New and Latest Episode Thread

[Gray Ham]

Overall, I enjoyed it and now I'm really curious to see who/what that thing in the shadows is.

I'm interested in why I keep hearing this, most of the time when things like this happen in other cartoons and such they're just jokes. Why are some people thinking otherwise for this case?

[simonli2575]

Overall, I enjoyed it and now I'm really curious to see who/what that thing in the shadows is.

I'm interested in why I keep hearing this, most of the time when things like this happen in other cartoons and such they're just jokes. Why are some people thinking otherwise for this case?

Nobody knows whatever's going to happen next, someday it might be related to this very shadow, but until then, people are going to have discussions about everything they see in each episode.

[ph00tbag]

I'm interested in why I keep hearing this, most of the time when things like this happen in other cartoons and such they're just jokes. Why are some people thinking otherwise for this case?

People have come to expect a little bit more continuity from MLP. All of the scripts are contained within the world, rather than each script containing a version of the story. As such, no story element in any given episode is separable from the world as a whole. If a shadowy figure shows up at one point in the episode, with no explanation offered, it suggests that an explanation exists within the world, but outside the bounds of the episode.

The episode-external setting is part of what has made MLP so popular. More than interesting characters following an engaging plotline, the creation of a detailed and unique world draws people in, because it invites them to join the fantasy. Hence OCs.

[Gray Ham]

^: Also concerning that, the episode was full of cliches so I'm expecting that was just another one.


Now, after episode 4, I want to disembowel myself with a wooden spoon.

[ClaviSound]

Spoiler S4E04 thoughts:

The real lesson of S4E04: If you bother your idol enough, eventually she'll like you and insert you into her creative works, so you should totally keep trying to get in her good graces because your friends tell you to.

Oh god the shipping

Animation continues to go above and beyond; Ahuizotl was awesomely done. Also, Daring Do just kept on piling the references to Indiana Jones and wouldn't stop; first it was the fact that she dressed up as a school professor, then she used a whip, then she was a real grumpypants... I can't handle all this Indiana Jones expy

No seriously though the shipping

Ahuizotl is so terribly incompetent. You don't just yell out "stop them," you tell your minions "just incapacitate all of them so that they can't pass the ring around any more." Chalk it up to villains in MLP just getting more petty as time goes on. ("First I'll collapse the cliff they're standing on! Then, I'll force them to face down a Manticore! Then, I'll make the trees super-scary! Then, I'll shave off a sea serpent's moustache! And then, finally, I'll try to pull away the pegasus trying to fix the bridge, conveniently forgetting there's another pegasus in the group! It just gets eviller and eviller! Mwahahahahaaaa!")

The shippinggggggggggggg

Also, why didn't Rainbow Dash totally sue A.K. Yearling over using her likeness without permission or compensation? At least she could have asked first!

SHIPPING

What, no "let's paint Rainbow Dash to look like Daring Do so she can distract Ahuizotl's minions"? I was totally ready for that to be a plot device.

My feelings on this episode overall were lukewarm. On one hand, Daring Do is awesomesauce. On the other, what Rainbow Dash "learned" was kind of a mixed bag.

Oh well. It's ultimately (as far as I know) inconsequential to the S4 arc, so I'll give them one episode for a breather before they start moving towards those keys. Gotta find six keys still, and there's only 22 episodes left in Season 4!

Final note: it's moar poni, that's the extent of what I got from this episode.

[Navron]

Another episode without a song. What are you guys doing to pass the time?





I liked this episode, but dear god, the shipping fallout that's about to happen.

[ph00tbag]

Rainbow Dash felt a little bit off for me at many points in this episode. I did love how she and Twilight nerded out regularly in this episode, and how their friends reacted to these sessions with utter bemusement, but Rainbow Dash being so definitively uncool around Daring Do felt just wrong. Yes, she'd be fangirling all over the place when Daring couldn't see, but Dash would be all about keeping up cool appearances, and genuinely trying to be helpful with combat. Like all of a sudden, when in this position, all of Dash's experience fighting off the greatest threats to Equestria means nothing, because it's more important to Dash that Daring get her hat back.

Ugh.

Despite that, I did enjoy this episode a lot. The Indiana Jones references were ambrosia to me. And the action sequences were amazing. I think these are some of the longest and most detailed action sequences we've seen in the show so far.

