Here we go again, everyone! "Frenemies" was quite a break with the usual run of My Little Pony episodes, so let's get straight on and see how the text-based reviewers saw it. Just in case you haven't realised, or had forgotten, you can click the reviewer's name and the link will take you straight to their review of this episode. Well, unless I've stuffed it up, which with me is always a distinct possibility. I absolutely do want to be told if I've made a hash of a link or something!
The reviewers were almost uniformly positive about this episode, something that doesn't happen very often! (Complete unanimity is even rarer: the last time I didn't have anyone recording a "mixed" or below was for "What Lies Beneath".) There was one exception: The Railfan Brony detested it. Otherwise, the comedy and the song especially got rave reviews (except from Present Perfect in the latter case) and most people found "Frenemies" a fun change from the norm.
Cuddlepug – very positive (graded A; "a breath of fresh air [...] A very strong song [...] a very well written and interesting episode")
Note: most of the rest of Cuddlepug's review is distinctly NSFW.
Dark Qiviut – extremely positive ("Fantastic humor, a lot of snappy dialogue [...] developed [the villains] far beyond my imagination [...] one of Vogel's finest episodes and a masterclass of villainy craft."])
DrakeyC – generally very positive ("I love how dysfunctional the villains are [...] Oh this [song] is glorious [...] a fantastic episode [...] The only weakness of the episode is Cozy Glow in this [second] part [...] a great episode for comedy and character.")
Dramamaster829 – positive ("a slight nitpick for me is that these three didn’t even hide the bell
that far (Practically inside his own lair) and somehow Grogar is buying
their story [and Rusty Bucket is] pretty much a throwaway character [but there's a] good villain song [...] fun to watch from start to finish [...] sinister, yet comically hilarious, villains")
JDPrime22 – very positive (rated 10/10; "Didn't expect Tirek to join in, but [the villain song] was incredible nonetheless [...] The sequence with Tirek taking Chrysalis' magic and then willfully
giving it back was an interesting stepping stone to what may come [...] Fantastic episode!")
Lightening McQueen – positive ("a great song, sung by the villains [...] Chrysalis was also spectacular trying to reach the mountain [...] I was left totally surprised that they all still refused to be friends")
Louder Yay – extremely positive (rated 5/5; "There aren't many episodes that have given me as much sheer entertainment as this one [...] my favourite song since "Road to Friendship" [...] glorious – sheer pleasure pretty much from start to finish.")
Mike Cartoon Pony – extremely positive ("one of the show's freshest in years [...] stellar writing [...] the real treat here is the way that Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow play off of one another [...] one of the show's best songs in quite some time [...] the characterisation of Grogar hasn't yet manifested beyond "menacing strategist" [but the episode was] sheer pleasure for every second of its runtime")
MLEEP Reviews – very positive (rated 10/10; "what last season's "The Mean Six" should've been [...] a much more entertaining experience overall and definitely deserves a 10")
Present Perfect – positive ("it’s different. It’s interesting [...] While not amazing, this was definitely fun [...] Wasn’t awed by the song, but otherwise, watching these three try and get
along for a little while was highly amusing, and it feels like a solid,
middle-of-the-road kind of episode.)
The Railfan Brony – spectacularly negative (rated Atrocious; "The moment I heard about this episode's premise, I felt nothing but
dread hearing about it. And watching it for real affirmed my initial
fears. [...] sluggishly paced [...] a boring, over-hyped slog-fest.")
TheDragonWarlock – very positive (rated 9.5/10; "The episode's concept sounds predictable and it does end up being so, but the way Frenemies handles it is done in a very fun way that's a breath of fresh air [...] one of the best songs the show has put out in a long time [...] an instant classic episode [though] I'm disappointed there's no character development for Cozy and how she came to be.")
It wasn't a "villain song", it was a song sung by villains. <.< And I hear "A better way to be bad" and think about things like how the Witches of Gloom Mountain from G1 liked everything around them to be gross and dark. Or the one episode of COPS (literally no one remembers this lol) where one of the villains complained about being woken up because he was "having a nightmare". The idea that villains enjoy being "bad" and see themselves that way is just completely at odds with writing villains well. Thankfully, the rest of the episode did not follow the lyrics.
ReplyDeleteI think that's too sweeping, really. There have been quite a few fun villains in various forms of media who have been unashamedly eeeevil, not least in children's literature. Roald Dahl's non-BFG giants, for example.
DeleteAnd honestly, could any of them really deny the "bad" label at this point?
DeleteCozy Glow wants to rule the place, Tirek wants either to rule the place or to watch it burn (see "The Cutie Re-Mark"), and we've been given no indication that either of them has a redeeming reason for their aims. This isn't like Starlight Glimmer, who might have actually thought she was promoting a better way for ponies to live, and at least had a backstory that explained why she did what she did.
