S03:E12 - Games Ponies Play

[Stellafera 3,835]

So what did you guys think of that little Gak mud bath in there huh? WEIRD right? I never really got the stupid Gak thing and now its in the show! Come on Hub! <_<  I was watching it live stream and I swear the chat box exploded when that came up.

 

Is it sad that I'm so nerdy that I was like "Actually, calcite lakes are a thing, so that might really be a crystal lake" before I thought of Gak? The Applejack theater had about 5 people simultaneously mention it, and then it moved along. It tends to be one of the calmer chats (until Applejack shows up).

[silvadel 1,393]

 

Ya know, I think this every time Twilight and Cadence greet each other, but seriously, they're going to do that "Sunshine, sunshine" greeting EVERY... SINGLE... TIME they see each other?     Just a bit much, if you ask me.    Anyways, this episode is great so far! 

I know if I met cadence I would be sorely tempted to do Sunshine Sunshine ladybugs away shake your hooves and do a little shake.

 

-----

 

What REALLY bothered me about this episode was that Cadence wasn't crystal.  I mean she has the crystal heart right on her flank.  She hasn't exactly left the empire much — she should be crystal.

 

 

[PoniesPlease 365]

meh, a faily generic plot (I mean, for crying out loud, confusing a random passerby for someone really important is the first lesson of Gerenic sitcom plots 101) that took WAAAY too long for me (seriously, for the first time ever I found myself shouting GET ON WITH IT at MLP), plus a payoff that wasn't really worth it.

 

 

4/10.

 

remind me again how sunlight shines out of the writing staff's every orifice, and so I shouldn't be concerned about alicorn twilight.

That was the whole episode, what with the mistaken identity. She gave the real inspector a good account of how she was treated by the mane 6, and that won her over. Besides, this isn't a finale or anything, so the plot doesn't really matter too much. 

 

8/10

[pegasister101 39]

 

Is it sad that I'm so nerdy that I was like "Actually, calcite lakes are a thing, so that might really be a crystal lake" before I thought of Gak? The Applejack theater had about 5 people simultaneously mention it, and then it moved along. It tends to be one of the calmer chats (until Applejack shows up).

 

Yeah, I was in Rainbow Dash Theater and Wow. Just wow. For like 5 minutes straight everyone was just like "GAK GAK GAK GAK GAK GAK GAK GAK HOLY CRAP GAK" and a few people actually got kicked off it for doing that! 

[Harmonic Revelations 8,833]

Fun fact: Cadence's tail isn't attached to her outside, it's actually attached to her from the inside. Want proof of this? Here you go, straight from the episode.

 

I think it's ironic.

 

Twi learned from Cadence to shut up, take a deep breath and just relax, knowing that chances are, everything will turn out okay.

 

Where have I seen a fanbase that could use this advice? I wonder...

I think that maybe the Pretzel fanbase could use this advice, I mean seriously, when is the last time they invented a new flavor of pretzel? Exactly.

Edited February 9, 2013 by Harmonic Revelations

[Chrisinden 26]

Memes are the very basis of our society.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Chrisinden

[BlackWater 53]

I thought this episode was pretty decent! Also had a little of Just for Sidekicks in there as well. Not my favorite, but it was still pretty good overall, but I don't have a clue on why we had to wait another week for one episode. ._. 

 

But I liked it, however, her chicken (or, shall I say Scootaloo) cutie mark kinda gave it away that she wasn't a game inspector. But still, it turned out pretty good. Kinda predictable, though. But I can't wait...and I can't believe we've only got one more episode! So I'm looking forward to it, I hope it turns out good.....

That's right. It was a Scootaloo cutie mark. Bwahahahaha. (I'm easily amused.)

 

Totally agree with you - it was a decent episode. Not my favorite but entertaining nontheless. Pinky Pie had some good scenes for sure (Cinnamon bun?). Love RD's zeal but she totally over did it in a funny way. Wasn't expecting the episode to be the tie-in with Sidekicks but I'm quite pleased for it.

 

Now with only one episode left, expectations are high. (Well they always are anyways but you know...)

