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

[Sean]

22 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

An opinion is always up to question. Not only do I strongly disagree with your claim that Starlight hasn't had good episodes so far, but also firmly argue your claim outright.

For your sake, DQ, I'm going to be upfront with you so that you don't expend any further effort replying to me: I didn't read your post at all because I'm not interested in debating about this particular children's show to the extent as some people here are inclined to. I said what I said because I'm a grown ass adult who isn't in the target demographic and whose two-second, knee-jerk opinions absolutely nobody gives a shit about.

I'm certainly sure there is an audience for your posts, but I'm not it.

[DabigRG]

11 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Every character has at least two good episodes, if not more. Starlight has The Crystalling, All Bottled Up, To Change a Changeling, and Uncommon Bond (one of S7's best). All four are good.

And Starlight is the best written of the Mane Eight last season. Her appearances were much more frequent in quantity, but her characterization showed growth and was the most consistent in overall quality without a poor role. Unlike S6, she feels like she belongs with not just the ReManing group, but also the rest of Ponyville. Everything she learned for the last two seasons culminated into Shadow Play, her best appearance and role so far.

Well, the first two(or rather, three) are definitely good. 

And yes, it is good that they've started to treat her like just another character in the world and did some other things with her.

[Strickerx5]

You know, to be honest I wasn’t (and still am not completely but more on that later) sold on the Friendship School idea and going off the first 10 minutes of this two-parter… I was actually starting to hate it. The beginning of this was pretty dull imo and brought up an idea that’s probably going to haunt for the rest of the season. The first 15 or so minutes made me question if they were trying to EQG-ify FiM. Grounding everything into a school setting and sucking the life out of the world because of it. Though, as the two-parter went on, things definitely started to look up.

The opener is kind of saved for me by the new cast of characters. It’s great seeing different creatures getting the spotlight for a change as it led to some interesting and funny moments. Them breaking from that school setting let the opener move away from the dull interactions and onto the more interesting and comedic ones that would continue for the rest of the two-parter.

I was also sort of caught off guard at how quickly they started referencing the movie. Didn’t think they were going to dive into it at all. Though, you can tell where Hasbro cut some corners with it as not a single new character from it appears here (probably due to the VA budget). They get name dropped but that’s it. Hell, you can even tell that DHX was holding out for getting Skystar at the very least as that new Hippogriff is… literally her.

On a side note… while I did somewhat enjoy the stairs joke a part of me is also like “I wonder how long it would take for me to spot stairs if I went back and re-watched that underwater scene in the movie.” Hats off to them if they actually didn’t put stairs there but a part of me is cynical like that. It’s rare that any show thinks that far ahead… especially with background stuff done by two different animation teams.

Something else I wasn’t expecting was for them to dive into that whole creature bias the series has had going. It added for a nice bit of tension in between the jokes.

Since Starlight is such a hot button issue nowadays, I’m interested to see how people react to her involvement here. She doesn’t get her own class to teach but she’s pretty much the voice of reason throughout the two-parter. Her and Spike seem to switch places on that front. I guess there is a bit to be said here about Twilight continuing to become Celestia 2.0 and Starlight’s continuing drive to cement herself into the main 7erm, well, 8 now but I think I’ve already stated how I feel about all that a number of times before.

As for the music… eh, again, I’ve been steadily falling off the music hype for this show so I wasn’t impressed with what was here. Honestly, the first one is what contributed to that dull feeling I got at the beginning.

As for other negatives… well... Luna didn’t get a single line here...

 

yeah, don’t think for a second i don’t notice that bs :v

 

Overall, while it was certainly more grounded than other two-parters, there were enough little comedic moments sprinkled in there along with great character interactions and relatively interesting stakes for me to give this a thumbs up. I can definitely see where others might think lower of it though. I’m still not sold on the school idea (seeing as those were the parts of the episode that were least interesting to me) but I like the new characters enough to see where it leads.

Next week we’re getting a Maud episode which, if the synopsis is to be believe, is going to be… eh, something.

[AdventChild]

Schools in session with the start of season 8.

Admittedly, I wasn’t too enthralled when hearing that the friendship school was going to be main focused as there were still things they could do with Cheerilee’s school and that doesn’t feel necessary to do open connecting to other kingdoms and already done with EQG. Not to mention felt like it could’ve been done earlier than this late in the game with one more season to go or just been another spinoff too.