The only one who might attempt a claim to being in the right is Chrysalis, who needs to obtain love somehow to survive and may have legitimately believed that her methods were the best way for the hive. But even that's shaky now that she's been conclusively shown another way (in "To Where and Back Again" -- and I still cannot conclude from the dialogue in that episode that she had any idea it would actually work until she saw it) and still rejected it out of pride.
Grrr..... Railfan....
ReplyDeleteStop that, please. Of course you're entitled to disagree with Railfan's review -- so do I, as you can see from our respective judgements above. What I won't have is personal attacks with no actual content. This isn't the first time. It needs to be the last.
DeleteLet us just bear in mind that, even if we toss around the terms "unanimous acclaim" or "unanimous hate", or equivalents thereof, in regards to how an episode is received (and this applies outside of MLP too, of course), there is no such thing as an episode loved by everyone who watches it - I am sure they are people who dislike Amending Fences, for instance. Likewise, though I haven't come across the opinion myself, I'm sure there are some people who think Non-Compete Clause is great.
DeleteUltimately, people are entitled to their opinion, and while, like others here, I often find myself in sharp disagreement with Railfan's take on episodes, it is hardly fair to personally blame him for being the lone person in the collected reviews here who didn't react positively to the episode.
I am reminded of how when critics' reviews for Toy Story 3 came out, it took ages for it to get a negative review in Rotten Tomatoes, and thus miss the 100% Positive rating the first two films had. People wrote angrily to the reviewer, and they responded by actually lowering their score. Two more negative reviews joined soon after, but you see my point. Personal attacks when it comes to subjective opinion just aren't healthy, my friend.
I do find his disagreements somewhat hyperbolic at times (and I personally think it devalues the entire idea of a rating scale if you keep reaching for the lowest possible score), but as I've said before, I'd much rather read a spread of opinions andwwildly disagree with some of them, than for Logan to start excising dissenting voices because they're dissenting.
DeleteIn regards to the attack against me by Anonymous: If people are hellbent on attacking a person who's confident in their own opinion and offer no counterargument to their opinion in the comments on said review, then I think it says more about the accuser's intentions than it does the accused's statements about how they feel.
ReplyDeleteI will fully admit that my work isn't perfect. I do make mistakes and I'll willingly own up to them. There are people who haven't taken kindly to some things I've said and I am genuinely sorry that they feel this way about what I've said; though that doesn't exclude what I've said about Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow staying as bad guys because them being heroes... isn't that great of an idea, let's be honest here.
But attacking people who disagree with a majority opinion just makes the fanbase look more immature than they really should be. I mean, talk about the use of a chocolate teapot. I know it's not the first time they've attacked me and chances are it may not be the last either.
"Talk about the use of a chocolate teapot."
DeleteNo, please. o.o Do. That's a new one by me.
(I totes sympathize, I'm used to being 100% at odds with the fandom regarding episode opinions.)
That was a British slang for something that's utterly useless; maybe that's why you hadn't heard of it before?
Delete@Zack Wanzer: Put it this way. If all you'd said in your review was "Grrr..... Vogel...." then I wouldn't have included it here! :P
DeleteFigured as much! :V
DeleteI kind of want a chocolate teapot though. :B I'd just eat it.
@Logan: Ha ha, I guess that's fair enough. I'm not the type of guy who says "this sucks" and doesn't elaborate as to why. That would be really dumb.
DeleteThe like/dislike ratios are extremely positive with only one extremely dislike it, that's great. ;) Text review roundup today is No middle ground, just love and hate.
ReplyDeleteWhat an instant classic, time to watch it again. ;3
It's certainly well above average in terms of its reception overall. And personally I think it deserves that. The question for me is whether it'll retain its freshness. I think it probably will.
DeleteSide note, how would you go about measuring that, other than personal gut feeling? It'd be very interesting to see. (I know there were the old annual episode polls on Reddit, but those ended around s6.)
DeleteMeasuring how well episodes have aged? Well, it's a very small sample size, but a while back someone on UK of Equestria ran a "rate every episode!" poll. I can't remember the precise details now, but I do recall that "The Return of Harmony" topped the list. One result I felt stood out was that "Party of One" came in 60th. When I joined the fandom at the tail end of S2, that was generally considered a classic. It seems to have fallen from grace (to some extent) since then.
DeleteYes, that's what I meant!
ReplyDeleteThis was the result of a similar exercise in 2016 on Reddit.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RxxxGzltvgI
Thanks! I'm hoping someone will do something similar when S9 is over and we have a final list. It's very unlikely to be me, since I'm far too lazy! :P
Delete