S09:E14 - The Last Laugh

[YoshiAngemon 223]

I like the episode. I once saw Weird Al in Boston. It was a good concert. He did Harvey the Wonder Hamster with a full 41-piece orchestra.

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

It wasn't a horrible episode, but the writers seemed desperately out of ideas. It was an insignificant episode. It had so little actual things happening to let the story unfold itself further, we only got nothing more than just the synopsis when the synopsis is a single line and the episode is a 20 minute show.

Pinkie and Cheese's reunion was an easy and an obvious target to come up as a synopsis. There could be at least 50 great ideas that they could have done with the characters, but they wasted such an opportunity to make a good Cheese Sandwich episode with this one. They only got something to rely on from the show's past successes and got next to nothing to offer something new, at least that's what this episode proves.

If someone would think of an episode that doesn't affect anything (including the audience's impression), this would be it. Predictable, uninspired, dull, boring, insensible, insufficient. This isn't worse than Uprooted or The Beginning of the End or She's all Yak, but as a perspective of being insignificant and indolent, this is the worst. They had so little to offer in this episode. (at least in those episodes, they were trying something even those were stupid ideas)

(btw, did the show forgot about the cutie map? they don't use it anymore even when it's the exact moment to use it as if they are deliberately avoiding it.)

All the Mane Six having a purpose but not Pinkie? That's a false premise, but even when I concede to that idea, the conclusion didn't conclude that premise. Either Pinkie gets a so called bigger and better goal like everypony else, or it shouldn't even come up in the first place. And if her finding a seemingly better purpose was the topic, the episode doesn't even deal with Pinkie being insecure about having a seemingly less important job either (like in Pinkie Pride when she felt useless next to Cheese Sandwich or like in Party for One where she slowly suspects her friends and comes to a conclusion that nobody likes her party or like in Griffon the Brush-off where she slowly gets avoided by Rainbow Dash and Gilda). They at least should have shown how insecure Pinkie feels while comparing others bigger and better jobs to hers and later on she learns a lesson that she was wrong and what she does is important, if that's what they were aiming for. This could also be an interesting lesson because there are people doing meaningful things for life that are seemingly not legit enough for some people. Pinkie does parties and bakes and eats cupcakes professionally. She is basically still a child. (let's go for this premise if we are going for the same conclusion with what the episode had) Her realizing how strange and out of box she actually is compared to other's jobs could be a pivotal point of her growing up. She mostly always seemingly devoid of sense of reality. But like she's constantly worrying if she's too annoying (yes she does), she could also worry if her job isn't legit enough. When she stops and realizes that she is strange or when she deeply associates with reality is when she becomes more interesting. And the conclusion would be her completely embracing herself with a better understanding of herself and the reality. The Pinkie's monologue mentioning the Mane Six's purpose in the beginning was weightless and meaningless.

If this is the conclusion of "The Mane Six's Self Fulfillment" saga, do you think it's a worthy conclusion? Well, people love continuity and the show's self awareness and concluding arcs, but I don't think the show should be pressured or restricted by those aspects. Of course the first to blame is the show runners.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Sepul-Coloratura

[Dawn-Sunlight 1,228]

It was saved by the song, because Cheese Sandwich without a laugh is just not entertaining.

[Twilight Luna 30,940]

I don’t know how I feel about this episode. It felt like the end of the series episode where everyone besides Pinkie knew what their purpose in life was. But I also think it highlights problems with where the series in going to end. For instance, how is Rainbow Dash going to help rule Equestria, be in the Wonderbolts, be a teacher, and have fun? Applejack will be helping to rule, be a teacher, and help on the farm. How is all of this going to work out?

