S04:E12 - Pinkie Pride

[Dark Qiviut 22,160]

I already wrote my brief thoughts on this episode when it was leaked, so I C&P 'em.

 

 

There was so much hype leading up to this episode. I daresay PP lived up to, if not surpassed, the hype. THIS is how you fit more than five songs into one twenty-minute episode without having it cramped or sacrificing objective quality, something MMC massively failed to do.

Counting today's airing, I watched this episode nine times. Each time, it gets better and funnier. That's a testament to its strong writing, pacing (for the most part), songs, and execution. As far as the songs are concerned, all seven are great, but my favorite's Pinkie's Lament.

Combined with great characterization of Cheese Sandwich and Pinkie Pie, it's a huge home run. To date, easily not just my most favorite S4 episode, but the best S4 episode, too. Well done, AKR! 

 

But there was a ton to discuss. Such observations are:

1. Pinkie Pie was absolutely at her best here. One major problem last season and this season is how Pinkie Pie's offbeat humor becomes one-dimensional, turning her into an incompetent, random airhead. There's plenty to Pinkie beyond it, and she's much more intelligent that what several of the episodes that put her into a secondary role give credit. In fact, she's one of the smartest.
2. The entire Goof Off was absolutely hilarious. So many gags freshened the hilarity of the sequences, and none of the jokes were used twice. My most favorite was the real-life scenes that shattered the fourth wall and the polka version of The Smile Song. (BTW, seeing Pinkie get insulted by that is refreshing, as Pinkie hasn't been shown to get so angry too much this season.)
3. How Cheese Sandwich came to Ponyville not as an antagonist. In fact, that point was very clear in Act 1 before the song as well as Twilight asking Pinkie if she could help him.
4. Every single song didn't feel like they were chopped down to save time, one big reason why MMC was quite bad. The songs were evenly distributed and felt very complete.

[VenomTrixie 57]

I enjoyed this episode because it gives Pinkie depth, so you know she isn't just in the show for comic relief. She isn't just in the show for jokes and random things. She has other components that make her interesting. Pinkie grew on me in this episode. So I would save this was a good episode, because it gave Pinkie Pie positive character growth.

[My Little Mandy 838]

@,

I think they'd also make an adorable couple.

But isn't Pinkie a teenager and Cheese Sandwhich an

Adult?   

[jeremiahsparkle 12]

This eposode surprised me on how great it was. when i found out it was a pinkie pie eposode, i was like "ugh". pinkie is my least favorate pony, but afther i saw this she is now top 3 for me. this is some of her best singing up to date by a long shot. and the addition of wierd AL was AWSOME. no words can describe how hyped i was to see this. it all turned out perfect for me.

[Argumedies 1,748]

I'm not a big Pinky Pie fan but it was okay for me.

 

Wasn't expecting a musical episode and only cared about the last song.

 

Oh and one other thing... sorry I don't have a screen pic. But according to the number of candles on her cake...

 

 

...RAINBOW DASH IS 21 YEARS OLD....

 

Don't believe me!...go count them

 

This also puts all the main 6 on or near that age imho

 

 

This myth is confirmed!

Edited February 2, 2014 by Argumedies

[Captain Brony (MG11) 218]

+Love the Music

+The Music has purpose

+Derpy and the Chocolate Fountain

+A liked Weird Al as Cheese Sandwhich way more than I expected to (they managed to flaunt him without being obnoxious about it)

+The pacing never bothered me

+Pinkie was characterized well

+Three songs sounded like other songs: Belle song from Beauty and the Beast, This is our Big Night, and True, True Friend.

Edited February 2, 2014 by Captain Brony (MG11)

[RED20 289]

@,

I think they'd also make an adorable couple.

But isn't Pinkie a teenager and Cheese Sandwhich an

Adult?   

 

According to the candles on the cake, Rainbow Dash is 21, so Pinkie is probably around that age too.

[Captain Brony (MG11) 218]

I'm not a big Pinky Pie fan but it was okay for me.

