My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 618 - Buckball Season

Rating:

In yet another filler episode, Buckball Season details preparations for a meaningless game of some previously non-existing sport.  Unlike Dungeons & Discords though, new writer Jennifer Skelly finds a decent moral and point for her script.  Skelly’s characters demonstrate surprising awareness and an ability to solve problems before completely losing control (probably unique among “moral” episodes).  Unfortunately, other issues (besides the episode being completely unnecessary) contribute to another sub-par offering.  For instance, Twilight and Rarity are not only completely missing, but forgotten like they never existed.  Many earlier episodes cut one or more voice actors because of financial reasons, but this particular oversight looks extremely glaring when the plot involves finding a unicorn.  Rarity probably wouldn’t have joined the team, but nobody mentions her?  Twilight participated in that stupid leaf race during Fall Weather Friends and also needlessly teleports everywhere, so maybe she could handle holding a basket?  Instead, we’re supposed to believe that Snails is some sort of magic god and Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are better at buckball (without practicing) than their two friends.  These may not be false though, since we’ve never seen Snails outside his idiot fest with Snips and Pinkie Pie is very evidently not bound by physical laws.  Fluttershy did have trouble flying during Hurricane Fluttershy, but she also caught Rainbow Dash (traveling at full speed) while pulling a hot air balloon full of ponies (The Return Of Harmony), and was once described as “the greatest flyer ever to come out of Cloudsdale” (The Cutie Mark Chronicles).  Clearly her true athletic talents are underrated and hampered by self-doubt.  Even so, believing these three could beat Ponyville and Appleloosa’s best players remains difficult.  That isn’t necessarily fatal, since it helps Skelly demonstrate how not everyone feasts on pressure-filled situations.  And unlike The Cart Before The Ponies, she paced her script well so time existed for the final game to finish.  Of course, this might only occur because her paper-thin plot barely has enough for 22 minutes.  While its omissions are curious, Buckball Season feels pleasant enough despite the low rating and how it seems to come from five years earlier.  The episode isn’t among season six’s worst, but still lacks enough substance to refrain from being notable as well.

Applejack is practicing for something, and Rainbow Dash totally wants in if it means beating Appleloosa.  Oh, just one more thing.  “What’s buckball?” (called that on my first viewing)  Although they need a unicorn, Applejack and Dash recruit Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie instead.  They scrimmage a full game while trying out unicorns for the team since apparently nobody knows any.

Buckball plays like another version of Quidditch without the instant game over option.  Each team fields an earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn who perform various functions.  The earth ponies are essentially shooters that kick the ball toward a basket.  The pegasi are goaltenders, while the unicorn helps catch the ball by using magic.  Games go until six points are scored, but we don’t find that out until later.  Big Mac and Granny Smith assist as ball boy and referee, but they refrain from talking so we don’t have to pay them.  Phew!

With two certain unicorns missing, everyone else plays horribly and are soon cut from the 53-man roster.  Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash and Applejack though, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie turn out to be naturals who dominate their more experienced friends.  Still needing a unicorn after all this, they decide to ask Rarity and Twilight naw fuck that, Snails “just happens” to be passing, and he catches rogue balls coming his way with water buckets.  Well, that was easy (guess we know who inspires Skelly’s writing).  Not sure why we wasted time on a tryout.  Rainbow Dash tells Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie that sadly…they’ll be starting.  Neither of them looks happy, but at least Pinkie appears enthusiastic.

Despite getting completely outplayed, Applejack decides her friends need rigorous boot camp training first.  None of the obstacles pertain to the actual game, so this goes rather poorly (except for Snails, who apparently reaches enlightenment).  Completely stressing out and playing terribly, Pinkie and Fluttershy console each other that at least no one in Ponyville cares about this dumb sport.  Well, until Dash tells everyone about it and they show up for a huge sendoff.

Applejack and Dash pour on the pressure during their train trip, which pushes Fluttershy and Pinkie into full panic mode.  After these latter ponies angrily depart, the former two realize reveling in pressure doesn’t sound like either of their friends.  They quickly announce a warmup practice game to “derust” before the big matchup.  Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie go along and initially play poorly, but with the pressure off they soon come out of their funk.  Dash and Applejack happily let them start again, and Ponyville ekes out a one goal victory versus Appleloosa’s shocked squad.  Braeburn announces his plans for a rematch though, just in case this episode does well at the box office.

Skelly can’t really overcome her odd characterization even if it doesn’t technically counts as poor.  Several positives include Fluttershy getting past her typical shyness and contributing athletically, and the two friendships (Fluttershy/Pinkie Pie, Applejack/Rainbow Dash) embracing their similarities and common situation rather than butting heads or ignoring each other.  Nothing previously suggested Snails would be good at magic, but his laidback attitude provides a nice foil for everyone else worrying.  Even Braeburn and his team react with tempered anger instead of happily congratulating the winners.  Those faceless unicorns probably wouldn’t all be equally poor, but this is Skelly’s only characterization blemish…if previous episodes didn’t exist.  Twilight and Rarity’s absence plus Granny Smith and Big Mac receiving no lines are so blatantly money-conscious that one wonders if and how much Skelly’s script was altered.  Whoever was responsible for these cash concerns created unnecessary flaws in this episode’s structure and destroyed any chance of it being passable.

Buckball Season might technically be seen as a Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3 offshoot, since they have similar points about people learning things in different ways.  Many professional coaches would probably prefer Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s method, which could be understandable given how often high pressure situations are encountered.  History has also shown that no single approach guarantees success for every player, and proper coaching could turn potential rejects into hall-of-famers. While debatably actually true given this being fiction, Applejack and Rainbow Dash realized their method wasn’t working and figured out a different way to win.  This point cannot go without mention, especially given the impossibility of finding real coaches willing to do that.

I usually have strong words for new writers whose initial offerings are poorly received, but that isn’t the case for Skelly despite Buckball Season clearly being substandard.  Leaving out four notable characters probably wasn’t her idea, and her characterization otherwise featured many strong points.  Some bronies felt this episode was noticeably worse than Dungeons & Discords, but the main reason why it isn’t stems from Skelly’s script actually having a purpose which she accomplished.  D&D never made any point, but Buckball still decently demonstrates an important concept. My Little Pony is a show that theoretically celebrates diversity, and Skelly hasn’t forgotten this.  Hopefully she’ll watch previous episodes and return with a deeper plot and access to every character.  She could be a solid contributor if this happened, because Buckball Season shows promise despite too many flaws for a better grade.