[Thrond 3,257]

This is pretty funny. To me it mostly just seems like an excuse for a bunch of low-key gags, and it works well enough on that front, but it doesn't have a lot of momentum. And it didn't quite end in the way I expected it to, but the actual reason for Cheese's depression wasn't very satisfying to me. I guess what I'm saying is that I appreciated the plot keeping out of the way, and I liked that it stayed lighthearted, but I didn't find this particularly substantial or memorable. And the whole thing about Pinkie finding her "purpose" just makes no sense to me. It's not just what she learned here is something she should already know, it's that what she learns here is one of her most basic character traits - something she learned before the show started. But at least it didn't try to do anything more dramatic with her, and at least there are some funny moments along the way. 

[Justin_Case001 4,857]

Good.  Me likey.

What's poning, ponles?  When Pinkie first arrived at the front gate, I was absolutely positive that this was going to be yet another Willy Wonka parody, complete with her inheriting the factory.  So glad they didn't go that way.  While I loved the Slurm factory on Futurama, I feel like a Willy Wonka parody wouldn't have worked well here, and it would have made no sense for Pinkie to inherit the factory.

It was nice to see ol' Weird Al get a reprise.  Nice episode.  Not a whole lot to say about it.

I really loved the premise of Pinkie feeling like she's been left behind.  That shows that the writers are paying attention.  Everypony except her and AJ has either achieved some life-long dream and/or moved on to some big new chapter.  But with AJ, I wouldn't expect her to feel unfulfilled in her place seeing as how she runs the whole farm, and is a very important pony in that regard.  Pinkie just works at the bakery, and that's all she's ever done.  If anypony would feel like she's been left behind and wants a new chapter, I'd expect it to be her.  It's a very relatable problem.  I think everybody at one time or another feels like their friends have moved on to bigger and better things, and they've been left in the dust, or they don't know what to do with their lives.  I've felt like that every day of my life.    And typically, I don't think those feelings go away without a change.  Changing nothing makes you end up like Gregory House.  And that's why I was... well... I guess just a tiny bit disappointed that she simply decided that what she does is already enough.  I guess that's fine, but I wouldn't have minded if she had tried something different.  I dunno what, but something.

I've always thought that the characters and universe of G4 are big enough and good enough for a Game of Thrones sized show, and I've always lamented the fact that the episodes can't be longer.  If we had more time, I'd say that it would be awesome to see some big characters arcs that actually change the show's dynamic for a season or so.  For instance, I wouldn't mind if Pinkie had decided to leave Ponyville for a year or two and go traveling with Cheese.  She'd be back, of course, but for one season they could split the story and jump back and forth between showing Ponyville, and showing Pinkie and Cheese on their party pilgrimage.  Y'know, just like how they jump around between locations and characters on a show like Thrones.  I think that'd be the tops, but it would only work if we had a lot more time.  But, failing that, it was a decent ending.

Lastly, did anyone else think that the slippery banana was a parody of this?

Spoiler

 

 

[ImpctR 155]

On 8/5/2019 at 8:09 PM, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Pinkie does parties and bakes and eats cupcakes professionally. She is basically still a child. (let's go for this premise if we are going for the same conclusion with what the episode had) Her realizing how strange and out of box she actually is compared to other's jobs could be a pivotal point of her growing up. She mostly always seemingly devoid of sense of reality. But like she's constantly worrying if she's too annoying (yes she does), she could also worry if her job isn't legit enough.

 

4 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

  Pinkie just works at the bakery, and that's all she's ever done.  If anypony would feel like she's been left behind and wants a new chapter, I'd expect it to be her.  It's a very relatable problem.  I think everybody at one time or another feels like their friends have moved on to bigger and better things, and they've been left in the dust, or they don't know what to do with their lives.

My gosh that's what I've been into and still am  I've done so many things and I start developing myself in other directions because the things I wanted, the things I like and do, there arent enough opportunities and I start newer and newer while people just do 1 thing and move on, im still in a spiral.

Edited August 6, 2019 by ImpctR

[Ganondox 899]

I actually liked this on more than Pinkie Pride, which was more a collection of songs than a coherent story. Weird Al can do serious roles well, he just keeps getting type casted. The actual gags in the episode were underwhelming, but Pinkie just being Pinkie was very funny, definitely one of her better characterizations. I also liked the Sans Smile guy, glad they didn't make him a villain. 

