So, the second half of this season turned out to be better than I thought! After the disaster that was Fame and Misfortune, the episode quality got back on the horse (ha!) and has given us some of the season's most memorable episodes and character moments. As of this point, we've been given three straight 10s in a row, each being better than the previous. Can Marks and Recreation continue this trend?
Though, there is an elephant in the room I want to get out of the way; the Crusaders, even if they young adults by this point, should have a grown up adult in helping the young fillies and colts trying different things, and to try and keep them from rebelling. On the latter point, I kind of understand why the writers wouldn't go that direction if they thought it destroyed the story, but couldn't they have added to it by having, let's say, Applejack try to bring them under control to minimal success? Not only that, it feels like Rumble's behavior was kind of glossed over entirely. There's no excuse to not include adults.
Another missed opportunity, believe it or not, is to bring Starlight into the story. She's never interacted with the Crusaders for a whole episode (maybe for a scene in a past episode, I kinda forget), and if they didn't want to bring in Applejack or have Starlight partnered up with her, why not have Starlight tell Rumble she understands what he's going through? Yes, I know, it would seem repetitive, but it would show a bit of growth in terms of character by passing on something she's learned to the next generation.
Okay, that aside, the rest of the episode is actually fairly solid. And akin to the likes of Fluttershy and Discord, it's great to see the Crusaders' respective characters develop. Heck, not just within the show, you can actually hear them growing up as well. I mean, Michelle, Claire, and Madeleine have had their voices deepen slightly in the past six years, so it's nice to see them growing up being implemented in-universe.
Even Rumble works in the role he has... sort of. It's not saying much since my favorite Vincent Tong character is Flash Sentry, someone who barely gets any character and is instead treated like a joke, but Rumble might be the most complex character Vincent's voiced to date. He's got a fair reason to why he doesn't want a cutie mark; he doesn't want to do one thing for the rest of his life, but as Thunderlane proves to him (as well as being what you'd expect from a big brother by being supportive), he's got nothing to worry about.
But of course, that's probably the issue with Rumble's motives - they're exactly the same as Starlight's! However, he is a colt and not a mare holding onto a grudge since fillyhood which weakened her justification, but even then, Rumble could've gotten a consequence for his behavior. Maybe being forced to clean up after the other foals for a week or something like that?
The song he sings is alright, but it's not as memorable as the one from The Perfect Pear. Actually, that is a problem which has been recurring for season seven; it's home to some of the worst music of the entire series. Yes, there are good bits here and there, but for the most part, the music this season is just... generic. I don't know if it's because of Daniel Ingram's work on My Little Pony: The Movie, but it feels like he put little effort into season seven. It says a lot that season six had more memorable tunes than this season.
The themes about growing up, trying new things, and finding yourself are still really good, especially when May Chan's last episode had a theme that either confused or non-existent. It was also great to see Thunderlane have a role, and Kettle Corn and her circle-drawing deserves a mention.
Final Thoughts
It was a step down from the previous three episodes, but Marks and Recreation is still a really good episode. Rumble's a surprisingly relatable character and the themes relating to him are great, but he should've gotten a punishment for his actions. And along with the missed opportunities and the plot hole about the lack of adult interaction (besides Thunderlane), it can't be one of the best overall episodes of the series. Not bad, though, don't get me wrong.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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