S09:E11- Student Counsel

[Ganondox 899]

This was a good episode. First, we get more Trixie sass, but for once she's actually in the right. The conflict is complicated, but Starlight Glimmer shouldn't make promises she shouldn't keep. This episode was so funny, there was so many jokes that had me laughing. They really weren't great jokes by themselves, but they just worked so well in context. Maud in particular was absolutely killing it. Mudbrair was used effectively here, he's still learning to control his tendencies but he also comes across as genuinely caring and it's making a bit more sense why Maud likes him. Finally, this episode had a genuinely complex conflict, and I found they found a satisfactory resolution to it. Definitely one of my favorite's this season, though I don't know if it beats out Frenemies. Funny how it's the episodes that focus on side character's that I liked more. 

[qwerE 96]

The overall plot was a bit mundane, but both the jokes and the lesson felt original and they were what made the episode interesting for me. Work-friend balance was a problem that hadn't been dealt with before, maybe with Twilight but not with Starlight. I think this moral is targeted more towards adults who are too engrossed in work to spend time with their kids and friends. I found this plot relatable. It's not that I was neglecting my friends, and rather that I was thinking I should do more work instead of spending my time off with my friends. Throughout the episode, I realized how my thoughts were flawed. Time spent meeting my friends was equally as precious as time spent doing work, and there was no need to neglect one to prioritize another.

The jokes were hilarious, too. The ones I especially liked were Maud saying "Just when I thought he couldn't be better" when Mud turns into stone, and SilverStream saying "You weren't that helpful anyway". Both were original jokes that hadn't been done before, and that made them stand out even more. 

 

[WaterPulse 5]

I think this was a nice Starlight episode. Though I think Maud likes rocks a bit too much.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Maud: I should've known it couldn't last.

Now, Maud will take over half of the episode with her one-liner...

*Continue watching*

Hey, Mudbriar is back. His 'technical' speech's still funny to hear. I never find him annoying in his first episode anyway. He and Maud are perfectly together.

Silver Stream had a cockatrice project, and she risked herself for that. I don't know it because of the dedication or ignorance, but still, she really want to learn everything... that's admirable. 

Maud: A search party.

My collection of Maud's one-liners will be completed someday...

Meanwhile, Trixie shows her amazing tracking skill to lead everyone back to square one. TRIXIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I know you're trying to fill some episode time for DHX (repeat animation sequence and all) but you can fill the rest of the episode with your wonderful chemistry with Starlight and meme faces, NOT YOUR INCOMPENTENCE!!!  You are Great but not Powerful, Trixie.

Mud's knowledge is very useful. He's not a walking joke and now his time to shine.

Maud: You completed me.

Please moreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Wow, too many cockatrices, I wonder why only one of their kind being imprisoned??? Just because that cockatrice hurt Princess's student? That make no sense.

All Sunburst's doing is running, he's the most useless guy in the group. Sunburst is the most underdeveloped character in Starlight's group of friends.

Starlight teleported a lot in this ep than Twilight ever did, my girl is just too good.

Mud! NOOOOOOOO!!!!

Maud: I didn't I think could love him any more.

Even when she speaks in nonchalant manner, we can see how strong her love for Mud is.

Maud: You got the hunk part right *smile face*

That's a bit creepy, Maud. I don't want a fanfic about how much you love Mudbriar as a rock.

Silver Stream knows how to make friends with cockatrice that no pony ever did in thousand years!? That poor cockatrice in the Tartarus is a misunderstood creature all along. We have to release all the monsters and make friends with them.

*Finished watching*

This ep is a big development for Starlight character. I cant imagine this is Starlight that we know in S5, i'm just so proud of my girl. A very good Starlight episode, 7.5/10.

 

Silver Stream: To be honest, you weren't very helpful with other stuff anyway.

What did she just say? 

I don't know why this sentence left a little bit of bitter taste in my mouth before this ep ended... I just don't know why...

 

 

[Rising Dusk 27,572]

I really enjoyed this episode, yes minor Starlight bias, but I still think it was great overall.  Good moral message of the week of not taking on more than you can handle and that one does need to take time away from work to be with friends and family.  Why not having office hours to free one's self from work well before this hasn't come up?  Meh, needed conflict.  A really good contrast though to Starlight's early start at the school and having absolutely nothing to do.  Really like the small detail of the growing pile of Empathy Cocoa mugs on her desk as the day went on though. 

Great interactions with the group of secondary ponies and once again, a huge uptick in expressions.  The only pony that felt a little off to me was Sun Burst, but I think he just sort of got drowned out by other pony's interactions in the group.  A nicer development on Maud and Mudbriar's relationship, even if I do feel a little scared for the poor guy and his girlfriend's rock fetish.  He may need to watch out for potential future petrifications.

I also liked Starlight's dismissive response to the Tree House at the start, before she realized Silver Stream would be there.  Reflected my own view on it as "Oh yeah, that thing that's like important but has so far been underused that it needed re-explaining."

Only thing I didn't like, though minor, was I think the Trixie Hunts montage went on a wee bit too long.  Even if in the end I got a good laugh at her admitting that she just basically walks around and trouble finds her.

