My Little Repeats 207: "She's All Yak"

Spike, you're getting very big-headed

S9E07: "She's All Yak"

11 May 2019

My original rating: ★★

IMDb score: 7.0

The one with sprouts

Thoughts: Looking back, people had very mixed reactions to this episode, but I came down on the more negative side and still do. The YonaBar (friend)ship comes out of nowhere, but it's fine in itself, while the American pronunciation of "fete" merely needs getting used to. A bigger problem is that the whole "fitting right in" thing involves a yak being told she needs to be more, well, pony despite the whole point of the renamed Amity Ball being to include other creatures. This is pretty uncomfortable stuff, all the more for this show, and Rarity written as supporting it is deeply disappointing. It's a relief that the moral returns to not trying to be something you aren't. The song is rather dull and uninteresting to the extent I've already forgotten it again. A few amusing moments, such as Spike's DJ act, but very predictable stuff and I can't see a reason to change the two-star rating.

Choice quote: Rarity: "By Celestia, I think she's got it."

New rating: ★★

Next up will be "Frenemies"! This episode was widely seen as a highlight of S9 back in 2019, but will it hold up now that we know how the storyline ends? We'll see!

My Little Repeats 206: "Common Ground"

"Hay! We need those baskets for our game!"

S9E06: "Common Ground"

4 May 2019

My original rating: ★★★

IMDb score: 7.6

The one with stats galore

Thoughts: Patton Oswalt returns as Quibble Pants, but in a rather surprisingly thoughtful (all the more so given it's a Josh Haber episode) and domestic way. Oswalt's real-life wife and daughter play similar roles here. The chronology is weird: Wind Sprint's dad (whose fate is never revealed) "was a great [buckball] player", yet buckball has only been around for about ten minutes. Clear Sky is the voice of reason here, though less dull than that might make her sound. Everything's a bit predictable, but it's often sweet and generally holds the interest fairly well. Also, it's nice to have a family that isn't quite the kids-cartoon-standard nuclear one. Snips and Snails were amusing. Wind's VA is not a pro, but for once it works. I think this keeps its three.

Choice quote: Quibble Pants: "I'm not even 100% sure what bucking is."

New rating: ★★★

After this will come "She's All Yak", which I cannot say I adored the first time around. I'll try to get that done soon, because the episode after that is a different matter!

My Little Repeats 205: "The Point of No Return"

"Oh yes, I love giving out our residents' addresses to total strangers!"

S9E05: "The Point of No Return"

27 April 2019

My original rating: ★★★

IMDb score: 7.7

The one with the G1 Star Swirl figure

Thoughts: The highish IMDb rating for what Wikipedia – and basically nobody else – insists is the 200th episode of FiM does rather baffle me. It's not a total basket case, but I don't see how it can be said to be really good, even if it does open with a Derpy speaking role. Still, I'm sure someone out there loves it! The whole "Overdue!" thing is just a rehash of "Tardy!" from way back in "Lesson Zero", just not as smoothly executed. The episode is pretty much a one-joke affair, and not a particularly diverting one at that. Nice to see Moondancer again. Dusty Pages is probably the most entertaining character in the ep, and Twilight's sudden realisation about imperfection doesn't convince. Going down to two stars, I'm afraid!

Choice quote: Spike: "You realise that [smelling books] might be a you thing?"

New rating: ★★

Next on the list is "Common Ground". This episode has a reasonable reputation with friends who've seen it, and I recall finding it fairly good, although not amazing. We'll see whether I still do.

My Little Repeats 204: "Sparkle's Seven"

Rarity may actually look more concerning than Rainbow here...

S9E04: "Sparkle's Seven"

20 April 2019

My original rating: ★★★★

IMDb score: 8.6

The one with geese

Thoughts: 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.

My Little Repeats 203: "Uprooted"

Admittedly Terramar here looks to be growing out of his mum's head – but hay, seaponies, right?

