S01:E09 - Bridle Gossip

[Meushell 52]

It’s hard to judge this episode because I saw Zecora in future episodes. Watching how she was treated here was just strange and sad to watch.

Also, Zecora, your warnings suck. 

It was a good episode though, and Zecora is always fun.

[bigbertha 414]

This is a guilty pleasure for me. The story is barebones and there are unfortunate implications with Apple Bloom running off to a stranger and being put in the right. But, the comedy is good enough for me to overlook all of that. There's a ton of great gags like Flutterguy and Twilight Flopple. The episode is one of the funnier ones of season 1.

Score: -8/10

[Shy 156]

Although this isn't one of my favorite episodes, I still like it. I really enjoyed Pinkie Pie in this episode.

[Dabmanz 2,139]

Great episode catchy song also if you are wondering what zecora said in her native language I put netflix subtitles on turns out she said Speaking in native language.

[bigbertha 414]

Finally, there is a good episode! While the story is still barebones and Apple Bloom being rewarded for following a stranger is still uncomfortable, the jokes in the second act are still really funny. All of the curses put on by the Poison Joke are really fun to watch. What keeps the episode from being great are the first act and the ending. Those parts are too focused on the barebones plot instead of the jokes. Even still, it's just nice to see a good episode.

Score: 7/10

[kazamacat 64]

Not a favorite, but I don't hate it.  I actually didn't find the poison joke jokes all that funny. Fluttershy's new voice was amusing though don't like calling it Flutterguy. I'll rate the episode as okay. It held enough interest to finish, and I appreciated it trying to broach the subject of prejudice.

[Rushing cash 836]

Cant believe I haven't commenteted on this one yet! Its one of the best in the first season, the beginning was a little boring but the moment twilight wakes up, its glorious! Everyone got a hit in what made them special and was an important trait in their character, rainbows wings flipped wrong, aj got tiny and lost her authority over her sister, pinkie couldn't speak, flutershy couldn't speak quietly, rarity looked horrible and twilight couldn't use magic. 

Their reaction to these events were hilarious, the way they interacted during this was amazing. AJ riding RD who flew upside down was my favorite. Sure the plot was predictable but the way the story played was great. 10/10 for me.

[Lucky Bolt 35,063]

This was kind of a meh episode for me but was still cute. The Mane 6’s poison joke side effects were hilarious 

[Justin_Case001 4,889]

We didn't know it at the time, but what made this episode so special was the fact that Apple Bloom's special talent was already beginning to show.  When the others were going ape sh*t, AB looked past the surface and found out more about Zecora in order to help someone who didn't fit in.  Although not a cutie mark problem specifically, it's still a case of essentially what I'd call life coaching, which is what the CMC ended up doing.  Whether this foreshadowing was intentional or not, it ended being brilliant.

And then you have Fluttershy's priceless song! 

[Cash In 22,309]

This was pretty good. Zecora was introduced, which is a plus since she's one of the more underrated characters. Poison joke did leave for some pretty good moments. Flutterguy singing Pinkie's song is a guilty pleasure of mine.

[qib 695]

This one was so silly! Even though I'm okay with the plot not having to make 100%, this one was a little too silly for me, why couldn't she have just told them that the flowers would make them go funny the next day!! I can't say I didn't like it, but its definitely got to be the worse episode in season 1, but you know, there was also apple bloom so it equals out 

[CypherHoof 26,483]

2 hours ago, Kitty Rose said:

why couldn't she have just told them that the flowers would make them go funny the next day!!

'cos she's an evil enchantress, who does evil dances....

[qib 695]

47 minutes ago, CypherHoof 🐎 said:

'cos she's an evil enchantress, who does evil dances....

And if you look deep into her eyes she'll put you in trances! 

[Tom Gallagher 33,588]

Then what will she do? She'll mix up an evil brew, then she'll gobble you up in a big tasty stew sooooo, Watch out!

