Episode review: S9E05: "The Point of No Return"

"You realise you've just brought me a thousand timeshare ads?"

Another milestone in the list of "finals" we'll be facing as Season 9 of Friendship is Magic wears on: last Saturday's episode was G. M. Berrow's last. She's been writing for the show since S5's "The One Pinkie Pie Knows", and her first MLP chapter book (also a Twilight one!) appeared way back in early 2013. Her episodes have generally been middling for me, but I was hopeful "The Point of No Return" would let her go out on a high? Did it? After the break we'll find out!

What if G5 isn't coming next after all?

My review of "The Point of No Return" will be up tomorrow. After a busy weekend I was simply too tired to write it up last night. Nothing dramatic!

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We all know that Friendship is Magic will come to an end after Season 9. There may be a little Equestria Girls content thereafter, but I suspect most of us, including me, expect that this won't amount to more than a few shorts and conceivably a special or two. Most of us, including me, are also expecting that the 2021 film already announced by Hasbro will be some sort of an introduction to the new generation, at least an informal prequel to the subsequent G5 TV series.

But... what if it isn't? What if we do stick with G4 for longer? I don't, of course, mean FiM. That's not getting a reprieve. But a very interesting point was made the other day by The Feral Brony. He reminded us all that generation numbers have changed with toy lines, not with shows. The most obvious example of this is My Little Pony Tales. Very different from the earlier My Little Pony 'N Friends cartoon, so much so that many people refer to Tales as G2. But it's not. Tales is still G1.

Could it happen? Could we see history repeating itself with an equivalent of Tales, using a completely different setting but still producing toys that are recognisably of the same generation? After all, the G4 toy lines have made a lot of money for Hasbro. When they specify the designs of pony figures for the next film and then the series, might they decide to keep their look very close to what we have now and keep using the G4 designation? It's an intriguing thought.

There is another possibility, though. G4 is the first time that a generation of My Little Pony has had a cartoon at its core. Previously, the toys were what people talked about most, with the TV series most definitely secondary. No longer; since 2010, while Hasbro still want to sell plastic ponies, they need the exposure the cartoon gives. So I just wonder whether Hasbro might therefore dump their previous convention and call the new series G5 anyway, even if the toys continue to look similar.

Simple fun and warmth and magic

People watch Game of Thrones because Winter is Coming.

And they watch My Little Pony... because tomorrow spring is here.

—Lets Do This

The other day, Friendmaker by Lets Do This was inducted into the Royal Canterlot Library. I was very pleased by this for several reasons. First of all, I think it's a really good story: I found it "very satisfying" when I reviewed it for Ponyfic Roundup 236. Secondly, Lets Do This is a relatively new author, having signed up for Fimfiction only in June 2018. I'm always pleased to see newcomers writing good stories.

And third... well, see that quote at the top of this post? That's from Lets Do This's RCL interview. I saw it and thought, "Yes." It's a perfect summation of why so many of us enjoy both MLP and what might be called more conventionally "grown-up" shows. I quoted it on Twitter (with LDT credited, of course) and it seemed to get plenty of interest, too. Still, much as I love those two lines, seeing them got me thinking a bit.

If you read this blog much, you may have noticed that from time to time I say that a fic or an episode or whatever felt like something from the old days. Occasionally that's a criticism, for example when a story is full of Lavender Unicorn Syndrome. More often, though, it's intended as a compliment. I mean that the piece in question harks back to simpler times in MLP, both show and fandom.

Yes, sure, the fandom began on 4chan, with all that that implies. But in fanfic especially, something I frequently notice about early works is that they're written with a very simple object: innocent fun. Free of the need to make stories complex and intense, there's a sense of playfulness about many of them that I'm not sure is quite as common today as I'd really like it to be, even if the best modern fics are often clever in different ways.

One small example is in the way writers use horse puns. I don't mean the obvious stuff like Neighagara Falls or Stalliongrad. I mean fun passing touches, such as characters using "Hay there!" instead of "Hey there!" or "foalish" instead of "foolish". When I see usages like that nowadays, they really feel like throwbacks, because they're no longer all that common. I may be out on a limb here, but I'd like to see that kind of thing return.

There are other ways, naturally. Lucky Dreams, an author I feel should have gained considerably more recognition, has 17 published stories, every one E-rated and some actually aimed at kids (itself a rarity in ponyfic). These tales are clever, but also warm and, well, magical. Of course that's not suitable for every kind of story, but I'd like to see some more in that vein without having to go back to 2012 to find them.

Perhaps it's just me. But I must say I'm glad of Lets Do This's reminder that not everything connected with Pony has to be deep and "grown-up" and deal with Great Issues to succeed. A story which leaves the reader feeling happy and warm inside can be just as valuable. It's in tune with Equestrian values, after all: as the Mane Six delighted in reminding Sombra the other week, in the ponies' world "friendship is magic!"

Text Review Roundup: "Sparkle's Seven"

Time for another look at how the text-based reviewers saw the most recent episode of Friendship is Magic. In this case, of course, anticipation was high as it was episode 200. As we won't reach E250 before the show runs out of road, this will be the last major numeric milestone the show will reach. Not that that means very much, so let's move on.

