Rating:
Rarely does a character in a show agree with me about how
poorly it is going and then step in to do something. Luna has enough of another dreadful first act
featuring Rarity and Sweetie Belle, and with one pronouncement changes the episode’s
course. Not that it’s drastic enough to
make for a good outing, but Luna does save For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils
from the dire fate to which it was headed.
Dave Polsky’s second straight Cutie Mark Crusader episode is
surprisingly unoriginal, and fails to improve on the horrid sisters dynamic
between the two stars. But growth is a
major theme for season four, and hopefully Sweetie Belle finally learns the
error of her disastrous ways regarding her big sis.
The opening may not be a full reprise of Sisterhooves
Social, but it’s not all that much better either. Sweetie Belle is again tasking Rarity by
making a mess of various accoutrements and springing a last minute project. The Crusaders are putting on Sweetie Belle’s
play, but the costumes didn’t turn out too well. Knowing that she can call on a virtual
sweatshop whenever necessary, Rarity finishes them while handing the work for a
returning Sapphire Shores to her friends.
The dresses are completed literally as the curtain is about to rise, but
unfortunately no one in the audience can remember anything else afterward. As Sweetie Belle penned a faux-Shakespeare
period piece, we probably don’t miss too much from the cut.
Having enough of Rarity outshining her, Sweetie Belle
sabotages a headdress before going to sleep.
While dreaming, Luna has a similar feeling regarding Celestia and
introduces herself into the episode.
Scootaloo had the same pleasure during Sleepless In Ponyville, but
Polsky borrowing this device doesn’t carry the same effect. Luna proceeds to give Sweetie Belle an A Christmas Carol tour of Rarity’s past,
present, and future. Despite again not
improving on its source, this surreal sequence is stunningly better than what
came before and resurrects the episode’s focus. We learn Rarity saved Sweetie Belle’s 5th
birthday party, questions her talent regarding the commission from Sapphire
Shores, and could go completely insane if the detail she knows wasn’t missed
costs her a client. Thankful that it’s
still Christmas Day, Sweetie Belle resolves to correct the injustice she’s
about to cause.
In the standard third act action sequence, the Crusaders
travel by train to find Rarity and Sapphire Shores in Canterlot. They have to zip line into a window after the
bouncer won’t just let them enter, and Sweetie Belle’s robbing of the headdress
almost causes what she hoped to avoid.
In a totally not creepy way, Luna advises Sweetie Belle on a technique
to improve the stitch that she learned from perving Sapphire Shores’ dreams,
but the change goes over very well. All
is forgiven, but as usual, Sweetie Belle’s play was one night only.
Many fourth season episodes have improved on previous ideas,
but Polsky’s mishmash of sources doesn’t really do that. For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils plays like
Polsky had a bad case of writer’s block and cribbed whatever he could think of
to get through his assignment. The
animation department certainly bailed him out in the second act, which is as
strange a sequence as has ever been aired during the series. But delightful as it is, the change Sweetie
Belle experiences feels less consequential than its oft-quoted source. Luna’s appearance is not as surprising or
moving compared to Sleepless In Ponyville, where it was possible that Scootaloo
only imagined the Princess of the Night.
Now we learn she views dreams quite regularly, although I suppose the
night shift can get rather boring. On
the plus side, Luna does move with purpose in showing Sweetie Belle what she
needs to see, and her comments regarding being overshadowed by Celestia carry
weight. But nothing is explored that
wasn’t seen in previous episodes either.
As usual with Polsky, his characterization is solid, but
here it’s not really spectacular either.
Rarity spouts many clichéd French phrases (crème de la crème, pièce de
résistance, magnifique, etc.), but her failed attempt to find a nice way to say
“big bummer” feels like Polsky had the same problem and put the joke in when he
couldn’t think of anything. At least Rarity
keeps her cool with everything going on, although the future vision of being an
insane recluse feels like it could actually happen. While Rarity’s spirit toward Sweetie Belle is
admirable and touching, it’s nothing we haven’t come to expect.
Sweetie Belle is the character with an arc this time, which
is much appreciated given her usual antics.
She takes control of the play rather than having her friends help, shows
a dark side in sabotaging Rarity’s headdress, and becomes a better pony while
trying to atone for that. Whether progress
has actually been made will depend on future episodes, since Sweetie Belle again
starts in annoying mode. Even so, she
has zero chemistry with Rarity, and the two would be better off not being
forced to appear together. They’re just
extremely different despite being sisters, and don’t even share the bond that
exists between Maud and Pinkie Pie.
Perhaps it’s the age difference (Rarity looks exactly the same at
Sweetie Belle’s 5th birthday), but having older sisters substitute
for absent mothers has not produced good (or necessarily realistic)
television. For Whom does nothing to
improve on previous Rarity and Sweetie Belle episodes, or Applejack and Apple
Bloom ones either. Even if touching
moments can still happen, they just don’t work with each other.
For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils therefore finds itself in
the middle of the road despite a winding path.
Polsky doesn’t really show up until the second act, but another Luna
dream incursion isn’t enough since we’ve already seen that before. Piecing together sources has worked well in My Little Pony, although here it just
feels lazy given the dialogue and lack of improvement. Having Sweetie Belle show some growth is a
good step, and this episode will be remembered if she keeps the changes going
forward. But Polsky isn’t able to match
his or others’ previous efforts in characterization and plot. Maybe the workload was too much, but at least
he found some decent scenes outside of the questionable parts.
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