[Fluttershyfan94 5,737]

So what did you guys think of that little Gak mud bath in there huh? WEIRD right? I never really got the stupid Gak thing and now its in the show! Come on Hub! <_<  I was watching it live stream and I swear the chat box exploded when that came up.

I believe the "gak" thing was first in the show in season 2 episode 17 Hearts and hooves day. There was this one stallion in a jar, you probably remember it by no. The chat box is always exploding in livestreams, it's so fast you can't really chat in it. Maybe it's like in movies were they have a coke in the background, your like not putting too much attention too it, but then you end up with one. It's some hypnosis thing, we see gak commercial, we see gak in episode, we buy gak while wathcing an episode.. Makes you think

lol.

 

On other notes, i liked how they connected the two episodes, the 11th and 12th.. I guess i had expected well i don't know the games to be held in the episode.. But still seeing RD's father, made the episode cool, i guess i just expected more too happen.. But it was a funny episode nonetheless. But episode 5 and 7 of season 3 are still my favorite of the third season.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,833]

To be honest, this is the worst episode yet. Did not like. I'm being paranoid, but I think hasbro does not want bronies here. First they take fan parodys away such as friendship is whitchcraft, give us whats gonna be a horrible ending, and now, fighting is magic. We want the season finalie to be like fights and drama like a canterlot wedding, not a pony becoming a princess!

Don't be so dramatic. The episode was okay. You didn't give any actual complaints about the episode, you only stated things you didn't like about Hasbro.

[pinkiefan1287 610]

I felt the episode was alright. It was cool to see Cadences and Shining Armor again and to see the Chrystal Empire. The jokes were alright and it is good to see MLP doing a classic kinda of cartoon joke, where they get the wrong pony. Not a great episode, but pretty good.

[Mutemutt 772]

I thought the episode was okay. It dealt with a predictable plot idea. Seeing Rainbow Dash's father (?) was cool. I was a little bothered by Rarity's part in this episode; on one hand she plays an important part but on the other hand she kind of gets pushed aside for the most part. Also the Pinkie comedy seemed a bit forced in this episode especially that part in the rotunda. 

 

But I must say that claustrophobic wild mustang from Mustangia has a lot of personality. She pretty much made all of the humor in the episode. Seeing coach Shining Armor was pretty nice too; it rounds him out a bit more.

[Spinelspike 78]

While as a whole, the episode was solid with consistant character traits and humour, as well as new information and development for characters, the episode went very quickly for me, and I felt like the "wrong pony" joke was very predictable and overstayed it's welcome. True, it was not supposed to be subtle, it did feel as if the M6's time with the wrong pony could have been cut down a bit to see more things from Cadence and SA (like....oh, I don't know, giving the explanation as to why Spike the saviour of the Empire wasn't invited) <_< 

But regardless, it was still a fun enjoyable episode like how MLP always is. There was a bit of lost potential, but I think it'll make up for that when we (hopefully) see the Empire again next season to see the actual games take place (and maybe spike will get invited this time

[Fluttershyfan94 5,737]

I thought the episode was okay. It dealt with a predictable plot idea. Seeing Rainbow Dash's father (?) was cool. I was a little bothered by Rarity's part in this episode; on one hand she plays an important part but on the other hand she kind of gets pushed aside for the most part. Also the Pinkie comedy seemed a bit forced in this episode especially that part in the rotunda. 

 

But I must say that claustrophobic wild mustang from Mustangia has a lot of personality. She pretty much made all of the humor in the episode. Seeing coach Shining Armor was pretty nice too; it rounds him out a bit more.

I thought i had misheard, Mustang from Mustangia, lol, nice name. Now i wonder how does Mustangia look like.. It's a shame Rarity and Pinkie Pie didn't get too much of the spot light, well Rarity at least, but Mustang was just an amazing character. Her personality was great, overall she became probably one of my favorite ponies, well they're so many.. But still, she is one of them, just like Fiddlesticks, even though Fiddlesticks has only been in episode 4 season 2, episode 8 season 3 as far as i know. I really like her.. They're one of those characters we don't get too see often, well the first time we've seen Mustang.. But you want to see them more, since they're interesting.

