S04:E22 - Trade Ya

[Blaze Bronson 343]

Wow, Fluttershy was amazing in this episode!

 

I didn't like this episode that much. Especially the rarity/applejack combo.. ugh...

 

Twilight/Pinkie Pie combo was kinda cool. I felt like it was a nod to the community's complaint about Twilight not being acknowledged as a princes. Where Pinkie Pie abuses this fact so much  

 

The last combo is where it's at for me. Because it has changed my favorite mane 6 list.

The Fluttershy/Rainbow Dash combo. Rainbow was just awful here, while we have a clear opposite right next to her all the time.

 

Fluttershy has never caught my attention much, and has been down to a 6/5th place on my list. Now she jumps up to the 3/4th place, rivaling Twilight!

 

While Rainbow dashes down to last place together with Applejack.

 

So if interested, my new list!

 

Pinkie Pie

Rarity
Twilight / Fluttershy
Rainbow Dash / Applejack

 

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

Still better than Rainbow Falls, dangit.

[Orablanco Account 3,706]

I liked it. Entertaining, I liked all the weird merchants and their personalities, I liked the interactions between the pairs and how different they were from one another, and it had not one, not two, but four friendship lessons in one go, and all them were pretty darn good. Not the tightest script (some words are used a bit too often), but the personalities of each of the characters shown through interactions, not just because of the quirks they all have, which I greatly appreciate.

 

Not exactly a new classic or anything, but good nonetheless.

Edited April 19, 2014 by CITRUS KING46

[pony.colin 156]

Just my two cents:(sorry, wall of text)

 

Episode was okay, (I voted for the mid-ground).  Episode felt solid though mostly throughout and didn't lean that far on being out of the ordinary to me, well maybe a few minor quips but not much.  It's nice to see us visit back an old place, Rainbow Falls, with a distinctive custom tradition. 

 

 

Anyways, this episode feels like a good throwback to the slice of life of feeling I've come to get used to with the series. It feels solid throughout because they ended up dividing the main cast into reasonable pairs.  Some of these pairs seem to feel like they are getting natural, Rarity + AJ, FS + RD, PP + TS. Spike sort of gets stuck in the background again, a bit of a shame for him. I always love it when characters bounce off of each other and this is probably what this episode was aiming more towards. Thinking about it, it seems each of the pairs previously used are working on the polar opposite vibe, (probably something that I haven't been paying attention to much and only just realizing). Again that emphasis that friends from completely different backgrounds can still have good friendships. For the course of this episode though Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's trade adventure ends up taking the cake for the majority of this episode, even though it seemed like there was some attempt at showing off all three of the pairs problems for the RF exchange trade.

 

 

Anyways, with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash the major focus for this pair isn't until really the end where the payoff comes. To which I say, slave trade LMAO. Seriously though, it's always this problem with Fluttershy, the “too sweet for your own good” problem that she's had forever. Putting your hoof down did nothing for the poor mare. Sigh, nothing was learned from there. To put in more perspective, Fluttershy basically sacrifices her own freedom and time to help Rainbow Dash in her pursuit to get the signed 1^st edition Daring Do book. It's starting to get abusive in the way RD treats FS, but that's not really evident until the end. The problem is that Fluttershy always will go with whatever RD wants her to do; it's this, “I will sacrifice, my happiness for the sake of making you happy RD” mentality that irks me because Fluttershy hasn't really learned how not to be abused by her friends, on some occasions. Example emphasis at 15:40 with Fluttershy losing her bear-call and not going back for it because it would interfere Dash's pursuit. (How hard would it have been to let go of the leash, fly up and simply grab it quick? Whatever)

 

