Here's the second batch of season five revisits!
The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone
Written by Amy Keating Rogers
If you've read my revisiting of Griffon the Brush Off, then you'll know how much I hated Pinkie's portrayal and how it tried to paint her as being in the right. In fact, Gilda was the one I ended up sympathizing with despite that the episode tried to make her the antagonist. But does the sequel resolve the problems of the first?
It did fix up the aforementioned episode, and then some.
For a start, Pinkie and Rainbow aren't treated like oblivious idiots or insensitive jerks toward a character that didn't deserve it. Rather, they both have different ideologies as to how they should help Griffonstone. Rainbow Dash wants to recover their lost idol, but Pinkie, ever the idealist, thinks the griffons need a bit of friendship, beginning with Gilda.
Why does Dash want to find the idol? Because it helped make Griffonstone stand out in all of the land, but when a creature came to steal it, it lost its glory, and the kingdom's griffons lost their morale and fell into poverty. No wonder they're so grouchy.
Rainbow Dash's attempt at getting the idol back leads to her getting stuck and needing help from Pinkie and a reluctant Gilda. She sees the idol, but ultimately chooses to rescue Rainbow and Pinkie instead. Which is a great moment from her; there's nothing more valuable than your friends' lives. Sure, they weren't exactly friends at this moment, but I think you get the idea.
Gilda changing her ways was also great, especially when giving her own scones to Greta after adding some baking powder. Yeah, Griffonstone lost its idol possibly forever and is still in ruins, but the ending implies that things will get better in the future, which was good. Not everything can be fixed immediately.
There are only two problems I have here; one is that despite Rainbow and Pinkie promising to visit Gilda, it's never built upon. The other is that, again, after this episode, we don't see Gilda apologize to Fluttershy. Rather sad, really.
I'll admit they don't affect this episode specifically, but I did think it was worth pointing out. In fact, it's easy focusing on what the episode doesn't have, but what it does have is some good character moments and a fantastic theme. That's all that really matters here. Oh, and that brick joke with Gummy. So funny.
It did fix up the aforementioned episode, and then some.
For a start, Pinkie and Rainbow aren't treated like oblivious idiots or insensitive jerks toward a character that didn't deserve it. Rather, they both have different ideologies as to how they should help Griffonstone. Rainbow Dash wants to recover their lost idol, but Pinkie, ever the idealist, thinks the griffons need a bit of friendship, beginning with Gilda.
Why does Dash want to find the idol? Because it helped make Griffonstone stand out in all of the land, but when a creature came to steal it, it lost its glory, and the kingdom's griffons lost their morale and fell into poverty. No wonder they're so grouchy.
Rainbow Dash's attempt at getting the idol back leads to her getting stuck and needing help from Pinkie and a reluctant Gilda. She sees the idol, but ultimately chooses to rescue Rainbow and Pinkie instead. Which is a great moment from her; there's nothing more valuable than your friends' lives. Sure, they weren't exactly friends at this moment, but I think you get the idea.
Gilda changing her ways was also great, especially when giving her own scones to Greta after adding some baking powder. Yeah, Griffonstone lost its idol possibly forever and is still in ruins, but the ending implies that things will get better in the future, which was good. Not everything can be fixed immediately.
There are only two problems I have here; one is that despite Rainbow and Pinkie promising to visit Gilda, it's never built upon. The other is that, again, after this episode, we don't see Gilda apologize to Fluttershy. Rather sad, really.
I'll admit they don't affect this episode specifically, but I did think it was worth pointing out. In fact, it's easy focusing on what the episode doesn't have, but what it does have is some good character moments and a fantastic theme. That's all that really matters here. Oh, and that brick joke with Gummy. So funny.
Rating: Excellent (9/10)
Slice of Life
Written by M. A. Larson
Well, well. We meet again. The 100th episode of the show, and ever since it aired, I had a personal grudge with it. There are many reasons why, but I'll focus on the three big problems this episode faces. (Though admittedly, they kind of go hand in hand.)
The first problem is the execution of the message that everybody has their role to play in a bigger story. Fine, that's their intention. However, you can't shoot that message in the foot by then throwing the Mane Six out of the wedding as if they didn't exist, especially since they were the main reason the wedding took place at all! But then again, considering Pinkie's behavior towards meeting Cranky Doodle Donkey for the first time, maybe that would soften the blow a little, but still.
And brings me onto the other two main problems; the abundance of the background ponies and the fan-pandering. Again, they go hand in hand. Let's break it down, shall we?
