My Little Repeats: Reflections on Season 6

Official Season 6 trailer

Remember that Game of Thrones-esque S6 trailer? It was really the first time that Discovery Family made some kind of effort at matching the inventiveness The Hub had shown with its promos. It wasn't up to the best of their efforts, of course, but at least it was something! I remember it causing a reasonably-sized stir at the time.

Anyway, at last here we are at the S6 retrospective. This is about where opinions on Friendship is Magic really start to diverge, and certainly at the time S6 was not an especially popular season. It was often ranked down at the bottom with S3 when comparing everything up to that point. How I ranked S6 this time is interesting, though. Here's the average:

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 3: 2.92

And indeed, S6 does come in low down the list – although only a fraction behind S5. I wonder what odds I'd have got for that when I started doing these rewatches? It's this season's lack of cast-iron favourites compared with its predecessor that really hurts it in the ratings. Talking of which, past the jump you can see which episode scored what.

My Little Repeats 143: "To Where and Back Again, part 2"

"Starlight, how do you do that with your leg? Doesn't it hurt?"

S6E26: "To Where and Back Again, part 2"

7 Oct 2016 (Tiny Pop; 22 Oct on Discovery Family)

My original rating: ★★★★ (for both parts)
IMDb score: 8.3

The one with a klutzy draconequus

Thoughts: As with part one, I expect some people to feel I'm being absurdly generous to this episode. So, let's start with my least favourite part, ie the changeling reformation. It was too quick and easy, and the new changeling designs aren't appealing. I'd have much rather kept the "black but with shimmery wings" design. The rest, though? Way more fun. Trixie's sniping with Discord is fantastic throughout. Starlight grows as a leader and is a more appealing character for it. Chrysalis reminds us all why she's Best Villain – she's clever, she's scary, and as we now know, she will never reform. Thorax's impersonations are crucial to the success of the mission. Discord overcomes his hardest test: the Room of Crying Fluttershys. The hive animation is interesting. All in all? This is not only a four, it's a high four. One of my favourite season finales.

Choice quote: Trixie: "It is absolutely ridiculous that that worked."

New rating: ★★★★

And at last that's the end of Season Six! As usual, I'll do a brief retrospective next time, and then it will be on to the reasonably fondly remembered first part of S7.

My Little Repeats 142: "To Where and Back Again, part 1"

"A changeling can change. But we haven't."

S6E25: "To Where and Back Again, part 1"

6 Oct 2016 (Tiny Pop; 22 Oct on Discovery Family)

My original rating: ★★★★ (for both parts)
IMDb score: 8.4

The one with Thorax's glittery wings

Thoughts: Tiny Pop being Tiny Pop, this episode was shown before "Top Bolt". This is, as Discord says, "quite the combination of secondary characters" – but for the most part, it really works. It doesn't hurt that the best villain in the show is back, although Chrysalis only shows up a fair way in. We get another excellent double act with Starlight and Trixie, while Glimmy herself is a more appealing character for her insecurities. (Her magic is again a bit OP, though...) The Changeling!Mane Six aren't the most convincing replacements in the world: you'd think Chrysalis could have managed better! This episode was shown at UK PonyCon 2016 (on the date of the US showing, so many of us had already seen it) and I remember the general reaction being very positive. I do have a small sigh for the Princesses getting easily captured, not for the first or last time, but oh well. This is quality entertainment. Despite a few flaws, it can keep its four.

Choice quote: Luna: "I see much of myself in you, Starlight Glimmer."

New rating: ★★★★

Tiny Pop showed E25 and E26 a day apart, so for once we had a proper cliffhanger, and I adored that. You get a longer one here for free, though! Next time, it's "To Where and Back Again, part 2", and then I'll finally be done with S6.

My Little Repeats 141: "Top Bolt"

All this and a well judged flashback scene too!

