I can't help but feel this episode needs a complete rewrite of the script. Then we'd have a story where Pinkie doesn't act like a spoiled brat/substance junkie and the Mane Five use constructive criticism and ask her nicely to practice this new instrument in moderation and in an area where she won't be disruptive. Maybe the fanfic writers can come up with something like what I'm suggesting.
Maybe not a complete rewrite, just some important changes in value. Tell me how this sounds: _Pinkie Pie’s new “yovidaphone” was a gift from Yigrid, her pen pal in Yakyakistan. As a token of their friendship, Pinkie Pie was determined to teach herself how to play it. Her friends try to put up with her off-pitch music, but eventually give in and softly tell her that it sounds horrible. Pinkie Pie sulks, not just because it means she can’t honor her friendship with Yigrid, but also out of guilt for not realizing the disturbance she caused. She goes to Yakyakistan to return the yovidaphone, but Yigrid assumes she wants to play a duet with her. Pinkie’s friends show up to hear the end of their duet, and while Pinkie’s playing was still pretty bad, they admit she really seems to enjoy it. Yigrid then offers Pinkie Pie yovidaphone lessons, acknowledging a far edge of town where the loud tones don’t annoy anyone. The episode ends with a compromise: Pinkie Pie learns to do what she loves where it won’t disturb others, while her friends learn to be more supportive of her favorite activities._
This episode frustrated me, but I don’t think its plot was beyond fixing. Tell me how this sounds: _Pinkie Pie’s new “yovidaphone” was a gift from Yigrid, her pen pal in Yakyakistan. As a token of their friendship, Pinkie Pie was determined to teach herself how to play it. Her friends try to put up with her off-pitch music, but eventually give in and softly tell her that it sounds horrible. Pinkie Pie sulks, not just because it means she can’t honor her friendship with Yigrid, but also out of guilt for not realizing the disturbance she caused. She goes to Yakyakistan to return the yovidaphone, but Yigrid assumes she wants to play a duet with her. Pinkie’s friends show up to hear the end of their duet, and while Pinkie’s playing was still pretty bad, they admit she really seems to enjoy it. Yigrid then offers Pinkie Pie yovidaphone lessons, acknowledging a far edge of town where the loud tones don’t annoy anyone. The episode ends with a compromise: Pinkie Pie learns to do what she loves where it won’t disturb others, while her friends learn to be more supportive of her favorite activities._
Nope, you are not taking this too seriously. In fact, you are hitting the nail right on the head. This episode's lesson was a complete miss. The lesson in this episode like this may well lead to narcissism: "As long as _I_ enjoy it, it doesn't matter what anyone _else_ thinks." Nor are you the only reviewer who was uncomfortable with the lesson. Did you check out MisAnthroPony's review? And allow me to leave the same comment that I left with him: 'Tweak a few lines, and the episode would be perfect. For example, the ReMane 5 could say to Pinkie, in effect, "We're sorry that we told you to stop altogether. We see how much the yovidophone means to you. Why don't we see if we can find a teacher to help you learn to play it like a master?" Or the professional could say, "Yovidophone is hard instrument to learn. When yak first pick up yovidophone, yak sounded just like pony sound now. If pony want play yovidophone, yak can teach pony." Either way, cue Pinkie exploding in happiness, cut to a scene of Pinkie learning how to make good sounds out of it under the tutelage of the yak musician, and roll credits. Boom! The setup isn't wasted.'
I think the problem with the episode's lesson wasn't so much "As long as I enjoy it, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks" But rather "As long as I enjoy it, it doesn't matter how it AFFECTS anyone else"
Impus Tredecim Regardless of how we word it, I believe that we can both agree that such is not the lesson that kids should be learning. Empathy should temper the urge for enjoyment.
@Impus Tredecim I agree.Even though I enjoy doing something and don't really care what people think about it,it does matter how it affects others.For example,if I sing and a lot of people don't want to hear it,I should stop and if I still feel like singing,go somewhere else.That way both sides are more likely to be happy. After editing one tiny part:I'm sorry about making a typo in a part of your name.I thought it said Tredicim.
As long as your hobby doesn't hurt or inconvenience others, it really doesn't matter if you're good at it, as long as it makes you happy. This actually a good lesson to teach, but they missed that first part.
What if she just doesn't have the talent for it, Pinkie would never ever ask for someone else to stop doing something if their bad at it. I like the message to accept and support someone's hobby even if they aren't good at it. It's her choice to say whether or not she stops it's not up to someone else to decide that for her.
I’m happy I’m not the only one hating the lesson of Yakity-sax. Here are a few solutions that could’ve fixed this episode: 1. Pinkie pie keeps doing her hobby ONLY where nopony can hear her. 2. In stead of telling Pinkie that she is not good, the main six had to tell her that the noise annoys them. 3. Pinkie could try some teaching from the yaks to actually get better. 4. Pinkie tells her friends that she is offended by their reaction. There! All the ideas to make this episode actually work!
There were several occasions where it was simply inappropriate to be playing loud music at that time and place. It could have been a master musician, it still would have been a nuisance.
Sure and I won't deny that was one of the flaws of the episode, still I think this was pretty good and I was very worried about this episode after reading the synopsis.
I said this in another reply and I'll say it again: all it would have taken was 30 seconds of Pinkie and her friends talking it over and Pinkie agreeing to enjoy herself in solitude. It would have been a nice way to wrap up the end of the episode. The fact Pinkie did play it inappropriately fits her character: she cares about others (which is why she denies herself pleasure) but can get carried away sometimes. It is utterly ridiculous to say an episode is "the worst" or a "low point" of the season just for a scene that could have improved the episode's lesson, but wasn't needed in the first place.
"Smile" is the song that defines Pinkie Pie. She wants to bring joy and happiness to people. If instead, she was shown how she was taking away people's joy, it may have snapped her out of it. Also, encourage her to pursue learning how to play the instrument. This opens up a new avenue for her to grow, and the others are there to support and encourage her to improve. I think that may have been a better way of presenting it. Amd to tell the truth, I'm surprised Maud or even Mudbrier didn't snap her out of the depression. As you and Keyframe have done in "A Moment with Dr. Wolf", depression is not something to ignore or try to suppress. However, this seemed like Pinkie was wallowing in self pity. Hum...overall, I liked the episode, but more for the humor than the lesson. The 25th ice cream, the call back to "No Second Prances" and other shows. There are a couple of other things that pop into my mind, and I may expand on them in the equestria amino.
I agree with you, Dr. Wolf. One thing that rubs me the wrong way is that she was willing to move away from her friends, the ones that she enjoys making them smile and happy, just to seek some kind of fulfillment. To me, it is pretty low on my episode list, rivals with non-compete clause.
I thought it was going to end with Pinkie getting taught by the professional Yak player and actually getting a LITTLE better. Then practicing at home or someplace she won't disturb or disrupt others. AND respecting people's boundaries when playing like, inviting them to be her audience occasionally instead of playing everywhere all the time.
I get that... all too well in fact as someone who loves her hobby started off just as bad as Pinkie and still not great, and the only reason I got ANY better is because of support. SO yeah, I REALLY get that. I just mean it could have had her friends accept her hobby and support her, then the Yak come and offer to help or invite Pinkie to come practice with him because there is no end to practicing anything.
I feel like they attempted to make the point of 'follow your dreams, but not to the point it harms others' with Pinkie Pie playing in the Yak hut. I don't think they did a good job demonstrating that point, but now she has a new place where she can freely and openly play the Yovidaphone without causing discomfort to others. Her secret party planning cave would probably be one, private locales with her friends (if they be in the mood, of course) another, and now Yak-Yakistan. At least, I think hat's what they were trying to establish. Kinda hard to tell; the lesson and it's delivery fell REALLY flat on it's face, I will not deny that.