Bottom line, this still remains one of the worst ways to celebrate 100 episodes. If I wanted one done right, I'd rather watch Thomas and the Special Letter. No, it's not a perfect adaptation, but at least it tries to tell an engaging story and has a lot of fun moments in a shorter timeframe.
The first problem is the execution of the message that everybody has their role to play in a bigger story. Fine, that's their intention. However, you can't shoot that message in the foot by then throwing the Mane Six out of the wedding as if they didn't exist, especially since they were the main reason the wedding took place at all! But then again, considering Pinkie's behavior towards meeting Cranky Doodle Donkey for the first time, maybe that would soften the blow a little, but still.
And brings me onto the other two main problems; the abundance of the background ponies and the fan-pandering. Again, they go hand in hand. Let's break it down, shall we?
- This is a show for little girls. It always has been, and it always will be. How many of them are expected to know who the likes of Derpy, Vinyl Scratch, Lyra, etc. are? The only side characters they're likely to remember are the Crusaders, the Royal Sisters, Shining Armor and Cadance. And maybe Cranky Doodle and Matilda if they've seen A Friend in Deed, as bad as that episode was.
- The Background Six (Derpy, Dr. Hooves, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Lyra, and Bon Bon) have barely been given the time to shine in the past four seasons and the first quarter of season five, mostly to serve as background characters.
- Trying to get the audience to suddenly care about six characters we may never have heard about in a 21 minute timeframe (excluding the title sequence and end credits) is extremely problematic. At best, each is likely to get around three or four minutes' worth of screentime. Tops. It worked a lot better for the Mane Six in the first two episodes of the show because it was made to establish who the main characters were and what their personalities were like.
- If you're to celebrate 100 of something, you should at least think about what made the show to begin with, not the people who made it popular to begin with!
- Because of the over-emphasis on the background characters, the plot feels like a complete afterthought with the gags overshadowing the story itself, and they're all tied together extremely loosely. Not to mention the happy ending feels unearned.
Bottom line, this still remains one of the worst ways to celebrate 100 episodes. If I wanted one done right, I'd rather watch Thomas and the Special Letter. No, it's not a perfect adaptation, but at least it tries to tell an engaging story and has a lot of fun moments in a shorter timeframe.
Rating: Terrible (0/10)
Princess Spike
Story by Jayson Thiessen and Jim Miller
Written by Neal Dusedau
Written by Neal Dusedau
I like the idea of a character trying to take over duties for a job they know nothing about, but it falls apart when all Spike had to do was close the window so Twilight wouldn't be disturbed by the loud noises. Not to mention all the consequences are heaped upon Spike, whose heart was in the right place.
Apart from that, there's... nothing really to talk about. The only positives that are noteworthy is Cadance being a voice of reason to Spike when he starts to abuse his power, and the pacing isn't too bad either, despite the cliched plotline and abuse Spike gets for his behavior. Yeah, he deserved consequences for abusing his power, but it was too much. In fact, it was so disliked by a lot of fans that even Jim Miller admitted in hindsight that it was too far.
Also, this has nothing to do with the story, but why is it called the Grand Equestria Pony Summit when a griffon is visible in the crowd? Wouldn't simply calling it the Grand Equestria Summit - minus the term "pony" - have been a lot more creature-neutral? It's not like the griffon involved was a major threat here!
Apart from that, there's... nothing really to talk about. The only positives that are noteworthy is Cadance being a voice of reason to Spike when he starts to abuse his power, and the pacing isn't too bad either, despite the cliched plotline and abuse Spike gets for his behavior. Yeah, he deserved consequences for abusing his power, but it was too much. In fact, it was so disliked by a lot of fans that even Jim Miller admitted in hindsight that it was too far.
Also, this has nothing to do with the story, but why is it called the Grand Equestria Pony Summit when a griffon is visible in the crowd? Wouldn't simply calling it the Grand Equestria Summit - minus the term "pony" - have been a lot more creature-neutral? It's not like the griffon involved was a major threat here!
Rating: Bad (3/10)
Party Pooped
Story by Jayson Thiessen and Jim Miller
Written by Nick Confalone
Written by Nick Confalone
Another episode that I've always disliked. This time around, it introduces characters out of the yaks (excluding season eight's Yona; someone should put bubble wrap around her) and their leader, Prince Rutherford, became one of my personal most disliked characters of the series.
He leaves a bad impression straight away in the cold open when he and two of his fellow yaks destroy the buffet the ponies made for them, just because the food wasn't perfect and not yak food. Rutherford's antics go on for the rest of the episode (especially in the first act), and it gets to the point you almost wish he could hunted down and stuffed on a wall. Seriously, whoever made this guy the leader of his tribe must've been braindead!