S6E24: "Top Bolt"

10 Oct 2016 (Tiny Pop; 15 Oct on Discovery Family)

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 8.2

The one with Stratusburg's best sneeze

Thoughts: The end of S6 had a strange release schedule thanks to Tiny Pop here in the UK showing episodes 25, 26 and 24 (in that order) before Discovery Family had shown any of them. Tiny Pop missed out E23 entirely for cider reasons,¹ so "Top Bolt" was in fact the season finale over here! As for the episode, I really liked it in 2016 and I still really like it now. Satisfying characterisation, a nice pacey plot, plenty of action, a fine score, great dialogue, amusing jokes... you name it, really. Rainbow Dash and Twilight team up well to solve the friendship problem, with Dash's Wonderbolts perspective and Twi's classroom expertise giving a nice contrast. Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail are really solid as the very different best friends, too. Angel Wings, the Make-a-Wish Foundation-arranged OC, is a cute one-off character. We even get a montage! The episode's plot is not an especially startling storyline, but Lewis and Songco wrote it very efficiently. "Top Bolt" is just an all-round really enjoyable watch, whether at the end of the season or not. Still a four-starrer for me, and with considerable ease.
¹ It amuses me greatly that this series allows me to write that!

Choice quote: Rainbow Dash: "You can call us T-Sparkz and the Dashinator!"

New rating: ★★★★

Next time, it's "To Where and Back Again, part 1". The S6 finale was a fairly divisive episode, with some people absolutely hating it. I was not among those people.

My Little Repeats 140: "Where the Apple Lies"

"Granny's going to report us all for using that logo, isn't she?"

S6E23: "Where the Apple Lies"

8 Oct 2016

My original rating: ★★★
IMDb score: 6.9

The one with eye-bandaged Derpy

Thoughts: A bit of a step up from "P.P.O.V.", though not enough to bring it above "quite good" territory. Big Mac is great value here, with the largely flashed-back plot allowing him to say plenty for once. He and Applejack spark off each other nicely as siblings – although it's odd that neither Apple Bloom nor her parents are anywhere to be seen, which makes you wonder about the exact time this is set. Filthy Rich is better here than his human analogue in Legend of Everfree, though I still don't know what he sees in Spoiled Milk. (Brilliant name, though it raises even more questions about pony naming conventions...) It's another good-looking ep, with plenty of fun touches to enjoy in the background, not least 80s Cheerilee! Granny seems very broadly characterised, but I suspect she knows more than she's letting on. Not a thrill-a-minute episode, but a character-focused one with a pleasantly laid-back pace. I still rather like it, and I'm happy for it to keep its three.

Choice quote: Granny Smith: "I'm sorry, Applejack, but you's just gonna have to un-promise."

New rating: ★★★

Next time, it's "Top Bolt", an episode which is largely seen (including by me) as one of the best of this era of the show's run. I am certainly looking forward to watching this ep again.

My Little Repeats 139: "P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)"

🎵 And I know that my hat will go on... 🎵

S6E22: "P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)"

1 Oct 2016

My original rating: ★★★
IMDb score: 6.8

The one with Rarity confronting a giant crab

Thoughts: Quite a fun episode for the most part, but one severely let down by its feeble ending, one that's become almost legendary – largely for the wrong reasons. It's so disappointing to come off quite an enjoyable ride and find out that "Ha, it's a bunyip who eats cucumber sarnies and who we'll never see again" is the best these writers can do to round it off. Okay, it's just about given clues in the episode, but come on. That's not the only irritation, either: as just one example, Applejack late on sounding surprised that Pinkie bringing a pile of games was intended for her friends. The Rashomon-style approach is quite nicely done, and allows the animators to go to town once again: compare the ship's flag to British Columbia's. Twilight does some fairly good work on friendship, though I'm iffy about her outright lying to the others to get them to arrive together on the pier. No doubt that Arrrplejack steals the show, though! All in all, I think this is more a highish two than a three for me now.

Choice quote: Rarity: "Oh, don't worry dear. Luxury cruises never sink."

New rating: ★★

Next time, it's on to "Where the Apple Lies". A slightly strange episode, that, and one which I had mixed feelings about back in the day. I suspect that might still be the case, but we shall find out.

