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[Captain Sorzo]

[Captain Sorzo]

[Shadow]

[ILOVEVHS]

What.


























What.

[GamemasterAnthony]

Just...one question...

 

Did that promo happen to come out April 1st by any chance?

[Captain Sorzo]

Yes, that was an April Fools joke.

 

Seventeen minutes and counting until Season 5.

[Captain Sorzo]

RETURN OF RARITY.
 
...Oh yeah, and everyone else too.
 
Thoughts on Cutie Markless:
 

Spoiler

What's this? A two-part adventure episode in which Twilight isn't shamelessly glorified at the expense of the rest of the Mane 6? Fluttershy getting to save the day? A villain that isn't an ancient evil? A genuinely dark and disturbing tone that brings to mind 1984?

This episode wasn't perfect by any means. Spike's absence, though understandable, given that incorporating him into the premise would have been difficult, needed a better excuse; the individual townsfolk required a bit more development for their eventual triumph to carry a satisfying emotional payoff; and it would have been nice if Rare, AJ, and Dash had been given meaningful individual roles in the plot. In addition, the castle map currently comes across as a rather contrived plot device, though to be fair it will likely receive further exploration later on.

That said, all of the core elements in this premiere worked well. There wasn't a fantastic standout scene along the lines of This Day Aria, but it comes across as the least flawed out of all the two-part episodes thus far. It was certainly a refreshing change of pace after the disaster that was Twilight's Kingdom.

Incidentally, this is the first two-parter that presents the Mane 6 as a wholly unified group for the entire duration, rather than having Twilight set apart from the others for one reason or another. Hopefully future milestones will either maintain this ensemble approach or let other members of the Mane 6 take center stage.

Overall Episode Rating: Very Good

[Shadow]

[Captain Sorzo]

Thoughts on Castle Sweet Castle:

 

Spoiler

That was...actually leagues better than I was predicting. The Mane 5 solved everything on their own, actually helping a flawed and troubled Twilight in the process. The humor was solid, improving a plot structure that would likely have otherwise come across as formulaic at times, while the whole episode was filled with strong, natural character interaction. Rarity in particular had quite a few nice moments (and was clearly the only one who knew what she was doing when redesigning), and it was nice to see her play something of a leadership role. The emotional moments of reflection were brief, but they worked well, and the ending was heartwarming. Even the song, which I had previously criticized, turned out to be better than the preview gave it credit for.

My only issue with the episode is that some of the items AJ and Dash brought felt a bit too ridiculous. Bales of hay and engraved trophies? Seriously?

Overall, this easily trumps everything but Lesson Zero as far as premiere follow-ups go. The season is settling down into slice-of-life mode, and I'm more optimistic about the series than I have been since Inspiration Manifestation aired nearly a year ago.

Overall Episode Rating: Very Good

 

Thoughts on Bloom and Gloom:

 

Spoiler

HOW DID WE NOT GET A SCENE OF DIAMOND TIARA AND SILVER SPOON BEING PAINFULLY ZAPPED?! The setup was in place, and such a scene would have been hilariously cathartic, to the point that I would probably bump the episode up a tier.

As it stands, this episode was just...okay. There weren't any serious issues with the writing, and it touched on some interesting ideas, but having nearly the entire episode take place in a series of dreams was a poor decision, especially since Luna still didn't show up until near the end. The affair was largely predictable and rather boring, with Luna being the only thing saving it from mediocrity. Still, given the writer, it could easily have been worse. I'll take another Leap of Faith over another Simple Ways any day.

Overall Episode Rating: Good

 

 

Thoughts on Tanks for the Memories:

 

Spoiler

Ugh. This was an episode with a number of fun little moments here and there brought down by a very poor core. Dash's characterization was flat out bad throughout the whole affair; she'd constantly been maturing ever since hitting rock bottom in Mare Do Well (the pranks in Testing aren't an issue, as the same episode strongly implied that she had long-standing, deeply rooted insecurities regarding education that led to that sort of behavior). Here, however, all of that was taken away, leaving her with nothing but petty and selfish single-minded obsession.

I wasn't able to sympathize with her at all, as nothing important was on the line. She can't go sledding with Tank? Big friggin' deal. Something like that should have left her mildly somber for a day or two at most. Instead, it was evidently enough to cause her to be a jerk toward her friends, attempt to disrupt the seasonal cycle of a town, and recklessly endanger an entire city by breaking into a restricted area and attempting industrial sabotage. And, of course, there are no consequences for this whatsoever, and everyone gathers around her to offer emotional support.

...Thankfully, it was that scene of emotional support that offered the best moments of the episode, courtesy of the Mane 5. Fluttershy dropping the tough love hammer was great, especially since it backfired on her, showing that she's come a long way over the course of the series, but in the end is still Fluttershy. Almost as amusing was that Fluttershy crying caused Rare and Pinkie to get upset even though Dash being in the middle of a meltdown made them just uncomfortable. In the end, however, it was AJ who stole the scene, and ultimately the whole episode, with her forced attempts at consolation and acknowledgement of "crying on the inside." Twilight was back to her annoying voice of reason role, but AJ not getting visibly upset helped make it more palatable. She also gets credit for the "Oh, so that's what MA Larson put in" moment, which was admittedly funny even though I neither read nor watch Game of Thrones.

I would have liked a bit more Rare dialogue, being biased and all, but I can at least add 'Tactfully' to my list of words indicating she's the most eloquent character in the series.

There were a few other fun moments here and there. I enjoyed the "Who's on first?" parody, especially since it had an original twist by making fun of pony naming conventions, while Dash's facial expressions were about the only thing about her I enjoyed in this episode.

The song was alright, but it felt very...overdone? I'm not sure how to describe it, but it clearly felt like something that had been very heavily edited in a studio; it never gave the illusion that Dash herself was singing it, which is unusual for the series. I'll probably enjoy it more on its own than in the context of the episode.

Overall, this was a pretty weak one. Easily the worst of the season thus far, despite all the fun moments. I complained that last week's episode tackled interesting subjects in a half-baked manner, but there was nothing at all complex or engaging about this plotline. I'd go so far as to say that this is the worst characterization Rainbow Dash has ever had in the series. I could sympathize with her more in Mare Do Well than I did here.

 

Overall Episode Rating: Mediocre

 

 

Thoughts on Appleloosa's Most Wanted:

 

Spoiler

And so we have the Twilight Time of Season 5. As with the last time Polsky wrote an episode equally "focusing" on all of the CMCs, it was an empty, dull affair that never went anywhere interesting. I chuckled at a few of the jokes but was otherwise bored the entire time. It's also frustrating to see the CMCs fall back into the rut of being obsessed with earning their Cutie Marks to point of idiocy.

...and next week there's no episode, followed by the return of Levinger, whose last episode left me livid. *Sigh* Here's hoping Amy Keating Rogers can turn the season around in a few weeks. It's been pretty underwhelming for three episodes in a row now.

Overall Episode Rating: Mediocre