New and Latest Episode Thread

[Freewave]

ph00tbag for best mlr episode analyst!

I really enjoyed this episode. I think the humor bits hit home, it was good adventure and world building, and was a great resolution to the prior Gildash conflict. Maybe the final 2 were a bit weak but overall a very cool episode.

[ph00tbag]

So that episode was a lot of things. Many fanons were Jossed, but many others were actively promoted to canon with this episode. One thing this episode was not was analyzable. This was a series of vignettes meant to offer insight into the personalities and mindsets of the ponies of ponyville, and maybe some of their background. Toward that end, many ideas are thrust out there, and never developed further, nor are they resolved. Doc's rebuff of magic (which actually confirms a theory I've been having that science would not actually be greatly regarded in a society that could solve most problems simply with the application of magic), Steven Magnet's views on weddings and marriage, and Gummy's ruminations on life, are all just kinda there, and that's all we get.

Does the fractured nature of this episode's story make it bad? I suppose if the point were to present the development of a character, or evolve an idea, it would be, but this episode was an opportunity to just be ridiculous for a day, and in that it was a roaring success. And when viewed in that light, I think this is one of the most enjoyable episodes in the series, really.

[CitricAcid]

I'm not sure what to say about it. I enjoyed that it looked like they took every single character puppet they had out of the closet, dusted them off, and crammed them in the episode. I've never watched Dr. Who or The Big Lebowski, so any associated in-jokes were lost on me. Gummy's inner monologue was probably my favorite moment. Bon Bon's secret identity bit was pretty jarring for me, I didn't prefer it.

[Bronies Are Cool]

I can't say that episode 100 was impressive but it was pretty good imo. I liked the inclusion of Steven magnet for sure and I also liked the actual character development on Lyra and Bonbon.
So here is the question: are Lyra and Bonbon an actual canon lesbian relationship?
I mean the argument could be made for either side.
One could say that it's a yes but they didn't want to be super obvious because of how some people might react having that being shown to younger children (despite cultures advances towards that being totally acceptable.)
One could say no because they CANT show that to little kids.
Idk


I'd wanna say that it's not for sure, but it's definitely hinted at or poked at. So if it was true, I would not be surprised at all. But if it's not true, then also not surprised.

[Bronies Are Cool]

I'm not sure what to say about it. I enjoyed that it looked like they took every single character puppet they had out of the closet, dusted them off, and crammed them in the episode. I've never watched Dr. Who or The Big Lebowski, so any associated in-jokes were lost on me. Gummy's inner monologue was probably my favorite moment. Bon Bon's secret identity bit was pretty jarring for me, I didn't prefer it.

Bonbon's secret identity seemed like an idea pulled straight from a bad fanfic

[ph00tbag]

Bonbon's secret identity seemed like an idea pulled straight from a bad fanfic

I'm pretty sure that's the point.

So here is the question: are Lyra and Bonbon an actual canon lesbian relationship?

I imagine that it was left as open to interpretation as possible on purpose. "Romantic Friendship" is not particularly stigmatized between girls and women in American culture, so the interpretation is there that they are straight, but very close and intimate, which appeases traditionalists, but it's also possible they are gay, since there's no explicit declaration they aren't, and that appeases the progressives. It's a pretty decent hedge; they have an established friendship now, and the status quo of the exact nature of their relationship being "up to the fans" is maintained.

[ChocolateChicken]

I loved this episode pretty much completely. The whole thing was simply a lot of fun and silliness which made it very enjoyable to watch!

-I'm pretty sure this was the first time in the entire show were we actually see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna talking to each other in a casual, genuine way haha. We never get to see the royal sisters chat, and privately like in this episode!

-I feel like there should have been a lot less Dr Whooves in order to give more screen time to other (and original) background ponies like Golden Harvest and whatnot. Dr Whooves is already based on a character from some other show so he is pretty out of place and took potential screentime away from other BG characters that deserved it more, yet he had more screen time than almost all the other ponies. This might be the only thing of the episode that I didn't like that much.

-Derpy is and always will be incredibly cute. She was fantastic in this episode and I'm glad the staff didn't fuck that up. Tabitha voices her so well too.

-Stephen Magnet's scene was great and now I want him to appear in the show more haha.

-Lyra and Bon Bon were wonderful and their scenes were probably my favorite besides Derpy's scenes. Even though they are "best friends" they still treated each other very affectionately as if they are more than friends anyway haha. And was it supposed to be implied that Bon Bon single-handedly stopped the Bug Bear, but gave credit to the mane 6 to hide her secret identity? lol

-The various nods and references to the fandom and our headcanons for the characters were subtle and worked well in the episode, and you don't need context from the brony fandom to follow anything in the episode (but Dr Whooves might be the most out of place thing in the episode). It didn't feel like it was pandering at all, which a lot of people were expecting it to. People complaining of the episode being just a bunch of annoying brony fandom memes are exaggerating or didn't watch it lol.

