Your Favorite MLP Episode: Round Four Series

[SuperUltimateBrony 351]

Round Four Match Three

See the bracket here: puu.sh/1TjZp

 

Vote here: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/203-cartoons-and-animation/65318598

Each day I will post one topic pitting two episode of MLPFiM against eachother. It's a contest to see which episode is the most liked by the board.

Today's Matchup: Too Many Pinkie Pies VS Sweet And Elite

Yesterday's Matchup: The Return of Harmony Part 2 defeated The Cutie Mark Chronicles (45-37)

 

I have taken care of the cheating problem.

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

Very good, voted for Too Many Pinkie Pies again, now I'm too lazy to even copy and paste my explanation, so all that I'll say is that may the better episode win, may there be no cheating, and may we have the next round soon

[An Old Head 4,816]

Yup, I'm voting for Too Many Pinkie Pies once again - substantial episode, pretty much covered everything I had to say in the last round:

 

"Where should I start? When I say this is my favourite episode, it's because of its breathtaking appeal not just to me, not just to fans, but also to its target audience. The best episode should work on all levels, all audiences, without fault from one of them staining the other. Too Many Pinkie Pies does this clear as crystal - the wacky capers of ton upon ton of Pinkie Pie clones is guaranteed to make its target audience smile their faces off, as well as avalanche us Bronies with an onslaught of our favourite comic relief and supposed evil murderer   And, of course, with Pinkie Pie being my absolute favourite pony, you couldn't make me any happier than when you chuck forty bouncing balls of perfect into an episode. Especially when you intertwine a very smart, non-insulting piece of philosophy into it - whether your true self is definite amongst tons of duplicates.

 

Although small, people liked to prod disapproval at how the third episode of the new season didn't allow the establishment of something for the following episodes to build up for a season finale. I'll say it right away - who cares? In a cartoon, you go with the flow and allow the small amount of continuity the show does have to tie everything together. Too Many Pinkie Pies was absolutely no issue on that part. In fact, given that the episode followed the "gateway" episode known as The Crystal Empire, the amount of continuity in the episode is very opportunely placed. With Too Many Pinkie Pies being, as I've already said, a crazy and spirited episode, it allows in enough moral continuity to create a much more complex web of ways in which you can mull over philosophy raised, or sympathise with desperate situations - or simply just enjoy a personality trait from one episode becoming apparent in another. For instance, we know from A Friend In Deed that nothing pleases Pinkie Pie more than making other ponies feel happy - a very admirable trait. A direct transition of this appears in Too Many Pinkies, where she wants to make all of her friends smile by accompanying all of them. I really do like this about the episode - it shows that the writers have grips on Pinkie's character and know exactly how she would deal with things. Continuity also displays itself in other ways - we see Dash is still enjoying her Daring Do books, we see (or hear) that Pinkie Pie has a grandmother, we see the reapparance of Meadow Song and Tank. I really do like this because it carries over and cements the Season 2 presence of timeline. It even does it across generations (three words: Pinkie's G3 face).
 

Another thing which really makes this episode work wonders for me is its similarity to the very first episodes of Friendship is Magic. This episode would have fit in snugly next to Griffon The Brush Off, or The Ticket Master. I say this because those episodes went to establish certain places and customs in Ponyville and had the outdoor green-lawn spirit. I say this (I say "I say this" too much) because the young age in which we enjoyed cartoons is the same time where the outdoors was much more exciting for us than it is now. All the outdoor events, clear skies, with many different areas of the show shot in (the middle of town, the lake, Sweet Apple Acres, the Everfree Forest, the grass fields) completely brought this back to us. It was so superbly done. I guess it stands out much more here because Season 3's very much improved animation made the settings feel alive, also owing to more dynamic colouring - especially at the place where Twilight is doing the spell on the apple. Either way, I feel that it ultimately comes together as a wonderful helping of true My Little Pony finish.
 

The actual focus of the episode, the idea of cloning, is completely cliché of course. But again, who cares? Too Many Pinkie Pies openly embraces this cliché, giving an enormous  "Screw you, I'm My Little Pony!", and the choice of pony was absolutely bang on. There are so many opportunities for fun (Fun! fun! fun! fun! fun!) and ridiculous events to be had with clones of Pinkies. What do people like to criticise about this? They say that Dave Polsky, the writer, didn't tackle the ethical issues that the episode raised well enough - I think completely the opposite. The amount of ideas and discussion points were perfectly balanced, so that the older audience would have their interests raised while the younger audience wouldn't be flustered with confusion when they just want to enjoy their pastel ponies (like me  ).
 

In addition, the application of the cloning idea to My Little Pony in itself is brilliant. Not only can every single Mane 6 pony play a pretty part in an episode centered around Pinkie Pie (another thing that adds to the episode's spirit) but it absolutely destroys the stereotype of Pinkie Pie being nothing more than mere comic relief. Of course, it's easy to see that Pinkie Pie is full to the brim with character on other episodes, but more often than not this isn't truly brought out - in Feeling Pinkie Keen, we were concerned with Twilight just as equally; in A Friend In Deed, we were dividing our attention between Pinkie and Cranky; you get the idea. Too Many Pinkie Pies really throws Pinkie into your face and tells you to notice her, and even manages to get in enough in-character cameos from the rest of the Mane 6, while completely keeping Pinkie (or the Pinkies) center stage, and showing us that there's more to her than cheery smiles and singing songs. That was spectacularly done.
 

