Well, she does have "wink" in her name... |
...yes! Oh, my sweet Celestia, yes yes yes yes yes. This week's instalment overcomes its slightly pointless title (the simpler "Mending Fences" would actually have worked better) to be, if we put "Slice of Life" off to one side as the riotous oddity that it is, the best ep that this season has so far come up with. Actually, it's in the very top tier of episodes the series as a whole has produced, and almost everything Larson touches here turns to gold.
This is a properly Twilight-centric episode, something we haven't had for a little while. (She's been an important supporting pony, of course, as in last week's "Party Pooped".) We finally get to see how her Canterlot friends and acquaintances were affected by the pony Twi was way back before S1 began – before the magic of friendship began to turn her into the mare she is today. And it's done superbly, with just about everything feeling spot on.
She may not be toothpaste any more, but Minuette looks after her teeth |
But my goodness, what a hit in the feels it is to see Twilight's Canterlot home again after all this time, dusty and apparently abandoned. We even see the book about the Elements of Harmony, complete with the strange writing that the show hasn't used in more recent seasons. It does seem a bit strange that the place has been allowed to decay like that, though – maybe Twilight should consider asking a local librarian to look after it?
Minuette (whose name is finally unarguable) proves to be the most fun of the Canterlot background ponies. Given her bouncy, bubbly and slightly manic personality, it doesn't feel off at all that she turns out to be a long-standing friend of Pinkie Pie's. (More on Pinkie in a minute.) Twinkleshine seems to be a little more grounded, while Lemon Hearts will now forever be remembered for that beaker scene! Not to mention finally seeing Joe's place from the outside.
"And you wouldn't believe what I found in Lyra's old diaries!" |
Most of all, though, this episode shows us – in Moondancer – what Twilight might have become had she not moved to Ponyville. (Echoes of Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust there.) It's something that affects Twi quite deeply, partly because of her own memories and also because of her guilt as she realises that, by not going to Moondancer's party, she was the catalyst for her one-time friend retreating back into the shell she'd tried briefly to leave.
We're also treated to a practical demonstration of how much Twilight has grown in the years since she left Canterlot: old Twi would never have seemed so assured in her quest to befriend Moondancer. The Princess of Friendship, though, takes setbacks almost in her stride and presses on, obviously drawing on what she's learned (even to the extent of quoting Celestia's S1-premiere comment about dusty old books) and wins through by sheer force of friendship.
More alike even than they know... |
Naturally, everything works out in the end, because this is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and we need our sunshine and rainbows. But it does so in a deeply satisfying and life-affirming way, in an episode that is an utter triumph for Twilight, and indeed for Mr Larson. If I had one minor complaint, it would be that there's no song – it's seven episodes now since the last one – but I struggle to think of what might be dropped for it. I loved this ep on first watching; on second watching, I think it's a classic. Bravo.
(Also: nobody seems to know whether she's "Moondancer" or "Moon Dancer", so for now I'm going with the one-word form used in the end credits.)
Best quote: Spike: "Let's hope they're not as traumatised as Minuette."
Yays
- Wonderful, emotionally affecting episode
- Feels more like traditional FiM than much of S5
- Excellent use of backstory and flashbacks
- Minuette and her friends are great fun
- Moondancer as Twilight's Lightning Dust
- Pinkie Pie's weird but fitting short appearance
- Spike working well as a support for Twi
- The "Twilight in the library book" scene
- Starlight Glimmer cameo! But why is she there?
- Still no song since episode 5
- The episode title is just slightly awkward
Once again season 5 has delivered a classic. It's great to M.A larson back. There is one thing that is bugging me about this season, is that we are 12 episodes into the season and Fluttershy has been missing in a third of them already.Here's hoping she won't become this season's background pony.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too upset about 'Shy so far -- she's had some excellent supporting roles, and was heavily involved in the Discord episode. More to the point, when she has appeared she's been interesting, and I'd rather that than have her in every ep but just overcoming shyness again and again!
DeleteInterestingly, Moondancer/Moon Dancer looks just like a G1 pony of the same name, except that her fur is tan instead of white.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm sure that's deliberate. It's too big a coincidence to be otherwise. =:)
DeleteMoondancer probably is the second G1 pony to come back, and I heard Hasbro actually did release the original G1 ponies again once, so they kinda do have them back I think...if that's true, we can expect to see more G1 ponies appearing.
DeleteWho was the first G1 pony to come back? I'm assuming you don't mean Applejack here. :P
Delete(I'm the anon)
DeleteI think I was talking about Applejack, but Moondancer actually may be the first...
And this is just a minor unrelated thing, but I see the Starlight cameo as a neigh, not a yay (I REALLY hate her).