[Rushing cash 824]

I guess it was an decent episode at best to me, it felt kinda pointless, pinkie should know her purpose already, and the episode itself was pretty boring to me to be honest. The songs were... not that good to say the least. The lesson is a nice one though and it was nice seeing cheeze again. 5/10

[cmarston1 5,951]

I finally got a chance to watch this episode and I have to say that I really liked it.  Cheese Sandwich is a fun character and it was definitely nice to see him again.  I also found Sans Smile to be a fun new character and I'm glad that he didn't turn out to be a villain or antagonist.  This was definitely a pretty good outing for Pinkie and I rather liked her portrayal here.  We got an entertaining new song which is something that is always a plus.  I really got a kick out of how when talking about how she was looking for her purpose in life, Pinkie basically said Applejack had no real goal, I just found that to be pretty funny.  Overall, I found this to be a positive feeling episode and one I would consider to be one of my favorites of the season.

[qwerE 95]

This was a fun episode to watch. Cheese Sandwich is one of my favorite ponies that hasn't been on the show for a while, and I loved the concept of Pinkie trying to help her old friend who was once her biggest rival.

The ending was a bit of a letdown, though. Considering the state he was in, Cheese recovered from his depression too easily and abruptly, ruining the story. The song didn't sound bad but felt a bit out of place as well. What I would've liked was a song about Pinkie gradually brightening Cheese up, by showing him how he made other ponies smile. At the end of the song Cheese would be his old self again, smiling and laughing.

Edited August 10, 2019 by qwerE

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, I would say that I'm pretty neutral about this episode. I've seen some people comparing this episode to "Pinkie Pride", and saying that the latter was more entertaining, but I'm really not a fan of the type of hyper random zaniness found in that episode, so I would actually prefer this episode's approach of not dialing that up so much. I also like the character of Sans, and I appreciate that he isn't made out to be the bad guy. However, it does seem to me that some viewers could take away some unfavorable - and I believe not quite accurate - impressions of the factory and how it's run, particularly as we see it from Pinkie's perspective. And I'm also not sure that this episode really ends up doing much with the premise that Pinkie wanted/needed help to find her life's purpose.

To start off with that last point, the episode tries to frame this problem for Pinkie where the rest of the Mane Six have "found their things", but that she (supposedly) hasn't, and is being left behind. But I'm not sure what particularly valuable revelation or lesson Pinkie learned by the end of the episode. She already seems to know what she wants/needs to do with her life - i.e., her statements that "I'm a party pony! I need to make ponies happy in real-time!" and that she "need(s) to see ponies laughing to feel fulfilled" - and we don't really see her questioning or changing that. Maybe the best that could be said is that she was reaffirmed in that prior belief, and after seeing the factory, she knows she doesn't want to work in an environment like that. I guess that just doesn't really seem like anything new, or any particularly significant growth of her character.

Next I'll talk about how the episode portrays the factory, and particularly how Pinkie reacts to it. To start off, I would admit that the name of the "Cheese Sandwich Amusement Factory" at first sounds like a name for an arcade or family fun activity center or something. But upon seeing that it's a literal factory, and that it researches and produces gag props, then it really seems like Pinkie's expectations should be changed. But instead, she continues looking for the fun and wondering where it is. And of course, the factory's not being "fun" in the way that Pinkie expected shouldn't mean that it doesn't do good work in improving people's lives, or that the factory is necessarily a bad place to be employed.

And I think the combination of (1) Cheese's having lost his laugh at the factory, (2) Pinkie's continued bafflement at what the factory does and how it's run, and (3) Sans's sort of no-nonsense approach and citing of numbers could lead viewers of the episode to come to some not quite accurate impressions or conclusions. I could see some people concluding that it's bad and/or wrong to "commodify" or mass-produce things, particularly things that were conceived from wanting to bring people joy on a personal level. Or that some things, like humor, can't and/or shouldn't be subject to analysis. Or that it's a good thing Pinkie declined to work at the factory, or else she would have had all the life sucked out of her, just like Cheese, because that's just what big companies do - use people up and throw them away, right?