The real kicker of this episode is with Fluttershy being traded (along with the Orthrus), to the Daring Do book owner. That's horrible; because Fluttershy is being traded like a “slave”, I'm not joking. The agreement between the book owner and Dash was that she would take the trade, ON THE CONDITION that Fluttershy forcibly comes to Manehattan with her to train the Orthrus. And Dash agrees easily. This exchange implies that Dash has “ownership” over Fluttershy, treating her as an “object” that Dash can use as leverage to barter for the trade (it was explicit, not implicit). And the way Dash treated Fluttershy throughout most of the episode, she might as well be a slave to her >.>. It's made a bit worst when Dash tries to get Twilight to break the agreement. Dash agrees that it was a fair trade, the she wanted that book, but regrets that she traded her friend for it (aka give me back my slave) – as if you agreed that a book was worth trading for your “friend”; even worst imposing ownership over her. Sigh, why I want Fluttershy to at least start realizing she needs to stop being abused. The lucky thing is that none of these trades are in written legal binding contracts and just oral agreement, plenty of leeway to double back on your decision. Hooray for rudimentary barter systems.

 

I'm not even hating on Dash, she's getting a bit typical so it's nothing new to me. But I'm more disappointed in how Fluttershy acts/is written. I do love her for her kind nurturing motherly personality, patience and such, but I feel that she should have already learned from previous experiences to not be a doormat. But maybe that's because she's willing to let Dash get away with it because, I think, she would be the oldest friend Fluttershy has had since her filly age. So there's probably a history of sentimentality in there that can still be explored (partially has been explored).

 

 

Rarity and Applejack – I'm starting to think the writers love pairing these two friends together and going at each other. It's reasonable fun to see these mares try to outdo each other. I thought both of the things they wanted were low value, but hey, who am I to judge? I've wasted my time and resources on things considered useless before, so I've been there. I did love how AJ did the switcharoo act to test Rarity, who knows, maybe she was right in her choice? Or wrong perhaps. The better bit for this gag pair is when they try to one up one and another on being the “better” friend. At the end, it's even funnier when AJ is able to offer the purple diamond, and say it's just like the others siting in Rarity drawer (ha, why do you know she has a drawer full of them AJ?) and even funnier, she still slides in a bit of her pride to say “it's because I'm a better moral friend that I trade my items for the sake of your happiness” Rarity of course taking notice and eyeing her suspiciously. The gag was slightly long played for my taste, but good overall.

 

 

Pinkie and Twilight seem like the oddest pairing to me for the plot. It's not new, but always feels a bit funny to me. Pinkie continues to be bipolar to me, 10:10 for example (that poor little pegasus filly). Pinkie feels like she keeps changing a bit between episodes, though not all the time. She sort of gets inconsistent here and there. She was relatively okay here. Well done for working that crowd, as soon as Pinkie grabbed a podium it was time for good ol showmareship to work, hype and manipulate that crowd as bit. Haha, well done Pinkie, smooth. Well done for falling flat by the end of it too, classy.

And Spike, I think he got what he wanted ? Not much I can say.

 

 

Besides the mane 6 dividing up, this episode addressed another thing I've been bugged about as well. Twilight's Princesshood. To what extent was there any point in her obtaining that status? Always been an issue since the beginning, what it implied, what external factors might have caused that etc. It's been slow to see her actually make use of it (it's slowly getting there). But its still this strange problem of whether she really holds any authority, status or recognition over other ponies (what was the point of her being a princess?). Funny how Twi does get recognized status here, but she still wants to avoid being address as a heightened individual. Gotta love her humility, wonder how it's going to be address later on, important growing conflict for later.

Also

 

 

- Who owns that many Discord lamps? I thought that was one of kind from Fluttershy. Discord, when did you start selling them?

- Wheelchair design. I just thought it was interesting to see them in the most recent episodes as of late.

- Wow, that crystal chalice was cheap.

- Probably tons of references that I don't know (shout them out whenever, I wondered if the ancient creature pony owner looked similar to Kratos from God of War series, I never played it, just looked similar to me for some strange reason).

- DOUBLE PRINCESSHOOD! One is simply not enough!

