My Little Pony's Justice 2 - Official MLP Thread v2

[Your Vest Friend]

Ugh, I think I have a migraine from being hit with the meta stick so hard. Because that's pretty much what that episode was. 

[Strickerx5]

This episode started out like just about any other of the literal dozens of main six centered episode... but then it jumped deep into the meta hole. The depths of which haven't been seen since Slice of Life. Though, I can't say I didn't enjoy the hell out of it.

It makes for another great lesson; on even how you can often have the best intentions in doing something but it still doesn't work out as planned. Though, I think the strongest point of this episode came from its humor. It had a bit of a season 1 and 2 vibe going with all its random outburst and facial expressions. Like, I just about died when Pinkie screamed "You've known me for years!"

In regards to the meta humor, it's like whoever wrote this episode had a vendetta to squash as many problems people had with the main six as possible while poking fun at them at the same time. Not really sure if it worked (or how the fandom is going to receive this in general XD) but I had a good time watching it play out. Also, the song towards the end was pretty damn catchy too. Might be the first time in a while that I actually look for an mp3 right after an episode airs.

So yeah, overall I really enjoyed this one. I imagine that this might be a divisive one for meany due to its meta humor but I think I can safely say that I fall on the "like" team here.

[Echidna Adventurer CC14]

Leave it to good old M.A. Larson to play around with recurring tropes. XD

[AdventChild]

So Fame and Misfortune is this week’s episode.

And the word of the day is Meta which is rather a Love/Hate kind of relationship with fans like with Slice of Life and very decisive at best.

Unfortunately, I’m on the side of the fence that doesn’t like it. But at least with Slice of Life it feels like a Thank You letter to the fandom while this one just acknowledges the fan division and complaints.

The meta-humor isn’t my cup of tea in this one and definitely doesn’t be subtle with it, feeling like it bashes it over your head. The two fillies could have been easily cut out, who are used to hammer in the point. And honestly you could also replace Starlight with Spike and probably achieve similar results sans magic use.

Also, the premise and story I didn’t find much interesting even going by the synopsis. It feels too try hard. I don’t like the use of the journal as a plot device and would rather have Twilight create her own story book using her adventures and experiences and characters representing her friends. Even as typical as it sounds, it would have brought in a story within a story aspect and preferably would be more interesting. Not a fan of the song either.

An episode that is too meta for my tastes that even I would prefer Slice of Life over this.

[pastelspectre]

i quite liked this episode! it poked fun at the issues the fandom had while also not being too harsh about it? i dunno. i liked it and found myself laughing at the episode quite a bit, esp when pinkie pie yells you've known me for years! it reminded me of party of one, which is one of my favorite episodes of mlp: fim (besides a few select others). i just enjoyed the humor of this episode a lot and the fact they brought ponies from older generations in. i hope we see more of them. overall, good episode. i liked it a lot. i know the fandom will be quite.. divided over this episode though.

[Your Vest Friend]

I think the one character callout I would say I disagreed with was Fluttershy. There's a difference between wanting her to move on because character stuff or whatever, and wanting her to move on because they'd repeated the exact plot for her multiple times and she was becoming a bore to watch. Keep Calm and Flutter On and It Ain't Easy Being Breezie were exceptions (both reviled by the fandom even though I quite liked both) until season 5 just decided to suddenly flip the switch and did properly move her on.

[AdventChild]

Triple Threat is this week’sepisode and for me it definitely feels like “one step forward and two steps back” for Spike which kinda derailed his streak from S6.

Probably the only thing I liked was Ember pointing out how Starlight is a clon-er, like Twilight, which is a better meta-moment than anything last episode IMO.

Still not a fan of the new changeling designs nor Starlight. Humor was lacking in points. But the biggest problem I had was the plot/premise with the whole “Being Two Places at Once” scenario/cliché and a situation that could have been easily avoided by just talking it out or let them meet, which this series has done before. Not to mention Spike’s overreaction and jumping the gun feels forced for the plot’s sake too along with the Friendship Map being something like an afterthought to buy time.

A rather meh Spike episode.

[Strickerx5]

This week's episode was another fun one. Seeing Spike take center stage again is always a plus for me and this episode had a lot of humor to back it up. Not to mention the returns of both Ember and Thorax.

It was an interesting showing of a moral this time around. That maybe two of your friends that you think won't get along might actually and you have to have some trust in them for that to happen. It's actually quite strange that the show has only now covered that topic seeing as it's one of the more basic friendship lessons out there.