But that's not how I see what's going on here. Cheese saw that there's demand for gag props beyond what he was personally capable of making, so building a factory to produce such gag props seems like a perfectly fine idea. Also, some people might see Sans's suggestion to "try taking the nostril flare down 10%" on the Cheese mask, and his suggestion of a "7% tighter wind on the snake springs", as ridiculous, or as sterilizing the art of comedy, or something like that. But I think these type of gag props also seem like they can do their jobs well enough if they're mass-produced; I don't see too much to be gained from these gag props being handmade or anything. And if these gag props are going to be mass-produced, then decisions will have to be made about how they're produced, what materials will be used to produce them, etc., so that the factory will make good products at good prices. Finally, managing a factory and working with (what could be seen as) dry analysis and statistics isn't for everybody, but people like Sans or the researchers who do such jobs are an integral part of maintaining the standard of living we enjoy. Not everyone can live Cheese's carefree life of wandering the world and crashing people's parties while trying to get creative inspiration to strike, either.

If some people are working jobs that they believe to be boring or soul-crushing or whatever, it often won't be feasible to just quit their jobs and go wherever their dreams take them, as Cheese may appear to do at the end of this episode. But it might help to think about the value that such jobs bring, and how they actually are important to improving people's lives, as mundane or dry as they may seem. For example, working as a software developer for an insurance company or for a major bank seems like a boring job, and on top of that, many people don't really hold insurance companies and banks in high regard. But at the same time, providing insurance and providing banking services really are important jobs in a developed economy, and those services allow for people to be freed up to do other things to improve their lives even more. So perhaps one lesson should be that people can look for (and find) the positives of what their jobs do, rather than wasting their lives away dreaming of doing something that may not be feasible.

Now here are the rest of my miscellaneous observations:

It seems like there's something wonky about the size and/or perspective of Pinkie's cupcake invitation to the factory. It fits comfortably in Pinkie's hoof when she's first holding it, but when Spike's holding it, it seems significantly bigger - almost the size of his head.

If, as the guard says, "nopony ever comes out, and nopony ever goes in" to the factory, then do all the employees live on the premises? Do they get food and other living essentials delivered by some means other than through the gate?

When Pinkie and Sans say that they've "tried everything" and "exhausted every avenue that even the science of comedy can provide" in trying to bring Cheese's laugh back, does that include sarcasm and dry humor? Because those are more what I find amusing than the prop comedy or puns often seen in this episode.

When Cheese tells a joke to Sans, Pinkie gets annoyed that Sans says that Cheese's joke is funny, but Sans doesn't laugh at it, at least not in a natural way. But Sans responds that he's "not much of a laugher", and I can relate to that. I can find things funny or amusing even when I'm not rolling on the floor laughing or anything, and I can be interested in or excited about things without necessarily showing many outwardly visible signs of interest or excitement. It seems like one of those personality differences that's not always understood or kept in mind.

I have to admit that I didn't find Cheese's switching of letters in "lost cause" (whether done on purpose or not) to be hold-back-your-laughter funny, and so it was a little strange to me that that was what set off the chain of events to get Cheese's laugh back. It reminds me of a segment from the Angry Video Game Nerd's Castlevania episode. The credits of that game just take famous people's names and change letters or syllables in them, and he says that's not funny, that's kindergarten level - and perhaps not even kindergartners or aliens would find that funny.