After watching the premiere? Still doesn’t seem to catch my interest and rather dull. And I guess for one who has watched plenty of other shows/anime with such settings that have done better doesn’t help either.  

I liked some of the Pinkie Pie stuff, Sandbar and some of the racial tension (but the whole war thing felt kinda phoned it just for some kids).

Not a fan of the dull songs in this one nor the yaks nor changeling designs just to get out of the way.

Also, some of the characterizations feel iffy/off. RD felt kinda annoying with the egghead stuff, Twilight, going by the book annoyingly to the plot’s convenience along with Starlight having to (ugh) mention her backstory again and could’ve told this crap to her before the school closed. Also, how are Rarity and AJ are supposed to have time to teach when they have a farm and fashion franchise to take care of? Even Ember felt steps backward from Triple Threat just for plot sakes.

As for the new mane 6 students? Eh, probably the only one that I like and felt more unique was Sandbar. The others had stock traits that we’ve seen before from characters before and felt one note. Ocellus was the Fluttershy of the group and probably would like her more if they just kept the old changeling designs. But just didn’t leave much of an impact nor impression on me.

I just find this premiere to be dull overall due to the school setting being bland and somewhat restrained and meh music and a new cast that didn’t have an impact on me compared to the Mane cast.  

[DabigRG]

I just caught School Daze after seeing Stricker commented and I gotta say this was a good bunch of fun. 

Spoiler

 

One notable aspect was that it was oddly humorous for a Season Opening/Ending Two-parter. Twilight, Pinkie, and Starlight in particular scored almost every time they were on screen.

I liked most of the students well enough, with maybe the exception of [Novo's Niece,] who was just kinda there most of the time despite how spazzy she seemed and the stairs moment didn't really hit. Good thing the Governor guy saved it a little at the end.

I don't know about anyone else, but I thought Chancellor Neighsay(can't believe they not only went with that name, but it actually flowed pretty well) was a pretty intriguing antagonist--aside from the laid on a bit thick racist-Fundamentalist talk. Still, Maurice LaMarche was an unexpected pleasure to hear and those lockdown and portal spells are friggin awesome visuals.

Speaking as an education major, the EquestrianEducationAssociation sounded like a shoutout to both the National Education Association and the Education&EconomicsDevelopmentAct name-wise, though it's stated purpose made me think of an anti-Common Core.

I liked the songs pretty well for what they are, though the last one was kind of awkwardly implemented and a little unnecessary.

Also, I appreciated Angel's role in this for what it's worth.

Btw, any idea know who the Changeling opposite of Pharynx by Thorax's throne is supposed to be?

 

 

[Dark Qiviut]

Have to agree with a brony ep reactor (Truck Drivin' Brony, TBE). It makes so much sense for Starlight to be the School Counselor. She's been through so much throughout her life and learned so much since Twilight took her under her wing. She can really relate to a lot of people within the school regardless of race and will be able to utilize her experiences to help others when they're stuck or feel down.

[Nix]

The premise of the episode was kind of awkward considering that the Mane 6 all have lives to attend to and probably can't afford the time to do part time as a teacher, but they did the best they could with it I feel.  It's also nice to know that the movie is getting some attention and is being used as a springboard for further world building.  The episode served as a pretty decent introduction for the new student characters too, and it really highlighted the difference between the different nations and their cultures, so that was nice.

After 7 seasons, FiM needed a bit of a pick me up since the Princess Twilight thing did nothing and adding Starlight to the mix continued to do nothing for the show.  It's a little late I feel, but this school thing might be the shake-up the series needed.  I haven't kept up with the leaks, but I'm a little optimistic for the future.

[DabigRG]

Anyone remember Gabby?

Also, Sandbar probably could've been a Crystal Pony.

3 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Have to agree with a brony ep reactor (Truck Drivin' Brony, TBE). It makes so much sense for Starlight to be the School Counselor. She's been through so much throughout her life and learned so much since Twilight took her under her wing. She can really relate to a lot of people within the school regardless of race and will be able to utilize her experiences to help others when they're stuck or feel down.

Oh yeah, I neglected to mention that.It's also worth noting that her TVTropes page had suggested she could probably make for a good therapist(ironically enough).

[Mega]

Meh. I'm still not a fan of Starlight, nor do I think she's a good choice for counselor. I understand that she has developed, but I feel like at least some of her development hasn't been properly paced or fully realized. I mean, look at how she used mind control back in season 6 and barely got any consequence for it. Even in season 7, she has issues still with using magic to solve her problems. Has she gotten better? ...Sort of, but for me, it's just not enough, and her overall redemption has been handled sloppily.

