Day Two Hundred and Fifty-six - MLP:FiM: Season 3, Episode 5, "Dear Fluttershy... You Complete Me!"

Busy, busy, busy, busy...

Busy, busy, busy...

Busy... busy!

Today was a mess of "Things That Needed Doing..." even more so than yesterday (which was hella-busy in its own right), what with work and advising and paperwork and writing my own fricken job description (which makes me really, really, really nervous). Still, I couldn't let it break the streak... so, while I was scrambling to try and relay to my superiors just what it is, exactly, that I do, I flipped on the Netflix App and queued up My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!

This particular episode marked the return of Trixie, the Great and Powerful Egomaniac from the first season, whom Twilight Sparkle sent into disgrace by defeating an Ursa Minor. It seems that she's thirsting for revenge and has enlisted the help of a cameo pony, the Oriental Mystic Pony named Uncle Wing (GREMLINS!), who sells Trixie a powerful amulet to augment her powers at the cost of her soul being corrupted.

It's a cute little Nemesis Redux episode with plenty of call backs to the original meeting and quite a few new gimmicks, like the shadow play that Twilight and the gang have to put forth to trick Trixie out of her Alicorn Amulet. It's especially fun when the smoke and mirrors corral all of the Apple Family, even Big Mac, to pull one over on the seasoned stage magician. It's actually rather ironic that, in her power mad state, she can't recognize basic illusions and sleight of hand.

I also love this episode due to the simple fact that it has Fluttershy acting her "bravest" while wearing a stealth ensemble courtesy of Rarity. Her sneak suit has to be one of the cutest things I've seen all year and, when combined with her basic moe factor, it's squee overload. So much so that I want to recreate her (and it) in mosaic or perlers.

As far as the weekly moral, it's a simple matter of teamwork, humility, and brains for Twily, et al., as per the norm with the show... so nothing new there. Though, even as cute as it was, it did seem a little out of character for Fluttershy to be THAT timid. She's always risen to the occasion before, and in more dire circumstances, so it felt a little hammy for her to overreact as much as she did during the second act.

While the episode is definitely one of my favorites, objectively it's not the best... especially when you consider how quickly Trixie is forgiven once she's defeated. Way too quick a turn around. Still, lots of great lines and bits for the Mane 6 and a few good ones for the side ponies. Plus, gender-swapped Applejack is hilarious.

Now... to get to work on a design for Sneak Suit FlutterShutter! Gah! The hnnnnnggghh!

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Eighty-five - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Season 1, Episode 6, "What NOT to do when you're Awesome!"

Time for some more Brony action.

Episode six of the surprisingly quality and well-balanced series that is MLP:FiM is the second in as many episodes that features a visitor to Ponyville (The Great and Powerful Trixie, Pony Magician Extraordinaire) stirring up some trouble, the first being the unblogged episode 5 with Gilda who bullys Fluttershy.

This is yet another example of rotating the cast of the Mane 6 to keep things fresh as both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are absent for unknown reasons, despite the fact that the second act crisis seems to involve both wildlife (Fluttershy's specialty) and the entirety of town (you'd think Pinkie would hear the noise of Ursa roars over whatever party she has going on).

That's pretty much okay, though, as this is another Twilight centric episode and it makes sense that the three prideful/competitive ponies of the Mane 6 (Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash), would care more about Trixie's boasts than the timid and accepting Fluttershy and utterly oblivious Pinkie Pie.

Plus, Pinkie's preternatural powers for breaking the fourth wall (and the universe) would mess with the inevitable confrontation between Twilight, who doesn't want her friends to hate her because she's awesome at magic, and Trixie, who is a show-pony to be sure, but not all that magical in comparison.

I like the contrast this episode has with the one previous.

Where Glinda is all physicality, Trixie is mostly sarcasm, cunning, and finesse. Plus, it helps that Trixie almost always refers to herself in the third person. A nice little bit of egotism to both set her apart and, coupled with her general attitude and mannerisms towards the Ponyville folks, establishs a negative impression towards her.

While is was kind of odd to have the Mane 6 trio of neigh-sayers (don't look at me, it's a direct quote from the episode) be instantly critical of Trixie just to force some self-conscious denial from Twilight Sparkle, I'm willing to suffer the cliched delivery in exchange for the fun Trixie snark and other side jokes of the epi.

I mean, there's a freaking mustache spell for crying out loud (and Rarity not being impressed loses points for her in my book)... not to mention Trixie's smoke bomb/run away gag and the Snips and Snails pun.

Actually, I'm a little divided when it comes to Snips and Snails. They're a bit of cheesy fun in the vein of Pinky and the Brain if both characters had the mental capacity of Pinky instead of the Brain, but they're also not the greatest male role models for kids watching the show. Aside from Spike (who's just a baby, even if he acts like a preteen) Big McIntosh is pretty much the closest thing to a positive male role in the series so far... and he doesn't talk much.

 It would be nice to have one or two more positive Colt characters showing up more often, but oh well.

Overall, at this point in the show, the series is still just pleasing it's target demographic. The stories are mostly simple morality plays and there aren't nearly enough inside jokes for the adult fanbase yet. That will, of course, change... but while the first few episodes are definitely enjoyable and quality, they aren't quite to the level I want in all aspects.

Still, fun stuff. This is a series that both children and their parents (and even a few thousand childless adults, like me) can really get into. It's not quite up to Phineas and Ferb levels of self-reference and crossover appeal, yet, but I imagine it'll get there. You know, if Hasbro doesn't kill the magic to push more toy sales, but that may just be me being cynical.


Until tomorrow, Potatoes~