Rating:
I liked The Cutie Pox better when it came out, but the
episode really isn’t aging well. Apple
Bloom’s sudden acquisition of many cutie marks was a fun ride, but now the plot
is kind of bland. Amusing things like
the appearance of a certain trio or Twilight’s new ‘do seem somewhat dumb now,
but oh well. Amy Keating Rogers’ Cutie
Mark Crusader tale is mostly harmless filler that at least never offends
anyone’s eyes or ears. Her script lacks
in substance while relying a few too many times on clichés (“you ain’t seen
nothing yet”), and the dialogue otherwise isn’t very crisp. But at least the story is fun once it gets
going, and provides a few decent moments even if they don’t add up to much. Rogers also finds a good lesson, since kids
never want to wait for anything and won’t listen to such advice. The Cutie Pox finds enough good scenes to
make it passable, but sadly isn’t more than a mildly enjoyable diversion.
Our “favorite” ponies decide a trip to the bowling alley
will surely produce their cutie marks.
Avoiding a piece getting pulled despite not giving a shit about the
rules, the Crusaders are of course absolute disasters and sulk away after
failing to knock down one single pin.
Having watched a different pony get his bowling cutie mark instead,
Apple Bloom is more dejected than the others and decides to end it all by
walking into the Everfree Forest. This
plan fails too when Zecora is wandering nearby, and the two head back to her place
to remedy Apple Bloom’s chipped tooth (potions can indeed substitute for
dentistry in Equestria).
Zecora needs to search for some more flowers, so she leaves
Apple Bloom alone in her hut. Yada,
yada, yada, the next day Apple Bloom has her cutie mark. In hula-hooping (least that’s what I always
called it). This may not sound like an
impressive talent, and her class doesn’t think so either, but AB proves
otherwise with an astonishing display just outside class. After an impromptu lesson doesn’t really help
anyone, Apple Bloom’s show crashes upon the appearance of a second cutie
mark. Obviously she must be faking now,
but Silver Spoon’s challenge to perform plate spinning is met with similar
ease. With two special talents, Apple
Bloom moves to a bigger stage at the center of town, where she puts on an even
more spectacular showing. Everyone is
suitably impressed with the amazing skills of a clearly special pony.
But as Apple Bloom walks home, she’s still spinning and
twirling the hoop on her tail. This
doesn’t let up at night either, as an awakened Applejack discovers her sister
now possesses a third cutie mark and is tap dancing like mad on top of the
other two activities. Upon relocating to
Twilight’s by a dissolve, they quickly discover (“Spike! You’re amazing!” Right) that she has the
cutie pox (“sacré bleu!”). This disease
with no known cure causes its host to perform as Apple Bloom has been. She’s added French to her repertoire now, and
the cutie marks keep piling up.
While attempting to reach Zecora’s, Apple Bloom puts on an
even more ridiculous spectacle (while still spinning plates and twirling that
hoop through every activity).
Unfortunately, her audience flees when Spike announces she has a rare
and apparently terminal disease. But of
course, Zecora just happens to be heading to Ponyville herself, and whips up a
cure in the form of a flower. Needing
truth to grow (somehow), Apple Bloom finally admits she made her own potion at
Zecora’s to try and produce a cutie mark.
After chowing down on the plant, Apple Bloom discusses in her letter the
dangers of trying to rush something that will only come naturally with
time. Then the Crusaders decide that’s
enough waiting and head back out to attempt more activities.
At least Rogers finds a solid lesson, since becoming good at
something never happens overnight no matter how much people want it to. One must accept that you’ll start out
terrible and slowly get better, and experience is part of mastery. Sadly though, Rogers never really demonstrates
this. She hands the episode over to
Apple Bloom’s cutie pox adventures, which are fun and interesting but
ultimately pointless since they’ll never be brought up again. None of the talents have anything to do with
things Apple Bloom has done or might be good at either; they just randomly pop
up and force her into perfectly performing the pictured task. Which goes against the entire message it’s
supposed to be advocating.
Since so much of the show is concerned with this, there
isn’t much time for characterization or anything else. Rogers as usual has all of the characters
feeling natural, but nothing really stands out either. If anything, she gets too cutesy with her
dialogue (“not some pony…some zebra!” (multiple beats) “Zecora!”; all the
unnecessary “yups” and “nopes” from Big Mac that are all telegraphed), which
all feel like sloppy mistakes that should’ve been changed in editing. And without strong fun moments or a
compelling story, these problems can’t be glossed over.
Unfortunately, that means The Cutie Pox rates out about
average. There aren’t any major
missteps, and the story is definitely watchable in a way that bad episodes
aren’t. But Rogers just couldn’t find anything
of substance either. Apple Bloom does
some funny things in the name of getting her cutie mark, and we’re all supposed
to laugh and move on without thinking too much.
And fine, that’s pretty much what happens, but it’s not enough given
what the show can accomplish in such a limited space. Rogers is talented enough to make The Cutie
Pox good entertainment, but nothing more.
The episode can’t really be considered a disappointment, although it
does feel like a missed opportunity to expound upon a rather important lesson.
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