[Dawn-Sunlight 1,228]

This was an episode that Starlight needed, it shows that yes, she actually HAS learned something about friendship, and she is actually a REALLY good consular, and I would say this is probably the best Starlight episode we've had so far, the pacing was not a problem for me as I honestly didn't notice it, and since the Tree house of Friendship is relatively new, I'm not surprised that nopony thought of looking there, as Starlight seems to be the only pony who even knows about it.  I honestly didn't think to look there for Silverstream until they were in the forest, and since Starlight was so worried for Silverstream, it's no wonder she forgot.  The Tree house was new and she was stressed, huh, I wonder why she forgot. . .   I did not actually know that information on cockatrices until now, and the info felt natural in the episode, and AWWWWW, look at the cockatrice that SIlverstream is holding!  Also, considering that way back in season 1 in "Stare Master" it was revealed that cockatrices could reverse their stare so that other creatures could get un-turned to stone, I always assumed while watching the episode that a cockatrice can just turn off it's stone-gaze.  I love how much better Mudbriar is.  It is annoying to be corrected for the smallest of things that are so insignificant that WHO CARES!  It was nice to see that everypony was giving him looks when he was commenting about things that in the grand scheme of things, or even right then, didn't really matter.  Maud was hilarious as usual, it was great to see Terramar again since I thought he was never going to get another speaking appearance, Trixie's anger was justified, but I think she took it a bit too far, and Sunburst was at his best in the whole episode.  I will say, it is a little bit weird that Starlight would forget about that party, it seems to me that she would at the very least remember why Sunburst was coming just based on how she reacted in season 7 in the episode "Uncommon Bond" to him coming to Ponyville.  Overall, a good episode that Starlight needed, but it was an exhausting episode because a lot of it was tense and action-y.  Also, a great moral that says that, you have to do your work and you can't just decide to not do your work, but you shouldn't overwork yourself either, a theme that is really good to teach kids.

Edited June 9, 2019 by Dawn-Sunlight

[Lucky Bolt 35,062]

I really enjoyed this episode, more than I thought I would. I think my favorite part though were Maud and Mudbriar's interactions between each other.  

All in all, I give this episode a 9/10. 

Edited June 9, 2019 by Lucky Bolt

[Darkness Void 51]

Wow it took a lot of time to fully catch up with the show. Had to marathon Ep 9-11 this morning. And now that I am fully caught up, NO SPOILERS! MAHAHA-wait was that a thumbnail teasing the final? DARN IT!

OK joking aside (I am just thrilled to be caught up), this Ep was good. Trixie turned out to be a rather reliable pony while Starlight is so busy it's almost Lesson Zero levels if it had went unchecked. And seriously, if Pinkie did not know about this party she would had exploded to the moon.

Btw, could we make Maud's raised eyebrow (the one she made at Brair when he mentioned the glued flowers) an emotion icon?

[Dark Qiviut 22,388]

Watched this when it was released early.

This was the opposite of what I expected out of Starlight’s episode. Given one of the synopses released sometime ago, one could guess that it’d be a low-stakes episode, or a possible repeat of a Every Little Thing. That couldn’t be any further from the truth.

Starlight’s schedule just before Spring Break was so hectic that she not only got many ponies lined up, but Silverstream came over several times for very small problems related to an unnamed project. SS’s appearances and the schedule got so bad that Starlight couldn’t help Trixie gather the right objects for Maud and Mud’s spring equinox party the next morning (with Sunburst invited, too) and Trixie had to do it all by herself. Additionally, Twilight, Spike, and the other teachers are out for the break, so Starlight is running it herself. Her hectic schedule’s stressing her out and Trixie out. At the end, when a Silverstream asked for help one more time, Starlight turned her away and took off her alarm bracelet until the Break ends.

During the equinox party, Terramar alerted Starlight that Silverstream was never on the train, and they went to search for her, leading to the Everfree Forest, flying away from a flock of cockatrices, trying to escape from them (with a petrified Mud in tow), and eventually finding Silverstream in the treehouse with a cockatrice she befriended and helped her with the project.

Because Silverstream vanished, Starlight blamed herself for the whole thing. By turning her away, she took all the blame and felt incredibly guilty, even after they realized SS was safe and sound. Starlight’s schedule put a big strain on her and Trixie, and the episode spends a good load of time to show its progression and impact, ending with Trixie waiting crossly for her in her office.

Trixie was also quite funny, and her anger was understandable. By being so distracted by her job, Trixie had to do it all herself, including getting the cake recipe, and then spend all night with Starlight baking it. She wasn’t having it with any nitpicks or “corrections” from anyone, especially Mudbriar. 

The lesson has some similarities with Zeppelin, but they’re not the same. In Zeppelin, it’s about how it’s not selfish to have time with yourself. Here, it’s about not getting bogged down with a very stressful job to spend quality time with others. It’s a really good lesson.

There are two problems.

