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)