Episode review: S5E23: "The Hooffields and the McColts"

Look, this is my blog. I can put a picture of Fluttershy here because I want to.

(Posting slightly early because Blogger doesn't want to let me schedule this.)

Only two more regular episodes remain in S5 before the finale, so inevitably the thoughts of the My Little Pony fandom are starting to turn in that direction now. Still, I was pleased when it was announced that this one had been written by Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songko, the team behind the excellent "Rarity Investigates!" and the also enjoyable "Castle Sweet Castle". Two episodes: two four-star ratings. Could they make it a hat-trick? Let's see!

Not quite. "The Hooffields and the McColts" is a decent enough episode, but it doesn't quite match up to those two. The basic story is inspired by the real-life Hatfield-McCoy feud in the late 19th century. I was only hazily aware of that before this episode's synopsis was announced, but I assumed (rightly) that the violence of the American original would be toned down considerably and made a bit more humorous for the Equestrian equivalent.

The best thing about this episode is Fluttershy – enough so that she gets a tag. (Okay, I don't need much encouragement to give Best Pony a tag.) These writers wrote her pretty well in "Castle Sweet Castle" (and I'd love to see them handle FlutterDash friendshipping one day), so it wasn't a huge surprise that 'Shy was written well here. It was wonderful to have an episode where she was consistently portrayed as shy and timid, but not terrified of the slightest thing.

"And I do so have more teeth than that pesky Granny Smith"

Admittedly, Flutters is a bit of a... well, bit in the episode. Twilight certainly takes centre stage, from her semi-freakout over the multi-pony freeze spell to her notably confident use of the "I'm a princess, y'know" gambit. As several people have pointed out, she also seems a tiny bit lazy: why bother with the balloon when, for the only time in a Cutie Map episode, both ponies have wings? Toy sales, maybe.

I don't find the hillbilly ponies particularly interesting: they do what's required of them for the simple story to work. (As an aside, all three of these writers' stories have had fairly simple plots even by Pony standards. Certain other writers could learn from that.) Firing pumpkins and pebbles at each other just doesn't seem very interesting, though at least it allows Fluttershy to shoehorn in that "Think of the animals!" resolution.

Let's face it, the truce we see at the end is probably going to last about three days, and I'm being optimistic here. This is a location the show's never visited before and will probably never visit again – otherwise there'd be a railway to it – so that doesn't really matter. All in all, a slightly superior filler episode. Better than last week's disappointing outing, but no classic. Except for the opening scene at Fluttershy's Furry Friends Book Club, which is amazing.
 

"And so both hillbilly families gain disembodied heads. It's the perfect plan!"

Best quote: Fluttershy: "Yay!" (Come on, what did you expect?)

Yays

• Fluttershy being adorable. Need I say more?
• Twilight is more relatable this time round
• The Trojan Carrot Cake – predictable but fun
• Obvious map-related foreshadowing at the end

Neighs

• The hillbilly ponies are not exactly memorable
• Feels like what it is: a (goodish) late-season filler
• The episode's moral is a bit on the forced side

★★★