My Little Repeats 138: "Every Little Thing She Does"

Some fans' worst nightmare comes true

 S6E21: "Every Little Thing She Does"

24 Sep 2016

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 7.6

The one with Fluttershy covered in bugs

Thoughts: A fairly controversial episode, albeit one more liked than not at the time and an entertaining one until you start to question it. Starlight's in a starring post-reformation role, though "reformation" is slightly questionable given that she spends chunks of this ep mind-controlling her friends. Right at the start it's established that Glimmy is ridiculously powerful – that never did get explained. But let's face it, enslaving your friends and forcing them to do stuff is not okay however you slice it. The "magic hangover" scene near the end is amusing, though I'm slightly surprised Hasbro okayed it, but Spike's "I had no idea we had spiders in the castle" is too stupid for words. Fortunately he has some nice "Told you!" moments to make up for that. But still, mind control. What matters in this episode for me is that Starlight does face consequences. Twilight is (for her) quite angry, Dash correctly points out that you "don't cast spells on your friends!" and GlimGlam herself has to work to help make things right. That said, I no longer feel I can support my four-star rating from 2016. It's too patchy for that and the mind control is too iffy. Three is what it gets now.

Choice quote: Twilight: "Maybe there is such a thing as too much studying."

New rating: ★★★

Next time, it's Equestria Girls' final feature film, Legend of Everfree. If you're interested in joining me for that ride, you'll be very welcome!

My Little Repeats 137: "Viva Las Pegasus"

It's time to meet the ponies on the pony show tonight

S6E20: "Viva Las Pegasus"

17 Sep 2016

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 7.3

The one with pink prairie dogs

Thoughts: Otherwise known as "Fluttershy and Applejack team up and don't encounter kirin". Anyway, this is a pretty fun ride, though definitely not one to take too seriously and also an ep we certainly wouldn't have had in the early days. On the plus side, it looks wonderful, one of the most visually appealing eps so far. Also very nice is how Applejack and Fluttershy interact; I wish they'd spent more time together in "Sounds of Silence" a couple of seasons later. Mind you, AJ doesn't really do as much as 'Shy in solving the Map's mystery. Plenty of fun references here, such as the Siegfried & Roy ponies. Flim and Flam are amusing, more so than in "Leap of Faith" but not quite up to their S2 heights. As for Elvis Gladmane, he's entertaining but a bit one-dimensional as the villain. And, let's be honest, this isn't a desperately Equestrian episode in tone, and nor is it one that is perfectly paced throughout. So, still a very enjoyable episode in a "don't think too hard" kind of way, but not quite the great one I thought it might be in 2016. As such, bumped down from a four-starrer to a highish three.

Choice quote: Applejack: "Gladmane has left the building!"

New rating: ★★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "Every Little Thing She Does", an episode some fans hate for how Starlight acts yet others have a great time with. In 2016 I was largely in camp two. In 2023? We'll see.

My Little Repeats 136: The Fault in Our Cutie Marks

Lyra remembering her roots there...

S6E19: "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks"

10 Sep 2016 [7 Sep in Poland, fact fans]

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 8.1

The one with moderately epic sax pone

Thoughts: Gabby's debut was a very well received episode at the time: just look at that Text Review Roundup! How's it held up? Pretty well, thankfully. It starts off nicely with Petunia (though it still rankles very mildly that they didn't call her a palaeontologist) and never really falls apart. A lot of that is down to Gabby – if you find her attitude grating, you won't like this episode, but I really like her. It's maybe for the best she didn't become a regular, though, as she's probably best in small doses. More to the point, this is the best example of post-S5 CMC living up to their cutie marks. With only minor issues, their interplay and dialogue is satisfying, as is their perseverance. Twilight is the only Mane Sixer, and she has a solid supporting role as adorkable scientist. Unsurprisingly, she nails it! The song although decent isn't one from the very top drawer, but I'm very happy the ending didn't go the easy, lore-destroying route and magic up a real cutie mark for Gabby from nowhere. Writer Ed Valentine previously did a fine CMC ep in "Flight to the Finish" and a poor one in "The Cart Before the Ponies". This one is firmly in the first camp. It's a three/four boundary episode for me, as it was in 2017, but as then the sheer cuteness pushes it over the line.

Choice quote: Scootaloo: "I know what it's like to want something that's out of reach."

New rating: ★★★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "Viva Las Pegasus", an episode that isn't without its flaws but which I generally found appealing viewing.