1. When Starlight and the others made it inside the open ruins of the sisters’ castle, they assumed the cockatrices won’t fly in and only surround. One big problem. Cockatrices can fly high, and they got too close to a flock of migrating ones by watching them from a cliff above. What if the provoked cockatrices decide to fly over the walls or through the old windows? They were just as vulnerable inside the ruins as out, yet the episode lowers the stakes a bit here and assumes they’re safe. It was really dumb of everyone to gather and breathe there.
2. At the very end, Silverstream admits to Starlight that her advice didn't amount to anything in the long run. First off, the joke wasn't funny. Secondly, it all but made Starlight's stress over doing her job pointless and marginalizes the moral. Had Trixie not interrupt, Starlight would've completely lost her temper and given her the riot act.

That said, it’s really good, and given the fact that Starlight’s takeover of the school may be inevitable, she really needed this episode. Good work, Haber!

[Buck Testa 5,505]

Trixie and Starlight are SUCH an old married couple in this episode. At this point I'm convinced "friend" is a euphemism lol.  

[KH7672 1,604]

3 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

At the very end, Silverstream admits to Starlight that her advice didn't amount to anything in the long run. First off, the joke wasn't funny. Secondly, it all but made Starlight's stress over doing her job pointless and marginalizes the moral. Had Trixie not interrupt, Starlight would've completely lost her temper and given her the riot act.

While this isn't entirely related to what you might be implying, it does remind me of a criticism I saw regarding Silverstream's comment. They took it as Silverstream saying Starlight is just a bad counselor in general which was not what she was implying. Instead she was giving the revelation that going to Starlight for all her miscellaneous questions wasn't helpful afterall, and that she realizes it was a waste of both of their times to hold up counsel time for those things. 

I want to point out the context behind that quote too being that the previous line by Starlight was talking to Silverstream about posting hours for her to ask questions. But Silverstream realizing what I said before tells Starlight she shouldn't try to work around time just for her, because it wasn't that helpful and instead should focus more on other students, like one's she was rudely interrupting sessions for.

I wouldn't say Silverstream's comment has entirely devalued the lesson. Starlight still needed to figure out a good balance between work and social life without relying on her magic open-door policy. It's just that Silverstream is admitting to unnecessarily adding on more stress Starlight already had from the job by annoying her with problems that weren't actually being solved or didn't need Starlight to be solved. I'd say it was good characterization for Silverstream to admit she was being a nuisance even if it was delivered in a callous way, but hey why shouldn't Starlight take what she dishes out sometimes.

Edited June 10, 2019 by KH7672

[Sepul-Coloratura 762]

I'm glad to see the aspects of the chemistry between characters, adventure, character based humor and also seeing these all being mixed together very well in one episode, but it also saddens me that the show isn't able to pull the same thing off with the Mane Six anymore. The Mane Six was designed to function as these kind of storytelling after all.

The show seems to be making use of the full potential of the characters, but they didn't developed the characters any further in this episode. For that reason, it felt like more of a fan servicing big event episodes like episode 100, episode 200, Best Gift Ever. I think the only replacement of the Mane Six that can make decent episodes is Starlight and her friends, and it was not even planned like the Student Six. But the characters still need to be developed further, or they will always be stuck somewhere between secondary characters and background ponies, only being able to used as one liners, not as a driving force of narration. They need deeper characters than some quirks or gimmicks. The show requires them to be so.

I also think that what the students were counseling about had to be more significant and important to make the conflict more valid.

Edited June 10, 2019 by Sepul-Coloratura

[The Nth Doctor 662]

So we just gonna ignore poor Ocellus' identity crisis?

Has she gotten ANY focus since her introduction?

[ImpctR 155]

20 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Cockatrices can fly high, and they got too close to a flock of migrating ones by watching them from a cliff above. What if the provoked cockatrices decide to fly over the walls or through the old windows? They were just as vulnerable inside the ruins as out, yet the episode lowers the stakes a bit here and assumes they’re safe. It was really dumb of everyone to gather and breathe there.

The most likely case would be (if the air in the Tree house doesn't stop them from petrifying, the Tree's spirit would probably appear out of nowhere (as usual) and undo or tell them to befriend the Cockatrice(s)

[Music Chart Fan 819]

Overall, this episode is a bit of a strange one. I actually do sympathize with Trixie's annoyance at Starlight's state of distraction and failure to keep her promises. And I basically agree with the final messages of the episode - Sunburst's telling Starlight "You can't be expected to supervise your students every second of every day", and Trixie's point that "always being at work isn't fair to anypony". But I'm not really satisfied with how the episode got there. For one thing, I feel like the search for Silverstream takes up too much of the episode time, while not contributing much to the narrative of the episode.

But also, I think Starlight's being too busy and distracted with her job is a separate issue from Silverstream's going missing, and this episode seems to conflate those two things and not make any distinction between Starlight's job as guidance counselor and her job as an adult supervisor in the absence of the Mane Seven. And I don't consider Starlight to be at fault for the whole situation with Silverstream, so I was frustrated by how Starlight was fretting and blaming herself; instead, I wish Starlight had made a better defense for herself.