Edited August 13, 2019 by Music Chart Fan

[Truffles 2,033]

Saw this episode early, and I thought I'd have more to say about it after I saw it again, but not really, lol. I liked it well enough - Sans Smirk really is the most interesting thing about it - but a lot of the episode seems like a missed opportunity to do some interesting things. For example, even though I'm okay with them not going into a full-on homage to Willy Wonka, they could have pushed that notion a little further and made the workers a bunch of displaced Breezies who didn't make it back home for various reasons. Cheese could have been the one to give them a place to live and work. (Presuming he could get them to work, lol.) Maybe even have then don mini exo-suits like the one Ripley used in "Aliens" to keep them from getting hurt? Maybe? XD

Also, the need for the factory to be dull in order to drive the plot also kind of makes the whole episode feel a bit drab. Outside of Sans' witty remarks and Weird Al doing his best impression of Steve Jobs, there isn't much to grab your attention until the final act. On the plus side, I really didn't know why Cheese was depressed, so at least it wasn't predictable as it could have been.

I did like the few homages to Willy Wonka we did get, most notably:

• The first shot of the factory exterior immediately gave me a vibe from the 1971 movie where Charlie is staring into the factory courtyard through the gate at sunset.
• The research wing of Cheese's factory seems to be decorated in the same stark white motif as Wonka's.
• Cheese dons a hat and coat like that of Willy Wonka during the musical number, albeit yellow instead of purple.
• Sans is meant to feel like he's going to be the Slugworth of the story, but in fact its just a ruse since Sans is very much sincere about helping Cheese succeed.
• Probably a couple of things I missed, lol.

 

7 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

She already seems to know what she wants/needs to do with her life - i.e., her statements that "I'm a party pony! I need to make ponies happy in real-time!" and that she "need(s) to see ponies laughing to feel fulfilled" - and we don't really see her questioning or changing that. Maybe the best that could be said is that she was reaffirmed in that prior belief, and after seeing the factory, she knows she doesn't want to work in an environment like that. I guess that just doesn't really seem like anything new, or any particularly significant growth of her character.

I had the same reaction. She always seemed to know what she wanted to do, and it seemed clear in the S3 finale the rest of Equestria knew that too since Ponyville apparently needed her around to not get on each other's nerves. Maybe between working at Sugarcube Corner, babysitting, being a teacher and prepping to co-rule all of Equestria she had become less sure of her role in life?

7 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

If, as the guard says, "nopony ever comes out, and nopony ever goes in" to the factory, then do all the employees live on the premises? Do they get food and other living essentials delivered by some means other than through the gate?

That line might be another reference to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as I seem to recall there's a line similar to this in either the book or first movie.

7 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

When Pinkie and Sans say that they've "tried everything" and "exhausted every avenue that even the science of comedy can provide" in trying to bring Cheese's laugh back, does that include sarcasm and dry humor?

She should have brought Spike along for that. And it would have meant a Pinkie-Spike pairing for the first time since S1.

[Cash In 21,516]

I'm a big "Weird Al" fan, so I kind of have to like this episode by default, but honestly it could've been better. It's fine, but I still like Pinkie Pride more.

Edited November 6, 2021 by Cash_In

[JH24 385]

The first time I watched this episode a few weeks ago I didn't get it. Looking back I realized I was close to being depressed back then. I've watched it again and this time it gave me a big smile in the end. "Weird Al" did such an amazing job with the voice-acting. My heart broke at times when I saw Cheese Sandwich being depressed and hearing his voice. The song at the end was great, especially the part underneath the spotlight.

A wholesome episode which cheered me up.

Also compliments to the animation team. They did an amazing job with this episode and I especially liked the way they've animated Sandwich; he looked even more adorable than before, especailly his facial expressions (combined with Weird Al's voice acting) totally sold it for me.

Edited August 22, 2019 by JH24

[CinnamonSwirl 90]

Cheese and Pinkie! Just kiss already! 

[Senko 459]

So I finally get the chance to play catch up on the episodes I've not had a chance to watch so these comments are going to be of the 1, 2, 3 variety as I work through them. That said onto this episode.

1) Kind of a bitter sweet nature here with Pinkie feeling everyone's moving on and leaving her behind combined with the fact the show's ending you know a lot of fans are eventually going to do that. Makes it pretty easy to empathise with even without the fact a lot of us have probably felt like this at one time or another that we're going nowhere while everyone else seems to have goals and drive to go somewhere and do something.