Like I said before, the gags in this one were pretty great imo. Ember's outgoing and more assertive nature combined with Thorax's more laid back and timid nature made for some great contrasting humor and even helped advance the moral too. I especially got a kick out of Ember going off on how Twilight and Starlight are just about the same characters... as bad as that may sound given current world situations but hey, I took it as meta humor about criticisms people often take up with the two for that very reason beforehand so I'll choose to keep looking at it that way.

Spike himself was sort of a mixed bag for me. While he wasn't played out of character here, I did find it some of his actions a bit odd; mainly due to this recent fan topic that's been floating around. Basically, for the past season, whenever Twilight and Spike are in an episode usually one of them are freaking out while the other one looks at the situation more logically. It's like a switch that gets flipped in between the two every episode. This was clearly visible in this episode as Twilight remained calm throughout but Spike was the one jumping to conclusions. Though, other than that, I enjoyed seeing how the episode played out.

So yeah, overall this was another good watch for the season. Ember and Thorax continue to add to the strong cast of secondary characters (that really should get more screen time) and Spike, while not as remarkable as his season 6 outings, does get another pretty strong one here.

[pastelspectre]

i liked triple threat! i liked seeing the return of ember and thorax, those are always fun and good characters. it was a cute episode and i'm glad that ember and thorax ended up friends in the end and that spike learned from his mistakes. i look forward to the next episode coming up this weekend!

[DabigRG]

I know I'm way past late in saying anything here, but I had a recent opinion that I wanting to test.

Having seen the most recent Equestria Girls "Movie" a few weeks ago, am I the only one who doesn't like Sci-Twi as I've seen her called more or less being part of the main EG cast?

[AdventChild]

Flyderman…Flyderman..does whatever a Flyderman does…Wha..Oh right…

So this week’s episode is Campfire Trails that feels like a follow up to Sleepless in Ponyville yet the focus is around the stories told of Equestrian lore.

Eh, it was an okay episode, kinda middle of the road.

We (finally) get to see some eastern Asia/oriental themed location with Misty Mane’s story which I wish was explored a bit more and I do like some of Scootaloo’s reactions.

The main draw is the folklore tales of Equestrian legends which are okay and are typically standard but still felt rather lacking. I understand the time constraints for three stories in a twenty-minute time slot, but it felt like they could have been fleshed out a bit more. It does go to show, however, that this has more spinoff potential than EQG and wish they end that to start a sub series of this one up. Also, the stuff with the Manes and CMCs feels rather dull at parts.

Again, it was just an alright episode.

[Strickerx5]

12 hours ago, DabigRG said:

I know I'm way past late in saying anything here, but I had a recent opinion that I wanting to test.

Having seen the most recent Equestria Girls "Movie" a few weeks ago, am I the only one who doesn't like Sci-Twi as I've seen her called more or less being part of the main EG cast?

Eh, I haven't seen any of the recent shorts (if she's even in them) so I only have the two movies to go off of. That being said, I think she does her job well enough. Adds an interesting layer to the group dynamic with having someone step into a group but is actually new to everything, leaving StarlightTwilightCelestiaCada-Sunset as the main character. Kind of parallels Sunset when you think about it. She also might make it so that the original Twi doesn't have to get pulled into the series again, thus splitting the two apart finally. But yeah, so far she's pretty inoffensive to me (I say "so far" like it hasn't already been 2 years since she was first shown but hey...).

 

As for this week's episode, I honestly don't have much to say on it. It was more story driven which made for a nice and somewhat relaxing pace. It was nice seeing the sister trio (sans Luna and Celestia again... and now that I brought them up I want them to be a part of the next one!! I mean wow that'd be cool to see erm- anyway) and their interactions. Plus, the small bits of lore/ pony myths were interesting too. I hear this (and the comics that have recently been released) tie into the final or something so it'll be interesting to see where it all leads.

Other than that, yeah, I just don't have too much else to say here. The episode was good in my eyes and had some interesting stories within it. The only down side to it is the very idea of flying spiders. fuck all of that

[AdventChild]

This week’s episode is To Change A Changeling.

*Sigh…Is it bad that I want Chrysalis and the swarm to win next time around?

Anything that was pre-Gaundy Changeling like Pharynx before his transformation and the flashback were the only likeable parts for me.

