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| Smolder still loves her tea parties, though here with somewhat draconic manners! |
Happily, yes – at least to a considerable extent. This was a much better episode than last season's mess, and though it wasn't without its problems it provided 22 minutes of actual entertainment. I was especially happy to see Fluttershy and Spike together again, as I enjoyed their all-too-brief chat in "Sparkle's Seven". S9 seems to have forgotten about map quests, but a Flutters/Spike one could be really quite interesting.
After Sandbar and (especially) Yona got to be in the spotlight two weeks ago, this time Smolder played a starring role. While her need to check up on her "sensitive brother" came out of nowhere, I rather like the dynamic she's built up with Spike. A tiny part of me wonders whether there'll be a romance brewing before the end of the season. It was also excellent to see Dragon Lord Ember again, confusion over pony identities and all. She showed near the end just why she's still in charge.
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| You could write whole essays just on Ember's body language and expressions |
Ah yes, Garble. Here we have my main problem with the episode. I'm not fond of Garble at the best of times, but his being related to Smolder seemed to come out of nowhere (again). Worse, Garble really didn't earn his redemption. For the most part, he didn't even try, treating Spike pretty poorly almost throughout. He didn't even apologise for his outright threats of violence to Spike in the past. I was not especially impressed.
There was an actual story behind all the character stuff, and actually the lore we got about how dragon eggs hatch was quite interesting. I'd have liked a bit more information to be seeded early on about different-temperature dragonfire, but if you can let that ride I guess it worked out. Garble's beat poetry was... well, I found it pretty uninspiring, but Beyer-Johnson is a poet and I'm not, so... Smolder seemed impressed, so maybe it's what dragons like.
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| Yes, Garble, that was a lot of people's reaction to your poetry |
As you can see from the above, "Sweet and Smoky" was a mixed bag for me. In general terms, the bits that didn't involve Garble and the side dragons were at least good and sometimes great. Fluttershy, Spike, Ember and Smolder all came out of this episode well. The bits that did involve Garble and the side dragons were okay at best and sometimes teeth-grindingly irritating. Three stars as I did enjoy it overall, but Garble needs to earn his redemption.
Best line: Fluttershy: "Just you wait, Garble. You're dealing with Fluttershy now, and she's packin' a whole lifetime of kindness!"
Best moment: Fluttershy intimidating the side dragons into shutting up
Worst moment: The lava diving. Just as boring as in "Dragon Quest"
Yays
- Fluttershy taking absolutely everything in her stride
- Ember reinforcing her leadership qualities as Dragon Lord
- Spike and Smolder getting on so well
- Garble got a redemption he doesn't currently deserve
- His beat poetry was pretty awful
- The "hotter dragonfire" thing was just... there
Well, firstly I was glad this didn't contradict my most popular story! I always liked the idea of Ember ruling with unfamiliar competence, and she was on excellent form here for what was probably her farewell appearance, though I think her dad's hands-off/don't-care approach to her governing might have gone a little too far if he didn't bother mentioning information that might otherwise have led to the extinction of the entire tribe...!
ReplyDeleteAnyway. I do like this tendency of Season 9 towards lessons for the core audience, event if they're not so didactic as in the first season, and following up the example of Babs Seed by showing Garble's bullying as a kill or be killed defense mechanism made a lot of sense. I agree his 'redemption' was barely earned, though deliberately opening himself up to ridicule was pretty heroic.
A few times now, despite the show's usually exemplary voice direction, a key piece of lore dialogue has been overly muffled or inaudible - my go-to example is Too Many Pinkie Pies with the "legend of the MIRROR POOL!" which took me an age to decipher - and this week, I didn't work out Spike was talking about "laugh fire" until well into the climactic scene, which made Garble's sacrifice less impactful. Like the Fetlock Fête a couple of weeks back, I know it's a minor thing and I don't want to rag on the VA mix too much as it's usually so much better than any other other show, but I feel like it's perhaps a slight blind spot sometimes, introducing entirely new names or nouns without making sure they're clearly enunciated for people who haven't read the script. Or maybe it's just me, I don't know.
Anyway, I liked it more than I make it sound from my nitpicking, definitely!
I went into this one with rock-bottom expectations because of the writer's history, and not a little dread about how Fluttershy would be handled for similar reasons. I was pleasantly surprised as a result. Maybe I should always go in expecting the worst! (I won't really.)
DeleteYeah, I find myself agreeing with you on this one more or less, though I haven't found Garble objectionable in the past. The problem comes from forcing a token character not designed to have "character" into a redemption arc that largely fumbles its landing. A pity, because characterisation for the other four was very strong here.
ReplyDeleteBasically the episode's support structures are all immensely sturdy, but that can only compensate so much when the main pillar is as rickety as it is here.
Although I dislike his treatment of Spike, I mostly just find Garble rather dull. I can think of any number of side characters I'd rather watch: Coco "Miss" Pommel, Cheerilee (hah), Mayor Mare, any of the Pie sisters, Braeburn, Diamond Tiara (hah again)... you get the idea.
DeleteI mean, it's not that I necessarily disagree with you. He's by no means a character I seek out, I just don't find him that objectionable because he was originally designed as a plot character for Dragon Quest, never meant to come back nor have much to him beyond what the episode needed. Basically, the problem in this episode comes from taking a plot-driven slate and trying to get some personality beyond "jerk" out of it. Then he came back 4 seasons later. To be fair, Trixie was gone nearly as long before returning too.
DeleteBesides which, I think it's kind of unreasonable to get that mad at a character who's had three appearances before this one in well over 200 episodes. This isn't stated at you, but more me just feeling that while Garble's not a character worth liking, I don't think he negatively impacted his past episodes. But in this one, well... you know where we both stand there.
I really enjoy this ep. Even the dumb solution in the end cant drag this episode down. Kim just redeem herself with this ep, i appreciates it.
ReplyDeleteThe best joke of this ep is Fluttershy thinks all of those eggs are Ember's, that's the best adult jokes came from this show. Ember is a queen afterall, it's not wrong to think she has a lot of harems. XD
Fluttershy's love for baby dragon is a callback to the first episode of the show when she saw Spike for 1st time, continuity!
Finally, a truly good episode involving Student 6...
Fluttershy's love for baby dragon is a callback to the first episode of the show when she saw Spike for 1st time, continuity!
DeleteYes! I should have mentioned that in the review, really, since I did mention it in a preview (elsewhere) before the episode even aired. :P
Finally, a truly good episode involving Student 6...
Weren't you a fan of "What Lies Beneath" last season? Or do you mean for S9 specifically?
@Logan I mean Season 9 specifically, sorry for the confusion. ;3 Season 8 is just the best season for Student 6, every of their appearances in season 8 episodes boost their watchability for me. xD
DeleteFollowing on from the posterity talk last week, I'd definitely say the increased familiarity with the Student 6 (and just having seen them in some good episodes!) retroactively improves both School Daze and even Non-Compete Clause on re-watching. Not by much, in the latter case, but an improvement in watchability all the same.
Delete@The Cloptimist: I think I'll take your word for it on the latter front! It'll be a long while before I watch that one again, though it will eventually happen.
Delete