My Little Repeats 135: "Buckball Season"

And then they missed

S6E18: "Buckball Season"

3 Sep 2016

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 7.4

The one with Fluttershy's spinning tail save

Thoughts: Another new writer in Jennifer Skelly and... look, I'm not impartial on this one, lump it. Fluttershy and Pinkie teaming up is great, though hard work on Andrea Libman – so though disappointing there wasn't more of the double act, I guess also understandable. Still, their quiet, short scene in the forest is lovely: touching and sympathetic. Anyway: buckball is a fun sport, I'm sure more interesting than hoofball, and Pinkie's natural brilliance at it is funny. Talking of: Snails gets some character at long last, and even a very brief song – one later polished up by DoTheDaringDew! The overall feel, although more interestingly animated than the early days, is often reminiscent of several seasons ago: this is very much small-town Equestria. This was Skelly's only episode. Not a bad hit rate, then! For many people this is probably more of a high three-star episode, but it has heart and charm and humour and, well, it feels just so Pony. So from me it's keeping its four, and I'm happy about that.

Choice quote: Pinkie: "That's a relief, because I left my unicorn costume at home." [funnier post-G5 film...]

New rating: ★★★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks". Gabby's debut, and as such often remembered more for her being cute than for anything much else.

My Little Repeats 134: "Dungeons & Discords"

This whole scene is packed with fun references

S6E17: "Dungeons & Discords"

27 Aug 2016

My original rating: ★★★
IMDb score: 8.0

The one with Josephine Baker pone

Thoughts: Guys' Night, eh? In a female-dominated society like Equestria, this seems a fair counterpart to Earthly "Girls' Night" events. It's quite a fun watch, and one of Discord's better late-series appearances. The pre-credits scene with Fluttershy is good fun, "Opposite" and otherwise. Actually, the whole episode is good fun, aided by Nick Confalone's really amusing dialogue, the usual excellent voice acting and some really funny visual gags. "Ogres & Oubliettes" both sends up and pays tribute to Dungeons & Dragons – possibly some overly serious D&D players got irritated, but I'd consider that a plus. The segment where Discord brings the game to life is also great (if a little scary) viewing. All in all, a massive improvement on Discord's last big episode ("What About Discord?") and a really entertaining ep all round. It's not perfect – the "electric shock" scene is a little too Looney Tunes and feels mean-spirited for this show even from Discord. But we have a good Discord episode and a good Spike episode and a fun Fluttershy support act and parsnips. This time I'm pushing an episode's rating up a star. It gets a four now.

Choice quote: Discord: "Fun with sidekicks?"

New rating: ★★★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "Buckball Season". I had a lot of affection for it last time round, and I'm really hoping that's still the case now.

My Little Repeats 133: "The Times They Are a Changeling"

"What do you mean? Let what go?"

S6E16: "The Times They Are a Changeling"

20 Aug 2016

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 8.2

The one with the changeling nursery

Thoughts: Thorax's debut was the first episode credited to Chris Wyatt and Kevin Burke. While the whole "changeling reformation" mini-arc is not exactly considered one of the show's greats, this first instalment is pretty nice and was fairly widely praised at the time. I was a bit surprised to discover I'd given it four stars, not three, back in 2016. Setup is fine, though Spike showing off is really wearing thin by now, and we only even meet Thorax at the end of act one. Once he saves Spike, things get interesting. It helps that Thorax is relatable, and in a way I wish this had been the end point: reformation, but without the Technicolor makeover. Pleasant characterisation of most of the others, and I appreciated Shiny being so harsh initially for understandable personal reasons. Spike's song is lovely musically, even if the lyrics are not the most interesting. I think four stars may have been a slight overreaction to the underwhelming last two episodes: Starlight is fairly pointless here and the inconsistent pacing (slow act one, hurried act three) doesn't much help, so I'll nudge it down to three – but it's still a high three. S6 seemed to be getting back on track at this point, and good Spike eps are never unwelcome.

Choice quote: Spike: "Okay... rock, how do I know you're really a rock?"

New rating: ★★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "Dungeons & Discords", an episode of which I have reasonably fond memories. I really hope I still feel that way after my rewatch.

My Little Repeats 132: "28 Pranks Later"

"Didn't I already do this five seasons ago?"

