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| Spike casually chucking the doll away a moment later, though... |
11 Apr 2015
My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 8.0
Thoughts: The first episode credited to Joanna Lewis and Kristina Songco, aka the "Lady Writers", and they made a solid start. All the Mane Six and Spike get substantial parts here, and indeed Spike enjoys one of his best roles, one which is crucial in his spa-centric distracting of Twilight. His relationship with Twilight is the reason it works, too. The song is one that's grown on me (even though I never disliked it) and I also like how Fluttershy is starting to stand up for herself just a little more. Of course, the big deal at the time was that this episode confronted the loss of the Golden Oak Library (never named in-show until this point) and, looking back, I think it did so largely successfully. Most fans felt much as Twilight did about the castle at this point, and even if many never really loved it, this was probably where most stopped hating it. As I said in 2015, this felt in some ways like a return to the simpler early seasons of FiM, without any Big Bads or frenetic adventures – but respectful of the fact that these characters had developed since S1. Apart from brief turns by Aloe and Bulk, every line here is spoken by one of the Mane Seven. I'd been expecting to nudge my four-star rating from 2015 down to a top-end three... and I have. On the plus side, the characterisation is satisfying. On the minus side, the middle act is a bit draggy. Top-end three is still above average, though!
Choice quote: Rainbow Dash: "Touché."
New rating: ★★★
Next up is "Bloom and Gloom", an episode which I confess hasn't stuck in my mind much. Except for the Twittermites. Brr. But we'll see how it goes.
"Castle Sweet Castle" - Production Changes
ReplyDeletePREMISE
We get three skits of Twilight avoiding her castle. She helps Pinkie taste test some cupcakes, flies with Rainbow Dash but falls asleep from the sugar crash, and has dinner at Applejack’s, where she uses Applejack's “time to hit the hay!” as an excuse to do so, on a literal bale of hay, which is uncomfortable but still beats the castle. Once her friends realise what she's doing, they plot to discreetly decorate the castle while she and Spike are visiting Celestia.
Quickly, they point out the flaws in everypony's additions. Applejack notes Rarity’s regal bedazzling would be uncomfortable. Fluttershy addresses Dash’s “ordered by rainbow color” library system, saying Twilight probably has a system already. Everypony winces at Pinkie’s fanfare hallway which blows confetti and horns when you step into it. As the arguments escalate, Rarity puts the place on magical lockdown until they're finished making the castle of her… Twilight's dreams!
Meanwhile, Twilight tries to get in as she forgot Celestia's gift. She busts in upon hearing the fighting. The others try to explain the mess and how they couldn't agree on a theme, but Twilight loves it, because the reminders of her friends make her feel more at home. The Mane 5 realise home is how a place makes you feel, not how it looks.
OUTLINE
This outline is super-close already. Many scenes are the same down to the beats and prototype dialogue, with only the most minor differences.
The outline starts on Twilight dragging Spike out of the castle so they can help Rarity, despite Spike enjoying playing with the echo (Twilight uses this to her advantage, as the echo "agrees" they should go). Later, she's desperate to stay at the Boutique until Rarity insists they'd be crossing to tacky to bedazzle the dresses further (also because Spike is eating too many gems, one for each gem he uses on a dress). We then get the scene helping Fluttershy, finishing after she gets Angel dirty, and then the Pinkie scene in real-time, with Twilight leaving the next day. The Mane 5 compare notes outside Sugarcube Corner, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash having different figures (Twilight digs up 400 new holes instead of 53, but she only races Rainbow 15 times).
Once they confront a dozing Twilight at her throne room, the episode is beat-for-beat the same, excepting Bulk Biceps' role being taken by a mare with an Arnold Schwarzenegger-like voice, until Twilight and Spike see the library ruin. Here, Spike doesn't get legit upset, only putting on waterworks when Twilight wants to leave. When they're testing beds later, Spike has a great racecar bed but insists on testing the others. As the Mane 5 sing the reprise, Rainbow Dash helps Applejack and Fluttershy move the roots. Finally, when Twilight sees the result, it's a trinket tree, rather than roots hanging from the ceiling. The episode ends with Twilight writing a journal entry, though she adds that Spike may not feel the same about home being about how it makes you feel, noting him in the corner with all his things, racer bed included. The use of a journal entry is not a big surprise: "The Cutie Map - Part 2" did the same, and this episode was written first. The season later decided to not reuse the journal motif.