[itroitnyah]

I think the plot line was a little bit too much like Indiana Jones. I sorta get the feeling that they could have easily have copied an IJ movie and then added parts to make it be more pony and themed around the show. The ending was pretty cheesy though.

btw, it's getting kinda annoying how much they're trying to appeal to bronies. Shippers and cloppers in particular. Goodness gracious, I swear they were really going to make Dash kiss Daring Do.

[ClaviSound]

HEEEEEEARTS AS STRONG AS HORSEEEEEES~

So, this episode had a pretty great concept - definitely better than Daring Don't - but I feel that they could have gone deeper into the implementation and said things more meaningful than "eh cross that bridge when you come to it." Plus, the bit at the end about "quitters" sort of feels like a Twilifree pull where something relatively small is blown out of proportion by others just for the sake of advancing the story.

Also, it's probably bad that when "professionalism" came up I instantly thought they were referring to its status as a buzzword in the fandom. It honestly never went anywhere significant other than as a joke, so I don't know, could be, could not be.

Oh well, I was getting a bit jittery waiting for a CMC episode this season. Pretty good one. Plus, dat song is going to see some HEAVY remixing action. Great guitar line, and the vocal harmonies were well-chosen.

My verdict is: OH COME ON THEY STILL DIDN'T GET THEIR CUTIE MARKS ARE YOU JUST TOYING WITH ME NOW DHX

[Gray Ham]

I doubt that they'll get their cutie marks while DHX can still milk the whole "be happy with who you are" plotline for a few more episodes.

[ph00tbag]

About halfway through the episode I realized that Scoots could very well get her Cutie Mark this episode, and I was literally holding my breath the whole time. When she did that little gasp and her butt was out of frame, I became near apoplectic. Then... nothing. I am so mad right now. DHX for best troll.

I need more time to think about how I feel about this episode. That ending is making me hate it for no sensible reason.

Also:

[itroitnyah]

screw it, urling this

Here's the episode (link up there). Is it just me or did they try to copy the animation style of the one, umm... "fuck you I can't eat all these apples" hm, I can't remember the name, but that line is the more famous one from the series of episodes. Well, yeah. I've watched like half of it so far, but I gotta go sing so I'll watch the rest of it when Iget back.

[itroitnyah]

Ok, so the animation at the beginning with the mouths totally looks like hotdiggitydemon's .MOV series.

Anyways, this had to be the best episode of the season so far. It wasn't rushed either, so that's great.

We can now disprove that Scoots is homeless or orphaned (for the most part. When there's the scene inside of the house).

I sorta wish that they woulda shown Spoon and Tiara's performance, just to watch them fail. Hehe, guys let's guess what their performance would have been. Like, I totally think it would have been the two of them just standing up there strutting around and shit while the judges just sorta go "get out of here" and they're all like "Fuck you we can't bear the ponyville flag" and then they sorta walk around talking about how good they are.

[simonli2575]

It wasn't rushed either

For the most part it isn't, but I felt that the ending could have used some more time to showcase others' performances, not just Spoon and Tiara's.

[Jokeblue]

That episode.

Man, making fun of Scoots for not being able to fly is low. That's like making fun of a paraplegic for not being able to walk (though Scoots isn't disabled [I think]). The showing of her (probable) home was a really neat little scene though :3

The song was pretty "meh", honestly. They've had better songs before, but y'know. And did I hear a mandolin in there? Yeah, I'm bettin' Andy Stein had a Mandogasm. I'm not too hyped about the idea of a billion remixes of it flooding the community, either.

And Harsh Whinny at the end xD

I doubt that they'll get their cutie marks while DHX can still milk the whole "be happy with who you are" plotline for a few more episodes.

Well if they just embraced the talents they've been shown to already have, they could still get away with the "Happy with who I am" plotline while giving everyone what they want.

That or they're just holding on for as long as they can with the mindset of "Maybe if the show starts to go downhill in popularity we can pull this card and try get ratings back up again".


Also sometimes I start to write a post at about 12:30 Am and then forget what i'm talking about and everything starts to lose coherency and nothing makes sense anymore. So, I hope any of this made sense xD

[ph00tbag]

I dunno. Ponies are horses.

And technically, they're draft horses, so their hearts are pretty hardy--moreso than many hot-blooded breeds.

Who knows. This show doesn't regularly purport to make sense or anything.

[Gray Ham]

I think for what they want to convey in these episodes, they're too short.

^This. The ending seemed kinda rushed.

[Injustrial]

This! This last one! Power Ponies!!