[Gnarrkhaz]

Yeah, it's pretty much an episode consisting solely of fan pandering. At first i was annoyed but then i got into it. It's a pretty good idea to make an episode based around the background ponies for a change (now i want more though ).There were some really genuine moments there, Lyra's and BonBon's scenes for example. The bickering betweeen the two royal sisters was my favorite moment. In fact I'll go so far as to say it's one of the most genuine episodes of the whole series. And i'm totally fine with some of the stuff in there, like Gummy being a philosopher, being canon. The music duel though...that was stupid.

[CitricAcid]

I guess today's episode wasn't a bad episode, I'm just not a Spike fan. Twilight falling asleep on a pile of books was cute and befitting her. There were a whole slew of new characters. And the "dragon sneeze tree" is by far the lamest named thing I've heard so far (followed by Sapphire Shores's song "Get Your Pony On").

And it would have been nice if they had established what exactly Cadence was up to the whole time. Why couldn't she take on some of Twilight's duties?!

[ph00tbag]

Ugh... Fucking....

Spike episodes.

Like, I don't dislike Spike as a character, but the episodes centered around him just seem to always be pretty painful to watch. The only one I've ever really enjoyed was Equestria Games.

Oh well, Twilight making a beeline for the pile of books in her exhaustion, then cuddling up to a book pillow, made it all worth it. I also liked Cadance in this episode. I dunno, she just had a really satisfying presence.

[Freewave]

I hate spike episodes.

Spike hasn't evolved as a character, still sides on selfishness (even if only moderate levels this time) but still ends up being a f*ckup that everyone forgives in the end. Cadence filling in for AJ's role of suggesting the right choices even though they are ignored wasn't that impressive.

Again I'll suggest that Sombra fill in for Spike as royal assistant. He'll get the job done and provide a good shakeup to the status quo.

[CitricAcid]

Spike almost got a point in my book today for playing the piano. Oh well. Today's episode was kinda meh for me. It's nicer when the moral is a surprise and not completely obvious after the first two minutes. Pinkie's looney tunes antics were enjoyable, particularly the one where she's walking through the snow. How does Andrea not hyperventilate while playing Pinkie?

[NightmareRare]

Wow! I loved episode 100. So much fan content made canon, best part was gummys philosophical thoughts. That and Lyra and Bon Bon constantly shooting each other "bedroom eyes" :3

[Gnarrkhaz]

Party Pooped was no good. No good at all.

Pinkie Pie riding the sled backwards back to ponyville? Huh? How? This kind of humour doesn't fit the humour in the series at all.

Why the swoop transitions?

Pinkie thanking the others for appreciating her hard work felt like a resolution to a conflict that didn't even exist in the first place. Why was that in there?

Pinkie has a secret room where she........keeps party related documents?.......That's so random but it's not funny at all!

The train being forced to stop because of sheep on the train tracks? That makes no sense!

I'm not even sure what the moral here was. I have a few ideas but the episode is so vague about it that i'm not really sure what to think.

Why was Cadence in this? Why didn't some unnamed pony show Pinkie the way to whatever the Yak mainland was called? A nitpick but still.

The ONLY good part in this episode was when Fluttershy asked how they should get up the slide again. That was funny.



I looked the episode on IMDB up and it was written by Nick Confalone, a newcomer to the series. Why didn't anybody double check what he wrote there?

Also the Yaks were fucking assholes. Does Nick want me to believe that they and the ponies are friends now? Yeah, right. Only thing i learned in this episode is how you make friends in the diplomatic sense, when it's helpful to a cause.

Besides Feeling Pinkie Keen i think this might be my most disliked episode in the whole series. I shouldn't be too fast with such a judgement directly after having watched it but i don't really feel like watching it again anyway.

[Freewave]

I know some people have pointed to analogy that it was a way to point to fans as nitpickers "episode bad, we smash" but I'm not sure i really buy that. I agree it was pretty weak throughout and the sled coming all the way back to Ponyville was a serious jump away from realism that takes place in the show. And yeah the yaks were assholes with no real redeeming points. Did like The Beatles (in pony form) cameo but that was still not really needed.

[Gnarrkhaz]

The newest episode was good but not as fantastic as i hoped for.

