MLP Episode 922: Growing Up is Hard to Do

Well, that was unexpected! Ed Valentine seems to have had one last hurrah before the show ended as it's his first contribution since The Fault in Our Cutie Marks. Considering his track record, can he go out big?

Growing Up is Hard to Do

Written by Ed Valentine

Well... not really. But it's not an awful episode either. It was... adequate, to say the least.

If you've heard of the 1988 movie Big starring Tom Hanks, then you probably already know how the story goes. Some kid wants to be an adult to impress an older girl but gets more than he bargained for. Except this time, it's three foals and there's no crush involved.

While the Crusaders end up being kids again, all this episode does is raise questions as to why we don't see them physically age. At this point, they should be teenagers during their final years of grade school, and yet they're talked down to like it's season one or two. Heck, they've walked around Ponyville without adult supervision in previous episodes and they turned out fine.

Actually, now that I think about it, that's a huge problem the show seems to have faced throughout its run. We never see babies grow up and go to school, we don't see the kids getting older, and Twilight's parents have looked to be about the same age as their children throughout the show's run! You'd think we'd see more wrinkles or their hair getting a bit gray. Sure, there's flashbacks with the likes of the Mane Six and the Apple family, but still.

That being said, the Crusaders were enjoyable throughout, but it's no surprise considering that every one of Ed Valentine's scripts (with the exception of Three's a Crowd) featured them. The trio embracing the joys of being an adult through song was fantastic, and the moral they learned about growing up being a long process was really good.

Final Thoughts

The overall result was just... fine. It's not Ed Valentine's best work, but there's not a lot to hate about it either. The story and theme are relatable enough to anyone about growing up. It's tolerable, that's good enough for me.

Rating: Good (7/10)

MLP Episode 921: Daring Doubt

My God, this season constantly manages to out-stupid itself and give me something else to hate about it...

Daring Doubt

Written by Nicole Dubuc

Seriously, what this episode is telling me is that Dr. Caballeron, one of Daring Do's greatest archenemies, is misunderstood? After four episodes prior to this one across eight seasons, all of a sudden, his villainy does not matter anymore and instead, he's a mere researcher? That's literally what people accuse Garble's twist "misunderstood character" status from Sweet and Smoky as being; something pulled out of the writers' collective ass just to allow the story to happen! At least Garble had somewhat of an excuse (though he still should've been shown apologizing to Spike, but I digress).

They even double down on that godawful twist by calling Ahuizotl misunderstood by trying to protect his jungle and the artifacts that Daring Do and Caballeron take from him. Ahuizotl tried to kill Daring Do several times during the course of the books, especially in Daring Don't back in season four, his last appearance, where he almost caused the world to burn for 800 years! How is that misunderstood?

The continuity overall with past episodes is just a mess. Ignoring that A) this episode will likely pander to the Daring Do/Caballeron shippers (yes, they do exist), B) the twist with Caballeron is Groom Q. Q. Martingale is blatantly obvious, and C) Fluttershy's interest in Daring Do seems to come from nowhere, how did the ponies of Equestria not learn back in Fame and Misfortune that A. K. Yearling was Daring Do herself? The Friendship Journal's been out for at least a couple of years, so you'd think they'd have learned about that by now!

Also, the plot is basically Daring Done? (only it was Caballeron trying to tell his side of the story, which makes it worse) mashed up with The Hooffields and McColts (Fluttershy involvement by helping both sides understand each other). I know you're probably sick of hearing me talk about that, but believe me; I'm sick of talking about it as well. If you're low on ideas, take a break for a while and refresh your mind.

Final Thoughts

The writing for this season is just unacceptable at times. If they're not destroying one of the main characters to the point you want them dead, they're throwing continuity out the window. If it's not that, they're rewriting characters just to suit the plot. If it's not that, they're throwing away what made these characters popular to fans. And if it's not that, they're reusing the theme about communication and understanding both sides, something this show has already done multiple times!

