MLP Episode 918: She Talks to Angel

Finally! After a string of episodes ranging from mediocre to downright awful, we finally get one that's actually good.

She Talks to Angel

Written by Nick Confalone

No, it's not perfect, nor is it the most original plotline the series has used. It follows the Freaky Friday storyline; A Royal Problem did as well, but that was with Celestia and Luna's cutie marks and, by extension, their duties. This episode, however, is a more direct approach, but it works for Fluttershy's and Angel's respective characters.

He's frustrated that she never gets to spend time with him, and she, in return, is upset that he doesn't understand the hard work she does around the animal sanctuary and the School of Friendship. A surprising contrast given how much time they spent together in the earlier seasons, and it doesn't feel out of place this far in, unlike what's happened with Twilight who seemed to continually lose her shit 24/7...

Back to this episode, and Angel talking and acting in Fluttershy's body was really funny, but the best moment was when Fluttershy in Angel's body used the Stare on him. It's so absurd, and that's what makes it work.

The rest of the story, as I said, is fairly stock, with both Angel and Fluttershy realizing the difficulties the other have to face on a daily basis, especially with Flutter ending up physically exhausted and Angelshy needing the other animals' help to help her. (For the record, Angelshy is Angel in Fluttershy's body, whilst Flutter is vice versa.) And the moral, again, whilst stock, is a good one to learn - don't just assume that the other person's job is easy; you have to actually do the job to understand the complexity surrounding it.

Final Thoughts

I said this in my Sweet and Smoky review, but I'll say it here as well; the last season of the show has been an utter failure thus far. But even that has its shining gems, and She Talks to Angel can be counted as one of them. Despite the stock storyline and moral, it felt quite fresh and it's all I could really ask for. As a matter of fact, Fluttershy has been the true highlight of season nine as far as I'm concerned.

Rating: Excellent (9/10)

MLP Episode 917: The Summer Sun Setback

Ding ding. Round two.

The Summer Sun Setback

Written by Michael Vogel

Up to this point this season, all they've done with Twilight is have her freak out over unimportant things. Constantly. And yet here, they say she's finally "over it", and it feels like a slap to the face. No, no, not a slap - a punch.

"But at least it's character development from her! That's a good thing, right?"

Well... no. Because this episode aired the week after A Trivial Pursuit, an episode where Twilight behaved like a petty bitch. And both that episode and this one were also in the same season that gave us her portrayals in Sparkle's Seven, The Point of No Return and Between Dark and Dawn. It's also in the same season where she manipulated Rainbow Dash in 2, 4, 6, Greaaat and was painted as being in the right for it, although that episode was forgettable in the long run.

This, however, feels less like character development and more like an attempt at excusing Twilight's behavior in the aforementioned episodes, which just makes it feel even more insulting when you consider that she backpedaled to how she behaved in the first two seasons. And that's not even mentioning how much it does a huge disservice to those seasons. At least they actually tried to develop their characters!

So no, Twilight hasn't changed. Not to me, anyway. The writers screwed up her character purely for the sake of a character arc that didn't need to happen! As far as I'm concerned, she is dead to me. Season nine had outright murdered her (metaphorically speaking) and A Trivial Pursuit was the final nail in the coffin.

Sure, she was more rational here than she was in previous episodes, but it's too little, too late. The damage to her character arc and good name has already been done, and it's something that she'll never fully recover from. Even if the finale turns out to be amazing, the fact remains that Twilight would have had to go through a character arc that deliberately regressed her character just to allow the arc to happen. That is something that the finale just can't shake off.

Taking that out of the equation, it's yet another episode where the story leaves me with nothing to work with. It's just the Mane Six trying to clear up a mess caused by Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow before Twilight finds out about it. There's nothing new here in regard to the story or the theme. At least this time around, Vogel knew how to write the villains as villains and not criminals who are supposedly "misunderstood", but how did that Pegasus with the necktie not recognize Cozy Glow and her crimes from School Raze? Heck, why didn't he think about reporting her to the Princesses?

Adding on top of the ponies' stupidity is that no one noticed something off about some ponies' eye colors or how all those mishaps happened. Considering Canterlot's tight security, you'd think they'd be smart enough to figure out that there's something going on behind the scenes! This is like The Mean 6 all over again, also by Mike Vogel.