Minuette is...weird. The whole time i was thinking she had something sinister planned. :o

Also why didn't Lyra show up? :(

Also the fact that Minuette, Lemon Heart and Twinkle Shine had no hard feelings towards Twilight was interesting. At first i was annoyed by the lack of conflict but now i kind of appreciate the realism in that. Makes me think of how i stopped seeing my old friends and i doubt they would have hard feeling either. I met one of them a few years back and it was all fine. We just aren't friends anymore.

On the other side i can also relate to Twilight's regrets.

What i ABSOULTELY love this season is the emphasis on background ponies! Also continuity! More of those things PLEASE!

[CitricAcid]

I was expecting Twilight to find out that Minuette and the others weren't actually Moondancer's friends and they were bullies or something. Minuette's fangirling at the beginning just reeked of feigning friendship for personal gain. And it was surprising that Twilight actually guessed correctly that the party was indeed a tipping point in her and Moondancer's friendship.

I think this episode would have benefited from being longer, but it was superb regardless.

What on earth was that game they were playing at the end? I did a double-take at that. It seemed out of place.

[ph00tbag]

As far as Party Pooped is concerned, I liked it, although I would say the two main themes of the episode were buried under a bit of fluff. The main thrust of the episode was that, when a person from another culture comes to you for cultural exchange, they don't want your feeble attempts at mimicking their culture; they want to experience yours. After all, your mimicry will not be an adequate simulacrum of their culture, but your authentic representation of your culture will be the best representation of it they've ever seen. The Yaks' violent preoccupation with perfection made this point rather hard to miss.

Under that, though, there was an interesting point about expectations placed on people that do a certain kind of work, and how things that one may think are simple are actually really difficult. A friend of mine at one point had her own freelance webdev business, and she would have amusing anecdotes about clients that would flippantly ask for a particular service on their webpage, and when she came back with a quote for that service, they would be totally blindsided by the fact that that service was a lot more work than they thought, and thus a lot more expensive. This episode reminds me of those stories. Pinkie's friends all tell her, "This task of keeping the Yaks from destroying Ponyville by providing an authentic experience for them should be simple for you because you're so good at keeping people happy!" But they don't really understand just how much work goes into just keeping people happy, nor do they understand how much harder it is to provide an authentic experience of a culture you've never experienced. This thread dovetails into the other thread when Pinkie realizes it really would be a hell of a lot easier just to give the Yaks an authentic Ponyville welcome.

I actually found the gag, that Pinkie somehow manged to get to Yakyakistan by going south to Dodge Junction, stopping in Manehattan, and going through the entire career of the Beatles all in the span of an afternoon, to be fairly amusing. If you're paying attention early on, the part where Pinkie Pie lampshades the absurdity of it is kind of satisfying.

I also really liked the "so do we just walk up the slide, or what?" bit from Fluttershy to be the highlight of the episode, partly because Fluttershy, of all ponies, was the one to finally say what they were all clearly thinking. As though the prospect of not knowing was more problematic for her rat's nest of anxieties than anypony realizing she didn't know.

Amending Fences, on the other hand, was a fantastic episode.

It's really neat how, in their youth, both Twilight and Moondancer were terrible at communicating effectively about emotions and feelings, and so kept sending extremely ambiguous signals back and forth. Twilight was actually not very shy, and could fake a public face if absolutely necessary, and would make appearances if she couldn't come up with a good excuse. I think she was also more confident about her value because she had a huge affirmation of that value in being Celestia's protégé. In the long run, she avoided interaction with others because she didn't think it was worth her while. Moondancer on the other hand, was very shy, and craved some kind of affirmation from other ponies. It took years of cajoling for Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, and Lyra to get her to throw a party that she actually did, deep down, want to throw. Moondancer avoided other ponies because she didn't have the confidence to cope with even the possibility that they may reject her.

When the two of them get put together, the results were bound to be cataclysmic. Moondancer clearly enjoyed her interactions with Twilight in a way she couldn't really get out of other ponies, and the two were definitely on the same wavelength as far as motivations and intellect, so Twilight's affirmation in particular became something Moondancer wanted to hear. But for Twilight, friendship was something that was of equally insignificant value no matter whom it came from, and she was oblivious enough in those times to be completely unaware that she could have made somepony else's life a little easier by just acknowledging them. At the same time, Moondancer was not equipped to talk about her particular fondness for Twilight. This is ultimately what led to Moondancer's disastrous party.