Seriously, this was a terrible way to conclude the Daring Do saga. And when the only character that's actually well written is Fluttershy, a character who's never been involved in a Daring Do episode, then you really have a problem.

Rating: Atrocious (-8/10)

MLP Episode 920: A Horse Shoe-In

Well, here we go; the home stretch of the last season of the show. Six reviews to go (starting with this one) and then that'll be it for Generation 4. My expectations are through the floor at this stage.

A Horse Shoe-In

Written by Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim

I'll start off fair and say that this episode does at least acknowledge who will be running the School of Friendship when Twilight moves back to Canterlot, but three-quarters of the way through? This just shows how off the pacing in season nine is. Frankly, I'd have gotten rid of filler episodes like The Point of No Return so that the first half would've focused on the Mane Six making adjustments to properly prepare for taking over for Celestia and Luna, and then have the second half focus on everyone adjusting to their new roles.

And speaking of new roles, did it never occur to Twilight that she would need a contingency plan with the teachers? Yeah, A Matter of Principals made that obvious, but this episode was more blatant about it.

Back to this episode, and there's the main premise; Trixie wants to become Starlight's vice-headmare. That's a huge problem with Starlight/Trixie episodes. Both ponies bring out the worst in each other post-redemption. You'd think after Road to Friendship that Trixie would've become more humble, but here, she's just unbearably selfish and it makes you wonder why Starlight is even friends with her at all. Oh, and Trixie becoming the school's new counselor? I'm pretty sure that's not going to end in disaster(!)

There's other (albeit smaller) problems as well, like Starlight saying that Twilight's friends are competent. Why would she say that? Are we suddenly forgetting what happened in Non-Compete Clause? Heck, in this season alone, we saw Rainbow Dash clearly unqualified for the cheerleading teaching job, and even Starlight herself let Silverstream do her report on cockatrices without adult supervision! So Starlight's in no position to call the Mane Six competent teachers.

Then there's the ending where it's decided that Sunburst be Starlight's vice-headmare. I almost feel like there was no thought was put into it whatsoever, especially when they handwave it by saying Flurry Heart's getting older and doesn't need a crystaller. Show, don't tell! Sure, she said her first word in The Beginning of the End, but that's not really enough to say that she's growing up. Surely she'd get slightly bigger in size and no longer be in diapers? I mean, Pound and Pumpkin Cake aren't wearing diapers anymore, so why not Flurry Heart?

To give the episode credit where it's due, the episode as a whole did at least try to be entertaining. Big Mac trying to speak with Sky Beak about Silverstream's achievements was perhaps the biggest standout; I genuinely laughed at it just for how silly it was. As was Starlight talking to and naming her plant like it was a child, especially her reaction to Trixie throwing it away. Yeah, it was kind of a cliched and stupid joke but... eh, they tried at least.

Final Thoughts

Starlight gets a rough deal in so many of the episodes she's in, and this can be added to that pile. The fact that this could potentially be her last starring role makes it all the more frustrating. She deserved so much more than what she got in the latter half of the series' run, with A Royal Problem still remaining her best starring role to date.

Rehashed story elements, fanservice for the sake of fanservice, and apathy towards potentially toxic implications down the road. A Horse Shoe-In follows that formula down to the letter.

Rating: Terrible (-5/10)

Thomas & Friends Season 23: Week 2

Here's the second week of new episodes! This time, we're going back to Brazil, and making some brief stops to India and Sodor along the way.

This episode was enjoyable, although slightly dull in places. The music that Thomas' cargo made during his travels was pretty fun to listen to (why the engine parts were on a flatbed, I'll let it slide), and it was nice that the band used it as a beat for inspiration. I almost thought that someone in the episode was going to sing along to the soundtrack. Also, was it just me, or did they show the Brazilian Carnival without actually saying the name? Yeah, it was simply called a carnival, but it did feel like it to me.

The only real issue is that the foreman would simply let Thomas take the tanker to the carnival when it was obviously in poor condition, but it was funny seeing his crew wince at the noise. Other than that, it's pretty enjoyable. Nothing spectacular, but kids will probably enjoy it.

