I hope so, I love the Art of Equestria. Beautiful book.
I'm well onboard for dramatic manes. Less so for Fluttershy/Applejack shipping, but it's a super cute cover.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 7 |OT| Is this still a fad?
- Thread starter SigmasonicX
- Start date
I hope so, I love the Art of Equestria. Beautiful book.
I'm well onboard for dramatic manes. Less so for Fluttershy/Applejack shipping, but it's a super cute cover.
Trigonometrize.
Member
When season 3 first previewed I thought this was going to be the new standard for windy scenes:
Didn't exactly come true, but with this movie, perhaps...
SigmasonicX
Member
I forgot about that. Yeah, I thought that reflected a shift in hair animation, but I guess that just made them realize how hard it would be to do it consistently. Perhaps the animation software used for the movie is better suited for doing it frequently.
Today's episode!
3. A Flurry of Emotions
After planning a jam-packed day, Twilight Sparkle also agrees to babysit her niece, Flurry Heart. But with Flurry Heart along for the ride, Twilight Sparkle struggles to maintain her title as 'The Best Aunt Ever' while keeping Flurry Heart out of trouble!
Linked site links to Pixiv source
I probably won't be able to watch this today due to the Magic the Gathering prerelease, but I'll be sure to catch it tomorrow..
UberTag
Member
Today's episode was about as good as could be expected given the premise.
This current crop of writers has clearly gotten writing for Spike down to a fine art. Dragon's been in fine form since the start of last season.
We've had precious little of the Mane 6 outside of Twilight this season but I suspect that will change starting next week.
This current crop of writers has clearly gotten writing for Spike down to a fine art. Dragon's been in fine form since the start of last season.
We've had precious little of the Mane 6 outside of Twilight this season but I suspect that will change starting next week.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
That was very, very meh.
I liked pretty much everything except for the focus of the episode, Twilight and Flurry.
I liked pretty much everything except for the focus of the episode, Twilight and Flurry.
Trigonometrize.
Member
Spike was pretty good, Cadence and Shining Armor's descent into being completely downtrodden at the art exhibit was occasionally funny.
This was a far worse "baby" episode than Baby Cakes. In that one, Pinkie learned a pretty hard lesson about the responsibility of taking care of children. It's not just about playtime. In this one, I think Twilight says something like "oh I get it, all you wanted to do all day was play with me!" and it's like.... eh....
There's no big, important revelation. The whole story was basically "things go wrong because of the circumstances of bringing a baby along with you on a busy day."
Pound and Pumpkin were also much more lovable towards the end of that episode in how they pretty much became functionally socially aware to make Pinkie happy. Flurry Heart is kind of just consistently a nuisance.
This was a far worse "baby" episode than Baby Cakes. In that one, Pinkie learned a pretty hard lesson about the responsibility of taking care of children. It's not just about playtime. In this one, I think Twilight says something like "oh I get it, all you wanted to do all day was play with me!" and it's like.... eh....
There's no big, important revelation. The whole story was basically "things go wrong because of the circumstances of bringing a baby along with you on a busy day."
Pound and Pumpkin were also much more lovable towards the end of that episode in how they pretty much became functionally socially aware to make Pinkie happy. Flurry Heart is kind of just consistently a nuisance.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Heed her words, Starlight...
Trigonometrize.
Member
I like how that visual style appeared once back in season two and quite a sizable number of people still use it. (correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I don't think we've seen it since Canterlot Wedding...?)
ShinySylvee
Member
Ok so nice things about the episode first. Once again Spike is was pretty decent, continuing his trend that started in season 6. I really liked the short scene with Pinkie in the middle of the episode. Pinkie had a lot of personality and there was a couple good gags in it, and even a reference to a previous episode. Normally a scene where Pinkie is Pinkie and there's some continuity would hardly be worth mentioning but given the main issues with the episode I had I feel like it's worth mentioning. And lastly, it's not my cup of tea, but there were a couple cute scenes with Flurry Heart.
To frame my complaints for this episode it's important to talk about the writers: Sammie Crowley and Whitney Wetta. Sammie has written a couple episodes for the Nick show The Loud House, and Whitney has written for The Loud House, Tuff Puppy, and The Fairly Oddparents, among a couple of other shows on the network. Pretty much all of the shows the two have worked on have 11 minute episodes and are generally low-stakes comedy shows where character development and continuity are more of an afterthought. MLP by comparison has much higher standards for its stories. Mlp's characters are expected to not only be consistent with their base personality but also all of the lessons they've learned over the course of the entire show's history. There's expected to be some sort of character arc where someone starts off the episode acting one way but learning and changing their behavior by the end. And generally we should be able to easily root for the person in question that is going through that arc and feel happy when they finally succeed.
I haven't watched any of Sammie or Whitney's previous work but I can imagine that this episode is very similar to the type of thing they would write for Loud House or another Nick show but extended to be 22 minutes long. There's no real character arc. The conflict is difficult to get invested in because there's almost no stakes. (It reminded me a lot of Applejack's Day Off in that regard) The way that the conflict even comes up is unbelievable. Why didn't Candy and Shining Armor inform Twilight that they would be dropping off Flurry Heart to babysit? It's not like they can just drop by at a moment's notice, the Crystal Empire is pretty far away? Why did Spike and Twilight insist on still taking care of the sick children? The kids could live without Twilight seeing them, and if it was so important, why not ask someone else to take care of them in her place? She has 7 close friends, 2 of which live in the same house as her and one of which had shown by the episode that he was totally capable of handling it himself? It would have made more sense if Spike had offered to take care of the kids himself but Twilight insisted to do both to prove she's the "Best Aunt Ever" and learned a lesson that sometimes you don't have to do everything yourself. Or let Spike take care of them but be so worried about how well he's doing that she doesn't take good care of Flurry Heart. Again, in their previous works it probably wouldn't have mattered as much as the expectations for those shows are different but that stuff just feels out of place here.
