My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Season 4 |OT| Twilight Princess Returns

Really good episode all around. I agree with Forrester in that the only real flaw was maybe having AJ's over protection was dangerously teetering toward being out of character and "full retard". Great stuff all around though. AB was always my favorite CMC.
 
Damn, now thanks to that line about
AJ calling Rarity to watch over the fillies
, I am left even more curious about Scoot's living situation...
 
New synopsis time:

S04E22 - Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3
Rainbow Dash uses unconventional methods to prepare for her test to become a member of the Wonderbolts Reserves.
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Wonderbolts stuff? Again?

EDIT: And another one!

S04E19 - Trade Ya
When the trip to the Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange doesn't go as planned, the girls learn just how valuable their friendship really is.
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Best episode of the season, or best episode of the series?

Awesome new face? Check.

Apt amount of comedy? Check.

Enough time for all characters? Check.

No try-hard morals, just the basics? Check.

Dash being an ass? Check.

Alternate animation style for segment? Check.

Solid VAs all around? Check.
 
That was certainly a fun episode.

I didn't watch any of the previews beforehand, but Maud's personality... exactly what I expected. And it worked.
 
Princess Cadance said:
I liked the new episode. You could say it was...rock solid.

I'm curious where Pinkie's other sisters/family are.
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tumblr_mozndjcpRu1rxzaoho3_1280.png
 
One of the most heartful whole group episodes, and is a pinkie pie one. Damn, that was great.
Im playing right now Persona 4 Goldne, so Pinkie's sister remind me of Marie, even when she writes the rock poems lol


HUELEN10 said:
No try-hard morals, just the basics? Check.
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Really love when the series does this, no hard push about the morals or not morals whatsoverer (like in The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000). For me is when the show does best.
The moral was there, but it was subtle and nicely done. When Pinkie goes on the train trip with her sister to the rock farm I was thinking, wow, this is really well done.

More episodes need to do this in the future, not more writing or pony narrator explaining why they did that.
 
HUELEN10 said:
10 minutes in and I'm already hooked; this one's a keeper!
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Tenumi said:
That was certainly a fun episode.

I didn't watch any of the previews beforehand, but Maud's personality... exactly what I expected. And it worked.
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wookieofdoom said:
Incredible episode. 10/10 amazing experience-ign.com
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Princess Cadance said:
I liked the new episode. You could say it was...rock solid.
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Agreed, top-tier episode. Not sure what I was expecting Maud to be like, but she was every bit as weird and funny as I could've hoped. The interaction between her and Pinkie alone would've been worth the price of admission.

And correct me if I'm wrong Slice readers, but this episode didn't actually invalidate Ego's Pie family storyline from the comic (with the exception of the specific placement of their factory), right? As much as I endorse the "TV canon overrides all" attitude, I'd love for Ego's Pinkie backstory to stay applicable.

Anyway, very happy with this one. Fantastic to see so many new writers doing such a great job this season.

SpacePirate Ridley said:
One of the most heartful whole group episodes, and is a pinkie pie one. Damn, that was great.
I'm playing right now Persona 4 Golden, so Pinkie's sister remind me of Marie, even when she writes the rock poems lol
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Ha, I hadn't thought of Marie! I've been watching Parks and Recreation lately, so all I could think about was Aubrey Plaza.
 
It was a good episode, but not top tier for me. It was just one long joke that went on too long. They could have done some neat things with this episode. Instead of having Rarity make some horribly ugly hat, have her and Maud talk about gems. Make the episode a stealth Spike episode and have him and Maud become fast friends since they both like to eat rocks.
 
DrForester said:
It was a good episode, but not top tier for me. It was just one long joke that went on too long. They could have done some neat things with this episode. Instead of having Rarity make some horribly ugly hat, have her and Maud talk about gems.
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I liked that the core issue was a no-easy-answers kinda deal. I was a little worried they'd cop-out and have Maud cheer up, so keeping her character consistent throughout felt perfect to me.

Make the episode a stealth Spike episode and have him and Maud become fast friends since they both like to eat rocks.
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I feel like your Spike complex is getting worse, Doc.
 
DrForester said:
Come on, it was an episode about rocks and eating rocks and they left Spike out.
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I've grown to accept that as much as I enjoy Spike's character, the writers just don't want the added difficulty of trying to fit him into already-cramped episodes. It sucks, but thems the breaks.
 
I'm surprised they actually ate rocks. I mean, Spike eats rocks, but he's been seen as a special case, being a dragon with razor sharp teeth that can tear through anything. Then we see Maud just casually eating a diamond, one of the hardest things on earth. I thought rock candy was just a name.

Looking forward to best pony and best CMC in next week's episode.
 
