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[DrForester]

Luna once again sounded bored out of her mind. I like the dreamwalking stuff, but you'd think, especially after Luna Eclipsed, she'd be a bit more light hearted dealing with kids. Kind of like with Celestia these past few seasons, she's less a character and more her job.

Wish the Luna from the comics, that seems a better extension of what we saw in Luna Eclipsed was the Luna we saw in the show these last few appearances.

 

[McNum]

I think this was a necessary episode in the CMC story. They've been comically missing the point about cutie marks for four whole seasons, and now, finally, somepony they trust and actually will listen to spelled it out for them. Maybe this season will let them get their marks?

Also, Scootaloo made me a little sad. "This is a dream?" And then she starts flying around, reminding us that yes. The not flying thing is still an issue for her.

EDIT: This is Luna on the job, so to speak. She has to play up being the wise old mare since she's acting in an official capacity as dream guardian.

 

[Lightning_Roller]

This was a very decent episode and good progression for the cmc. Also derp dolphin is best cutie mark.

 

[Rhomega Beta]

Also worth noting that we got Big Mac actually talking again.

 

[PaulloDEC]

Interesting episode, though all the Luna dream episodes have been. Fun at times, surreal and dramatic at others.

Babs getting her mark seems like a positive sign; they're willing to make proper, permanent changes to established characters in the CMC side of the show, so hopefully cutie marks for the rest of the gang won't be far off. As Sigma pointed out, it was nice that they called back to Applebloom's training with Twilight last season too.

EDIT: This is Luna on the job, so to speak. She has to play up being the wise old mare since she's acting in an official capacity as dream guardian.

That's how I took it too. Even if they eventually decide to embrace the goofier comic Luna (and god knows, I hope they do), I doubt we'd see it in the context of her giving sage advice in the dreams of children.

 

[DrForester]

The fact that she's working with kids though offers itself up to a bit of levity that is just absent. Just delivering her advice in a monotone voice just seems off.

 

[Dennis]

I want to smoke whatever the writer for this episode was smoking.

 

[PaulloDEC]

I want to smoke whatever the writer for this episode was smoking.

I dunno man, could be kind of a bad trip.

 

[draetenth]

I felt the episode started off slowly, but it quickly found it's groove. The animation seems to really good so far this season as the ponies have had some really good facial expressions.

 

[DrForester]

nevermind

 

[SigmasonicX]

Hmm, I'm not sure if straight up posting two pages of a comic issue that weren't part of the official previews is a good idea.

Anyway, comic related to last week.

EDIT: Also, I notice that we're getting a lot of art of Babs Seed with Ryuko's scissor blade (Kill la Kill). And also, there's some art shipping her with Snips now.

 

[wookieofdoom]

Luna once again sounded bored out of her mind. I like the dreamwalking stuff, but you'd think, especially after Luna Eclipsed, she'd be a bit more light hearted dealing with kids. Kind of like with Celestia these past few seasons, she's less a character and more her job.

Wish the Luna from the comics, that seems a better extension of what we saw in Luna Eclipsed was the Luna we saw in the show these last few appearances.

100% agree with this. Luna had such a cute personality in Luna Eclipsed and they have just sort of forgotten about it. I want Katie Cook goofy Luna

 

[draetenth]

I have to say that Luna does seem to have a pretty important job as a keeper of dreams and she does seem to have ponies that love her (at least the CMC do). I wonder if she really did change into Nightmare Moon because she felt unappreciated...

I can also understand why she might be grumpy doing her dream thing, but that's probably because I don't like kids and could see myself being annoyed if I constantly had to enter dreams of kids having the same exact fear about Cutie Marks each and ever single night for years. IMO, that would wear anyone down.

Although, I admit that I would definitely like to see the comic Luna (and Celestia).

 

[Lupin the Third]

100% agree with this. Luna had such a cute personality in Luna Eclipsed and they have just sort of forgotten about it. I want Katie Cook goofy Luna

Goofy Luna would have been distracting here. This was Apple Bloom's story, not Luna's. Luna serves as a catalyst, a guide, and behaves appropriately.

 

[SigmasonicX]

So majestic

And I mentioned this before, but I didn't know the title of the art until now, and it's amazing. Bully La Bully (if you don't know the reference)

 

[wookieofdoom]

Goofy Luna would have been distracting here. This was Apple Bloom's story, not Luna's. Luna serves as a catalyst, a guide, and behaves appropriately.