This one got a generally very positive reception. The one big exception, The Railfan Brony, was a lone voice among this bunch. (I did see a few other dissenting voices in EqD comments, but they were very much in the minority.) Despite TRB's dislike, "Sparkle's Seven" was overall the most favourably reviewed episode since "What Lies Beneath".

I ended up being down at the lower end of the scale in terms of how much I liked it, despite the fact that I enjoyed it a lot! I said that it only missed a full five-star rating by a small amount, but my few gripes nevertheless made me pickier than a number of reviewers.

Cuddlepug – very positive (graded A-; "surprises and delights in unexpected ways [...] if you're a fan of [...] the friends going on adventures and working together, this is a grand example")

Dark Qiviut – extremely positive (rated A+). NB: no actual review that I could find this time; the grade is from an all-time all-series ranking.

DrakeyC – very positive ("Fantastic episode, perfect way to celebrate 200 episodes and the incredible voice actresses who made it possible.")

JDPrime22 – very positive (rated 10/10; "Oh, boy, did this episode deliver! [...] the ending to the episode is what truly makes it shine.")

Lightening McQueen – very positive ("It was really great! [...] Applejack's fantasy of her alter ego Apple Chord was sweet")

Louder Yay – very positive (rated 4/5; "I was delighted by how [the Spike plotline] was resolved [...] I'm not sure [Pinkie's fantasy] entirely worked [but] pacing of the episode seemed very good [...] excellent dialogue [...] a very solid, very entertaining story and a fitting E200.")

Mike Cartoon Pony – very positive ("easily one of the best post-Season-5 episodes and one of the few that can really stand up with that earlier era of Pony")

MLEEP Reviews – extremely positive (rated 10/10; "an emotional yet funny celebration of everything that has made 'Friendship Is Magic' the cultural phenomenon that it is today")

Present Perfect – very positive ("for an episode that written by committee, this was a lot of fun. Immensely entertaining, with no jokes that fell flat or brought out the cringe.")

The Railfan Brony – extremely negative (rated Terrible; "a boring, slow-paced slog [...] possibly the most stupid way to celebrate 199 200 episodes!")

TheDragonWarlock – wildly positive (rated 10/10; "I can't stress this enough; I love this episode. It's well written, has great character development, good comedy, and it has Spike at his absolute best yet.")

Ponyfic Roundup 247

Read it Later story count: 256 (+1)

I'm afraid the Martian rock octopus interview fell through, so you're stuck with me talking about ponyfic. If you can overcome this crushing disappointment, you'll be able to see what I think of four more stories today. If your eyes have drifted down to the score summary, you'll note that I have the first five-star rating in quite some time, too! The fics are:

The Destiny Trap by Andrew Rogue
The Mare in Black by Stereo_Sub
Ghosts by Ponydora Prancypants
A Horse of a Different Color by Empty Shell

★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 1
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

Episode review: S9E04: "Sparkle's Seven"

Don't tell me you wouldn't watch this series

NB: this episode was originally advertised as "Twilight's Seven".

Fourscore and seven years ago, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic reached episode one hundred with the wildly over-the-top "Slice of Life". Here we are in 2019 and it's time for episode two hundred. While E100 was a thank you to the fans, E200 was trailed as being a thank you to the main voice actors, and indeed the Mane Six's and Spike's VAs were given "Story by" credits for this episode. How did it fare? Past the break, I'll have a look at just that.

Griffish Isles 2019: Some places to get food

Last year, I wrote a guide to eating places near UK PonyCon. I'm going to try to do this again now for this year's Griffish Isles convention. It's going to be rather trickier, because the GI location is in a bit of a food desert, but I'll do my best. Note that I don't know the area at all, so I can't vouch for the quality of the non-chain places I mention. Note also that a couple of places on Google maps, eg Chancellors and the Delicious Deli, are not open at weekends.

It's probably best to note that a friend who's lived in Greater Manchester for years says that Ardwick is quite a rough area. I don't think it's anything to be too scared of as long as you're sensible, but it might be an idea not to go wandering about alone after dark. Okay, on to the guide. I've given directions from the daytime venue at the St Thomas Centre, as apparently the evening host at Powerleague does at least have bar snacks.

Click on the name of each eating place to see a Google Maps walking route from the St Thomas Centre. Personally I suspect I'll be going either to the Tesco Express or, if I want hot food, to McDonald's.

1. Convenience stores

Tesco Extra, Esso petrol station, Ardwick Green S, M13 9XF
Open 6am–10pm; 3 mins' walk

Spar, BP petrol station, Chancellor La, M12 6JZ
Open 24 hours; 10 mins' walk

2. Chain restaurants

McDonald's, Stockport Rd, M12 4AB
Open 24 hours; 11 mins' walk

Subway, Stockport Rd, M12 4AB
Open 10am–9pm; 13 mins' walk

NB: both these are on the A6, an extremely busy bus route.

3. Asian food

House of Beijing, Polygon St, M13 9SG (Chinese)
Open midday–10pm; 5 mins' walk
NB: this opened recently; Street View (from 2015) still shows derelict land!

Spicy Grill, Higher Ardwick, M12 6DB (Indian)
Open 11am–4pm