And yes, he did watch Surviving Nugent.
After the jump, he'll break down another episode and discuss what makes it good, what makes it bad, and what makes it just outright crazy. This week's theme?
...well, it's a big one. We finally get to what twenty-five episodes has built up to, the season finale! That's right, it's the last episode of the season! The last time I have to introduce one of these
So let's get this thing over with!
Any of you that were following this blog knows there's been one major (I guess) plot point through the series, and that was the oncoming Grand Galloping Gala first alluded to back in episode three. It was touched on again in episode fourteen when the ponies got their dresses. ...even now, after twenty six episodes of this show, my brain still has trouble with the fact that ponies can wear dresses when they're usually running around naked.
So, how do I know that this show is about the Grand Galloping Gala? Well, because Pinkie Pie announces it in the first few seconds of the show while jumping on a trampoline. I don't know how she owns a trampoline, but I've come to accept that this is just how the show works. I'm sure the CMC probably have cell phones somewhere and update each other on FaceStable.
The girls have all gathered together to get ready, as the Gala is (apparently) that evening (though we know that time gets rather wonky in this world). Twilight's spent the whole time studying a new spell, which when cast, transforms an apple in front of the ponies into a grand carriage.
Another quick spell transforms four of Fluttershy's mouse friends into- ...I- ....wow.
Words fail me.
Rarity's cat spots the giant mice, and instead of freaking out like any reasonable animal would do, instead tries to attack one, spooking them and driving them off. Twilight starts to fret about who will pull their carriage, but apparently Rarity manages, for the first time ever, to actually use her ability to overdramatize anything in the form of sarcasm as she simply asks a few male ponies to lead them there.
After the break, we see the ponies getting ready as you'd expect ponies to (adding false eyelashes, getting their manes done, so on) and discussing how busy they're going to be. Spike's apparently hoping everyone will have time to hang out together, but nobody's really committing to anything.
I have to admit, I laughed when the ponies start to let Spike in and Rarity freaks out because they're "getting dressed."
We cut ahead to Spike guiding the carriage (which looks suspiciously small considering there are six ponies inside, maybe it's an apple-shaped TARDIS?) and talking about how he wants Rarity to see the crown jewels, Applejack to see the Princess' golden apple tree, Pinkie needs to see Spike's favorite donut shop-
Wait. Golden apples?
Holy s- ...Canterlot is Asgard. This explains everything.
Can I just point out that you can not only see a lot of the same artistic influence of Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends here just done to a bigger, girlier level, but that's actually one really awesome design for a castle?
The ponies dismount, and we start up a huge musical number as each one talks about what's going to happen for them during the "best night ever" (also the name of the episode). It's a pretty impressive song, as everybody gets their own moment to shine, and the music actually changes up between ponies to fit their personalities. I'd link it here, but...well, look it up on Youtube. It's worth it.
Upon completion of the song, the ponies immediately split up. Twilight rushes to Princess Celestia's side to be with her as she greets everybody to the party. Rarity spots...well, it looks like a male pony with a slightly inverted version of Twilight Sparkle's symbol, and she immediately goes to hunt him down. Fluttershy makes her way to the garden where she immediately starts to get excited by being near rare birds and starts to sing to them. Applejack...you poor thing. You really came to work, didn't you? Poor girl. Rainbow Dash, through the brave (?) act of saving a pie (?) manages to score entryway in to hanging with the Wonderbolts. And Pinkie of course manages to find her way to the ballroom...and can I just point out we have a pony playing a cello? I don't envy the character designer of this series.
"Hey, get me a pony who can stand, manipulate a bow, and play a large wooden instrument about as tall as the pony."
"Sure, one unic-"
"And not a unicorn."
"..."
Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, Pinkie. Her song and dance routine goes over about as well (okay, slightly better) as the time she tried to end the issues inherent in "manifest destiny" in her world. It's the first sign that things might not go as well as planned.
Sure enough, things start going wrong quickly. Rarity's "Prince Charming," upon the discovery of a beautiful rose, plucks it and puts it in his own vest instead of offering it to her. Fluttershy discovers that the whistling return wasn't a bird, but the gardener. When she does find the local animals, they do what wild animals typically do...they flee. Rainbow Dash discovers that trying to mingle with people in a huge crowd is hard to do when they can't hear you. Twilight Sparkle figures out that she and Princess Celestia are going to have to greet every party-goer, and Applejack...well, she makes no other sales than that first one earlier.
However, the girls are not to be deterred. This will be the best night ever.
...or not. Attempts get more extreme including: putting people in danger to try to impress people, getting outfits ruined by spilled drinks, tripping people to try to get them to buy food, and numerous other antics...and then there's Fluttershy.
She is not taking her night well.
So, remember how I mentioned once before that "mental breakdowns" seems to be an ongoing theme of this show as well? We've already seen Applejack suffer brain damage, Pinkie Pie just had a full-on Kubrick mind-snap, Spike...well, he poured ketchup on a catnip mouse. Not as impressive. Oh, and Rainbow Dash had paralyzing performance anxiety. Remember that? That's half the ponies already.