 

TL/DR: Decent episode with fairly nice mane 6 pair division for plot/Fluttershy is Dash's slave/Aj + Rarity good gag pairing/Pinkie excellent overthetop showmare/Twi assert your princesshood/

Edited April 20, 2014 by pony.colin

[PoisonClaw 8,153]

Bit of a small add-on to my previous post. I mentioned I was curious if the Pegasus with the wheelchair like apparatus on his back legs was a reference to an actual person. Turns out I was right.

 

Stellar Eclipse, the pony selling the Discord lamps, was voiced by Sylvain LeVasseur-Portelanc (which I just have to stop and point out that is an amazing name), who suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy. One of the symptoms of SMA is weakened legs/limbs, usually requiring a wheelchair to get around for extended periods. Figures that his pony persona would suffer a similar, if not identical affliction. 

[Azureth 686]

*snip*

Paragraphs please, paragraphs.....

[BastementSparkle 20,312]

 Did Rainbow Dash just almost sell Fluttershy into temporary slavery?

 

 Other than that I liked this episode, it was amusing. Tons of background details and callbacks to previous episodes (Discord lamp!). Some funny jokes, and a decent enough moral. Everpony was a bit silly today, but never in a way that seemed out of character.

 

 8/10. It made me smile, got a few laughs, and some decent heartwarming moments.

[Swoony 195]

DISCORD LAMPS. That is all.

 

4/5

[StevieBond 13]

Not quite as funny as the previous episode but it was still enjoyable.  Although there were highlights that caught me off guard.

 

Just two more episodes to go, I sense a two-parter next week as it was in Season 2. 

[OtakuBrony 349]

Howdy all!

 

Not a bad episode.

 

Each of the mane 6 were pretty good.

 

Flutters & RD were a riot.

 

And Pinike is being Pinikie.

 

Rarity & AJ were a in bickering match

 

Twilight in her first offical princess duity.

 

But at the end their friendship is what saved them from tearing apart.

 

See ya!

[Ribbonfree 2,383]

I definitely liked all the one off gags like the Discord lamp and RD/Fluttershy constantly appearing in the background of AJ and Rarity's bickering; and the little details like the crystal pony appearing and all the cool character designs they introduced (lamp guy reminded e of Omnipony, funnily enough).

 

Little girl's cartoon or not, I felt the constant reminder of the item exchange trail by Dash was a bit too much. We all get it, it was a crystal chalice for a chicken statue for a lamp for a two headed dog for a Daring Do book.

 

Pinkie/Twi and Rarijack were definitely amusing side stories to the main plotline of RD/Flutters... which honestly outshine it. I dunno, I feel like they were a bit too heavy handed this time around and didn't give the conflict enough momentum for the episode. I mean, Dash literally made her mistake with only five minutes to go in the episode. Seems to be a lot of dislike for Pinkie in this one, but honestly I feel like this is pretty much classic Pinkie as we know her to be, definitely a total troll, but not in a way that's overtly hurting anybody. If anybody thought Twilight was anything except exasperated and a bit embarrassed by that I dunno, that's not the way I saw it.

 

I don't think the RD/Flutter line was bad, per say. It actually felt fairly in character for all of them, Dash and Pinkie being sort of oblivious but having their hearts in the right place. Okay episode, I just feel the execution could have been better.

[Ruddboy Olaf 10,627]

I like this episode. It gets a 4.5/5 from me.

 

It's not the best episode,but it kept me entertained.

 

Also,did anyone else notice the Albert Einstein pony in the background?

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

This one wasn't good. I'm already considering it for my worst list of the season.