Outside of a journal scene, and a longer first act showing us more of Twilight's castle-avoiding behaviour in the present, this is so close it's scary. Funny jokes not used include Twilight's suspicion at Spike's "post-massage walks!" excuse: "I read every pamphlet while you had your two-hour massage, and didn't see that anywhere." Or Rarity, noting Spike's gifts after he complains they did nothing: "You'll forgive us if we don't feel sorry for you." And thank goodness they reworked the library scene to have Spike properly sad. That manipulation was nasty.
[scripts continued below]
[continued from above]
DeleteSCRIPTS
There really isn't much here. This 1st script hews quite close to the outline, so all the major differences there carry over. That includes the protracted first act showing more "Twilight avoiding the castle" scenes (such that no scene in the first act actually matches the final episode, though some lines are shared) and Spike turning on the waterworks at the library ruin to further stall and getting a chariot bed (they realised a racer bed made little sense), the female Arnie massage pony, and a lot of the prototype dialogue that didn't match the final episode. Also, the trinket tree is swapped for the tree chandelier.
The scenes that already matched the final episode are reasonably accurate for a 1st draft already. Some adjustments include splitting Twilight's journal scene in two, with the first being the Mane 6 debating the lesson learnt comically, and the 2nd a brief coda of Twilight settling into bed while Spike is already fast asleep in his new bed. The opening echo scene is now about Twilight inventing excuses for her and Spike to leave, despite just getting home (there is a sweet moment where Twilight remarks that it doesn't feel like the old library, that something is missing, and Spike fetches books to scatter around the throne room, to which Twilight laughs, before using it as a new excuse to leave the castle). And, naturally, the song lyrics don't match the final episode yet, perfectly normal.
The remaining scripts follow the usual, expected process - the 2nd draft scraps all the main differences left over from the outline and 1st draft, getting quite close to the final episode, with some leftovers from earlier drafts that linger around. The following drafts do the usual small dialogue tweaks, and the final locked script adds or splits a few lines making the script slightly longer. Though the final script is only 29.61 pages, still on the short side! Just animatic cuts and tweaks left!
[animatic cuts below]
[continued from above]
DeleteANIMATIC & OTHER CHANGES
Other then the usual array of tiny invisible trims to some lines, this episode also cut, revised or added the following at the animatic stage:
* Fluttershy getting locked out wasn’t in the script, it was a storyboard addition. They spliced Fluttershy’s “Um, Angel?” from elsewhere, presumably, or got a pickup.
* After Twilight leaves Fluttershy’s cottage, she arrives at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie makes three hilariously wrong guesses as to how Twilight got dirty (the Pony of Ceremonies at a mud parade, she lacked a mudbrella when it was raining mud, and Twilight found a new insect called the mud-erfly that loves landing on her head). Twilight is disappointed Pinkie already has her pancake recipes, but latches onto “I have to decide which ones to serve” as an excuse to taste test. This was an easy cut, as the necessary information is in the next scene.
* When Applejack suggests they each remove one thing, Rainbow Dash remarks she got carried away, not needing two “Best Cloud Wrangler” trophies. Fluttershy says she didn’t need to bring two different squirrels.
* Aloe stepping through the door was originally played up as a “large shadow scares Spike given what massage he just ordered, but turns out to be a normal spa pony” gag, until Bulk Biceps comes through. The final episode removed the gag.
* When asked about the “walking post massage” excuse, Spike fibs that Bulk Biceps told him about while breaking - massaging, his back.
* Rarity’s mumbling after the ad break in the empty throne room (“Can't believe I let go of the portrait... If it had just been me...”) was improvised, as the script only said “Rarity paces to herself”. It’s quite common for scripts to have incidental dialogue we’re not meant to hear as vague directions like that.
* Twilight tries to call Spike out on testing more beds, only for him to lay it on thick to stall further: “Unless of course you don’t think I deserve something that makes the castle feel more like home.”
* There were no suggested reprise lyrics - it seems to be intended as a montage, since Rarity has some dialogue in the throne room as they finish the mystery decoration while the music is still up. Unusual, as there WERE reprise lyrics in earlier drafts.