Twilight Sparkle hasn't had her full-on mind snap yet (key word: yet), Rarity...man, when she snaps, it's going to be ugly. But Fluttershy...well, when you're setting traps for animals and doing this?
Congratulations, Fluttershy, you didn't die a hero, you lived long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Back inside, things continue spiraling out of control. Pinkie Pie's stage dive launches a cake from Applejack onto Rarity (pushed there by her prince who didn't want to get dirty).
Remember that key scene in Carrie? Sadly, that doesn't happen here.
Her tantrum at him knocks him into a large metal statue that Rainbow Dash tries to save. Sadly, she doesn't have the same muscle structure as, say, Applejack, the statue plows into a pillar, and things just end up pretty ruined.
Enter Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle, who jinxes everything by saying "at least things can't get worse."
Of course things can get worse. This is when the most absolutely terrifying moment of the night happens for the partygoers.
The doors swing open. A flood of animals and birds stampedes in. Behind them stands a lone figure.
It's at this moment that Princess Celestia suggests the ponies "run."
Now, there's a brilliant joke that happens here involving Rarity and a glass slipper, so I'm not going to ruin it. This joke is worth watching the episode alone.
Everyone gathers up with Spike at the local donut shop where it's agreed it was pretty much the worst night ever. But hey, it can't get any worse, right?
Oh...well, maybe Princess Celestia will show up and...declare it the best Gala ever? ...really? In a thousand years or however long they've been doing it and she's been alive?
It turns out that the Gala always bores the Princess to tears ("they're always terrible," she says), and she was hoping Twilight and her friends would bring some "excitement." The girls get to laugh the evening off and figure out that sometimes the best nights are those you spend with your friends and not trying to fit in where you might not belong or really want to be.
It's a decent lesson...and that's it! Thats' the end! I'M FREE! Oh wait, the highs and lows.
The Good:
The humor and jokes in this episode were probably some of the funniest I've seen in a cartoon in a long, long time. Rarity had some of the best lines either directed at her or was saying them, which I have to admit really lifts my opinion of the character. Watching the evolution of Fluttershy turn from the most timid character to a maniacal super-villain (apparently she forgot what happens when you steal royal pets) was both absolutely terrifying and hilarious.
It was also great to get another glimpse at how life is somewhere else is in this world. Besides the first episode, we didn't really get much of a look at where Twilight came from, and the folksy state of Ponyville is well contrasted in the stuffy aristocracy of the Gala.
Oh, and the huge musical number was extremely well done. I already went into this before, but the show always seems to do a great job making sure to not only let the song establish the characters, but build them up as well and keep them unique.
The Bad:
Honestly, Pinkie Pie got a bit on my nerves. It's one thing to realize that your style of "party" doesn't really fit in, but the fact that she's determined to get everybody to party her way just comes across as obnoxious. Applejack's food could be just as tasty as the fancy food, Rainbow Dash could have a lot in common with the Wonderbolts if she could just talk to them...but Pinkie's acting a lot like Fluttershy (without the fascinating breakdown or results) in simply trying to force what can't be.
Also, a few scenes possibly could've been cut to fill in a few holes. I won't go into detail about which ones, but the lead-up to the night being a disaster builds for quite a while, even after you know things are going horribly wrong.
Overall:
It's a really solid episode, but let's talk about the show as a whole.
This show really had no reason to be as enjoyable as it's been. I was flabbergasted when I first realized I was thoroughly enjoying an episode. Early on I was enjoying parts of episodes, or ideas behind episodes, but my brain was still going "man, this is such a show for girls" or "man, that must've been put there for little kids, because that just isn't really funny."
And then I started to notice how much care went into making it. So many other programs I used to watch when I was a kid were either slapped together on the cheap (see: He-Man, most Hanna-Barbara shows) or were so self-contained in each episode that the idea of continuity was unheard of. There were a few exceptions (and part of why I liked Mighty Max so much growing up), but even today, when I skip past the occasional show, it takes something like Batman, Avatar, or a similar ground-breaking show to really give characters depth, have them change and grow, and continue a storyline through a whole season.
Also, the characters are great. Sure, they're all girls, but so what? If you can completely ignore that, you have six completely unique individuals, each with their own hobbies, interests, and personalities that can conflict with each other in interesting ways. Again, you usually have to look pretty far to find that much development in an entire cast, and there was almost none of it when I was young.
Am I glad to be moving on? Certainly, I have a lot more shows sitting on the back burner to watch and review. Will I miss this show? ...perhaps. I know the next season starts with a huge two-parter that brings a new villain into the series, and there are some earlier plot points that are touched upon again. But hey, maybe if I'm feeling
But for now, the future! What's the next show going to be? ...well, I haven't really decided yet! But it'll be something a lot of you will (hopefully) recognize! And it'll probably be a bit more...y'know. "Boy-friendly."
Edit: Put off reviewing Jem and the Holograms until 2014, and don't forget to delete this line before posting.
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