-----

First I'll talk about this situation with Silverstream's going missing. When Terramar says that Silverstream is missing, Trixie throws Starlight under the bus, and Terramar chews Starlight out. But Starlight just happened to be in her office late (i.e., at or just after sundown) when Silverstream came by yet again, and Starlight told Silverstream that "I need to lock up the school for the holiday, and it's time you caught the train home". And Silverstream didn't appear to be in obvious danger or distress. So I think it would be reasonable for Starlight to believe that Silverstream was capable of packing up and catching the train home without active supervision all the way there. After all, many of the other students probably packed up and departed for home without active supervision. The Mane Seven apparently believed that it would be fine for them to go to Canterlot and leave Starlight to close the school for spring break. And I've said before that I think the Student Six are at least the equivalent of high schoolers. We even see the Student Six getting on the train in "Best Gift Ever", presumably to go home for the holiday.

And I don't think that it was Starlight's responsibility to know exactly what Silverstream was doing or where she went after leaving the school. When I was in high school, as far as I could tell, the school and the staff generally weren't responsible for checking or knowing what students were doing or where they were going after school hours, and especially off of school grounds. It's not like students were stopped and interrogated when they were leaving and asked "Where are you going and what are you leaving to do? Is that what you told your family that you would be doing?".

So, for example, let's say that my parents believed that I was going straight home after school one day, but then I decided to go to someone's house or to a restaurant or something, and I didn't tell my parents about that. If my parents were wondering where I went (and let's say that I couldn't be reached by cell phone), perhaps they could call the school and confirm that I was in classes that day. But should the school or the staff be held responsible for where I went or what I did after school and off of school grounds? I wouldn't think so. Similarly, Starlight told Silverstream that the school was being locked up, and that she ought to catch the train home; Starlight had no reason to believe that Silverstream would do anything but that. It was Silverstream who then decided on a whim to go to the Crystal Treehouse without telling anybody and lose track of time.

Consequently, I find Starlight's fretting and blaming herself frustrating, in part because I don't see it as accomplishing anything, but also in part because I don't think it's obvious that Starlight is at fault. Just focus on finding Silverstream (or solving the more urgent and immediate problems) for now; everyone can work out how much Starlight is or isn't to blame for Silverstream's going missing (or the situation that everyone is in) later.

Silverstream seems to really be the one who needed to learn a lesson or two here. If she's going to run off to the Crystal Treehouse in the Everfree Forest at night, she ought to tell someone where she's going and how long she plans to be gone. And how long did Silverstream expect to be gone? Did she think about whether she was going to be late getting home for break, and think to inform her family if she was likely to be late? Has Silverstream ever taken a trip away from home before, or taken a trip by herself before? Telling people about your plans seems like a pretty basic thing to do, but apparently Silverstream didn't know or didn't think to do that.

-----

Next, I'll talk about this whole issue with Starlight's being too busy with her job as guidance counselor and/or adult supervisor. To start off, I remember when Starlight had nothing to do and was bored out of her mind in "Marks For Effort", and she commented in that episode that there's "not much need for a guidance counselor at a school of friendship". And in "The End In Friend", Starlight had the spare time to listen to, and come up with multiple methods to try to mediate, the dispute between Rarity and Rainbow. But now Starlight is frequently being called upon to answer students' questions. When, and why, did that change? I suppose Starlight did have a line of students outside her door in "Road To Friendship", so the change might have occurred some time before that episode.

Now Starlight has students lining up outside her door (rather than, for example, making appointments) in order to ask about things like Yona's hard time with her braids, or Silverstream's trying to come with how to describe showers or towels to her family. Why are things like this a guidance counselor's job to help with, especially during office hours? For example, if anything, Silverstream might ask her language/grammar teacher, if she has one, about how to describe showers or towels. But even better, she could ask her friends, or go to the library and find a dictionary or thesaurus or encyclopedia or something.

I would say (as Sunburst and Trixie also more-or-less say at the end of the episode) that it's not reasonable to expect Starlight to be available to answer virtually any question from any student at any time, and it's not reasonable to expect Starlight to supervise the students in everything they do. I would think that high-school-age (or older) students can (and should) be expected to take significant responsibility for themselves. So how did Starlight come to believe that she should, or that she's expected to, do these things? It seems to me that this is the kind of thing that happens when, to my recollection, none of the Mane Eight has any particular training or experience in being a guidance counselor, or in running a school, for that matter. Twilight wrote this massive rulebook for the school, but it looks as though Starlight's job duties and responsibilities weren't defined so as to be limited, since essentially everyone would want (and need) to have regular uninterrupted personal time. This seems to me like another example of the issues with trying to run a school and fill the roles in it without any particular prior training or experience.

-----

Now here are the rest of my miscellaneous observations:

When is this picnic with Starlight and Trixie taking place at the beginning of the episode? Is it on a weekday, but after school has let out for the day? Is it on a weekend? I'm just curious about what day/time Starlight would agree to hang out with Trixie, on the assumption that she wouldn't be too busy, but yet there are multiple students in quick succession that want to talk to Starlight. Also, is this picnic taking place after the Mane Seven have already left to celebrate the spring solstice in Canterlot?