[DabigRG]

2 hours ago, Mega said:

 I feel like at least some of her development hasn't been properly paced or fully realized. 

for me, it's just not enough, and her overall redemption has been handled sloppily.

I can agree with that despite liking the character more than well enough.

[DabigRG]

4 hours ago, Mega said:

Even in season 7, she has issues still with using magic to solve her problems.

Which was such a excessively simple and particularly confusing lesson to begin with, considering this show's track record.

[AdventChild]

This picture does kinda sums up the problem with the rest of the mane cast having teaching jobs:

Spoiler

 

[DabigRG]

8 minutes ago, AdventChild said:

This picture does kinda sums up the problem with the rest of the mane cast having teaching jobs:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Yeah, it's funny how Starlight is ironically the only other one with the time to teach.

Assuming she wouldn't have a nervous breakdown when asked.

[Strickerx5]

Huh, gotta say I enjoyed this episode a lot more than I thought I would. Pinkie episodes usually are strong ones but this was just fun to watch through and through. The dynamic of Pinkie's (arguably the most out there character in the show excluding Discord) character bouncing off some of the most basic characters in the show (Maud, Starlight, ect.) was very well planned and executed imo. It made for a nice balance. All without that much influence from any of the other main 6 which was really surprising.

Mudbriar is certainly... something. Which is probably the same reaction I gave Maud when she first showed up. In most ways, they make for a cute little (incredibly awkward) couple. Outside of a literal rock, I don't think they could've made a better character for her honestly.

Also, I gotta say I loved the roles the other two Pie sisters played in this. It's rare we get to see them at all and yet they're always well done.

Now, again, I'm interested to see how Starlight is taken by people here. Let's be frank, she was put into a position that we would've almost certainly had seen Twilight in if this episode was done any time before season 6. Which further adds to that Twilight 2.0 thing she has going. Even then, I still think that this was another strong outing for her but I know others will think differently.

So yeah, overall I loved this episode. It manages to do a whole lot with an unlikely cast. As a side note, have to say I loved all the little background callbacks to previous episodes and seasons in this one. Seriously, when was the last time we saw that pony statue?

[AdventChild]

So this week’s is The Maud Couple.

And I’m rather indifferent with Maud and not much of a fan of the Pie sister, compared to the rest of that family nor her monotone persona. So really didn’t care if she had a boyfriend or not.

This episode was ‘meh’ for me overall.

Some of the Pinkie stuff was okay and liked the part on the rock farm with Marble and Limestone.

Pinkie was a mixed bag in this as she comes off a bit annoying at times with her overactions and some of the gags dragged a bit esp. the whole introduction to Mud Briar. Starlight/Twi 2.0 could have been easily written out as she didn’t contribute much of anything other than for somepony/the everyman to listen to Pinkie’s complaining. RD would’ve been a better choice for the role honestly if needed to. Don’t really like Mud Briar as he was weirdly annoying and comes off as rude, basically a male Maud with sticks. And has a hint of Sheldon from BBT. The plot just felt barebones.

A below average episode IMO.

[DabigRG]

Okay, so, since I couldn't watch yesterday's episode for some reason, I decided to go back and watch Every Little Thing She Does since that's an episode that bothers a lot of people for the sake of renewed context and...this is the episode that angered a number of people?

Honestly, despite the premise and what I thought I remembered about the episode's flow, it was a little on the boring side. The resolution, wrap up, and ending just kinda floated in and got about 4 minutes each.

To address the plot itself, though, Starlight didn't even seem to realize what her spell had actually done, which was confusing considering the whole point is that she was using the spell to make doing those tasks along with the other 5 easier to understand and do. Hence one thing I think the episode was seriously lacking compared to most of the others was that there's never really any points where she reflects on what her spell was doing or at least comedically handwaves/downplays the oddities and problems. It's not even her relapsing a bit or having her psychologically(?) off perception of things called into question, but rather just her causing weird stuff to happen and not even thinking about it. Thus, I feel the episode ultimately lacks much focus and agency, for lack of a better word, and just has pretty mundane stuff happen.

