My Little Repeats 88: "Inspiration Manifestation"

I've got plans! And capes. As you will see, this post is going up a mere five days after the last one. That's deliberate; I'm hoping to get the rest of S4 done faster than I've been going up until now.

"Writing reviews is easy, I tell you. I can do anything!"

S4E23: "Inspiration Manifestation"
Written by Corey Powell & Meghan McCarthy
26 Apr 2014

My original rating: 7.5/10 (=★★★)
IMDb score: 8.2

The one with judgemental Owlowiscious

Thoughts: Honestly, my views on this episode haven't changed a lot over the years. I still find it a little bit of a plod, even though watching Rarity become ever more unhinged should be comedy gold. The puppeteer character is quite interesting (though his voice is really strange) but he just fades out of the story. The dark magic spellbook is quite a nice touch, though as with many of these things it's all a bit convenient. On the good side, this is another brilliant performance from Tabitha St. Germain, not quite matching "Simple Ways" but not far off. I also thought the moral was a decent one and – as alluded to in "The one with" – this episode used Owlowiscious quite effectively as a kind of external conscience for Spike. Funny ending too, with Spike's perhaps excessive honesty towards Twilight! On the whole, though, this is just decent for me. Still a three, but I'm nudging it down just a little bit from the very high three it got in 2014.

Choice quote: Rarity: "What does a bird know about architectural design?"

New rating: ★★★

Next up is "Equestria Games", an episode where I honestly have no clue how I'll react, since I've barely watched it for the last seven years.

My Little Repeats 75: "Rainbow Falls"

When she returns to earth after this, Derpy's eyes are derped the other way around

S4E10: "Rainbow Falls"
Written by Corey Powell
18 Jan 2014

My original rating: 7.5/10 (=★★★)
IMDb score: 6.7

The one with in-flight nosebags

Thoughts: Rainbow Dash's key episode has the second lowest IMDb average of any S4 ep. Deserved? Maybe not. I mean, it's not great, especially with the unimpressive amount of lying and deception going on from (apparently) Equestria's finest. Soarin' revealing that nopony had been by the hospital to visit him really hurt. And these days, the "Derpy!" effect is lower than it was – those later to the fandom will have to take my word for it that it was a huge deal at the time. There's also plenty of Fluttershy, which is rarely bad. I quite like the design of Rainbow Falls itself, too. Best other thing about this episode? Very possibly Twilight, who sees through what Rainbow is doing and makes it very clear to her what she thinks. (Her "choosing not to choose" line is gold.) She's really nicely characterised here, and to be fair I also like cheerleader Pinkie. It's just a shame the Wonderbolts and Rainbow are so annoying. Bulk Biceps first gets a canon on-screen name here, but he's a character I find rather meh so, well, meh. Which would probably be an objective assessment for this episode, and with it would go a two-star rating. I'm not objective, though, so I really had to think about it. In the end, yes, it's only a two. But it's high in that band and if Derpy's return was still quite as big a deal then it might still have shaded a three. It's not the second worst episode in S4, not in my book.

Choice quote: Bulk Biceps: "P is for Rainbow Dash!"

New rating: ★★

Next up is "Three's a Crowd", an episode that in 2014 I didn't rave about as much as some of the fandom. I suspect it'll remain in the "quite like" category, but time will tell.

My Little Repeats 63: "Just for Sidekicks"

Dash being cute is relatively rare but generally rather adorable

S3E11: "Just for Sidekicks"
Written by Corey Powell
26 Jan 2013

My original rating: 7/10 (=★★★)
IMDb score: 7.2

The one with balloon animal Rainbow Dash

Thoughts: Corey Powell gave us the sublime "Sleepless in Ponyville" on debut – but sadly lightning didn't strike twice. To be fair, this isn't the complete bore-fest I'd remembered it as being; I was convinced that I'd find my 2013 review to be absurdly generous now, but that wasn't really the case. It's actually one of Spike's best showings from the first half of FiM, not that that's saying a great deal. As far as the pets go, this is a good outing for Angel, and Powell nicely balances his annoying and cute sides, rather than just representing him as an unmitigated horror as (too) much of the fandom tends to. The CMC play a pretty nice supporting role, especially with their unauthorised (and very brief!) trip to the Crystal Empire. I can't say I'm massively enthralled by this episode, partly because the pets themselves aren't all that interesting, Angel again apart. Some oddities, too: why wasn't Spike invited to the Equestria Games thing? (He does get a somewhat painful star turn there next season, of course.) And how come it's Rarity's jewel that Spike chooses as the first one to give away? Still, I mentioned in 2013 the amusement value of having a scratchy relationship between Spike and Angel. I can't believe that was coincidence. Also, Fluttershy had that huge emerald, which I recall prompted minor discussion about where she actually gets her funds from – never really answered in canon, though fanfiction has had a few goes. So yes, I'm going to let this one keep its three-star rating. It's not that high in that band, but I'll admit it was a bit more entertaining than I had expected.