Three words: Sound. Proof. Room! Seriously, if you KNOW you stink at an instrument, and insist on trying to get better regardless, but DON'T want to bother anyone else, that's the way to go!
ShadwSonic But that’s the thing. She _didn’t_ know she was bad at it... somehow... and when her friends told her as softly as they could, she acted like it was such a big deal, like _throwing parties_ came second in her life to that thing.
Here's the thing: At no point did her friends ever try to get her actual instructions. They went straight to "We gave you a week or so, and you didn't spontaneously improve, so you are forever forbidden from this!"
Some other lessons that could have worked for this episode: -If you love something, but aren't good at it, you can always go find a mentor and share your love and improve. -Even if you love someone, there is a time and place to play.
I see two mane problems with YS. First, nopony considers a third option. Pinkie might become a good yovidaphone player if she had expert guidance instead of just doing her own thing (I doubt she mastered all those other instruments that way). If she still sucks at it, she can play in private, maybe down in her basement. If ponies can still hear her, the least she could do is not play all over Ponyville, especially by night. Second, when someone who used to have lots of interests suddenly has only one, I must conclude that she is an addict. Almost as serious as a druggie. The remedy is not to keep feeding her addiction.
The message sent by the ponies to Pinkie was not "Your playing is upsetting us" it was "You should quit playing because you are bad at it". But since it was poorly phrased instead of looking for a quiet place to play, she quit completely. Here it's the thing... If you exchange the musical instrument for a husband the episode has a lot more sense. Even if its not healthy to obsessed over one single object or person, there will be perioud of mourning and it will be specially hard if its something you love.
There is one key difference between 28 Pranks in this plus one element that perhaps wasn't fully telegraphed to the audience. Pinkie's enjoyment of playing isn't contingent on sharing her playing. To further support that she was ignoring Twilight while she was obsessively focused on the yovidophone. One line of dialogue at the end where Pinkie makes a commitment to make an effort to not be so invasive when she plays would have gone a long way. 28 Pranks Later was a non-solo obsession. To prank someone and get enjoyment, Dash needed a person to prank. There is no option to continue her disruptive behavior while not including other characters, while there are several options available to Pinkie to minimize the impact to others and still participate in a hobby she loves.
the thing that bothered me about this episode was Twilight's little "we don't want you wasting your time on something you aren't good at" As an artist, that personally offended me a little I get what she was saying but the way it was worded was just awful
Personally, I felt like the lesson is more understandable to those who have loved a particular hobby or interest, but then one day find that their love for the hobby and interest disappears due to discouragement over the lack of success or discouragement from friends and family to give it up. For me, this episode was like a punch in the gut. I remember once wanting to learn to play golf and I developed a huge love and passion for it. It was all I wanted to do or think about. I may not have gone so far as to disrupt my friends and family over it, but it did get to a point that the more I practiced, the less I improved. Then one day it got to a point that I had no choice but to give up. I spend months in a very deep depression because I had poured to much of my time and resources only to come up no real success for my effort. I'm sure Pinkie felt the same way. She poured her heart and soul into trying to be good at playing, hoping she could make ponies smile with her music. In the end, she was only being disruptive to others and had her friends tell her she was no good and to quit. Based on what I've seen from Pinkie, she can be pretty hard on herself when she fails, especially at making others happy. The fact she went Pinkamena made sense to me because when I pour my heart into something and I fail at accomplishing my goals, I feel so discouraged that everything else that I am good at or enjoy feels meaningless. Its no different than the time Rarity lost her mane and suddenly her life's work felt meaningless. Depression is a real thing and its obvious that these two ponies put alot of emphasis on being successful to be happy, any failure causes loss of confidence in themselves. While I do feel the MLP writers could have come up with a better ending to this episode, I believe lesson is more focused on not letting failure prevent you from enjoying something you love. If the writers had at least shown the rest of the Mane six showing that they found a way for Pinkie to play that wasn't disruptive back in Ponyville. The lesson would have been clearer. As Sweetie Belle once said: "You don't have to be good at something to have fun."
Well you are right in the fact that the moral is very confusing. The episode was fun but the lesson is way too open to interpretation and that is not good at all. Here is what i take from this episode as a moral: Do what you enjoy doing as long as it doesn't hurt you or those around you in the process. The ending was supposed to make that clear by the fact that the yaks were tolerant about pinkie's bad playing. You just have to find the right ppl to do the things that you like with i guess. It's not fun if others don't enjoy what you enjoy.
I agree that the moral is confusing. Sure, an adult can see what the episode was trying to say, but a child might not. I want a moral-driven cartoon where you DON'T have to explain things to your kids after watching an episode. I do intend to have kids in the future, and I want to make sure they don't see things like this and get the wrong idea.
If I could have tweaked the episode a bit, I would have had the girls (and Spike) say she could get lessons in Yakyakistan. With her taking lessons and learning the yaks way of playing, she wouldn't feel the same passion she did when she was playing her way. Then when Spike and the ponies go up to Yakyakistan to she her preform, she doesn't seem as happy as her playing was getting better. So the gang tells her she can still play the she wants, but incorporate her new skills to be better. Idk it was sort of based on a story of mine so forgive me if it doesn't realate to everyone.
Felt like for this one that the concern could have been approached differently by the others when it came to Pinkie's playing. Instead of telling her to stop, they could have requested that she not be disruptive with her playing, which is just common decency and a better lesson overall to teach that while you might enjoy something and really want to share it, that there's a time and place for doing so.
The biggest part they left out was to inform pinkie about gaining criticism to get better. Yes i do think living with the yaks would have done her some good. Only because I feel as if she NEEDS some sort of month or year to stay there to learn the instrument shes passionate about. If I were pinkiepie i think i would have been pissed more then depressed. They had a perfect opportunity to teach young artists about proper criticism. Then at least time loop and montage where she was being TAUGHT and told right from wrong of how to get better by PROFESSIONALS. I hated this episode because i personally am an artist. This doesn't show any thing valuable but a filler episode just to tell kids if your not good don't do anything at all, if your disrupting the peace WHO CARES CAUSE ITS YOUR PASSION. the lesson of this should have been get better and learn from critics who actually have a good point. Not this bullshit. You have the absolute right to be concerned. I am concerned. This episode was the absolute shit show. If Rarity went through this her dresses would have never gotten better. I feel like she would have been a great aspect of the episode. The episode gets a 0/10 from me. I hate it, I hope it dies. They could have done it better. x-x
Yeah, it sucked. It really pissed me off that her friends told her to quit rather than seek improvement. They didn't even mention the property damage she was causing and suggesting she play privately.
Oh doc, I can tell how hard your holding back. Your a better man than I am that's for sure, because I can only talk about this one in my head with colorful words. This episode was one of the worst of MLP so far. I've never wanted to create a step by step analysis of how Not to write an episode.
The movie Rainbow Roadtrip can actually explain the reason why Pinkie reacted the way she did. Of course it was pretty out of character for her to go around disrupting the entire town with her Yovidaphone playing and I thought she had learned her lesson in 'A Friend in Deed' so it doesn't really excuse her behaviour beforehand. However, instead of her friends trying to come up with a compromise or a solution that would keep both parties happy they just straight up told her that she's really bad at it and should give up. This ties into the lore of Rainbow Roadtrip where it's explained that when a pony loses hope (such as Pinkie losing hope in becoming better at the one thing she has been hyperfocused on for days or weeks) they become affected by hopeless magic which manifests as symptoms of clinical depression, such as; feeling hopeless or helpless, having no motivation or interest in things (For example how the ponies of hope hollow stopped talking to each other and attending the rainbow festival, which they used to love, mirroring Pinkie's behaviour of not getting any enjoyment out of all of the thing's she usually does.)