We see Trixie putting at least 5 sugar cubes in her cup of tea. Is that enough? I would wonder if all of that sugar would even dissolve in just a few fluid ounces of tea.

Starlight says that "being able to use the experiences of my checkered past and help young students feels pretty great". But how often are Starlight's experiences of her checkered past relevant to whatever students are asking her about?

What's with this student who twice knocks on Starlight's door and then opens it and pokes his head in, even when he knows that Starlight is talking to Trixie? Is someone in imminent danger, or is there something that urgently requires Starlight's attention? If so, then he should spit it out already; if not, then sorry, he needs to wait.

I had to look up that a chafing dish is typically a large pan that's raised up and heated on the bottom to keep food warm in a buffet line, for example. (I've obviously seen those before, but I hadn't known that that's what they're called.) I don't know why an antique pre-Equestrian chafing dish would be particularly desirable to use, other than just because Sunburst likes antiques.

Also, we see the chafing dish holding something green at the party later, but there doesn't appear to be anything keeping it warm, which I thought is a defining characteristic of a chafing dish.

Maud's telling Terramar that this is a private cavern makes me wonder: how much property is Maud claiming to own? Does she believe she owns the entire cave system? Does she have a deed on file showing the boundaries of her property?

Terramar says that he was told that Starlight would be here in Maud's cave, but by whom? Did Starlight or Trixie share the details of the time and place of this party to the merchants in Ponyville that they were buying things from? Do people in Ponyville generally know that Maud lives nearby, and know specifically where Maud's cave is?

When Terramar says that Silverstream had a big project due for Twilight, Starlight says that Silverstream never told her about a project, but Silverstream actually did mention it in passing just before she asked about how to describe a shower. However, Silverstream only mentioned that it's a lot of work; she didn't express any doubt about being able to get it done, or say anything about having to stay at school and skip going home to work on it, or anything like that.

When Starlight and Terramar go back to the school to search for Silverstream, we first see Starlight look in her office. Does Starlight not lock her office when she's not there? And for that matter, are the classrooms or the library not locked when they're not in use either?

So closing the door to the heavily degraded Castle of the Two Sisters stops the cockatrices, even as there clearly aren't complete walls or a roof? Would the cockatrices not just fly over or around?  

Edited June 11, 2019 by Music Chart Fan

[gingerninja666 487]

1 hour ago, Music Chart Fan said:

And I don't think that it was Starlight's responsibility to know exactly what Silverstream was doing or where she went after leaving the school. When I was in high school, as far as I could tell, the school and the staff generally weren't responsible for checking or knowing what students were doing or where they were going after school hours, and especially off of school grounds. It's not like students were stopped and interrogated when they were leaving and asked "Where are you going and what are you leaving to do? Is that what you told your family that you would be doing?"

I think there's a bit of a difference in situations here. Twilight's school is an international boarding school, with students who are politically important in a few cases. The Students actually live there. While there's clearly a lot of trust placed in the students, and they're allowed to ride the train between kingdoms alone, I do think that if anything bad happened to them, it would be on the school. They're essentially the legal guardians of the students, at least until they return home.

 

1 hour ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Now Starlight has students lining up outside her door (rather than, for example, making appointments) in order to ask about things like Yona's hard time with her braids, or Silverstream's trying to come with how to describe showers or towels to her family. Why are things like this a guidance counselor's job to help with, especially during office hours? For example, if anything, Silverstream might ask her language/grammar teacher, if she has one, about how to describe showers or towels. But even better, she could ask her friends, or go to the library and find a dictionary or thesaurus or encyclopedia or something.

That's actually a thing that Silverstream brings up. In Starlight's eagerness to always be available, she inadvertantly encouraged the students to come to her with unimportant things. It's one of the implicit benefits of giving herself more concrete hours, it'll force the students to think about whether their issue is important.

[Justin_Case001 4,882]

What's poning, ponles?

I loved this one.  Thank Celestia.  I needed a good one after that Seedling train wreck last week.  Still bitter about that.  And sour.  And salty.  Every flavor but sweet, basically.  Anyway, I really loved Student Counsel.  I love Starlight, and I've always loved her role as guidance counselor, and I've long hoped we would see a bit more development in that area.  I also love the chemistry between Starlight and Trixie.  I can't get enough of those two.

When I read the synopsis, I was afraid that it might be a story of Starlight successfully helping a bunch of students in a row, and then getting arrogant because she thinks she's the greatest counselor in the world or something.  That would have been stupid.  But what we got was wonderful.  Nopony acted like an immature idiot.  That's what I like to see. 

The whole time I was thinking that they should check that friggin' treehouse, but it's understandable that they didn't think of it, considering that Twilight was the only one who even saw the damn thing, and it wasn't even clear if she bothered to tell anyone else about it, much less take them there to see it.  That was what pissed me off most about the ToH arc--the fact that no one else was present for its resurrection.  Not the mane 6, and not even the guy who bloody planted the damn thing.  But that's a criticism of Uprooted, not this episode.  This one was fine.

Every character was in great form and very endearing to watch.  The jokes were all great.  Even Mudbriar wasn't a complete and total douche.  I mean, still kind of a douche, but not a complete and total one.