Choice quote: Rainbow: "You only want to get hit in the head by a flying turtle once."[Tortoise! –Ed.]

New rating: ★★★

Next up is "Games Ponies Play", which takes place at the same time as this episode but which I remember almost nothing about. It really is that forgettable, and despite my decent experience this time I don't have especially high hopes that this will change.

My Little Repeats 58: "Sleepless in Ponyville"

Lighting effects really do help the atmosphere of this episode

S3E06: "Sleepless in Ponyville"
Written by Corey Powell
1 Dec 2012

My original rating: 9/10 (=★★★★★)
IMDb score: 8.7

The one with sleep-scootering

Thoughts: Well, here we are: the first episode I ever reviewed for this blog! Back then I called it "a flawed classic, but one in which the flaws didn't hurt it much at all", and I stick by that. I'd change a few details, for example the "flight" at Winsome Falls would be my closing scene, but not much significant. I love Applejack in this episode – she clearly knows what's going on with Scootaloo, but she doesn't want to embarrass her by saying so openly. I'd forgotten how long it takes for Luna to show up at all; this is her first dreamwalking episode, so it's very significant lore-wise. Rarity is perhaps not at her best in terms of her treatment of Sweetie Belle, but I have to admit she's immensely entertaining to watch. Rainbow I didn't mind so much, as I felt her slight emotional insensitivity worked here while Scoot was trying way, way too hard to impress her idol. Besides, Dash showed another side to her character – when nopony else was looking! – at the end, in a heart-melting scene that I unashamedly adore to this day. Objectively, this is probably a four-star episode: very good, but not perfect. But you know what? I'm not going to be objective. I love "Sleepless in Ponyville", and it's a major reason Scootaloo is my favourite CMC and second favourite character overall. Corey Powell went on to write a few more eps, but as we'll see none of them could touch her remarkable debut here. This episode remains, seven years on, a five-star gold slice of Pony for me.

Choice quote: Scootaloo: "Here, branches branches branches..."

New rating: ★★★★★

Next up is "Wonderbolts Academy", which I quite liked but which I know some people find really irritating. I'll be interested to see what I make of the first appearance of Abrasive Spitfire.

Episode review: "Inspiration Manifestation" (S4E23)

TV-Y shows are "not expected to frighten younger children". Clearly terrifying adults is fine

We're now getting very close to the end of Season 4 now, and what a ride this latest season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has been! For this episode, we see another writing collaboration, this time between Corey Powell and showrunner Meghan McCarthy. Both these women have come up with some classics over the years, so I had high hopes for this episode. Did it live up to expectations? You know what to do by now: read on and find out!

Episode review: "Rainbow Falls" (S4E10)

Technically it's a spoiler. But nobody in the entire fandom missed it!

It hardly seems like yesterday that Season 4 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic began, and here we are moving into double figures! Episode 10 was written by Corey Powell, who debuted with the classic "Sleepless in Ponyville" and went on to write the pretty decent "Just for Sidekicks" later in Season 3. This is her first appearance since then, and given the title we had a fair idea who would be at the centre of attention. After the break, I'll give you lucky people some more of my thoughts.

Just watched "Sleepless in Ponyville" again

No, I know this isn't a proper post, but it does at least stop there being a long gap with nothing! All I'll say here is that I've just watched that episode, and every time I see it, it gets better. It is by far the best ep of S3 for me, and it may well be in my top four or five overall. Corey Powell did a stupendous job with this one, and I'm sure it will be seen as a classic episode when we look back long after the Friendship is Magic days are over.

"Sleepless in Ponyville" was actually the first ep I reviewed here, and I gave it 9/10. I'm actually tempted to say that I did it a disservice. It may not quite be a 10 — though even that is arguable — but I think it's probably a 9.5. It certainly shines like a beacon in the very up-and-down S3, and I just hope there'll be some eps in S4 that measure up. I really can't praise it enough. It's a work of wonder.

Review: "Just for Sidekicks" (S3E11)

Spike — airborne without Rarity being present!

This weekend's Friendship is Magic episode was written by Corey Powell, who surprised a lot of people with her ability to turn a seemingly unpromising setup into a great story with her debut episode, "Sleepless in Ponyville". The setup for "Just for Sidekicks" also looked rather filler-ish, but could Powell make it a double and repeat her earlier triumph? As ever, join me after the jump to find out the answer!

Review: "Sleepless in Ponyville" (S3E06)

Scootaloo's gonna scoot

Now that was a surprise! After last week's action-packed Trixiefest, which I have to say I didn't like quite as much as a lot of people, "Sleepless in Ponyville" took us in an entirely different direction. Writer Corey Powell is new to Friendship is Magic, and she gave us something which in some ways wouldn't have felt out of place way back in season 1. It was certainly an unusual episode by current standards, but was it an effective one? This review is a lot longer than some of them will be, so be warned if you click on the jump!