This review will contain spoilers for those who have not seen the latest episode.
The premise of this episode is that Sweetie Belle deliberately ruins one of Rarity's costumes for one of her clients, resulting in Princess Luna visiting her in her dreams.
When it comes to the basic premise of the story, this episode seems to be almost tailor-made to suit my specific tastes when it comes to episodes of this show. Long-time readers of my reviews will know by now that there are a few very specific types of stories that I really enjoy when it comes to the show's more episodic yarns. For instance, this is an episode focusing on the relationship between two siblings, which I've gone on record many times as saying I like. It features Sweetie Belle as it's lead, whom I've cited as my favourite of the CMC. And on top of all that, it gives us development of a character that I've felt deserves more screen-time than she gets, in this case Princess Luna. So, if nothing else, this basic setup is enough to have me smiling.
One thing I would like to note before I get into the meat of the review is that it strikes me after seeing this episode that this fourth season of MLP is the first full season where every single member of the main and regular supporting cast have all had significant development. All of the main six have had at least one focus episode, as dictated by the over-arcing season story I've I've mentioned a few times, Spike had a good outing in "Power Ponies", every member of the CMC has had an episode of their own and, in addition to that, both of the two major Princesses have also, as of this episode, been given significant attention. This makes season four the only season so far that I won't be able to criticise for leaving a character out, which I heartily approve.
When it comes to the actual story, I've mentioned several times in the past that I liked the episodes that look at the relationship between Sweetie Belle and her sister. "Sisterhooves Social", from back in season two, was one of my favourite episodes, and afterwards every episode that has in some way shone a light on these two together has always pleased me. This episode carries on that tradition as it puts them both in a very realistic situation. I'm sure all of us have, at some point in our lives, made mistakes out of anger towards people we care about, so Sweetie Belle's situation, and her initial actions, are very realistically portrayed, given that she's a very young character.
However, in spite of that, I will say that, while understandable, Sweetie's actions might have gone just a tad too far. Experiences from my own youth have taught me that anger can lead a person to do many things that they regret later on, and Sweetie's actions are no exception. Rarity throughout this entire episode is portrayed as very reasonable, while Sweetie Belle continues to berate her sister for what she sees as sleights against her. Youth can only excuse a character so much before I begin to draw the line. Sweetie knows her sister probably better than anyone else, and knows that while she may be somewhat self-centred at times, also knows that she would never knowingly try and sabotage Sweetie's efforts. Because of this, Sweetie came of as just a little bit unjustified in her position at times, though only a little. Still, her efforts to make things right did a lot for her character, at least to me.
By far the best part of this episode was the inclusion of Princess Luna. I've said before that her character has been grossly underused since her introduction and this episode does a fine job of developing her. Screen-time alone was great but what makes it even better is the fact that Luna can relate to Sweetie's frustrations. Luna herself was once in the exact same position, and now seeks to prevent Sweetie from making the same mistakes. In many ways, this and the whole past, present and future thing makes this very reminiscent of one of my favourite stories, "A Christmas Carol". Luna's character was integrated perfectly into this and every moment she was on screen made me smile.
In many ways this episode has shades of my favourite episode from season three, "Sleepless in Ponyville", in which a member of the CMC makes a mistake as a result of her interactions with her respective elder and ultimately runs into Princess Luna who helps them in some way to overcome the trouble they had. I'm not sure if this was a deliberate aping of the previous episode, but regardless, the episode does suffer in terms of originality as a result of this. However, originality is not the be all and end all of the story, and this episode is presented and executed well, as I was never once bored or uninvested in it's goings on. In fact, I found that Luna's role in this story was far better than in Sleepless because of how much it echoed her past fall from grace, which does a lot to elevate the story.
In terms of humour, this week we get quite a few funny moments. The CMC get in a number of amusing moments, which is a pleasant surprise for me given that they're usually not the best source of humour, at least as far as my own tastes go. Tabitha St Germain, Rarity's voice actress, does a great job on her usual over-the-top moments, and there were plenty of other great moments to give the episode a light-hearted feel to it. However, unlike a number of other episodes this season, humour is not the main focus, and as such the funny moments come less frequently than they do in other stories. But that's fine by me as this episode's true strength is in fleshing out it's principal characters.
Onto the songs now and this episode doesn't have any, which is a shame given that both Sweetie and Rarity have been known to have great singing voices.
Time to discuss the moral of the week, and this time it seems to be yet another case of the lesson not being stated outright, and thus is left to audience interpretation. My own personal take on the lesson is that we need to learn that just because others may receive more attention than us, it doesn't mean that they want things like that, or even that they are undeserving of it. In addition to that, the similarity to "A Christmas Carol" could well be trying to pass on the lessons of that story, that we need to do good things when we can before it's too late. I'm not sure how well that story is known to the generation this show is targeted at, but regardless, I'm always happy when those kinds of lessons are being taught.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Honestly, I loved it. Luna's involvement was great and did a lot to develop her character, which is something I always enjoy seeing. But even taking her out of the picture, this episode is a real treat for me. The relationship between Rarity and Sweetie has always been one of the things I like about this show and it's portrayed wonderfully here. There were plenty of great character moments, a good lesson, and the story itself was very well told, showing how what may seem as justified actions on our part can in truth be terrible mistakes. This episode was very enjoyable and I think it may stand among my favourite of the season so far. I definitely recommend this one.