S9E03: "Uprooted"

13 April 2019

My original rating: ★★★ (just)

IMDb score: 6.7

The one with sapling headphones

Thoughts: The students were frequently the highlight of Season 8, but I didn't get that from this episode. After the intro recalling "What Lies Beneath" (oh joy, more cruelty towards Gallus) I felt Nicole Dubuc's ep was often slow and felt stretched to fill its 22 minutes, and some of the conflict felt forced. I'm still not sure how I feel about the "New Tree" being canonically seen in the G5 film! The permission slip montage is overlong and fairly dull, though it was nice to see Terramar again for a few moments. The song was okay but not much more, and the visuals were fairly nice but not amazing. A few good lines, but not enough. All in all, a bit of a re-run of "Castle Sweet Castle" from S5, but not as good. This is being nudged down to a two-star rating.

Choice quote: Silverstream: "It's impressionism!"

New rating: ★★

Next up will be "Sparkle's Seven", which I am going to count as the 200th episode whatever Wikipedia says. It was definitely promoted as such at the time, so calling it 199 out of an arbitrary decision not to count "Best Gift Ever" can get in the sea. I quite liked the ep in 2019.

My Little Repeats 202: "The Beginning of the End, part 2"

Real artists' "bad" drawings are always much too good!

S9E02: "The Beginning of the End, part 2"

6 April 2019

My original rating: ★★★★ (for both parts)

IMDb score: 8.7

The one with extreme forestry

Thoughts: The IMDb scores for this are quite something. Yes, I know they're not exactly reliable, but they're not nothing either. Plenty of people genuinely loved this episode, and I really liked it at the time. Rainbow is upset by the idea of Spike and Starlight being under Sombra's spell, but omits a certain other orange character beginning with S. Starswirl (hay, another one!) produces lore about Everfree out of nowhere; handy. Discord turns up from nowhere – well, maybe – and throws himself in front of Fluttershy as Sombra fires at her. At the time it was quite an affecting moment when it appeared Discord had no magic, though it didn't make much sense even before he admitted the truth that he'd lose to a straightforward OP unicorn. Sombra just standing around while Discord monologues is a bit eye-rolling too. The final Legion of Doom scene is quite fun, but again lessened by what we now know about Grogar. This one's also being bumped down to a three, but a lesser three than the first part.

Choice quote: Rarity: "Show me the muddy!"

New rating: ★★★

Next up will be "Uprooted", which I found underwhelming in 2019 despite its Student Six focus. It scraped a three. Will it maintain that in 2026? Only one way to find out...

My Little Repeats 201: "The Beginning of the End, part 1"

"It was North Star, you fools, not Gusty!"

S9E01: "The Beginning of the End, part 1"

6 April 2019

My original rating: ★★★★ (for both parts)

IMDb score: 8.6

The one with Protectors of Equestria!

Thoughts: And we're back! As, indeed are the Lady Writers, in a very welcome reprise. Celestia and Luna spring their retirement on the Manes. Rainbow rather bluntly reminds Twilight that the Princesses "almost never help". The Legion of Doom takes shape, though knowing now that Grogar is, well, not Grogar can't help but be disappointing. (His eyebrows may be the giveaway...) Sombra conquering the Crystal Empire is dark stuff, though. I loved seeing the Elements of Harmony again, and glad they got to have one last Rainbow of Light before being destroyed. I can't help but bump this down to a high three now I know Grogar was a fake-out, but it was still a solid start to the show's final season.

Choice quote: Twilight: "Twilighting? You... you made me a verb?"