Aside from the narrative issues the episode is a bit below average. There's a couple decent jokes here and there but overall pretty much all the problems you thought there would be with a "taking care of a baby" episode are present here. The cast of characters in this episode is tiny as well, with just Twilight and Pinkie being here for the main cast and Shining, Cadence, and Cheerilee being there for secondary/tertiary characters. A lot of MLP's comedy comes from seeing the characters play off eachother and the situation at hand. Nick Confalone's episodes often show this off well, such as the scenes where Starlight sees the Mane 5 to help her make friends or pretty much the entirety of Saddle Row Review. I think that just adding other characters to the mix would have made it a lot easier to write comedic situations. Also where was Sunburst? I imagine he's probably the person that spends the most time taking care of Flurry Heart given that Cadence and Shining also have an empire to run but he's not mentioned once in the whole episode.
Many new writers have rough first goes. As I said before the expectations for an MLP episode are a lot higher then most animated shows in western TV right now. Here's to hoping that Sammie and Whitney learn from this and do better next time. As it stands this episode makes me look back fondly on Baby Cakes, which is definitely not a good thing.
In other news, there was a short ad showing off the upcoming episode for next week. According to EQD, it will be written by none other then Nick Confalone, (No Second Prances, Saddle Row Review, Dungeons and Discords) so from the looks of it we should have a great episode next week to look forward to. However, it's apparently his only episode this season.
To frame my complaints for this episode it's important to talk about the writers: Sammie Crowley and Whitney Wetta. Sammie has written a couple episodes for the Nick show The Loud House, and Whitney has written for The Loud House, Tuff Puppy, and The Fairly Oddparents, among a couple of other shows on the network. Pretty much all of the shows the two have worked on have 11 minute episodes and are generally low-stakes comedy shows where character development and continuity are more of an afterthought. MLP by comparison has much higher standards for its stories. Mlp's characters are expected to not only be consistent with their base personality but also all of the lessons they've learned over the course of the entire show's history. There's expected to be some sort of character arc where someone starts off the episode acting one way but learning and changing their behavior by the end. And generally we should be able to easily root for the person in question that is going through that arc and feel happy when they finally succeed.
I haven't watched any of Sammie or Whitney's previous work but I can imagine that this episode is very similar to the type of thing they would write for Loud House or another Nick show but extended to be 22 minutes long. There's no real character arc. The conflict is difficult to get invested in because there's almost no stakes. (It reminded me a lot of Applejack's Day Off in that regard) The way that the conflict even comes up is unbelievable. Why didn't Candy and Shining Armor inform Twilight that they would be dropping off Flurry Heart to babysit? It's not like they can just drop by at a moment's notice, the Crystal Empire is pretty far away? Why did Spike and Twilight insist on still taking care of the sick children? The kids could live without Twilight seeing them, and if it was so important, why not ask someone else to take care of them in her place? She has 7 close friends, 2 of which live in the same house as her and one of which had shown by the episode that he was totally capable of handling it himself? It would have made more sense if Spike had offered to take care of the kids himself but Twilight insisted to do both to prove she's the "Best Aunt Ever" and learned a lesson that sometimes you don't have to do everything yourself. Or let Spike take care of them but be so worried about how well he's doing that she doesn't take good care of Flurry Heart. Again, in their previous works it probably wouldn't have mattered as much as the expectations for those shows are different but that stuff just feels out of place here.
Aside from the narrative issues the episode is a bit below average. There's a couple decent jokes here and there but overall pretty much all the problems you thought there would be with a "taking care of a baby" episode are present here. The cast of characters in this episode is tiny as well, with just Twilight and Pinkie being here for the main cast and Shining, Cadence, and Cheerilee being there for secondary/tertiary characters. A lot of MLP's comedy comes from seeing the characters play off eachother and the situation at hand. Nick Confalone's episodes often show this off well, such as the scenes where Starlight sees the Mane 5 to help her make friends or pretty much the entirety of Saddle Row Review. I think that just adding other characters to the mix would have made it a lot easier to write comedic situations. Also where was Sunburst? I imagine he's probably the person that spends the most time taking care of Flurry Heart given that Cadence and Shining also have an empire to run but he's not mentioned once in the whole episode.
Many new writers have rough first goes. As I said before the expectations for an MLP episode are a lot higher then most animated shows in western TV right now. Here's to hoping that Sammie and Whitney learn from this and do better next time. As it stands this episode makes me look back fondly on Baby Cakes, which is definitely not a good thing.
In other news, there was a short ad showing off the upcoming episode for next week. According to EQD, it will be written by none other then Nick Confalone, (No Second Prances, Saddle Row Review, Dungeons and Discords) so from the looks of it we should have a great episode next week to look forward to. However, it's apparently his only episode this season.
I enjoyed this story. "No matter how good you are, some things will require all, not part of your attention" is probably what I'd draw from it moral-wise, which is a nice enough lesson.
I thought it distinguished itself quite well from Baby Cakes; that story was about two genuinely unruly and difficult children, whereas Flurry here was actually pretty well behaved, and almost all the trouble was the result of Twilight trying to do other things rather than actually supervise her.
I really liked Cadance and Shining's bits too. They're often portrayed as a little too perfect, but in recent episodes we've seen them show their flaws a little more, which I love.
They'd already decided "fuck this child" and made the trip for the art show under the assumption she'd do it. They were right.
Also side note, the distance between Ponyville and the Crystal Empire seems to change on a week-by-week basis.
Twilight still would've wanted to visit the sick kids regardless of Spike pushing the matter, which Spike would've known, which is why he pushed the matter.
You already said it; Twilight always wants to demonstrate that she can do all of the things at once. Being a dedicated overachiever is key to her character.
Also Spike may be good, but Flurry Heart is kind of a special case. I doubt Spike would want that kind of responsibility after what happened at the Crystalling.
I thought it distinguished itself quite well from Baby Cakes; that story was about two genuinely unruly and difficult children, whereas Flurry here was actually pretty well behaved, and almost all the trouble was the result of Twilight trying to do other things rather than actually supervise her.
I really liked Cadance and Shining's bits too. They're often portrayed as a little too perfect, but in recent episodes we've seen them show their flaws a little more, which I love.