I will admit that, while I confirmed that Starlight did take some responsibility for what had happened by repairing and cleaning most of the remaining stuff in the castle, I thought it was a little weird that Pinkie decided to tag along to explicitly assist Starlight when she once again seemed the most agitated by her. And Applejack mentioning being sore doesn't really make sense considering she just sat on a stoool and look at family phots the whole time. 

Also, maybe it was just the big screen I was watching it on, but the scenes where Twilight, Spike, and Starlight were standing right next to each other was messing with my vision a little bit. 

[DabigRG]

So I happened upon the newest episode(The Maud Couple) and I like it okay. Thought it could've been a little funnier, honestly, but I still had an amused smirk on my face for most of the episode.

I like that episode in general seemed to be tossing some bits to Earth Ponies, who tend to be pretty forgotten and under represented as time goes on. 

Gotta give em credit where it's due: the concept of giving Maud(or any supporting character, really) a boyfriend was a legitimately interesting move and the moral is one that the show wasn't really expected to address, but it was nice one nonetheless.

I really do like Mudbriar, as oddly middle of the road his name sorta is. Like, I guess he was supposed to seem like a semantic douchebag at first, but he honestly had this vaguely charming vibe to him and caused most of the humor with the episode due to effortlessly getting Pinkie frustrated with him and vice versa a few times. It helps that we get some idea as to his perspective outside of his shtick and he's more emotive than Maud has been, even in her debut. 

Interestingly enough, Starlight's presence here was not only a nice/needed callback, but it also inherently addressed a few issues I had after the "prequel" episode(albeit, while confirming a more on the fringe one in a blink and you'll miss it moment). 

Highlights of humor include Mudbriar's face when Pinkie has the pinata, the camera shifting when Starlight is talking with Mudbriar, and of course Imaginary!Twilight.

[AdventChild]

This week’s episode is Fake It Til You Make It or what I like to call Putting Your Hoof Down 2.0.

A Meh grade for this one.

Fluttershy’s multiple personalities were probably the only amusing bit but like a joke that gets stretched too thinly it gets old real fast and loses its luster when it goes into the 2^nd half. Not to mention to have this as the main support beam for your entire episode a good episode does not make, and the execution was poor as well. Hay, Assertive Shy from the aforementioned episode felt more memorable and funnier than the three personas.

Everything else was just bland too. The jokes again fell mostly flat. Plot was unremarkable and felt like it had been done before in show’s history. The inconsistencies from why Rarity could have just let Miss Pommel look over the shop than letting somepony with little experience take over or what happened to Fluttershy’s knowledge of fashion from Suited For Success and you think she might have gotten something or two from Green Isn’t Your Color when being a model. Was there a point to having the rest of the Mane Cast here than just relaying a message to Rarity? Do have to make all of Manehattan to be such stuck-ups/stuffed shirts other than plot convenience?

And that ending just felt rushed to all Tartarus that all it took was just for Rarity terminating the personas and that’s it! Problem solved! It felt oddly anticlimactic and just amounted to nothing at the end of the day for another “Just Be Yourself” lesson variant.

Again, a So-So episode.

[Strickerx5]

So we got a Flutters episode today and... uh, that was a weird one. Not really sure I'd rate it too highly. It certainly had a lot of great comedic moments and Andrea's performance in it was nothing short of magnificent but Flutters herself was... something else.

Like real talk, over the course of this series I think Flutters has been written to have some sort of split personality disorder. This isn't the first time we've seen her get caught up in a role but this is certainly one of the more weirder and somewhat off-putting displays of it. Again, it made for some great jokes but when she actively started to go against her own personality traits and really not showing any sign of caring about what she says... but then changing out of it almost immediately at the end there was just, off to me. Might be thinking a bit too deeply about the gag here but this is something I've stated about the show back when I first started watching it. The characters are the highlight of it all for me and to see one of my favorites act completely off base is... not really troubling but not really enjoyable either.

Also, has anyone noticed how inconsistent the time it takes to cross Equestria has been lately? I mean in certain episodes and the movie it's a day trip but in this episode alone certain characters go back and forth across it at least 4 times in less than a day. It's a minor detail but given how some episodes in this series have hinged on it taking a long time to get from place to place... it's extremely noticeable.

Another small thing were the other main's parts in this. Like... seriously, how much time passes in this episode? They go from not being able to help Rarity with her problem to being able to help Flutters with hers in like no time at all.

