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| Rarity may actually look more concerning than Rainbow here... |
My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 8.6
The one with geeseThoughts: The 200th episode of FiM was a great success at the time. Even Ghost Mike loved it, which is pretty rare for this late in the series. Certainly it's a good deal better than a lot of eps in Seasons 8 and 9, even if it can't match the utter hilarity of the 100th episode. "Sparkle's Seven" does well by the titular group of friends, it's solidly paced and it looks great. I particularly note its good dialogue, too: this isn't always the later show's strongest suit. I still don't much like the meme faces (Dr Ian Malcolm applies) and the Sibling Supreme stuff was a tiny bit forced, even if it did a job. The floor trap was somewhat mean-spirited, but it did give us that lovely (if short) Fluttershy and Spike chat. Zephyr was funny in his appalling way. But this ep was just nice, as well as being one of Spike's best episodes. I'm probably being overly generous here, but I'm just about letting "Sparkle's Seven" keep its four.
Choice quote: Spike: "You've been practising that speech, haven't you?"
New rating: ★★★★
Next up will be "The Point of No Return". Again, I don't care what Wikipedia says on the matter, that is not episode 200, but ep 201. I wasn't particularly impressed by it back in 2019, but I'll go in with the usual open mind.
I will never forgive this episode for giving Zephyr goddamn Breeze the best moment in it XD
ReplyDeleteEven Ghost Mike loved it, which is pretty rare for this late in the series.
ReplyDeleteTechnically correct, though less rare on initial watch. Looking back through my ratings and quotes from Text Review Roundup, while there's few that I loved, there's plenty I gave positive or at least mixed reception to that I turned on basically instantly. Sadly, this is one of those, though by starting much higher than the rest, it can afford to fall further.
A lot of the problems come from its connection to the season storyline. The defences are so comical and laughably incompetent (but played straight), that had this been a standalone episode about wanting to test out the castle's defences (which, as a milestone "celebrate a key facet of the show" episode, it really should have been), it would have been semi-buyable. Instead, as a reaction to Sombra's return, after numerous villains in seasons past prompted nothing, while the Princesses are retiring, it's audacious. Oh, and said defences are trivially bested by the Legion in the background half a season down the line. Couple that with the guards being distracted by the ones they know to be trying to break in several times, and the characters just allowed to wander around the grounds, and any dramatic basis on plot falls apart here.
Setting that aside (and it is a constant thorn, I just don't want to repeat that it is so), it's interesting to look at the ideas the voice actors wanted for their characters, and what that says about their relationship to them. Even setting aside my bias, that Cathy Wesluck was the only one who wanted something based in character, rather then plot or comedy, says a lot about her relation to the character. Most of the rest go for choices that show, as voice actors, they most value getting to do funny things with their characters.
Tabitha wanting a heist at least hits the right mix of funny and in-character and a plot gear, no wonder it was made the main spine. I remember being disappointed initially by Andrea's requests ("Fluttershy as a spy" runs into the wall that she's been played against her timid type so long by now for it to really delight anymore), but sending Pinkie to space could only work as a vignette if it didn't get the whole episode. They work, they're just a bit diluted. And hey, alt-art style sequence, can't fault that.
Rainbow's plot is funnier then I recalled, even if it requires a regression of Zephyr's character (also, for a story all about sibling relationships, maddening they bring him back and never have him onscreen with Fluttershy, even if she mentions him – had Zephyr and Rainbow's bit being in a flashback, it would have freed up screen time and fixed his regression), while Applejack's nonsensical "country singer" bit, more bizarre-bizarre then funny-bizarre, shows what she sees as the main value for AJ. So mixed, kinda-sloppy bag for Ashleigh.
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DeleteSadly, I think it's Tara Strong's that the worst idea, rather going against Twi's character (everyone else understood their character better or at least no worse than the current writers). Despite the dialogue, the Sibling Supreme competition seems rather unfriendly, and she even holds a grudge over it. And Shining is made rather nastier as a result. It's not any worse character regression or changing to suit the plot than most episodes round this time, but the source means it rather hurts. Better writers could have pulled it off, but we got stuck with Josh Haber and Nicole Dubuc. And it's too core to the plot to really get around. Tbh, it made the early going, up until the Mane 5 get involved, rather a rough sit.
When we actually get to the heist territory, it is fun, once you make compromises for the overstuffed and assembled-by-committee nature of it, and that it won't be a "Rarity Investigates!" And I might complain about Twilight's part being wrong-headed, but it is awfully nice and satisfying to have a Mane 7 adventure episode actually evenly distributed among the cast again, after so many that were "Twilight and co.", often with twice the length. It gives it a zippy pace, allows for characters and elements to come in for good use and without being overplayed (Maud's cameo, Rarity undercover as a guard), and just brings a general satisfying giddiness to it, even if being truly funny never seems to be on the table. The general script construction and logical premise is too haphazard for it to really wow, but I concede the point: give yourself over to the spectacle, and it's an enjoyable one.
And in many ways, both the best and worst are last: Luna's part betrays the terrible writing for the royal sisters we now get that will soon result in one of the show's worst episodes, but Spike's part comes to a satisfying character climax. Watched again, it's a bit clunky and forced in the final stretch, but by paying off an existing character dynamic and coming from an earnest spot, it comes by genuine resonance. Even were it not oh-so important to me personally, I'd have to value that. Too rickety to be an episode I love, or being honest, even a good one. But it is a good, fun watching experience, and that would count in any season, even if it counts for a lot more here. Plus, except for the large flaws the seasonal arc tying brings to it, it's not unworthy as a milestone celebration, nor of the voice actors.
Oof, those meme faces, though. Being five months since I last watched one of those, I forgot how quickly prevalent they got in the show's home stretch. These are gonna be rough for the S9 episodes I watch as you keep going…
A lot of people may love this episode, but I never did. Even in 2019, the plot was way too disjointed for me to even enjoy. It felt like the gimmicks took priority over telling a story, and maybe if Cathy Weseluck's idea for Spike had been the actual main focus, it would've been fine. Tara Strong's idea for Twilight, however, was the worst, and it completely contradicts the first song from A Canterlot Wedding ("We never had a single fight"), which is already a red flag. But then again, this is Season 9, and that's far from the biggest offender.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this episode felt like the point where the contractors - sorry, I mean writers - pretty much gave up on Season 9 and decided to throw random stuff at the wall and decided to work with what stuck. This season already had a rocky start to begin with, but this is where Season 9 really begins to struggle standing up on its hooves again.
So yeah, Sparkle's Seven, for a celebratory episode, is all flash and no bang, and the ending will never change that for me.
It was a bit of a choppy episode, but I thought the individual pieces worked well, and as a whole, it was a lot of fun. Definitely one of the better late-season offerings. I did like villainous Luna stroking the sidekick bird a lot, and Spike actually gets to win for once! That alone is a huge point in its favor. I like when shows pair off characters in unusual combinations like this and let them bounce off each other. As you say, it led to nice moments between Spike and Fluttershy, but it also felt organic, as there was an utterly plausible reason for Rarity and Dash to be together. A high point of the season for me.
ReplyDeleteI haven't rewatched it, but a four-star rating seems about right to me. Ensemble episode where Spike gets a win, and if I'm remembering correctly, lots of bits that had me grinning. Can't ask for much more than that, particularly of a S9 ep.
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