Yeah, still don’t like the new changeling forms or even the little society they have going on there (well, maybe just that soup gag). Still not liking Starlight who like in previous episodes helps make the problem bigger just before solving them. And don’t care for the Great and Powerful BS who even I question why Starlight is friends with her. Just to have somepony that makes her look better in comparison?

Honestly, it would have been better if was Spike instead of Trixie to make it more of a follow up to Triple Threat and make up for his actions in that episode. Or could have at least added Discord to be a comic foil to Trixie like in the S6 finale. Trixie just feels rather pointless in this only to react and bounce off poorly written jokes off others and act b*tchy and annoying. It’s like she hadn’t grown in character even from All Bottled Up or episodes prior and just there for fanservice. I don’t get the appeal of Trixie at all and feels like a redundant one-trick pony (and yes pun intended). And of course, I hated that Pharynxhad to transform too and would have been better if he just kept his bug form like Thorax at the end of Times Are A Changeling.

So overall an episode that is partly likeable for bug form Pharynx and changeling flashback while the rest is rather meh.  

[Strickerx5]

Wow, didn't think we'd get an episode with the Changelings again so quick but I'm not complaining. This episode to be a bit on and off at points (though it was mostly on for me). Starlight and Trixie continue to be a great duo (especially when you think back to how they both started) and worked well off each other. Both from a comedic standpoint and while also driving the plot. Thorax also continued to be a strong character and even showed some signs of assertiveness from his Ember encounter already. Honestly didn't expect that so quickly, considering this show's track record of having a character learn something with one writer but then never having it come up later on with other writers.

Also, I have to say that the new Changeling designs are starting to grow on me a bit. I still much prefer the original ones (as made evident by Pharynx's design) but I'm starting to dig these too. Speaking of which, I also found Pharynx to be a pretty enjoyable character as well. His opposite nature to the rest of the hive made for an interesting watch. I especially liked that brother angle they worked into his character as it made him much more relatable than your average "stick in the mud" character-type.

I guess the only thing that put me off of this episode at points was with how cheesy moments got. Of course some of them were played up for laughs (most of which worked out well) though some of them just didn't pan out that way and made the scenes tough to watch for me. Also, that final fight was pretty weak imo.

So yeah, an overall good episode that, while cheesy at points, had some great character interactions. Not to mention the fact that it got me to like the new Changelings a bit more.

[pastelspectre]

i liked the to change a changeling episode. i thought it was cute and it seemed a little cheesy at the end but i still liked it nonetheless. i love trixie and starlight glimmer together tbh lmao. they work well together! there's another episode after this, right?

[DabigRG]

On 8/27/2017 at 2:26 AM, Strickerx5 said:

Eh, I haven't seen any of the recent shorts (if she's even in them) so I only have the two movies to go off of. That being said, I think she does her job well enough. Adds an interesting layer to the group dynamic with having someone step into a group but is actually new to everything, leaving StarlightTwilightCelestiaCada-Sunset as the main character. Kind of parallels Sunset when you think about it. She also might make it so that the original Twi doesn't have to get pulled into the series again, thus splitting the two apart finally. But yeah, so far she's pretty inoffensive to me (I say "so far" like it hasn't already been 2 years since she was first shown but hey...).

Well, the character in and of herself is fine and "inoffensive," with the Same Character but Different vibe definitely helping. However, the reasons you cite pretty much further speak for my point:

• It removes the possibility of MainDimension!Twilight dropping in on occasion since it would be inherently redundant/confusing and thus limits the amount of meaningful interaction she can have from fellow MainDimension-er Sunset. In fact, that's exactly the reasoning behind one of the deleted scenes from Friendship Games. 
• It somewhat repeats the character arc of the original Twilight except with Sunset present as a leader/ace of the group. They really should've created/human-ized a different character for that role, which...well, you'll see something that kinda comes to mind eventually.
• While the newest "movie" sort of subverts this a bit, it makes it more likely that she and/or Sunset will constantly have the focus rather than any of the other 5. Even if they are admittedly lesser clones of the other Mane Six, which means it's could be making another problem worse.
• If they truly wanted to split the two series apart, they'd simply decrease the usage of Princess Twilight to only be when its necessary for the occasional story and let Sunset have the top billing without her present. Plus, it would've been far more interesting to have SciTwi be a semi-recurring friend in another area with the potential to allow us follow the Crystal Prep cast on occasion for those who really like them.

I don't meant to spoil the recent shorts for you, but let's just say it doesn't exactly hinder my case very much. 

