Episode review: S9E11: "Student Counsel"

"Rose... you do know it says 'Krastos Brand' on that bottle?"

Call me crazy if you like, but I think I might just have a go at reviewing a My Little Pony episode now. So... in "Mish Mash Melee", we see th— whoops, wrong gen. Cough. In fact, we have "Student Counsel" to consider now. This was a Josh Haber episode, so I was expecting some fun scenes, perhaps a monster and probably something I found a little irritating too. Past the break, I'll say rather more about the episode.

My expectations were variably met, as it happens. This was a slightly odd episode, in that it mixed the already-classic StarTrix pairing, Sunburst (so making up the supporting cast from "Uncommon Bond", co-written by that man Haber) – and cockatrices. This did sometimes make it feel a bit too thrown together, and not everything gelled perfectly. It wasn't quite the rollicking ride I expect from this writer. There wasn't much that was really awful on that score, but it didn't quite feel like one story.

Let's start with Starlight and Trixie. It's startling to think that they've only been appearing together since S6, as their characters complement each other so well that they're undoubtedly among the best double acts Friendship is Magic has ever produced, right up there with Applejack and Rarity. As in "On the Road to Friendship" last season, their relationship came under a fair bit of strain this time, owing to Starlight's rather unhealthy level of commitment to her student counsel job.

Blazingly bright balloons by Maud standards. She's ecstatic

For a while, it looked as if the episode would simply be about the "Spring Solstastic" celebration thrown by Maud and Mudbriar. (Solstice? In spring? Oh well, it is Equestria.) But when Terramar burst in – to Maud's initial severe disapproval – things kicked up a notch. This led us into the Everfree Forest, a section of the ep I have mixed feelings about. I'm always happy to see the Everfree depicted as actually dangerous for a change, but the section of the ponies looking for and then running from the cockatrices did go on too long.

So, let's pause for a moment to consider said cockatrices. I confess to finding it a bit strange that these minor monsters have been used twice in relatively quick succession (there was one in "School Raze") after so many years, and in all honesty I generally don't find them that interesting. They worked in "Stare Master" as seeing Twilight petrified was genuinely shocking at the time, plus they helped Fluttershy's character development at that stage of her FiM career. In "Student Counsel", despite their numbers, they seemed a bit dull.

In a way, though, the cockatrices have now been redeemed in true MLP fashion thanks to Silverstream's new friend Edith. I'm not sure Silverstream was entirely convincing in this episode: I find it hard to believe she's quite as emotionally dense as was shown early on, while her excuse for being away from home so long that her parents became "worried sick" was pretty weak. Nor did we really have long enough to get to know Edith, who was there largely to unpetrify Mudbriar.

Shame this wasn't the original design for cockatrices

I never thought I'd say this, but I rather liked Mudbriar in this episode. While he's still pretty irritating, you could see that some of the corners had been smoothed off this time, and he now had enough self-awareness to realise that his "technically" stuff wasn't always appropriate. Some of the best comedy in the so was also provided by the self-proclaimed stick pony, with Maud's adoration of his stone form and "mixed feelings" about his return to flesh and blood at the end.

Sunburst isn't a pony I've generally had strong feelings about, and the same applied here. There didn't seem to be all that much reason for him to have such a large part in this episode, other than to play an occasional sub-Twilight role and explain about cockatrices and the like. I had more fun watching the minor characters: Rose got a decent speaking role for a change and gave us a funny cameo, while Gallus and Smolder's even briefer scene also raised a smile.

"Student Counsel" was an episode that I generally had quite a good time with, but as I've touched on it was one where I had a number of niggles. Exactly how Silverstream managed to tame cockatrices, instead of finding herself petrified, was never really explained. However, the ending was saved by the fine moral that Starlight learnt about not trying to be available 24/7. That, and the oodles of zingy dialogue involving Glimmy, Trixie, Maud and Mudbriar in particular, mean this just shades into the threes.

"Does it track all the unnecessary teleports you do?"

Best line: Maud, on the petrified Mudbriar: "I didn't think I could love him any more."
Best moment: Rose gluing flowers to sticks
Worst moment: Sunburst's clunky reminder for the viewers of what cockatrices are like

Yays

• Excellent interactions between Starlight and Trixie
• Mudbriar finally became a somewhat likeable pony
• Maud's attraction to petrified Mudbriar was funny
• Very good moral
• Always good to see Terramar return

Neighs

• Uneven pacing, with too much time on the Everfree chase
• Silverstream's cockatrice-taming didn't really convince
• Silverstream's portrayal was inconsistent
• Sunburst seemed like a bit of a third wheel at times

★★★