S04:E15 - Twilight Time

[TomorrowJoes 14]

Awesome episode. Bonus was this

[Danger Dash 101]

I'm not so much of a fan for CMC episodes, so I'll give it a 6.5/10.

 

The fact that everyone started liking her for the sole fact that she was a princess and liking the CMC only because they were friends' of Princess Twilight Sparkle was just one of 'those' episodes where everyone likes a certain someone for their popularity or high status, this wasn't my cup of tea.

 

Overall it's not bad.

 

Was it just me or did it sound like Tara Strong used her voice for Timmy Turner at this point? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yCVZ9bznMJ8#t=624

[Pixel Stick 927]

Well yeah if you are talking about Sweetie Bot.

 

A friend of mine introduced me to that parody series just a few weeks ago, and I just about fell off the couch laughing at Sweetie Bot.  That was just frickin' hilarious.

 

I've gotta say, I'm not entirely sure what so many people have against Dave Polsky. Honestly, almost everything he's done in the show has been pretty good. I mean, yeah. His episodes tend to be a little over the top and lack concise morals at times, but they're still entertaining to watch.

 

I think the issue with Polsky is that he's consistently had the worst-rated episodes of the series, by a fairly significant section of the fandom (from what I can see, anyway).  For me, he's certainly done most of my least-favorite episodes, including Feeling Pinkie Keen, Spike At Your Service, and Daring Don't.  That's not to say he hasn't had some gems as well, but he's been very hit-or-miss, whereas some of the other writers tend to be more hit than miss.

 

My biggest problem with Polsky is that he tends to focus so hard on just whichever character(s) is/are the focus of the episode, that he (1) forgets to do anything with the rest of the characters (one of my biggest gripes about Daring Don't), and (2) he tends to make the focus characters act more out-of-character than usual.  I've kinda learned that when I become aware it's a Polsky episode, I start watching carefully to see if his interpretation of the focus characters agrees with the rest of the canon.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

 

In this case, I don't have too many gripes about the characters being off from their normal selves, so much as I just don't think it was a very well-written or well-thought-out episode.  I honestly didn't even find it very entertaining - Polsky's episodes often have some sort of brilliantly funny joke (example: The orange frog in Too Many Pinkie Pies), but I just didn't see one here.  (Though the coughing drama flower at the beginning seemed appropriate given we'd just been watching Dexter's Lab beforehand.)

Edited February 23, 2014 by Pixel Stick

[Blossomshy 39]

A very meh episode for me. I guess I was watching at midnight so I was kinda tired. I am not a fan of princess twilight but I don't mind the cmc. How did no one notice that twilight became a princess? It's been ages. Also what's with the burger shop? It is odd in ponyville i thought. All the chanting seemed very mob like. All of this to spend some time with twilight? Anyway just my opinion, not one that I would really watch again. Am i being too critical? About 5/10

[Ianpiersonjdavis 512]

I didn't care for it.

 

The central theme for Twilight's Princess status as a plot point is something I felt would have worked better near the beginning of the Season, rather than midway through as Ponyville and the Mane Six were still dealing with her being a princess as it was relatively new at the time and the suspension of disbelief with other fillies and colts not knowing that they hung out with Twilight wouldn't have to be as strong.

 

Especially when they've seen them speaking with Twilight on various occasions in several previous episodes before her coronation and this would have easily tied in with her insecurities displayed in the premiere.

 

The fact that the Cutie Mark Crusaders want Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara's approval makes little sense as they've mentioned the teasing and bullying they've had to endure for the past three and a half seasons.

 

Overall, aside from its episode feeling out of place with its continuity and character issues-it felt like a filler episode and the Cutie Mark Crusaders willingness to use their friend Twilight and advance their social standing sheds a negative light on the characters as it is the same attitude Diamond Tiara has expressed in past episodes including 'Ponyville Confidential'.

 

5/10

[Noodles 109]

I enjoyed this episode another slice of life that addresses some issues like Twilight being a princess and no pony seeming to care! and twilight being twilight and not caring about her new status that much. cunning and deceptive diamond tiara. what's not to love?

