Thursday 21 June 2018

Episode review: S8E13: "The Mean 6"

The "photographer" with Fluttershy, whose mane is in Pinkie's style
We only saw this for half a second, but it cracked me up
Well, it's taken a while, but here I am at last getting up to date with FiM again! The final episode before the mid-season hiatus was written by Michael Vogel, last seen sharing writing duties with Nicole Dubuc in the S8 premiere. The synopsis for this one seemed intriguing, but because of my holiday I already knew it had received a rather mixed reaction. (More of that in Text Review Roundup tomorrow.) Beyond the break, I'll say how I felt about it.

I think I'd put this in the category of "flawed but interesting" episodes. I was rather blindsided by the fact that Chrysalis's return didn't lead to a big confrontation with anyone, but the ep's final shot suggests we haven't seen the last of the Bug Queen. It was also a bold departure not to have any of the Mane Six-plus-Starlight realising what had happened, and personally I found that refreshingly different. I wouldn't like to see it every week, but once is fine.

Chrysalis's ability to create new "servants" out of so little is a very dangerous ability, and if that is still intact later on I could see some serious problems for our ponies. I did find it a little odd that two of the fake ponies – AJ and 'Shy – had imperfectly coloured cutie marks but the other four didn't. I don't think we ever got any explanation for that, and that omission I did find a bit irritating. Not faking a Starlight made more sense, as Glimmy can't use an Element of Harmony.

Chrysalis looms over a cowering fake Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie
A useful reminder of just how nasty Chrysalis can actually be
Some of the fake ponies' personalities were a little too close to their Discorded selves from "The Return of Harmony" for my liking. Fluttershy, in particular, seemed almost identical. It didn't actually harm the story, but I'd have liked a slightly different approach. Mind you, they all ended up being destroyed anyway, in an admittedly brief sequence that was nevertheless disturbing for a TV-Y show, with them still talking as they shrivelled away.

The plot about Twilight's retreat didn't really go anywhere and was used simply as a framework to hang other stuff on. More fun were the interchanges between the (real) ponies about camping, in particular those involving Applejack, Rarity and Starlight. As so often this season, Glimmy pretty much stole the show: there were yet more priceless facial expressions and a nice independence of spirit in her refusal to be convinced that camping was fun.

There was one scene where Pinkie had to be hit with all the Idiot Balls she keeps all over Equestria in case of Idiot Ball emergencies. This of course was the one where she blithely told fake Twilight absolutely everything about the Tree of Harmony, its location, much of the recent history of the show, etc. While Pinkie can be pretty oblivious sometimes, she's not stupid and I think this sequence may have pushed things a little too far in that direction.

Starlight, with a messed-up mane, looks miserable. Rarity, next to her, looks awkward
"Rarity, we told you to stop using Zecora's cosmetics on your friends!"
So, a fairly mixed bag, but a pretty watchable mixed bag. I was never quite certain what was going to happen next, which kept things interesting. And clichéd as it may be, I did love the (real) Mane Six and Starlight making up again near the end. Fluttershy's line there was lovely, if rather heartbreaking, and the final scene with the smashed-up tents was nice too. So, by no means a perfect episode, but one I did enjoy watching.

Best quote: Rarity: "I don't know, but I wants it!"

Yays
  • An interesting change of format
  • Starlight was as good as ever
  • Chrysalis remains truly villainous
  • Some very fine voice work
Neighs
  • A little confused at times
  • Not all the subplots added very much
  • The fake Six were a bit too close to their Discorded versions
★★★

5 comments:

  1. Yeah, the scene where the Real Mane 6 make up at the end was the peak of the episode For me as well. I found the Mean 6 to be hilarious and all, but that moment is my favorite of the episode For me, and now I Will explain why:

    I want to be very honest with you Logan: Even thought I'm loving the S8 so far, I'm.... Not liking how it is Handling the Mane 6 in General: Pinkie Pie was WAY Too exagerrated in her reaction in The Maud Couple, even thought I liked Fluttershy in Fake It unlike Many People I still prefer her other ways to be assertivd (see her S6 and 7 eps) and THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WORD I SPEND ABOUT HOW RD AND AJ WERE IN NON-COMPETE CLAUSE THE BETTER IT IS. The only one who was portrayed consistently Great was Twilight so far... And even there... She had her derailed moment as well (that fucking moment in which she casts out the CMCs in Marks For Effort.... I never disliked a Twilight portrayal like this since Rainbow Rocks...).

    I Know that For many People these characters have lost value but here's the thing: I'm not One of those People. I still care very much For the Mane 6 and if the show is gonna wrap up the next season, I really want to see the conclusion of their story and I don't want to see them being derailed constantly by then. This is why the scene of the reconciliation meant a lot to me. I really really needed it after their shaky portrayals in this season so far. Hopefully the Second half and the Christmas special improves on this regard.

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    1. Honestly, I'd frankly advise you not to get too worked up about the Mane Six. I think you suffered from that during S6 and I doubt it did you much good. Don't get obsessed about it again, eh? :)

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  2. I had read somewhere that each of the Mean 6's cutie marks was incorrect in some way, to distinguish them from the genuine articles, like how Twilight's had no sparks around the main star, and in AJ's case it just happened to be the color. I agree though that it was much more noticeable than the others (I didn't realize the others were wrong until reading afterwards)

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    1. From memory, I know Rarity's was upside-down, Rainbow's was backwards, and Pinkie's was inverted. Can't remember Fluttershy, but those and AJ's stood out.

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    2. Fluttershy's butterflies were the wrong colour, so that one was quite noticeable. Until Scintilla mentioned, though, I'd missed the more subtle ones like Rarity's.

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