So, spring solstice, huh?  Interesting.... y'know, since in real life the solstices occur in summer and winter, and spring and fall are the equinoxes.  But on whatever planet Equestria is on, everything could be different.  But if it's a solstice, then why were they getting an equinox cake? 

[Music Chart Fan 819]

4 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

So, spring solstice, huh?  Interesting.... y'know, since in real life the solstices occur in summer and winter, and spring and fall are the equinoxes.  But on whatever planet Equestria is on, everything could be different.  But if it's a solstice, then why were they getting an equinox cake?

That's a good observation, I hadn't noticed that. In the episode, Starlight says that "Twilight and the others have already left to celebrate the spring solstice in Canterlot", and Trixie refers to the "Spring Solst-astic" party, the "genuine pre-Equestrian spring solstice chafing dish", and Mrs. Cake's "famous spring solstice cake". But when Starlight is running around distracted, she refers to the "genuine pre-Equestrian equinox chafing dish" and Mrs. Cake's "equinox cake". So maybe Starlight mistakenly uses the term "equinox" because she's distracted.

And it's interesting that Equestria apparently has a spring solstice, rather than a summer and winter solstice. As far as I can tell, the show hasn't referred specifically to a summer or winter solstice before. So if Equestria has a spring solstice, then do their seasons work differently than ours? Then again, if we believe that Princess Celestia (or another unicorn with similar power) raises and lowers the sun at will, then she could also change the path of the sun in the sky, and create a solstice or equinox whenever she wants.

[Violet Bookish 350]

I really liked the lesson of this episode and found it to be extremely relatable. I too get stuck in cycles of helping people to the point I barely have any me time. I can not tell you how many times I ended up juggling doing what I wanted with trying to play the counselor to others. It becomes stressful and I end up not being able to give good advice (like this episode showed when Silverstream admitted Starlight wasn't very helpful), since I'm distracted and upset. But the lesson actually went above and beyond this and looked at the bigger picture. Not only did it show how this kind of behavior can hurt you, but it can also hurt the person on the other side. It's okay to need a helping hand from time to time, but it's also important to learn how to deal and cope with your own issues, especially recurring ones or ones you'll face again in the future. By always helping people and never turning them down or never encouraging them to take action themselves they can get used to the cycle and become too dependent. Be a guide, not an instructor. Encourage growth. I really appreciated that they demonstrated that. Besides that, the comedy was great in this episode, well, involving Maud at least. I love seeing her in romantic situations with all her oneliners. You can tell she's really happy and it's adorable. Her partner though...yeah, I didn't like him the first time he appeared and still don't like him. I'm glad he ended up not being able to talk for a lot of the episode. 

But, that being said, everything else felt mediocre to me. The episode just didn't really grab me until the forest section, and before then I just felt really bad for Starlight and stressed out with her as she got yelled at by Trixie and then Silverstream's brother. At least Trixie apologizes, the brother on the other hand, yeah, he just kind of gets away with being extremely rude. I get he's scared and loves his sister but, yeah, not everything is about his sister and Starlight deserves a day off, no matter how annoyed the students are about it. Starlight learns this but even at that moment, the brother doesn't say anything. Just a little, "sorry I put pressure on you, I was just really scared for my sister" would have been really nice. So, overall the episode has a very hostile feel to it that is fixed by the comedy later on,  but it still makes the episode not really fun to get into. Everything else, besides the cool development of the cockatrice, is just meh. We see some returning characters and while they're not bad they're not too interesting either, well, except Maud. Trixie's perspective is interesting since she is a lot more chill than Starlight and her anger is justified, but once again she's an (half) instigator of the problem and it's frustrating. Silversteam was also not the best addition, and while the episode seems to try to make her questions seem comedic it just makes Silverstream so annoying. I get she's really hyperactive and sometimes doesn't realize when she's annoying others, but wouldn't it make more sense if she went to one of her friends with these questions rather than Starlight? I like how she was used to show both sides of the issue, but it feels like it would have been better with a different character with a different problem, one not so eye-roll inducing. I get it was supposed to be something Silverstream really needed to figure out on her own and the point was her learning not to come to Starlight for every little thing, but it just seems obvious that you don't go to a counselor for stuff like that and would make way more sense if she went to her friends first, or at least implied she had. So, it was an okay episode but only really gets interesting at the end and the rest of it is just stressful and aggravating to watch. It was certainly an episode Starlight needed, her being prone to stress and overworking like Twilight, but overall it just felt weird and meh to me. I give it a B-.

Edited June 11, 2019 by Violet Bookish

[Truffles 2,033]

A fun episode, and a lot more character driven than usual. Though the funny faces probably made a lot of what there is to like about the episode.

Curious that we've had 3 episodes with little or no Mane 6 and Spike present (Uprooted, Frenemies, and this one), and they've all been quite successful.

My only real gripe is I agree as some other have said that the search for Silverstream in the Everfree goes on too long. Maybe if they had thrown in a scene where the group accidentally finds the cave Snips & Snails woke up the Ursa Minor at, it would have helped break up the monotony?