[NezPPTS 36]

I absolutely loved this episode, probably my favorite CMC episode of the entire series.

 

Also, it does help when your favorite Mane 6 stars for the first time in quite a while. I mean seriously, Twilight hasn't had a prominent role since the season premiere (discounting Three's a Crowd). It's very disappointing to say the least. BTW, Twilight is most understanding and nicest pony.

[Bucky McGillyCuddy 956]

I think Scootaloo just took first place for best Squee...

 

For me the best thing about this episode was that Sweetie Belle can use her magic now. It's a shame that Applebloom and Scoots couldn't have been using Twilight time to practice something a little more their style though. I would have liked the episode to be a little more about the CMC finding their talents. Personally the whole being cool at school thing didn't really interest me that much but yeah, still enjoyed the episode.

[RollingPony 100]

I really loved this episode

I laughed so much, Twilight was awesome and I love the CMC.

Twilights messi eating was really funny and so many new fillies and more Pipsqueak!

[Guest90210 3,568]

>Spike is nice enough to make nacho's for the CMC and Twilight

 

 

>Insane amount of people show up. Spike spends hours painstakingly making more nachos for everyone

 

 

>Everyone left

 

 

>How Twilight treats Spike's hard work

 

 

 

Friendship is Magic!

[zev_zev The outcast 415]

Lots of duckface this season.

Duckface epedemic, I told you!

[Moonbacon 384]

 

 

Also, why is Pinkie working at the hay burger store Must be an excuse to stick in best pony.

 

hmm they must be forshadowing a certain creepypasta about pinkie and rainbow dash

 

anyways i'l gibe this episode 10/10 

[GoldenCal 52]

>Spike is nice enough to make nacho's for the CMC and Twilight

 

 

>Insane amount of people show up. Spike spends hours painstakingly making more nachos for everyone

 

 

>Everyone left

 

 

>How Twilight treats Spike's hard work

 

 

 

Friendship is Magic!

Every show needs a butt monkey

thats why they created you

Butt monkey

Butt monkey

 

Every show needs a butt monkey

thats why they created you

Spike the Dragon

[lolololol 65]

I liked it. that is all. NOTE TO SELF: Never read youtube comments on an episode.  -_-

Edited February 23, 2014 by Jorgeson

[serra20 3]

I actually liked this episode alot for one thing. Finally Twilight was actually noticed as a Princess in Ponyville. I mean, I know that a lot of you people around do not like the alicorn Twilight, or just her being a princess, and I do have a feeling that the writers wanted to keep Twilight in-character as a modest, yet still aware of her royal duties self. Still tho, I was confused and rather disappointed how she just doesn't look like a Princess in this season. It's not about keeping character consistent, its about following the plot, the setting of series. All of the princesses wear their royal accessories, have escorts and are treated like princesses, and Twilight? No, she's just walking around, with nothing to show that she's a princess, and she's treated like an ordinary pony who happens to have both wings and horn. It seems that Twilight is taken as pointless princess, like only as a backup for the other three in case something happened. That just disappoints me alot.

So yes, after the big rant...I'm indeed glad she was finally noticed, respected and treated like a princess. I would still love to see her wearing her royal outfits and accessories randomly sometime

[Shift 4,272]

I wasn't here to make a s$%@ ton of posts...

 

Anyway, fast food is canon, and pipsqueak and featherweight and Diamond Tiara has a MANSION and is still one of the best ponies. Excellent CMC episode.

[Ragland Tiger 3,386]

. Twilight was treated as a Mary Sue,

I don' t think that was the case at all.  Twilight was played as a caring and thoughtful adult, an appropriate role for her in reationship to the CMC and other children of Ponyville.  I think what Dave Polsky and the show, in general, did in this department was spot-on and very admirable.