* Rainbow Dash shows one memory ornament of when Twilight and Rainbow realised they were both Daring Do fans.
Rarely has animatic feedback been so minimal - one Standard and Practices concern that Pinkie Pie chokes on a large spoon comically, so the action is improbable, two “can you make this visually clearer?” requests, and one request from Meghan on a line of Pinkie’s not feeling right, with DHX saying a pickup should do it. It all fits on one page! Meghan McCarthy has more to say that Hasbro Studios. Expect more comments from her going forward, now she’s moved up the ranks at Hasbro - by this point, she was neck-deep in movie pre-production.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
While the Premise does read a bit rough, not quite knowing what direction to take the episode in, how to extend the conflict or what the end moral and result should be, it’s nothing that can’t be smoothed over. By the outline, outside of a protracted first act, the episode was really accurate already, and other than the different chunks not vanishing until the 2nd script, there really isn’t much to note here - this is easily the least eventful episode in Production Changes since “Trade Ya!”, seven episodes and 358 days prior. Once we discount early cases of still writing journal entries and the “Guardians of Harmony” term tossed around early in Season 5 development, the most interesting thing here is reworking the library ruin scene so Spike was actually sad and Twilight offered him something himself, rather than Spike turning on the waterworks. That would have been nasty to watch!
Only 2.5 comments! Getting shorter.
This episode is… fine. I'll have plenty of space going forward to discuss how Season 5 is a transitional season beyond the obvious reasons, but some of that must come up now. You mention how this episode captured the smaller, domestic, more homespun feel of the early seasons, while remaining true to where the characters are now. This is both the episode's great strength, and ultimately its (relative) undoing.
ReplyDeleteUnlike many, I am onboard with the idea of a season's 3rd episode being a wind-down after an opening of greater scale. In tone and atmosphere, this episode captures that well, and it is cozy and gentle, like a pair of well-worn loafers. Smile-inducing gags and lines abound with decent success, and Twilight's subdued grief is quite touching in its own little bubble.
Sadly, the episode's positives, being simple, don't merit more discussion. The flaws really boil down to two things for me. The first is how unflattering the Mane 5 look for their self-absorbed approaches. I get what the writers and staff were trying to go for (invoking their own styles to remind Twilight of her friends), but that never left the writers' heads, and in the script and episode, its just projecting their own tastes rather selfishly. Even if the episode calls out the characters for this. It's another way the episode foreshadows the Season 6-9 era, where this kind of "characterisation/character decisions that might have fit the Mane 7 early on" thing was rampant. Had the episode made the Mane 5 honestly think their own styles would remind Twilight of her friends, only to find during the song that it didn't work in practise, it might have worked. Speaking of the song, there's another foreshadow - these days it reminds me of "It's Gonna Work", being quite a catchy number (albeit less so then that Bollywood-style number), underdone severely in context because of the message or how the singers are behaving.
The second, more severe problem, is the premise and scenario itself - it's weaksauce. Oh, there are lots of neat ideas in there: Twilight's subdued grief, avoiding her home, the Mane 5's eventual solution, and so on. But the episode is so saddled with basically bearing the brunt of the castle's "Buy Our Toys" introduction that it was always going to be an uphill battle. They got the boulder only about halfway up the hill. While the brief scene with the library ruin is handled well, it only serves to further underscore "…so why don't you just repair it?" Add to that a frustrating lack of communication (mild with Twilight early on, severe with the Mane 5 later), and you have an episode that's watchable, committed to its goals, and perfectly enjoyable and serviceable to watch. Yet one that doesn't hold up to scrutiny once the episode is over.
It's interesting to look at this as the debut of the much-loved Lady Writers - looking back over their resumé, I was startled to realise it was less consistent then I remembered. Top-tier efforts like "Rarity Investigates!" and "The Perfect Apple" skew our memories ("A Royal Problem", you say? Next question), but those episodes have can't-miss scenarios. The rest? Well, "Top Bolt" is pretty great, and "Gauntlet of Fire" is a decent action episode. Most of the rest are either fine (this, "Hooffields and McColts"), wooden but have their moments ("Celestial Advice", "All Bottled Up"), and… whatever was going on with the Season 9 Premiere (though it's pretty clear the massive issues there aren't their fault).
