Episode review: S7E08: "Hard to Say Anything"

One of my favourite books of all time is Heroes & History by Rosemary Sutcliff, a book for young people about ten British heroes from Caratacus to Montrose. It was published in 1965, so some of its research is now out of date, but I don't read it for that. I read it for stuff like this, from the chapter on Alfred:

On the crest of the High Downs, a lone ancient thorn tree reached gaunt arms to the sky, and all about it the battle raged, over the hound-tawny turf made treacherous by the winter wet, still more treacherous as time went by, with the slipperiness of blood.

Isn't that great? Sutcliff clearly liked it, since she reused "hound-tawny turf" in her novel Sun Horse, Moon Horse. And even when I haven't read Heroes & History for ages, I remain almost word-perfect on that passage. Anyway, back to ponies we go.

I don't know about you, but I'd file this under Nightmare Fuel

We get another new writer for this episode in the shape of Becky Wangberg. Her IMDb profile tells me that she's previously written for a few other shows, most notably The Fairly Odd Parents. I have to admit that the synopsis for this episode wasn't one that filled me with excitement, but would I feel the same way after viewing? A rather short review follows after the break!

I don't think anyone saw Sugar Belle x Big Mac coming! I don't care about the show sinking ships – "Avast, our ship be leavin' port!" to quote Apple Bloom – but I don't remember anyone even considering SugarMac as a realistic possibility. It's surprisingly sweet, though it's a shame the setup is so perfunctory. (Mac delivers apples to her? Well, sure, but he does that for everyone!)

"Scoot, are you sure Mac'll think it's Mayor Mare?"

I'm not generally a fan of romantic storylines in MLP:FiM, as romance is not the primary reason I watch the show. This ep doesn't do enough to change that, and as such I do find some of it a bit uninteresting to sit through. At least there's a reasonable amount of fun provided by the CMC, even if it does stretch credulity a bit that Mac doesn't really seem to care they've followed him so far.

Mac's rival for Sugar's heart, the clearly Justin Bieber-inspired Feather Bangs ( and what a name that is...) is obnoxious almost throughout. Yes, he's deliberately written as such, but I did find it tedious after a couple of scenes. He's given a bit more nuance and interest at the very end of the episode, but there isn't really enough time to explore his character then.

So, does he have to change his name if he ever cuts his mane?

The song battle seems to have divided opinion, but I think it's okay – though it goes on a little too long. If we're only getting five songs this season, though, we do need something more memorable than this. The best thing about this episode was its message, that the romances you read about in fairy tales are stories, and that relationships in real life are different. Still a (high) two, though.

Best quote: Sweetie Belle: "Hey! That's our metaphorical sunset they're riding off into!"

Yays

• Very good moral
• Feather Bangs = Vincent Tong = Flash Sentry!
• The CMC's disguises are fun

Neighs

• Feather's development is squashed into the last few minutes
• The whole romance plot is dull
• The CMC seem quite irresponsible for S7

★★