Also, Discord is just there. He felt almost like a plot device to inspire the Legion of Doom to cause trouble at the final Summer Sun Celebration when they overhear him and the Mane Six. You could've easily cut him out, maybe have the Mane Six take over his lines, and nothing would change.

Final Thoughts

Taking Rainbow Roadtrip out of the equation, this marks eight episodes in a row ranging from mediocre to downright awful. It further affirms my beliefs that the writers seem to have stopped caring about the show and just want it to end. I heard that Jim Miller said that the MLP crew were proud of their work, and if episodes like Frenemies and The Last Crusade are what they're proud of, regardless of any unfortunate implications and poor storytelling, then I shudder to think what the finale will be like.

As for The Summer Sun Setback as a whole, it's terrible, plain and simple. As I said, it almost feels like they're trying to excuse Twilight's behavior from past episodes, which is rather insulting considering they treated her paranoia like it was her only character trait in this season alone. It's like I said when I reviewed Between Dark and Dawn; when Twilight takes over, Equestria's fucked.

Rating: Terrible (-5/10)

MLP Episode 916: A Trivial Pursuit

Alright, this review and the next one could be my most anticipated yet. Ever since they were leaked early in China, I sounded off against both episodes a bit. The pressure's on, so let's knock A Trivial Pursuit out of the way.

A Trivial Pursuit

Written by Brittany Jo Flores

I hate this episode. Like, so much. I said this in my analysis post for season nine, as well as previous reviews, but it bears repeating; the writers cannot keep with rehashing older ideas and try to pass them off as "new". They've been using it as a crutch far too often in this season, and it's become tiresome really fast. Not only that, but Twilight's behavior continues to prove why she's unfit for taking over from Celestia and Luna. Like Between Dark and Dawn, this episode takes both problems and make for a completely unpleasant viewing experience.

There is so much going on with A Trivial Pursuit, that only one word registered in my mind when watching it: Why? WHY?!

Why does this episode exist in the first place? Why did they have to regress Twilight's character to a marefilly just to allow this stupid excuse for a plot to take place? Why is this in the same season where she is expected to take over for Celestia and Luna in the finale? And why is all of this over some stupid trivia challenge that we never heard about before?!

Actually, I can answer the last question; it's because she wants to get three wins in a row and freaks out because she's afraid Pinkie Pie will screw up her chances of winning. I'm not even kidding; that is literally Twilight's motivation in this fucking episode! It gets to the point she outright gets her disqualified just for a stupid fucking win! This is not Twilight being the Princess of Friendship, this is her being a fucking asshole!

Back when I first got into the show, Twilight was my favorite character, but when No Second Prances around, in hindsight, that was the first sign that she would drop from the top spot. This was not the Twilight I knew in the first five seasons; she was replaced with a jerkass who was Twilight in name only. A Trivial Pursuit was the final nail in the coffin for Jerkass Twilight. It didn't help that this was in the same season that she tried to preserve a reputation we knew nothing about for eight years for the third time! (The others were Sparkle's Seven and The Point of No Return by the way.)

"Oh, but Twilight apologized to Pinkie and saw the error of her ways! Doesn't that make it any better?"

Well, no, that actually makes this episode worse! Because this episode wrote Twilight's character just to teach her a lesson that she didn't need to re-learn. Not only that, but I've watched the show long enough to know that the next time Twilight either geeks out or freaks out, it's all going to end in disaster for everyone involved. Character development is about learning from your mistakes, and Jerkass Twilight has not learned anything from the mistakes that Twilight made in the first five seasons.

I know that the episode's lesson is meant to be "it's better to have fun than to win", but the lesson I got from Jerkass Twilight's behavior is that "you can bully your friends and they'll still come back to help you". That is one of the most disgusting lessons this show has taught, especially for one targeted at little girls!

Final Thoughts

Can I just bet $10 in American money that the finale is going to do everything possible to make us root for Jerkass Twilight despite her past behavior in this season proving otherwise? At this point, she deserves for everything to go wrong for her! I kind of owe my apologies to Frenemies, mostly because I want Jerkass Twilight to fall in the hands of Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow.