Other than that, I don't have much more to add that has already been stated.

 

On 6/10/2019 at 10:06 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Silverstream seems to really be the one who needed to learn a lesson or two here. If she's going to run off to the Crystal Treehouse in the Everfree Forest at night, she ought to tell someone where she's going and how long she plans to be gone. And how long did Silverstream expect to be gone?

Yeah, I feel like Silverstream's apology at the end wasn't enough to excuse her actions. Deciding on your own to go into the Everfree by yourself to study dangerous creatures is incredibly irresponsible. I guess it's possible she'll get punished by her parents off-screen, or perhaps when Twilight returns she'll give her a lecture and then detention for her actions - even if it did generate a new discovery of friendly cockatrices.

On 6/10/2019 at 10:06 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

To start off, I remember when Starlight had nothing to do and was bored out of her mind in "Marks For Effort", and she commented in that episode that there's "not much need for a guidance counselor at a school of friendship"

Heh, I forgot about that. Maybe students were initially intimidated by her, perhaps they knew of who she was in the past and didn't feel comfortable opening up to her? I guess it's possible the events of the S8 finale may have caused her to gain trust with the student body after what she went through, but that wouldn't explain how she got popular by the time of "Road to Friendship."

It's interesting to think that this is how the school would be if Celestia and Luna had gone through with their plans to retire in a matter of days. There wouldn't be enough time to make new hires, and Starlight would suddenly not only have to be counselor, but basically run and teach the whole thing until she could get new staff assigned. Even if Spike had bowed out of his newly assigned "protector" status to hang back a few weeks with her at the school, I don't think 2 staff members would be enough to manage the whole campus. I guess Discord's dream of working at the school would suddenly become a reality.

On 6/10/2019 at 10:06 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Maud's telling Terramar that this is a private cavern makes me wonder: how much property is Maud claiming to own? Does she believe she owns the entire cave system?

I think she said it was a private gathering, and not a private cavern. But I could be wrong. I was kind of disappointed we didn't get to see the now-open Mirror Pond again since there's so few chances to see it before the series ends.

On 6/10/2019 at 10:06 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Terramar says that he was told that Starlight would be here in Maud's cave, but by whom? Did Starlight or Trixie share the details of the time and place of this party to the merchants in Ponyville that they were buying things from? Do people in Ponyville generally know that Maud lives nearby, and know specifically where Maud's cave is?

I imagine since her "hole" as a mailbox, word has spread around town she lived down there. For that matter, since her sister is Pinkie it seems pretty likely everyone has heard a dozen times or more she's living in a hole down by the river.

On 6/10/2019 at 10:06 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

So closing the door to the heavily degraded Castle of the Two Sisters stops the cockatrices, even as there clearly aren't complete walls or a roof? Would the cockatrices not just fly over or around?

Yeah, I noticed that, though I think it was a subtle attempt at a visual gag. In a way, I guess most cockatrices have the intelligence levels of the grues from Zork. I guess in this case if they can't see you they assume you must have gotten away.

 

[titanhades 3]

Between this episode and Frenemies, it becomes very apparent that Starlight is going to have a very big role in the second half of the season. The biggest, most important and longest story arc does revolve around her after all.

[Fluttershutter 2,438]

I still just don't like Maud's boyfriend but it was hilarious that he was turned into rock for her. 

[JH24 385]

Great episode. The middle part dragged on a little but the rest was entertaining. The Trixie and Starlight dynamic was enjoyable as usual (Thinking back to season 1 I never would have thought Trixie would become such a developed character) and the expressions were hilarious.

It's nice to see that Mud Briar is becoming more aware about his habit and I'm impressed he's making an effort in his interactions with others. I'm liking him as a character.

The scene with Gallus and Smolder made me laugh. Love the dynamic between those two. 

Seeing Terramar was a nice surprise. (I wish he would appear more often in the series) I was initially a bit frustrated with his angry response to Starlight because it felt so unfair towards her, but then I realized Terramar was already upset himself about his sister.

I just wish Terramar had a bigger role. Except for letting everyone know that Silverstream was missing he didn't really do much this episode. 

Edited June 15, 2019 by JH24

[Sh Pie 65]

This was an enjoyable Starlight focus episode featuring Maud, my favorite background pony. It was nice to see Mud Briar again, he can always be depended on for his infallible sense of logic. We're reminded that the virtually expressionless Maud is a talented comedian as she delivers that unexpected search party joke and her reaction to her boyfriend getting turned to stone was amusing in a mildly disturbing kind of way. At least he turned out okay in the end.

The moral was good. There's a time for work and a time for play. Starlight should give her all for the students during school hours but like anycreature, a counselor experiences problems as well and Starlight learned she needs to take care of herself and enjoy hanging out with her friends.

Silverstream asking how to describe showers and towels was a nice throwback to the stairs fascination from the S8 premiere. There's still a lot of stuff hippogriffs need to relearn after spending so much time underwater. It's cool how Silverstream really appreciates these simple things that landlubbers like myself usually take for granted. Stairs are actually more useful than we give them credit for. They're not just means of gradual traversal, they're also much healthier and mentally enriching than standing idly on an escalator. Towels of course are a great way to absorb water to dry off faster. Although I think it would be more convenient if we could just steam clean like robots without needing to get wet. Maybe this could be a viable option for dragons, since their scales are heat resistant.