[AdventChild]

So this week’s episode is Daring Done.

This one felt rather so-so, kinda average.

Some of the Pinkie Pie moments I liked along with Somnambula’s story being okay though Mist Mane is still the most memorable one for me.

It doesn’t help that I’m not much of a Daring Do fan either. And still in the camp that preferred her as a fictional character than a real one and be more interesting to see her do things without Mane cast involvement. Hay, I’m more intrigued with the fan theory that Twilight’s mom was the author of the books and would have more (parental) interactions with her.

The writing/dialogue was pretty iffy and bland with much of it consisting of exposition and villagers yelling and complaining which also made the pacing seem to drag with Pinkie carrying much of the humor that is spotty. Not to mention the whole village against one thing has been done before like in Appaloosa’s Most Wanted and others, becoming a tiring trope at this point even for this show.  

Even though Somnambula story was fine, I’m not a fan of Sphinx’s design and feels off for some reason. I would have preferred an Anubis/Jackal creature design instead but that’s just me. Caballeron making some bad villain moves such as well revealing himself to RD and gloating about tricking the town and stealing from them, even calling them fools at the end too.

A so-so episode overall.

[Strickerx5]

6 hours ago, DabigRG said:

Well, the character in and of herself is fine and "inoffensive," with the Same Character but Different vibe definitely helping. However, the reasons you cite pretty much further speak for my point:

• It removes the possibility of MainDimension!Twilight dropping in on occasion since it would be inherently redundant/confusing and thus limits the amount of meaningful interaction she can have from fellow MainDimension-er Sunset. In fact, that's exactly the reasoning behind one of the deleted scenes from Friendship Games. 
• It somewhat repeats the character arc of the original Twilight except with Sunset present as a leader/ace of the group. They really should've created/human-ized a different character for that role, which...well, you'll see something that kinda comes to mind eventually.
• While the newest "movie" sort of subverts this a bit, it makes it more likely that she and/or Sunset will constantly have the focus rather than any of the other 5. Even if they are admittedly lesser clones of the other Mane Six, which means it's could be making another problem worse.
• If they truly wanted to split the two series apart, they'd simply decrease the usage of Princess Twilight to only be when its necessary for the occasional story and let Sunset have the top billing without her present. Plus, it would've been far more interesting to have SciTwi be a semi-recurring friend in another area with the potential to allow us follow the Crystal Prep cast on occasion for those who really like them.

I don't meant to spoil the recent shorts for you, but let's just say it doesn't exactly hinder my case very much. 

I see your reasoning here but I think one of your main points that you find a con is just something I think is a good thing. I'd rather MDTwi not show up in EQG again as I just don't think either one of the series would benefit from it. FiM being that EQG is never really brought up there in the first place so it's always pretty useless there and in EQG for the reasons of confusion that you stated. If SciTwi is the answer to any of this not happening again, then I personally can't fault that.

• I firmly believe that another interaction between Sunset and MDTwi would be 100% more impactful if it were to happen in FiM instead of another EQG movie. That way we can have something along the lines of Sunset making peace with her actual home and possibly even some Celestia character development to go along with it. If MDTwi and her were to meet again in EQG, what would be any different about the interactions compared to the first few movies?
• As for repeating the same character arc... I don't really know as the main show is already doing that with Starlight so I've sort of become numb to the idea already. Though, I do believe that there are a multitude of angles they could take with it to make the new path stand out... sort of like what they're currently doing with Starlight tbh.
• I feel like Sunset and either one of the Twis would get that main character focus no matter how you look at it. That's just what happens when these characters are written that way to a default. Though, I will say that if they forgo the whole Equestria connection, that would leave a lot of time for the other mains to get screen time.
• I like the idea of seeing more of Crystal Prep (hell seeing the characters there in both pony and human form is always a treat in my eyes) but that's something they could easily do with a field trip plot or something if they really wanted to (though the show rarely uses these characters to begin with so... idk). I don't really see the need to bring in the MDTwi for that.

 

 

Alright, so the episode this week was an odd one for me.

While watching it, I literally found myself trying to like it. The new setting was a visual treat as it's simply nothing that we've seen before on the show. The new pony designs were on point and the duo of Rainbow and Pinkie make it interesting to watch (even with it not being a map episode oddly enough). Also, it's always nice to see a side character like Daring Do return. But, that's basically where my positives end with this one.

