As usual with these reviews, it will contain spoilers. Those of you who do not wish to have the plot of this episode spoiled, please look away now.
The premise of this episode is that Twilight has been avoiding her new castle, and as such, her friends try to help her feel more comfortable about it.
So, the basic setup here is that Twilight is upset about the destruction of her home back in season four and is unwilling to truly accept her new home, the crystal palace. Firstly, let me just say that I think it's great that the show is addressing the issue of Twilight's destroyed home like this. Of all there things that happened in the season four finale, and there were a lot, the one thing that I and I think a lot of other fans were most shocked by was Tirek blowing up Twilight's home. It was one of those truly shocking moments that really caught us by surprise. In a lot of shows, whenever something that dramatic happens, especially in kid's shows, it's usually undone by the end, much like the loss of the cutie marks last week. But with this, there's no such luck. Twilight's home is gone, and that is the new status quo that both she and us in the audience have to accept. Making a change this massive, and sticking with it, is a brave decision for any show to make. But, as we saw with Twilight's transformation to an alicorn, change is something this show does well, even if it leaves some of us uncomfortable for a while.
The loss of Twilight's tree-house was never really talked about at the end of season four, despite the serious drama of it's destruction, and at the time, it always bothered me that it was ignored like that. However, now that some time has passed, I think I can understand why they chose to not address it. The ending of that episode was all about a sense of triumph, of victory, in seeing Tirek defeated and all of his wrongdoings undone. If they were to come down from that by showing the lingering consequences of his rampage, like the destruction of the tree, we couldn't maintain that sense of "we won" that the episode wanted us to feel. So on that, I'm content with the fact that they haven't addressed it until now. Plus, I think it's safe to say that, much like Twilight, that building was something we took entirely for granted. It's been there ever since the show first began all those years ago, serving as home base for most of the stories we got, being the place we were most familiar with in that town. And then, it was taken from all of us. Like the old saying goes, you never know what you have until it's gone. And if this show is able to make me and all the rest of us feel that connected to a fictional building and it's destruction, they must be doing something right.
In many ways, I think the general theme of this episode can be summed up as dealing with loss. Even with this show's reputation for going to dark places, it's unlikely that they'll ever do something as drastic as, say, a death to get that idea across, so something like this is going to have to do if we're going to get that kind of theme in this show. And to their credit, they handle it well. All of us, at some point in our lives, have lost someone or something dear to us, be it a family member or some treasured possession or, in this case, a home we once cherished. It's that latter loss that I think a lot of younger viewers especially can identify with. I remember myself all the times my family and I had to change homes over the years, and the transition was uncomfortable when I was that age. I think they get that kind of discomfort down well with Twilight. The way she looks at her new palace with uncertainty is exactly how a lot of youngsters will regard new homes that they're expected to have to live in. And, much like Twilight, it's something they all eventually grow into. The ultimate end of the story, having the roots of the Golden Oak Library be there in the new palace is, I think a wonderful idea. Not only is it a great visual, but having that little piece of the old home there, rather than having it forgotten completely, is a very heart-warming thing, and, as Twilight said, just the thing to make the castle a real home, not just for her, but for us in the audience as well.
What really strikes me about this episode is two things. Firstly, that, despite being largely about Twilight, she's more-or-less absent from the main story. She just gets shoved to the B-plot after the real plot gets going. It makes sense, given that they needed her out of the way, but even so, they could have given her a few more moments than they did. Regardless, her moments did work well and I enjoyed watching them. The second thing that strikes me is that this is one of the few times where we've seen Twilight's friends all interact with one another without Twilight being there. It's a nice change of pace to see the group dynamic without her, as well as seeing just how easily the group falls apart without her there to hold them together. In a lot of ways, I think this episode could be seen as an inverted version of "Lesson Zero", with all the non-Twilight characters working to a deadline and growing more frustrated as a result. Though, thankfully, they never quite had the mental breakdown Twilight did.
Also, I think it's worth noting the important role that Spike had in this story. Last week he was largely forgotten, which is something two-parters have a nasty habit of doing to him, but here, he's one of the most important characters, getting just as much attention as everyone else. First of all, I just want to say how great I think it is that he's as blunt as he is. Twice in this episode he was shown to be the only one to just come out and say what was on everyone's minds, and I love moments like that, though it did irk me that this sort of undermined Applejack's supposed role as "the honest one". On top of that, I think kudos are in order for just how much punishment the little guy takes on in his quest to make sure Twilight is happy at the end of all this. While some might simply regard that as him trying to impress Rarity as usual, I personally think that, because he's of like mind with Twilight on the loss of their home, he's genuinely doing this for her sake. Regardless, he really shone as a character this week.