They'd already decided "fuck this child" and made the trip for the art show under the assumption she'd do it. They were right.
Also side note, the distance between Ponyville and the Crystal Empire seems to change on a week-by-week basis.
Twilight still would've wanted to visit the sick kids regardless of Spike pushing the matter, which Spike would've known, which is why he pushed the matter.
You already said it; Twilight always wants to demonstrate that she can do all of the things at once. Being a dedicated overachiever is key to her character.
Also Spike may be good, but Flurry Heart is kind of a special case. I doubt Spike would want that kind of responsibility after what happened at the Crystalling.
Trigonometrize.
Member
I have a question for any of the MLP aficionados here: has the cast and crew ever said anything about "growing up" any of the younger characters? With this episode having Pound and Pumpkin cake looking exactly the same as they did when they were first born and then having another baby be one of the main characters and then having the CMC for six seasons looking exactly the same (besides the cutie marks of course), I'm starting to get worried they have no interest in changing this.
I feel like the whole reason you have younger characters is because it's cool to see them grow up and become functioning adults. I really don't want Flurry Heart and especially the CMC to be stuck in their primitive forms for eternity.
Edit: And oh yeah, their voices are waaaaay different. It's like the frog in the boiling pot experiment. I didn't think they had changed all that much from season 1 when I was watching season six, but then when I looked at them side-by-side, it was insane how different you could tell they were. Seems like the perfect time to make a change with their appearance as well now that the girls IRL are adults.
I feel like the whole reason you have younger characters is because it's cool to see them grow up and become functioning adults. I really don't want Flurry Heart and especially the CMC to be stuck in their primitive forms for eternity.
Edit: And oh yeah, their voices are waaaaay different. It's like the frog in the boiling pot experiment. I didn't think they had changed all that much from season 1 when I was watching season six, but then when I looked at them side-by-side, it was insane how different you could tell they were. Seems like the perfect time to make a change with their appearance as well now that the girls IRL are adults.
Oh well, for some reason I didn't expect this. I hope (or rather believe) Nick won't disappoint. Best writer working on the show, and not only at the moment.
ShinySylvee
Member
My issue with Cadence and Shining randomly dropping Flurry off on Twilight is not because I don't think that Twilight would say yes. Twilight loves Flurry Heart and wouldn't want to let her brother and sister-in-law down, that's not the point. The issue is that just randomly showing up and pushing this on someone just seems really rude and out of character, (Not that they had much of one to begin with) even if you know that they're going to say yes. I think the episode could have been structured similarly if it was scheduled to have Cadence and Shining drop Flurry off weeks in advance but then before they arrived to drop her off Twilight found out a bunch of kids were sick and decided to visit them as well. Or if they wanted to keep things the same at least do a better job at pointing out that Shining and Cadence shouldn't have done that besides one throw-away line at the end. The morals feel extremely under-developed which again I think is largely due to the writers inexperience with writing them and hopefully they'll be issues that will be ironed out in their later episodes.
And yeah I think it's totally fine for Twilight to be massively overachieving and getting herself too deep into something trying to please everyone. But at the beginning of the episode Spike is pressuring Twilight hard to take care of the kids in the hospital and seems impatient that she is spending so much time with Flurry Heart. Then around halfway through the episode he randomly starts advocating that she just forgets about the kids in the hospital and take care of Flurry Heart instead. And then at the end of the episode Twilight says she shouldn't have agreed to taking care of Flurry Heart in the first place.The episode itself is really inconsistent with what message it's trying to get across as to what Twilight should have done differently. (And this is the big sticking point for me. It's shown that Twilight screwed up but now how she could have avoided this because if she had said no then Cadence and Shining would have been screwed because they didn't have a backup plan) The framework is there for a good moral and all they had to do was change a couple lines around or make a couple changes to how the events played out.
Don't remember reading anything about what their plans are although there is an episode coming up that might touch on this issue. Here's the plot synopsis of the upcoming 6th episode of season 7:
"When Rarity surprises Sweetie Belle with a special day together filled with all of her favorite activities, she quickly learns that her little sister is no longer the little foal she used to be."
So hopefully we'll see some development there as I think that is the next logical step for the CMC now that they've sort of got their direction in life figured out. As for actual model changes that's a massive risk. Live action shows it's a lot easier to age children because the actors are physically getting older but in animation (especially ones that use programs such as flash that reuses a lot of models) aging a character means making intentional physical changes which will look sudden if a massive period of time doesn't occur between the model change. Also it might cause issues because people might like how the older one looked and be generally resistant to change. On top of that given that there are toys based off the in-show model that also complicates things. Not saying it won't happen but there's a lot of issues with playing that out. I personally would love to see the CMC go through their teenage years as that would be reflective of the kids that have grown up watching the show.
I'm not one myself, but I've witnessed enough new parents in close proximity to know that it can make you absolutely crazy, and willing to do anything for a moments peace. Cadance and Shining turning up on Twilight's doorstep looking frazzled and desperate felt absolutely authentic to me. I don't think it's fair to paint them as in-the-wrong for doing that exactly; it isn't a good thing to do, but we make allowances for our loved ones in those situations.
You're right about the moral though, this episode doesn't really have a strong stance throughout. I actually kinda like that though; it's a slice of life in perhaps an even more literal sense than usual. It's a day where unexpected things happened, and maybe everyone just did the best they could.
Is that really random? Initially he's concerned with their immediate plans, but when he sees how much work Flurry is he adjusts his priorities accordingly. Ultimately he realises that giving Flurry to someone else to babysit while he and Twilight carried out their planned schedule probably would've been the best course of action. Seemed like a perfectly reasonable train of thought to me.
Like I said, you're not wrong about the story not having much in the way of a clear lesson or moral, and I can understand how that could be an issue.
Conkersbadfurday
Member
Episode was a fun, no-stakes affair with some decent jokes. Spike was true to form again, which was great.
But I have two pretty big problems with it
1) All of those chores could have been done by Spike. Like, just give him your wallet and tell him to go pick up the cupcakes from Pinkie and a random book from the library. No big deal. Why Twilight decided to foot the bill for a shitload of toys shall forever remain a mystery, but it's not like it was a necessary expense.
