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| This. This right here. This is how to make me grin like a fool! |
Written by Charlotte Fullerton
19 Nov 2011
My original rating: N/A
IMDB score: 7.8
The one with Animation Error Duck.
Thoughts: Aha, this is the sort of episode I could do with right now! For a start, it has a duet between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and their friendship is one of my favourite things in the entire series. (As we'll see later this season...) I enjoy the song a lot, even if it is a bit wordy. I particularly love the way Rainbow's eyes widen as she gets the idea for a contest. We get one of the most famous S2 Derpy cameos, too. Dash herself is a bit on the full-of-herself side this episode, but for the most part I think it's entertaining. Things like the stage talent show for the prospective pets are hilarious, too. Actually, most of the games are at least enjoyable to watch. The one real downside? I don't like the Quarray Eels segment at all – there, Rainbow is actively risking the animals' lives. I'm amazed Fluttershy was okay with it. Anyway, when Dash gets stuck – the fandom used to think this was a 127 Hours reference – it is of course the tortoise (not turtle!) who rescues her, and so Tank enters the show, a good thing as I really like Rainbow's relationship with him. We never do find out the source of the magic powering his rotor, though. I think a high three is about right for this one.
Choice quote: Rainbow: "You would think that, Twilight. And that's why you would never qualify to be my pet."
New rating: ★★★
Next up is "The Mysterious Mare Do Well", long considered one of the least impressive episodes of the pre-ascension seasons. I've never rated it too highly either. Will I this time?
Personally while I would class this as a middle of the road episode, I like did the use of the ride of the valkyries in this one.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, ‘Ride of Valkyries’ is the name of “that music people recognise but can’t name off the top of their head”. :P
DeleteIt’s notable how the earlier seasons could get away with using well-known music (the Benny Hill theme for example), while the later ones didn't. And Rainbow whistling it was the icing on the cake. :D
My favourite line:
Others: (“Tortoise!”)
Fluttershy: “Oh whatever”
Oh yes, the "Ride of the Valkyries" sequence is great as well. :)
DeleteSurprising this didn't get a four from you; your adoration for Fluttershy, Fluttershy/Rainbow Dash friendship moments, and the lengthy song supplying both in droves would lead one to believe that. And the review largely read as a four-star review too, frankly. But I suppose that why numerical ratings are risky to read, as they encourage simplified reading or one's take on such things.
ReplyDeleteUnlike the next episode (and moments earlier and later this season) I feel Rainbow's ego was largely done right in this one. A few mild moments went too far, and some more proper introspection when she was trapped would have been nice (simply shave off some of the pet competitions or a verse of the prosey song to fit it in). But it's a nice episode with loads of low key amusing moments, if not a comedy riotfest like many others I could name (by which I mean, I smile a lot throughout this one, but I rarely laughed).
Having read lots of your reviews by now, I think I've figured out a conversion system for how the scores in them compare to those of mine:
5-Star -> 10-9.5/10 (Masterpiece/Perfect)
4-Star -> 9-8.5/10 (Great)
3-Star ->8-7/10 (Good to Really Good)
2-Star -> 6.5-5/10 (Decent to Mediocre)
1-Star -> 4.5 downwards (Bad, or Worse)
Those last two might be somewhat adjustable, as I've seen very few 1-Star reviews around these parts (none instantly spring to mind, though I'm sure there are some).
This is, of course, subjective. But it's handy to have, and I think it's interesting for sure.
Without that Quarray Eels scene, it would indeed have been a four. Most of the episode is a four, IMO. But right from the day I first watched this episode, that bit has really sat badly with me, and it's enough to nudge it down below the dividing line. Still, a high three is still well above average. With ponyfic reviews, a mid-range two is what I give to a "meh, okay, I suppose" story.