And this highlights Twilight's growth over this time: Back then, Twilight couldn't have seen the importance of that one party. She was totally oblivious. But now, she's learned so much about interacting with other ponies, and about the subtle ways emotions are expressed, that she could see the continuity of Moondancer's slow opening-up, and sudden reversal, and how it all pivoted around that one moment. Admittedly, she was being a bit self-aggrandizing by suggesting to Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts that she had hurt them terribly by leaving so suddenly, but in this case, she pretty much hit the nail on the head, because she had actually been important to Moondancer, and it really did hurt Moondancer deeply that she had been so callous. The other three ultimately shrugged it off because, in each other, they had developed a strong enough support structure to bounce back from it. Moondancer didn't have that, so her entire sense of self-worth kinda crumbled.

In this context, I loved the climax of the episode with the piñata. There was a lot of resentment and pain in Moondancer, and because she'd never really worked around other ponies for so long, she didn't have the equipment to know where the pain was coming from, and where the resentment was directed, and so she was just generally a bitch, but when Twilight gave her the stick, it kinda put everything into focus. She figured all of her shit out as she was saying it, and I think just being able to let all that anger and sadness out was what she needed, more, even, than Twilight's apology. She also needed to realize that she did, in fact, have that support network to help her deal with the rough times in her life. The maelstrom of emotions in that scene is so... cathartic. It's just perfect to me.

Heading into this episode, I kinda wondered if it was going to be about Twilight not knowing how to deal with the fact that, no, her leaving had literally made no difference in the lives of the other ponies she had called "friends." I'm glad, on the one hand, that the show didn't really shy away from the fact that, yes, you'll probably grow apart from your childhood friends, and no, for the most part, it won't really hurt all that much. And moreover, I'm glad that it didn't have Twilight go through any unnecessary pathos when she learned that she hadn't been the center of these ponies lives back then. Honestly, I would really have expected her to be relieved. There was, actually, a little bit of a missed opportunity in the fact that she wasn't visibly relieved when Minuette said it hadn't been that big of a deal.

Speaking of Minuette, I absolutely loved her in this episode. She was simultaneously, the most doggedly optimistic go-getter, but also the most lovably incisive bitch. Everything she said had some kind of subtle, deep-cutting jab layered in there. In particular, "It's not like we weren't used to that from you," is probably the nicest way of saying, "yeah, you were actually a heinous bitch back then, so we were totally unsurprised when you hung us out to dry," that I've ever heard. That Twilight lets this pass without getting a little stung either shows how self-aware she is, or how obtuse she is. Minuette delivered lines like this regularly, but with such carefree zest that you're so busy saying, "oh she's so happy and adorable," that you miss the part of you that says, "wait, what did she just say about my mother?" I want more of Minuette, because this was just too much fun.

The library scene was another great scene, just for all the gags with Twilight trying to get through to Moondancer somehow. I also enjoyed the awkward dinner conversation. Finally, I love love loved the accordion music at the end. I'm having trouble putting my finger on why, but for some reason, it is the absolute perfect music for ending this episode, and it honestly brings a tear to my eye. William Anderson really is one of this show's unsung heroes.

[CitricAcid]

I guess regular fanservice is a thing, now? Overall it was okay. Giant Derpy was probably my favorite part. Sailor Big Mac took the cake for being most ridiculous. It's like the creators are rubbing our noses in the fact that they have the power to make and manipulate what is canon... and we're enjoying it.

Also, some months ago I ran an MLP-based tabletop RPG campaign whose story revolved around entering the dream world at Luna's direction and stopping a force that threatened to take over Equestria. It was fun to try to spot any similarities in this episode, though there weren't many.

[ph00tbag]

So I really, really liked this episode. The dialogue in the opening got a little tight at times, as Luna was explaining the situation, but after that, it was really just stellar all around. I loved the Tantabus concept. Near as I can tell, "Tantabus" is a portmanteau of Tantalus, the Greek hero who symbolized temptation without satisfaction, and Incubus, the Latin name for the hallucinations commonly associated with sleep paralysis. Effectively, it is a nightmare that perpetually tempts her with the prospect of once more becoming Nightmare Moon, and every time that she succumbs, she wakes. Clever name, but that's not where it stops.

Within the story, Tantabus is obviously the entity within which Luna pours her guilt and shame over succumbing to the temptations of Nightmare Moon. It seems odd to me that, in creating this construct, she didn't realize that, more than being a container for her guilt, it would be a manifestation of that guilt, and thus gain strength as her guilt grew. But it could be this was an experimental process for her, and she didn't quite know what the results would be.