The premise of this episode is that Sweetie Belle deliberately ruins one of Rarity's costumes for one of her clients, resulting in Princess Luna visiting her in her dreams.
When it comes to the basic premise of the story, this episode seems to be almost tailor-made to suit my specific tastes when it comes to episodes of this show. Long-time readers of my reviews will know by now that there are a few very specific types of stories that I really enjoy when it comes to the show's more episodic yarns. For instance, this is an episode focusing on the relationship between two siblings, which I've gone on record many times as saying I like. It features Sweetie Belle as it's lead, whom I've cited as my favourite of the CMC. And on top of all that, it gives us development of a character that I've felt deserves more screen-time than she gets, in this case Princess Luna. So, if nothing else, this basic setup is enough to have me smiling.
One thing I would like to note before I get into the meat of the review is that it strikes me after seeing this episode that this fourth season of MLP is the first full season where every single member of the main and regular supporting cast have all had significant development. All of the main six have had at least one focus episode, as dictated by the over-arcing season story I've I've mentioned a few times, Spike had a good outing in "Power Ponies", every member of the CMC has had an episode of their own and, in addition to that, both of the two major Princesses have also, as of this episode, been given significant attention. This makes season four the only season so far that I won't be able to criticise for leaving a character out, which I heartily approve.
When it comes to the actual story, I've mentioned several times in the past that I liked the episodes that look at the relationship between Sweetie Belle and her sister. "Sisterhooves Social", from back in season two, was one of my favourite episodes, and afterwards every episode that has in some way shone a light on these two together has always pleased me. This episode carries on that tradition as it puts them both in a very realistic situation. I'm sure all of us have, at some point in our lives, made mistakes out of anger towards people we care about, so Sweetie Belle's situation, and her initial actions, are very realistically portrayed, given that she's a very young character.
However, in spite of that, I will say that, while understandable, Sweetie's actions might have gone just a tad too far. Experiences from my own youth have taught me that anger can lead a person to do many things that they regret later on, and Sweetie's actions are no exception. Rarity throughout this entire episode is portrayed as very reasonable, while Sweetie Belle continues to berate her sister for what she sees as sleights against her. Youth can only excuse a character so much before I begin to draw the line. Sweetie knows her sister probably better than anyone else, and knows that while she may be somewhat self-centred at times, also knows that she would never knowingly try and sabotage Sweetie's efforts. Because of this, Sweetie came of as just a little bit unjustified in her position at times, though only a little. Still, her efforts to make things right did a lot for her character, at least to me.
By far the best part of this episode was the inclusion of Princess Luna. I've said before that her character has been grossly underused since her introduction and this episode does a fine job of developing her. Screen-time alone was great but what makes it even better is the fact that Luna can relate to Sweetie's frustrations. Luna herself was once in the exact same position, and now seeks to prevent Sweetie from making the same mistakes. In many ways, this and the whole past, present and future thing makes this very reminiscent of one of my favourite stories, "A Christmas Carol". Luna's character was integrated perfectly into this and every moment she was on screen made me smile.
In many ways this episode has shades of my favourite episode from season three, "Sleepless in Ponyville", in which a member of the CMC makes a mistake as a result of her interactions with her respective elder and ultimately runs into Princess Luna who helps them in some way to overcome the trouble they had. I'm not sure if this was a deliberate aping of the previous episode, but regardless, the episode does suffer in terms of originality as a result of this. However, originality is not the be all and end all of the story, and this episode is presented and executed well, as I was never once bored or uninvested in it's goings on. In fact, I found that Luna's role in this story was far better than in Sleepless because of how much it echoed her past fall from grace, which does a lot to elevate the story.
In terms of humour, this week we get quite a few funny moments. The CMC get in a number of amusing moments, which is a pleasant surprise for me given that they're usually not the best source of humour, at least as far as my own tastes go. Tabitha St Germain, Rarity's voice actress, does a great job on her usual over-the-top moments, and there were plenty of other great moments to give the episode a light-hearted feel to it. However, unlike a number of other episodes this season, humour is not the main focus, and as such the funny moments come less frequently than they do in other stories. But that's fine by me as this episode's true strength is in fleshing out it's principal characters.
Onto the songs now and this episode doesn't have any, which is a shame given that both Sweetie and Rarity have been known to have great singing voices.
Time to discuss the moral of the week, and this time it seems to be yet another case of the lesson not being stated outright, and thus is left to audience interpretation. My own personal take on the lesson is that we need to learn that just because others may receive more attention than us, it doesn't mean that they want things like that, or even that they are undeserving of it. In addition to that, the similarity to "A Christmas Carol" could well be trying to pass on the lessons of that story, that we need to do good things when we can before it's too late. I'm not sure how well that story is known to the generation this show is targeted at, but regardless, I'm always happy when those kinds of lessons are being taught.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Honestly, I loved it. Luna's involvement was great and did a lot to develop her character, which is something I always enjoy seeing. But even taking her out of the picture, this episode is a real treat for me. The relationship between Rarity and Sweetie has always been one of the things I like about this show and it's portrayed wonderfully here. There were plenty of great character moments, a good lesson, and the story itself was very well told, showing how what may seem as justified actions on our part can in truth be terrible mistakes. This episode was very enjoyable and I think it may stand among my favourite of the season so far. I definitely recommend this one.