2) I liked her comment they need to look behind them more when they're complaining she's not there. Plus her teasing Applejack about her hat.

3) Rather odd that this is all about her and Cheese Sandwhich's purpose yet it doesn't involve the crusaders when helping ponies find their purpose is entirely their reason for existing.

4) Pinkie looked cute in her athletics and science gear.

5) Is it wrong I think Mud Briar would be the ultimate test of a party ponies ability to make someone laugh?

6) I think that personalized invite was not edible.

[JH24 385]

Not directly related to the English version, but I had a chance to watch the Dutch dub of "The Last Laugh" when a Dutch streamingsite accidentally put it online. I don't know who the Dutch voice actor for Cheese Sandwich was but he was able to emulate "Weird Al" surprisingly well, capturing his mannerisms almost perfectly. The final song had different lyrics in places (which is probably a localization issue) but did have the same message. 

In the English version for example it was this: "I thought I needed laughter but it had to come from me."

In Dutch it was worded differently: "I have to make others laugh because that's what makes me happy."

 

Edited September 5, 2019 by JH24

[Allen 1,371]

It's good that Cheese Sandwich returns in this episode since his last appearance from the fourth season in "Pinkie Pride" episode. Cheese Sandwich lost his laugh as an unfortunate situation; and soon he got his laugh back later in this episode! Also, the song is revealed in this episode too in multiple key changes - this starts off with D major first, then A major with secondary series of notes of B minor that goes with a chord progression of V(7)/ii–ii, and then D-flat major with secondary series of notes of E-flat minor with that chord progression too! I will say this is a great episode too when Cheese Sandwich got his laugh back. 

[Moony the Cat 3,697]

I enjoyed the Episode, this one of these few Episodes in which i dont find Pinkie Pie to be super duper annoying.

I also enjoyed the song. It isnt one of my favorites, but still good.

[Sasoriman 128]

On top of the unexpected-but-no-less-welcome return of Cheese Sandwich, this was one of Pinkie Pie's best outings. In fact, it's the best one she's had for three seasons. At first I was confused about her desire to find her life's purpose because I thought she'd already achieved that, but on rewatch, I can see it now since all she does is throw parties, hang with friends, laugh, and bake. 

I forgot how funny Cheese's "lost cause" joke was at the end. Some may not have found that funny, but at least it wasn't overdone. 

[GloryForShame 26]

I dont get it why some people didn't liked this episode, i found the whole plot really interesting and really surreal! Like, this episode, this episode is so weird lmao, it felt like some shitpost or something, it is just weird and thats why i liked it so much, the music is obvious godly good, i think its better than the last one Weird AI sang.

 

Also Sans was the best character, i hate how i just kept thinking about sans from undertale

On 2019-08-28 at 8:11 AM, Senko said:

So I finally get the chance to play catch up on the episodes I've not had a chance to watch so these comments are going to be of the 1, 2, 3 variety as I work through them. That said onto this episode.

1) Kind of a bitter sweet nature here with Pinkie feeling everyone's moving on and leaving her behind combined with the fact the show's ending you know a lot of fans are eventually going to do that. Makes it pretty easy to empathise with even without the fact a lot of us have probably felt like this at one time or another that we're going nowhere while everyone else seems to have goals and drive to go somewhere and do something.

2) I liked her comment they need to look behind them more when they're complaining she's not there. Plus her teasing Applejack about her hat.

3) Rather odd that this is all about her and Cheese Sandwhich's purpose yet it doesn't involve the crusaders when helping ponies find their purpose is entirely their reason for existing.

4) Pinkie looked cute in her athletics and science gear.

5) Is it wrong I think Mud Briar would be the ultimate test of a party ponies ability to make someone laugh?

6) I think that personalized invite was not edible.

Mud Briar would problably laugh at some stick joke, but a really well done one, i think he would get offended easily lol, so it would be the truly ultimate challenge.