My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 622 - P.P.O.V. (Pony Point Of View)

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Didn’t I just complain about the previous episode being dull and pointless?  P.P.O.V. (Ponies’ Pussies Or Vaginas) trots out another Rashomon-style story regarding the above three ponies’ unlikely boat trip, except there doesn’t end up being any point besides filler.  Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack all recount various conflicting versions of how their boat sank while Twilight and Spike figure out what really happened, but the conclusion is profoundly unsatisfying.  The Foxes return for an episode that looks decent and has some fun with each story and their unspoken similar details, although it falls apart upon any reflection.  Wow is that teaser exposition convoluted, and did they really walk to shore after being capsized by a freaking sea monster?  Like Michael Vogel immediately preceding, the Foxes cannot justify why their episode even exists.  The story setup and actual events were more interesting, but instead we hear Rarity et al. make stupid exaggerations while perfect Twilight comes to the rescue.  Literally every series does the Rashomon trope at some point, but P.P.O.V. certainly doesn’t qualify as an interesting version.  The episode actually feels more suited for season one with an obvious moral, the mane six struggling to understand each other, and Starlight being mysteriously absent.  Even if this counts as a better showing for the animators, problematic writing and pacing hurt any chance for P.P.O.V. to be remotely enjoyable.  Every other season six criticism applies here, since these issues all stemmed from the script.  P.P.O.V. is therefore nothing more than poorly-written filler from that part of the season where it usually occurs.  While again not painful like more terrible episodes, P.P.O.V.’s odd feel does little right either and makes for yet another uninspired outing.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 604 - On Your Marks

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On Your Marks is a rare necessary episode that doesn’t feel substantial.  Dave Polsky’s premise could have gone either way, but he chose to populate his script with filler.  Now possessing strange new cutie marks, the Crusaders question both their continued activities and existence.  They ultimately decide on a Radiohead-like compromise between doing their own activities around group ones, but Apple Bloom doesn’t come upon this so easily.  Our least favorite ponies still find time to solve a cutie mark problem while helping another earn his, but neither ends up being very remarkable.  Some problems exist from the Crusaders having gotten their marks in crusading earlier, but Polsky can’t be forgiven for what he came up with.  On Your Marks needed to be better given My Little Pony’s writing situation, which unquestionably makes it disappointing.  Too many scenes are wasted with them not knowing what to do, and that doesn’t make for compelling viewing despite being understandable.  If anything, On Your Marks seems like the series is searching for ideas, but like our protagonists they aren’t finding them.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 515 - Rarity Investigates!

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Nobody ever said reviewing was easy, and this analysis wasn’t going to be either.  I had on my hands an episode with four writing credits, which meant the culprit could be any one of them.  A lovely femme fatale was called upon to investigate a potential crime, but I was left to pick up the pieces.  She knew right where to get me, tugged at all of my strings and used her considerable charm.  Like myself, she was into fashion, sporting some of the best clothes ever seen on My Little Pony.  With a grace and elegance none of her friends could muster, she solved her case in time for dinner, but did this style have any substance?  One of the most colorful television shows finally produced long stretches of gorgeous black and white, but was that enough for a good rating?  Only I could decide.  It was a lonely road, but one I chose long ago.  I know why I did, and what I had to do now.  Maybe I’d lose some friends, or alienate the public again, but none of that mattered.  It was just me, my typewriter, and the truth.  And I’ll be damned if I was ever going to betray any of those for anyone.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Season 5 Top And Bottom 5

Season five was essentially chopped into two halves because of horrendous scheduling by Discovery Family, and whether coincidental or not it fell into this grouping.  The first marked M.A. Larson’s story editor debut, and (aside from two missteps) featured surprisingly strong efforts which often explored dissatisfaction with cutie marks.  Many were offbeat and experimental, but despite public opinion, this was My Little Pony’s best 13-episode stretch so far.  That includes Larson’s own contributions, which explored many fan-developed background characters who are no less worthy of screen time than the main ones.  The second part belonged to Meghan McCarthy, and was unsurprisingly high on events (Crusaders getting their marks, Cadance pregnant, two holidays and two map episodes, plus a near space-time continuum unraveling) but low on quality.  No exploration of any first half themes was attempted, and characterization (with one notable exception) stayed at a bare minimum.  These episodes make up the biggest “meh” stretch of any season and almost all of them are largely disappointing.  After missing season four, Larson again demonstrated his status as My Little Pony’s best writer.  He saved McCarthy’s convoluted opener and penned his two strongest scripts which celebrated series history while still pushing it forward.  Dave Polsky joined him with two unappreciated and underrated character episodes that looked at two equally misunderstood ponies and treated them humanely.  No one else remotely had a good year, whether the writers were returning (Amy Keating Rogers, Cindy Morrow, Natasha Levinger (ugh), and sadly Noelle Benvenuti) or newly added (only Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco created passable work; the others all deserve pink slips).  This produced a very frustrating season which showed plenty of early promise before flaming out in rather boring fashion.  After such a sustained horrid stretch, My Little Pony appears to be in peril, having exhausted both good ideas and writers.  Season five’s overall feel therefore remains negative, but its best moments cannot be forgotten and are unquestionably series high points.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 517 - Brotherhooves Social

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Alright, take three.  I detest completely rewriting anything (twice, no less), but Brotherhooves Social left me little choice.  Essentially, I got the episode correctly at first but second-guessed myself out of fear I was seeing what I wanted rather than what actually existed.  Perusing various Twitter feeds showed that this wasn’t the case.  While cleaning up a loose thread from Made In Manehattan, Brotherhooves Social provides Big Mac’s biggest character development in definitively showing he’s trans.  This may seem unlikely, but it makes sense given his earlier princess dream and quiet loner demeanor.  Since Applejack and Rarity are busy, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle have no escorts for the Sisterhooves Social.  Big Mac decides to step up and help his younger sister out, but he goes as “cousin Orchard Blossom”, a flamboyant and loquacious Southern belle.  They are accepted into the event because “sister” is loosely defined, but every activity unfortunately goes poorly.  Dave Polsky hits many aspects of being trans, including unwanted awkwardness in appearance, dealing with people who quickly dismiss you, those who know but don’t care, and some who inexplicably find you attractive, and a large apparent disconnect between “personas”.  This insight grounds what appears to be another drag comedy at first, but most definitely isn’t on subsequent viewings.  The episode remains polarizing since it treads a thin line here, but certain scenes’ effectiveness cannot be denied (especially Big Mac and Apple Bloom’s concluding dialogue).  While probably not the best way, Brotherhooves Social feels like a landmark in how it presents trans issues to kids without overtly doing so.  And it improves dramatically on season two’s Sisterhooves by better reflecting the sibling dynamic.  Polsky’s script is too tropey for its subject, but Brotherhooves represents an unexpectedly bold statement from a season with very few of them.