This episode is just a constant back and forth of she said something and everyone believes it but then he says something and everyone instantly believes that. Even the main cast fall victim to this flat characterization at multiple points. It also didn't help that the plot itself was trying to do an Avengers Civil War element but without the actual actions leading up to that backlash it all just ends up feeling bland.

Also, do not get me started on this resolution. It has to be one of the stupidest ones the show has put out thus far. I mean how can that bad guy (I literally forgot his name he was so uninteresting to me and I just don't care enough to search for it right now :v) kidnap Rainbow in broad daylight with no one else noticing? How the fuck did that rescue sequence even happen? Why were those bad guys just dragging that shit straight through town? In a show where its villains are usually the highlight... this was just aggravating to watch. Especially after that great performance the last time he was around.

So yeah, overall while I feel like this episode had a lot of good things going for it, but it's execution simply left a lot to be desired in my eyes.

[DabigRG]

6 hours ago, Strickerx5 said:

• I firmly believe that another interaction between Sunset and MDTwi would be 100% more impactful if it were to happen in FiM instead of another EQG movie. That way we can have something along the lines of Sunset making peace with her actual home and possibly even some Celestia character development to go along with it. If MDTwi and her were to meet again in EQG, what would be any different about the interactions compared to the first few movies?
• As for repeating the same character arc... I don't really know as the main show is already doing that with Starlight so I've sort of become numb to the idea already. Though, I do believe that there are a multitude of angles they could take with it to make the new path stand out... sort of like what they're currently doing with Starlight tbh.
• I like the idea of seeing more of Crystal Prep (hell seeing the characters there in both pony and human form is always a treat in my eyes) but that's something they could easily do with a field trip plot or something if they really wanted to (though the show rarely uses these characters to begin with so... idk). I don't really see the need to bring in the MDTwi for that.

• I suppose the first bullet here is a fair point. People have been aching for that to happen for a while now and part of the reason Starlight was so divisive was because she kinda overlapped with things that could've been done with Sunset.
• As for the second point though, Starlight at least brings some new, vaguely interesting things to the table on top of being an original character. And the reformed apprentice angle in particular wouldn't quite work as well with Sunset, who was explicitly introduced/described as Twilight's equal after she had became alicorn, even the failure to show that off is part of why the first movie wasn't very strong in the end. The movies, on the other hand, more or less just said we're phasing away from having Princess Twilight be such a presence in each movie as Sunset continues to grow...so here's the local Sci-Twi instead! I just feels like it's one step forward, one step and half back in a way. Idk, I will say that while the Season 5 finale definitely gave a lot of us the wrong impression about what Starlight's presence means for the show going forward, it does kinda reinforce that we'd have to see more done with SciTwi before we can really debate about her presence on the HuMane cast. It'll be a while, though.
• As for the Crystal Prep thing, I meant that as more of a Day in the Limelight type of thing in the vain of the Cutie Mark Crusaders except not as frequent. And SciTwi is the one who would act as the liaison to crossovers with the HuMane five if they're being included, given they actually interacted with, helped, and befriended her.  Thus, the fact that we're familiar with her one way or another could be used to offset and gradually make way for the Shadowbolts to get more focus with or without Sunset's group present.

[pastelspectre]

i liked daring done. it wasnt my favorite but it wasnt the worst either. i quite liked it. i liked seeing daring do return again and that rainbow dash tried to convince ak yearling to come back, even if it was for her own..reasons.

[AdventChild]

It Isn’t the Mane Thing About You (What mouthful of a title) is this week’s episode.

And first things first, I’m not much of a Rarity fan and I don’t anticipate her episodes much either, least favorite of the manes and mostly indifferent/neutral about her. But still some episodes I do like such as Suited for Success, Sweet and Elite, and Rarity Investigates.

As for this episode, however, it’s middle of the road for me.

It was nice to see Zecora and the Cake foals again along with some background character moments.

The plot was standard with the moral of “It’s the Inside that Counts”, which is fine. But the Rarity having a bad mane day being central focus didn’t interest me that much. Hay, my FiM episode idea Mood Ring Mane where Rarity’s mane changes color and style to match her thoughts/emotions and vice versa due to magical mishap would’ve possibly been better suited for her.

As for the humor, it felt kinda weak for me as it consists of Rarity’s usual melodrama along the quick fix solutions from the other cast. Speaking of humor, the episode felt off with Pinkie Pie tossed to the side and being gone for the longest time until the end esp. for the pony who caused the problem. Even from the previews it felt she would have played a central role with Rarity and be moral support as well. Though at the very least, they could have had a scene cut to Pinkie and Cakes even for just a moment. And admittedly, I’m not a fan of Rarity’s punk look.

