My Little Repeats 188: "Friendship University"

Surely the natural way for unicorns to wear 'em in any case...

S8E16: "Friendship University"

11 Aug 2018

My original rating: ★★★
IMDb score: 6.5

The one with friendship through sewing

Thoughts: This episode was moderately – but no more – liked by most in 2018. Anyway, here the FlimFlams bring freemium education to Equestria (h/t FOME). Their episodes have never really matched their debut for me, and by now they were becoming rather one-dimensional. Neighsay's approval of their university's "pony-first environment" isn't exactly cheering, either. Starswirl's support act is fun, though, and naive as he is, he does have a point. So, I have to admit, does Neighsay: Twi is reacting as though she had a Tia-given right to have the only friendship school in Equestria. Best thing about the ep? Plainity, surely. She carries that off with real verve. A pity there's the unbelievable bit where FlimFlam don't recognise her even out of disguise. And the other one where nopony notices there's an alicorn in the uni. Still, the final scene with Cozy Glow hits a little harder than it did in 2018. So, too many niggles to get a really good rating, but in truth not as bad as I was remembering. A top-end two seems about right now.

Choice quote: Twilight: "My name's Eyepatch. I have an eyepatch."

New rating: ★★

In the end, "Friendship University" just about managed a passing grade. Next up is "The End in Friend", which I don't remember especially fondly. Maybe that too will have its moments. Join me to find out, same channel but whenever I get round to it!

My Little Repeats 137: "Viva Las Pegasus"

It's time to meet the ponies on the pony show tonight

S6E20: "Viva Las Pegasus"

17 Sep 2016

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 7.3

The one with pink prairie dogs

Thoughts: Otherwise known as "Fluttershy and Applejack team up and don't encounter kirin". Anyway, this is a pretty fun ride, though definitely not one to take too seriously and also an ep we certainly wouldn't have had in the early days. On the plus side, it looks wonderful, one of the most visually appealing eps so far. Also very nice is how Applejack and Fluttershy interact; I wish they'd spent more time together in "Sounds of Silence" a couple of seasons later. Mind you, AJ doesn't really do as much as 'Shy in solving the Map's mystery. Plenty of fun references here, such as the Siegfried & Roy ponies. Flim and Flam are amusing, more so than in "Leap of Faith" but not quite up to their S2 heights. As for Elvis Gladmane, he's entertaining but a bit one-dimensional as the villain. And, let's be honest, this isn't a desperately Equestrian episode in tone, and nor is it one that is perfectly paced throughout. So, still a very enjoyable episode in a "don't think too hard" kind of way, but not quite the great one I thought it might be in 2016. As such, bumped down from a four-starrer to a highish three.

Choice quote: Applejack: "Gladmane has left the building!"

New rating: ★★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "Every Little Thing She Does", an episode some fans hate for how Starlight acts yet others have a great time with. In 2016 I was largely in camp two. In 2023? We'll see.

My Little Repeats 133: "The Times They Are a Changeling"

"What do you mean? Let what go?"

S6E16: "The Times They Are a Changeling"

20 Aug 2016

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 8.2

The one with the changeling nursery

Thoughts: Thorax's debut was the first episode credited to Chris Wyatt and Kevin Burke. While the whole "changeling reformation" mini-arc is not exactly considered one of the show's greats, this first instalment is pretty nice and was fairly widely praised at the time. I was a bit surprised to discover I'd given it four stars, not three, back in 2016. Setup is fine, though Spike showing off is really wearing thin by now, and we only even meet Thorax at the end of act one. Once he saves Spike, things get interesting. It helps that Thorax is relatable, and in a way I wish this had been the end point: reformation, but without the Technicolor makeover. Pleasant characterisation of most of the others, and I appreciated Shiny being so harsh initially for understandable personal reasons. Spike's song is lovely musically, even if the lyrics are not the most interesting. I think four stars may have been a slight overreaction to the underwhelming last two episodes: Starlight is fairly pointless here and the inconsistent pacing (slow act one, hurried act three) doesn't much help, so I'll nudge it down to three – but it's still a high three. S6 seemed to be getting back on track at this point, and good Spike eps are never unwelcome.

Choice quote: Spike: "Okay... rock, how do I know you're really a rock?"

New rating: ★★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "Dungeons & Discords", an episode of which I have reasonably fond memories. I really hope I still feel that way after my rewatch.

Episode review: S8E16: "Friendship University"

"This was the only emergency eye patch Pinkie had left!"

Well, it seems that I did have time to write a quick episode review after all. It's been a while since we saw Chris "Doc" Wyatt and Kevin Burke on the writers' credits for My Little Pony. In fact, their last episode was S6's "Viva Las Pegasus", which divided fandom opinion but which I liked rather a lot, and not only because of all the Fluttershy. How would this week's effort shape up? Come past the break with me and we'll find out!

Episode review: S6E20: "Viva Las Pegasus"

Fluttershy has some absurdly cute faces in this episode. Yes, even more than usual

Could it be true? Were we actually going to visit a city that wasn't Manehattan? I was looking forward to this episode for that reason alone, but it didn't hurt that its writers – Kevin Burke and Chris Wyatt – had shown their colours with "The Times They Are a Changeling". The title was an obvious Elvis reference, but last week's title had no bearing on the plot so I wasn't assuming anything. Past the break for the review itself!

Episode review: S6E16: "The Times They Are a Changeling"

Well, that's not nightmare-inducing at all...

This is going to be a relatively short review, as I'm absolutely exhausted right now. Still, this time we had a new writing team in Kevin Burke and Chris Wyatt. (As an aside, have you noticed how few female writers the show has now?) The title also gave away an admittedly rather ill-kept secret: that we were going to see a changeling play a major part in an episode for the first time since "A Canterlot Wedding". (I don't think that "Slice of Life" cameo really counts!) Past the break for a bit more.