearth's Warming Club", but it turns out that the two are actually different scenes. In "The Hearth's Warming Club", we only see Ocellus and four other changelings (her family?) celebrating, whereas in this episode, we see twelve changelings celebrating, including Thorax and Pharynx. In both cases, though, we see the changelings "putting up a tree" by hanging one by a rope, "building a fire" by hammering together boards and nails into a structure, and "lighting it up" by holding lanterns up around it.

[Hardway Bet 96]

Wow, that's thorough. Some of these things are starting to grate on me retroactively now.

As for the scene with Marble, I think that is the resolution. Her having feelings for Big Mac was a background thing to begin with, and not everyone gets a happy ending.

[YoshiAngemon 223]

1 hour ago, Hardway Bet said:

Wow, that's thorough. Some of these things are starting to grate on me retroactively now.

As for the scene with Marble, I think that is the resolution. Her having feelings for Big Mac was a background thing to begin with, and not everyone gets a happy ending.

Hear, hear! I feel the same way about why Flim and Flam aren't in Tartarus with Tirek, now? It would result in a never-ending cycle of Escape, Refueling, Revenge, and Imprisonment between Tirek and The Mane Six. And that would be so exhausting and troubling that Twilight would turn evil from the endless battle routine! And it would start with Tirek saying to Flim and Flam: "Hello, boys, I'd like to buy your magic for revenge!"

Edited October 31, 2018 by YoshiAngemon

[ggg-2 3,550]

"PUUUUUUUUUDDIIIIIIIIIIING!" Good god, Twiley turned into Glossaryk.

[Music Chart Fan 818]

9 hours ago, Hardway Bet said:

Wow, that's thorough. Some of these things are starting to grate on me retroactively now.

Great, then I feel like I've done my job!

Nah, but in seriousness, I don't write these episode posts with the intention of ruining others' viewing experiences or memories of the episodes. I just tend to watch the show more skeptically, and notice at least some smaller details, so I think of a fair number of observations and questions as I'm watching. I write those into episode posts in order to try to provide a bit of a different perspective, and so that others might find my observations and questions interesting and/or entertaining. And if we can think of good explanations for some of these things that I've noticed, all the better.

9 hours ago, Hardway Bet said:

As for the scene with Marble, I think that is the resolution. Her having feelings for Big Mac was a background thing to begin with, and not everyone gets a happy ending.

If the resolution of Marble's feelings for Big Mac in "Hearthbreakers" is a 3-second scene showing her heartbroken in an episode 3 seasons later, and nothing else will be done or said about it, then I think that can cause people to wonder if that was worth bringing up again for seemingly just a bit of a quick joke. After all, if that 3-second scene weren't in this episode, then I suspect most viewers would have either blissfully forgotten about Marble's feelings for Big Mac (as I would have) or could have assumed that they were one-time feelings in the heat of the moment, which faded away soon after with no real harm done.

It might be argued that this scene with Marble illustrates that "not everyone gets a happy ending", but I feel as though shows like this one usually treat unhappy endings as teachable moments or situations to learn from, and I don't necessarily see that being done here. We don't (yet) see, for example, what Marble could reasonably have done differently to act on her feelings, or how she can deal with her current heartbreak in a healthy way, or what she could resolve to change going forward. All that this 3-second scene seems to establish for Marble is that she's heartbroken, and that's it. I think that can come across as being a bit needlessly cruel to a character that doesn't seem to obviously deserve it, particularly when we don't even necessarily get any useful lessons from the situation.

[Thrond 3,257]

7 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

It might be argued that this scene with Marble illustrates that "not everyone gets a happy ending", but I feel as though shows like this one usually treat unhappy endings as teachable moments or situations to learn from, and I don't necessarily see that being done here. We don't (yet) see, for example, what Marble could reasonably have done differently to act on her feelings, or how she can deal with her current heartbreak in a healthy way, or what she could resolve to change going forward. All that this 3-second scene seems to establish for Marble is that she's heartbroken, and that's it. I think that can come across as being a bit needlessly cruel to a character that doesn't seem to obviously deserve it, particularly when we don't even necessarily get any useful lessons from the situation.

I'd be very happy to watch an episode about Marble getting over her heartbreak. I think that could be very sweet and entertaining. 

Could also somehow involve Limestone's loneliness, as implied in "The Maud Couple." 

Edited October 31, 2018 by AlexanderThrond

[DonMaguz 1,023]

28 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

If the resolution of Marble's feelings for Big Mac in "Hearthbreakers" is a 3-second scene showing her heartbroken in an episode 3 seasons later, and nothing else will be done or said about it, then I think that can cause people to wonder if that was worth bringing up again for seemingly just a bit of a quick joke.

This is exactly why I think the scene is just pandering.

They had three full seasons to make references about it, but the fact that it was never done until now tells me that it may have been a last minute 'nod' to give continuity to something that was never meant to have continuity from the beginning. And why was that? Because they just awkwardly blush and barely spoke to each other 2 years ago (or 3, if this is the next year after Gallus was held at the school for extra lessons during HW).

So, it's canon now that Marble did grow feelings for BigMac... And that she never did anything about them.

[bwrosas 252]

I understand that Sparity is not everyone'scup of tea. And I can respect that. However, please think about this for a moment, why was Sparity brought back to the forefront in Season 8 and The Best Gift Ever. Honestly, In my humble opinion, when you look at the theme for #mlpseason8 , and how it's about not just about testing the strength of the Mane 6, Spike , Starlight and even Trixie's friendship. But, how it's also about accepting those for who they are and what they are.

And Spike and Rarity have been a prime example of that  since the beginning of the series. True, it's push was somewhat simmered down for seasons, like 4-7, with a few moments here and there, but still it was seen when need be.

Now did they have to bring Sparity back into the spotlight in S8?, No, not really, however, a couple of things happened: , 1. Nicole Dubuc took over as executive producer, and 2. The reason it was brought back was, because, as I said, it was the best example of accepting somepony/creature for who and what they are, since the start, and Nicole Dubuc possibly saw and realized this, thus, the reason it's flame was reignited in Season 8.

And like some fans have pointed out, we need resolution to this relationship, and well it may not be "the" resolution anypony else is looking for, still, Spike and Rarity being together, is somewhat of resolution.  Also look at it this way,: Spike has really matured and grown as a character, that even through he still has a few unlikeable dragon traits in him, the earlier seasons version of Spike wouldn't have taken the time to write a "Hearts and Hooves Day" proem for Rarity or in the case of the ending of the "Best Gift Ever" wrote a song for her.

A song, that by the way, many have consider just as heartfelt and emotional as Buttercup's song to Bright Mac in "The Perfect Pear". Yes, you can even ask Ari and Lighting and even josh scorcher about the song's effect on them. And I even said, that this ship was now (however you look at it), became Semi-Canon/Canon and Semi-Official/Official in FIM.

 

But as I said at the start, I do respect other's opinions on the whole Sparity matter. So I hope you all took the time to read this.  It's just something I had to get off chest. So thank you and God Bless

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by bwrosas

[Thrond 3,257]

12 minutes ago, bwrosas said:

And I even said, that this ship was now (however you look at it), become Semi-Canon/Canon and Semi-Official/Official in FIM.

I don’t think Rarity will ever reciprocate. The age difference is a problem.

 

[bwrosas 252]

19 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

I don’t think Rarity will ever reciprocate. The age difference is a problem.

 

Understood, But after this scene, fans are starting to question that.

[Kazuki 12]

Best Gift Ever? More like Best Reference Ever (to my favorite holiday-related movie of all time, that is)!

 

Spoiler