It’s an average episode overall for me. (At least, Rarity isn’t as bad here as she was in Honest Apple)

[Strickerx5]

On 9/10/2017 at 5:40 PM, DabigRG said:

• As for the second point though, Starlight at least brings some new, vaguely interesting things to the table on top of being an original character. And the reformed apprentice angle in particular wouldn't quite work as well with Sunset, who was explicitly introduced/described as Twilight's equal after she had became alicorn, even the failure to show that off is part of why the first movie wasn't very strong in the end. The movies, on the other hand, more or less just said we're phasing away from having Princess Twilight be such a presence in each movie as Sunset continues to grow...so here's the local Sci-Twi instead! I just feels like it's one step forward, one step and half back in a way. Idk, I will say that while the Season 5 finale definitely gave a lot of us the wrong impression about what Starlight's presence means for the show going forward, it does kinda reinforce that we'd have to see more done with SciTwi before we can really debate about her presence on the HuMane cast. It'll be a while, though.

I get where you're coming from here and I do agree that it's going to take a bit more to really make a judgement. Personally, from what I've seen, I think there's enough there to make SciTwi her own character and to be an overall positive addition to the series but we'll just have to wait and see.

 

 

We got a Rarity episode this week and I have to say that I've always been either mildly entertained by these or end up fully loving them. I think over the past few seasons, Rarity has been slowly moving up my main six rankings chart. I don't have too much to give here but I will say that this week's episode did continue that trend for me.

It was interesting to see Rarity go about the situation. She doesn't initially recline herself into her house and with how her actions all tie into the overall moral (which I thought was great btw), I found it to all be really well done. I also liked how the main six were utilized here as it's pretty rare these days to see them all interact with each other without something big going on. They all had their time to shine and I appreciated how simply it was all done. The icing on the cake here being that we got to see Zecora again as I could've sworn the show writers forgot about her (we hadn't seen her since the season 5 finale if I recall).

So yeah, overall I found this to be a decent episode. If I had to have one flaw, it would probably just come down to one character; the furniture salesmen. I'm sorry, but fuck that guy. How are you going to give away someone's pre-ordered, specially made couch at a drop of a dime? Especially someone who had helped your store recently. That's just bad business. XD

[pastelspectre]

i liked the episode it isnt the mane thing about you! i am a huge fan of rarity's punk look ngl. rarity might be my least favorite of the mane six (sorry rarity fans) but i quite enjoyed this episode! it had a good moral and i'm glad i got to see the cake foals again and zecora as well. they implemented the rest of the mane six well and i look forward to the next episode!

[Your Vest Friend]

Spoiler review for next week's episode. 

A Health of Information was pretty sweet. It seems they're locking down on the pairs that were first established for the map in season 5, but this episode really shows off why Twilight and Fluttershy work so well together. Plus Cattail was a pretty fun support.

[Strickerx5]

Today's episode was a pretty strange one for me as there were some things that I loved and others that I didn't really know how to feel about.

I guess I'll start with what felt off. Firstly, I can't be the only one noticing that southern black vibe the pony's in Hayseed Swamp had going. Like from their vocals, straight to their hair. I'm far from saying it's a bad thing (hell I'm all for the representation), but I will say that them being placed in a swamp is hitting a bit closer to home to real history than I had expected from my magical horse show.

Second, is it just me or did Twilight really not seem to care about the fact that Zecora (or Flutters at a later point) could actually die from this disease. Like, I know she was suppose to be the voice of reason in this one but her (and Spike to a greater extent too seeing as he just stays back) just constantly stopping seemed a bit tone-deaf. I mean your friends are literally days from dying here, do you really need breakfast right now? It's the most important meal of the day but come on now. XD

But yeah, other than that this episode did do a lot of good in my book. It's great seeing new locations. Twilight and Spike's (nonchalant attitudes towards death aside) little baking competition got a laugh out of me (actually can I get an episode about just that) as we just never see the two interact like that anymore. Fluttershy's flat out determination was a new side of her character that I greatly enjoyed seeing (even if it weirdly played against the moral of the episode). It was nice to see Zecora again (again) and I love how these ancient pony's are tying into the comics and are apparently...

Spoiler

making way for the finale.

So yeah, overall I found this to be a surprisingly interesting episode that really kept me engaged.