White Lightning Productions

And another thing- why is everybody going back to the Gala, when they all had a MISERABLE time there back in Season One? Not only are they going, they're all looking FORWARD to it.

Studio B has got to be running low on ideas by now. The plotlines have been getting steadily dumber while the jokes, references and memes have been getting more intense. This episode we had Solid Discord in his cardboard box, Pinkie grabbing and shaking the camera, a literal tree hugging hippie, Maud Pie, and the return of Princess Trollestia.

Seems that the writers are getting too focused on incorporating fan-bait and potential memes into the episodes for the adult fans and forgetting to write good stories. The basic premise of Make New Friends but Keep Discord was fine enough (a friend won't forget about you just because he or she made a new friend) but the execution was sloppy.

Also, is it just me or is Princess Celestia something of paper tiger*? Every time there's a threat to Equestria in part or as a whole she's totally ineffectual beyond imparting useful advice. How the heck did she keep the peace before before the main six showed up (after surrendering the Elements of Harmony to the Tree of Harmony, naturally)?

*No doubt she frequently suffers from the Worf Effect, but there have only been a handful of instances demonstrating she has significant power in the first place.

Episode 8, Season 5, The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone

Definitely a superior episode, at least in comparison to the last couple despite the return of The Magical Friendship Crisis Locator Map of Friendship and Plot Contrivance(TM). To its credit, Gilda felt integral to the story rather than coming across a fan-favorite dug up for the sake of appealing to the audience. The twist of Griffonstone being a slum and its citizens being mercenary and self-centered was a nice touch. I particularly like how the city's problems weren't instantly solved by retrieving their lost artifact. Rather, it will take time, effort, cooperation and *sigh* yes, friendship on the Griffons' part (at least Rainbow Dash pointed out how sappy it sounded!). Good character design on this one as well. Baby Gilda was soooooooooooo adorable!!!

This is to be expected, but the show is starting to get repetitive. I realize the title is Friendship is Magic, but come on now. Friendship has become the cure all for every major problem.

Invaded by an army of changelings? Friendship.

Attacked by a godlike centaur? Friendship.

Economy in the toilet? Friendship.

A lot of people claimed that the season opener was a metaphor for the evils of socialism.

I hope those same people are willing to embrace Griffonstone as a metaphor for unlimited free-market capitalism and Randian thought... and where it leads.

One thing's for sure. Gustav LeGrande would be a popular guy in Griffonstone.

This is a bit dated, but if anybody is up for more in-depth analysis of economics in MLP: FiM, check these posts out.

http://www.overthinkingit.com/2011/02/2 ... l-economy/

http://colewebbharter.com/2014/07/16/th ... ttle-pony/

Episode 9, Season 5, Slice of Life

I...I...I can't. This episode broke me. I can't get through it.* The sheer, concentrated, weapons-grade fanservce! It's as though some hardcore fans sneaked into the studio and forced the staff to make the episode at gunpoint. They've...WE'VE gone too far! I love it. I hate it. ALL fanons become canon. All shippings become canon! Night is day, day is night! Iä-Equestria! Iä iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!



*Seriously! I can't force myself to watch the whole thing in one sitting!

I'm just glad they didn't give Button Mash a different name, voice and personality. That would have been twisting the knife in the wound.

Episode 10, Season 5, Princess Spike

...Still haven't entirely recovered from the prior episode, although the magical muffin gnomes that live in my toothpaste told me I should be feeling better soon.

Essentially one prolonged Trouble Brewin'. That and conclusive proof ponies really lack autonomy. Their society would collapse within a week if there were no princesses.

Best scene: Twilight Sparkle making an adorable little bed out of books and falling asleep.

I liked it. Someone ought to make a montage of all the goofy gibberish Twilight says when she's really tired or stressed.

But, dragonsneeze trees? Seriously? It just doesn't get more straightforward than that does it?

Episode 11, Season 5, Party Pooped

It's been a while since we've had a good (near) pony psychotic breakdown and this one had them in spades. Not perfect, but a TON of funny bits. The Yaks...can't decide if I hate them or love them.

Twilight Sparkle fears quesadillas. They're too...cheesy!

CURSE YOU SHEEP!!!

Beatles Reference!

This burden falls on my rump, and my rump alone.

Episode 12, Season 5, Amending Fences

Bleh, not the best episode of the season, that's for sure. It lacked the flare, energy, and finesse characteristic of most other MLP:FiM stories. The theme of rekindling old friendships and making amends for past mistakes was worthy enough but the central conflict didn't come in until the show was 1/3 through, was barely present and was resolved far too predictably even for MLP:FiM. There were a few creative sparks here and there in the otherwise dreary, overly-saccharine throw-back to earlier MLP series, but it didn't save the episode. Slice-of-life from a stale Safeway vanilla cake.

EDIT: Oddly enough, a lot of the fans liked it. Apparently, I have horrible taste.

I have a little bit of difficulty sympathizing with characters trying to make friends in a world where people are actually actively trying to be friends with each other. My problem isn't that friendship just isn't for me, it's that everyone I become friends with eventually either explode at me with unpredictable anger or they just up and quietly drift away. I wish I understood how to make friends, maybe even a girlfriend, without triggering that natural human viciousness everyone seems to have.

I actually thought Amending Fences was the best episode of the season thus far- and by that I mean even better than Slice of Life. It's not just that it's a continuity call, but it's also taking something which should be blatantly obvious- that Twilight used to be a pretty rotten friend- and dealing with it head-on. Furthermore, given the constraints of happy-ending-required and this-pace-required-for-tension, the episode handled both the subject matter and the emotional state of the characters excellently. Bribery and cajolery both failed, as they should, because they wouldn't work in real life. It took an honest exchange of emotions to get Moondancer to open up to the possibility of friendship again. Granted, the ending was a bit pat, but that's part of the limitations of the kiddy-cartoon format.

Furthermore, the whole episode makes a wonderful contrast, although it might have worked better if the EG:Friendship Games trailer came out after instead of before its airing. What we're seeing in Moondancer is probably what Twilight would have become without the Elements of Harmony, Ponyville, etc. The glasses Moondancer wears, being so similar to human Twilight's in the trailer, only makes the parallel even more striking.

Much better than Party Pooped, which wasn't bad as such, but which only makes any sense if you accept as a premise that the universe conforms itself to Pinkie Pie's perceptions of time and space. (A single afternoon to travel from the southern deserts to the off-the-map snowy north and back again? With time for a rock band career along the way? And Pinkie has documented proof of this? And for the other girls it's only one afternoon? Time and space fall on bended knees to the power of pink.)

Oh, and I haven't mentioned Princess Spike. All I have to say there is, that whole episode was made specifically to set him up to be the schmuck. In the end it didn't matter what he did, he was going to be the schmuck. The writer might as well have stenciled SCHMUCK across his scales. I hated how the series went from one of the best episodes thus far to an ep with the script lifted lock, stock and barrel from some bad sitcom or other.

Yeah, well, apparently my taste and judgment are horrible. Pardon me while I go stick my head in a bucket of ice water.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QkqAShCFR6Y

Starlight Glimmer is there in the background hiding behind a menu! In the immortal words of Strong Bad, Holy Crap!

Dadgum it, now I have to rewatch all of the season 5 episodes and play Where's Starlight?

Do Princesses Dream Of Magic Sheep?

Finally, an appropriate time to use this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f5HViisap3g

I thought it was awesome. Definitely better than Inception. So many callbacks and even more fanservice moments like Princess Big Mac.