[~Asuka <3~ 867]

I really liked this episode, even though the general consensus is less enthusiastic about it.  I was really, really happy that Cadance returned, and we got to see more of the Crystal Empire.   Plus, Pinkie was hilarious, and it was interesting to see this side of the story, instead of Spike's.  

 

Overall, I'm very pleased with this episode.  

 

 

 

To be honest, this is the worst episode yet. Did not like. I'm being paranoid, but I think hasbro does not want bronies here. First they take fan parodys away such as friendship is whitchcraft, give us whats gonna be a horrible ending, and now, fighting is magic. We want the season finalie to be like fights and drama like a canterlot wedding, not a pony becoming a princess!

I don't think it's quite that bad bro, but we'll just wait and see what happens.  And who knows, maybe the Coronation episode will contain fighting and drama.  

[Sonata18 105]

I really liked the episode... but I was sad that Cadence and Shining Armor weren't crystal.  The mane 6 didn't become crystallized when the crystal heart activated again.  I wanted more shiny ponies!  Other than that I really really enjoyed it. 

[Malakili 165]

To be honest, this is the worst episode yet. Did not like. I'm being paranoid, but I think hasbro does not want bronies here. First they take fan parodys away such as friendship is whitchcraft, give us whats gonna be a horrible ending, and now, fighting is magic. We want the season finalie to be like fights and drama like a canterlot wedding, not a pony becoming a princess!

 

Check out this (spoiler-heavy) trailer for the finale :

 

 

 

Now, apart from the Miss America segment at the end which won't affect the episode obviously, this looks completely epic with the "lasers" and all that plus it seems it will be quite dramatic, seeing how Twilight will have to write her own magic to make everything normal again, unlike more mundane episodes like The Best Night Ever, which was the first finale so it's not like this is new. Plus, you could have said the same about A Canterlot Wedding before seeing it "we want fights and drama, not ponies marrying each other"  

Edited February 9, 2013 by Malakili

[RoseLaflesh 38]

I found the episode alright. It wasn't great. They dragged on the mistaken identity thing way too long. How could they not notice how unofficial this pony was acting? They should have realized what was going on sooner. In fact, they should have approached that pony with "Are you the games inspector?" rather than assuming she is. I don't think that it would have even affected the episode that much if they got the right pony to begin with. Although the chicken cutie mark pony was pretty funny.

 

The ending did make sense for me. After all, having ponies kiss your rump every time you step into a town doesn't really help you see what kind of place you're walking into. So hearing the opinion from an unbiased source would be refreshing.

 

I loved Pinkie Pie's antics, as usual. And of course there's the classic over competitive Rainbow Dash.

 

I don't know why Rarity was the one to do Candace's mane. Yes, Rarity's special talent involves jewels and crystals, but I don't see how she was anymore qualified than any of the other stylists at the spa. It was clear that she knew just as much about the headdress as anyone else, maybe even less because I imagine that the crystal ponies would understand crystal fashions better than Rarity. I did like how Candace's mane ended up looking like it was styled by a five-year-old.

[PoisonClaw 8,153]

Ah...another episode in the Crystal Empire. Maybe it's just me, but I'm glad this place didn't go the way of Appleloosa and only appear once after the season opening. Seeing Cadance and Shining Armor is always a good thing and I see the *SHINY!* Crystal Ponies are *SHINY!* as wonderful to *SHINY!* look at as before. SO SHINY!!

 

...Ahem. Anyway, I already talked about the parallel episodes in "Just For Sidekicks", but I like the continuity nods to the previous episode like the luggage falling over or the library devolving into anarchy as soon as Twilight turns around. However, I quickly ran into a rather massive hurdle that made me groan in the first eight of so minutes: the moment Twilight said "look for the passenger with the floral luggage", I knew immediately they were going to go the route of the mistaken identity, which is personally a trope I can't stand considering it more often than not mixes with Poor Communication Kills, as this whole thing could have been resolve if any of them had simply asked if she was Miss Harshwhinny to begin with, or even mentioned her by name at least once! Hell, a few mental alarm bells should have at least gone off when the pony in question said she was surprised that Cadance knew anything about her to begin with. 

