Text Review Roundup: "A Horse Shoe-In"

I'm off to look at (and ride on) steam trains again tomorrow, but before I go I'll let you have the TRR for last Saturday's episode. As happened last week, the text-based reviewers had a wide spread of opinions, although there were more in favour than against. Much of it seemed to depend on what each reviewer thought of StarTrix as a team. I was perhaps very slightly above average in my assessment.

Cuddlepug – positive (graded B; "another strong episode [and when Starlight tells Trixie the truth the] exchange is one of the most heated in the history of the show and makes you feel genuinely bad for Trixie .")

Dark Qiviut – very positive ("SG has (once again) a fantastic appearance [...] does a fantastic job reintroducing the Vice Headmare occupation without contradicting continuity [...] Ariel Shepherd-Oppenhein did a splendid job in her Pony debut and executed a very solid, very good episode")

DrakeyC – positive ("kind of a repeat of "What About Discord" with a dash of "All Bottled Up" [...] The final result is kinda obvious in hindsight, but only because it really is a perfect resolution to the story arcs of Starlight and her friends [...] dependant on how much tolerance you have for Trixie being Trixie. And I have a very high tolerance for that so I found this hilarious and fun.")

Dramamaster829 – positive ("While I did admit that going in I wasn't so sure how this episode would turn out, especially with a new writer on board, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome we received. I'd say this would be considered a guilty pleasure episode for me especially for folks who can relate to the situation Starlight and Trixie are involved in.")

JDPrime22 – positive (rated 9/10; "This was fun. Starlight was insanely adorable. Trixie was obnoxious for a bit, but she came around after Starlight yelled at her. I really do love how we're getting some closing episodes before the grand finale.")

Louder Yay – positive (rated 4/5; "quite frankly [Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim] did better than one or two much more experienced FiM writers have managed this season [...] Starlight certainly learned a friendship lesson – but this one was also a leadership lesson [and though] I simply couldn't believe that Trixie would be capable of the spell she cast to bring part of [Froggy Bottom Bogg] into the classroom [this was still] an entertaining and interesting episode")

Mike Cartoon Pony – positive ("one’s surface-level enjoyment for this episode is likely to be somewhat inversely proportional to how irritating they find Trixie here [...] Sheperd-Oppenhelm gets the universe of FiM really well, better then most current writers [...] a really well-thought out ending [...] Trixie being an irritable butt throughout is only a minor problem.")

MLEEP Reviews – mixed (rated 6.5/10; "great that the show staff are using as many of the classic and fan favorite characters [but] basically a lazy rehash of one of the sequences from Season 8's "A Matter Of Principals" [though] definitely a little better than 'Student Counsel'")

Present Perfect – positive ("The Terrible and Incompetent Trixie is 257% amazing and can carry any episode she’s in all by herself. [...] this was maybe not an all-time, top-tier, 100% amazing classic episode, but it was really fun [though] we’re getting our first actual hints of “This is the Starlight and Friends Twenty-Two Minute Drama Hour now”, which much of the fandom has been afraid of since season six")

SuperPinkBrony12 – very negative ("basically a rehash of "All Bottled Up" and "A Matter of Principals", a bad mix that sees Trixie sink to a new low she is unlikely to recover from! [...] if this is the last we ever see of the school until then, it's not a good end note at all!")

The Railfan Brony – extremely negative (rated Terrible; "a huge problem with Starlight/Trixie episodes [is that b]oth ponies bring out the worst in each other post-redemption. [...] I almost feel like there was no thought was put into [the ending] whatsoever [...] Rehashed story elements, fanservice for the sake of fanservice, and apathy towards potentially toxic implications down the road.")

TheDragonWarlock – fairly positive (rated 7.5/10; "for Starlight's final episode of the series, it's certainly a pretty good way to send her off. Starlight is handled well, the minor characters are fun, and brings some closure to Starlight as she begins her new career [though] Trixie ultimately is living proof of one thing; with friends like you, who needs enemies?")