Hasbro has stopped working.exe This is where hasbro has reached their goal and has to come up with friendship problem and then it suddenly turns out somewhat good. Hopefully, Hopefully... There will be a Tempest episode and we will get to see her... Soon...
This would work a lot better if it was Yona Yak had the instrument and was practicing for a Yak holiday. Also, with Pinkie unable to play the instrument well is odd since she can play 10 instruments at once flawlessly.
I really enjoyed this episode, not as a moral aesop, but as a character and magic study of Ponies. I loved that at first the characters gave Pinkie several "moons" to improve, and to me it was interesting to see that rather than confront Pinkie with the issue of her disruptive public playing (which given the Ponies' tendencies to burst into mass-scale choreographed song and dance routines may not even seem and issue in their minds?), they instead thought that the issue was the quality of her performances, and so to avoid being bad friends by crushing her spirit, they grit their teeth and endured. Up to a point. I was really pleased with Pinkie Pie's consideration of the feelings of her friends when she put on her happy mask, and cried in private. It was alarming to see her withdraw and fall into depression over the loss of her hobby; fascinating, however, was the effect that her depression has on both her aura and her cutie mark's magic. With her natural joy and laughter stifled, rather than giving life to those around her, Pinkie's Earth Pony magic had inverted and sucked the life out of flowers as she passed by! Ponies emotional states have a dire effect on their racial and talent's magical well-beings. After seeing that the previous montages were over several moons, I assumed that it also took a while for Pinkie's illness to manifest fully enough to the point that her friends could easily recognize that Pinkie wasn't feeling well (Ponies being notoriously less emphatically-attuned/perceptive than humans). After trying to cure/cheer her up (in which I observed that the Ponies took no special notice of Pinkie's manifest symptoms, being surprisingly perceptive as to recognize that her emotional issues were at heart) by reminding her of what she loves (reminding her of her Talents to perhaps revive her magic and thus her spirit), they eventually realized, along with the viewer, that nothing would revive Pinkie's spirit except for her newfound obsession with the yovidaphone. Unlike the viewer, they didn't seem to realize that their unsaid resolution to grit their teeth for the rest of their days would be unnecessary if they suggested that Pinkie play the instrument in private. That being said, I really must admire their willingness to withstand torture for the sake of their friend, and shake my head at their willingness to torture the rest of the public too for the sake of their friend. Pony culture is quite interesting to me.
I think something that would have helped this episode is just a little bit of extra dialogue after they tell her to keep on playing, something along the lines of: Fluttershy: But maybe don't play it outside my house at night? Rarity: Or in my workshop when I'm trying to make dresses. Rainbow Dash: Or in the middle of a Wonderbolts show. Applejack: Or in the orchard when I'm... Come to think of it just don't play it anywhere near my apples. Pinkie: Don't worry. I get it. I won't play it around other ponies. Twilight: Thanks Pinkie. Pinkie: Until I've had a chance to really get some practice in! Everyone else: Urgh... Pinkie: What?
I feel like after they told her that she was disturbing everyone, after all that depression and then relief that her friends want to see her happy again, that Pinkie will now be more respectful when playing. I know they never said that in the show, but I'm sure since Pinkie sacrificed the hobby for the wellbeing of her friends (and Ponyville), that she'll now practice more privately in consideration of others.
This episodes lesson was to not discourage your friends from doing something that makes them happy, even if they're bad at it. Thats a good lesson since everyone is bad at things when they start, and they need encouragement to motivate them to get better at it over time.
the problem is that when the friend is so bad at the thing they do, that they cause harm to others, then they either need to stop or find somewhere private to train until they no longer cause harm.
Then I'd hate to be your friend, it's not your choice whether that person stops doing the thing they enjoy. So long as their not harmful all you have the right to do is make suggestions or critiques, but it's their decision to keep playing or not and you need to respect that.
Except Pinkie WAS harmful. She destroyed a dress Rarity was making. She basically laid waste to an entire harvest of apples. She was literally causing Fluttershy sleep deprivation. If you think I would be a bad friend for stopping that, then I am more than happy to be a 'bad' friend.
RavinKaito the lesson is harmed by her being harmful to others with her hobby and them just being ok with it. There is a difference between "I want to do this, even if I am bad at it." and "I want to do this, even if my actions causes others direct harm." This episode portrayed the second version, not the first one. They may have said the first one, but actions speaks louder than words.
I saw a snippet of a screenshot of Pinkamena's return before watching this season (I'm currently catching up) and I was excited to see where it would make a return! Only to get to this episode, and right before they told her I knew this was where she would end up and I was immediately disappointed. I have ADHD, so I know exactly what it's like to have my emotions out of proportion to the situation; however, I felt like this was not an appropriate usage of it. To me, Pinkamena was something used when Pinkie felt like her life was completely falling apart. MadMunchkin's look on Party of One really opened me up to Pinkie's psyche, how it showed how much her friends meant to her, more than anything. Additionally, (while this isn't cannon in the slightest) in one of my favorite fanfiction series, Silent Ponyville, Pinkie gains her straight mane due to having multiple horrific nightmares which she must delve into Silent Ponyville to solve the issue of (seriously, read the series it's great!). Pinkie just seemed a little out of character to me. She's never one to give up this easily, even if she does hold respect for her friends. Not only that, but this episode could have been better with some line changes. For instance the Yak could have offered to teach her. As someone who wants to become an animator but has low confidence, I understand the part about not caring as long as you love it (this could be more properly applied to other situations such as my nostalgic love for quite a few of the Direct to DVD Disney films I grew up with. However, I know their flaws as well), but I also need to get better. If I don't practice or learn from a professional I won't get any better, and I should want to be better. They also should have addressed the fact that her playing was being disruptive and that she could play elsewhere or at at different time. It really upset me that they didn't address it because, as you mentioned, the writers made it VERY clear that she was being disruptive.
Here's my take on how the story could be tweaked; the instrument was out of tune. After Pinkie's friends tell her about all the damage it's causing, she could answer "It was working just fine in Yakyakistan." Then she goes back and explains the problem to the Masters and they find something simple like a loose valve. She comes back and her playing,while not great, is less destructive. problem solved
no, you are completly right, Dr.wolf. I was listening to this and your opinion on it and it hit me real hard because i'm not the one of the hobbie, a friend is, and believe it or not it's caused me a lot of my own life because i supported it and i allowed it, i'm still trapped on it, and i have been for years. he's passionate about it like no other and is not really that bad at it but the conditions for it are not nearly ideal and i, being a supportive freind, let it consume me too in this delusion of acomplishment and "light at the end of the tunnel". it has made me so sad, so desperate and feel so stupid for not be able to say "no" to him. it really hurts this episode didn't had the balls to call pinky out and in the end rewarded her for it at the expense of everyone around her, even her friends, because that makes me think that i'm actually the odd ball here.
According to this episode. If my hobby is screaming in people's ears with a megaphone, that is okay as long as I really enjoy it. Who cares if it is disruptive and hurts people ears? I get depressed if I am not doing it, so it is okay.
I agree with much of what you said, I wish they had made the rest of the yak audience wince save perhaps the pro- maybe, have the pro applaud say the instrument is for happiness and offer to teach her some techniques so that others can hear it too. So that it shows that you can do what you love, no matter what skill level you're at, but there is always room for improvement.
