 |
| "You know, Scootaloo, I don't know if relying on the Grimm version is such a good idea." |
S7E08: "Hard to Say Anything"
My original rating: ★★
IMDb score: 7.2
Thoughts: To repeat the last section, this – Becky Wangberg's only FiM episode – is also the one with Feather Bieber Bangs. More significantly, though we didn't know that at the time, it's the start of the SugarMac relationship that would eventually lead to marriage. Big Mac trying to kiss the sleeping Sugar Belle didn't go down well with everyone, but otherwise this ep is more entertaining than I remembered. There are some fun one-liners from the CMC, and Feather Bangs himself eventually turns out to have a better side. Decent song, too. The, well, groupies joke is overused, though, and most importantly the central ship is just "these two are in love, okay?" which irritates me. It's like an "and then romance happened because shipping, 'kay?" fic, and I'm not desperately keen on those either. That's what keeps an otherwise potentially three-star episode down in the high twos.
Choice quote: Sweetie Belle: "Hey! That's our metaphorical sunset they're riding off into!"
New rating: ★★
Next
on the list is "Honest Apple", an episode which isn't very popular but which a small slice of the fandom really likes. I was fairly positive about it first time around, but by no means ecstatic.
there are few episodes filled with more cringe than this one x_x
ReplyDeleteI think I had built the cringe in this up to such high levels over the years that upon finally rewatching it, it didn't turn out to be as bad as all that. Feather Bangs' moment of shyness at the end isn't nothing, the song shows is reasonable and lifted by Daniel Ingram's inability to do even an in-universe cheesy song on autopilot, the CMCs do have some fun lines around the place. And she already existed before, but for what it's worth, I do appreciate having a focused unicorn that isn't a mage or otherwise highly proficient in some advanced field that uses their magic. Parts of it are amusing.
ReplyDeleteFor all that, it's still a rickety premise, taking what amounts to a crackship and making it canon just because. And this feels weirder knowing where the end result would end up, and honestly with not much more justification than here. Given "The Break-up Break-down" and "The Big Mac Question" mostly focus on comic shenanigans with Spike, Discord and the CMCs, and only have a short tender scene at the end to actually be about the ship. This episode doesn't even have that, and leaps right into both ponies liking each other but not speaking up, that laziest of fallbacks.
And yeah, the actual plot content, on top of feeling rather dated and awkward by 2017 (and I don't just mean the "kiss the sleeping maiden" bit), really just is inconsequential faffing about that relies on overdone moments to keep itself going (all those lovestruck animated hearts!). Or repeated moments, like the trio of groupies. And the CMC are in a weird position of feeling more like kids than the teens they have been leaning in the direction for a while, but largely just in the dumb enthusiasm department, and without a lot of the visor or energy (or Squeaky Belle).
Also, it's not as drastic as with "Forever Filly", but this is yet another Season Seven episode with a too-short script that had to compensate with protracted visual beats (and a song that, let's be honest, did not need to be 3+ minutes for the role it fulfils). From an oddball opening to a lot of long-held facial reactions of Big Mac, and the minute-plus scene with Feather Bangs and the CMCs at the end.
All in all, a little better then I remembered – this not only isn't the bottom episode thus far in Season Seven, it might not even be in the bottom two for me – but the broadstrokes remain true. Like "Newbie Dash" before it, cringe humour does not a good episode make, and while this doesn't stamp all over a seasons-long goal, it making up a new one from nowhere that would being honest, never be actually "earned" by the show going forward isn't much better.
Okay, you're right, Newbie Dash is significantly more cringe overall. The song is just execrable, but it's diluted somewhat by having all that episode around it. Plus, I went back and looked for my original review, and apparently I was really into the "leave romance to grownups, it's not like in fairy tales" moral!
DeleteNah, the song is fun. Massively cringe, but knowingly cringe, which is fine by me. :D
DeleteJust the memory of how cringy this episode was put me off of trying to rewatch it, so I looked up DWK's Totally Legit Recap instead, and the CMC calling Big Mac an idiot for listening to pre-teen girls for romantic advice is all you really need to know about this episode.
DeleteTotally Legit is my own entry in the "everyone in the fandom adores this, but it bounces off me" department. I'm just weird. :D
DeleteYet another that I barely remember beyond the basic premise and have felt no desire to revisit. I don't think I've seen it since it was new. My faint impression of it jives with yours, though: that it's a decent enough idea marred by mediocre execution.
ReplyDeleteEven odder is the retrospective effect this has on the season 5 premiere, where the "is your friendship ending? / we have: muffins" scene is now Applejack meeting her future sister in law! Crackshipping indeed.
ReplyDelete...you're right! :O
DeleteWell, this is going to be interesting.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how many people know this, but prior to this episode, I was keen on Big Macintosh being paired up with Fluttershy, but after this episode? Not anymore. In hindsight, two characters with similar personalities isn't exactly what I'd call interesting (though one could argue that Big Mac just isn't as talkative as Fluttershy is), and Sugar Belle bringing out the extrovert in Big Mac was something that I never thought would happen. He's honestly become one of the best side characters in the show, much less one that's male! (See Brotherhooves Social for context.)
As for this episode, I'm most likely of the minority opinion, but I like it; I think the humor is an acquired taste, but my personal favorite moment is when Big Mac says, "NO LOVE POTIONS!" Nice callback to season two. My least favorite, however, would have to be the song; it starts off decently, but then takes a nosedive once Feather Bangs' part comes in.
Speaking of which, personally, I feel like season seven was where the music was at its worst (with one exception) as it felt like the songs (even if there were only five) were done just to pad out the runtime. Yes, FiM isn't known for its music, but I can't really tell if Daniel Ingram was going through the motions or felt like he had to force something out (probably didn't help that he was working on The Movie at the time, and the music there was great). It's just... there.
I'm a little warmer towards the S7 songs than you are (they've grown on me tbh) but I do agree with your point about the S2 callback. It was nice, though it kind of draws attention to the point Mike made, that the CMC are behaving a little too much like their S2-era selves in places.
Delete