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| Clearly dragon hands have the same sticky quality as pony hooves |
Written by Merriwether Williams
17 Mar 2012
My original rating: N/A
IMDb score: 6.3
The one with Spike's beard
Thoughts: See that IMDb rating? It's very nearly the lowest of S2, just a tenth of a point ahead of the infamous "The Mysterious Mare Do Well". Am I in agreement? Broadly, yes. The main problem is Garble and his pals. I don't like them, but that in itself wouldn't be a problem if I found them interestingly dislikeable. I don't. They're just tedious. The episode does have its share of better things, not least the mighty Crackle and even more so his pony-made "cousin". Also, the "butterfly migration" stuff at the beginning. (Fluttershy's "I said no!" is a nice callback to a couple of eps ago.) And actually the setup of Spike becoming frustrated about not knowing his origins is a very good one. Actually, most of the first act is good stuff. The end isn't bad either, especially Rarity's sudden anger. Garble here seems like something worse than just a teenage bully, too, given his clearly implied intention to kill the phoenix hatchlings. But the middle section of the episode, set in this pre-Ember land of dragons, was really not that effective at holding my attention. That fed into a rather underwhelming episode when all was said and done. All told, this was another example of the way Spike episodes really didn't click with most of us during the first half of the series – despite that being when FiM was, in broad terms, at its best. I'm not inclined to revise my opinion sufficiently to bring its rating any higher than two stars.
Choice quote: Rarity: "Isn't he adorable when he waddles off in anger?"
New rating: ★★
Next up is "Hurricane Fluttershy", which is about best pony and is also best episode about best pony and so is just all-round best. I remain, as ever, your impartial judge of these things.
I'm largely OK with the episode. My main problem is more with the bait-and-switch feel of Spike's journey.
ReplyDeleteThe question about Spike's origins is more interesting and feels more personal than Spike trying to join a random teen gang and then deciding dragons aren't worth it. Thank goodness for Ember and Torch further down the road.
Will admit I actually kind of like the middle. The dragons seem so over-the-top macho (fire belching! humongous tail wrestle! lava diving!) that it's subtly amusing after a while. I also thought the turn of Garble from "jerk who shows occasional appreciation" to "potential murderer" felt legitimate and credible for that type of bullying character. Especially since it's already established wild dragons can be selfish and aggressive.
The phoenix family was one of my favourite parts. Especially in hindsight, when Philomena disappeared into the ether, it's tremendously nice to have another firebird showcase. The chase scene and the blinding tactic against the dragons was a spectacle I appreciated.
If anything, my worst moment was Fluttershy in the opening when she stopped to stomp on Rainbow's stomach. That felt way too cruel to come off as slapstick.
Still wondering what the point of the migration was, all these years later. And why they bothered introducing Peewee, only to ditch him a season later with no eps in between.
Also, I read once that this episode's premise is similar to that of an episode from Generation 1 of My Little Pony, with that version's Spike going on a journey of self-discovery. I might be misremembering the specifics, but I thought it was a nice connection to have.
ReplyDeleteYou are completely right about that. I was very disappointed when I saw that episode of G1. Never took Merriwether Williams for a cribber. :B
DeleteEh, it's hardly a new thing for writers to borrow a plot from a previous gen of a show.
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