Wasn't expecting a musical episode and only cared about the last song.

Oh and one other thing... sorry I don't have a screen pic. But according to the number of candles on her cake...

...RAINBOW DASH IS 21 YEARS OLD....

Don't believe me!...go count them

This also puts all the main 6 on or near that age imho

This myth is confirmed!

The real question is will the fandom accept this as cannon since it is pretty solid evidence.

Or will the fandom just put it off as "it's just a visual thing that doesn't confirm anything until we get contextual evidence so ill stick to my headcannon."

According to the candles on the cake, Rainbow Dash is 21, so Pinkie is probably around that age too.

They were also shown in the same scene together as children so CS and PP should be around the same age.

[Argumedies 1,748]

The real question is will the fandom accept this as cannon since it is pretty solid evidence.

Or will the fandom just put it off as "it's just a visual thing that doesn't confirm anything until we get contextual evidence so ill stick to my headcannon."

 

They were also shown in the same scene together as children so CS and PP should be around the same age.

Its enough evidence for me.

 

I think they are the same age its just that CS grew taller

[Castle Bleck 19,163]

I'm not a big Pinky Pie fan but it was okay for me.

 

Wasn't expecting a musical episode and only cared about the last song.

 

Oh and one other thing... sorry I don't have a screen pic. But according to the number of candles on her cake...

 

 

...RAINBOW DASH IS 21 YEARS OLD....

 

Don't believe me!...go count them

 

This also puts all the main 6 on or near that age imho

 

 

This myth is confirmed!

 

Except we only see 1 side of the cake.

[Captain Brony (MG11) 218]

Except we only see 1 side of the cake.

I noticed that too.

So the mystery goes on....

[Castle Bleck 19,163]

I noticed that too.

So the mystery goes on....

 

Granted, Dash IS most likely college-aged...

Edited February 2, 2014 by Anti-Villain

[Maerchen 38]

I.. think it's the first Pinkie Episode I really like. Wow, something new. xD

I don't have anything against Pinkie, but.. well... I just don't like her really much. *ducks in case of pinkie-fans-rage*

But I really enjoyed it. And I totally love Weird Al as Cheese Sandwich.

 

(And it's the first pair i ship now.. whyyy? q_q)

[DiscordAnarchy 770]

 

 

I met Weird Al earlier this year and his personality is very much exactly like Cheese Sandwhich. He is such a friendly guy and when I met him (this was at least 7 hours since his arrival and he was already dealing with over a thousand fans before me), he was still all smiles and very happy to talk to me.

 

I told him how my dad and I used to watch his music videos and how I had his CDs and even bought the Essential Weird All before the convention and he had the biggest smile on his face and kept telling me how much it meant to him that I was a fan and he kept encouraging me to see a concert live and how he knew I'd have fun.

 

I've never met a celebrity so appreciative. Like he just sounded so honored that I've been a fan since my preteen years...

[GrauWitz 1,010]

This is the absolute worst episode of Season 4 so far. It pretty much shows that Pinkie Pie NEEDS to be put in the asylum! Seriously, she's bucking ballistic when it came to parties that were a billion times better than what she throws. Also, Cheese Sandwich? I don't know what they were on when they were writing this character, and I don't wanna find out. Embarassing, mediocre and just not an enjoyable episode.

 

I suppose I've started a war now, have I?

[Music Chart Fan 818]

My overwhelming reaction to this episode is that it's obnoxious. I think it's telling of how I felt about the episode that, even more than other episodes, I had to muster the willpower to force myself to watch it a second time, like I usually do to make notes for the episode.

 

One of the biggest contributing factors to the obnoxiousness of the episode is how often Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich feel the need to stroke their own egos and incessantly proclaim the greatness of themselves and their parties, and how everyone else does the same for the both of them. Superlatives are thrown around so often, yet they have essentially no meaning. By what standard is everyone judging Pinkie's or Cheese Sandwich's parties to be the funnest, most fabulous, etc.? Without explaining or showing why they think so, I don't see why I should believe them.