[Shanks 10,816]

I actually liked this episode alot for one thing. Finally Twilight was actually noticed as a Princess in Ponyville. I mean, I know that a lot of you people around do not like the alicorn Twilight, or just her being a princess, and I do have a feeling that the writers wanted to keep Twilight in-character as a modest, yet still aware of her royal duties self.

I may not have liked it and still have some reservations despite now being neutral but I also don't like that it has been ignored for most of this season and am pleased that we got some recognition that it actually happened. I have long waited for the inevitable flank kissing that would come as a result of her ascension and while it didn't come in the form I was expecting it to I am still pleased. This episode was funny and had a lot of truth to it about how people or ponies in this cases obsession with celebrities can cause them to become superficial and shallow flank kissers. As someone who has long hated the celebrity infotainment culture I like this episode on that principle alone.

[Spartan 433]

Am I the only one who noticed Sweetie Belle has a slightly different voice in this one, or am I as crazy as I thought?

 

But over all, this one was OK, not amazing :/

[spacestorm 183]

I really liked this episode.
Finally they touched the issue with Twilight being a princess. Only it's shame that it's so late, so it suffers an inconsistency with previous episodes.
I very liked that CMC have convinced themselves to start learning in proper way. That gives more opportunities to show them interacting with mane6 but at the same time still allows to show them doing silly things together - but now not necessarily related to their cutie mark quest.

I started to like CMC and I really hope that teenage or adult CMC become a main characters of G5 MLP series.

 

Twilight eating grassburger or hayburgerr (whatever) was just priceless! She don't feel to be princess yet, the title hasn't changed her personality, she is still an adorkable cute bookworm as we know her from before her transformation.

[Music Chart Fan 819]

Overall, this episode seemed off, for lack of a better term. There were a lot of things throughout the episode that were a little odd: the Cutie Mark Crusaders' unexpected rise to popularity and their trying to stay popular; Diamond Tiara's, Silver Spoon's, and the rest of the class's sudden obsession with "Princess" Twilight; Twilight's seemingly nonchalant reactions to the kids' obsession with her and to the CMC bringing "guests" to Twilight Time; Diamond Tiara's and Silver Spoon's plans to embarrass and get the CMC in trouble not quite working at first, but then somehow working near the end; and the CMC's doubling down after their motives were revealed by Pipsqueak. How much of this can be explained by the excuse that "they're just kids"? Is Twilight acting realistically and correctly in this episode? I don't quite know what to make of all of these things.

 

First, it seems a little strange that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon think that Twilight is "totally awesome" now that she's a princess. Since becoming princess, Twilight hasn't really changed very much, as far as we know, so Twilight still doesn't seem to have many of the qualities that those two would normally appreciate. She still isn't rich, she still doesn't spend a lot of time in upper-class circles, she's still generally accessible for normal ponies to talk to or hang out with, she still doesn't share those two's elitist attitudes, we haven't seen her doing any impressive royal duties, etc. Similarly, it's a little hard to see why all the kids in the CMC's class suddenly become obsessed with Twilight, since she's always been there and hasn't changed much. I suppose that the mere presence of the "Princess" title is supposed to be the cause of most, if not all, of the obsession, which seems rather silly, but maybe I'm giving too much credit to elementary-school-aged kids. The funny thing is that Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six have performed feats of bravery, saved Equestria on several occasions, wielded the powerful Elements of Harmony, etc., all of which would actually be much more legitimate reasons to admire the Mane Six, yet it's Twilight's "Princess" title that makes the kids take notice.

 

Of course, given the above doubts and Diamond Tiara's and Silver Spoon's fake-seeming enthusiasm with Princess Twilight (e.g. saying that books are a bold design choice), it's possible that the two of them were trolling everyone by feigning interest in Twilight, and were planning all along to somehow use that to embarrass the CMC and/or get them in trouble. I don't know that the two of them could have planned the entire sequence of events that happened from the beginning, though; maybe they just thought of ways to take advantage of the situations as they came up.