PaulloDEC said:
I've grown to accept that as much as I enjoy Spike's character, the writers just don't want the added difficulty of trying to fit him into already-cramped episodes. It sucks, but thems the breaks.
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I think if its that difficult to implement " spike is just hanging out in the background " there is a whole other mess of writing issues happening.
 
Rhomega Beta said:
I'm surprised they actually ate rocks. I mean, Spike eats rocks, but he's been seen as a special case, being a dragon with razor sharp teeth that can tear through anything. Then we see Maud just casually eating a diamond, one of the hardest things on earth. I thought rock candy was just a name.

Looking forward to best pony and best CMC in next week's episode.
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But it's not about Sweetie Belle, and at most we might only see Celestia in flashbacks.
 
Village said:
I think if its that difficult to implement " spike is just hanging out in the background " there is a whole other mess of writing issues happening.
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Fair point. I imagine there could be some resistance to just throwing Spike off in the background though; in a way, that's almost worse than not having him there at all. By leaving him out you provide the possibility that he's off doing something he actually wants to be doing, as opposed to just having him lurk in the back of shot while the rest of the gang have dialogue and interactions and whatnot.
 
PaulloDEC said:
Fair point. I imagine there could be some resistance to just throwing Spike off in the background though; in a way, that's almost worse than not having him there at all. By leaving him out you provide the possibility that he's off doing something he actually wants to be doing, as opposed to just having him lurk in the back of shot while the rest of the gang have dialogue and interactions and whatnot.
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If there was enough spike centric episodes to of set that kind of thing, sure. Or a comic or whatever, sure I would be down. But their isn't they just exclude, him. Why? They don't give a shit about spike at all, I don't even think they like spike. They even made him a dog in that dumb ass movie, not a child you know something that can be viewed as some type of equal or a better considering he is dragon, or considering the fact everyone treats spike like an person in the regular show . No, a dog.

There is no issue with writing or having him there, they don't like and/or care about spike .
 
Village said:
If there was enough spike centric episodes to of set that kind of thing, sure. Or a comic or whatever, sure I would be down. But their isn't they just exclude, him. Why? They don't give a shit about spike at all, I don't even think they like spike. They even made him a dog in that dumb ass movie, not a child you know something that can be viewed as some type of equal or a better considering he is dragon, or considering the fact everyone treats spike like an person in the regular show . No, a dog.

There is no issue with writing or having him there, they don't like and/or care about spike.
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To be fair, dog-Spike was great. He had some terrific lines as I recall, and being made a dog didn't make him any less of a character than he usually was.

In general, Spike strikes me as a low-priority feature from both a writing and a marketing perspective. He absolutely can be an interesting character, but the show is called "My Little Pony", and I can't imagine anyone at Hasbro or DHX are oblivious to that.
 
PaulloDEC said:
The show is called "My Little Pony", and I can't imagine anyone at Hasbro or DHX are oblivious to that.
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"Dragon Quest" showed us he ain't much of a dragon (as what you are isn't who you are) though. :P

He was pretty awesome in friends forever 3, I'll give you that much.
 
HUELEN10 said:
"Dragon Quest" showed us he ain't much of a dragon (as what you are isn't who you are) though. :P

He was pretty awesome in friends forever 3, I'll give you that much.
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Though I wasn't a huge fan of Dragon Quest, it demonstrated that there's some great stories to be told with a character like Spike.

I just read Friends Forever #3 last night actually. Spike and Celestia are an interesting duo, especially given the weird role that Celestia played in putting Spike with Twilight in the first place. It'd be interesting to see that explored sometime (if Spike ever gets another episode, anyway).
 
That rock was already dead. Hokuto no Ken to death.

How come this sister wasn't mentioned in The Cutie Mark Chronicles episode. Seems weird. I wanted to see her other sisters too.
 
Shining Sunshine said:
How come this sister wasn't mentioned in The Cutie Mark Chronicles episode. Seems weird. I wanted to see her other sisters too.
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Well, we know that Maud was introduced in a spin-off book at least. That doesn't answer the question of why they chose to make the episode about the one sister of the three that didn't appear on the show, however.

Amibguous Cad said:
See, the problem with making an episode about a boring character is that the episode is boring
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I guess you're more into the Adventure type episodes? These character-focussed ones are like crack to me. Maud herself might have been dull (deliberately of course), but the real joy comes from the way the different characters react to her. I thought the relationship between Pinkie and Maud was especially interesting.
 
PaulloDEC said:
Well, we know that Maud was introduced in a spin-off book at least. That doesn't answer the question of why they chose to make the episode about the one sister of the three that didn't appear on the show, however.



I guess you're more into the Adventure type episodes? These character-focussed ones are like crack to me. Maud herself might have been dull (deliberately of course), but the real joy comes from the way the different characters react to her. I thought the relationship between Pinkie and Maud was especially interesting.
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I do like slice of life episodes, just not this particular one.
 
