My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 509 - Slice Of Life

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While The Simpsons has notably developed a huge cast of supporting characters (over more than 25 years of episodes), My Little Pony has never before felt able to equal it.  To celebrate their 100^th production, Slice Of Life solely focuses on background ponies that had only appeared infrequently with few if any lines.  The episode’s framing device is Cranky and Matilda’s wedding (both of whom last spoke in season two’s dreadful A Friend In Deed), but M.A. Larson jumps around between many different stories while Ponyville prepares for this big event.  Unlike The Simpsons though, none of these characters were developed by My Little Pony’s creators.  In most cases, names and personalities are all fan-derived, which makes Slice Of Life a landmark episode in that regard.  Granted, it often plays like a fan-fiction compilation (with not every part being completely successful), but the episode also does something more remarkable.  With the mane six almost completely absent, Slice Of Life is just as compelling as any other top episode.  The series could exist without them and be equally good.  We discover My Little Pony’s minor characters are not merely set pieces, but actual beings with similar hopes and dreams.  Maybe Larson is too heavy-handed with this point at the end, but he still makes it.  Younger fans might not be familiar with all these characters, and even the most devoted bronies probably won’t pick up every reference.  But this never detracts from or is necessary for an enjoyable experience.  The animators unquestionably had a field day packing in tons of detail, which is literally impossible to entirely notice on a first viewing.  Larson also took many risks, like featuring Derpy, having a story which tangents around town, using an extended musical number to start act three, and of course ignoring the main characters.  While others might have failed in doing so, every one of them absolutely paid off.  Switching with Amy Keating Rogers (who wrote Griffonstone instead) was also fortunate, since Larson again finds his way to one of My Little Pony’s best episodes.  Even despite needing research, his confidence in each scene is unmatched by any other writer.  While seeming almost random at first, every section feels perfectly balanced within the story.  And this doesn’t mention how incredibly fun Slice Of Life is (get used to hearing “smile on my face the whole way through”).  Even if you’re not an avid fan-fiction reader or can only recognize a few characters, that spirit still holds.  There can be no more fitting 100^th episode since Slice Of Life acknowledges how important fan contributions have been to My Little Pony, and in a very different way from earlier series.  We probably won’t hear much from these characters again, but there’s now no reason why we shouldn’t.  Slice Of Life might be a tease in that way, but what a glorious one it is.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 510 - Princess Spike

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Surprisingly, Princess Spike ends up at the same moral from Slice Of Life, but this happenstance only indicates a larger problem.  After celebrating Ponyville’s diversity, Celestia attempts doing the same thing with her Grand Galloping Equestria Pony Summit.  Planning this event has kept Twilight up for three days straight, so Cadance orders Spike to make sure she isn’t disturbed while just resting before the opening reception.  Although she’s obviously dead tired, Spike seeks to eliminate any sounds from Twilight’s general area, which pushes him into a deeper adventure once he starts giving orders in her name.  While Slice Of Life celebrated its multitude of references, Princess Spike just feels like a rehash.  Here’s Spike doing stupid things like every episode starring him.  Then he’s getting greedy and lusting for power, which more or less happened in Secret Of My Excess.  Directors Jayson Thiessen and Jim Miller came up with this flimsy story, but newcomer Neal Dusedau couldn’t improve their premise.  His dialogue is solid and doesn’t feel too horrible, but I can find nothing positive in Princess Spike’s script.  Every new character is a stereotype that Dusedau couldn’t be bothered to name (our friend Marge Gunderson up there gets no pony pun), and the various princesses fare little better since they don’t stand out or delineate themselves.  Even Cadance’s rare meaty supporting role finds her refusing to chastise Spike for usurping Twilight’s power and ruining everything.  That leaves Princess Spike as another slapstick episode where we’re supposed to laugh from a character doing stupid things that snowball out of control, which then again somehow results in a lesson it never shows.  Between weak plotting, long stretches of painful scenes, and bland or stereotypical characterization, Princess Spike is a nothing of an episode which fails to add any positive contributions.  Despite not being overtly awful on the surface, it just can’t be recommended.