Sure, but anytime we've seen her outside of dream sequences she is still devoid of her Luna Eclipsed persona.

 

[Lupin the Third]

She's also not suffering from severe social issues or identity crisis in other episodes. Luna's fine.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Persona reference

And I found this gif edit quite funny, especially due to the end. Linking because lesbians, even if there's nothing close to obscene in it.

 

[Choppasmith]

So I've been super busy and had no chance to watch ponies until my sister and I marathoned it last night. So my thoughts:

Cutie Map: Strong season opener. I kept thinking how many gif-able moments especially with Pinkie there were. Even in it's fifth season I was amazed they're continuing to really push the envelope. I mean brainwashing on a cartoon show about ponies for little kids? Unbelievable! Interesting villain too. Hopefully her getting away isn't a red herring like Sombra in Season 3.

Home Sweet Castle: Overall, thus was actually a pretty ho-hum episode for me. It had its moments though including "I'm pancake!", Bulk Biceps, and Twilight's tears of joy at the end.

Apple Gloom: Man, did this episode keep me guessing. Sure I quickly picked up on the episode being the whole It's a Wonderful Life scenario, but it's really turned on its head here. I kept trying to figure out who the shadow was. At first I thought maybe it was the premiere villain (yeah I haven't quite gotten her name down, Starbright?), then realizing she was dreaming, I thought it as Luna, but then why does she sounds so sinister? Then Luna actually shows up, YAY! Also really loved Applejack's lullaby.

Anyway, it's good to be back, I'm just sad my hectic schedule prevents me from scouring the internet for fanart, music and other content like I used to.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Mysterious Death Nereus confirmed for major villain and possible killer of Apple Bloom's parents, using a trombone.

 

[Gold Coins for Cats]

Sure, but anytime we've seen her outside of dream sequences she is still devoid of her Luna Eclipsed persona.

She got modern language lessons after the fiasco of Luna Eclipsed, likely on the strong urging of Twilight.

Celestia never bothered to correct her before then because she misses the old times when she and Luna were together. And everyone else in Canterlot was too scared or too concerned in gaining her favor to correct her.

I mean brainwashing on a cartoon show about ponies for little kids? Unbelievable!

Brainwashing was very common in the eighties, although I can only remember "Octopus Ink" from TMNT off the top of my head.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Oh damn, this ultra rare card in the new TCG release, Absolute Discord, could be a huge spoiler, or it could just be the game makers messing around.

Also, a couple of clips of the new episode have been released, but it's just tomorrow anyway.

 

[DrForester]

Oh damn, this ultra rare card in the new TCG release, Absolute Discord, could be a huge spoiler, or it could just be the game makers messing around.

Also, a couple of clips of the new episode have been released, but it's just tomorrow anyway.

I'd put a guess that if that is actually in the show it's going to be in the episode with

Spoiler

Luna's nightmares

that we know is coming up at some point.

 

[PaulloDEC]

I'd put a guess that if that is actually in the show it's going to be in the episode with

Spoiler

Luna's nightmares

that we know is coming up at some point.

That sounds like a pretty interesting premise. When/where did we learn about that? Is there any more detail?

 

[DrForester]

That sounds like a pretty interesting premise. When/where did we learn about that? Is there any more detail?

Think it was a Bronycon or Comicon reveal. I don't think there were any other details other than that premise.

 

[wookieofdoom]

That looks freaking cool. Interesting if it comes about.

 

[Orcastar]

Spoiler

Solar Flare

is canon, huh? Neat.

Interesting detail:

Spoiler

the front of her throne has the elements of harmony embedded into it.

 

[PaulloDEC]

Spoiler

Solar Flare

is canon, huh? Neat.

Interesting detail:

Spoiler

the front of her throne has the elements of harmony embedded into it.

It's a pretty cool idea.

Spoiler

Where Luna went bad as a result of jealousy and bitterness, it seems like Celestia's catalysts might've been ego and selfishness. The fact that she's got the Elements in her throne gives the impression that she thinks she can handle everything on her own.

/idle speculation.

 

[Orcastar]

It's a pretty cool idea.

Spoiler

Where Luna went bad as a result of jealousy and bitterness, it seems like Celestia's catalysts might've been ego and selfishness. The fact that she's got the Elements in her throne gives the impression that she thinks she can handle everything on her own.

/idle speculation.