 

When I've seen Pinkie's parties on previous episodes, they didn't blow me away with their awesomeness, and I'm not sure how much fun I would actually have at one of them. For example, Pinkie's parties often have a lot of decorations (streamers, confetti, party hats, etc.), but I don't really care about decorations, and if anything, seeing so many of them would make me feel bad about all of the mostly wasted money and effort put into them. Pinkie's parties often have a lot of bodies there, but I would probably be happier and more comfortable at a party with a lot fewer people whom I know better and could spend more time with. Pinkie's and Cheese Sandwich's ideas of what constitutes fun and a good party are not necessarily the same as mine or everyone else's, so it was a bit peeving to see everyone universally proclaiming their greatness.

 

Another thing this episode served to highlight is that it's unclear how Pinkie's party planning works. Is Pinkie ever paid for her party planning? If and when she isn't, does Pinkie buy all the materials for her parties herself? If so, how does Pinkie make that kind of money? When Pinkie is going around gathering party supplies, we don't see her paying the merchants for streamers, paint, banners, etc., so does she have a contract with them? Or do these merchants simply give away their wares to Pinkie so that she can plan her parties? When Pinkie makes her "guarantee" to Rainbow Dash, what does that mean? What happens if Rainbow Dash (or any other recipient of a party to whom Pinkie made such a guarantee) is NOT satisfied with Pinkie's party?

 

Cheese Sandwich arrives, and a few minutes and a song later, the rest of the Mane Six and the rest of Ponyville start extolling him and his parties while leaving Pinkie behind, even though the only basis for their praise is a few minutes worth of what Cheese Sandwich said. Why do all of them just believe him so readily without any proof? What made them so quickly think that Cheese Sandwich is better than Pinkie at planning the party and allow him to take charge? How is Cheese Sandwich's party planning actually better than Pinkie's? Doesn't Pinkie's friendship and track record of throwing parties for them mean anything? Why wouldn't Pinkie, being Rainbow Dash's close friend and well-known in Ponyville, know more about what Rainbow Dash and everyone else would like in a party and hence be the better party planner?

 

Of course, Pinkie is saddened by this sudden turn of events, but seemingly just as much or more so because she's not "the best", rather than because her best friends and the rest of Ponyville turned away from her on a dime for an unproven total stranger who just showed up a few minutes ago. Then, in song, she laments about how she just wanted to make her friends smile, and about how maybe she shouldn't plan parties at all. And during the song, she's shown failing at other jobs. I'm not sure what the message of all of this is supposed to be. Does not being "the best" at something make it not worth doing at all? Is being "the best" really a worthy life goal? Does Pinkie need to be the one to make her friends smile and laugh in order to her to be happy herself? Is planning parties supposed to be the only thing that Pinkie is good at doing?

 

The whole scene with the "goof off" was particularly obnoxious, and the whole thing seemed unnecessary and nonsensical. How is a "goof off" a good way of proving who "the best" party planner is and which one of them (and only one of them) should throw Rainbow Dash's party? Why does the "goof off" have to be an ultimatum? Both Pinkie's and Cheese Sandwich's shticks and singing were annoying from start to finish. If I were in Rainbow Dash's place, I certainly wouldn't be smiling (not that Rainbow Dash was particularly enthusiastic); I would be telling them to get off me and to just stop. 

 

If Cheese Sandwich's purpose in going to Ponyville and volunteering to help plan Rainbow Dash's party was to show Pinkie how great of a party pony he is, and how she was an inspiration to him, then why didn't he tell her that before? Why did he allow everyone to leave Pinkie behind when he "showed her up"? Why did he go through all of the party planning and not even talk to Pinkie while she moped alone at Sugarcube Corner? Why did he agree to the "goof off", which might have made Pinkie look bad or made him look bad and stopped him from planning the party and proving himself to Pinkie? His actions throughout the episode often seem inconsistent with his stated goal and supposed admiration for Pinkie. 