The other question is, if other ponies showing up in Luna's dream caused Tantabus to learn of them and attempt to enter the dream, how did Luna lose control and let the Mane 6 in? I actually think this was an important part of the story from the perspective of Luna's development, too. The Mane 6 showing up demonstrates how Luna was feeling like Tantabus wasn't helping, and she was just getting exhausted. Maybe the exhaustion was at the core of it, but she subconsciously recalled the Mane 6 in her dream, suggesting some sense she knew they could help. But some part of her, realizing this would entice Tantabus, felt guilty, giving Tantabus the strength it needed to escape. This probably could have been communicated a bit better through foreshadowing, but it seems pretty clear in retrospect.

Outside of the plot, though, Tantabus is also a great metaphor for the way we deal with guilt ourselves. We can compartmentalize it, as Luna does, which isn't necessarily harmful, but it doesn't actually resolve the problem, and doesn't make the guilt go away; it just means we don't think about it unless we're weak. But we can also externalize the feeling (Tantabus escaping the dream), trying to place the blame on everyone but ourselves, which wreaks havoc on our relationships, and really only makes the problem worse. In a way, this is what the fight scene symbolizes, too. Luna does nothing while all of her friends do all the work. It's a testament to their resolve they don't resent her for it, but for what it's worth, I don't think they fully realized what was happening. Finally, we can internalize the guilt. Incorporate it into our being and resolve it; shoulder the blame, but face the responsibility and above all, forgive ourselves. This is symbolized pretty literally, when Luna literally brings the Tantabus into herself. The others helped with this, in fact. They sincerely forgave Luna, which, I think, really helped her to realize she was the last person to still think she deserved punishment, and that she could move on without feeling the guilt. Often, being open about our guilt is an important step to overcoming it, because we can get that outer perspective. We can learn that our peers forgive us, and thereby learn to forgive ourselves. All of that is encapsulated in Tantabus's development. That's at the core of why I liked the episode.

The big dream sequence was excellent. Filthy Rich Frozoning it up with his money was fucking hilarious. The literal LyraBon was also really fun. I loved the Giant Derpy that made animal noises, and I just about lost it when Sailor Big Mac happened. The monsters were actually pretty damn terrifying, too. All in all, the whole segment was great. I was really happy about it.

Also, Luna.

[Bronies Are Cool]

Did anyone notice how in the new episode, the image of Rarity on the magazine looked "photoshopped" and stuff. Like, it changed the way that Rarity looked by changing the proportions of her body. (Just like in real life.)

For all those analysis people, you better credit me for the following inference: The pony culture has its own skewed standards on what they find to be "attractive" in ponies. Apparently, Equestria isn't as innocent as it seems.

[CitricAcid]

I completely forgot to post here on Saturday. I enjoyed the episode, because 1) Rarity, and 2) it was highly relatable. I too am in a job where hyperfocused business strategies threaten to suck all the creative enjoyment out of the job.

Also the goth pony sounded like Andrea's best attempt at a Raven impression. I wish Tara had done the voice, though.

[Gnarrkhaz]

Great episode!

At first i thought that Rarity will actually live in Canterlot from now on, but i guess she does have responsibilities in Ponyville with the cutie map and all (even though that thing gets used rarely). I'd also like to think that her best friends living there counts for something too, but maybe that's too idealistic, even for Equestria. I don't know.

[ph00tbag]

I kinda want to write a whole lot about this episode, because there is so much great stuff going on in it, but I feel like I'm becoming a caricature of myself.

But for what it's worth, I really liked Pinkie's face when she eats the cilantro cupcake. I also liked Fashion Plate's hype face when Rarity was revealing her new line.

There is also just so much amazing body language cues, verbal mannerisms, interactional nuances, and little characterization mechanics that make this episode so rich. A lot is happening both on the surface and under the hood here. I think the only things I can fault is that Sassy Saddles's deliveries weren't always great, and there could have been a bit more suggestion earlier on that all the stores she had previously managed had failed. The latter was actually reasonably well-done, but the clues were a little more vague than I would have liked. Her breakdown was still satisfying to those who had paid attention, but you would have to have been paying very close attention.

What's up with the last couple episodes being friggin' amazing, though?

[CitricAcid]

There sure has been a lot of Rarity lately. I'm okay with this. I don't have a lot to say about either, though. In Rarity Investigates, I remember RD instinctively hugging Rarity once (I don't remember when). It made me feel good to see RD do that. And the evidence Rarity presented of Wind Rider's ingenuous laugh was really weak and could have been omitted I think.

And in Made in Manehattan, while it's nice to see Coco Pommel again, I still don't like her voice. The Peanuts reference was humorous.

I have been consistently entertained, and expository dialogue has been kept to a minimum, so both my criteria for good episodes have been met.