New rating: ★★★

Next up, shockingly enough, will be "The Beginning of the End, part 2". I hope that news doesn't disappoint you too much. :P

My Little Repeats 200.5: the post-S8 shorts

Yes, this is just an excuse to post a pic featuring a hedgehog

Post-S8 FiM shorts

11 Dec 2019 to 26 Feb 2019

My original rating: N/A

IMDb score: N/A

The one(s) with Twilight's fear of ladybirds

Thoughts: At a suggestion from Ghost Mike, herewith a very brief look at the eight shorts that filled the S8-S9 hiatus. In order, we have: "Triple Pony Dare", which is fairly amusing but suffers a bit from shrill Pinkie. "The Great Escape Room", which is less fun and inventive than it ought to have been. "Mystery Voice", which is entertaining but relies on an out-of-nowhere AJ ability. "Rarity's Biggest Fan", which has the unicorn rather exploiting Spike. "Ail-icorn", which is silly but funny, with a worrying ending! "Teacher of the Month", which is full of Best Pony and so glorious almost by definition. "Starlight the Hypnotist", which doesn't do much beyond that sudden ladybird/bug fear. And "Sundae, Sundae, Sundae", which suits Pinkie better and has a cameo from Minty! Overall? At 2-3 minutes, they're quick fun, and although variable in quality they did keep the FiM train ticking over.

Choice quote: Fluttershy: "I don't know. Not even I speak sound effect."

New rating: ★★★ (just)

And now we really are finished with S8! Next time, it will be – quite literally – "The Beginning of the End". Or at least the first half of it...

My Little Repeats 200: "Spring Breakdown"

EqG Special: "Spring Breakdown"

30 Mar 2019

My original rating: ★★

IMDb score: 6.7

The one with Applejack being seasick a lot

Thoughts: I can put it off no longer. Herewith a thankfully short rewatch review of possibly the most tedious piece of animation ever released in the G4 era. For a start, Ragamuffin. Yes, I know we eventually found out his accent was a put-on, but my how we suffered before then. A potentially fun story about a storm and a tropical island and Equestria became an utter chore. Basically nothing happened for the first half, beyond Rainbow Dash being annoying, and then only little things happened for the second half. Trixie was amusing, the parrot was fun, and er... The ending might have been interesting, but we now know that it never went anywhere. It avoids a one-star rating simply because "All Good" is a pretty solid song. A huge disappointment from Nick Confalone.

Choice quote: Fluttershy: Is the sea monster okay in the story?

New rating: ★★ (just)

Ah, thank Celestia that's over. Next up, it's back to Friendship is Magic and the very last season of the show. "The Beginning of the End, part 1" will be the first rewatch in that sub-series, and I hope it won't be almost two months until I get there this time!

My Little Repeats 199: "Best Gift Ever"

I have absolutely no imagination today...

FiM Special: "Best Gift Ever"

27 Oct 2018

My original rating: ★★★★

IMDb score: 7.9

The one with Gummy's parachute

Thoughts: Wikipedia doesn't count this as part of Friendship is Magic proper – which is why it gives the total FiM episode count as 221, not 222 – but I do, and this is my blog, so there! Written by Mike Vogel, who handled seasonal fare so well with "A Hearth's Warming Tail", this is a warm-hearted, gently amusing slice of life piece. It largely keeps the fanservice unobtrusive, it provides a great guest character in Pistachio, and the Mane Six and Spike all get decent parts. Rainbow and Discord interacting properly for once was interesting. On the downside, Fluttershy is unimpressive until the last act, Derpy is portrayed as a little more slow-witted than I'd prefer, and Sparity is getting very tired by this point. Aurora, Bori and Alice were great, though, and the naming was genius. Add two good-but-not-stellar songs and pudding and the result is a low-stakes, low-demand piece of festive fun. Four stars may have been slightly generous, but a top-end three it can keep.

Choice quote: Prince Rutherford: "Is that good angle for optimal smashing?"

New rating: ★★★

Whenever I finally get my rump into gear and next write one of these, I won't immediately be starting on FiM Season 9. That's because a week before that premiered, we had an Equestria Girls special to watch. Which, I am sure you'll all be delighted to know, was "Spring Breakdown". So that's coming next. Sorry!