S6E15: "28 Pranks Later"

13 Aug 2016

My original rating: ★★★
IMDb score: 6.1

The one with sewing machine cake

Thoughts: Another episode that was generally rather poorly received by the fandom, and frankly I was surprised to look back and discover that I'd awarded it three stars in its day. This was the only episode ever written by F. M. DeMarco, though they had done some Littlest Pet Shop work before. Maybe it's that inexperience that explains Rarity's repeated and uncharacteristic use of "Dash" for Rainbow. More to the point, it's also much more a S2 or so episode than an S6 one; Rainbow's character feels regressed. (So does Fluttershy's timidity.) A few of her pranks are amusing, such as the one she pulls on Pinkie – and the cookie one isn't the worst, really – but the brick in Mr Cake's burger is plain vicious. That's a prank for Bugs Bunny to pull on his enemies, not for Rainbow Dash to pull on a sympathetic MLP side character. The ep's pacing is rather rough, Dash isn't strong enough to lift a huge rock, and there's one of FiM's thankfully extremely rare fart jokes. On the plus side, the moral itself is fair enough, I liked Harry and the Filly Guides, and the score is atmospheric, with custom closing credits music returning. Best character this time is probably Pinkie Pie, who is significantly more sympathetic than Rainbow. This isn't a dreadful episode, and I think it's better than the last one. But it's being bumped down to an upper two. It just has too many little problems to get more.

Choice quote: Rarity: "They're probably all in a cookie coma right now."

New rating: ★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "The Times They Are a Changeling" – which brought us the first appearance of Thorax. Most see this as a step up again, and I'm expecting to do so too, though I didn't love the ep first time round.

My Little Repeats 131: "The Cart Before the Ponies"

So maybe Derpy didn't stop winning races after leaving the Wonderbolts...

S6E14: "The Cart Before the Ponies"

6 Aug 2016

My original rating: ★★
IMDb score: 6.0

The one with Snips senior

Thoughts: Back to earth with a bump now. This episode seemed to have so much in its favour: I love motorsport, I have great affection for Wacky Races, I enjoyed the song, there's Cheerileader, there's a nice Derpy flashback scene and a race gives plenty of scope for interesting conflict. Plus the ep's written by Ed Valentine, who we know can write effective CMC episodes. It could have worked really well. It should have worked really well. Why didn't it? Well, the absurd design of the track didn't help, and the hoped-for Wacky Races homage is confined to one extremely short scene during the song, but I could mostly have looked past that had the characterisation not been so annoying. The CMC's three older sisters are quite unappealing throughout, coming across as a mixture of oblivious and obnoxious. They go pretty much the entire episode without realising their sisters are upset – have you learnt nothing since "Sisterhooves Social", Rarity? This also means that there is a serious predictability about the whole thing, even for a kids' cartoon like FiM. I'm with the consensus on this: sadly, it's a rather poor episode. I'm not bumping this one up any stars.

Choice quote: Applejack: "No, not the fringe!"

New rating: ★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "28 Pranks Later", another episode I don't have very much enthusiasm for. It would be great to change my opinion for the better, but I'm not all that hopeful.

My Little Repeats 130: "Stranger Than Fan Fiction"

There's a stall selling saucepans at the back there. Saucepans. What a convention!

S6E13: "Stranger Than Fan Fiction"

30 Jul 2016

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 8.3

The one with cardboard box Ahuizotl

Thoughts: For reasons I can't now recall, the mid-S6 hiatus came after 12 episodes. Seven weeks later, we were back with this, an ep generally fondly remembered but also disliked by some for being so clearly aimed at the fandom rather than kids in places. I'm squarely in the "this is great fun" camp. Patton Oswalt is another excellent guest star, and his improvised closing-credits speech on fanfic is a real highlight – one of many. Rainbow Dash has a good outing, too: she's written satisfyingly and she and Quibble make a great "odd couple" team who, in the best tradition, move from sniping at each other to working highly effectively together. (As an aside, though it's very rare now, DashPants shipping was everywhere for a short while.) The dialogue is generally excellent, there's a lot of truly funny humour, the visuals and sounds are great, the convention stuff is glorious... in short, there's a lot to like here. Is it perfect? Nah. Daring Do's pebble thing at the end stretches credulity even for her adventures, Quibble is occasionally a tiny bit too dense... and why did nopony at the con notice Caballeron and his henchponies weren't wearing hoofbands? But none of these ruin what is a tremendously entertaining episode. This is a case where "this couldn't have been made in S1" isn't a criticism. It keeps its four, and it's a high four at that. I love this episode.

Choice quote: Quibble Pants: "You need to get your money back."

New rating: ★★★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "The Cart Before the Horses", an episode I found frustrating. Great concept, catchy song, fun visuals... but characterisation that just didn't sit right. We'll see if it does any better now.