 

It also seemed strange to me that everyone acts as though what happens during Twilight Time and how many ponies come to it is a decision that the CMC (or others) can make by themselves, when it seems to me that Twilight herself should have just as much, if not more, of a say in the matter. For example, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon ask the CMC to come along for the next Twilight Time, and the CMC huddle and decide to bring them along on their own, without asking Twilight first or even wondering whether they should ask her first. Further, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon take it upon themselves to "sign up" their classmates to see Twilight, again with no input from Twilight herself. Also, both times that the CMC bring along extra "guests" to Twilight Time, Twilight doesn't seem upset that they didn't run this by her first, and she even says that it's the CMC's decision to share their time, with no mention of her own time and effort. 

 

All of this makes it seem as though Twilight doesn't care about her own time, effort, and agreed-upon arrangements. Apparently tutoring the CMC on previously planned subjects and tutoring an entire class's worth of kids with no prior notice is all the same and makes no difference to Twilight, which seems a little naive and unrealistic. Of course, it's possible that Twilight's words and reactions aren't entirely genuine, and that she's (at least partly) acting like she's not upset so that she will still seem approachable, patient, etc. Maybe this could also (at least partly) explain why Twilight allows Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to come in and stay for Twilight Time despite their showing no apparent interest in actually learning from Twilight.

 

Now for some shorter random observations:

 

Twilight's repeated statements about "learning for learning's sake" and whatnot grew tiresome pretty quickly. Plus, it seems like the CMC's motivation for going to Twilight Time isn't just for the sake of learning, but also to try to get their cutie marks.

 

Apple Bloom's magic plant-growing potion apparently made the plant sentient and gave it animal-like characteristics? Other than Discord's shenanigans, have we seen plants act like this on the show before?

 

Diamond Tiara is, of course, popular at school and easily gets all of the other kids' attention, despite being a jerk, as far as we've seen. I didn't really like seeing that, but I suppose it's not unrealistic; I remember kids in elementary school being popular despite being kind of jerks too.

 

Even if Sweetie Belle were traveling to Manehattan in the near future, if I were in her place, I probably wouldn't take up Diamond Tiara's and Silver Spoon's offer anyway. Besides my not really caring about celebrities, they would likely just use it as an opportunity to embarrass and belittle Sweetie Belle. What exactly would elementary-school-aged kids do when hanging out with famous celebrities anyway?

 

Hayburgers seem a little strange, pointless, and not like a particularly good idea; they just combine one dry starch (hay) with another dry starch (bread). It seems kind of like if someone tried to make hash brown "burgers" by slapping hash browns on a bun; it seems like it would be kind of bland and dry and just too much starch all at once.

 

The kids chanting "Twilight Time" over and over (and one of them even drooling when doing so) and moving as one slow, giant crowd obviously seemed like a horde of zombies. Their incessant chanting also grated rather quickly. Speaking of them, how did the slowly-walking horde of kids keep up with the CMC on the way to Twilight's house, when the CMC were supposedly "running like the wind"?

 

Did Sweetie Belle really fail at her stated feat at Twilight's house in front of the class? Sweetie Belle said she would use her magic to lift the broom, and she did - how far off the ground or for how long wasn't part of the description.

 

When Sweetie Belle said "We made a huge mistake", that brought to mind the many times "I've made a huge mistake" was said in Arrested Development. It's hard to say whether Sweetie Belle's line there was a deliberate reference, though.

 

When the CMC are dejectedly thanking Twilight and walking out, why does Scootaloo give the scooter to Twilight? I thought Pipsqueak said it was his scooter earlier.

 

Finally, why did Twilight throw out all of Spike's nachos? That's a lot of money and effort to just throw away. Why don't she and Spike save them and eat them, especially considering Twilight's apparent love of nachos? Or, even better, why doesn't Twilight have the rest of the Mane Six come over and help eat them? It could be an impromptu party with them and the CMC, which I would think would be fun. They would have to watch out, though - Pinkie might just eat all the nachos in one bite like she ate the whole cake at the end of "MMMystery on the Friendship Express".