Spoiler

Unless you go by the comics, which established that Luna was turned evil by the evil nightmare energy from the moon or somesuch nonsense... I really hope they don't bring that idea into the show.

Then again, why is she called Nightmare Star? With Luna it makes sense because she's a mare of the night, dreams, etc. etc., but with Celestia a name like that makes no sense whatsoever. Unless, of course, she does indeed only appear in Luna's nightmares.

 

[PaulloDEC]

Spoiler

Unless you go by the comics, which established that Luna was turned evil by the evil nightmare energy from the moon or somesuch nonsense... I really hope they don't bring that idea into the show.

Then again, why is she called Nightmare Star? With Luna it makes sense because she's a mare of the night, dreams, etc. etc., but with Celestia a name like that makes no sense whatsoever. Unless, of course, she does indeed only appear in Luna's nightmares.

Spoiler

I'm actively denying any suggestion that Luna turned bad as a result of external forces. The premiere says that "the bitterness in the young one's heart transformed her", and I'll be damned if I'm calling Lauren Faust a liar.

The name could have a few explanations I guess. There's the obvious argument that "Nightmare" as a prefix is just used to mean "bad", i.e. theoretically any character who turned evil might be called "Nightmare ________". What you're suggesting about Luna's nightmares also works, and then finally there's the idea that the writers just felt like drawing an obvious parallel to Nightmare Moon and didn't give it any thought beyond that.

 

[draetenth]

I'd put a guess that if that is actually in the show it's going to be in the episode with

Spoiler

Luna's nightmares

that we know is coming up at some point.

This was my first thought too.

Spoiler

I'm actively denying any suggestion that Luna turned bad as a result of external forces. The premiere says that "the bitterness in the young one's heart transformed her", and I'll be damned if I'm calling Lauren Faust a liar.

The name could have a few explanations I guess. There's the obvious argument that "Nightmare" as a prefix is just used to mean "bad", i.e. theoretically any character who turned evil might be called "Nightmare ________". What you're suggesting about Luna's nightmares also works, and then finally there's the idea that the writers just felt like drawing an obvious parallel to Nightmare Moon and didn't give it any thought beyond that.

Well, my personal thought on the matter (I'm not sure if it needs to be spoilered, but since you did...),

Spoiler

The Nightmare Moon thing happened 1000 years ago. That is a long time. Obviously the only one around were Luna and Celestia, but after 1000 years - how well can they remember the events? Did the events happen as they remembered? Also, consider how would Celestia have wanted the event to be remembered. What we saw in the premiere could simply be what was left of the event after 1000 years. At this point, I don't think we will ever really know. I mean we don't even know who wrote the tale of NIghtmare Moon... Was it Celestia for her reasons (did she know Luna was coming back and when? Did she know to set this up so that Twilight would find it at that moment?). Really, they probably could do a whole spin off series on the whole thing...

 

[PaulloDEC]

Well, my personal thought on the matter (I'm not sure if it needs to be spoilered, but since you did...),

Spoiler

The Nightmare Moon thing happened 1000 years ago. That is a long time. Obviously the only one around were Luna and Celestia, but after 1000 years - how well can they remember the events? Did the events happen as they remembered? Also, consider how would Celestia have wanted the event to be remembered. What we saw in the premiere could simply be what was left of the event after 1000 years. At this point, I don't think we will ever really know. I mean we don't even know who wrote the tale of NIghtmare Moon... Was it Celestia for her reasons (did she know Luna was coming back and when? Did she know to set this up so that Twilight would find it at that moment?). Really, they probably could do a whole spin off series on the whole thing...

See, I'm cool with that. Being vague is totally fine by me. I just really don't want to see the far less interesting explanation (

Spoiler

that Luna was taken over by some evil force

) be set in stone.

 

[DrForester]

This episode is amazing.

 

[Tenumi]

Rainbow Dash, starring in "The Grinch who stole Hearth's Warming"

 

[Gold Coins for Cats]

And Rainbow Dash will not be seen for the rest of the season due to being in prison for causing massive amounts of property damage.

 

[DrForester]

And Rainbow Dash will not be seen for the rest of the season due to being in prison for causing massive amounts of property damage.

You can't prove she was there.

 

[Gold Coins for Cats]

You can't prove she was there.

But somepony does get fired for not posting guards in the most important building in Cloudsdale.

Ahh who am I kidding, it's the government.