Then there's Pinkie Pie. To be fair, her character was fine for the most part, but if there is any episode where she should be portrayed in a positive light, it shouldn't be this one.
Adding on top of the selfish, ungrateful behavior the yaks display, the plot is extremely convoluted. How did Pinkie Pie end up playing with a Beatles-like band over an apparent period of several years before arriving to the Crystal Empire before making it to Yakyakistan only to end up on a sled taking her all the way back to Ponyville... within a single afternoon?! I just felt confused typing that!
I know this is a cartoon and you sometimes have to bend the rules of logic for the sake of storytelling, but this is too much, even by Pinkie's standards. If her story had happened the same way it did and if it had actually taken place over a period of several years, Ponyville would be annihilated by now!
Oh yeah, and how did the Wonderbolts know Pinkie and Cherry Jubilee were in trouble? That's another part of Pinkie's journey that made no sense.
The ending is perhaps one of the stupidest ever. Pinkie comes back to Ponyville after her convoluted, pointless journey and throws a last-minute party for the yaks... and they become friends with ponies just like that? Sure, it's to teach a lesson, but the way it was executed makes the happy ending feel sudden and undeserved. Do I need to mention it's because of the yaks' behavior?
Nick Confalone left a bad impression when he introduced us to the yaks. To be fair, Jayson Thiessen and Jim Miller were also involved in the story like they were with Princess Spike, but after that, Confalone was a solo act and gave us horrendous stories like No Second Prances and Forgotten Friendship. Sure, he had the odd gem like Dungeons & Discords and The Break Up Break Down, but his bad episodes stood out for all the wrong reasons, and Party Pooped is a prime example of this.
Again, in fairness, he's not the only writer to (perhaps unintentionally) implant unfortunate implications in his scripts. Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco did so when it came to Legend of Everfree, as did Amy Keating Rogers with A Friend in Deed, and as for Scott Sonneborn... well, I don't wish to spoil anything in regards to his last contribution of the show, but...!
He leaves a bad impression straight away in the cold open when he and two of his fellow yaks destroy the buffet the ponies made for them, just because the food wasn't perfect and not yak food. Rutherford's antics go on for the rest of the episode (especially in the first act), and it gets to the point you almost wish he could hunted down and stuffed on a wall. Seriously, whoever made this guy the leader of his tribe must've been braindead!
Then there's Pinkie Pie. To be fair, her character was fine for the most part, but if there is any episode where she should be portrayed in a positive light, it shouldn't be this one.
Adding on top of the selfish, ungrateful behavior the yaks display, the plot is extremely convoluted. How did Pinkie Pie end up playing with a Beatles-like band over an apparent period of several years before arriving to the Crystal Empire before making it to Yakyakistan only to end up on a sled taking her all the way back to Ponyville... within a single afternoon?! I just felt confused typing that!
I know this is a cartoon and you sometimes have to bend the rules of logic for the sake of storytelling, but this is too much, even by Pinkie's standards. If her story had happened the same way it did and if it had actually taken place over a period of several years, Ponyville would be annihilated by now!
Oh yeah, and how did the Wonderbolts know Pinkie and Cherry Jubilee were in trouble? That's another part of Pinkie's journey that made no sense.
The ending is perhaps one of the stupidest ever. Pinkie comes back to Ponyville after her convoluted, pointless journey and throws a last-minute party for the yaks... and they become friends with ponies just like that? Sure, it's to teach a lesson, but the way it was executed makes the happy ending feel sudden and undeserved. Do I need to mention it's because of the yaks' behavior?
Nick Confalone left a bad impression when he introduced us to the yaks. To be fair, Jayson Thiessen and Jim Miller were also involved in the story like they were with Princess Spike, but after that, Confalone was a solo act and gave us horrendous stories like No Second Prances and Forgotten Friendship. Sure, he had the odd gem like Dungeons & Discords and The Break Up Break Down, but his bad episodes stood out for all the wrong reasons, and Party Pooped is a prime example of this.
Again, in fairness, he's not the only writer to (perhaps unintentionally) implant unfortunate implications in his scripts. Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco did so when it came to Legend of Everfree, as did Amy Keating Rogers with A Friend in Deed, and as for Scott Sonneborn... well, I don't wish to spoil anything in regards to his last contribution of the show, but...!
Rating: Bad (1/10)
Amending Fences
Written by M. A. Larson
Remember in the Slice of Life revisit where I said a later Larson episode did a similar concept way better? Well, this was the episode I had in mind.