Time to talk about the songs now, and this week we have a pleasant little number sung by most of the main six, minus Twilight. The song, involving the five mares all talking about their various ways in which they plan on helping Twilight get used to her new home, is nice to listen to and, for the most part, well sung. The only real downside I have in this song is a brief moment near the start where Rainbow Dash had to sing a long note and, well, to be frank, it didn't sound all that good. Now let me be clear, I'm not saying her voice actress is a bad singer. On the contrary, I think she's done some good stuff in this show, but that moment in this song just didn't endear it to me. But apart from that, it was well done, even though we all subconsciously know that their plan isn't really going to work all that well. As for the reprise, I actually found myself enjoying it a lot more than the first section, mostly because those aforementioned lesser elements were largely absent from it.
Onto humour now, and you would think that, given the subject matter of having to deal with the loss of a beloved home, the episode wouldn't have much in the way of funny moments. However, that is not the case, as there were more than a few times when I found myself laughing. Granted, when coupled with the aforementioned subject matter, those moments did get occasionally uncomfortable, but even so, they still worked. Most of the truly humorous moments come from the groups various attempts at getting Twilight to cheer up about her new abode, all of which were pretty much doomed from the start, as anyone watching the show could predict. However, what I will say about it is that it reminds me a great deal of their interactions with her back in "Ticket Master", wherein their individual likes shined through when trying to get her to think a certain way. And, much like that episode, I found these moments very funny. Plus, the aforementioned stress they experienced when their various plans backfired is always the kind of thing that brings a smile to my face.
As for the moral, this week it seems to be a lesson that a home is not just the physical place itself, but rather the memories you make there. All the good times and the bad culminated together, and what we remember about them, that's what really makes us feel as affectionate towards our homes as we do. This strikes me as an unusual lesson. Not because I find it in any way bad, far from it. But it seems like less of a moral lesson this time around and just more like useful advice for coping with a difficult transition. Nevertheless, it's a good lesson for any child who has had to deal with some kind of great change in their lives.
So, how did this episode fare overall? Well, as is often the case with any episode immediately following a season-opening two-parter, this feels like something of a downgrade. But then, that's not to say there's nothing here to enjoy. Far from it. Because taken on it's own, regardless of what came last week, this remained a thoroughly engaging episode. Twilight's journey of having to deal with this great change in her life is handled expertly, much like her transition to Princesshood was last year. The emotion of the story is nailed down perfectly, with the sombre moments never going overboard at any point, always with enough levity to keep us from staying too far into drama. The subject matter was one that a lot of people can identify with, and the characters went through this growth in a believable manner. That, coupled with the aforementioned humour and moral lesson-of-the-week, altogether makes this a fine episode in the series. Highly recommended.
The premise of this episode is that Twilight has been avoiding her new castle, and as such, her friends try to help her feel more comfortable about it.
So, the basic setup here is that Twilight is upset about the destruction of her home back in season four and is unwilling to truly accept her new home, the crystal palace. Firstly, let me just say that I think it's great that the show is addressing the issue of Twilight's destroyed home like this. Of all there things that happened in the season four finale, and there were a lot, the one thing that I and I think a lot of other fans were most shocked by was Tirek blowing up Twilight's home. It was one of those truly shocking moments that really caught us by surprise. In a lot of shows, whenever something that dramatic happens, especially in kid's shows, it's usually undone by the end, much like the loss of the cutie marks last week. But with this, there's no such luck. Twilight's home is gone, and that is the new status quo that both she and us in the audience have to accept. Making a change this massive, and sticking with it, is a brave decision for any show to make. But, as we saw with Twilight's transformation to an alicorn, change is something this show does well, even if it leaves some of us uncomfortable for a while.
The loss of Twilight's tree-house was never really talked about at the end of season four, despite the serious drama of it's destruction, and at the time, it always bothered me that it was ignored like that. However, now that some time has passed, I think I can understand why they chose to not address it. The ending of that episode was all about a sense of triumph, of victory, in seeing Tirek defeated and all of his wrongdoings undone. If they were to come down from that by showing the lingering consequences of his rampage, like the destruction of the tree, we couldn't maintain that sense of "we won" that the episode wanted us to feel. So on that, I'm content with the fact that they haven't addressed it until now. Plus, I think it's safe to say that, much like Twilight, that building was something we took entirely for granted. It's been there ever since the show first began all those years ago, serving as home base for most of the stories we got, being the place we were most familiar with in that town. And then, it was taken from all of us. Like the old saying goes, you never know what you have until it's gone. And if this show is able to make me and all the rest of us feel that connected to a fictional building and it's destruction, they must be doing something right.