[Seaweed-Headed Dragon 359]

In my opinion, this was a great episode idea, however presented in the wrong way. The story development was poor on this episode.

[MistyStarBright 9]

We'll see, we'll see.  I personally think that "Feeling Pinkie Keen" is a terribly underrated episode, not to mention Polsky did write "Rarity Takes Manehattan", which in my opinion, although hardly the first hit episode of the season, did kick off the current good-episode streak the show's been on for some time now.  Besides, I like the pairing for this episode.  I always find new pairings that we don't see too often in the show to be especially tantalizing (although the last time we had one this season it was in "Bats!", and that episode was kinda disappointing in all honesty), but hopefully here it'll work well.  After all, the last time Twilight was paired with the CMC in any major scene, this happened:

 

 

 

Doubt we'll get that, but hopefully good things come about in this episode all the same. 

After that episode I never went near a beachball again.

 

And did anybody else notice cannibal Twi?

>Spike is nice enough to make nacho's for the CMC and Twilight

 

 

>Insane amount of people show up. Spike spends hours painstakingly making more nachos for everyone

 

 

>Everyone left

 

 

>How Twilight treats Spike's hard work

 

 

 

Friendship is Magic!

This is why Spike is, was, and always will be best pony.

and he's not even a pony.

That's how awesome he is.

Overall, this episode seemed off, for lack of a better term. There were a lot of things throughout the episode that were a little odd: the Cutie Mark Crusaders' unexpected rise to popularity and their trying to stay popular; Diamond Tiara's, Silver Spoon's, and the rest of the class's sudden obsession with "Princess" Twilight; Twilight's seemingly nonchalant reactions to the kids' obsession with her and to the CMC bringing "guests" to Twilight Time; Diamond Tiara's and Silver Spoon's plans to embarrass and get the CMC in trouble not quite working at first, but then somehow working near the end; and the CMC's doubling down after their motives were revealed by Pipsqueak. How much of this can be explained by the excuse that "they're just kids"? Is Twilight acting realistically and correctly in this episode? I don't quite know what to make of all of these things.

 

First, it seems a little strange that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon think that Twilight is "totally awesome" now that she's a princess. Since becoming princess, Twilight hasn't really changed very much, as far as we know, so Twilight still doesn't seem to have many of the qualities that those two would normally appreciate. She still isn't rich, she still doesn't spend a lot of time in upper-class circles, she's still generally accessible for normal ponies to talk to or hang out with, she still doesn't share those two's elitist attitudes, we haven't seen her doing any impressive royal duties, etc. Similarly, it's a little hard to see why all the kids in the CMC's class suddenly become obsessed with Twilight, since she's always been there and hasn't changed much. I suppose that the mere presence of the "Princess" title is supposed to be the cause of most, if not all, of the obsession, which seems rather silly, but maybe I'm giving too much credit to elementary-school-aged kids. The funny thing is that Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six have performed feats of bravery, saved Equestria on several occasions, wielded the powerful Elements of Harmony, etc., all of which would actually be much more legitimate reasons to admire the Mane Six, yet it's Twilight's "Princess" title that makes the kids take notice.

 

Of course, given the above doubts and Diamond Tiara's and Silver Spoon's fake-seeming enthusiasm with Princess Twilight (e.g. saying that books are a bold design choice), it's possible that the two of them were trolling everyone by feigning interest in Twilight, and were planning all along to somehow use that to embarrass the CMC and/or get them in trouble. I don't know that the two of them could have planned the entire sequence of events that happened from the beginning, though; maybe they just thought of ways to take advantage of the situations as they came up.

 

It also seemed strange to me that everyone acts as though what happens during Twilight Time and how many ponies come to it is a decision that the CMC (or others) can make by themselves, when it seems to me that Twilight herself should have just as much, if not more, of a say in the matter. For example, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon ask the CMC to come along for the next Twilight Time, and the CMC huddle and decide to bring them along on their own, without asking Twilight first or even wondering whether they should ask her first. Further, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon take it upon themselves to "sign up" their classmates to see Twilight, again with no input from Twilight herself. Also, both times that the CMC bring along extra "guests" to Twilight Time, Twilight doesn't seem upset that they didn't run this by her first, and she even says that it's the CMC's decision to share their time, with no mention of her own time and effort. 