First of all, there's actually a focused plot going on. Twilight suddenly remembers her old friends from Canterlot and feels like she hurt them without knowing it. But to her surprise and relief, Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts don't show any resentment towards her. But a fourth pony does, and her name is Moon Dancer.
You know, the pony who was mentioned to having a party in the first episode of the show? They tie into that extremely well, and it didn't feel out of place. The inclusion of the aforementioned background mares helped the continuity a lot.
Secondly, there's a lot of character involved. Sure, Minuette (my favorite of the trio), Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts are a bit interchangeable with each other, but Twilight, Spike and Moon Dancer especially were brilliant. Plus the flashback with them in the science lab as fillies was adorable.
You feel a lot for Twilight when she tries to start over with Moon Dancer, and unlike A Friend in Deed, where Pinkie didn't realize that her stupidity was driving Cranky Doodle away from her, Twilight wanted to know where she screwed up and kept searching until she got her answer.
Which brings me neatly onto Moon Dancer. She was much like Twilight in her youth, more into books than making friends, but with the help of the Unicorn Trio, she began to open up about the idea... until she learned about Twilight leaving Canterlot without so much of a goodbye, which made her bitter and resentful. It finally boils over when she chews out Twilight before breaking down in tears.
It also makes Twilight understand where she messed up and apologize for hurting Moon without meaning to. This shows that you should never hold onto a grudge against someone who didn't show up where you invited them... unless, of course, the friend was really that bad. Moon Dancer is one of the show's most sympathetic characters, and it's a shame they never gave her another role after this one (we're just going to pretend that The Point of No Return doesn't exist).
This is the celebratory episode Slice of Life wished it could be. It calls back to the first episode of the show, it celebrates what made said show good to begin with, and it has an engaging story viewers of all ages can relate to, fun characters, and a sweet, heartwarming message.
First of all, there's actually a focused plot going on. Twilight suddenly remembers her old friends from Canterlot and feels like she hurt them without knowing it. But to her surprise and relief, Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts don't show any resentment towards her. But a fourth pony does, and her name is Moon Dancer.
You know, the pony who was mentioned to having a party in the first episode of the show? They tie into that extremely well, and it didn't feel out of place. The inclusion of the aforementioned background mares helped the continuity a lot.
Secondly, there's a lot of character involved. Sure, Minuette (my favorite of the trio), Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts are a bit interchangeable with each other, but Twilight, Spike and Moon Dancer especially were brilliant. Plus the flashback with them in the science lab as fillies was adorable.
You feel a lot for Twilight when she tries to start over with Moon Dancer, and unlike A Friend in Deed, where Pinkie didn't realize that her stupidity was driving Cranky Doodle away from her, Twilight wanted to know where she screwed up and kept searching until she got her answer.
Which brings me neatly onto Moon Dancer. She was much like Twilight in her youth, more into books than making friends, but with the help of the Unicorn Trio, she began to open up about the idea... until she learned about Twilight leaving Canterlot without so much of a goodbye, which made her bitter and resentful. It finally boils over when she chews out Twilight before breaking down in tears.
It also makes Twilight understand where she messed up and apologize for hurting Moon without meaning to. This shows that you should never hold onto a grudge against someone who didn't show up where you invited them... unless, of course, the friend was really that bad. Moon Dancer is one of the show's most sympathetic characters, and it's a shame they never gave her another role after this one (we're just going to pretend that The Point of No Return doesn't exist).
This is the celebratory episode Slice of Life wished it could be. It calls back to the first episode of the show, it celebrates what made said show good to begin with, and it has an engaging story viewers of all ages can relate to, fun characters, and a sweet, heartwarming message.
Rating: Excellent (10/10)
Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?
Story by Jayson Thiessen and Jim Miller
Written by Scott Sonneborn
Written by Scott Sonneborn
I understand what this episode is trying to say in regards to its message. But to be frank, the intention doesn't mean anything. The execution of the message does.
The story begins well enough with the Mane Six dreaming about a mysterious creature Luna calls the Tantabus. Eventually, everypony in Ponyville gets involved into a combined dream to fight off the Tantabus before Luna delivers this bombshell to everypony...
"But Luna stopped the Tantabus by forgiving herself. Doesn't that make it better?"
No, that doesn't make things any better; it makes things worse! Not to mention it felt superficial and Luna only forgave herself because of Twilight's speech, and not because of Celestia, the pony Luna hurt the most, who should've been there to speak with her sister. And you can't say "they had no room to put Celestia in," because this would've been the perfect opportunity for them to have a moment as sisters! Instead, we had to wait two years to actually get an episode featuring them. Time constraints in an episode are no excuse for this.
