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| "I taught Yona shapeshifting! Though... she didn't wait to learn the undo spell. She's a tree now" |
This was right in with Dubuc's other one-parters, in that it was reasonably good entertainment. If that sounds like damning with faint praise, that's because it is. Let's start with the factor that was staring us in the face: this was a Young Six rehash of "Castle Sweet Castle". That S5 episode was an enjoyable one, but I feel that the law of diminishing returns struck this time around. I don't expect staggering originality from My Little Pony stories, but I was a little disappointed here.
I do like the Young Six, so I was pleased to see them for the first time this season. They bickered rather more than I'd have hoped (see "Castle Sweet Castle"), they sang a decent but non-classic ensemble song (see "CSC" again) and they eventually found a way to remember a special tree (see "CSC" again). I think the conclusion they eventually came to, about the Tree of Harmony living on in their hearts, was a reasonable enough one for this show, even if it was a little on the sappy side.
After they'd sorted out their differences and re-cemented their bonds of friendship, we saw the emergence of... well, I don't know. It doesn't seem to have an official name. I'm going to call it the Palace of Solace for the moment. I don't really much like its appearance – it gives me the same inorganic vibes as Twilight's castle – but perhaps I'll warm to it a bit later; there were pretty strong hints that we'll be seeing it again this season. I wonder what it looks like inside?
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| Yona signs a contract to play full-contact buckball |
Yona undoubtedly came out best of the students this time with her emphasis on her friends working together rather than fighting. We also saw, during the fun montage early on, a little touch of affection even in Yakyakistan. It was nice to see Terramar very briefly during that sequence, too. At least it gave Twilight some paperwork, perhaps distracting her from her latest mini-freakout; could we have a break from those for a while, please, writers? They're too common now.
Despite the apparent significance of its ending, as well as the continuity from the premiere with the Tree's destruction, I felt this episode didn't quite stick the landing. We could have had a truly moving story about saying goodbye not meaning you have to forget, but the sudden growth of the Palace of Solace rather undermined that. "Castle Sweet Castle" did this better with the tree roots. Talking of which, I was disappointed that Twi didn't mention the obvious parallels with her own loss at all.
As you can tell from what I've written here, this was an episode I had mixed feelings about. I think "Uprooted" did just enough to fill 22 minutes in a moderately engaging way, although you probably do have to be an existing fan of the students. What you might call the Destiny Tale of the characters did move on a little, which I appreciated, too. On the downside, it all felt a little bit empty and forgettable, which I feel is a shame for such a potentially significant episode. Three stars for me, but only just – and if you're not a big Young Six fan, probably only two.
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| It's getting hard keeping track of all the Twilights in this franchise... |
Best moment: Sandbar giving his sapling headphones
Worst moment: Another Twilight mini-freakout (over the highlighters)
Yays
- The Young Six were entertaining, as usual
- More hints about the true destiny of the students
- Visually attractive, despite being set largely in a cave
- The song was pleasant enough...
- ...but no more than that
- If last week's episode was hectic, this one may have been a little slow
- I don't (yet?) like the "Palace of Solace"
- It really was too close to "Castle Sweet Castle" for comfort
Like I said to DrakeyC, this was basically the anti-What Lies Beneath for me, undoing a lot of the good graces that episode built up for me in the Student Six. (I refuse to call them the Young Six, that would be the Mane Six's kids, thankyouverymuch.)
ReplyDeleteAnd what's worst about this is that it starts out with a direct callback to that episode in the fear-based dream sequence. As if to say, "Hey, remember that episode? You guys liked that, right? This is basically more of the same" and then it absolutely isn't. :|
I refuse to contemplate the notion of the Mane Six having kids, so it works for me. :P
Delete"What Lies Beneath" is way above this one in my estimation, though, certainly.
The only thing I really liked about the episode is how meta it felt, without being too in-your-face. This is an episode about this harmonious thing that brought a group of disparate people together, but which has ended, and how it is now up to them to build something new from its pieces — and how, no matter what, we will keep it alive in us. It even captures well the discussion about how to best keep that spirit alive, and how much discord that can generate.
ReplyDeleteThat hadn't even really registered with me. I wonder whether it was written that way deliberately? We know (from Jim Miller) that the crew found out the show was ending while they were in the middle of working on S8, so by the time this was written they'd know it was part of the final season. Hmm. Interesting one to ponder on.
DeleteIf I do not think this episode was bottom-of-the-barrel (force me to, and I'd be able to name 20 worse ones), it's pretty lacklustre and bland to a T. Like you said, the ghost of Castle Sweet Castle hangs over it the whole time, especially after the first third once they get down to making a memorial. What amusing moments it has fails to linger in the mind once it's over for me. And as everyone's said, it feels cheap as heck to resurrect the Tree an episode after its destruction (two, if you want to be specific about when Sombra struck it through). Whether this new... thing gets paid off later or not, it just feels... there. Some have pointed that there was hardly any merch of Season 8 to begin with, as Hasbro's toy department refocused their efforts on Marvel and Star Wars following the toy industry crash (maybe too strong a term). So the toy-centric things they were made to put in Season 8 and (I assume) this one haven't even ended up paying off dividends, because circumstances forced Hasbro to not even make advantage of their ready-made commercials. That's my take on it, anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhat we really need with the Student/Young 6 is episodes focusing on just one or two of them, to allow their personalities to actually develop beyond a few bullet-point traits. She's All Yak has that going for it, even if it also has to content with featuring Sandbar.
Just as an example, look at Ocellus. Back in School Daze, she seemed to be presented as equal parts Fluttershy and Twilight, shy and studious. Fair enough, given the lack of time to develop the characters, it's an okay combination to fall back on. But those "traits" ended up being phased out super-quick. Occasionally she has moments indicating she's the most studious of the 6 (wearing her graduation robe in the dream, for instance), but outside of her segment in What Lies Beneath, her shyness is basically gone. All she has to fall back on now is the changeling tribe's amusing ways of being more open about their feelings. That's just one example, but it's good proof how circumstances conspired to make her (and the rest) malleable slates to adjust to suit the given episode at the cost of a proper character worthy of audience investment.
You make a good point. When the Mane Six were originally introduced, they had three (maybe just two?) ensemble episodes before being paired off, or used in threes, more often than not. The students haven't gotten that, that chance to play off one another in small ways, or even off other characters, outside Smolder in S8 when Spike needed a dragon POV on something.
DeleteI also noticed, in my rewatch of S8, that there seemed to be a lot more Main Six ensemble episodes, too. This probably goes back even further, but it seems to me that often, the writers throw all six of them into an episode when only two or three were needed. I wonder what that's indicative of.
If I were in cynical mode, I'd say it's indicative of the show no longer having any writers who've been with the Mane Six since the early days, and therefore not feeling confident enough to concentrate on a small number.
DeleteThat said, "Non-Compete Clause" concentrated on two, and look how that turned out. :S
To say nothing of The End in Friend. c.c
DeleteI didn't just want to go straight to "writers suck lol" which is why I mused. :P