The My Little Pony: Frienship Is Magic Thread

[Kris@WLP]

[Toast]

Two points: First, Apple Strudel is a fantastic dancer and extra debonair.

Second: It was the Apple Family Reunion in the very first episode. I seriously doubt Twilight's been in town for eight years. Perhaps months go by faster now that there's somebody in charge of them? That sounds like a No Prize explanation.

[Ganthan]

Perhaps a 'moon' refers to one week, which would put 100 moons at roughly two years. Princess Luna can set the lunar cycle however she wants, IF the two ruling sisters actually have control over the sun and moon like people claim. Frankly, I'm not so sure anymore.

As per usual, the ideal explanation for anything confusing or inconsistent is this: "The continuity is bad and there are multiple writers who make stuff up whenever they want." Bear in mind that Lauren Faust, the original creator of the show, isn't involved in its production anymore. Who knows where it's gonna end up?

[Monfang]

[Ganthan]

[Monfang]

[Ganthan]

[Monfang]

The fanfiction and ponyporn is already rolling in!

I'm not looking forward to Spike at Your Service. I hate when characters get the idiot ball.

Keep Calm and Flutter On looks very promising to help advance the story.

And Just for Sidekicks is a chance for the pets to get some screen time (Yay TANK!) and maybe sell some toys.

[Ganthan]

Spike at Your Service

Hm. I'm starting to see what Kris means about the quality of writing when it comes to 'Well meaning person heaps failure upon failure' type of story plots. Aside from the weirdness alone of a fire breathing dragon being afraid of creatures made of wood and how easily the timber wolves simply shatter into pieces, the sheer amount of destruction Spike manages to wreak quite obliviously just approaches Beyond The Impossible levels of mental thickness. I'm hesitant to call it Idiot Ball because Spike isn't really acting that badly out of character. It's possible that the only reason he isn't quite so bad around Twilight is because he's lived with her all his life and gotten used to helping her out.

At first I was afraid of yet another continuity foul up with the Noble Dragon Code. After all, the few experiences Spike has had around other dragons has shown him that they're total jerkbags. However, it's shown that Spike made up this Noble Dragon Code by himself, complete with a handmade fact card. It's also worth bearing in mind that Spike is still just a child and therefore doesn't have much maturity and responsibility.

Oh, and apparently timber wolves can combine together into one really BIG timber wolf. It's just a shame that it didn't seem to get any stronger at all.

[Happygun]

Already posted on EQ Daily, but I had to re-post this badassery:



I think Hasbro needs to contact Bethesda/ZeniMax and have them start working on a Elder Scrolls style MLP:FiM game.

[Happygun]

Oh Discord, you irrepressible chaos spawn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... dfcSPNxRB0

Can't wait 'til tomorrow!

[Monfang]

[Happygun]

Season 3, Episode 10 - Keep Calm and Flutter On

*SPOILERS*

Cons:
Too rushed. This should have been done as a two-parter to allow more character development.
Too unrealistically saccharine, even for MLP, at the end. It should have been made clear Discord will remain mischievous and chaos-loving, but will restrict his pranks to things that DON'T threaten ponies' sanity and livelihoods ala Q from the later seasons of ST: tNG.

Pros:
Everything else.

Conclusion: Had the potential for a home-run here, but hit a double-play. Good, but the disappointment from missing an opportunity poisons the rest of the episode.

*SPOILERS*

Finally, it looks like there a season 4 coming (like there was any doubt).

[Kris@WLP]

[Happygun]

It's not an official announcement or anything. Just some people on the inside saying they've ordered another season. They could be wrong.

[Monfang]

I didn't really find the episode to be too cheesey. At the point I thought he would suddenly be reformed when Fluttershy said she was his friend didn't happen and he went on to try and use it against her. However, it wasn't the thought of having a friend that reformed him, but the thought of losing a friend! I actually found that clever.

Also, he didn't say he would stop all the time, just most of the time.

[Kris@WLP]

My thoughts on the last two episodes.

Spike At Your Service: Actually I'm glad that Spike didn't actually carry the Idiot Ball much beyond what you'd expect for a little kid. It's pretty obvious to me that the Noble Dragon thing is his own deal- the pledge card done in crayon was a clue there. There were a couple of scenes of mayhem where I felt it could have been done a little better, but I'm guessing it was cut back a bit for animation issues- and with the timber wolves, this ep already had a LOT of elements to hand.

