This review will contain spoilers for those who have not seen the latest episode of MLP.
The premise of this episode is that the Cutie Mark Crusaders realise that they can use their ties to Twilight to increase their popularity.
Given that I've had a somewhat mixed opinion of episodes focusing on the CMC, I was somewhat hesitant about this episode. However, given that their last outing, "Flight to the Finish" was one of my favourites from this season, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. And to their credit, this episode has a clot of things going for it. The premise is one that, I think, can be seen as a very realistic one. Although I myself have never done this first-hand, I know for a fact that there are many people, especially those of younger ages, who would very much use their connection to a popular or famous person to improve their own lot in the eyes of others. As such, I give credit to this episode for creating a realistic situation for it's central characters.
In addition to that, this episode does a great job of showing the wider impact of Twilight's ascension to the position of Princess, which was something I've been worried that this season might not do enough of. With her now thrust into the public eyes, it makes sense that those around her would also receive greater attention. As such, the episode does a good job of how those she knows, in this case the CMC, could perhaps use that influence. This is especially good when you think that, aside from the season premiere, this world seems to have forgotten that Twilight became a Princess, as virtually every episode since then has had little to no mention of it, or having her new status have any real impact on those around her.
And in truth, Twilight is real draw of this episode for me. But then, that was always going to happen when the CMC have to share the spotlight with one of the main six characters, as I've always been more interested in the main cast than them. That's not to say I dislike them here, far from it, but Twilight's involvement was a real highlight for me. Every action she takes and situation she's in, she behave as I would expect, doing her very best to cope with the amount of attention she's getting, which isn't something she's had to deal with that much since her coronation. And you can tell from looking that being a Pincess is still something she's trying to come to terms with, but they get around that by focusing on her supposed role as a teacher, It was said when she ascended that she was now a teacher to others, so it's nice that we have that aspect of her new role explored a littloe. Plus, it fits in perfectly with her character, given how enthusiastic she herself is when it comes to learning.
As for the CMC's actions, I understand that many will probably call them out on doing what they do, especially since they pretty much know from the start that it's a bad thing. However, I'm going to defend them on this by addressing a point that I feel needs to be taken into account with their character, their age. Young people, especially very young people, often do things that they know is wrong, as that's all part of growing up. I know from my own childhood that people make mistakes like this, and that it's a hard thing to just stop doing. However, I will concede that it's a very similar situation to what they did back in "Ponyville Confidential", using their closeness to another character to try and get themselves ahead. And on that count I will admit that it's somewhat frustrating to see them make this action.
Their characters do well in the story and go through many things I actually rather like. The prospect of trying to increase their popularity, and having it be Sweetie Belle to suggest it, actually makes sense, given that she's Rarity's sister. After all, Rarity has had several occasions where she's tried to improve on her standing in society, sometimes even at the cost of her friendship to the other members of the main six, so it could well be that such traits have influenced Sweetie Belle into behaving the same way, which is especially bad when you consider that Sweetie hasn't gone through the same lessons as Rarity, and therefore wouldn't understand the true cost until she learns them the hard way. And speaking of Sweetie Belle, I like how they had her start to use her magic in this episode, as it works into the theme of the CMC's attempts at self-improvement, much like Scootaloo's attempts to fly earlier this season.
As for the other characters, even though I still don't like them, I found Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to be more tolerable than normal, mostly because, like the rest of the CMC's classmates, they behave much like real-life children would when faced with the prospect of spending time with a celebrity. I liked how the episode poked fun at just how obsessed the children could become when it came to their desire to spend time with Twilight, which serves as a real critique of the kind of celebrity worship that I'm sure we've all experienced at some point. Also, I thought it was nice that we got to see Pip again, even thought I still don't much care for his accent.
Onto the humour now and, as you might expect of such an episode, most of it is focused on the CMC an their various antics. The humour that these three bring to the table, as in the kind of young child kind of jokes, have always been hit-and-miss for me. Most of the humourous situations they're involved with, while certainly funny, have never been as funny as the moments of other characters. That's not to say that they or other characters don't get their funny moments in this episode, because they do. Twilight especially has plenty of funny moments trying to deal with the attention she's getting, as well as just generally interacting with the CMC. So while there is humour to be had here, it's not on the same level as what we've had in other episodes this season.
Songs now, and this week we don't have any to speak of, which is disappointing, given how good the CMC's last song was this season.
Time to talk about the moral of the episode, and this week it seems to be that you should not take advantage of your friendship to another person to benefit yourself. This is a fine lesson to teach children as I've known several people who have tried using their connections, be it to a family member with an impressive life, or some other case, where kids will try and use such means to benefit themselves. But friendship should not be sought because it will benefit you in some way, and I praise this episode for trying to pass on that lesson. In addition, I like how the episode as a whole tries to get kids to learn the value of learning for it's own sake, which is something I've held dear for most of my life.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Overall, I found myself liking it. While I don't think the episode is as strong as the CMC's last outing, nor is it anywhere nears as good as many other episodes we've had, it was still a fun little story. The CM all had perfectly believable motivations, actions and learning experiences throughout the episode, the humour served it's purpose well, and the moral was, overall, a good one to teach to youngsters. So while it wasn't as good as it might have been, it was still pretty entertaining to me.