*breathes deeply*

[Astralshy 26,633]

This episode is the first of the big anchors which bound me to the show. Due to the morale of this episode which played a big role for me in my days in kindergarten and elementary school beside flutterguy is hilarious even I was spoiled on it prematurely.

[Marlyfics 15]

This is one of my favorite episodes so far, Pinkie Pie has always puts a big smile on my face, and I find the story meaningful as it teaches us not to flag people as low or dangerous just for being different.
I really disliked Applejack though, yeah she was protecting Apple Bloom she was kind of a jerk to her as well. 
also i really like how Zecora speaks in verse, it's so cool XD

So yea I really liked this episode 

 

Pinkie's dance fills my heart with joy

[Reality Check 632]

I like this episode, mostly because of its humour.

First is the mane 6, most notably Pinkie with her song, even with Fluttershy sounding condescending doesn't ruin it. There's also the effects of the poison joke. The way I see it, they seem to play a joke that's tied around their gimmicks, even if some are more subtle and not so obvious than others. Then there's also Apple Bloom, who I personally think is a nice character to play the role of being brave and wanting to find out if the rumors are true, since she's a kid which leaves her in a position where she's easily belittled and where her curiosity of wanting to find out is kinda believable. Finally, there's Zecora, who I personally like to see more. Even though it's her first introduction to the series, I like the way she talks, how she always rhymes with her words as if it's part of her lingo rather than something that she's used to say, and there's also her talent with potions, a talent that we'll see later on down the line.

This episode has its humour with Pinkie's song, along with the moral of 'don't judge something of face value' is a good moral to teach to others, just so long as don't be so rash as to jump to the first conclusion you can think of.

Edited June 16, 2021 by Dusky Wings

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Looking back at this episode, I can safely say this was a huge reminder about not judging someone based on how they look or what they say. 

[JMTV99 1,353]

Bridle Gossip is my favorite episode from Season 1 mostly because of it's humor. It's hilarious and I still find it funny. Not to mention, the way the use the poison joke was very unique and creative.

I really like Zecora as a character. She's really cool and interesting. I'm really glad that she did become prominent character later on in the show. I really like Apple Bloom and her role in this episode. She's really cute and fun to watch. 

The evil entrachess song was fun. My favorite moment was Flutterguy. That cracked me up.

Finally, I did like the moral about not judging a book by it's cover. It's still relevant today.

Also, I want to get this out of the way, but I was upset that Bridle Gossip was hated at the time because of the moral and characterization. Honestly, who cares about that? As long the writing is good and I'm having fun with it, it's gonna be good to me!

But I digress. Bridle Gossip is the most underrated episode in Season 1 and it deserves a second look.

[Tom Gallagher 33,588]

14 hours ago, JMTV99 said:

Also, I want to get this out of the way, but I was upset that Bridle Gossip was hated at the time because of the moral and characterization. Honestly, who cares about that? As long the writing is good and I'm having fun with it, it's gonna be good to me!

But I digress. Bridle Gossip is the most underrated episode in Season 1 and it deserves a second look.

This exactly. As long as you're enjoying an episode, it's perfectly fine.  I had no idea that Bridle Gossip was ever disliked.  It's one of those episodes that I constantly go back to because of its entertainment value. 

Edited June 16, 2021 by TomDaBombMLP

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

this definitely has good story and plot and morals... AND it isn't felt rushed..... is this really an mlp show?

my first to seventh run.... I don't seem to get bored or dozed off off of this. and apple bloom and zacora taking the lead here!

[Cash In 22,309]

I've had an interesting relationship with this episode. I liked it at first, later disliked it, but now I've really warmed up to it again.

This episode was Zecora's introduction and to this day, I still stand by my opinion that she is probably the most underrated character in the show. Everything about her is so mystical and I feel that this episode captures that element pretty well. It's also interesting to note that this was where Applebloom had her first significant role and to be honest, she's probably the best character in the entire episode.