In many ways, I think the general theme of this episode can be summed up as dealing with loss. Even with this show's reputation for going to dark places, it's unlikely that they'll ever do something as drastic as, say, a death to get that idea across, so something like this is going to have to do if we're going to get that kind of theme in this show. And to their credit, they handle it well. All of us, at some point in our lives, have lost someone or something dear to us, be it a family member or some treasured possession or, in this case, a home we once cherished. It's that latter loss that I think a lot of younger viewers especially can identify with. I remember myself all the times my family and I had to change homes over the years, and the transition was uncomfortable when I was that age. I think they get that kind of discomfort down well with Twilight. The way she looks at her new palace with uncertainty is exactly how a lot of youngsters will regard new homes that they're expected to have to live in. And, much like Twilight, it's something they all eventually grow into. The ultimate end of the story, having the roots of the Golden Oak Library be there in the new palace is, I think a wonderful idea. Not only is it a great visual, but having that little piece of the old home there, rather than having it forgotten completely, is a very heart-warming thing, and, as Twilight said, just the thing to make the castle a real home, not just for her, but for us in the audience as well.
What really strikes me about this episode is two things. Firstly, that, despite being largely about Twilight, she's more-or-less absent from the main story. She just gets shoved to the B-plot after the real plot gets going. It makes sense, given that they needed her out of the way, but even so, they could have given her a few more moments than they did. Regardless, her moments did work well and I enjoyed watching them. The second thing that strikes me is that this is one of the few times where we've seen Twilight's friends all interact with one another without Twilight being there. It's a nice change of pace to see the group dynamic without her, as well as seeing just how easily the group falls apart without her there to hold them together. In a lot of ways, I think this episode could be seen as an inverted version of "Lesson Zero", with all the non-Twilight characters working to a deadline and growing more frustrated as a result. Though, thankfully, they never quite had the mental breakdown Twilight did.
Also, I think it's worth noting the important role that Spike had in this story. Last week he was largely forgotten, which is something two-parters have a nasty habit of doing to him, but here, he's one of the most important characters, getting just as much attention as everyone else. First of all, I just want to say how great I think it is that he's as blunt as he is. Twice in this episode he was shown to be the only one to just come out and say what was on everyone's minds, and I love moments like that, though it did irk me that this sort of undermined Applejack's supposed role as "the honest one". On top of that, I think kudos are in order for just how much punishment the little guy takes on in his quest to make sure Twilight is happy at the end of all this. While some might simply regard that as him trying to impress Rarity as usual, I personally think that, because he's of like mind with Twilight on the loss of their home, he's genuinely doing this for her sake. Regardless, he really shone as a character this week.
Time to talk about the songs now, and this week we have a pleasant little number sung by most of the main six, minus Twilight. The song, involving the five mares all talking about their various ways in which they plan on helping Twilight get used to her new home, is nice to listen to and, for the most part, well sung. The only real downside I have in this song is a brief moment near the start where Rainbow Dash had to sing a long note and, well, to be frank, it didn't sound all that good. Now let me be clear, I'm not saying her voice actress is a bad singer. On the contrary, I think she's done some good stuff in this show, but that moment in this song just didn't endear it to me. But apart from that, it was well done, even though we all subconsciously know that their plan isn't really going to work all that well. As for the reprise, I actually found myself enjoying it a lot more than the first section, mostly because those aforementioned lesser elements were largely absent from it.
Onto humour now, and you would think that, given the subject matter of having to deal with the loss of a beloved home, the episode wouldn't have much in the way of funny moments. However, that is not the case, as there were more than a few times when I found myself laughing. Granted, when coupled with the aforementioned subject matter, those moments did get occasionally uncomfortable, but even so, they still worked. Most of the truly humorous moments come from the groups various attempts at getting Twilight to cheer up about her new abode, all of which were pretty much doomed from the start, as anyone watching the show could predict. However, what I will say about it is that it reminds me a great deal of their interactions with her back in "Ticket Master", wherein their individual likes shined through when trying to get her to think a certain way. And, much like that episode, I found these moments very funny. Plus, the aforementioned stress they experienced when their various plans backfired is always the kind of thing that brings a smile to my face.
As for the moral, this week it seems to be a lesson that a home is not just the physical place itself, but rather the memories you make there. All the good times and the bad culminated together, and what we remember about them, that's what really makes us feel as affectionate towards our homes as we do. This strikes me as an unusual lesson. Not because I find it in any way bad, far from it. But it seems like less of a moral lesson this time around and just more like useful advice for coping with a difficult transition. Nevertheless, it's a good lesson for any child who has had to deal with some kind of great change in their lives.
So, how did this episode fare overall? Well, as is often the case with any episode immediately following a season-opening two-parter, this feels like something of a downgrade. But then, that's not to say there's nothing here to enjoy. Far from it. Because taken on it's own, regardless of what came last week, this remained a thoroughly engaging episode. Twilight's journey of having to deal with this great change in her life is handled expertly, much like her transition to Princesshood was last year. The emotion of the story is nailed down perfectly, with the sombre moments never going overboard at any point, always with enough levity to keep us from staying too far into drama. The subject matter was one that a lot of people can identify with, and the characters went through this growth in a believable manner. That, coupled with the aforementioned humour and moral lesson-of-the-week, altogether makes this a fine episode in the series. Highly recommended.