 

After taking a while to pole vault over such a hurdle however, I came to realize that despite that this episode does have a good number of funny moments. There's the synchronized dance routine, Rarity's failed attempt at doing up Cadance's mane and the ensuing "porcupine mane" conversation (complete with demonstration using Twilight's mane that I absolutely must screenshot!), Dash crashing into the glass roof while Rarity is working...actually, "every scene with Rarity in it" sums it up pretty nicely. 

 

This episode also succeeds in adding more character development to both Twilight and, surprisingly, Rainbow Dash. Twilight's come far from the days of completely and irrationally losing her mind Ala "Lesson Zero", and while Dash's attitude was somewhat understandable given what happened to her as a filly, she was still doing it more for the Crystal Ponies benefit than her own. Then, once it all starts to fall apart, Dash doesn't even hesitate to take full responsibility for potentially losing their one chance to have the games held in the Crystal Empire..Now that's loyalty.

 

Cadance's mane was actually really pretty at the end I might add!

 

All and all, despite the minor predictability of the plot, this was still a rather enjoyable episode. With that, the countdown begins to the episode I'm sure everybody has been waiting for. Let's see...fireproof umbrella, check. Sufficient provisions, check. Fire Extinguisher, check. Riot helmet...uh oh. Now where did I put that thing...    

Edited February 9, 2013 by PoisonClaw

[Batbrony 15,994]

Check out this (spoiler-heavy) trailer for the finale :

 

 

 

Now, apart from the Miss America segment at the end which won't affect the episode obviously, this looks completely epic with the "lasers" and all that plus it seems it will be quite dramatic, seeing how Twilight will have to write her own magic to make everything normal again, unlike more mundane episodes like The Best Night Ever, which was the first finale so it's not like this is new. Plus, you could have said the same about A Canterlot Wedding before seeing it "we want fights and drama, not ponies marrying each other"  

 

Ya know, not gonna lie, but all I could think of when they showed Miss America right after the huge set-up in that commercial for Twilight's transformation was, "Oh my gosh, she's going to transform into Miss America... gotta say, didn't see that coming!". 

[Delzepp 2,939]

HD version for who wants it:

 

 

(haven't seen the episode myself, so this will be the perfect opportunity to take a look, really hoping it's awesome XD)

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

Honestly, this episode was about as average as it gets. I couldn't tell what this episode was trying to be. The previews had me thinking it was about Rarity, but early on as I was watching it, I learned it wasn't. I am disappointed in Rarity's lack of screen time and focus this season. Was this a Rainbow Dash episode? It's just hard to tell. I'm guessing the idea was for this to be a "Mane Six" episode, but when Applejack and Fluttershy feel extremely nonexistent, the episode falls really flat. And outside of Pinkie's shenanigans being a usual highlight of the episode, I felt that the plot was super predictable, the side characters were bland, and the humor was drier than it has been all season. I might have to give it a rewatch and see if it turns out better the second time. I know I enjoyed Keep Calm and Flutter On a lot more the second time through.

 

Honestly, I feel as if it's season 2 all over again, in that the season starts out with a very strong first half, but the second half ends up being a bit mediocre. Oh well, it's still been a heck of a season for such a short one, and I cannot wait for next week's finale.

[Emerald Flame 380]

This was possibly the most boring episode yet. Most of the jokes fell flat, Cadances's VA sounded bored as hell, and the whole pony mix up thing dragged on far too long. However, seeing Rainbow's dad was pretty cool.

[Thundershock 310]

i think this was a pretty good episode.Pinkie was really funny in this episode,and its cool how this is basically the ponie's side instead of spike.

[Delzepp 2,939]

I absolutely adored this episode and I'll tell you why: I'm a sucker for the idea of making two episodes happening at the same time in different locations, but somehow connected;

 

that being said, the way the beginning and the end made the transition to the previous episode was to die for!!! whoever had the idea of making these two episodes the way they did, my honest congratulations!

[Qui-Gon Jinn 2]

Im gonna watch this episode right now I hope its good!