My Little Repeats: Reflections on Season 8

Official FiM S8 trailer

The official Friendship is Magic season 8 trailer was, to be honest, not particularly fascinating. There was none of the experimentation of last season's "Fresh Princess of Friendship". Let's see how the season ranked overall. You can probably guess where S8 is going to place, but here's the list anyway:

1. Season 4: 3.42
2= Season 1: 3.38
2= Season 2: 3.38
4. Season 5: 3.27
5. Season 6: 3.23
6. Season 7: 2.96
7. Season 3: 2.92
8. Season 8: 2.65

I've said pretty much since this season first aired that it was comfortably my least favourite, and nothing seems to have changed that view. The main problem S8 had can be seen pretty starkly when you look at the star rating breakdown by episode, which you'll see beyond the page break.

My Little Repeats 198: "School Raze, part 2"

"Let me be crystal clear: Real Pony Fanfic about me is not permitted in this school!"

S8E26: "School Raze, part 2"

13 Oct 2018

My original rating: ★★★★ (for both parts)

IMDb score: 8.3

The one with Mane Six marionettes

Thoughts: This final episode of Season 8 is certainly packed with stuff, and that's really its main problem: it's too packed with stuff. We have Cozy Glow, Neighsay's sudden change of heart, the CMC's semi-comedic diversion, Starlight stuck in that magical prison until she isn't, the Young Six saving the day, Celestia asking for trouble at the end, a lengthy diversion to Tartarus, Tirek playing his own part... it goes on and on. I actually did still enjoy most of it. The students in particular are great and almost deserve that graduation they don't get, though I'll never stop finding "Land of Hope and Glory" disorientating in a US-style school. Cozy's manipulation is interesting on and off, though as with so much else the knowledge that we never do get a backstory grates here too. Overall? Half as much stuff given twice as much time could have made this a classic. As it is, it's fun but not amazing. So as with part 1, down it goes from four to three stars.

Choice quote: Spike: "Um... there's seven of us."

New rating: ★★★

And at last it's the end of the penultimate season of Friendship is Magic! If your memory stretches back far enough, you'll recall that after each season I do a recap post. I'll be doing the same again this time around – including the all-important average score. (If you've worked that out for yourself already, please don't spoil me!) Then of course we'll be on the home straight.

My Little Repeats 197: "School Raze, part 1"

The interior layout of Tartarus leaves something to be desired...

S8E25: "School Raze, part 1"

13 Oct 2018

My original rating: ★★★★ (for both parts)

IMDb score: 8.2

The one with crosswords

Thoughts: I really liked this finale (as a whole) on first watch, but I said in my 2018 review that "I suspect that it might not age terribly well once a cooler, more critical eye is turned upon it". Well, that was partly right. The fact that we never got a proper explanation for Cozy Glow is a big problem, and it diminishes her otherwise fun evil monologuing. There are questions elsewhere, too: why is Tirek getting letters in Tartarus? Why this incredibly convenient skeleton key artefact thing? On the plus side, Sandbar is finally about to have his day in the sun – and it's already clear in this episode that his "change of heart" to Neighsay is a ruse. The students are a real unit by now. So, a mixed bag, really. I still enjoyed it, but it did indeed have more issues than it used to. Three stars feels about right – remember, I'm not rating part two until next time.

Choice quote: Sandbar: "Sorry, I ran out of apples."

New rating: ★★★

Next time, of course, is "School Raze, part 2" – the end of the journey as far as Season 8 is concerned. A little while after that, I shall do the usual post-season summary and see where S8 stands in my overall rankings.

My Little Repeats 196: "Father Knows Beast"

"Remember those pancakes? Well, I've gone a whole lot better!"

S8E24: "Father Knows Beast"

6 Oct 2018

My original rating: ★★★

IMDb score: 5.6

The one with stone-skimming Smolder

Thoughts: Here's something that may surprise you: the text-based reviewers largely liked this episode on release. A major exception was DrakeyC, who despised it. My view was once middling – yep, I gave this three stars in 2018 – but has since moved towards his. I still don't hate all of it. Smolder is good value, for one; and the song is vaguely okay, if a long way from amazing. But I've become much more negative on Sludge himself. I originally saw him as a bit of a "lovable rogue" character, but not now. He's a one-dimensional, tedious slob. Zephyr Breeze had considerably more about him, and that's saying something. The script is dull. The Mane Six ask all the right questions about Sludge's story – then just... stop asking. Spike is absurdly gullible, then he deeply hurts Twilight and doesn't seem to mind – nah, not having that. There's a deeply tedious adult joke that isn't even consistent within this episode. It's all just so bloody superficial for such a potentially emotionally rich subject. To borrow a phrase I use in ponyfic reviews, this is a top-end one.