HhhnnnnnhHHH!!

Best animated episode to date!
So much fun!
Proper action scenes!
Spike isn't annoying throughout the whole thing!
Self-contained story!
Flutterhulk!

AAAGH!


*faints*

[simonli2575]

Spoiler Power Ponies Spoiler:

Of fucking course, your mouths and eyes can still fucking move even after they've been directly sprayed.

[itroitnyah]

Lol, pinkie pie is racist, haha. (it's at the scene where all the ponies are cleaning and spike is all like "what can I do" and Twi tells him he can go read and pinkie skates by squealing "pony power!")

The part where fluttershy goes berzerk is awesome. The lines she's yelling as she does so are even better.

[simonli2575]

Another thing, why does the spray only fucking work for like 5 minutes? So much for making a spray to stop them in place.

On a side note, enchanted comics do sound like a good idea. I can imagine that there will be games made based on that very idea.

[Gray Ham]

I was happy with it. No obvious screw-ups, Pinkie was actually funny, Rarity was still a babe, Spike is still the character I love to hate and Fluttershy actually raged for a pretty decent reason this time. Pacing was good. Loved it.

[ClaviSound]

I've seen a couple of people around Twitter, Tumblr, Skype, etc. comparing this episode to Daring Don't, due to them both being action-oriented episodes. I'd say that the Daring Do episode's animation was superior to Power Ponies, but the fight scenes in the latter were much more organized, polished, and memorable (you really can't argue that the mane six running in circles tossing a ring back and forth is better than Flutterhulk). I also have to give PP bonus chips for introducing a new universe for content producers to explore in songs, artwork, or animations; it'll be interesting to see where people take it, especially combined with the Mare-Do-Well Mythos.

That said, I also have to ding Power Ponies for kind of just going through the motions on getting in and out of the main chunk of the story. It was "Enchanted Comics," really? From a plot standpoint, the entire episode was ultimately filler other than the lesson learned; it didn't even cover mane six interrelationships all that much. I was hoping it would advance the Harmony Box arc more (still no keys found?), but it seems that all we're going to get is the mane six cleaning up the Old Sisters' Castle. At least they put in the hint that the castle likely holds the secrets to opening that box.

Props for the lesson of "just because we don't need your help at the moment doesn't mean you aren't helpful," though, that was pretty solid. I'd have liked to see more development for the Humdrum character - the real one, not Spike - in the whole "comic relief but still saves the day every once in a while" fashion, as a bookend, but it didn't happen. Oh well, you can't win 'em all, I suppose, and Spike still did a good job actually doing something for once.

Finally, Fili-Second gets my vote for best superheroine. Radiance was the most meh; basically Rarity was Green Lantern without a downside, which kind of ruins the whole point. Maybe her weakness is bad fashion sense, and it didn't manifest? Applejack was kind of just... there (having such a generic name as Mistress Mare-velous doesn't help), the Masked Matterhorn was interesting enough, the Zap was fairly predictable as a derivation of Thor coupled with Rainbow Dash's tendency to fail at controlling tornadoes, and Fluttershy's Saddle Ranger needs no input from me.

I liked this episode, a lot more than I liked Daring Don't. It hit on a lot of elements the former lacked and nailed them. Favorite episode of season 4 so far in my opinion, but I'll probably change my tune looking forward; it's not impossible that that might change with the next few episodes.

[ph00tbag]

I found this episode actually to be fairly uninspiring. Everything just felt kinda forced the whole way through. Like they started out with a good idea somewhere down the line, but committed to a bunch of poor executions, and just had to work with them, except the idea itself wasn't especially compelling.

Call me crazy, but the thing I've loved the most about MLP is the world that we've already been exploring. It's why I never got the problem with Daring Do's adventures being real--that actually made the world more engaging for me. In this episode, on the other hand, it was a throw-away world, with no depth. It literally ended beyond each set.

Also, the dialogue was just... not great. Yeah, we get it, Humdrum is inept and powerless. Part of the problem was the fact that they had created this throwaway universe. It necessitated a boatload of exposition about the place, characters and plot, and nothing else was really talked about. At the very least, the hair puns could have been better executed and more numerous. It would have made Mane-iac's dialogue less redundant (which is kind of sad in and of itself). I was kind of disappointed to see that this was the result of work from McCarthy and Fullerton, who have in the past done some really good stuff for the show.

[simonli2575]

Dear Hasbro, please stop destroying my favorite character.