Amibguous Cad said:
See, the problem with making an episode about a boring character is that the episode is boring
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This character was very interesting though.

A perfect example of Faust's philosophy on different types of girls, and interesting due to her contrast with all the other exaggerated/happy go lucky characters of the show.

It also seems like she is relatable to a fair amount of bronies out there (hints of aspergers or autism in her introverted nature, high intelligence and focused interests?)

It was a top tier episode precisely because it had a character who stood out from the expectations of MLP, just like FiM itself.
 
Slamtastic said:
This character was very interesting though.

A perfect example of Faust's philosophy on different types of girls, and interesting due to her contrast with all the other exaggerated/happy go lucky characters of the show.

It also seems like she is relatable to a fair amount of bronies out there (hints of aspergers or autism in her introverted nature, high intelligence and focused interests?)

It was a top tier episode precisely because it had a character who stood out from the expectations of MLP, just like FiM itself.
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Nicely put.

Amibguous Cad said:
I do like slice of life episodes, just not this particular one.
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Fair enough, we can't all like the same episodes.

Actually, this got me thinking about the genre mix this season. I've written up my classifications below, but I'd be interested in hearing what others think.

Slice
5 - Flight to the Finish
14 - Filli Vanilli
15 - Twilight Time
18 - Maud Pie

Event
8 - Rarity Takes Manehattan
10 - Rainbow Falls
12 - Pinkie Pride
16 - It Ain't Easy Being Breezies

Adventure
1 & 2 - Princess Twilight Sparkle
3 - Castlemania

High Concept
4 - Daring Don't
6 - Power Ponies
7 - Bats

Fusions
9 - Pinkie Apple Pie - Slice/Event
11 - Three's A Crowd - Slice/Adventure
13 - Simple Ways - Slice/Event
17 - Somepony to Watch Over Me - Slice/Adventure

Slice = Stories that focus mainly on character interaction, either with familiar characters or new ones.
Event = Stories that either focus on or are instigated by a significant event, i.e. festival, party, natural event.
Adventure = Stories that involve a significant focus on action and/or danger, often with villains or monsters playing a key role.
High Concept = Stories that focus on unusual or far-fetched ideas that would raise eyebrows outside of a magical realm like Equestria.
 
DrForester said:
It was a good episode, but not top tier for me. It was just one long joke that went on too long. They could have done some neat things with this episode. Instead of having Rarity make some horribly ugly hat, have her and Maud talk about gems. Make the episode a stealth Spike episode and have him and Maud become fast friends since they both like to eat rocks.
Click to expand...

You and I seem to think a lot alike with episodes. I agree that it was good and Maud was adorable but the whole running gag of Maud stating the obvious and being the polar opposite of Pinkie ran thin. The ending was adorable though.

Shining Sunshine said:
That rock was already dead. Hokuto no Ken to death.

How come this sister wasn't mentioned in The Cutie Mark Chronicles episode. Seems weird. I wanted to see her other sisters too.
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Yeah there was a big retcon in Pinkie Pride, why they couldn't just use one of her other sisters is beyond me.
 
Choppasmith said:
Yeah there was a big retcon in Pinkie Pride, why they couldn't just use one of her other sisters is beyond me.
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How is it a Retcon? in "Cutie Mark Chronicles" Pinkie says "the sisters", not "two sisters". Who's to say Maud didn't walk in a bit later than the rest? the way I see it, nothing's been retconned, we're just learning more details about events, just like how they do it in Star Trek.
 
Choppasmith said:
You and I seem to think a lot alike with episodes. I agree that it was good and Maud was adorable but the whole running gag of Maud stating the obvious and being the polar opposite of Pinkie ran thin. The ending was adorable though.
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Was that a running gag, though? I never looked at that relationship as a joke with an expected end. It's the core nature of the two characters; why would it change?

In fact, I really liked that they subverted the usual formula by having Maud not change at all. I half-expected there to be a dramatic change of attitude in her by the end, but it was really the Mane 6 who ended up adjusting theirs.
 
I just wish there was more to her and felt a little let down there was nothing more to it aside from the end. Though, I'm glad she didn't radically change at the end too
 
Choppasmith said:
I just wish there was more to her and felt a little let down there was nothing more to it aside from the end. Though, I'm glad she didn't radically change at the end too
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Well, if reception continues to go well, I wouldn't doubt her re-appearing in the comics.

Imagine a 2-issue mini-arc about one of Maud's adventures not unlike the incredible "Zen and the Art of Gazebo Repair" (which, as far as I'm concerned, should be turned into a 40 minute double-length animated special, it's that good).
 
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