MLP Episode 714: Fame and Misfortune

So now we're finally onto the second half of season seven. The first half was pretty good for the most part; the only episodes I didn't like there were All Bottled Up and Not Asking for Trouble, and Parental Glideance was okay at best. Every other episode, however, ranged from pretty good to outright amazing, two episodes especially, making them a tough act to follow. Can Fame and Misfortune be a good start to the second half?

If I'm going to be blunt about it, absolutely not. Seriously, this episode is downright awful and has one of the worst themes the show has ever displayed! But where do I start with the problems?

I'm gonna say this outright; M. A. Larson is the most overrated writer of the entire show. I'm sure he's a nice guy in real life, but his writing for the show leaves a lot to be desired. Granted, he's written some solid gems like Amending Fences, The Return of Harmony, and Magical Mystery Cure, but then there's stinkers like Luna Eclipsed, The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, Ponyville Confidential, Swarm of the Century, and of course, Slice of Life. And Fame and Misfortune can be added to that pile; it's the culmination of Larson's writing weaknesses jammed into a 22-minute episode.

The first item on that list is the premise; the initial idea was that it would've featured Pinkie Pie as the lead character and the towns ponies would've learned that they shouldn't be attacking the author of a work (yeah, I'm looking right at those who attack Sharon Miller for S13-16; she wasn't the only person who was writing in those seasons, you know!) I have to say, that is a much better premise than what Hasbro came up with.

Yeah, this episode is a straight-up satire of fans who have had complaints about the show for the last few years and it's handled with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the crotch. It begins with Twilight deciding to have the Friendship Journal published after resolving a conflict between two fillies, but the publication of the Journal leads to disastrous results upon the Mane Six. Basically, they pull a Teen Titans Go! by coming up with an extremely flawed counterargument completely missing the point of the criticisms. Criticisms, I should point out, that aren't all that destructive.

Not only that, but a lot of the "jokes" - if you could call them that - are outdated. Rarity has gained a bigger fanbase since the show first debuted, Twilight has been an alicorn (within the show, at least) longer than she's been a unicorn, and the criticisms about Fluttershy constantly learning the same lesson (with subtle differences, I should note!) feel out of place post-season five. And since this episode was intended to be part of season five, why could they not bother editing the "jokes" to fit the Mane Six as they are now?

Speaking of season five, and to give this episode a tiny bit of credit, Starlight's role was fine, but she doesn't really display much character beyond being defensive of her friends. She very much said and did nothing Spike couldn't have done, and is absence is noticeable especially since he also wrote in the Journal!

Also, did anyone notice any contrivances with the townsponies? They have known the Mane Six for at least years (Lemon Hearts feels especially out of character since she's Twilight's friend), and you would think they would show more gratitude towards them since they've saved their stupid, sorry flanks multiple times! And how the hell did nopony notice that Daring Do and A. K. Yearling are the same pony?!

The third act is obviously the worst. On top of the outdated jokes, that newspony was stupid enough to think that the Mane Six don't line up with real life; it's like he tried putting two and two together and ended up with 22 instead of four!

And then there's the song and the moral it tries to teach, and that's my biggest bugbear with Larson and how he writes his morals. At best, they're shoved down your throat to the point you think the story was based upon it (Slice of Life). At worst, they go against what the episode was trying to teach, and he ends up sending mixed messages to the audience (The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000). The "song" is awful (it sounds like something you'd hear from Equestria Girls) and is just a convenience to teach the episode's "moral". Not only that, nobody being perfect is a lesson that comes naturally to most people! You don't need a Ph.D. in the Bloody Obvious to know this!

But the worst thing about the message is how insulting it comes off as. The two fillies Twilight met earlier were the only ones to take the Mane Six's lessons seriously, and whilst it's fine, it feels like a middle finger to the adult fans of the show (that, and it makes the entire scenario pointless). An episode of a kids' show should not just be written with the target audience in mind!

If you want a prime example as to why it can't just be for kids, take a look at the Thomas and Friends episode The Way She Does It. To a child's mind, they could simply see the episode either as amusing or bordering on annoying. An adult would look beyond the humor - it depends on how they view it - and look at the ending when Daisy gives up her vanity for the sake of the children by using side window as an impromptu stage. A child would see this as cute and funny, but an adult would think, "Wow, I never could've thought that myself! That's a good bit of critical thinking there."

The only characters that felt likable were the Mane Six (especially given the crap piled upon them), the Crusaders (it was also a nice build-up to Marks and Recreation, even if it was half-flanked), the two fillies having friendship issues (and from G3, no doubt!), and Starlight. Even if she was interchangeable with Spike.

Final Thoughts

If you want this type of plot done right, watch either Stranger Than Fan Fiction or Daisy's Perfect Christmas. The former contains humor that's actually really funny and has a stronger, if not understated, message; the latter is a very subtle reflection on the current state of the Thomas fandom, and it never talks down to the audience like they're stupid.

Fame and Misfortune is a complete disgrace to the series, and has literally no reason to exist at all. It's the worst episode of season seven, and it's also Larson's worst script, and the tragic part is that it didn't have to be! If they went with what he intended, it would've been fine, but it feels like Hasbro wanted to go for a not-so-subtle approach towards attacking people who have genuine criticisms toward the show by portraying them all as over-the-top negative jerks. And considering this came after the much beloved Perfect Pear, and that the adult fandom is the main reason the show is popular, that's a total insult.

Rating: -3 out of 10