2) Taking Flurry Heart into a hospital where everyone has the pony equivalent of chicken pocks is going to get her infected with it. Not entirely a bad thing as that shit is better to have while young I suppose, but you know, something the parents should be aware of prior. Like, that place was contagion fucking city.
Fun, but yeah. Those things kinda bothered me all the way through.
But I have two pretty big problems with it
1) All of those chores could have been done by Spike. Like, just give him your wallet and tell him to go pick up the cupcakes from Pinkie and a random book from the library. No big deal. Why Twilight decided to foot the bill for a shitload of toys shall forever remain a mystery, but it's not like it was a necessary expense.
2) Taking Flurry Heart into a hospital where everyone has the pony equivalent of chicken pocks is going to get her infected with it. Not entirely a bad thing as that shit is better to have while young I suppose, but you know, something the parents should be aware of prior. Like, that place was contagion fucking city.
Fun, but yeah. Those things kinda bothered me all the way through.
Episode thoughts
1) I like what the show's done with both Cadence and Shining Armor since introducing them. "A Canterlot Wedding" portrayed both of them as being basically too perfect, so it's good that every subsequent appearance has taken jabs at one or both of them, except when Cadence is appearing in her role as one of the other three Alicorns. Frazzled parents looking to dump their brat on her aunt is perfect.
- them as wannabe hipster 20-something new parents is also really cool.
2) Man, Scootaloo'd be mad to see this infant soaring around like it's nothing. Also against portrayal of less-disabled pegasi.
3) Flurry's Baby-of-Solomon effort with the cake babies predictably backfired.
4) Kind of feel like Twilight's epiphany was backwards. It's more in line with "It Ain't Easy Being Breezy," Flurry needs to learn boundaries, Twilight wasn't wrong to be cross with her, though yelling is a bit much.
1) I like what the show's done with both Cadence and Shining Armor since introducing them. "A Canterlot Wedding" portrayed both of them as being basically too perfect, so it's good that every subsequent appearance has taken jabs at one or both of them, except when Cadence is appearing in her role as one of the other three Alicorns. Frazzled parents looking to dump their brat on her aunt is perfect.
- them as wannabe hipster 20-something new parents is also really cool.
2) Man, Scootaloo'd be mad to see this infant soaring around like it's nothing. Also against portrayal of less-disabled pegasi.
3) Flurry's Baby-of-Solomon effort with the cake babies predictably backfired.
4) Kind of feel like Twilight's epiphany was backwards. It's more in line with "It Ain't Easy Being Breezy," Flurry needs to learn boundaries, Twilight wasn't wrong to be cross with her, though yelling is a bit much.
^ Yeah, I had the exact same thoughts. That and the Crystal Empire trio apparently coming all the way from the Crystal Empire unannounced (it was mentioned earlier, but really how far away does the show want the empire to be?).
I actually really enjoyed this episode. Unlike DrForester, I actually loved the focus on Twilight and Flurry Heart. They were so cute together.
Honestly, Flurry Heart is a cute and intelligent kid (maybe too intelligent...). There was definitely a lot of gif material in this episode (the various faces, P & P going at it, them going after Flurry). We even had reference to Pinkie having a list on everyone..
I think above all, as someone who doesn't really appreciate art, I completely understood how Cadence and Shining Armor felt at the art show (it's okay Shining, I get confused over what's art and what's trash too...).
Conkersbadfurday
Member
To be fair to Spike, at the very end he was reading the book he wanted to the kids and they were enjoying it. I'd trust a kid in finding a good kids book for other kids.
SigmasonicX
Member
Writing this without reading the other posts. Follow up will come later today.
A Flurry of Emotions
I thought this was a cute episode, though not amazing. It felt sufficiently different from "Baby Cakes", largely due to Twilight not panicking during the process of actually calming Flurry and being able to keep her under control well enough when she actually pays attention.
Well, one good thing for the future is that Flurry's reaction to stress is merely to curl up in a bubble, as opposed to blowing stuff up or casting mind control spells. Also, this episode proves that Cheerilee does, indeed, have different classes and not just one that inexplicably changes students.
While I liked the actual scene of Flurry playing with Pumpkin and Pound Cake, it's weird seeing the two very different baby designs together, especially when the Cakes should logically be older than her. I'd say her intelligence was unnatural, but the Cakes showed similar intelligence in "Baby Cakes". Anyway, I liked that when the Cakes fought, she first tried to get Spike's attention, then tried to solve the dispute Solomon style.
This is another episode that features a prominent B-plot that's disconnected from the main plot. I recall people pointing out how the series seemed to go out of its way to avoid B-plots in the early seasons, so the fact that we have two in a row seems to point to a shift in story style. I don't believe there's any quality difference between having B-plots and not having them, but thinking about it, this shift could make it easier to showcase side characters. Early on, the lack of B-plots was good for keeping focus solely on the Main Six and the CMC, but this episode managed to give Shining Armor and Cadance actual things to do (besides exposition and such). A shift to more B-plots could result in more of the Simpsons-style showcasing of side characters that fans have wanted.
All that said, Shining Armor and Cadance's side plot was weak. It was nice to see acknowledgment of Shining Armor's other friends, but it was standard abstract art jokes.
Spike was handled well here. The solution to the situation from the start should have been Spike handing the shopping and such himself, so it was good that he read to the children in the hospital in the end. Speaking of which, in Twilight's book, Grogar from G1 was mentioned! I wonder if this means anything for him appearing in the show or comics.
Overall, I thought it was a fun episode, but if you're not a fan of "cute baby scenes", or Flurry, it's perfectly understandable that you wouldn't like it. Still, even in that regard, I felt there weren't many annoying scenes with her.
EDIT: Even though I was wondering how they would explain SA+C coming all the way to Ponyville before getting a sitter when I read the synopsis, I had forgotten about that when I started the episode. Yeah, that was pretty contrived. As for the lesson, it didn't feel like a friendship lesson in particular, but rather a "oh, right, I should call earlier" sort of thing. Thus, it didn't feel as meaningful as the one in "Baby Cakes", but the show always had weak morals sometimes.