 

This seriously started off with bad dialogue and had quite a bit of it throughout. So much exposition and over-explained jokes, and moments of cut-and-dry dialogue that @@CITRUS KING46 has termed as a "McCarthy Moment", where characters just blurt out something that represents the most basic of character traits. I found it to be some of the worst dialogue from this show since "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well". Rainbow Dash's opinion of herself really needed to be toned down a bit, but was played for the fun of it. Same for Rarity and Applejack. We thought they learned their lessons, but their fighting and Rarity's overzealous greed in this episode were really dragged out too much. Pinkie Pie pulled her "Filli Vanilli" self out again, and instead of shutting Pinkie down, Twilight just turns around and comes up with something to justify all that stupid crap she said. Spike was mentioned in the episode's premise but barely even appeared in this one. It's really starting to piss me off that when he's not being crapped on this season, he's not even being used where he's needed (with few exceptions). I really would've gone for some sarcastic, self-aware humor from him, this really was the perfect time for it, but I guess they're too busy having him trip over rocks to give a damn.

 

I am now thinking twice about any episode written by Scott Sonneborn. He seems intent on cramming every single gag he can into an episode with little regard to anything else.

 

It really sucks that both episodes set in Rainbow Falls had to be this way.

[Tabe 216]

Ya, this was a good episode. So far, I'm happy with season 4 and I'm super duper pumped for the finale.

[Commander Hurricane 170]

OMFG I BUCKING LOVE THIS EPISODE. I WAS SOOOO HAPPY WHEN RAINBOW DASH GOT THE BOOK SHE WANTED I WAS ALL LIKE "YES YES YES YES. YEE-EE-E-E-SSSS-SSS" ALL AROUND MY HOUSE AND IN THE STREET. AAAAAAAAA I WAS JUST SOOOO HAPPYYYYY idk why but i was just happy okay? I HAVE EMOTIONAL FITS AFTER A NEW EPISODE. MY BRAIN. AAAA. I NEED A PSYCHIATRIST.

so frickin happy for rainbow dashie. ...im a poet and i dont even know it.

[Kel_Grym 1,917]

I can't say I hated the episode.

 

Some of the lines could have been written better, and the ending just felt way too ham fisted.

 

I'm enjoying Pinkies inner asshole that keeps coming out in these episodes. Slowly she is beginning to come over to the dark side.

 

Rarijack was a little boring, but we get to see Aj's infamous bs detecting eyebrow gag again.

 

RD/Flutters was best. Orthros was adorable. Slave trade is canon (didn't see that one coming).

 

And like all good children, Spike was seen, but rarely heard.

 

6/10

[Zekromic 1,054]

anypony noticed Michael Daingerfield Hall returned, after a HUGE absence since season 1? I thought they forgot about the guy, he didn't participated in MLP since voicing Braeburn, but now, he's back with both the antique chicken stand and ancient beast owners 

[bailey2 114]

It's my favorite episode so far because being a record collector, I attend similar events all the time.  

[Persona22 205]

I don't know about the rest of you, but in my opinion whoever voiced that pegasus in that pony-wheelchair contraption, (you know, the one with the trading stand of Discord lamps) is a terrible, and I mean terrible, voice actor. I could barely understand what the character was saying every time the pony opened his mouth.

Edited April 20, 2014 by lucasliso

[rjrgmc28 130]

Despite almost missing this episode live (parents, poker machines and the local club, they don't mix!), I just managed to catch the live stream with only 40 minutes to spare.

With that said.....

*goes into voiceover mode, Mike Raymond style*

"It's the one day you don't want to miss! The Rainbow Falls Traders Market is on today! Trinkets and treasures going at discounted prices, prices slashed across the board.Bits & Carry, Buy & Swap! From old treasures to new tech and gadgets, we have it all! Bring your wagon, bring your truck, bring the family! Free admission at the gate, no cover charge for parking. Open until sunset, be there!"

*exits voiceover mode*

Despite a spam bot army throwing everything but the kitchen sink in the show hashtag again, the episode was a bit of a mixed bag for me. While it was great to see how the Equestrian economy operates and the addition of the three separate story arcs made for an episode that was great to watch, but it wasn't a blockbuster or memorable one for me this time round.

The Traders Exchange was an interesting concept in it's self, although during the episode I was thinking things like:

Why hasn't Equestria got a banking system like we do? and, 

Why hasn't Equestria got a credit or debit card system like we do? 