My favorite aspect of the episode is how Rarity and Rainbow Dash both fail to understand how Applejack feels about Spike's service. They're deliberately voicing what the target audience would be saying: "Having a personal servant would be SO COOL!" (Bonus points for the Mary Sue reference. I need to look up fanfic in which RD writes a Daring Do fanfic in which a talented speedy pegasus who everyone loves rescues Daring Do from certain death... aaaaaaanyway...)

All in all, a very good episode- not one of my favorites, but MUCH better than I'd expected.

Keep Calm and Flutter On: Perfect except for one thing... but OOOOOOOH, it's a very BIG one thing. Simply put, Discord's Heel Face Turn is Just. Not. Credible. It comes out of nowhere in the last five minutes- almost literally. Such a thing needs to be developed gradually, especially BECAUSE we know that Discord is both a Magnificent Bastard and a being of zero conscience. He's scheming and manipulating right up to almost the end. As much as I love to see/hear John DeLancie chewing the scenery, the writers needed to show some hint, any hint at all, that Discord regarded Fluttershy as anything other than a dupe. I grant you that doing it would have taken a delicate touch- but it feels like the writers didn't even try. So that one flaw, for me, dumps an otherwise perfect ep clear down to "one step above a bad CMC episode" territory. It's nothing more than a chain of gags with no heart. Which is sad.

Comment on both, and really the whole of Season 3 to date: Am I the only one who thinks the show is beginning to inch towards becoming My Little Pinkie Pie: Pinkship is The Reason You're Watching? She is REALLY becoming the scene stealer- and though I can't fault any individual appearance, she's beginning to bigfoot the rest of the cast in every scene she's in. (On the other hand, now I need to see about stocking stick-on Dapper Mustaches.)

[Happygun]

You know, Pinkie Pie probably would have been a better probation officer for Discord. She appreciates random silliness and a good gag yet believes in having fun WITH friends instead of at their expense. She could have gradually nudged Discord into being a mischievous yet essentially good-natured prankster; the two of them getting along and developing a friendship seems much more natural. Hell, I'm beginning to wonder if the script originally called for Pinkie Pie. She Pinkie Promises not to use her element on Discord, and Discord's offer to go iceskating with her at the climax references Pinkie Pie's knack for the sport.

Maybe some inconvenient director made the same observation Kris did and rewrote the episode and replaced Pinkie Pie with Fluttershy. But honestly there's nothing wrong with giving a breakout character more screen time, so I don't see the problem.

[Kris@WLP]

[Happygun]

MLP: FiM Season 3, Episode 11 - Just for Sidekicks

Succinct summary: Surprisingly satisfying.

Lots of clever, funny bits - seeing Angel bunny run Spike ragged, Zercora trolling Spike (for his own good), the return of Tank and his Fantastic Flying Contraption, hints that Big Mac and Cheerilee are actually a couple now, patented Cutie Mark Crusader chaos, and more. The way the plot ran parallel to the next episode was a nice touch. It's like a big bag of delicious mixed nuts where none of them are those weirdly shaped exotic ones that taste like salted linoleum. I actually enjoyed this one more than Keep Calm and Flutter On for its consistent good quality.

[Ganthan]

Agreed.

There's also a Rainbow Dash doll made of balloons in the CMC clubhouse.

[Happygun]

I wonder how many pieces of horrible Zercora fan-art that use of "booty" will generate...

[bar1scorpio]

Do NOT give furries an excuse to use the phrase "Tail Fluffing Day" in regards to a male rabbit, dammit!

Okay, this one was one of the few pure winners this season. And yeah, I noticed the Cheerilee/Big Mac. Well, that confirms some of the fanart...

[Kris@WLP]

Just For Sidekicks- I actually disliked it. It was everything I was afraid "Spike at Your Service" would be. But then, I dislike any episode where the character in lead is acting their absolute worst. (Also, having two Spike-centric eps in a row kind of hurt this one, with me.)

Also... just spent money I maybe shouldn't have to order the Season One box set off Amazon.com !

[Toast]

Con party pre-midnight entertainment, anyone?