Also, new official short, Rarity's Peak Behind the Boutique: Customer Critiques.
A Flurry of Emotions
I thought this was a cute episode, though not amazing. It felt sufficiently different from "Baby Cakes", largely due to Twilight not panicking during the process of actually calming Flurry and being able to keep her under control well enough when she actually pays attention.
Well, one good thing for the future is that Flurry's reaction to stress is merely to curl up in a bubble, as opposed to blowing stuff up or casting mind control spells. Also, this episode proves that Cheerilee does, indeed, have different classes and not just one that inexplicably changes students.
While I liked the actual scene of Flurry playing with Pumpkin and Pound Cake, it's weird seeing the two very different baby designs together, especially when the Cakes should logically be older than her. I'd say her intelligence was unnatural, but the Cakes showed similar intelligence in "Baby Cakes". Anyway, I liked that when the Cakes fought, she first tried to get Spike's attention, then tried to solve the dispute Solomon style.
This is another episode that features a prominent B-plot that's disconnected from the main plot. I recall people pointing out how the series seemed to go out of its way to avoid B-plots in the early seasons, so the fact that we have two in a row seems to point to a shift in story style. I don't believe there's any quality difference between having B-plots and not having them, but thinking about it, this shift could make it easier to showcase side characters. Early on, the lack of B-plots was good for keeping focus solely on the Main Six and the CMC, but this episode managed to give Shining Armor and Cadance actual things to do (besides exposition and such). A shift to more B-plots could result in more of the Simpsons-style showcasing of side characters that fans have wanted.
All that said, Shining Armor and Cadance's side plot was weak. It was nice to see acknowledgment of Shining Armor's other friends, but it was standard abstract art jokes.
Spike was handled well here. The solution to the situation from the start should have been Spike handing the shopping and such himself, so it was good that he read to the children in the hospital in the end. Speaking of which, in Twilight's book, Grogar from G1 was mentioned! I wonder if this means anything for him appearing in the show or comics.
Overall, I thought it was a fun episode, but if you're not a fan of "cute baby scenes", or Flurry, it's perfectly understandable that you wouldn't like it. Still, even in that regard, I felt there weren't many annoying scenes with her.
EDIT: Even though I was wondering how they would explain SA+C coming all the way to Ponyville before getting a sitter when I read the synopsis, I had forgotten about that when I started the episode. Yeah, that was pretty contrived. As for the lesson, it didn't feel like a friendship lesson in particular, but rather a "oh, right, I should call earlier" sort of thing. Thus, it didn't feel as meaningful as the one in "Baby Cakes", but the show always had weak morals sometimes.
Also, new official short, Rarity's Peak Behind the Boutique: Customer Critiques.
Oh sure, it's no criticism of Spike. Hell, Spike could've totally done the entire hospital visit himself had Twilight's presence not been part of the deal.
But to hand off a book-related task to someone else? Unthinkable!
SigmasonicX
Member
Episode followup.
PREVIOUS EPISODE
There's still a bunch of stuff coming in for the premiere.
Measures
I will always need you
The Mare Who Laughs
Storm Cup
Teatanic
Trixie Magic
Breakfast Buddies
I've Got the Key!
Trixie...
Teacup Storm
Comics
S7M Start - DoubleWBrothers are (is?) going back to making comics for every episode of the season! They did this for season 5, but not for season 6. My favorite of their season 5 comics, for reference.
"Celestial Advice" comic about Twilight's spell
"All Bottled Up" comic with teacups
DoubleWBrothers "All Bottled Up" comic
"BFUTEOT" Remixes
OhPonyBoy remix
TCB remix
Segments of Life remix
Fidzu remix
NOTES
Something I hadn't noticed until I saw a lot of fan art based on it is exactly what Twilight calls herself. She's the Best Aunt Ever. BAE. Twilight is bae. I wouldn't put it past the crew for this to be intentional.
A lot of people have been jokingly taking that scene of Twilight being sprayed with milk out of context, but this post won't have any of that.
Nurse Redheart's cutie mark has changed, if you hadn't noticed. ED suggests that this could be because it was originally too similar to the Red Cross symbol. Old vs. New below.
vs.
SCREENCAPS
Class picture (embedded)
Lyra and Bon Bon in toy store
Flurry chalkboard
Flurry chalkboard edit with her true thoughts
Pinkie's creepy bulging eyes
Twilight creeping on Flurry (embedded)
Cadance's sadness - note the Discovery Family
GIFS
Twilight's welcome dance (edit)
Twilight giving Flurry a raspberry
Flurry biting Twilight's ear (embedded)
Bear scare
Wink attempt
Berry Punch getting a toy for a filly
Flurry cart face
Art reactions (embedded)
Hoofbump, Cadance confirmed white (embedded)
Pinkie BRB
Cake babies suspicious
Cake babies about to kick Flurry's ass
Stamp of forgiveness (embedded)
Whammy toss
Tail tugging
Baby head slam
Rotating camera as Flurry lifts stuff up
Flurry getting scared of Twilight
Nurse Redheart fainting with disappearing hat
FANWORKS
Shining Armor and Flurry Heart
We're Back - made before the episode
The story of the bear brothers
Twilight and Flurry
Flurry of Emotions
Mashed Peas
Twilight is our BAE
Flurry Heart - now, this appears to be part of a series of art in this style for all the major characters, but it came out recently, so eh, counting as episode art.
I love you
Best Auntie Ever
BAE
Tired Dad - made before the episode
Art
Grrr Twi
Comics
Happy Landings
Twilight giving Flurry a whammy
Teen Flurry Troubles
EDIT: Added more "Best Friends Until the End of Time" remixes.
PREVIOUS EPISODE
There's still a bunch of stuff coming in for the premiere.
Measures
I will always need you
The Mare Who Laughs
Storm Cup
Teatanic
Trixie Magic
Breakfast Buddies
I've Got the Key!
Trixie...
