Friday 30 August 2019

Text Review Roundup: "The Summer Sun Setback"

Well, it had to happen. I wasn't quite careful enough, and I've been hit by a big spoiler from the S9 finale. I'm not going to reveal it on here until the episode airs on Discovery Family, of course, but suffice it to say that this isn't the sort of spoiler you forget. Happily, it hasn't made me want to run away screaming and never think of Friendship is Magic again. But enough of that now. Let's get on to an episode we (probably) all have seen.

There was general consensus that "The Summer Sun Setback" was a considerable improvement on the previous two episodes. The Railfan Brony strongly disliked it, but he was the only one of the slate here who did. Most of the reviewers had their reservations, but in general they weren't enough to keep the overall assessment from tipping decisively positive. I probably liked this very slightly more than the average.

Cuddlepug – positive (graded B+; "an ambitious episode that covers two parallel and interweaving storylines with great results [...] sharp writing throughout, good characterisation for everyone and meaningful plot developments")

Dark Qiviut – very positive (There are a lot of really nice, little details here. [...] the Terrible Trio at their most competent [...] Suffice it to say, I love it. One of the best of the season.")
No blog review, so this is from a comment Dark Qiviut left on mine.

DrakeyC – positive ("This was a really solid episode. I love Twilight's character development [and] the final "twist" with the Celebration, and all the villain stuff is great too. Overall just very entertaining plot and character stuff")

Dramamaster829 positive ("After the past several weeks of enduring episodes that were either 'just' okay or downright awful, for me this episode was the saving grace for the show. Is it perfect? No [but] I'd like to think [Discord] was testing the princess in the most unusual way [...] an episode with a ton of heart.")
No blog review, so this is from a comment Dramamaster829 left on mine.

JDPrime22 – very positive (rated 10/10; "Where the hell was THIS Twilight through the second half of the season? [...] Absolutely phenomenal episode!")

Louder Yay – very positive (rated 4/5; "a vastly more likeable Twilight Sparkle [...and the villains'] group dynamic remains very enjoyable [... Discord] didn't actually do very much [but the hints of tribalism were] intriguing [and] FiM seems to be back on track.")

Mike Cartoon Pony – positive ("Well, what do you know, this episode delivers on not one, but many things I said just last episode we were in dire need of by this point. [...] at no point this season, or before it, was the change that led to [Twilight] being such a panicky mess ever addressed [but t]he pace proceeds quickly while keeping everything lively and engaging.")

MLEEP Reviews – very positive (rated 10/10; "Doc Harris has done an amazing job in bringing [Grogar] to life for a new generation [while] Twilight has finally learnt to take things smoothly [...] not only an amazing episode but [...] just the rebound that Season 9 of My Little Pony needed")

Present Perfect – cautiously positive ("It’s certainly not bad. Probably not even ‘meh’! There were a lot of bits to like, I’m just not sure how much they cohere into a whole. [...] Twilight’s proclamation at the end was also a pleasant surprise")

SuperPinkBrony12 – largely positive ("Discord's inclusion feels the slightest bit out of place [and] I also find it just the slightest bit irksome that apparently word hasn't gotten out that Cozy Glow is a traitor [but] This feels like a better take on the B plot of "Between Dark and Dawn" that is also sharing a plot with the sequel of "Frenemies" [and] there's so much this episode does right")

The Railfan Brony – very negative (rated Terrible; "feels less like character development and more like an attempt at excusing Twilight's behavior in the [earlier] episodes [...] nothing new here in regard to the story or the theme [...] it's terrible, plain and simple.")

TheDragonWarlock – positive (rated 8/10; "Twilight herself is a massive improvement from the last few times [and] Chrysalis really feels like she shines [and though Discord] felt a little bit pointless [...] the characters are written likable, it has a solid enough plot going for itself, and for once Twilight shows some leadership skills")

18 comments:

  1. Does Railfan Brony actually like any episode?

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    1. Yes. This season, he very much liked "Uprooted" and "Common Ground" and was mildly positive about "Sweet and Smoky", while he enjoyed parts of "The Beginning of the End".

      It is fair to say that he's been much more negative than any of the other reviewers about the last eight or so episodes. But that's fine -- he always explains his reasoning, and his reviews aren't just the sort of "I hate everything" pointlessness that afflicts certain EqD commenters, so I'm more than happy to keep featuring his comments.

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    2. That's... an extremely vague question. Did you mean that I like any episode in this season alone, that I like any episode out of the show in general, or whether or not I actually liked the show to begin with?

      Unless a show made a truly horrendous season, I think it's ridiculous to outright bash a show. The worst I've done thus far is criticize the stories and themes of season nine. Y'know, like a critic is meant to do?

      I like the show as much as any other viewer or fan; I just haven't found season nine all that great. I just find it... boring.

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    3. It's a solid and valid criticism of the episode. I'm reading these excerpts and I'm not so much seeing "this was great!" as I am a sigh of relief that it wasn't as bad as the last two.

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    4. I think it's a bit of both. For myself, I did enjoy it in its own right -- but there Peugeot was an element of "the rot has stopped" in there too.

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    5. Um. For "Peugeot" please read "probably". One of the stranger autocorrects I've had!

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    6. I'll be honest, I was torn 50/50 as to whether that was amazing autocorrect failure or just an obscure Britishism. :B

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  2. Agh, I'm sorry you got spoiled, that's terrible! D: It'll probably happen to me in time, given my derpibooru browsing habits...

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    1. Got another spoiler this morning, because I'm stupid and don't stay a thousand miles away from EqD comments at a time like this. :P

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    2. I haven't seen a spoiler yet, but I'm actually disappointed that the Aussies didn't broadcast the rest of the season. I could have watched the rest of the show early and not been spoilered piecemeal.

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  3. I accidentally saw a spoiler thumbnail in youtube recommendation, which looks like the epilogue. Didn't see the video but from I what saw from the thumbnail, I have some concerns... Hope it isn't as bad as I thought.

    About this week round up, it looks like everyone, except one, like this ep, this ep deserves it. The only negative thing about that ep is Twilight's 'sudden character development' right after Trivial Pursuit, which is nothing more than some misfortunes (should just air this ep a little bit far away from Trivial Pursuit).

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    1. I can guess what the spoiler you saw was, though of course I won't mention it here. It doesn't help that that particular spoiler is shown during the episode title card too, so it'll probably pop up more. :S

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  4. Ah, Railfan, the Titanium Dragon of episode reviews.

    I'm trying to avoid spoilers as well, but I suspect I'll get exposed to some just because I end up reviewing stories that get submitted and use that material. I just hope I don't realize they're spoilers.

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    1. I've had a near miss for similar reasons, while moderating over on UK of Equestria. Just about got away with that one, but I don't expect I'll keep that up until October.

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    2. Titanium Dragon? I don't get it.

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    3. @Zack Wanzer: A guy on Fimfiction, known among other things for review posts (though he hasn't done one since May) -- he has/had a substantially higher proportion of "Not Recommended" verdicts than other reviewers.

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    4. Oh. Though, in my defense, I do tend to find more things to like than dislike; for me with the show overall, there's good, there's bad and everything in between.

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    5. I'm not here to judge, so no defence needed as far as I'm concerned. If I ever felt you'd become one of those people (and they do exist) who lost interest in the show years ago but just hangs around to tell everyone else how terrible everything is, then I'd stop featuring your reviews. But not just because you had a lot of negative ones.

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