I know this being a work of fiction and all, but concept of bartering in the episode is starting to get a bit tired and dated. Trying to pay for a rare Daring Do book in return for a pet plus your fillyhood best friend? That is definitely asking for trouble.

Which brings me to this tweet that I made during the episode...

 

"This traders exchange needs some other payment methods other than barter. A VISA or MasterCard Bits card everypony?"

I won't get into full specifics in this post, but I've done a full write up on this on my blog entry if anyone is interested in knowing more about the two questions that I put out there.

The main story arc that also caught my eye was when Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash went on a trading mission to get a limited edition, mint condition Daring Do book. Seeing their long standing friendship being put to the test was interesting as these two go back to their days as fillies in Cloudsdale.

So when the trader decided to throw a clause into the deal which would have saw Fluttershy having to move to Manehattan to train up the creature, I was thinking along the lines of...

"Rainbow! It is not worth it! Stop before you make a mistake you will regret!" 

At this point, I would have walked away from the deal. Instead, Rainbow Dash decided to trade Fluttershy away. Luckily though, the bad ending didn't happen and the deal was voided.  But this brings up a point, why didn't Rainbow stop and think before she did the deal?

Apart from the main story, here were a few scenes where I had a bit of a laugh, but the story arc of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash was the main focus of this episode for me, although Rarity and Applejack pooling resources to find antiques and resulting in bitter infighting was an attention grabber in it's self.

Spike finally got what he wanted when he traded his comic book away, but the same old treatment that he has been getting this season still continues on. I often wonder if Spike is going through a rough patch in his life right now, because being because being treated unfairly on a day to day basis can start getting to a person very quickly.

 

I also have written my full thoughts on the episode itself on my blog, which can be viewed here.

[Stancet 674]

Personally, I loved this episode. The story feels simple, I know, but there's nothing wrong with simple stories. It's a familiar story too, but this episode has enough original twists to make it feel fresh and original. Most ponies played a nice role too. Applejack and Rarity bickering for no reason is always a laugh. Rainbow Dash being an obsessive Daring Do fangirl I can't get enough of. Unfortunately, even though Twilight had screen time she could of maybe had a plot that involves her character a little more. Also, I was hoping Spike would close this episode with some joke about comic books, but he sorta remained absent through most of this. (Actually, I'm beginning to miss the times when Spike wrote the friendship letters himself, just so we had a reason to see him). 

 

All around, it was a simple and sweet story. No need to go too deep into it, cuz that's just the kind of story it is.

[SparklingSwirls 21,261]

Ugh... I for one hated this episode. Why?

 

Because of Pinkie. I miss the old Pinkie that would do her best to make everypony happy. In this episode, she just hurt everypony! She made the filly cry and the crowd angry and guess what? She was HAPPY about it. I mean, I get that she wants to help Twilight and all, but does she really have to do it at the cost of hurting the other ponies? A better solution would be to tell Twilight directly about why the books mean so much to her, not make fun of all the other ponies. This episode moved Pinkie from 5th place to 6th place on my list.

 

The rest of the episode was... decent. The Rarity and Applejack part was fun at first but then got kinda old. I liked the RD and Fluttershy part a bit more, but I've already seen that kind of "fetch quest" so many times elsewhere.

 

EDIT: After re-reading my post, I noticed that it sounded a bit harsh. I'm sorry if I offended anyone with this; I don't hate Pinkie or anything

Edited April 20, 2014 by SparklingSwirls

[Rainboom Dash 1,055]

This episode was okay, though I understand why a lot of people didn't like it. I did find it enjoyable though.

[Revertz 159]

did she just say. thats right DOUBLE PRINCESS!

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

I can agree with people stating they didn't like the ways Pinkie and Rainbow acted, I will agree they acted rather harsh and rude. One thing that I found interesting was how some of the trader ponies didn't seem to wanna trade as easily, unlike the pony Spike traded his comic with, that pony seemed a little more agreeable.