Choice quote: Spike: "You know how I get when I'm in the embroidery zone."

New rating: ★

The next episode is "School Raze, part 1". The S8 finale is one of the more divisive, with reactions running the gamut from delighted to seriously unimpressed. I liked it at the time, but S8's rewatch experience has often had me lowering my ratings from 2018. This one might as well, but as ever we shall see.

My Little Repeats 195: "Sounds of Silence"

At this point, the Phantom's outfit parts to reveal... Pinkie Pie

S8E23: "Sounds of Silence"

29 Sep 2018

My original rating: ★★★★

IMDb score: 9.1

The one with sudoku

Thoughts: Kirin time! Now, to me kirin are a bit like Luna. (Stay with me on this.) I like them, but I don't share the utter adulation for them that half the fandom seems to. Fortunately, their big episode here – Gregory Bonsignore's only FiM writing credit – is a good one. The kirin/nirik¹ have an interesting concept and design. Applejack and Fluttershy make a good Map team, though Twilight's excitement about their being the first repeat Map team is never followed up. Autumn Blaze (voiced by Rachel Bloom) is a nice character and her song is plenty of fun. The moral is surprisingly solid for this late in the show's run. The crazy ticket office clerk is amusing. Downsides: Flutters insisting the kirin needed to be eternally silent isn't great. The plot is a tad predictable, and the story itself is actually not that packed with action. But I enjoyed the watch a lot. I think, as with "What Lies Beneath", it still just about scrapes a four. But no, I'm still not obsessed with kirin. Sorry!
¹ Fans often give the plural form as "nirik" too, but in the episode both that and "niriks" are used, more than once each. 

Choice quote: Twilight: "Sorry, Fluttershy – flanks don't lie." [Cringey, but funny with it.]

New rating:★★★★

The next episode is "Father Knows Beast" – and if I give that four stars, scraped or otherwise, you can probably safely assume that Logan has been quietly replaced by... dunno, really. But by something. From here, it's definitely a "get this one out of the way" episode. But I will give it a fair chance!

My Little Repeats 194: "What Lies Beneath"

"You really wouldn't like to be a tree, whatever Professor Fluttershy says."

S8E22: "What Lies Beneath"

22 Sep 2018

My original rating: ★★★★

IMDb score: 8.3

The one with plumbing diagrams

Thoughts: Not everyone agrees with me on this, but I generally find Mike Vogel to be among the most reliable writers of the later seasons of Friendship is Magic. He largely hits the mark again with "What Lies Beneath", an episode which was extremely popular at the time and which prompted a lot of discussion at the time and probably only faded a bit because of its misfortune in being immediately followed by "Sounds of Silence" and the fandom's kirin obsession. "What Lies Beneath" shows us that the Tree of Harmony is a complete sociopath very powerful indeed, scarily so really. As has often been noted, Smolder faces the terror of being cute at tea parties, while Gallus faces the terror of being crushed to death by rocks. Silverstream and Ocellus's past traumas are more directly addressed than ever before (or since) – though "tell[ing] him exactly what you think of him" prooobably wouldn't defeat the real Storm King. Yona is cute as ever and commands a mighty spider army. Sandbar... well, he's a bit dense, but quite appealing anyway. Cozy Glow's manipulative behaviour is considerably creepier from a post-S9 viewpoint. The (other) students support each other, and that I was very pleased with. In 2018, I thought this was four/five-star boundary. I no longer think it's that good, but it's still highly watchable, even if the Tree is weird. (Mind you, it's not a pony, so why should it think like one...?) Take a star off and it becomes a top-end three, but I'm going to creep it over the line to a low-end four. The students' character moments, their care and compassion for each other, is what does that.

