MLP Episode 805: Grannies Gone Wild

Don't fret, people; there's nothing pornographic about this episode, especially if you watch it, though there is a problem I have in regards to a certain reference, but more on that later. Anyway, here are my views on Grannies Gone Wild.

I'll start off with a question; when you think of Rainbow Dash episodes, who would be the first character on your mind to play off against her? I'm sure most of you wouldn't think up Granny Smith, am I right? You'd think, "Rainbow Dash and one of the grannies of Equestria? That's too ridiculous even by the show's standards!" And you'd probably be right.

But did Gillian Berrow pull that off? Absolutely. The fact that she even wrote it in Las Vegas might've helped.

What makes it better is Rainbow Dash. Lately, she's been treated as a butt monkey at best, and an unbearable idiot at worst. Whilst there are instances of her being insensitive, she at least has a reason to act this way; she wants to ride the Wild Blue Yonder roller coaster like Wonderbolts past have done before it closes down.

However, she's forced to look after Granny Smith, Apple Rose, Goldie Delicious, and Auntie Applesauce, with strict instructions from Applejack. And seeing poor Rainbow constantly bugged by an imaginary Applejack head was really funny and added to her paranoia. The grannies' antics didn't make Rainbow's behavior much better, but it was still funny to see.

Speaking of humor, the episode is remembered for a particularly awkward reason; not because of the characters, the story, or even the themes (which I'll get to in a bit), but because of this screenshot:

Two things:

1. It's blatantly obvious that this is pandering to the adult fans. Seriously, how many kids are expected to know what Rick and Morty is?
2. The R&M fanbase are making a huge deal over a one-second shot of a 22-minute episode. ONE SHOT that you could easily overlook if you were a casual viewer!

I won't go on about this, but the bottom line is, stop raising hell over small things! The world's already a toxic dumpster fire as it is, so think about your own damn lives for at least a minute!

Okay, getting back to the episode, and I like that there are two themes here; think about others' needs (it's not entirely new for the show, but I digress), and that people can have fun regardless of age (which is surprisingly new for the show). They are both lessons Rainbow Dash needed to learn, and the ride she got at the end on the coaster was pretty satisfying.

Final Thoughts

Need a bit of a laugh for twenty minutes? This episode is for you. It felt like it was an improvement over Somepony to Watch Over Me (after all, old people need a lot of attention) and the whole conflict all felt believable and relatable. It's practically the MLP equivalent to Dowager Hatt's Busy Day. Although, can we stop throwing in references that only older fans will get? Because the more you do it, the less you focus on your target audience.

Rating: Excellent