I think the message the episode was goingfor was more along the lines of "You shouldn't have to give up doing something you enjoy just because you aren't good at it" which is actually a good lesson. People shouldn't feel have to feel too ashamed to do something they love. Its ok to draw badly, sing out loud even if you're voice isn't great or dance awkardly etc if that's something you love and especially if forcing yourself to stop altogether brings you down. The problem was that lesson got muddied by how it played out. The main problems were the fact that Pinkie's playing was so intrusive and that she disregarded every other aspect of herself in favour of one hobby she'd found a passion for. I think just a couple of extra scene's or lines in which Pinkie: a) acknlowledged what she was good at but still felt miserable about giving up something she really loved and b) at the end found a way to play where she wouldn't be bothering anyone else would have gone a long way. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing something you're bad at but love as a hobby so logn as you aren't bothering other people.
There's actually a children's book that does this plot better. It's called Little Boy with a Big Horn. It revolvesves around a young boy named Ollie who owns a big tuba and plays a song called Asleep in the Deep on it. However, his tuba playing disrupts some people, and they complain to his mom about it. Unlike Yakity-Sax, Ollie is aware that his playing is annoying people, and actually takes a boat out into the ocean so he can play without disturbing anyone. While he's playing the song, it alerts some sailors on a ship nearby to some rocks, and they avoid a collision with them, which makes Ollie a hero. So yeah, if you want Yakity-Sax done right, read that book.
At the end of the day it's Pinkie pie's choice whether to play it or not, sure her friends can offer their own input but they need to respect that she loves to play it. Could they have advised her not to play when it can be disruptive sure, but look Pinkie has never shrugged off one of the other mane six's hobbies and is always supportive of them. So why should they treat her any different just cause she's doing something they don't like. I enjoyed this episode, the humor was on point and it avoided doing so many things I was afraid would happen given the premise. Her friends were up front with her about her lack of talent, and they weren't the ones to drive her away from ponyville. It's not the best episode ever but it's a very good one.
She was literally driving people insane. If doing what you love is THAT problematic, then you need to be set straight. I'm surprised they didn't give her the "rainbow dash treatment" and mobilize the entire town to terrorize her into learning a lesson.
From what they said, it'd have turned out the same anyways. He'd have asked her to play, told her she was great because [nonsense reason given in the episode]
I'll admit that I'm reaching here.... But I think the idea was that Pinkie is ALWAYS thinking of others and sacrificing for others' happiness and finally, for once, she found something that makes HER happy on a personal level and... her friends wanted her to stop.
This episode was a mixed bag for me, the lesson could have been more clear. But based off of Pinkies reaction I really do understand why Rainbow just pretended to like pies instead of dealing with Pinkies craziness
I disagree about the lesson. I've dealt with many people with severe depression. That one passion could mean the difference between feeling horrible vs Happy.
These were my thoughts EXACTLY. What I had wanted to see were the other mane 5 approaching pinkie and letting her know she can pursue this passion as long as she’s aware of her surroundings and opts not to disrupt the lives of the ponies around her. Perhaps Twilight could even magic-ex-machina a room in her castle with sound-deadening walls to allow pinkie to practice in an isolated environment. They just approached it really poorly.
Good stuff doc. It was great to see Pinkamena return and all the bits of continuity. Not sure what the writers were trying to achieve either though. Pinkie's path to extreme depression was not only unbelievable but like you said, she has so much more going on. A friend of mine came up with the alternate concept for this episode and it's pretty good: "All they needed to do was find a teacher for Pinkie and ask her to practice in private because its noisy and distracting, then encourage her to give a recital at her teacher's discretion. Literally no reason for hurt feelings." Maybe it was an off day in the studio but the other thing would be to reveal that Pinkie Pie is actually secretly a bit shy and faces that with a vengeance and then some. Know that the Cheese Sandwich episode from way back was a fan fave but wasn't mine because of the plot which felt loose in my opinion - an excuse to use Weird Al I guess. Overall, season 8 has really been mostly nothing but hits really and it was a matter of time where there was a dud. Oh well but the psychological implications for young audiences could be something to watch. Then again, this episode was a good example of when creatures take things too far and most of us can be guilty of that once or twice in our lives /)
I like this episode and I don't like that other reviewers say she's supposed to stop and only do the things that she knows how to do and can't do anything else and it's a good episode plus she's rarely selfish and she gave it up when she was asked and falls into a depression she was only trying to broaden her horizons
i still liked the episode but i will admit it was all over the place, in my opinion here's my idea of how i kinda figure this episode would really work everything at the beginning was fine, pinkie plays badly and everyone tells her that she isnt doing well and right after mention she needs some lessons. when pinkie does get the lesson shes plays tremendously amazing, but the new problem, she overplays and just wont quiet down, annoying everyone around her because of how much they have to endlessly hear the instrument. But the new issue, the rest are scared that they would hurt pinkie's feelings by telling her she is annoying. This would cause Rainbow Dash (i'd see her being the one to first lose her patience, and in which case the only one who is fine with all the music is rarity cause lets be real, she wouldnt have trouble) to flip out and tell pinkie to just shut up, then we can have pinkie move to yakyakistan. This would give us a moral that while others are ok and willing to let you have fun with what you enjoy, but please dont let it control your life and where others may not want to hang out with you because it'll be all you talk about. Idk if i may have messed up on the moral and just sound like an idiot but it's honestly what i think would make the episode better.
I think the message of the episode would have been better and clearer if she had gone to Yakyakistan to learn to play the instrument properly instead of to just mop around (honestly, I feel like the thing that the "proper" way to play it is to play it anyway that makes you happy was a cop-out). It would send a message that sometimes you are bad at something you love, and if practicing doesn't help you can seek mentoring, you can ask someone that is better than you for help. It is not like sucking forever or dropping it should be considered as the only options, I don't like how it was presented like those were the only options.
I’m so confused @.@ online it said this doesn’t appear until Aug 25 and it’s the last episode of the season. Someone clear this up for me was the one TV and I missed it cause I thought MLP didn’t come back until August!
You know, I'd be interested to see someone with kids in the target age range do something kind of like a "kids react" sort of series with MLP episodes. But more of a conversational type thing. Let the kids watch the episode and then discuss what lesson they took away, without any prompting of a particular interpretation. Sometimes I think we pick up on things that seem obvious to us as older fans that might be a bit subtle for younger viewers. My kids are grown (yeah, I'm like Dustykatt old or older!) and I know when they were around 7 - 10 they didn't really "do" subtle. Pretty much had to spell things out fairly bluntly. Which is also why they tend to crank up character reactions (e.g. Pinkie getting so depressed and moving) just to make it clear to younger kids exactly what she's going thru. I was pretty much the same way at that age. That said, this episode (while pretty funny to me - I laughed a good bit) did seem a bit muddled with the possible messages. So would like to hear what average kids in the target audience see. Oh, and Rarity's "Applesolutely!" and AJ's little grin at that slip made it all worth it to me. :-D I think Tabitha was indulging in a bit of improv there!