Teacup Storm
Comics
S7M Start - DoubleWBrothers are (is?) going back to making comics for every episode of the season! They did this for season 5, but not for season 6. My favorite of their season 5 comics, for reference.
"Celestial Advice" comic about Twilight's spell
"All Bottled Up" comic with teacups
DoubleWBrothers "All Bottled Up" comic
"BFUTEOT" Remixes
OhPonyBoy remix
TCB remix
Segments of Life remix
Fidzu remix
NOTES
Something I hadn't noticed until I saw a lot of fan art based on it is exactly what Twilight calls herself. She's the Best Aunt Ever. BAE. Twilight is bae. I wouldn't put it past the crew for this to be intentional.
A lot of people have been jokingly taking that scene of Twilight being sprayed with milk out of context, but this post won't have any of that.
Nurse Redheart's cutie mark has changed, if you hadn't noticed. ED suggests that this could be because it was originally too similar to the Red Cross symbol. Old vs. New below.
SCREENCAPS
Class picture (embedded)
Lyra and Bon Bon in toy store
Flurry chalkboard
Flurry chalkboard edit with her true thoughts
Pinkie's creepy bulging eyes
Twilight creeping on Flurry (embedded)
Cadance's sadness - note the Discovery Family
GIFS
Twilight's welcome dance (edit)
Twilight giving Flurry a raspberry
Flurry biting Twilight's ear (embedded)
Bear scare
Wink attempt
Berry Punch getting a toy for a filly
Flurry cart face
Art reactions (embedded)
Hoofbump, Cadance confirmed white (embedded)
Pinkie BRB
Cake babies suspicious
Cake babies about to kick Flurry's ass
Stamp of forgiveness (embedded)
Whammy toss
Tail tugging
Baby head slam
Rotating camera as Flurry lifts stuff up
Flurry getting scared of Twilight
Nurse Redheart fainting with disappearing hat
FANWORKS
Shining Armor and Flurry Heart
We're Back - made before the episode
The story of the bear brothers
Twilight and Flurry
Flurry of Emotions
Mashed Peas
Twilight is our BAE
Flurry Heart - now, this appears to be part of a series of art in this style for all the major characters, but it came out recently, so eh, counting as episode art.
I love you
Best Auntie Ever
BAE
Tired Dad - made before the episode
Art
Grrr Twi
Comics
Happy Landings
Twilight giving Flurry a whammy
Teen Flurry Troubles
EDIT: Added more "Best Friends Until the End of Time" remixes.
SigmasonicX
Member
By the way, everyone, tell me if the amount of art and images is getting to be too much, and if it's starting to take a while for the page to load because of it. If so, I can embed less stuff.
Personally I have no problems, especially with "Show GIFs" turned off in the settings. And I have far from a cutting edge internet connection.
LinkAndEpona
Banned
So far this season 3 for 3 with eps that are really good.
It's fine with me. I enjoy them (even if I don't always post about it) as I don't really go anywhere for pony other than here so this is the only time I see them.
SigmasonicX
Member
"Fluttershy Leans In" is possibly airing a week early (this weekend) in Canada, and "Forever Filly" is also listed as airing a week early (next weekend). If this pans out, that will make things awkward. Also, in case you're wondering, apparently the network it airs on in Canada is still randomly censoring dialogue.
Also, the remaining two Equestria Girls specials have been listed in Poland: Movie Magic, and Mirror Magic. The former likely involves going to see a Daring Do movie, as shown in the toys. With the last, could we finally be getting a story where the Dougworld characters visit Equestria?
Also, the remaining two Equestria Girls specials have been listed in Poland: Movie Magic, and Mirror Magic. The former likely involves going to see a Daring Do movie, as shown in the toys. With the last, could we finally be getting a story where the Dougworld characters visit Equestria?
SigmasonicX
Member
Unexpectedly, what appears to be the next episode synopsis is available first on Yahoo. It's labeled as episode 15, but that's likely just the production number, and it will air as episode 9.
9. Honest Apple - June 3
When Rarity asks Applejack to be a judge in a fashion show, Applejack learns that an opinion, however honest, can still be hurtful.
For Applejack's part of the cycle of main character focus episodes, it had to be either family, apples, or honesty, and we got honesty! The episode doesn't sound that interesting, especially with that low effort title, but weaker-sounding episodes have turned out well in the past.
Also, Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight: Arbor Day.
And another "Best Friends Until the End of Time" remix dump:
Aurelleah Remix
Neu KatalYst Remix
Crusad3r Remix - Would have liked this more without the vocal distortions
Elias Frost growly cover
GhostXb Remix
EDIT:
Today's episode is
4. Rock Solid Friendship
When Pinkie Pie learns that Maud might move to Ponyville, she does everything she can to make sure her sister sees that it has more to offer than just rocks.
Note that this is apparently starting 15 minutes early in Canada. If that happens, then that likely means "Fluttershy Leans In" really will air tomorrow in Canada.
My wild prediction for this episode is that they'll tie in the fact that Trixie worked on the Pie rock farm, as shown in "Magic Duel".
9. Honest Apple - June 3
When Rarity asks Applejack to be a judge in a fashion show, Applejack learns that an opinion, however honest, can still be hurtful.
For Applejack's part of the cycle of main character focus episodes, it had to be either family, apples, or honesty, and we got honesty! The episode doesn't sound that interesting, especially with that low effort title, but weaker-sounding episodes have turned out well in the past.
Also, Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight: Arbor Day.
And another "Best Friends Until the End of Time" remix dump:
Aurelleah Remix
Neu KatalYst Remix
Crusad3r Remix - Would have liked this more without the vocal distortions
Elias Frost growly cover
GhostXb Remix
EDIT:
Today's episode is
4. Rock Solid Friendship
When Pinkie Pie learns that Maud might move to Ponyville, she does everything she can to make sure her sister sees that it has more to offer than just rocks.
Note that this is apparently starting 15 minutes early in Canada. If that happens, then that likely means "Fluttershy Leans In" really will air tomorrow in Canada.
My wild prediction for this episode is that they'll tie in the fact that Trixie worked on the Pie rock farm, as shown in "Magic Duel".