Choice quote: Cozy Glow, to the non-pony students: "Golly, it's so inspiring how relaxed you all are about studying friendship, considering your disadvantage." [Creepy in 2018. Even more so in 2025.]

New rating:★★★★

Next time, it is of course "Sounds of Silence". I am not someone who thinks kirin are the greatest things since sliced bread, so don't expect me to rave on and give it an easy five-star rating. It does have a reasonable amount of Fluttershy in it, however, which is rarely a bad thing. We shall see!

My Little Repeats 193: "A Rockhoof and a Hard Place"

"I am never known to quail at the fury of a gale..."

S8E21: "A Rockhoof and a Hard Place"

15 Sep 2018

My original rating: ★★★
IMDb score: 7.4

The one with surfer Pinkie

Thoughts: A clunky pun for the episode title. This was the second of three writing credits for Kaita Mpambara, who began with the amusing "Horse Play" earlier in S8. This is one of those frustrating episodes that has a solid, interesting idea – that Rockhoof finds it harder to adapt to the modern world than the other Pillars – but doesn't always quite get the execution right. That shows up particularly from the end of the second act, when Rockhoof asks to be turned to a statue. This should be an extraordinarily powerful scene – it's not quite suicidal, but it's close for a TV-Y show – but the gravity of it doesn't quite hit home. The episode's pacing is uneven, too, with the section featuring the other Pillars dragging. Bits and pieces: it's a bit much Twilight and Applejack telling Rockhoof off for being a hero when "what we need here is a teacher", given their own approach to their School of Friendship commitments! AJ lampshading the weirdness of hippogriffs having ships is funny, but it doesn't really help!¹ I do like Yona a lot in this episode, and the students in general, really. The resolution of having Rockhoof appointed official storyteller also does seem fitting. I think it's probably right on the two/three border for me these days. I'm not that interested in the Pillars, but even with the issues I mention I think it's just about still a three.
¹ Though iisaw did suggest in 2018 that the ships might be for cargo (or cannons!)

Choice quote: Rockhoof: "I'm, uh, your new Theory and Defence of Friendship teacher."

New rating:★★★

Next time, it will be "What Lies Beneath". In some fans' eyes, this is a contender for the best episode of S8, although a certain even later ep tends to steal the limelight. I remember liking it a lot, although I had very mixed feelings about one particular scene, which I'll get to when the time comes.

My Little Repeats 192: "The Washouts"

The facial expressions are great in this ep: strong without being overdone

S8E20: "The Washouts"

8 Sep 2018

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 7.2

The one with the limited edition half-eaten tomato sandwich

Thoughts: Nick Confalone is usually a decent choice for a Cutie Mark Crusaders episode, in this case a Scootaloo special, and so it proves here. We have a clearly "rebellious teen" Scoots here, and it largely works. She's no longer obsessed with Rainbow Dash, and that's leaving Dash herself confused and somewhat bereft – obvious analogy of course, but again it largely works. Lightning Dust's part was apparently spoiled in 2018, but you could guess it was coming. It makes no sense that Scoot didn't know about Dusty, though, given "Parental Glideance". Mind you, Scootaloo was superbly animated in her "caught in the middle" role during Dash and Lightning's argument. And, of course, her "I... can't fly!" which was quite something for us fans at the time. Dusty's sidekicks, the Aussie (why?) Rolling Thunder and the well-named Short Fuse, are... mildly fun. Spitfire's rant was inspired by this SNL sketch, and SNL isn't an "everyone will get this" reference in the UK. Twilight, where's the, well, loyalty to Rainbow? And why are you waiting until Scootaloo is potentially going to die before acting? Sod personal responsibility for teenagers at that point. the episode again looks fantastic, with heaps of inventiveness in the stunt setups. A fun episode, but there are enough irritations that four stars was too high. One of those is being cut.