The way I see it, Pinkie realizes that she isn't making anyone happy anymore due to her not being good with the instrument. And not making anyone happy is the worst thing that can happen with her and it would really make her feel awful. It's similar to what happened in Party of One when she assumed that her friends don't want her around anymore. To quote the late Robin Williams, "I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that." I think that quote fits Pinkie Pie to a tea and this episode oddly enough does cement that imo. Pinkie spent most of her foalhood alone with her family on the rock farm, there was no happiness to behold. When Pinkie smiled for the first time when she saw the Sonic Rainboom, it gave her life a new meaning and she desired to share it with others because she doesn't want anyone to experience the same loniness and sadness as she did when she was a filly. Yes, the moral could've been worded a lot better, all it would've taken is for one of Pinkie's friends to say "We understand that you are passionate about the instrument, maybe you can have one of the yaks teach you how to play." That would've made the moral's presentation stronger. Yeah Pinkie leaving Ponyville is extreme, but this isn't the first time that something like this has happened, she almost left Ponyville in Pinkie Pride after she forfeit the Goof Off. Could the presentation have been better? Yes, but I actually do think that this is a good episode (as well as a personal one) despite its flaws
I got some enjoyment and laughs out of the episode, but Pinkie was being REALLY unreasonable here. Pinkie was ACTIVELY being an EXTREMELY socially ignorant annoyance, who, by this point in the show, REALLY showed have known better. And when she gets told to PLEASE stop, she does, but goes into an EXTREME DEPRESSION. NOTHING, not even *THE THING SHE BASED HER LIFE AND JOB AROUND*, PARTYING. HOW!? Celestia gave up on her dream, and didn't be like "I'M the bucking PRINCESS OF THE SUN!! I DESERVE to be an actress, no matter HOW awful I am!!". Honestly, the episode would have had a MUCH better, and more MATURE moral, if the Yaks hated her playing, for being so awful, and they had to flee. The Mane Six apologise, and Pinkie sadly says that she truly will never be a good player of the instrument. The Mane six comfort her, and Twilight says that it will be ok, and that they will help her enjoy life again. *Either Twilight says:* *(A):*She says she knows a therapist called Peaceful Mind, who can help them work through their feelings, and that they will be there for them. Eventually, after a long amount of time, she is back to her normal self again. I KNOW it's REALLY depressing for an MLP ending, and it could ALSO send out it's own unfortunate implications, but it is a harsh truth of life, that sometimes you DO need to give up on something, because you either can't do it well, or are actively harming those around you. Considering how long MLP has been going on for, the now more grown up audience, should be able to handle more grown up morals. *OR:* *(B):* Twilight says that as long as she PROMISES to never play it again, untils she gets really good at it, from somehow getting practise from a teacher, then she can continue to pursure her hooby. With the extra catch, that she MUST also not abandon every other part of her life, OR go into a depression where she refuses to do anything, even her JOB, if she ends up being unable to ever get better. And also that she can't play this music, regardless of quality, at the worst possible times, which she will be informed of. This here moral shows that sometimes you need to get professional help with a hobby, in order to become better at it, and that you should really not practise things like music, that are disruptive to others, while near others. ESPECIALLY if you're bad at it.
The lesson this episode basically states is this. Ahem. If you're doing something that's destructive, disruptive, and even borderline dangerous, but you enjoy it, then keep doing it because it makes you happy. I'm sorry, but no. Just. No! Let's say I'm a mural artist. I got permission to paint a mural on this one abandoned wall, but I love painting murals so much that I just start painting random murals on as many building in the city as I can find. Unfortunately, I'm not a very good artist , and several of the buildings owners tell me to remove the murals I make. But painting murals makes me sooo happy. Well, according to this episode, not only should I not remove the murals, but I should paint more, despite it not being my property and despite others voicing their displeasure, because "it makes me happy". You know what happens now? I get arrested. FOR VANDALISM! A crime that Pinkie committed on numerous occasions in this episode (the most notable case is the apple orchard thing). I know it's slightly different then that, but she's still disturbing the peace and causing destruction, and the worst part is she never makes up for any of her actions. I agree, this episode is garbage!
I feel like this would have been a great place for a compromise moral, or a half-resolution like in Episode 3. "Do what you love *but* be mindful of the ponies around you" doesn't sound like an unreasonable caveat even for a kids' show. The way they handled the lesson here reminded me a lot of the show's early seasons, where they would sometimes seem to get unfortunate implications by trying to simplify a moral to the point that the show's intended audience (at the time) could understand it.
Thanks for pointing it out I was going to explain my opinion on the controversial lesson in this episode and when rainbow whent overboard with her prank's but because I don't have the proper technology or help to continue making videos I have been stuck with only one review wich sucks but personally I don't understand why they are contradicting the lesson in other episodes tho its good to have pride in something you like but in my opinion if that something affect other people's lives then that is a different story it is going overboard
I think my deal with this episode is that Pinkie has a "scoutch" of manic-depressive bipolar disorder. Anything that seems to set someone off does towards Pinkie not matter the severity. I would even go as far to say there is a hint of delusions of persecution through schizophrenia with that pink floofball. Think back to Party of One, something so small set her off to where she even created hallucinations. The writers didn't pull it off super well, but I can't imagine our pink ponk is completely stable, and we really saw that attitude shine through after Twilight's little discussion (which could've been handled SO MUCH BETTER than "you don't want you wasting your time on something you are not good at" Some princess of Friendship) and her attempt to act cool about it despite the heavy heartbreak. Probably why Pinkie Pie was such a great choice for stories like Cupcakes and RTI. Then again, what do I know? These are simply cartoon horses in a cartoon land and stuff. (Still waiting for that Granny Pie reveal though. I'm thinking we need Betty White for this role.)
AceRay 24 it's like what DWK once said, if it's one of the main cast that has a problem aka the Mane 6, then Twilight shows up, if its anyone else that has a problem aka secondary characters (Maud, Cmc's, heck prob even Discord and etc), then Starlight appears xD that guy is a prophet lol
I figure that the lesson was, "Sometimes you just need to deal with crap that comes your way." Though, the better option would have been making a magical silencing room, like what Starlight Glimmer did to Trixie back in To Where and Back Again. There was an option to have a more mutually beneficial ending to the episode for all of the Mane 6. On the other hand, doing that may give the wrong impression that there is always compromise. Sometimes there just isn't room for compromise, and I appreciate that this is something that is rarely explored. It does bother me that Pinkie was taken to such extremes where she was more of a drug addict versus just a bad player. Being that it was so overblown in this one episode which likely took place in a very short amount of time, Pinkie needs professional help for the addiction. Her friends came off as enablers to a bad habit. It was badly played out.
Good setup, bad moral, ignores character growth entirely. Why not have Pinkie go to Yakyakistan to learn how to play it properly, and she gets so into her lessons cause she wants to share what she got to experience. This was an opportunity to learn more about Yak culture.
Something I just thought of is maybe a reason why the Mane 6 didn't try to find a Yak or someone else to help Pinkie play better. In "Horse Play" Twilight tried everything she could think of to get Celestia to act better, including getting her acting lessons, but nothing worked on her. So maybe that's why the Mane 6 didn't try to get Pinkie lessons: because of the call-back to that episode, fans might think that, if they DID, and it worked for Pinkie, it might look like Pinkie can be taught to do something that she started off awful in, but Celestia can't be taught. And odds are, some fans would complain about that too, so...
I can understand what Pinkie dealing with in this episode. Just because you dont good at something, that does not mean you not enjoy why you bad at it and you should not doing it stop doing what you like even if your best friend say "you should just stop. You suck at it". I maybe bad at throwing dart but i still enjoy it even i got the lowest point...
the problem is that Pinkie was literally destroying others fun and disrupting the livelyhood of others by doing what she found fun. You can do what you like, even if you are bad at it, but if you playing darts constantly gets others hurt because you might suck at throwing them, then you should find somewhere private and play.
and for the rest of the episode, she was playing all around town and outside Fluttershy's house in the middle of the night. And that was BEFORE they told her to stop. she was being inconsiderate towards others with her music and took no hint when they were running away screaming everytime she came around.