Rating: Good (8/10)

Well, well. We meet again, Miss Overton. Last season, her scripts were mostly misses, especially the infamously hated Apology Impossible to the point that many even called it the worst episode of the show's history. But does Overton's first episode of the season turn things around in her favor?

Well, a lot of people, from what I can tell, dislike the episode, but I don't think it's as awful as many make it out to be. If anything, I think of it as a step in the right direction.

In a lot of the Brenner era, Gordon has usually been depicted as being grumpy and/or boastful, and often condescending to the smaller engines. But lately, they seem to be giving more depth to his character. In The Great Race, he has a sibling rivalry with Flying Scotsman, Forever and Ever showed him being paranoid over the changes before learning they weren't all bad, and a Meet the Steam Team video implied there's something going on between him and Rebecca...

Here, we get to see Gordon show his more comedic side when he sees Rebecca covered in honey and vegetables (which she looked adorable covered in) and tries to contain his laughter over it. It was also nice to see him show concern when Rebecca almost ran Thomas off the rails. Oh, and Gordon calling himself Big G was just funny; is that a nickname he gives himself or does someone else?

The passengers must've been incredibly tolerant of their engine stopping randomly until he turned up at the Steamworks at the end; that one passenger deserves his own mention, seriously. And I wonder why they didn't bother complaining to Sir Topham Hatt when he turned up? Then again, it wouldn't be the first time that people on Sodor have had skewed priorities...

There's... not much else to talk about here. I'll bet Keith Wickham and Kerry Shale both had a blast in the recording studio when it came to recording Gordon's lines in their respective dubs; they really hammed up his character there. It's also incredible how one writer went from writing one of the most infamously hateful episodes of the show to one of the funniest. Rebecca seems to bring out the best in Gordon.

Rating: Excellent (9/10)

Here we go again with another infamous episode episode in this season. Heck, the generic title alone is enough of a sign as to how hated it is. Actually, I don't think it even qualifies as a title; just the most generic premise you could come up with.

However, the title is the least of this episode's problems. It's basically a three-strikes script except based in India - if it was on Sodor, it'd be exactly the same result. Not only that, it's a lesson that Thomas should've learned by this point. If you gave Ashima the lead role and have her panic over maintaining a spotless record, it could've been more interesting and taught kids that nobody's perfect. I mean, they gave Rajiv a lead role this season, so why not give Ashima one too? Or did Mattel think that The Great Race was enough?

Also, that fantasy sequence was completely random and added absolutely nothing to the episode. It's just an excuse for Thomas to get distracted from his job. And this is nitpicking, but why did they put goats in box vans instead of cattle wagons?

There are some good little moments, albeit minor. The interactions between the farmer and the grumpy stationmaster were funny, and the usage of having monkeys help to recover the silk was a nice touch in getting everyone involved. Plus, we got to see Noor Jehan show a bit of wisdom in her character. Not entirely original but... eh, it's at least something.

All in all, I wouldn't call it the worst episode ever made, but it's definitely bad. It's got a storyline that they should've consigned to the scrap heap by 2013, it's repetitive, and Thomas comes off as an idiot. At least this episode didn't outright state that you shouldn't stand up to bullies, nor did it try placing culture before story.

Rating: Bad (2/10)

Davey Moore seems to have lots of fun whenever he writes for Diesel and Rebecca, doesn't he? Their dynamic in this episode was just loads of fun with her naivety and his trickster persona, all because he doesn't want to be blamed for causing trouble. Diesel nearly succeeds, only for Rebecca to spill the beans and the episode ends with him about to be chewed out again. Interesting book end for the episode; it begins with Diesel being called out for something we never see (we're only told about what he did), and it ends with him being called out for causing trouble today despite doing a good job with his duties today.

Something that was surprising was that Norman actually spoke and had something to do... very late into the Brenner era. If they weren't going to do much with him at all, then why was he introduced in the first place? Wouldn't it have been simpler to bring back Dennis?