Plus, you gotta question Rarity's decision making here too. I like how they showed that she basically asked everyone else to take over for her before she came to Flutters but still, you think she would've chosen to just keep one of her three workers there than to have the one pony she knows full well is socially challenged in there instead. I know, "but then we wouldn't have an episode" and all but it's all these small things that you just know, in the back of your mind, shouldn't happen. They're all pilling up for me here.

So yeah, overall I'm not too fond of this one. There's just too many small issues here for me to give it a complete pass. It's weird seeing as this little stuff shouldn't get to me but it somehow does here.

[DabigRG]

You know, I'm not really one for writing reviews of the episodes for a number of reasons to begin with, but honestly I'm not even sure this one needs one. 

Fake It Til' You Make It

• Honestly, the premise kinda felt forced, for lack of a better term.
• You know, when Rarity said she needed all THREE of her shopowners in Canterlot for the show, I thought she was referencing that blue dude with the shades who cameos in the movie. But not, instead it's just her, Sassy Saddles, and two other mares I don't think we've seen before.
• Which begs the question: where was Coco Pommel? In fact, wouldn't it have made sense to partner up Fluttershy with Coco, who'd act as a comparative straight man to emphasize how odd Fluttershy is behaving?
• I did really like the quick montage of how Rarity went around asking everyone else. Which included Ms. Cheerilee, for the first time in a while.
• Fluttershy swapping between three different personas was kinda funny, yet the situation is simultaneously straight as in there was something seriously wrongand as if it was not that big a deal at all. It almost felt like it was vying for more surreal animation.
• Another thing that bothered and confused me was that didn't Suited for Success or whatever imply Fluttershy actually knows a thing or two about fashion or at least dressmaking?
• Also, I like how Valley!Shy(who was cute enough to not be annoying) went Swedish there at one point near the "climax." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AdventChild]

This week’s episode is Grannies Gone Wild which sounds like is need of a title change for obvious reference (maybe The Old and The Restless?).

And this episode was just okay, middle of the road fare and slightly better than the previous two.

My main draw is the setting of Las Pegasus and its detail including some of the side/background ponies, esp. the Rick and Morty and Breaking Bad reference. Also, the Ghost AJ head was amusing (also someone should edit that ending bit and replace AJ’s face with the Sun Baby from Teletubies), and the old mares were fine. Surprised that there wasn’t a Flim and Flam appearance/cameo other than a gold statue.

The plot and the jokes were standard underestimating/overprotecting of old people trope so much of the humor felt more miss than hit for me and rather indifferent. RD felt annoying for about half of the episode due to her impatience and over protectiveness esp. with the magician show part that I skipped over a bit.

All in all, an okay episode.

[pastelspectre]

Dang it's been a while since my last post. I apologize. Just wanted to say: I like the friendship school idea. i have liked all the episodes so far. I saw the newest episode today and It was alright, not my favorite. i quite liked the Fluttershy one though i might be biased because she is my number one favorite mane six character (twilight sparkle being the second).

[Strickerx5]

Hm, I think this is going to be one of those episodes I'll easily forget about after a while. It's very by-the-books when all is said and done. Though, with a few good gags thrown in for good measure. It's also another episode where a character we've known for years (Rainbow) is put into a position we probably would've never pinned her for.

There were, admittedly, a couple of small surprises for me with this one though. I honestly thought Rainbow would've tried a lot harder to keep the old mares in one spot so she could better skip on her responsibilities but, for the most part, she's actually pretty responsible (too responsible but eh). I could've easily seen season 1 and 2 Rainbow not giving two shakes about any of this and just going off anyway.

I was also kind of surprised by the ending too. Not so much that Rainbow and the grannies made up and she got to ride the roller coaster, but with how quickly it actually happened. Usually with these episodes there's some long, drawn out "I made a mistake, now they hate me and I have to fix it" section but not here. That old mares were actually pretty understanding even while being upset which was nice to see. I also had a laugh when it turned out to be good ole stick in the mud AJ's fault at the end of the day. XD

So yeah, overall a pretty uneventful episode that's still pretty solid in its own right.

 

Oh yeah, and this was a thing that happened.

Either this one needed another pass-through in the QA department or Hasbro is itching for some more toys.

[DabigRG]

Don'cha just "love" how we just up and met Trixie's dad out of the blue before getting any sign of Starlight's folk within the show proper?

[Your Vest Friend]

9 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Don'cha just "love" how we just up and met Trixie's dad out of the blue before getting any sign of Starlight's folk within the show proper?

I've seen the spoilers, so...I don't mind.