miniman649 To be fair regarding the ponies of ponyville they panic, scream & run around a lot. And The ponies of equestria are kinda nuts/rude themselves *Looks at "Fame and Misfortune" & multiple other episodes*. Haha All of them need therapy. I'm going to guess why Pinkie played music at the scenes below tell me if you think any of them are possible. As for playing an instrument in the middle of town & at a park. I can't really say anything about that since its common for musicians to practice at parks & musicians do play on street corners/certain areas (idk what would be considered a street corner in ponyville). Should she have been at Fluttershy's place in the middle of the night to play her instrument? Probably not (Unless she was there to try to help the animals & Fluttershy achieve even better sleep or something of that regard but thats just a possibility). I can't really say where she was going regarding Applejack's farm it kinda looked like she was going to hillish area or maybe further out of town. Was that road built to run through sweet apple acres to somewhere like the pie delivery road in "Over a barrel"or does it just exist for the orchards? (And unfortunately pinkie had her eyes closed while bouncing through she never saw the damage she was doing to Applejack's farm). The stadium the wonderbolt's perform at seems to have no rules at all which really isn't a good thing. That doesn't mean she should have been playing there though (The only guess i have is that she wanted to support rainbow through her playing instead of doing a normal cheer). Im guessing Pinkie asked rarity if she could play some music for her while she worked & since rarity was trying to be supportive she said yes. (I looked back at the Fluttershy scene & saw Pinkie had shut her eyes missing fluttershy shaking her head). P.s I just remembered Blue note playing in the middle of town & randomly at Sweet apple acres i guess you really can play music anywhere.
let's go over each of those instances them. Park: She should have seen ponies less than positive reactions and taken that as an indicater that her music was not welcome, nor wishes around. At Fluttershy at night: If pinkie thinks that kind of music helps ponies, much less animals, sleep, then she is a moron with capital M and deserves to have her instrument taken away. Applefarm: She was running on a path true, but she should have noticed that her music was literally destroying their apples and harming the farm. She is literally a threat to the apple-family at that moment. Stadium: again, if she had paid attention, she would have seen she was annoying everyone around her and harming the wonderbolt's performance and therefor harming the job of one of her friends. Same with Rarity. She is harming her work. All of this only indicates two things: Either Pinkie does not care for her friends work and is happy to destroy it, or she is an idiot who does not notice what is right in front of her.
The fix for this story is so obvious that I'm surprised the writers didn't see it. If as the story indicated, Pinkie is self-taught, then she might actually be doing something wrong which a professional youvidaphone player (I hope I spelled that correctly) could help her correct. Change the last scene around where the professional yak player simply shows Pinkie that she has to align the pipes correctly and her enthusiasm is suddenly rewarded by a quality of music which every pony can easily enjoy. Problem solved....New lesson to be learned (Never be afraid to ask for help from those who know how.) I think this would have been a much better lesson, and you could have kept all the over the top reactions since, by nature, Pinkie does tend to be over the top.
I hate how Pink's character was treated just to teach a lesson. A lesson which, isn't that good. She was blind to her friend's discomfort and, when she moved away, she was choosing her hobby over their friendship. Pinky is always trying to make everyone else smile and is attuned to their feelings. Here, everything went down the drain to teach a "My hobby, as horrible as it is, is something I'll pursue regardless of what everyone else thinks or how it affects them, and my friends should support me."
I thought that having this be the return of Pinkamena was a bad thing, when we saw Pinkamena in season 1 it was because Pinkie thought her friends abandoned her and her hair straightened and her colors darkened, but in this episode a hobby made her go even farther gone she became a mix of Pinkamena and being discorded, it just looks like it's falling down stairs in development
Only just now watched the episode. My opinion: I actually found it to be really funny and enjoyed the whole ride. The message is kinda muddled, but I can look past that to enjoy an episode that’s just trying to entertain. Though, on that message...Whisper of the Heart did it better.
I feel like the depressed at everything trope was a little worn and cliche. I think what could have at least helped that along was seeing some of Pinkie's enjoyment returning, but then a brief reminder somewhere along the way brings her back down. It would have been similar to dealing with a low point of depression and trying to get yourself out of it, but not being entirely successful at first. Which would have been a neat way of showing that sometimes people can't always bounce back so fast, even those among us we see as the happy people. Another possibility for resolution could have been seeing the rest of the mane six attempt to play the instrument, trying to understand what Pinkie finds to be so enthralling about it. They then find that none of them can really manage to get anything close to what Pinkie can produce. It would change the context of what counts as 'good' to them, making both Pinkie's ability and that of the professional that much more awe inspiring. I think that would go towards a lesson about finding natural affinity for a skill, but having others tear you down for pursuing it, even with good intentions.
One way I think this could have been better is that when Pinkie's friends tell her she's not very good at playing the yovidaphone, she decides to go to Yakyakistan to find a teacher. Said teacher is a brutal perfectionist who puts Pinkie down for the tiniest mistake. This would make Pinkie's depression much more believable. The episode could have ended with Pinkie, with her friends' encouragement, proving her teacher wrong and becoming a master yovidaphone player which would teach a much better lesson, that you can accomplish anything as long as you stick to it and just because someone says you'll never be good at something doesn't make it true.
I believe the message was meant to be more around the lines of "If something brings you joy, than continue it, even if you are not great at it." Although, I agree that it comes off as what you had interpreted.
You have a good point!! I also saw what lesson the writers were trying to go with, but it WAS an odd way to end the episode, and maybe not exactly the right message overall. I see a lot of people saying this was the worst episode, and... okay, yeah, I can tell this one didn't have as much thought put into it as others. But I don't want to say that it was stupid to make it in the first place, because I can tell the writers are just at a loss for ideas, and just wanted to get SOMETHING out there. They DID take the time to make all of this, and I really appreciate THAT... it just wasn't my personal favorite. :1
Sorry but I think she was very much in character. Remember she loves Yakyakistan and has a very good relationship with them. So it is very likely she'd get excited over a musical instrument of there's. I can also buy her getting depressed when she stops playing it, she really enjoyed doing it so to learn she's not good at it was just a massive blow. I can relate because I feel that way about my drawings sometimes.
Yeah, but I doubt that a musical instrument would suddenly be her single source of joy, and that if she couldn't play it, she would abandon her friends, family, job, and role as a party pony and leave the country. I don't see how that could be in character. They didn't even bother trying to explain her overattachment to the instrument
This episode...hurt me. Deeply. Pinkie is my favorite character, and she was just...out of character the whole way through. I feel like this episode would've been way better if Pinkie ran away to try and, say, learn from a yak master (or Yona) instead of drown her sorrows. Maybe pull a Party of One where RD's chasing her all around trying to find her training grounds but she evades her. All so she's not making other ponies suffer when she plays. And then maybe she and the yak teacher do a duet! Or maybe just, Pinkie plays her heart out at the yak hut and all the yaks actually get angry but the Mane Six stand with her, Pinkie says her lesson...and the yaks destroy anyway, they run away in the balloon, and Pinkie "wah wah waaaahs" with her yuvidiphone as the show irises out.
I liked this episode, but I guess I didn't overthink it. I thought the INTENDED lesson was really good, to keep doing what you're passionate about even if you're bad at it. It's a really rare moral to see because usually the moral would be "practice makes perfect" or end up being a big joke in the line of "turns out she was playing well all along, yak music acquired taste." In reality, you may never, say, become an Olympic figure skater or have your art displayed in a famous museum or, more relevantly, sell 1 million copies of your yovidaphone album, but that doesn't mean you should give up as long as it makes you happy. Also I really enjoyed the return of Pinkemena without the crazy. But I can see how the lesson could have been handled a whole lot better, what with how Pinkie was actually being a huge public nuisance and then took having this new hobby criticized way too personally.
BASICALLY you see a lot of people losing motivation to do the things they enjoy because "oh, I wasn't any good at it" or "oh, my friends didn't really understand" but those things don't mean you should give up and become someone who goes from their boring dayjob straight to the couch with no interesting hobbies.