That aside, it's a really funny episode that fitted Diesel's character, and the fantasy sequence parodying the new intro was a highlight in my books. It does almost make me wonder if they're planning a Diesel spinoff based off of that sequence alone, but I doubt that would happen. Would be nice to see, though.

Rating: Excellent (10/10)

Yes, I know; the sequence with the engines playing with the ball was a bit dumb, but then again, the show's done stupider things. If I complained about that too much, I'd be questioning why the engines have faces at all. You've heard that before, I'm sure.

That being said, the little ball game does tie nicely into Raul's competitive nature; after losing to Thomas in the Shunting Challenge, he's desperate to try and beat him before deciding that winning isn't always everything. Nothing the show hasn't done before, I know, but it was definitely a lesson he needed to learn. I also find it ironic how Thomas nearly fell into the sea after being bumped by an international engine (Ashima) in The Great Race, and yet here, he rescues another (Raul) from falling into the sea.

Speaking of said special, the stock footage of the Shunting Challenge sticks out a lot like a dented buffer in terms of lighting and with Thomas' physical appearance. Just compare him from both the special and this episode and you'll see what I mean.

Also, this is sadly the only episode in Brazil thus far where we see Raul. Given that he was Brazil's representative in The Great Race, you'd think the writers would give him more to work with. Instead, it's Gabriela turning up in every episode. And if that's the case, then why wasn't it Gabriela taking part in the Shunting Challenge instead? That doesn't make any sense at all if you ask me.

Overall, I give this episode the same rating as The Other Big Engine. It's fairly enjoyable for the target audience. But if you're not a fan of the unrealistic moments, you'll probably hate this episode because of them.

Rating: Good (7/10)

MLP Episode 919: Dragon Dropped

I sometimes wonder if Friendship is Magic should've lasted as long as it did, but then I watch episodes like this and decide that it should've ended earlier.

Dragon Dropped

Written by Josh Haber

The story is just a stereotypical "someone gets jealous when their close friend hangs out with someone else" plot. Yeah, it's the same plot we've seen in the likes of Uncommon Bond and Make New Friends but Keep Discord. There's nothing interesting about it, and it almost makes Rarity look selfish about wanting Spike for herself.

Speaking of whom, why does Spike hang out with Gabby, of all characters? We've never seen them interact once in The Fault in Our Cutie Marks, so why are they close friends? This could've made better sense if Sweetie Belle was the one hanging out Gabby given that the griffon is an honorary Cutie Mark Crusader. Sure, it would've bordered on retreading Forever Filly, but at least it would've worked somewhat better for Rarity's character.

Also, this is minor, but isn't it strange that Rarity would get a starring role so late into the season? I mean, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack had a bit of spotlight during the first half, and Pinkie's first spotlight role was the first episode of the second half. So why did it take them this long to give Rarity something to do?

Final Thoughts

It's another short review, but season nine is barely giving me anything to work with. Actually, much of the episodes in this season have barely given me anything to talk about, and this episode can be added to that pile. It's so boring and cliched that you'll end up forgetting about it six hours after watching it.

Rating: Terrible (0/10)

Thomas & Friends Season 23: Week 1

Wow, it has been nearly a year since I last reviewed anything related to Thomas and Friends on the blog. With a lot of focus going into revisiting the first six seasons of My Little Pony, as well as reviewing its ninth and final season, the Thomas side of things seems to have been neglected. Well, to be fair, there wasn't much for me to talk about, but with season 23 finally airing in the United Kingdom, I think it's high time we got back to the popular show about talking trains. Beginning with the first week of new episodes.

Ever since Bulgy made his surprise comeback in Unscheduled Stops, fans wanted to see more of him, and I was certainly one of those fans. The roads seemed to be a little too friendly, so to have a road antagonist like Bulgy would be a good way to shake things up. This episode makes him so twisted, I love it. Heck, that fantasy sequence proves just how messed up he is in the head. Who else would ever think of Percy being an over-the-top supervillain?