UberTag
Member
Today's episode was a delight. Happy to see Starlight interacting with others.
Both Maud and Boulder were in fine form. With as reference-happy as this season has been, I half expected her to encounter Tom from The Return of Harmony and for him and Boulder to become besties.
Curious to see whether Fluttershy Leans In airs tomorrow on Treehouse TV or not.
Both Maud and Boulder were in fine form. With as reference-happy as this season has been, I half expected her to encounter Tom from The Return of Harmony and for him and Boulder to become besties.
Curious to see whether Fluttershy Leans In airs tomorrow on Treehouse TV or not.
SigmasonicX
Member
This episode apparently indeed aired 15 minutes early in Canada, matching the schedule that has "Fluttershy Leans In" airing tomorrow and "Forever Filly" airing next week. Like previous early airings, early discussion is fine, but it should be behind spoiler bars until it airs in the US.
Trigonometrize.
Member
Maud episodes continue to be the best. When Starlight wonders if Maud's messing with her, it zooms in on Maud as she asks "am I?" and the music is all haunting... so good.
Also, Pinkie through a pizza at Derpy's head.
Edit: Oh, and another reference to Starlight's past that weirded her out. This is definitely going to become a thing. Maybe even setting up the story of the season finale.
Also, Pinkie through a pizza at Derpy's head.
Edit: Oh, and another reference to Starlight's past that weirded her out. This is definitely going to become a thing. Maybe even setting up the story of the season finale.
Rhomega Beta
Member
Maybe it's because I don't want to be a parent, but I found A Flurry of Emotions uncomfortable to watch, with Flurry messing around with stuff, and ultimately losing her Whammy. It wasn't a complete disaster like Baby Cakes, and the story is less on the babies being completely uncontrollable and more the fault of the caretaker.
I liked Rock Solid Friendship a lot. I'm like Maud: I like to be left alone. I can make friends, but I can handle being by myself just fine. Oh, and the moments with Lyra and Derpy were great too.
I liked Rock Solid Friendship a lot. I'm like Maud: I like to be left alone. I can make friends, but I can handle being by myself just fine. Oh, and the moments with Lyra and Derpy were great too.
Holy shit, can Nick Confalone please just write every episode from here on out, forever? I thought that was an absolute riot, while also being really sweet and touching. Confalone's dialogue game is insanely on-point.
The "rule all of Equestria" scene got possibly the biggest laugh I've had watching this show. Not bad for 7 seasons in.
The "rule all of Equestria" scene got possibly the biggest laugh I've had watching this show. Not bad for 7 seasons in.
ShinySylvee
Member
So first up there's some new info regarding future episodes. Apparently Treehouse has gone rogue so to speak and has spoiled a bunch of info about titles of upcoming episodes, including quite a few we didn't know about:
S7 Ep 6: Forever Filly (Rarity + Sweetie Belle episode)
Ep 7: Parental Glideance (Rainbow Dash's parents episode)
Ep 8: Hard to Say Anything (New one?)
Ep 9: Honest Apple (This one was just revealed)
Ep 10: A Royal Problem (Could be about Royal Sisters but something tells me it's going to be about Thorax)
Ep 11: Not Asking for Trouble
Ep 12: Discordant Harmony (So much for no Discord in season 7 lol)
Ep 13: The Perfect Pear (Episode about AJ's Family)
Next up there's the episode. And yeah, Nick Confalone did it again. Definitely my favorite episode of the season so far and another of what has turned out to be a mostly great start to the season. (I've warmed up a bit to Flurry of Emotions, moral issues aside it was alright) The episode is very reminiscent of No Second Prances for me and has a lot of the strengths that episode had, although it's got a couple more issues then that episode did. Chief among them is Pinkie, who is intended to be an annoying character that keeps interrupting things and makes things difficult. And she succeeds to the point where it was grating on me. Way too many great scenes get massively derailed because Pinkie shows up and does a bunch of annoying things while completely missing that she was unnecessary and getting in the way. Some of her jokes were pretty funny but even then it gets old. Additionally there were a couple issues I had with the resolution of the episode but they're fairly minor and don't detract from the story in any meaningful way. Honestly the first time when Maud left a note for Pinkie I thought she was pretending to move away so she could avoid her rather then it being actually legit.
But moving on to the good stuff, this might have been Maud's best showing yet. Her deadpan delivery has always been very funny to me but there was a couple dimensions added to her character here that made me appreciate her more. To a degree Maud appeared to be fairly aware of how her deadpan delivery is unusual to people and was playing on it for humor, such as the situations where she is taking things that people say literally. She claims to do standup comedy and the exchange where she tells Starlight about a rock that could help her take over the world and doesn't tell her if she's being serious or not are indicators of this to me. Also her struggle with finding friends due to her unusual behavior and obsession with rocks was another aspect that I was greatly fond of seeing. Those new developments combined with some as usual strong writing by Nick Confalone made this appearance for her really stand out to me.
I was expecting Starlight to just be a character that they used for a one-off scene of many where Maud tries to talk to other characters but things don't work out, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that she actually played a pretty major role in the episode. This was definitely an appearance she needed as a character as this might be her most unassuming and down-to-earth appearance so far. There's actually a lot of implied character growth for her if you compare her to how she acted in Nick's previous Starlight episode No Second Prances. In that episode she is unable to make friends with residents of Ponyville due to her fear of meeting people and them already knowing what she has done, even though Twilight is explicitly asking her to make one. In this episode we see her actively seeking out a new friend in Maud even though she already knows what Starlight done and she's not being asked to do so. And the scene where she randomly brings up that she likes kites to Maud and looks really nervous about how she'll react to it was awkward in all the right ways. She's shown to be eager to put herself out there and try to make friends but doesn't feel entirely comfortable with it and is constantly second-guessing herself about it, again in stark contrast with Season 6 where she tried her hardest to avoid any situation where she didn't feel comfortable and might fail. Her interactions with Maud were definitely the standout parts of the episode and it's nice seeing new aspects to her character such as her interest in kites (By the way kites were actually in her room for both Every Little Thing She Does and To Where and Back Again so there was some foreshadowing there) as well as filling more of a supporting role in this episode but again it would be nice to see more interactions with her and the Mane 6. Given that they appear to be doing a lot of good work this season so far fleshing out things that have been long overdo (Celestia development, Sweetie Belle possibly growing up a bit, AJ and Rainbow's parents, among a couple other things) I have pretty good faith that we'll see more of that later.