 

Finally, while there were, of course, lots of nonsensical things and events in the episode, a couple stuck out to me in particular. One was the scene where Pinkie is getting paint during the first song. Of course, it makes no sense for Pinkie to transport a bunch of paint by just having it slosh around in her bag. But what I don't understand is how the different colors of paint are separate when the merchant pours them in a single stream into Pinkie's bag, then they mix into a brown mess once they're all in the bag (which is what we would expect), but then when she's painting the banner, the colors are all separate again. The other one I'll point out is the fruit punch pool with floating food in it, which is Cheese Sandwich's idea. I would think that that would be a lot more sticky and nasty than fun. 

 

I'll mention @ and @ so that they see this, since they (and others) said that they couldn't imagine how anyone could dislike this episode, and Space Woona even seemed to suggest (whether jokingly or not) that anyone who dislikes the episode is just a troll. For the record, I'm not one of the few people who voted that they disliked the episode; I haven't voted in any of the episode polls, because ultimately I don't feel that strongly about any of the episodes, so I would probably just vote "Meh, it was okay." or "I didn't like it." every time. And you're right, Space Woona, that I think that the vast, vast majority of Pinkie's antics are stupid and annoying, which I'm sure is a contributing factor to my dislike of the episode.

[Messershmitt 289]

I LOVED THE EPISODE BUT THERE WERE NO SPOONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Oblivion 20,265]

OMG, this episode was a blast, it seems they went all out for this episode! Probably one of, if not my favorite episode yet of season 4!

 

I also really like how they are incorporating more of the mane 6 into each episode, instead of just showing one or two of the mane ponies, I would give this episode a infinity/10!!!!! I liked it that much!!!!!

[lomk 20,663]

I LOVED THE EPISODE BUT THERE WERE NO SPOONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Damn that abscence of spoons....  :okiedokielokie:

[Argumedies 1,748]

I noticed that too.

So the mystery goes on....

Sometimes its just better to NOT over think things.

 

This is pretty much face value and in an unstated way the writers answering this age old question.

[NezPPTS 36]

This episode was awesome. Pretty much anything to me that stars Pinkie is awesome.

 

Cheese Sandwich was the perfect antagonist for Pinkie, and I love how it he was worked into the episode. The ending was beyond fantastic; I like the fact that Cheese Sandwich found out what he wanted to be through Pinkie Pie. Just perfectly executed.

 

Season 4 has been on quite the roll so far with all of these outstanding episodes. Can't wait for next week.

Edited February 2, 2014 by NezPPTS

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

@DiscordAnarchy, that is so amazing!! Weird Al is definitely one celebrity/singer I would love to meet and hang out with, he seems like a really nice and funny guy, and that's cool to hear that he's a lot like Cheese Sandwich. I don't know that much about Weird Al, but I listened to his parodies growing up and always loved his take on a lot of the songs he did. Nice to see he's a pretty amazing guy to meet and talk to, Cheese Sandwich is definitely my favorite new pony introduced this season.

[Stancet 673]

 

 

This is the absolute worst episode of Season 4 so far. It pretty much shows that Pinkie Pie NEEDS to be put in the asylum! Seriously, she's bucking ballistic when it came to parties that were a billion times better than what she throws. Also, Cheese Sandwich? I don't know what they were on when they were writing this character, and I don't wanna find out. Embarassing, mediocre and just not an enjoyable episode. I suppose I've started a war now, have I?

 

 

AH HAH! 

 

Only one person hated this episode according to the poll. I think I found out who.

[SwigglySwiggly 358]

WTF did i just watch!?! this broke the 4th wall.

[WhoAreTheMythsters 7]

Definitely one of my favorite episodes of S4 so far! As a long time fan of Weird Al stuff, it was awesome to see him play a character that matches his personality so well. Oh yeah, and there was a 3:10 to Yuma reference.

 

Pinkie Pie: Then the goof off is on for high noon!
Twilight Sparkle: Um, Pinkie? It's already 3 o'clock.
Pinkie Pie: Oh. Oh, well then. Make it 3:10 to goof off!