The plot is pretty simplistic; Bulgy taints a water tower and then gets his comeuppance by being overloaded with passengers. It feels like something from Awdry's pen, and it follows the three-act story formula perfectly; actions, consequences, and resolution.

There's... not really much else to talk about here. According to Michael White, George was intended to be in Max and Monty's place when Bulgy accidentally taints the water tower. That's a missed opportunity right there as it would've been nice to see two significant road antagonists together in the same episode. At the same time, it's frustrating that Mattel couldn't be bothered to render a new character from the ground up just for one scene, but it's nice to acknowledge that those we haven't seen in a while haven't been forgotten about.

Rating: Excellent (10/10)

It's fair to say that I practically tore the India-themed episodes of season 22 a new one. With two episodes in particular, it felt as though the story was an afterthought to facts and exposition about India; Thomas and the Monkey Palace was basically a Miller-era script based in India and nothing happened in Thomas Goes to Bollywood.

And then came this episode. I won't be beating around the bush; I absolutely loved it.

For a start, they practically focus on a character that's not Thomas - in this case, Rajiv - and it allowed the other characters to shine through on their own (some episodes out of season 22 did, but that's beside the point). Though Ashima still feels incredibly bland and Noor Jehan's character is a bit dry, but she does seem to show a bit of character expressing concern about her poor brakes. It's nice how a seemingly random line from her tied into the climax; that was way more than she did in all of season 22.

You also feel for Rajiv when he loses his crown after some monkeys play with it. But it's still really hilarious how he treats it like it's the end of the world, but he learned after rescuing Shankar from a runaway Noor Jehan that he didn't always need his crown to be useful and he was rewarded by having it returned to him. Rajiv might've still felt proud of it, sure, but the ending seemed to push his character in the right direction by promising to be useful regardless.

This was also probably the best use of the fantasy sequences, right next to An Engine of Many Colors. They're simple, but they show how proud Rajiv is of his crown; first is after it's been polished at the start, and the second is after he loses it. It's funny how he imagines the trucks, birds and a tiger reacting to him.

All in all, it's the best India-themed episode to date, even more so than Tiger Trouble (which, I'll admit, I was pretty harsh towards in retrospect; if I had to re-review that episode again, I'd give it either a 6 or 7/10) - though, to be fair, the bar wasn't that high to begin with. It felt a lot like a Thomas story and the moral was great.

Side note: Camille Ucan and Rose Johnson are rather lovely...!

Rating: Excellent (10/10)

This episode is all over the place; the flashbacks to Dirty Objects and Percy Takes the Plunge were fine, but I can't help but feel as though they were included for the sake of pandering. (It's the same thing with the Thomas and the Trucks portion of The Adventure Begins.) Not only that, the two incidents from said episodes were practically repeated twice - once in the fantasy sequence with Rebecca, and again with James, Thomas and Percy going through similar incidents.

Yeah, the overall premise is fairly thin for the most part, but the flashbacks/recreations/callbacks/etc. are said laid so much it's almost as if they overshadow the episode itself. Heck, it's not until halfway through the episode that Rebecca pulls her first goods train... which is simply taking trucks to Vicarstown. That being said, the trucks' reaction to Rebecca's goodbye was really funny; they're so used to success against engines not used to them that they've been thrown off of their game!

If I were to write this episode, I'd have one of the engines (maybe Gordon) tell Rebecca that mishaps with the trucks are no laughing matter, and when she's pulling the goods train, she'd ask the trucks why they enjoy doing this and they'd tell her that it's because most of the engines mistreat them every day. Still not the most exciting, but it could've had the episode stand up on its own without relying on flashbacks too much.

Rating: Okay (6/10)

Here's something I'd like to get out of the way; we never got a clear introduction to Gabriela, hence we don't see how she and Thomas met. Because of this, it almost feels as if she was just introduced with no explanation, and it's not made clear as to whether or not this or the other two episodes based in Brazil is Thomas' introduction to said country. With China (Number One Engine), India (Trusty Trunky) and Australia (Outback Thomas), we could at least tell with these episodes that it was Thomas' first time in those respective countries, but Brazil? Nada.