DeleteAs it happens, I used to rate ponyfic on an out-of-10 basis, and when I switched over (years ago now) I did have a vague conversion system in my head. You're pretty close there, although the /10 numbers are a little lower than yours. 9/10 is five stars, for example, and 6.5/10 would be three. Subjective, as you say. :)
I've never actually given an episode one star, although I feel I'm likely to be a little less forgiving to one or two this time around. I have given a sprinkling of ponyfics one star, and I even gave one zero a long, long time ago. (I found the story's entire premise utterly repellent.)
A Fluttershy-centric episode that didn't rate a 5?
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the episodes I look back on most fondly. It wasn't necessarily my favorite (a lot of Dash's behavior was just kind of annoying), but it's very memorable. And Dash even did surprise in a few places. Liking the bat's water glass playing and the owl's outfit, to name a couple of examples. It was painfully obvious right from the beginning that she was going to end up picking Tank, and while it was a little amusing to see him fail at all the tests, particularly that he had managed to build that elaborate obstacle course, I wonder if it wouldn't have been better if he were just some wild tortoise who wandered up in the gorge and helped her. But then you wouldn't get his heartfelt desire to be a pet, and...
Aw, that line about how Twilight wouldn't be Dash's pet. That pet play stuff is one thing I avoid completely, and I hope this isn't what sparked it. I suspect the fandom would have come up with it anyway.
This is easily one of my favorite songs from the entire show, and I'm a little surprised you found it wordy. It's true to its style, much like something from an opera or musical. Yes, it's wordy as compared to a pop song, like most of the show's songs are, but I found it a great and authentic exploration of a different genre.
A Fluttershy-centric episode that didn't rate a 5?
DeletePlenty of those to come! (Also, both "Dragonshy" and "A Bird in the Hoof" didn't.)
This is easily one of my favorite songs from the entire show, and I'm a little surprised you found it wordy.
Well, it is, at least to me. But as the opening part of that sentence shows, it didn't harm its quality in my eyes.
While I wouldn't call it a 'stand out' of the season, the episode's memorable moments make me forgive some of its hiccups. From the catchy duet number performed by Rainbow Dash & Fluttershy, the subtle cameo from Derpy Hooves (I'm still calling her that regardless), the competition itself, they are all fun moments.
ReplyDeleteSuffice to say, Rainbow Dash's ego does inflate really big here in this episode. Initially setting up these insane competitions to find the 'Best Pet' for her, mainly so she wouldn't feel like the one member of the group not to have one. Yet completely forgetting the essential point as to what defines a 'pet'. She even gave Tank, the tortoise, the harshest time just because he can't initially fly like her or move fast as her. Course, the major reason he was even in this contest is because Fluttershy insisted her friend give him a chance (Reminds me of an all too familiar scenario with Special Olympics).
Anyways, as mentioned before, the highlights of the episode reside on the contest itself. My favorite to this day is the talent show portion, seeing the pets doing all those acts (Even the bat doing the shoutout to the show's theme with the glass trick). Course, it does have the predictable end that Dash ultimately goes with the tortoise, who saves her when she was trapped by a boulder and she was carried back to the finish line. But, to be fair, she DID say whichever pet finished the race 'with' her would be her pet (Though you have to feel bad for the Falcon for trying so hard... Or was it a hawk? I have to look back).
But otherwise, this was a fun episode. It may not feel like it drives the season along but we always need that one slice of life episode especially one with a catchy duet number.
Yeah, the falcon does get a slightly raw deal. I hope he found another pony to bond with!
DeleteAt least he took it like a champ. Quite the honorable bird!
DeleteThe magic aura on Tank's rotor is the same color as Celestia's... for what that's worth.
ReplyDeleteThe song is a matter of taste. It's very Sondheim-ish. For people who prefer the sort of song that's easy to hum (i.e., strong melody, rather than "talky"), it's not going to be well-regarded.
That... is an extremely good point about the aura colour. I must have noticed that at some point, so why not this time through I don't know.
DeleteI like this song a great deal. I also like songs that are easy to hum. In general, I like this series' songs. :)
You have the best of both worlds, then! Lucky you!
Delete