Not only that, it completely destroys her development from Luna Eclipsed, as bad as that episode was. There, it was shown that the ponies had accepted her once again, and in the Crusaders/Luna trilogy, we got to see a more wiser side to Luna, even though it makes her feel a bit like a dark blue Celestia. Could you imagine how the Crusaders would feel about this; the mare who gave them comfort in their dreams was actually tormenting herself for something extremely petty? It puts their respective episode arcs in a completely different light and sends even more unfortunate implications.
Also, note how I said Luna tormented herself for something petty. Her time as Nightmare Moon wasn't even a full day overall. At best, it was about a few hours, and the worst that happened was that it was dark. Nopony died, nopony ended up with serious injuries, and yet Luna treated it like it was Armageddon!
And her guilt is fed upon by the Tantabus which, again, she created herself. Would anyone want a leader like Luna acting this way in the real world? People wouldn't feel safe! This is confirmed by the fact that it escaped and found other hosts with the Mane Six and, no thanks to Pinkie, the rest of Ponyville. And instead of destroying it, which would've been a perfect metaphor for seeking help, Luna absorbs it once again, suggesting that things will get worse in the future if she sweeps it under the rug like that!
Princess Luna gets a rough treatment from the writers, possibly more so than Starlight Glimmer, and this episode is the nadir of that. It's because of this episode and Luna Eclipsed that she's my least favorite of the princesses, and her wangsty behavior here did not help at all. And if you feel like the overall premise feels like it came from Final Fantasy... you're right.
Hasbro should be ashamed of themselves for letting this episode's ending come out in this state. Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? is yet another contender for worst episode of the series.
The story begins well enough with the Mane Six dreaming about a mysterious creature Luna calls the Tantabus. Eventually, everypony in Ponyville gets involved into a combined dream to fight off the Tantabus before Luna delivers this bombshell to everypony...
"I created the Tantabus to give myself the same nightmare every night... to punish myself for the evil I caused as Nightmare Moon! ... To make sure I never forgave myself for how much Equestria suffered because of me! But it seems I have not learned my lesson, for now I have only made you suffer more!" - Princess Luna, 7/11/2015Up until that point, the episode's message, as intended, was to forgive yourself for your past mistakes. But Luna's dialogue near the end completely destroyed this episode's intended message and instead implies that you shouldn't seek help when you have a problem. That is right up there with Apology Impossible's toxic lesson that kids shouldn't stand up to bullies!
"But Luna stopped the Tantabus by forgiving herself. Doesn't that make it better?"
No, that doesn't make things any better; it makes things worse! Not to mention it felt superficial and Luna only forgave herself because of Twilight's speech, and not because of Celestia, the pony Luna hurt the most, who should've been there to speak with her sister. And you can't say "they had no room to put Celestia in," because this would've been the perfect opportunity for them to have a moment as sisters! Instead, we had to wait two years to actually get an episode featuring them. Time constraints in an episode are no excuse for this.
Not only that, it completely destroys her development from Luna Eclipsed, as bad as that episode was. There, it was shown that the ponies had accepted her once again, and in the Crusaders/Luna trilogy, we got to see a more wiser side to Luna, even though it makes her feel a bit like a dark blue Celestia. Could you imagine how the Crusaders would feel about this; the mare who gave them comfort in their dreams was actually tormenting herself for something extremely petty? It puts their respective episode arcs in a completely different light and sends even more unfortunate implications.
Also, note how I said Luna tormented herself for something petty. Her time as Nightmare Moon wasn't even a full day overall. At best, it was about a few hours, and the worst that happened was that it was dark. Nopony died, nopony ended up with serious injuries, and yet Luna treated it like it was Armageddon!
And her guilt is fed upon by the Tantabus which, again, she created herself. Would anyone want a leader like Luna acting this way in the real world? People wouldn't feel safe! This is confirmed by the fact that it escaped and found other hosts with the Mane Six and, no thanks to Pinkie, the rest of Ponyville. And instead of destroying it, which would've been a perfect metaphor for seeking help, Luna absorbs it once again, suggesting that things will get worse in the future if she sweeps it under the rug like that!
Princess Luna gets a rough treatment from the writers, possibly more so than Starlight Glimmer, and this episode is the nadir of that. It's because of this episode and Luna Eclipsed that she's my least favorite of the princesses, and her wangsty behavior here did not help at all. And if you feel like the overall premise feels like it came from Final Fantasy... you're right.
Hasbro should be ashamed of themselves for letting this episode's ending come out in this state. Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? is yet another contender for worst episode of the series.
Rating: Atrocious (-10/10)
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