Okay, that issue aside (this won't affect my views on the Brazil episodes, but it was something I wanted to point out), how on earth did Thomas not know right off the bat that Gustavo reminded him of Gordon? He's a big engine that's painted blue (with some light gray on the side), has the number four on his sides and pulls an express train. That should've been obvious from the get-go! Not to mention how random the mentions of Edward, Henry and Toby are. It almost sounds like they're saying they're still around, but it feels like padding.

Still, Gustavo seems like a nice enough character, especially when Thomas realized that he wasn't as boastful like his Sudrian counterpart. That does remind me; every country he's visited thus far seems to have at least one Sudrian counterpart. Rajiv is an Indian James, Yong Bao is a Chinese Edward, Shane seems to be an Australian Henry (they're both big green engines and are very friendly; that was pretty much the best comparison I could make), and now there's a Gustavo as a Brazilian Gordon. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just something I feel like pointing out.

It's also funny how the closing segment calls back to Thomas, Terence and the Snow as opposed to Terence Breaks the Ice, the episode that included the CGI recreation. That's probably the longest gap between an older story and the newest story since the Thomas' Train callback in Confusion Without Delay.

Rating: Good (7/10)

Is it just me, or did someone at Mattel listen to Neil Young's Harvest album after reading Michael's script, and when "Heart of Gold" came up, they said "that should be this episode's title!"? Don't get me wrong; I like Neil Young's music, especially with Crosby, Stills & Nash, but the writers and/or Mattel seem to have a habit of using song titles for their episodes if Love Me Tender from season 20 and Wish You Were Here (yet to be released in the UK at the time of posting) from this season are anything to go by. But I digress.

Toby has never had the best track record when it comes to starring roles. For the first four seasons, he was very well written as the voice of reason in the branch line trio (himself, Thomas and Percy). But beginning with season five, his personality took a nose dive for the worst. Every once in a while, there was a good episode like Toby Had a Little Lamb and Toby's Afternoon Off, but the majority of roles up to season 16 sucked, whilst Signals Crossed two seasons later was... almost good. And the less said about Three Steam Engines Gruff, the better.

So it never really came as a shock to me when Toby was removed from the Steam Team along with Edward and Henry; you'd have to rewrite their character just to work within the story when they're best off as secondary characters. Yet Toby remains in the reworked Engine Roll Call; perhaps just seven engines wouldn't have worked?

Then comes Heart of Gold. It's Toby's greatest starring role since 1984, no exaggeration. A story about him being mocked by passengers just for his appearance wouldn't have been that great if it had aired during the Barlow era. But Michael White perfectly manages to mix Toby's self-doubting persona with the classic brave persona we know and love. It's the best of both worlds, and add to Toby's occasional stubbornness, it makes the tram engine more three-dimensional, proving he still has a place in the series despite being demoted. (Though I wish they'd do more with Henry than just shoving him into the background...!)

But it's not just Toby who shines as a character. Glynn and Millie's collective small role in giving him support after he was mocked for his appearance shows why they (and Stephen, despite being absent) continue to have great moments whenever they turn up, and one of the passengers who mocked Toby earlier standing up for him against Diesel's teasing was a good little bit of character development. It also helped that he and his colleague both apologized for their remarks.

Some would say that Diesel didn't add anything to the episode and to be fair, the most he does it make fun of Toby for being a museum piece. That being said, him not understanding the message "don't judge a book by the cover" was really funny. As was the thieves simply handing over the crown to Sir Robert after he commands them to. They knew they were in trouble and had no choice but to surrender. Now that's a humble failure after an exciting chase sequence.

Overall, this is the best episode of season 23, buffers down. The characters were on top form, the story flows well, the humor and action were great, and the moral was excellent. You cannot ask for more than that. Even more surprising was that no member of the current Steam Team (if we exclude Toby) turns up physically. Nothing to do with the episode itself, but I thought it was noteworthy.

Rating: Excellent (10/10)