[Senko 459]

I finally got the time to watch this so my thoughts.

1) Mudbriar should be careful or Maud might want him to start spending time as a rock on a regular basis. Though her little dry comments expresssing how much she genuinely loves him are sweet I'm sure she's glad she moved to Ponyville adjacent.

2) I really liked Trixie here the annoyed snorts, grumpy expressions and trying to get Starlight to pay attention to her were adorable.

3) Seriously Starlight needs to shoo the students away more. Ocellus was her job, Smolder and Gallus were her job (though that smirk on Smolders face indicates she burnt Gallus's book deliberately) but Silverstream constantly asking her for synonyms about wet really is something she should have been asking her friends about not the guidance counsellor.

4) Triggering a cockatrice's nesting instinct makes them friendly and helpful as opposed to frighteningly dangerous in protecting their young?

5) Oh look glue has returned . . . poor Roseluck.

6) Another holiday has appeared the spring solstice Ponies certainly know how to celebrate life.

7) That poor blue pony was nearly in tears at getting the door to the student counsellor shut in his face but seriously you know someone else is in there why keep trying to get in?

8) It seems when frightened and stressed Sunburst can generate a fairly impressive energy beam.

Now for a few other comments by other's.

On 6/9/2019 at 9:31 AM, ImpctR said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Who is that pony Roseluck? Have we seen her in previous seasons? I like the rose pony, looks like another cute one. And this kind of hairstyle or dyed hair in some fancy different color I like a lot, that's why I like this new pony and Lyra for similar reason.

Roseluck is a background pony and one of a trio who run the flower store we've seen her in quite a few episodes usually fainting in horror at something or as here selling flowers to customers.

On 6/11/2019 at 1:06 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

You have a really long post so to save space I'm just quoting you so you know this part is in response to you.

I agree with you on pretty much all your points just because Starlight was at school that didn't mean she had to deal with a student problem especially with a student who'd spent the entire day taking up her time (and delaying other students with actual problems) to ask about synonyms so she could avoid using watery words when talking to her cousins. Give her a thesaurus or tell her to talk with her friends this is not something she should have been constantly talking to Starlight about. Especially at the end of the school term/semester when the school is getting locked up and she should be heading home for the holidays.

Starlight is technically meant to be supervising the students but she'd told Silverstream to pack up and catch the train home and had confirmed she'd left the school grounds. At that point its entirely on Silverstream for deciding then on the LAST day of term without telling her friends, her school supervisor or her family that she was going to dissapear into a dangerous set of woods to work on a dangerous project alone. Seriously she's lucky she had her deus ex machina for the cockatrices and didn't wind up a statue in some forgotten corner of the woods with no one having any idea where she'd gone and what had happened to her.

I think part of why Starlight is dealing with these issues is because things like Ocellus's identity concerns are still fairly rare so this at least lets her fill her day and she's just let the whole thing spiral out of control till its impacting her personal life as well.

Trixie does put a lot of sugar in her tea but given how she basically attacked that sandwich I think its less I like sugar almost as much as Pinkie Pie and more that she's a stres eater/drinker and right then she was extremely stressed and annoyed at being ignored.

I agree on the blue pony though I love Trixies annoyed snort/growl at him.

I think the antique part is just Sunbursts preference.

I imagine Maud's cavern is the water/crystal/glowy area not the caves nearby.

Starlight probably just forgot Silverstreams throw away comment about a project as it was buried under "What's a good way to describe a shower that doesn't mention water."

Starlight's probably just locked the outer doors for the school rather than every single interior one.

On 6/9/2019 at 11:50 AM, Will Guide said:

@Twilight and Starlight

Technically Terramar didn't called Starlight a bad student counselor. He was worried about his sister and got upset out of worry. And said, "What kind of counselor turns away a student with a problem?" That is not the same as calling someone a bad S.C. That's just natural worry for your sibling who could be in big trouble for all you know. Cut Terramar a break.

Besides, Trixie followed up with a good point. "Starlight had too much on her plate." So both sides have a point and I love moments like that.

The kind who's had the student bugging them all day with minor issues she should be talking to her friends or using a thesaurus for and assumes that now when the school is literally being locked up for the holiday's its more of the same.

 

On 6/10/2019 at 10:48 AM, Buck Testa said:

Trixie and Starlight are SUCH an old married couple in this episode. At this point I'm convinced "friend" is a euphemism lol.  

I got a bit of a different vibe myself. For me it was that Trixie considers them a couple while Starlight is acting the role without realizing it. I can just see them at some future point with a bewildered Starlight saying "Anniversary how could I possibly forget about thaat?" blink, blink, blink "Wait, aniversary but that would mean we've been dating for a year now." and then developing that same look she had when the princesses glared at her as she realizes Trixie did think they'd been dating for a year now. In fact here it is . . .

Edited June 15, 2019 by Senko