 

All of this makes it seem as though Twilight doesn't care about her own time, effort, and agreed-upon arrangements. Apparently tutoring the CMC on previously planned subjects and tutoring an entire class's worth of kids with no prior notice is all the same and makes no difference to Twilight, which seems a little naive and unrealistic. Of course, it's possible that Twilight's words and reactions aren't entirely genuine, and that she's (at least partly) acting like she's not upset so that she will still seem approachable, patient, etc. Maybe this could also (at least partly) explain why Twilight allows Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to come in and stay for Twilight Time despite their showing no apparent interest in actually learning from Twilight.

 

Now for some shorter random observations:

 

Twilight's repeated statements about "learning for learning's sake" and whatnot grew tiresome pretty quickly. Plus, it seems like the CMC's motivation for going to Twilight Time isn't just for the sake of learning, but also to try to get their cutie marks.

 

Apple Bloom's magic plant-growing potion apparently made the plant sentient and gave it animal-like characteristics? Other than Discord's shenanigans, have we seen plants act like this on the show before?

 

Diamond Tiara is, of course, popular at school and easily gets all of the other kids' attention, despite being a jerk, as far as we've seen. I didn't really like seeing that, but I suppose it's not unrealistic; I remember kids in elementary school being popular despite being kind of jerks too.

 

Even if Sweetie Belle were traveling to Manehattan in the near future, if I were in her place, I probably wouldn't take up Diamond Tiara's and Silver Spoon's offer anyway. Besides my not really caring about celebrities, they would likely just use it as an opportunity to embarrass and belittle Sweetie Belle. What exactly would elementary-school-aged kids do when hanging out with famous celebrities anyway?

 

Hayburgers seem a little strange, pointless, and not like a particularly good idea; they just combine one dry starch (hay) with another dry starch (bread). It seems kind of like if someone tried to make hash brown "burgers" by slapping hash browns on a bun; it seems like it would be kind of bland and dry and just too much starch all at once.

 

The kids chanting "Twilight Time" over and over (and one of them even drooling when doing so) and moving as one slow, giant crowd obviously seemed like a horde of zombies. Their incessant chanting also grated rather quickly. Speaking of them, how did the slowly-walking horde of kids keep up with the CMC on the way to Twilight's house, when the CMC were supposedly "running like the wind"?

 

Did Sweetie Belle really fail at her stated feat at Twilight's house in front of the class? Sweetie Belle said she would use her magic to lift the broom, and she did - how far off the ground or for how long wasn't part of the description.

 

When Sweetie Belle said "We made a huge mistake", that brought to mind the

"I've made a huge mistake" was said in Arrested Development. It's hard to say whether Sweetie Belle's line there was a deliberate reference, though.

 

When the CMC are dejectedly thanking Twilight and walking out, why does Scootaloo give the scooter to Twilight? I thought Pipsqueak said it was his scooter earlier.

 

Finally, why did Twilight throw out all of Spike's nachos? That's a lot of money and effort to just throw away. Why don't she and Spike save them and eat them, especially considering Twilight's apparent love of nachos? Or, even better, why doesn't Twilight have the rest of the Mane Six come over and help eat them? It could be an impromptu party with them and the CMC, which I would think would be fun. They would have to watch out, though - Pinkie might just eat all the nachos in one bite like she ate the whole cake at the end of "MMMystery on the Friendship Express".

The kid drooling had the wrong idea of what Twilight time was.

[Pixel Stick 927]

Am I the only one who noticed Sweetie Belle has a slightly different voice in this one, or am I as crazy as I thought?

 

Nope, I noticed that too.  I think her voice actor is growing up.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Nope, I noticed that too.  I think her voice actor is growing up.

Awkward puberty squeaks incoming.