And yeah the scene with Rarity was really great too. Definitely going to be one of the standout episodes for the season, and it will be interesting to see what ideas they have for Maud going forward.
S7 Ep 6: Forever Filly (Rarity + Sweetie Belle episode)
Ep 7: Parental Glideance (Rainbow Dash's parents episode)
Ep 8: Hard to Say Anything (New one?)
Ep 9: Honest Apple (This one was just revealed)
Ep 10: A Royal Problem (Could be about Royal Sisters but something tells me it's going to be about Thorax)
Ep 11: Not Asking for Trouble
Ep 12: Discordant Harmony (So much for no Discord in season 7 lol)
Ep 13: The Perfect Pear (Episode about AJ's Family)
Next up there's the episode. And yeah, Nick Confalone did it again. Definitely my favorite episode of the season so far and another of what has turned out to be a mostly great start to the season. (I've warmed up a bit to Flurry of Emotions, moral issues aside it was alright) The episode is very reminiscent of No Second Prances for me and has a lot of the strengths that episode had, although it's got a couple more issues then that episode did. Chief among them is Pinkie, who is intended to be an annoying character that keeps interrupting things and makes things difficult. And she succeeds to the point where it was grating on me. Way too many great scenes get massively derailed because Pinkie shows up and does a bunch of annoying things while completely missing that she was unnecessary and getting in the way. Some of her jokes were pretty funny but even then it gets old. Additionally there were a couple issues I had with the resolution of the episode but they're fairly minor and don't detract from the story in any meaningful way. Honestly the first time when Maud left a note for Pinkie I thought she was pretending to move away so she could avoid her rather then it being actually legit.
But moving on to the good stuff, this might have been Maud's best showing yet. Her deadpan delivery has always been very funny to me but there was a couple dimensions added to her character here that made me appreciate her more. To a degree Maud appeared to be fairly aware of how her deadpan delivery is unusual to people and was playing on it for humor, such as the situations where she is taking things that people say literally. She claims to do standup comedy and the exchange where she tells Starlight about a rock that could help her take over the world and doesn't tell her if she's being serious or not are indicators of this to me. Also her struggle with finding friends due to her unusual behavior and obsession with rocks was another aspect that I was greatly fond of seeing. Those new developments combined with some as usual strong writing by Nick Confalone made this appearance for her really stand out to me.
I was expecting Starlight to just be a character that they used for a one-off scene of many where Maud tries to talk to other characters but things don't work out, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that she actually played a pretty major role in the episode. This was definitely an appearance she needed as a character as this might be her most unassuming and down-to-earth appearance so far. There's actually a lot of implied character growth for her if you compare her to how she acted in Nick's previous Starlight episode No Second Prances. In that episode she is unable to make friends with residents of Ponyville due to her fear of meeting people and them already knowing what she has done, even though Twilight is explicitly asking her to make one. In this episode we see her actively seeking out a new friend in Maud even though she already knows what Starlight done and she's not being asked to do so. And the scene where she randomly brings up that she likes kites to Maud and looks really nervous about how she'll react to it was awkward in all the right ways. She's shown to be eager to put herself out there and try to make friends but doesn't feel entirely comfortable with it and is constantly second-guessing herself about it, again in stark contrast with Season 6 where she tried her hardest to avoid any situation where she didn't feel comfortable and might fail. Her interactions with Maud were definitely the standout parts of the episode and it's nice seeing new aspects to her character such as her interest in kites (By the way kites were actually in her room for both Every Little Thing She Does and To Where and Back Again so there was some foreshadowing there) as well as filling more of a supporting role in this episode but again it would be nice to see more interactions with her and the Mane 6. Given that they appear to be doing a lot of good work this season so far fleshing out things that have been long overdo (Celestia development, Sweetie Belle possibly growing up a bit, AJ and Rainbow's parents, among a couple other things) I have pretty good faith that we'll see more of that later.
And yeah the scene with Rarity was really great too. Definitely going to be one of the standout episodes for the season, and it will be interesting to see what ideas they have for Maud going forward.
^ Discord was in the opener and iirc they didn't say there wasn't going to be no Discord... only that the actor (whose name escapes me...) couldn't remember doing any lines.
How often do they do reruns for the current season? Do they still at least repeat an episode during the following week? I haven't watched reruns in awhile so I haven't paid attention..., but I'm going to miss the next two weeks with no way to record the episodes...
How often do they do reruns for the current season? Do they still at least repeat an episode during the following week? I haven't watched reruns in awhile so I haven't paid attention..., but I'm going to miss the next two weeks with no way to record the episodes...
Yeah, the distance between episode recording and broadcast is such that it isn't surprising that guest artists wouldn't know what season they were working on.
Thanks!
ShinySylvee
Member
If you're looking for ways to watch the episodes EquestriaDaily usually has a post there dedicated to each episode that airs and has a link to a Dailymotion upload of the episode (With commercials edited out) once it gets uploaded, and Dailymotion doesn't really take down that kind of stuff since it's not a large site that most copyright holders care about. I don't know much about the Discovery Family rebroadcast schedule since I don't have the channel but since I believe the show is by far their biggest one they have I'm fairly certain there's going to be some way to catch the episode after it airs.
By the way, the next episode (Fluttershy Leans In) is written by Gillain M. Berrow, who wrote The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows as well as many of the MLP books that have been released in recent years. As an aside the books are really good and I would highly recommend checking them out. I have pretty good confidence in her as a writer even though The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows wasn't amazing. Here's to hoping that Season 7's streak continues. By the way if Treehouse is to be believed that episode should be airing tomorrow there, so that episode might be uploaded then.
I loved "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows", so I'm well on-board with more episodes from Berrow. Looking forward to it!