Choice quote: Rainbow Dash, to Twilight: "Please tell me you got that stuff so you could rip it up and throw it off a cliff."

New rating:★★★

Another decent score, and though not without its flaws this episode was enjoyable enough for me to feel good about having watched it again. Next up is "A Rockhoof and a Hard Place", an ep which may have a bit more to do. I'm not that interested in the Pillars on the whole

My Little Repeats 191: "Road to Friendship"

This is what I mean about the visuals. So many little details for a short scene.

S8E19: "Road to Friendship"

1 Sep 2018

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 7.9

The one with the world's longest-lasting cup of tea

Thoughts: With Pinkie's yovidaphone disaster behind us, here's a far more fondly remembered episode, and perhaps one of my favourites from Josh Haber's. Yes, it's StarTrix time! Well, not officially, but even Cadance in an admittedly slightly disconnected early scene openly notes Starlight and Trixie's chemistry together. They really are great together, even when they're bickering for days on end about carrots and juice. I enjoyed the snarkiness of their grumbling. The song is wonderful, and it's nice to see something inspired by a classic musical – reminiscent of the Sondheim homages of the early seasons. We now know "nine [seasons] at least" was indeed foreshadowing! Hoo'far was okay as a guest character, but his not being named in the episode seems bizarre: he's even "that pony from Saddle Arabia" after StarTrix have known him for ages. The pacing didn't quite keep up the snappiness that this kind of plot demands. Buuuuut I still had a lot of fun. Was some of that because I'd come off a short run of poor episodes? Well, yes. I won't deny that. Still, it both looked and sounded superb – all the little details in the inns we saw for only a second each, for example. We didn't see Saddle Arabia (the new animation would have been too expensive, according to Jim Miller) but still. Objectively "Road to Friendship" is probably a high three, but the happiness of really enjoying an episode again pushes it over the line. It can keep its four.

Choice quote: Trixie: "The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't chant."

New rating:★★★★

That's a bit more like it! If anything this ep has become more popular as the years have passed, perhaps partly since it's one of the last examples in FiM of the successful cementing of a team-up. Of course Starlight and Trixie had worked together before, but this was the ep that truly underlined how good their chemistry was. Anyway, next up is "The Washouts", which being a Scootaloo-heavy episode I naturally liked last time – although not without reservations.

My Little Repeats 190: "Yakity-Sax"

Well, this isn't disturbing at all...

S8E18: "Yakity-Sax"

25 Aug 2018 (previewed by Discovery Family 20 Jul 2018)

My original rating: ★★
IMDb score: 5.3

The one with randomly Irish Lily Daisy

Thoughts: This ep was not in fact hated by everyone from the start. But it had a negative reception overall, sometimes very negative – and if anything it's got worse over time. A few nice touches, such as AJ's callback to "Horse Play". The way Pinkamena gradually gets greyer and greyer. I quite like the Pinkie Pie Appreciation Party, too. But. But. Here we have Pinkie valuing a hobby we've never seen before over her friends. Twilight making a mess of wording the "you're bad at this". Pinkie deciding the best response is to run away to Yakyakistan, saying that without the yovidaphone her life has no meaning. The Manes being unutterably thick about how they need to talk to Maud. And the rotten cherry on the whole stinking mess of a cake, the appalling moral. "Sod everyone else, Pinkie, your personal obsession beats their welfare any day!" So: don't be honest with your friends when they're keeping a whole town awake, just encourage them to annoy everyone even more! Besides, there is a canon silence spell ("Amending Fences") which Twi doesn't even mention. Use that, for Celestia's sake! There's actually a fun episode somewhere in this basic premise. The teeny, tiny snag? This ain't it.

Choice quote: Pinkie Pie: "Those apple turnovers aren't gonna apple themselves!"

New rating: ★

And breathe. Next time it'll be "Road to Friendship", which isn't a perfect episode by any means but is on another level to this. It's one of Josh Haber's most popular eps, helped by the chemistry of its principal characters and a very catchy song. I liked it a good deal in 2018, and I hope I'll like it a good deal again this year!