Fuck this episode. It should be sent down to Tartarus and locked up in the deepest, darkest cave so human eyes can never look at it again. It is that awful, and it has officially earned the title for the worst ever episode of the entire series.

Rating: Atrocious (-10/10)

MLP Episode 915: 2, 4, 6, Greaaat

If we count Rainbow Roadtrip as an episode, then this marks seven episodes in a row ranging from mediocre to awful. Just goes to show that seven isn't always a lucky number, am I right?

2, 4, 6, Greaaat

Written by Kaita Mpambara

So the overall plot is Rainbow Dash being asked to train the cheer squad instead of the buckball team. That's it. There's nothing about it that stands out. It all happened because Twilight (from what I understand) wanted to test Rainbow Dash, a pony who knew nothing about cheerleading. But at least this time around, Rainbow wasn't reckless enough to endanger anyone's life.

The themes about working together and responsibility aren't that interesting either. Seriously, they're both lessons that Rainbow Dash (and kids, since it's been taught so much in the show) didn't need to learn! Can't the writers at least try to come up with themes they haven't tackled before?

There's honestly very little else I can say in terms of story or theme. And that's what I've been finding so frustrating about season nine. Even the episodes I ranked good or excellent like Sweet and Smoky and Common Ground just don't stand out on their own; they just rely on tropes that worked just fine in the past eight seasons. Is it just one or two bad episodes that stick out and that the rest are just coasting along? I don't know.

Final Thoughts

In the post-McCarthy era, there seems to be some kind of formula for Rainbow Dash; for every good episode she gets (Common Ground), a bad one seems to cancel it out. There's nothing "great" about this episode, especially as it's another episode with Rainbow Dash acting like an idiot.

When the Young Six (in this case, just Yona, Ocellus and Smolder) are the best part of your episode, you should seriously consider how to handle the characters we've known since the first season better. And considering this is from the writer that gave us Horse Play and A Rockhoof and a Hard Place (both of which I loved), that's saying a lot.

Rating: Terrible (-3/10)

MLP Episode 914: The Last Laugh

Well, here we go again. We're now onto the final block of episodes for My Little Pony, and come October, that'll be the end of the line for the show. And we're kicking things off with the return of "Weird Al" Yankovic as Cheese Sandwich! Can it live up to expectations?

The Last Laugh

Written by Michael P. Fox & Wil Fox

If you want a brief, blunt answer, absolutely not. If anything, it was practically a Pinkie Pride rip-off, and the things it did to try and stand out on its own just made the viewing experience worse and, dare I say it, more tedious.

So the overall premise is that Pinkie tries to find her life's purpose. Right off the bat, there's a flaw; we've seen for eight years that her purpose was to throw parties and make other ponies happy. Isn't that the reason she got her cutie mark in the first place? Oh wait, this is season nine where eight years' worth of continuity has been thrown out the window just because. I get it.

As for the rest of the story, like I said, it rehashes Pinkie Pride, only based in a factory and none of the humor or charm. Sure, there's comedy, but it's practically tired old gags that could literally be in any series.

Frankly, it didn't feel like it was worth bringing back Weird Al for this episode. When we're reintroduced to Cheese Sandwich, he's stuck in his own factory and completely lost his laugh. Talk about anticlimactic. And that's not mentioning how painfully obvious the solution is; all he had to do was make other ponies laugh. Oh, and him leaving the factory behind (well, mostly) just makes this already pointless conflict even more so.

If the episode had a bright spot, I would say that Pinkie was fairly well-written like a genuine friend who wants to help, and Cheese Sandwich was also pretty sympathetic despite the obvious outcome. Don't know what to think about Sans Smirk though, when all I could think of was a genderbent Maud Pie with glasses at least until the end...

Final Thoughts

Normally, I'd offer up solutions for improving an episode, but all I really need to do is direct your attention to Pinkie Pride; the humor feels more genuine, the conflict is stronger, the ending has a sense of finality with Cheese's character. The Last Laugh is creatively bankrupt. I guess the old saying is true; the bigger the hype, the greater the disappointment.

Watching this episode personally, it felt like a painful reminder as to how little I've been enjoying this season, but we're just getting started on the second half...

Rating: Bad (1/10)