I think it's just one of those episodes that you just can't place it's meaning and how well it was delivered in a neat box of good MLP episodes and sub-par ones. It has it's merits of continuing to do what you love but if it comes to the expense of your peers not being able to enjoy your company because of what you do then maybe you need to think about taking a step back, listening to other's advice, and either practice minimally or turn your attention to learning how to do something better before just jumping in. In a way this episode can speak to a lot of us trying new things and feeling like, while we think we're great, others constantly point out our flaws. Though in these cases those are more suggestions on how to get better or to help us see that we have some skill but perhaps the medium we're pursuing should shift to a different one. Sorry if this doesn't make too much sense but another great video review Dr. Wolf, thank you
It was a good lesson tho irl I'm good at sewing but it kinda doesn't effect my family except my uncle since he kinda think is a excuse not to go nowhere
*sees thumbnail* Oh shit, Dr Wolf is angry. And I don't disagree at all. This episode was *bad,* not just in execution but in moral. This could do legitimate harm to its impressionable target audience.
They didn't resolve the issue at all! Pinkie is still going to disturb other ponies when she plays, regardless of what the Yaks think of her music. At the very least, the rest of the Mane 6 should have been explicit with Pinkie Pie about not playing when other ponies are trying to work or sleep. Or maybe they could have gotten Pinkie a teacher to help her get better at the whatever-phone. But the solution they found was not really a solution.
If there had been some introduction to this, of getting this from the Prince, it would have been great. There are some character flaws and premise issues but it was pretty good. Mostly because this is how my singing affects my family, even though I sing well, and that it continues to confirm my theories.
I agree. Only minutes after watching it, I was shocked at the hate it's getting. Not only does it give us insights into the real Pinkamena (not the sociopathic killer that everyone made her out to be) but it has themes of home and the importance of the listening to your friends, rather than just trying to cheer them up, among other themes. I really enjoyed it.
I think this would have been a good setup to encourage her to take lessons and see a difference in her performance as time progressed. Would show she was serious about it
Pinkie Pie is a pony of extreme emotions. So I don't see her getting depression as serious. (Or I don't see it as meaning it has to be her favorite thing in the world.) It is more if what a normal pony would feel is a four or five in sadness, Pinky feels a 10 or 11. Actually what would have made the episode better for me would have been if at the end the yaks cheer for her. Not because she was good, but because they are happy that a pony is clearly trying to take part in their culture and plays the instrument with such passion. They acknowledge that Pinky isn't good, but everyone has to start somewhere. Maybe ending with the professional yak offering to be mentor and teach her, since she hasn't been able to just learn it on her own without a guide. After all, if she is serious about playing, (and we know Pinky can be serious), I bet she would love the opportunity for guided teachings in private until she is able to share her enjoyment with other ponies at a better skill-level. I actually thought that was the kind of message they would go out on, Pinkie getting a teacher and being all happy smiles all around. With something silly like: "Just because you love something, doesn't mean you can get great at it on your own. But if you just have the courage to ask, you might find a friend or somepony who can teach you how to make your talents shine."
Where was Yona in this episode? I can see her being Pinkie's teacher, or be equally as bad, letting both get along.
No Pinkie was perfect.
Yona would have said so too.
Yak cultur best.
So just because she's a yak, she's gonna be good at music? 😂
Yona is perfect if she plays it with joy.
Not if she plays it with dread.
Yak cultur
Yona would likely know if there was something wrong with the instrument.
Would that not make matters worse?
"Yak instrument perfect, Pink Pony plays perfect."
Options left. Never play that thing again.
I can't help but feel this episode needs a complete rewrite of the script. Then we'd have a story where Pinkie doesn't act like a spoiled brat/substance junkie and the Mane Five use constructive criticism and ask her nicely to practice this new instrument in moderation and in an area where she won't be disruptive. Maybe the fanfic writers can come up with something like what I'm suggesting.
Maybe not a complete rewrite, just some important changes in value. Tell me how this sounds:
_Pinkie Pie’s new “yovidaphone” was a gift from Yigrid, her pen pal in Yakyakistan. As a token of their friendship, Pinkie Pie was determined to teach herself how to play it. Her friends try to put up with her off-pitch music, but eventually give in and softly tell her that it sounds horrible. Pinkie Pie sulks, not just because it means she can’t honor her friendship with Yigrid, but also out of guilt for not realizing the disturbance she caused. She goes to Yakyakistan to return the yovidaphone, but Yigrid assumes she wants to play a duet with her. Pinkie’s friends show up to hear the end of their duet, and while Pinkie’s playing was still pretty bad, they admit she really seems to enjoy it. Yigrid then offers Pinkie Pie yovidaphone lessons, acknowledging a far edge of town where the loud tones don’t annoy anyone. The episode ends with a compromise: Pinkie Pie learns to do what she loves where it won’t disturb others, while her friends learn to be more supportive of her favorite activities._
I think the Doc was trying to gently imply that this epi was "something to learn from"--in terms of "don't make the mistakes this one did."
Or this episode is great as it is.
SwordTune No it’s not.
That sounds like an excellent partial rewrite! Great job thinking up that plot!
This episode frustrated me, but I don’t think its plot was beyond fixing. Tell me how this sounds:
_Pinkie Pie’s new “yovidaphone” was a gift from Yigrid, her pen pal in Yakyakistan. As a token of their friendship, Pinkie Pie was determined to teach herself how to play it. Her friends try to put up with her off-pitch music, but eventually give in and softly tell her that it sounds horrible. Pinkie Pie sulks, not just because it means she can’t honor her friendship with Yigrid, but also out of guilt for not realizing the disturbance she caused. She goes to Yakyakistan to return the yovidaphone, but Yigrid assumes she wants to play a duet with her. Pinkie’s friends show up to hear the end of their duet, and while Pinkie’s playing was still pretty bad, they admit she really seems to enjoy it. Yigrid then offers Pinkie Pie yovidaphone lessons, acknowledging a far edge of town where the loud tones don’t annoy anyone. The episode ends with a compromise: Pinkie Pie learns to do what she loves where it won’t disturb others, while her friends learn to be more supportive of her favorite activities._
That would have been so much better!!!
Nope, you are not taking this too seriously. In fact, you are hitting the nail right on the head. This episode's lesson was a complete miss. The lesson in this episode like this may well lead to narcissism: "As long as _I_ enjoy it, it doesn't matter what anyone _else_ thinks."
Nor are you the only reviewer who was uncomfortable with the lesson. Did you check out MisAnthroPony's review? And allow me to leave the same comment that I left with him:
'Tweak a few lines, and the episode would be perfect.
For example, the ReMane 5 could say to Pinkie, in effect, "We're sorry that we told you to stop altogether. We see how much the yovidophone means to you. Why don't we see if we can find a teacher to help you learn to play it like a master?"
Or the professional could say, "Yovidophone is hard instrument to learn. When yak first pick up yovidophone, yak sounded just like pony sound now. If pony want play yovidophone, yak can teach pony."
Either way, cue Pinkie exploding in happiness, cut to a scene of Pinkie learning how to make good sounds out of it under the tutelage of the yak musician, and roll credits. Boom! The setup isn't wasted.'
I think the problem with the episode's lesson wasn't so much
"As long as I enjoy it, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks"
But rather
"As long as I enjoy it, it doesn't matter how it AFFECTS anyone else"
Impus Tredecim
Regardless of how we word it, I believe that we can both agree that such is not the lesson that kids should be learning. Empathy should temper the urge for enjoyment.
@Impus Tredecim I agree.Even though I enjoy doing something and don't really care what people think about it,it does matter how it affects others.For example,if I sing and a lot of people don't want to hear it,I should stop and if I still feel like singing,go somewhere else.That way both sides are more likely to be happy.
After editing one tiny part:I'm sorry about making a typo in a part of your name.I thought it said Tredicim.
As long as your hobby doesn't hurt or inconvenience others, it really doesn't matter if you're good at it, as long as it makes you happy. This actually a good lesson to teach, but they missed that first part.
