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| "Look, Sweetie! You're the big sister now!" |
Written by Cindy Morrow
5 Nov 2011
My original rating: N/A
IMDB score: 8.7
The one with liquid toast.
Thoughts: Ah, Rarity's parents. It's a shame in a way that we saw so little of them after this, as the show gradually shifted to the (unspoken) assumption that Sweetie was with her sister a great deal. Anyway, Rarity at this point still has some cold, sharp edges and Sweetie Belle helps to smooth them off a bit. The tension between them is well done, as you'd expect from character-writing specialist Cindy Morrow, and Sweetie "adopting" Applejack is a clever idea. (Apple Bloom's proprietorial attitude towards her sister is amusing, too.) The Sisterhooves Social itself also feels like the kind of event that Ponyville would love, so no complaints there! I'm slightly less impressed with the final race, as it's surely obvious even to a kid that "Applejack's" eyes are the wrong colour. Oh, we get talking sheep. One, anyway. The nature of the relationship between ponies and their livestock gets more disturbing every time you think about it! This is an episode that I used not to like all that much, but which has really grown on me in the last few years. A notch below classic status, but still very good.
Choice quote: Sweetie Belle: "Rarity never high-hoofs me."
New rating: ★★★★
Next up is "The Cutie Pox", which is generally (including by me) seen as a significant step down from the first five episodes of S2. But we'll find out!
Random fact about this episode, this is the first episode not to have Twilight in it, breaking a run of 30 episodes in a row.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved this one. The exploration of both the sisters' relationships and the importance of being sisters in this world were important to me, and you're right that the younger ponies' antics were pretty great all the way through.
ReplyDeleteI never noticed the eye color thing before, though. :O
I certainly didn't notice the eye colour difference on first viewing. In fact, I don't think I worked out it was Rarity under all that mud until it was revealed.
ReplyDeleteI also completely missed Applejack's blue eyes on my first viewing of this episode.
ReplyDeleteMe, I honestly can't remember my initial reaction and viewing of the race scene, so I've no idea if it was really that obvious. Of course it seems so on a repeat viewing. But personally, I think the layout and animation do a decent job or largely diverting one's attention away from it. Only those people who consciously notice and take note of characters' eye colours are bound to notice. And that's a bit like looking at someone shoes - how often do you do that?
ReplyDeleteRegardless, what a wonderful, fantastic episode. The portrayal of a sisterly relationship, the way one tries to put up with the other who is just trying to help, the way a little argument seems like a really big deal, the effective way AJ and Apple Bloom are used to compliment this, the race and moral, and so on. Even Spike's brief usage is done perfectly. And, of course, the brief appearance of Rarity's parents and how different they were to their elder daughter in appearance, style, mannerisms and voices raises so many largely answered questions about Rarity's choice as to her fashion-oriented path in life.
For me, it is a classic, cementing both itself as one of the best "family relations" episodes and Cindy Morrow as the show's best "emotional feels" episodes, who is nonetheless perfectly well capable of keeping things from ever being too mushy. For me, it's the show's 3rd 10/10 episode, after "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" and "The Return of Harmony - Part 2". What a glorious episode.
I've always liked this one, but then that's no surprise, since I've delved into the nature of sisterly relationships in multiple stories. It's well done in this episode, and there are so many nice touches to it. Yes, Apple Bloom continually reminding Sweetie Belle that Applejack could be her sister for one day was amusing, and Rarity again making a classic movie reference (also one seemingly reinforcing the idea that ponies see Celestia as a god). Plus the super-adorable scene of a bored Sweetie Belle scooting around with her chest to the floor. Rarity's arc was a nicely thought-out one, and very believable for her.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I'm disappointed in the absence of their parents from the rest of the series, as they were amusing. Many fanfic had taken the tack of both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle being sisters in name only, actually the daughters of their "big sisters," called that to protect their reputations. That was obviously never going to be the case in canon, but there was an interesting dynamic of why Sweetie Belle would be living with Rarity if their parents were nearby. The parents showed up just long enough to throw confusion into that possibility, then disappear quickly enough to become even more confusing.
I had noticed that "Applejack's" eyes didn't look quite right to me, but not until near the end of the race, and even then, only to make me wonder if I hadn't remembered her eye color right, so I was still surprised by the reveal.
Great episode, and Twilight playing referee at the end gave a cute hint that they sisters were still a work in progress. I like the way they play off each other, too. It'd be cliched for Rarity to have a younger sister who was rough and tumble with perpetually skinned knees, as compared to Rarity, who's been elegant her whole life. Sweetie Belle does appreciate elegance, though, but she's just too uncoordinated to pull it off, at least in the ways Rarity does. Their hearts are in the same place. Sweetie Belle is a nice midpoint between Rarity and their parents, which makes me wonder where the genetics for that came from. Rarity got it full force, and Sweetie Belle got a half dose. One of their grandparents must have been high society, though I'd expect Rarity to bring tha up frequently, if it were the case.
For me the dynamic between Rarity and Sweetie Belle is really what steals the episode and clearly we weren't going to touch much about her other relatives like her parents (Whom turns out Sweetie Belle lives with them and they contrast greatly to Rarity's general personality). We've all had those moments where we've been in either one of the girls' shoes (Brothers especially can relate to that). As the older sibling, we can get thrown for a loop when our youngest unintentionally causes certain messes when we have that one track mind of what to do (Although Rarity did exaggerate a bit, especially when Sweetie tried to make her a card). As the younger sibling, it's just as frustrating when we try to be useful to our eldest but either we are left out from doing certain activities or whenever we do try it feels like we're just being criticized for what we are doing wrong before we have that chance to explain. In the end, it was a journey for both of these sisters which led up to one determined to fight back for their sisterhood after unintentionally breaking it apart.
ReplyDeleteWhile up till now it was mostly Twilight Sparkle teaching the lessons, this was a case where it took a certain farm girl (Who criticized Rarity for making a big fuss over mud) to teach her the true meaning of sisterhood, especially comparing her relationship with Apple Bloom (Even when they have their own hiccups on occasion). That sisterhood and brotherhood is all about 'compromise', to learn from one another, and in a way doing things that may be out of our comfort zone in a manner of attempting to bond. Hence how the 'Sisterhooves Social' itself plays its part, which Rarity initially refused to attend but after realizing how much her sister means to her (Especially when it seemed she was choosing Applejack over her) this was that moment when she had to do this one thing only if it meant showing that being with her sister is more important than her own needs.
Even though I admit the difference in eyes would've been a dead giveaway, we have to imagine that in the heat of the moment it seemed like Sweetie Belle was truly having fun regardless if she was racing with the pony she didn't think at the time nor did it matter if they were going to win or not. The Social itself was never about winning, but to demonstrate the strength and the bond between two siblings (Even the 'honorary' ones on some occasions). Overall, while this episode may have its share of hiccups from time to time, it's an innocent enough episode for me with plenty of morals we can all learn from this experience. Though if we think 'this' episode is crazy, just wait till we get to the 'Brotherhood Social'.