Special review: "Best Gift Ever"

Yeah, yeah, I'm pathetically weak. But come on

Although S8 of Friendship is Magic is now over and done with, there's one more piece of related business to get out of the way before we enter what will probably be the last ever FiM inter-season hiatus. "Best Night Gift Ever" marks the first time the show has had a special, which is odd considering how popular it's been. You'd think they'd have made one a few years ago. Still... this was written by Michael Vogel, and given that his strong record includes the fabulous "A Hearth's Warming Tail" I had high hopes. In the event...

...while I don't think "Best Gift Ever" was quite that good, I do think it provided something very suitable for a holiday special. It was fairly easy watching, with plenty of fan service that nevertheless didn't derail the plot. (Vogel's "Stranger Than Fan Fiction" also did this well.) There was the requisite touch of magic (beyond the usual) with the reindeer, and the Mane Six and Spike were at the centre of things. The adjective that most comes to mind is "warm-hearted", and that will do me very nicely.

With 44 minutes to play with without a serious villain (well, unless you count the pudding!), there was time for everypony to get a reasonable amount of screen time without things feeling too rushed. My favourite subplot was probably the Rarity/Pistachio one, which gave Rarity a good chance to display her generosity. I'd rather like to think we might get at least a brief reference to Pistachio in S9; perhaps he could get a job working for Coco (who's dropped out of sight rather)?

No opening sequence, just this mildly animated title card

Sparity is something that some people love, some people detest... and here I am somewhat in the middle. I do rather feel it's something that should have run its course by this point, especially now Spike is getting older, but oh well. His ensuring Rarity was his Hearthswarming Helper recipient was enormously predictable, but I guess it's another thing that I can let slide for a holiday special. Also, none of them pulling themselves from the HH hat and having to go again? Hmm.

Since we're on the subject of hats, it now seems to be the case that the fandom was right all along when it treated Applejack's Stetson as a family heirloom. Where this leaves the Hats and Bows Closet from S4 is a good question. I've cobbled together a quick headcanon for this, which is: yes, Applejack does have a load of hats – she must get through plenty in her line of work – but she also has this one, which appears only on special occasions. Like Hearth's Warming!

It was interesting to see Discord paired up with Rainbow Dash for most of his time on screen. Those two haven't interacted very much, which is odd given how close Fluttershy is to him. Still, it worked pretty well this time, though frankly I am getting fed up with the draconequus's S8 tendency to put creatures in danger; Dash's curtailed outburst at him had my support. "It all worked out okay" is not good enough when you risk Flutters' safety, Discord.

"You know what, I think I'll splash out on a custom this year"

I wasn't entirely keen on Fluttershy's characterisation. Until about the last third, she seemed to have regressed by several seasons; it was hard to swallow her being that naive when being scammed, especially given that she and AJ had come up against Flim and Flam together in "Viva Las Pegasus". 'Shy's S4-era timidity did thankfully wear off once the winterchilla/zilla came into play, and I did enjoy the act she put on with Applejack in Rainbow Falls, while her "Don't do that" to AJ late on made me chuckle.

Flim and Flam were actually fairly amusing in their scam, though I am beginning to feel that they're wearing a little thin given how much they've appeared in the last three seasons. There were some gentle, and gently amusing, jabs at the commercialism of (human) Christmas: "Commercialism is the greatest gift of all!" insists the dodgy, poorly made plushie. Anyone else reminded of the infamous "My wings are so pretty!" line from the Pinklestia toy all those years ago?

Right, on to the reindeer. It's fairly well known that Lauren Faust wanted a story about sapient deer back in S1, but that she was stymied by Hasbro's desires. Seven years on, in a very different form, we finally get them! I liked them, and felt they were just the sort of magical characters that work well in a special like this, though they might not have done in a regular episode. Their names – Aurora/Bori/Alice – were a work of genius, too. Will we see them again? Honestly, I doubt it.

The Gift Givers of the Grove (grove sold separately)

We got a couple of songs this time, both of which I found okay but nothing special. Neither of them stuck in my head. We also got a lot of continuity nods and fanservice, and I don't only mean Twilight's memetastic Pudding! faces. Lyra and Bon Bon, Vinyl and Octavia, that jelly pony, Flutters' iffy knitting, Grand Pear, a mention of Scorpan... it goes on. Also plenty of references, from Charlie Brown's Christmas tree to Flurry Heart's Maggie-style coat to a Discord-inspired G. I. Joe scene.

And then there was Derpy. She talked for the first time (in FiM) since "Slice of Life", and her post office scene was important as it set up Rarity's meeting with Pistachio. However, I wasn't entirely comfortable with how Derpy was shown this time around. Her voice had noticeably changed, and to my mind the "Slice of Life" one was nicer. More seriously, she seemed to have veered a little too far from "adorably klutzy" towards "slow-witted", even allowing for the pressures of the season.

It was nice to see a few characters who haven't had much to do this season, namely the Crystal Empire's royal family. I think this may even have been Shining Armor's first appearance since S7, and so it was satisfying that he got to do a little bit of actioneering when the pudding! was taking over Twilight's castle. I'm not sure the writers even now really know what to do with Flurry Heart, though. My major disappointment here was the lack of Cheerilee, who has been neglected throughout S8.

Remember when Rarity hated green hair? Sweet Apple Acres remembers

I haven't tried to touch on everything that happened in "Best Gift Ever", as that would have made this review at least twice as long. Apart from anything else, I'm not sure this particular special would be more enjoyable if I did spent ages minutely dissecting it. To me, this thing has parallels with the Christmas specials we get from the likes of Doctor Who: it's not something to be taken too seriously, but is instead a good-natured dose of sweetness. And on that score, I think it succeeded.

Poor, poor Marble Pie, though. And sorry, Flutters, but I'm not changing this blog's title. I've been saying "yay" since before you existed. I have grandfather rights. :P

Best quote: Inevitably, it's Twilight's "PUDDING!"

Yays

• A warm, seasonally-appropriate dollop of magical friendship
• Pretty well paced, with lots happening but little sense of rushing
• Centred on the Mane Six (and Spike) and gave them all things to do
• The Pistachio/Rarity subplot was heart-warming
• Lots of fanservice, but generally unobtrusively so
• Fluttershy – in the last few minutes

Neighs

• Fluttershy – until the last few minutes
• The whole Sparity thing is getting very tired now
• Derpy's portrayal made me feel slightly uncomfortable
• The songs were nowhere near those of "A Hearth's Warming Tail"

★★★★