Like most people, the poison joke thing was definitely a highlight. It allowed for some pretty funny gags and was a rather interesting way of mixing things up from the usual thing. Of course there are also the memes, which we all love. My only complaint about this episode is how some of the Mane Six are portrayed. It's not a big issue, but I just think it could've been done better or in a different way. Anyways, the moral itself is great and is something that has and always will be relevant.

I'll give this episode a 8/10.

Edited February 26 by Cash In
Updated thoughts

[FloppyPony 1]

Episode 9 - Bridle Gossip

 

EPISODE SUMMARY

Ah its the racism episode. Had to happen at some point. Yeah its pretty obvious from the beginning what the moral is going to be and it doesn't spend much time doing much else which makes this episode a bit boring. Anyways, there is a Zebra in town and everyone is afraid of them as they think she is an evil witch. Twilight doesn't believe it until they chase her into the Everfree forest to find Applebloom (applejack's little sister) which followed her. They run into a blue flower and the Zebra warns them to stay back.

 

They all wake up with silly problems related to each of them. They think its a curse and before they can decide what to do they find Applebloom is missing again so they go back to the forest to find the Zebras hut. They crash into it and accuse her of making a stew to cook Applebloom and cursing them all. Turns out they were all just affected by the blue plant they stood in and the Zebra called Zecora was just making a herbal remedy. They learn not to judge a book by it's cover. For Twilight literally as she missed a cure which was in a book she didn't want to read due to the title.

 

MY THOUGHTS

I hate how Zecora rhymes everything she says. I'm sorry but its just stupid and ironically I think a bit insensitive to the culture she is supposed to represent. I mean maybe it would be fine if she did it at the start but then spoke normally to them for the reveal but when she always does it, it becomes a part of her which is just silly and unnecessary in my opinion. I do like how they wrote this story tho and her design and culture is represented otherwise. It's not often we get this culture shown in a good light as it is often used for kids movie villains like Dr Ficilier from Disney's Princess and the Frog.

This episode is also the first to introduce us to Applebloom, Applejack's little sister. She is fine in this episode but her role could have been done by another pony without much issue so she kinda feels unnecessary here. I'm not much of a fan of kid characters and Applebloom is pretty bog standard as far as cartoon kids go so she doesn't interest me much.

 

Pinkie is annoying in this episode. Literally to the point were she is directly annoying her friends to so yeah I obviously don't like her here and I don't like her song here much either as much as her previous ones. Her involvement just feels kinda rushed and again unnecessary for the story. She feels like she is just there because she is popular and nothing else. Also I don't get why Rainbow doesn't just walk instead of flying this whole episode.

 

I like how Twilight is skeptical but starts to change her mind when a bunch of things seem to lead to Zecora looking evil by chance. That is in character for her and makes a lot of sense and it shows how friends can influence your views even if they are wrong which is an important thing for a show like this to teach and I kinda wish this part was focused on a bit more. A large part of this episode was spent on jokes but I didn't really like them in this episode but I think that's more a me thing.

 

There is one problem with this episode that might be a bit dangerous to kids. The fact Applebloom follows Zecora to a dangerous place despite what everyone told her to do and she turns out to be fine and everyone else is wrong is kinda bad. They should at least have mentioned how wrong it was for Applebloom to go in such a dangerous place without supervision and following a stranger at some point even after Zecora turned out ok coz it can't be good to teach kids to just talk to total strangers as they might be friends you just don't know about. stranger danger is a thing people. for goodness sake.

 

Also Spike is pointless in this episode and just laughs in their face when they are apparently cursed. Thanks Spike. You jerk.

 

Overall, a good moral and done pretty well for the most part especially compared to how most kids shows do this moral. Not very funny and annoying in some places tho and really should have a bit about stranger danger.

[Gale Wind 82]

The funny thing is that “friends you don’t know yet” thing FloppyPony mentioned actually was never even said on the other show.

I had a bit of a “Why is Blu Mankuma familiar?” while looking at the voices and shoulda remembered him right away because I’m also a big Forever Knight fan. He was a cast regular in season 3. 

[StarHeart333 1,764]

Ponies are speciest.