Less well known is that they served as Story Editors for most of Season 7 (they left with four episodes to go), and… yeah, the best I can say about it at this stage is it's no S8/9. In the end, they're good at ideas but poor, if not necessarily bad, at handling a wide cast or big transitions - their best episodes and scenes/moments largely involve domestic things with only a few characters.
You are a bit of an outlier with "A Royal Problem", though. It's very popular, and as it happens it came up at the Worcester meet yesterday so (allowing for the small sample size) it's fairly clear it's retained that popularity. For myself? I'd watch it ahead of "Hooffields and McColts" without a shadow of a doubt.
DeleteI always felt this one was more draggy than anything, but your analysis feels true to form. This certainly was never a bad one!
ReplyDeleteIt did make me chuckle to read your comment here, then immediately be confronted with IN's post about why they don't like it! :P
DeleteTo be fair, my stance is more "eh" than "bad, bad, bad". I can watch it fine. It just doesn't do much for me personally.
DeleteEspecially coming off the two-parter, I find this episode lame. It's core problem is that it hangs its hat off a premise that isn't hugely compelling or convincing. As I said before, the destruction of the Library strikes me as a bad case of compromise wherein the staff clearly wanted to do something groundbreaking and shake up the status quo, but couldn't do anything genuinely impactful. Hence we end up with the show insisting that the library's blown up now and not coming back, the sole result of which is that Twilight now hangs around a shinier background. Woo.
ReplyDeleteI'm not even getting into the aesthetic problem I have with crystal, crystal everywhere. As much as Twilight's emotional motions are sold well in the moment, at the end of the day the context makes it look a bit silly to me. It's a place where the show's inability to do things too serious or grim works against it, in my eyes.
More obviously, it's contrived. A world-healing wave three episodes ago, all four princesses, and Discord (who seriously needs to start doing some community service right about now) apparently can't fix a burnt tree. Uh huh.
And with that hobbled starting point, pretty much the whole ep feels like a middling exercise in stretching time. Except they manage to make it worse by severely regressing the rest of the Main Six to pad out the middle, even though there were far neater ways to do the same thing without making them look inconsiderate and self-absorbed. They simply shouldn't be so dense in Season Five of this show.
Taking a step back and looking more broadly, we are in fact entering the transitional period between the first half of the show and the second half, during which pretty much everything from directors and story editors to individual writers gets replaced, from one consistent multi-season team to another. And for my money, the second half is a quality drop, with this as a (relatively mild) preview. As in (generalizing and simplifying a bit here, as there are exceptions): unconvincing core premise, main characters misbehaving, status quo shakeups that don't make sense, and an excessive reliance on breezy jokiness instead of actually taking itself serious (hence the "cartoon logic" approach).
In short... on your system, I'd rate this one a two-star ep. And not a high one, either. It's not the worst thing in the world - it is at least watchable - but I've seen the show do far better.
"It's core problem"
DeleteGoddamnit.
I only started doing Text Review Roundup in early S6, so I can't go back and check for sure, but I suspect you're well below average in how much you like this one. That's not a criticism, of course! But even those who have significant issues (eg Mike, above) would not, I think, generally put it as low as a mid-two-star rating.
DeleteHow well it compares with other S5 episodes, I suppose I'll see as we go through the season. But despite this coming straight after one of FiM's cast-iron great stories, I still enjoyed it a good deal. If it's a flaw that I don't cringe at the characterisation during (eg) the song here, then so be it, it's a flaw. And as for the Castle? While the Tree is still better, I just can't get worked up about the Castle any more. So yes, unashamedly, I like this. Still.
Late to the party and so most of what I'd have said has already been covered, but I will add that the visual gag at the end of the song - the reveal that they've been working about two feet away from each other in the same room, like the split screen joke with the three tribes planting their flags back in season 2 - is still splendid.
ReplyDeleteAt the time I didn't have a problem with the library being irreparably destroyed,and salvaging the roots felt like a nice touch even if the memory medallion thing never really worked. I remember us (me and my family, I mean) expecting this to end with them all deciding to move in with Twilight, solving the biggest problem with the castle (it being huge and, as far as we'd seen, empty); that wouldn't really change until Starlight moved in.
Ah yes, I'm sure everyone in the comments here will agree on the merits or otherwise of S6 Starlight... ;)
Delete