My Little Repeats 129: "Spice Up Your Life"

"Second word. Sounds like 'bestie'. Really?"

S6E12: "Spice Up Your Life"

11 Jun 2016

My original rating: ★★★
IMDb score: 7.7

The one with the return of Pinkie's pig costume

Thoughts: Mike Vogel returns with an interestingly different Pony episode. Sadly they didn't quite go the whole hog and make the episode's very decent song into a Bollywood spectacular (although I'm sure I once read that it was considered early on) but the travails of an Indian restaurant in Canterlot wasn't something we'd seen before. Also, yay for this not being in Manehattan. The Tasty Treat's Saffron and Coriander are good guest characters, and I'm a little sad we didn't see them after this episode. (Fun fact: Saffron is voiced by Diana Kaarina, who also voiced Aria Blaze in Rainbow Rocks.) Pinkie and Rarity make a yes-and-no team-up as the Cutie Map makes its first S6 appearance: Pinkie is generally great, encouraging and inspiring in the way she does best. Rarity is perhaps a little more snooty and a little less three-dimensional than she should be by this point, though the flattest character is Zesty Gourmand. It's a shame to see the easy route to depicting a critic (he says during a review!) and a comparison with Hoity Toity from S1 is quite instructive. Also, minor annoyance in the animation: I find it hard to believe Minuette would turn up her nose at the food. She never came across as snobbish in "Amending Fences"! This is still quite an enjoyable episode, in spite of the "don't change who you are" moral hardly being original. The atmosphere, visuals and music help. So, another three-star episode. It's lifted above the average by the animation touches, but not that far above the average.

Choice quote: Pinkie: "That's true times three!"

New rating: ★★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "Stranger than Fan Fiction", which I had a whale of a time with in 2016. Hopefully the same will be true in 2022!

My Little Repeats 128: Flutter Brutter

"Zephyr, what does that manestyle say about who you are?"

S6E11: "Flutter Brutter"

4 Jun 2016

My original rating: ★★★
IMDb score: 6.9

The one with G3 Rainbow's cutie mark (on the curtains)

Thoughts: Fluttershy's family are finally introduced here, rendering non-canon-compliant all those fics about how pegasi don't have close familial bonds. Given Zephyr Breeze, some may respond "Shame". Still, this is Fluttershy's ep. She's excellent in it, demonstrating character development and a slightly steelier edge since her early days but without having lost her inherent kindness. This is a 'Shy who feels like she should at this point in the series, and indeed this is among my favourites of her episodes in later FiM. The episode is quite American in a "You've been 18 for fourteen seconds, why aren't you in your own house yet?" way, but let's be honest: Zephyr is so annoying that our sympathy for him is always likely to be a bit limited. (Especially when he's trying to hit on Rainbow, though that does lead to a fun misunderstanding from the Shy parents at the end. Poor Dash.) Perhaps Zephyr's personality is a bit over-the-top even for a cartoon, but fortunately the action keeps moving so we don't get bogged down. The song is a pretty good one, if not world-class, and there's even a fun background Zelda reference. I think "Flutter Brutter" is worthy of keeping its high three-star rating.

Choice quote: Zephyr Breeze: "Turns out the animal communication thing isn't genetic."

New rating: ★★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "Spice Up Your Life", which I moderately enjoyed, but not quite as much as some of the fandom did.

My Little Repeats 127: "Applejack's 'Day' Off"

"Er, Twilight? I think Troubleshoes has already made this act his own"

S6E10: "Applejack's 'Day' Off"

28 May 2016

My original rating: ★★
IMDb score: 6.3

The one with Rarity pronouncing "schedule" the British way

Thoughts: This was written by the Fox brothers, with Neal Dusedau in addition for story duties. Let's be honest, that's not the most inspiring FiM team. And look at that IMDb score. Not great, is it? Even allowing for IMDb-ishness, that's not the sign of a popular episode. It wasn't particularly popular with me either, as my 2016 review score shows. What I remembered, and indeed said back then, was that I wasn't actively repulsed by it but that it just wasn't all that interesting to me. This is still the case: the 22 minutes really do not fly by. Now, a lower-key, small-town feel isn't a bad thing in itself, of course. But I'm afraid this one just feels dull. It also doesn't help that for some of the routines Applejack with eg the pig-feeding, her having stuck to them all this time without thinking about it requires her to be frankly rather stupid. And AJ is not rather stupid, nor even always set in her ways. Indeed, when she fixes the spa machinery her intelligence is there for all to see. Twilight and Spike don't do a whole lot that's actually interesting in this episode, at least not until fixing the farm irrigation system at the end. Rarity has a decent showing in this episode and is probably the most entertaining character pretty much throughout, though Rainbow's pretence that she doesn't like spa pampering is amusing, or at least would be if the one joke didn't go on quite so long. (Her Tank slippers get a point, though!) So yeah, I'll stick with the two-star rating here. This isn't offensive, it's just not very interesting.

