Thursday 26 July 2018

Text Review Roundup: "Yakity-Sax"

Well, it couldn't last, could it? After the simplicity of the pre-hiatus scheduling, Friendship is Magic is now airing episodes all over the place. As such, I'm afraid I can't promise when there'll next be a Text Review Roundup – especially as it looks as if three episodes will premiere while I'm away staying with family over the next week or so! Many regulars haven't reviewed this episode, so this is a smaller edition of TRR than sometimes.

The general reception was negative, with the episode's moral coming in for particular criticism. When did Derpy News, usually so positive, last grade an episode D? Even "Non-Compete Clause" got a C from them! Rainbine even gives us a new rating: "Gigantic Pile of Shit". My two-star rating for the episode looks really quite mild in comparison! There are reviewers who liked "Yakity-Sax", but they're in a clear minority.

Dark Qiviut – positive ("The moral is simple, but relatable and makes sense.")

Derpy News – negative (graded D; "needed to take a better tack [...] this was not a good episode")

JDPrime22 – generally negative (rated 5/10; "the moral of this episode is completely wack ... No. No, no, no. Bad writers")

Louder Yay – rather negative (2/5; "a very unsatisfactory moral ... a missed opportunity for a nostalgia trip")

MLEEP Reviews – wildly positive (rated 10/10; "practice truly does make perfect as 'Yakity-Sax' made for a truly perfect episode")

The Railfan Brony – negative (rated Bad; "[Pinkie] learns nothing, which leads ... the episode's intended message to fall flat on its face")

Rainbine – extremely negative (rated Gigantic Pile of Shit; "Pinkie was so annoying [...] a chore to sit through")

ShutterflyEQD – positive ("it left good vibes")

The Dragon Warlock – extremely negative (graded F; "manages to somehow do the unthinkable; make Pinkie not just bad, but despicable [...] The comedy is awful [...] the writing is atrocious [...] deplorable episode.")

12 comments:

  1. About this I want to share My feelings about a certain topic: Logan, don't you have the feeling that Pinkie is going throught a slow decline as character after the S6? In the S7 she was fine but her performances there couldn't match the standards of the previous six Seasons, while in the S8 all I can say is... UGH. In General the Mane 6 (Twilight aside) weren't that Great in this season but at least For all the Others there still were some moments, but For Pinkie... She was a Total mess For the whole season and as the time passes she's getting worse and worse (the only time she was stellar after the S6 was The Movie, but despite the chronilogical position between the S7 and the S8, that one was written while the S5 was airing so it doesn't count that much). It might be odd I would be the One to complain on the Matter as you Know How much I care For the Mane 6, but the fact I love them doesn't Mean I have to fanboy everything Writers do with them, and I feel like they handeld Pinkie TERRIBLY in this season. And thinking that she used to be such a Great character even ending in Watchmojo's top 10 of cartoon character destinated to becone classics, it's very painful to see her declining...

    But this is exactly why I wanted the show to end as soon as possible: It is an unavoidable fate For every show that lasts for too Long. I would hope that Hasbro isn't moved by greedy and doesn't chance their mind about the S9 being the final one or things are gonna get grim For the Mane 6 and eventually other characters... (well there isn't much to be greedy For, the sales are not good as they used to be lately so unlike at the Times of the S3 Hasbro doesn't have any reason to change idea this time around)....

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    1. Pinkie's been going through a slow decline since season four, my friend. Pinkie Pride was a fantastic episode, sure, but that season also gave us Filli Vanilli's "Pinkie who doesn't understand things like personal space and not writing large your friend's greatest fears for laughs". And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

      She hasn't been consistently poorly written since then, but I think the lesson is, she's not easy to write, and a writer who doesn't know what to do with her is more likely to completely botch her character.

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    2. I was talking to Logan not you. I don't need the opinion of a selfish jerk. Mind Your business.

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    3. @Anonymous: Last warning. No personal attacks. This is my blog, and I make the rules. You don't. Either you get this into your head, right now, or I disable anonymous comments. Your choice.

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    4. No disrespect sir, but there is a big difference between sharing an opinion and being a selfish jerk. Even thought I've been quite vocal about my hate over To Where and Back Again, at least I wasn't a jerk by expressing it. What triggers me is people who claim that their opinion is absolute, and people like Present Perfect are just like that. If being a fan means to be a selfish jerk, then I don't want to be part of it. I'm leaving. Disable the anonymous comments if you want, I don't care anymore.

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  2. I think the real key to writing Pinkie Pie is that she's a classic jester or Shakespearean fool. She's NOT clueless, she just says the things that, while true, are things that other ponies can't say because of the constraints of their culture.

    Her behavior in Filli Vanilli seems so terrible because it narrowly misses the mark that would have made it classic. Yes, what she says is true, and the rest of her friends would never bring it up, but there's one critical aspect of the iconic fool that's missing: The fool speaks the unspeakable truth to HELP the good guys and SHAME the bad... not the other way around.

    Telling a friend that they're being stupid while wrapping it up in a foolish and/or seemingly non-related joke is the perfect idiom for Pinkie.

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    1. Oops... forgot to finish my thought!

      Besides the bad moral in this episode, the role is a bad fit for Pinkie in general. I think it was written for her because of a single character trait assigned to her that isn't actually true: Cluelessness.

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    2. I really like the "jester" explanation. It's pretty much perfect. Surprisingly perhaps, I don't recall reading a story with Pinkie explicitly in that role. The best I can do is the long-abandoned King of Chaos by ProfCharles, in which she's (apparently; I haven't read it) Discord's jester.

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  3. This is The Dragon Warlock. I've seen this episode earlier, and I will have my review up later on. If you want, you can edit the blog entry to include my review.

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    1. Cheers, I'll try to remember. Feel free to nudge me if I don't. :)

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    2. It's ready now. Sorry this took longer than it should have.

      https://www.deviantart.com/thedragonwarlock/art/Yakity-Sax-review-756619933?ga_submit_new=10%3A1532844085

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    3. Thanks! I've added it now. You're very subtle about it, but I get the impression it wasn't your favourite this season. ;)

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