The premise of this episode is that the Cutie Mark Crusaders realise that they can use their ties to Twilight to increase their popularity.
Given that I've had a somewhat mixed opinion of episodes focusing on the CMC, I was somewhat hesitant about this episode. However, given that their last outing, "Flight to the Finish" was one of my favourites from this season, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. And to their credit, this episode has a clot of things going for it. The premise is one that, I think, can be seen as a very realistic one. Although I myself have never done this first-hand, I know for a fact that there are many people, especially those of younger ages, who would very much use their connection to a popular or famous person to improve their own lot in the eyes of others. As such, I give credit to this episode for creating a realistic situation for it's central characters.
In addition to that, this episode does a great job of showing the wider impact of Twilight's ascension to the position of Princess, which was something I've been worried that this season might not do enough of. With her now thrust into the public eyes, it makes sense that those around her would also receive greater attention. As such, the episode does a good job of how those she knows, in this case the CMC, could perhaps use that influence. This is especially good when you think that, aside from the season premiere, this world seems to have forgotten that Twilight became a Princess, as virtually every episode since then has had little to no mention of it, or having her new status have any real impact on those around her.
And in truth, Twilight is real draw of this episode for me. But then, that was always going to happen when the CMC have to share the spotlight with one of the main six characters, as I've always been more interested in the main cast than them. That's not to say I dislike them here, far from it, but Twilight's involvement was a real highlight for me. Every action she takes and situation she's in, she behave as I would expect, doing her very best to cope with the amount of attention she's getting, which isn't something she's had to deal with that much since her coronation. And you can tell from looking that being a Pincess is still something she's trying to come to terms with, but they get around that by focusing on her supposed role as a teacher, It was said when she ascended that she was now a teacher to others, so it's nice that we have that aspect of her new role explored a littloe. Plus, it fits in perfectly with her character, given how enthusiastic she herself is when it comes to learning.
As for the CMC's actions, I understand that many will probably call them out on doing what they do, especially since they pretty much know from the start that it's a bad thing. However, I'm going to defend them on this by addressing a point that I feel needs to be taken into account with their character, their age. Young people, especially very young people, often do things that they know is wrong, as that's all part of growing up. I know from my own childhood that people make mistakes like this, and that it's a hard thing to just stop doing. However, I will concede that it's a very similar situation to what they did back in "Ponyville Confidential", using their closeness to another character to try and get themselves ahead. And on that count I will admit that it's somewhat frustrating to see them make this action.
Their characters do well in the story and go through many things I actually rather like. The prospect of trying to increase their popularity, and having it be Sweetie Belle to suggest it, actually makes sense, given that she's Rarity's sister. After all, Rarity has had several occasions where she's tried to improve on her standing in society, sometimes even at the cost of her friendship to the other members of the main six, so it could well be that such traits have influenced Sweetie Belle into behaving the same way, which is especially bad when you consider that Sweetie hasn't gone through the same lessons as Rarity, and therefore wouldn't understand the true cost until she learns them the hard way. And speaking of Sweetie Belle, I like how they had her start to use her magic in this episode, as it works into the theme of the CMC's attempts at self-improvement, much like Scootaloo's attempts to fly earlier this season.
As for the other characters, even though I still don't like them, I found Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to be more tolerable than normal, mostly because, like the rest of the CMC's classmates, they behave much like real-life children would when faced with the prospect of spending time with a celebrity. I liked how the episode poked fun at just how obsessed the children could become when it came to their desire to spend time with Twilight, which serves as a real critique of the kind of celebrity worship that I'm sure we've all experienced at some point. Also, I thought it was nice that we got to see Pip again, even thought I still don't much care for his accent.
Onto the humour now and, as you might expect of such an episode, most of it is focused on the CMC an their various antics. The humour that these three bring to the table, as in the kind of young child kind of jokes, have always been hit-and-miss for me. Most of the humourous situations they're involved with, while certainly funny, have never been as funny as the moments of other characters. That's not to say that they or other characters don't get their funny moments in this episode, because they do. Twilight especially has plenty of funny moments trying to deal with the attention she's getting, as well as just generally interacting with the CMC. So while there is humour to be had here, it's not on the same level as what we've had in other episodes this season.
Songs now, and this week we don't have any to speak of, which is disappointing, given how good the CMC's last song was this season.
Time to talk about the moral of the episode, and this week it seems to be that you should not take advantage of your friendship to another person to benefit yourself. This is a fine lesson to teach children as I've known several people who have tried using their connections, be it to a family member with an impressive life, or some other case, where kids will try and use such means to benefit themselves. But friendship should not be sought because it will benefit you in some way, and I praise this episode for trying to pass on that lesson. In addition, I like how the episode as a whole tries to get kids to learn the value of learning for it's own sake, which is something I've held dear for most of my life.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Overall, I found myself liking it. While I don't think the episode is as strong as the CMC's last outing, nor is it anywhere nears as good as many other episodes we've had, it was still a fun little story. The CM all had perfectly believable motivations, actions and learning experiences throughout the episode, the humour served it's purpose well, and the moral was, overall, a good one to teach to youngsters. So while it wasn't as good as it might have been, it was still pretty entertaining to me.