Choice quote: Rarity: "An hour of spa perfection? I can work with that."

New rating: ★★

Next time, I'll be rewatching "Flutter Brutter", an episode which many people disliked (largely because they disliked a certain character in it...) but which I rather enjoyed.

My Little Repeats 126: "The Saddle Row Review"

"What do they mean, 'Final Demand'?"

S6E09: "The Saddle Row Review"

21 May 2016

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 8.7

The one with glow-in-the-dark teeth

Thoughts: Back to a non-musical episode, but a very popular one and deservedly so. Arguably Nick Confalone's peak for MLP writing, though some might make a case for Forgotten Friendship, "The Saddle Row Review" is a lot of fun despite being set in Manehattan, which by this time was getting too much attention for my liking. Very much a Mane Six ep (no Starlight or Spike), it's full of great dialogue and is one of the most amusing episodes of this era of the show. It even has a rare example of "Here is a meme for you" actually working, with the fandom producing a variety of remixes of Twilight's "Sweep" song. Plaid Stripes is less irritating to me than she was first time around, but her "I am Foreign-Accented Dodgy Landlord" father is more so; I guess they cancel out. Saying "DJ Pon-3" out in full three times is annoying as all hay, though, and the raccoons aren't as interesting as the episode thinks they are. Nor will I ever think "Miss Pommel" sounds right, and I'm sure DHX hated to have to lose "Coco". Still, there are so many fun bits: the Pinkie clone, Pinkie (again) pushing the bill over, "You're not writing this down, are you?", the J. Jonah Jameson guy, "NO SPOILERS!", and so on and so on. The unusual structure works, and all in all this is a very entertaining episode. I'm very happy for it to keep its (strong) four-star rating.

Choice quote: Plaid Stripes: "All our clothes will be made of spoons!"

New rating: ★★★★

Next time, it'll be "Applejack's 'Day' Off", a much less popular episode than this one overall, though it does have its fans. I wasn't really one of them in 2016. Let's see if I've warmed to it.

My Little Repeats 125: "A Hearth's Warming Tail"

This episode really is a feast for the eyes and ears

S6E08: "A Hearth's Warming Tail"

14 May 2016

My original rating: ★★★★★
IMDb score: 8.3

The one with Vinyl the gramophone DJ

Thoughts: Michael Vogel wasn't new to MLP of course, but "A Hearth's Warming Tail" was his first FiM writing credit. This episode, perhaps surprisingly, really split opinion when we did the old UK of Equestria rankings. More people placed it either very high or very low than in the middle. Part of this is probably that some just aren't up for yet another version of A Christmas Carol. I, however, am. While this isn't quite up to the genius of the Muppets' take on Dickens, it is wonderful. It was the first show episode to make use of a live band (for "Pinkie's Present") and the songs in general are excellent, with a special word for "Luna's Future". Starlight works well as Snowfall Frost, this episode's Scrooge, and though Rainbow Dash may seem an odd choice for the Bob Cratchit role she doesn't do badly either. The episode looks absolutely wonderful, quite rightly for a festive episode – even if it did come out in May! Lots of fun references to spot as we go along, and an amusing little cameo for Derpy, too. Poignant and entertaining at the same time, just like its inspiration, this is one of those episodes which rises above its flaws, and yes they're there – the pacing hurtles along in the second half, and "Flutterholly" is a feeble name. But you know what? I. Don't. Care. It's all just too much fun. I love this episode to pieces, and to nopony's surprise I'm letting it keep its five-star rating.

Choice quote: Snow Dash: "*spit take* Boss?"

New rating: ★★★★★

Next time, it'll be "The Saddle Row Review", another very popular episode. I went along with the herd on that one and really liked it.