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Saturday, April 13, 2019

MLP Episode 903: Uprooted

Last week, we saw the Tree of Harmony destroyed at the hooves of King Sombra. This week, we're going to find out the repercussions of said destruction. And since the Young Six are involved, this should be good, right?

Uprooted
Written by Nicole Dubuc

Well, it was, but it's still not giving me relief about the well of writing running dry. Was it really necessary to copy the conflict from Castle Sweet Castle (coincidentally, also the third episode of its season) for this one?

Actually, that doesn't really do this episode justice at all, and it's kind of harsh from me, in fairness.

This episode's heart is in the right place. Given their connection to the Tree of Harmony from What Lies Beneath and School Raze, the Young Six were absolutely fitting for the lead role. I really liked them during season eight, and if anything, it did the school setting way better in one year than the Equestria Girls spinoff ever did in five. That's mostly because A) they don't reuse the same story over and over again to the point it becomes predictable, and B) each character stands out when it comes to personality.

But back to this episode, there isn't much to say story wise. As I've said, it's Castle Sweet Castle with a different group of characters and different tree being honored after destruction. And the message about teamwork isn't really new either; the more you use it, the less meaningful it becomes to the point it's almost condescending.

That being said, the shared dream between all six was random yet funny at the same time, and it's also ironic that given the reputation of her kind, Yona is the one who talks sense into the others about how the Tree should be honored. It's no wonder she's my favorite of the group.

Also, did anyone get the idea that the Young Six are one day going to become the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony? It makes sense (sort of) for Sandbar to be the new bearer of Magic, and I can easily see Silverstream being Laughter. For the others, Gallus fits Loyalty bringing The Hearth's Warming Club into consideration, as does Yona with this episode and A Rockhoof and a Hard Place and Ocellus in pretty much every one of her appearances. The only oddity was Smolder as Generosity; maybe she's trying to break the mold of dragons being greedy, I don't know?

Final Thoughts
Complaints aside, this was a really good episode and it fit the Young Six perfectly. The story flowed naturally and the theme - despite sort of losing it's meaning after learning it for the umpteenth time - was solid. However, I felt the lack of originality held it back from being truly amazing.

Rating: Excellent (9/10)

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