But I think the one thing that makes this episode stand out for me the most, is... how close it gets to actually chucking a main character out of the show. Indifferent of how people found the paint test to be predictable, it was absolutely not in the context itself. Unlike other episodes, where failure in the context results simply in humiliation or disapproval, there really was the danger that the true Pinkie Pie - the one with all the substance, the heart and adoration for her friends, the one we all know and love - could be banished to the Mirror Pond, to never be seen again. It was really tense, and perhaps intense as you can get for the target audience (and for us actually, because we really do bond with these characters). What impressed me even more was how Pinkie Pie had to realise within herself the importance of friendship to will herself to keep staring at the wall, showing how enough determination, inner belief and acceptance of remorse can pull you through things. Who cares if it wasn't in a practical sense - the moral was damn good, and getting a good moral across through forty Pinkie clones is a platinum achievement. It was admirable both of Pinkie and of the writers."

 

So yeah, again, may TMPP triumph n.n

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

I voted for Too Many Pinkies once again and for the same reasons as I have stated before.  It's good to know that the cheating issue has been resolved.

[Dr. Vojislav Seselj 691]

Cutie Mark Chronicles lost? That's like... another awesome episode that lost! (Hurricane Fluttershy anyone?)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvnG6458h0A

 

Anyway, Sweet and Elite is the better episode.

 

ТMPP was great and had a lot of nods to the fandom, but Sweet and Elite has Rarity in it.

НАПРЕД, РАРИТИ! 

Edited January 30, 2013 by ~Хаотичан Четник~

[Emerald Flame 381]

Don't care much for either of these episodes. Too Many Pinkie Pies had a few good jokes, but they aren't enough to trump the song in Sweet and Elite. Plus Sweet and Elite introduced Fancy Pants, one of my favorite background ponies.

[Wingnut 6,992]

Was requiring voters to be logged in the only way to resolve the fraud issue?    I don't feel like creating an account just to vote for the handful of remaining match ups.  Not today anyway.  Maybe I'll register the next time an episode I care about comes up. 

 

Pinkie Pies and Sweet and Elite are good episodes.  But I don't like either one enough to sign up right now, sorry.  :/

[SuperUltimateBrony 351]

Round Four Match Four

See the bracket here: http://puu.sh/1VluL

 

Vote here: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/203-cartoons-and-animation/65329645

Each day I will post one topic pitting two episode of MLPFiM against eachother. It's a contest to see which episode is the most liked by the board.

Todays's Matchup: Sisterhooves Social VS The Best Night Ever

Yesterday's Matchup: Too Many Pinkie Pies defeated Sweet And Elite (18-17)

[Leafeon 2,702]

The Best Night Ever... I didn't really like Sisterhooves Social too much. It was a good episode, but it's up against a very good finale.

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

The Best Night Ever is my pick for reasons that I've already explained, which basically boils down to how I'm impressed that the writers could give each main character an equal portion of a single episode without it feeling too rushed.

[Rarietty 632]

Sisterhooves Social, by far. I liked Best Night Ever, mostly for the already mentioned reasons, but Sisterhooves Social...

 

Let's just say, I can relate to Sweetie Belle and Rarity's relationship far more than I'd like to admit. It's also the only episode that almost made me cry completely. The moral hit it really hard for me. Anyone with siblings should agree. Of course, both Rarity and Sweetie Bot-I mean Belle-were awesome in this episode, and overall it was a really funny, heartwarming episode with great character development. 

[~Galloping Rainbowdash~ 28]

Its hard for me to chose. I think Best Night Ever deserves to win. So much detail. Im sorry Ratietty, but best night ever is going to win.

[An Old Head 4,816]

When I saw that Too Many Pinkie Pies had won, I yelled "YES!" and punched the air in delight, and everyone else around me in class wondered what the hell I was doing

Now, this decision is also very easy for me. The Best Night Ever was an absolute classic, and each of the Mane 6 got their own story, their own chances to shine, and their own downfalls, each as complex as their own damn episode and staying ever so true to their character. An absolutely wonderful end to Season 1 - it's up there in my top 5 favourite episodes.

I've come to appreciate Sisterhooves Social quite a lot more since I re-watched it - as a single-character based episode for the most part, it did a great job, definitely better than a lot of other Season 2 episodes. Still, it did have its faults, and for me it wasn't the most memorable of episodes (without necessarily meaning it was a bad episode).

The Best Night Ever certainly takes my vote.

Edited January 31, 2013 by Flipturn

[Wingnut 6,992]

I was all set to go through the registration process and now it looks like I don't have to.  Cool beans! 

 

This is honestly somewhat of a close call for me.  But as nice as Sisterhooves is, it is outmatched by The Best Night Ever. 

 

BTW:  DashForever is conspicuous by his absence. 

[Scootalove 10,689]

The Best Night Ever, really thought it was a glamerous episode to boot.

Sisterhooves Social showed Rarity's sister side towards Sweetie Belle.

[SuperUltimateBrony 351]

I was all set to go through the registration process and now it looks like I don't have to.  Cool beans! 

 

This is honestly somewhat of a close call for me.  But as nice as Sisterhooves is, it is outmatched by The Best Night Ever. 

 

BTW:  DashForever is conspicuous by his absence. 

 

I'm going to see if that user is still using his alternate account to rig the poll. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. And where is DashForever?

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

Good to see that someone missed me . I had exams all morning and as soon as they were finished I came home and fell asleep. Anyhow earlier I had trouble making the decision but I voted for The Best Night Ever. Even if I can relate to Sisterhooves more, I feel like Best Night Ever might have been a little better.