 

[Myke Greywolf]

Worst episode of the season and one of the worst in the whole show. Rainbow Dash re-re-re-reconfirmed as worst pony.

 

[wookieofdoom]

These are some very split opinions here.....

 

[DrForester]

I really enjoyed this episode. Rainbow Dash's think big, act now attitude was on full display. Tons of great gags, my favorite being the "Who's on First" reference with the pony names. Song was fantastic as well.

They managed to do a pet death episode without a pet death.

 

[Harusame]

And Rainbow Dash will not be seen for the rest of the season due to being in prison for causing massive amounts of property damage.

I was wondering whether or not she will face any repercussions...

Anyways, I liked that episode as well as the song

 

[SigmasonicX]

I found the episode to merely be OK, particularly because it felt rather drawn out and padded. It probably would have had a lot more impact as a 12-minute episode without losing too much. The song was nice, but it felt really unnecessary, as nothing was really changed or made more clear between the start and end... a lot like "Winter Wrap Up" actually. I like how Dash straightforwardly followed the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance). The look inside the weather factory was neat, though a bit less was done than I would have liked, and it was odd that Dash apparently got away with messing things up. I liked Fluttershy being cruel to be kind, though given how calm she was, I'm guessing she has had to break the news about pet deaths in the past. I also liked Fluttershy breaking, and thus most everyone else breaking. It was kind of surprising to see Twilight still being presented as somewhat of an outsider in this case.

Also, I guess we now have undeniable proof that the episodes are not necessarily in chronological order. At the very least, "Hearth's Warming Eve" definitely took place before "May the Best Pet Win", and less than a year has passed between the latter episode and now. Just another headache for those bothering to figure this out.

Larson had previously tweeted that he accepts full responsibility for something that happens in this episode, which I guessed would be the use of the quote, "Winter is coming," and I was proven right.

 

[wildthing2022000]

As a New Englander who just dealt with one of the worst winters in recent history, I was totally rooting for Dash to destroy winter.

 

[Rhomega Beta]

I liked the episode, thought I'm bothered that Rainbow Dash tried to stop winter for Tank's sake...even though the whole reason why she was trying to keep him awake was to enjoy winter sports with him. I liked the song, and I did like the world building for Cloudsdale.

But why do I get the feeling that they build up this hibernation thing, and yet Tank's going to show up in the next episode anyway?

 

[draetenth]

^ Well, I don't think episodes are really in order or anything (and they had the running of the leaves and did some winter wrap up stuff so the episode itself may have covered a period of time...). The next episode could take place before this one or even during...

Excellent episode, probably one of my favorites in the whole show. It had a lot of moments that I enjoyed (RD asking Spike for a second opinion, RD antics in trying to stop winter, the one pegasus trying to talk about the sky and having two pegasi with the exact names she wanted to use, the whole intervention thing at the end with everpony crying for different reasons - RD for Tank, FS for RD, Rarity for FS, PP for TS, and AJ on the inside).

The song was pretty good and I enjoyed the facial animation (was that a grinch face RD made at one point?) although some of them were weird. RD was pretty good in this episode. However, I think PP might be the best pony so far this season. I'm really enjoying the scenes she is in.

 

[brian577]

I liked the episode, thought I'm bothered that Rainbow Dash tried to stop winter for Tank's sake...even though the whole reason why she was trying to keep him awake was to enjoy winter sports with him.

That was when she was in denial. Once she accepted it, it moved on to her not wanting to be alone.

 

[draetenth]

Yeah, I think this episode had Dash going through the five stages of grief... I can't remember when she went through bargaining, but I do know she went through the other 4.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Yeah, I think this episode had Dash going through the five stages of grief... I can't remember when she went through bargaining, but I do know she went through the other 4.

"Maybe if I stop winter, Tank won't hibernate!"

 

[draetenth]

"Maybe if I stop winter, Tank won't hibernate!"

Ah, yes. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that as bargaining...

 

[PaulloDEC]

Holy crap, I loved this episode. Totally in-character for Dash, and so many fantastic laughs. Cindy Morrow needs to write as many episodes for this show as possible.

I liked the episode, thought I'm bothered that Rainbow Dash tried to stop winter for Tank's sake...even though the whole reason why she was trying to keep him awake was to enjoy winter sports with him.

But that was such a great part of it! It starts with Dash being upset that she won't be able to do Winter stuff with Tank, but ultimately she realises it's more about the fact that she just doesn't want him to go at all.