What if she just doesn't have the talent for it, Pinkie would never ever ask for someone else to stop doing something if their bad at it. I like the message to accept and support someone's hobby even if they aren't good at it. It's her choice to say whether or not she stops it's not up to someone else to decide that for her.
I’m happy I’m not the only one hating the lesson of Yakity-sax. Here are a few solutions that could’ve fixed this episode:
1. Pinkie pie keeps doing her hobby ONLY where nopony can hear her.
2. In stead of telling Pinkie that she is not good, the main six had to tell her that the noise annoys them.
3. Pinkie could try some teaching from the yaks to actually get better.
4. Pinkie tells her friends that she is offended by their reaction.
There! All the ideas to make this episode actually work!
I think the episode would've been better if pinkie ended up getting Yovidophone lessons from the yak in order of becoming better.
what do you think?
Tamar Weiss Exactly. Maybe they could’ve saved the episode by putting something in there about that.
100% agree
I agree.
Same here
Tamar Weiss YES. THANK YOU.
There were several occasions where it was simply inappropriate to be playing loud music at that time and place. It could have been a master musician, it still would have been a nuisance.
Sure and I won't deny that was one of the flaws of the episode, still I think this was pretty good and I was very worried about this episode after reading the synopsis.
Exactly!
I said this in another reply and I'll say it again: all it would have taken was 30 seconds of Pinkie and her friends talking it over and Pinkie agreeing to enjoy herself in solitude. It would have been a nice way to wrap up the end of the episode. The fact Pinkie did play it inappropriately fits her character: she cares about others (which is why she denies herself pleasure) but can get carried away sometimes. It is utterly ridiculous to say an episode is "the worst" or a "low point" of the season just for a scene that could have improved the episode's lesson, but wasn't needed in the first place.
"Smile" is the song that defines Pinkie Pie. She wants to bring joy and happiness to people. If instead, she was shown how she was taking away people's joy, it may have snapped her out of it. Also, encourage her to pursue learning how to play the instrument. This opens up a new avenue for her to grow, and the others are there to support and encourage her to improve. I think that may have been a better way of presenting it. Amd to tell the truth, I'm surprised Maud or even Mudbrier didn't snap her out of the depression.
As you and Keyframe have done in "A Moment with Dr. Wolf", depression is not something to ignore or try to suppress. However, this seemed like Pinkie was wallowing in self pity. Hum...overall, I liked the episode, but more for the humor than the lesson. The 25th ice cream, the call back to "No Second Prances" and other shows.
There are a couple of other things that pop into my mind, and I may expand on them in the equestria amino.
I agree with you, Dr. Wolf. One thing that rubs me the wrong way is that she was willing to move away from her friends, the ones that she enjoys making them smile and happy, just to seek some kind of fulfillment. To me, it is pretty low on my episode list, rivals with non-compete clause.
I thought it was going to end with Pinkie getting taught by the professional Yak player and actually getting a LITTLE better. Then practicing at home or someplace she won't disturb or disrupt others. AND respecting people's boundaries when playing like, inviting them to be her audience occasionally instead of playing everywhere all the time.
Sure the episode could've ended there, but that wasn't the point of the episode. The point was accepting a friend's hobby even if their bad at it.
I get that... all too well in fact as someone who loves her hobby started off just as bad as Pinkie and still not great, and the only reason I got ANY better is because of support. SO yeah, I REALLY get that. I just mean it could have had her friends accept her hobby and support her, then the Yak come and offer to help or invite Pinkie to come practice with him because there is no end to practicing anything.
Doc is giving Josh a run for his facial expressions!
Sapphire Blade if doc grew a bead and mustache then josh would have some competition
YAAAS!!!
me too
I feel like they attempted to make the point of 'follow your dreams, but not to the point it harms others' with Pinkie Pie playing in the Yak hut. I don't think they did a good job demonstrating that point, but now she has a new place where she can freely and openly play the Yovidaphone without causing discomfort to others. Her secret party planning cave would probably be one, private locales with her friends (if they be in the mood, of course) another, and now Yak-Yakistan. At least, I think hat's what they were trying to establish. Kinda hard to tell; the lesson and it's delivery fell REALLY flat on it's face, I will not deny that.
Three words: Sound. Proof. Room! Seriously, if you KNOW you stink at an instrument, and insist on trying to get better regardless, but DON'T want to bother anyone else, that's the way to go!
ShadwSonic But that’s the thing. She _didn’t_ know she was bad at it... somehow... and when her friends told her as softly as they could, she acted like it was such a big deal, like _throwing parties_ came second in her life to that thing.
Here's the thing: At no point did her friends ever try to get her actual instructions. They went straight to "We gave you a week or so, and you didn't spontaneously improve, so you are forever forbidden from this!"
@@TheKyrix82 They never said the words "forever forbidden", and she caused Fluttershy to be sleep deprived.
@@meowpoint1403 Do you honestly expect Pinkie Pie to pick up on nuance?
@@TheKyrix82 No, but I'm just saying that they weren't intending it that way.
Some other lessons that could have worked for this episode:
-If you love something, but aren't good at it, you can always go find a mentor and share your love and improve.
-Even if you love someone, there is a time and place to play.
I see two mane problems with YS. First, nopony considers a third option. Pinkie might become a good yovidaphone player if she had expert guidance instead of just doing her own thing (I doubt she mastered all those other instruments that way). If she still sucks at it, she can play in private, maybe down in her basement. If ponies can still hear her, the least she could do is not play all over Ponyville, especially by night.
Second, when someone who used to have lots of interests suddenly has only one, I must conclude that she is an addict. Almost as serious as a druggie. The remedy is not to keep feeding her addiction.
The message sent by the ponies to Pinkie was not "Your playing is upsetting us" it was "You should quit playing because you are bad at it". But since it was poorly phrased instead of looking for a quiet place to play, she quit completely.
Here it's the thing... If you exchange the musical instrument for a husband the episode has a lot more sense. Even if its not healthy to obsessed over one single object or person, there will be perioud of mourning and it will be specially hard if its something you love.
Dr. Wolf is amazing he is so respectful when he is analyzing a video and doesn’t crap on it.
I thought the lesson was just because you aren’t good at something, doesn’t mean you have to give it up.
I was screaming," GET HER A TEACHER!" the whole episode.
There is one key difference between 28 Pranks in this plus one element that perhaps wasn't fully telegraphed to the audience. Pinkie's enjoyment of playing isn't contingent on sharing her playing. To further support that she was ignoring Twilight while she was obsessively focused on the yovidophone. One line of dialogue at the end where Pinkie makes a commitment to make an effort to not be so invasive when she plays would have gone a long way.
28 Pranks Later was a non-solo obsession. To prank someone and get enjoyment, Dash needed a person to prank. There is no option to continue her disruptive behavior while not including other characters, while there are several options available to Pinkie to minimize the impact to others and still participate in a hobby she loves.
the thing that bothered me about this episode was Twilight's little "we don't want you wasting your time on something you aren't good at"
As an artist, that personally offended me a little
I get what she was saying but the way it was worded was just awful
Personally, I felt like the lesson is more understandable to those who have loved a particular hobby or interest, but then one day find that their love for the hobby and interest disappears due to discouragement over the lack of success or discouragement from friends and family to give it up. For me, this episode was like a punch in the gut. I remember once wanting to learn to play golf and I developed a huge love and passion for it. It was all I wanted to do or think about. I may not have gone so far as to disrupt my friends and family over it, but it did get to a point that the more I practiced, the less I improved. Then one day it got to a point that I had no choice but to give up. I spend months in a very deep depression because I had poured to much of my time and resources only to come up no real success for my effort. I'm sure Pinkie felt the same way. She poured her heart and soul into trying to be good at playing, hoping she could make ponies smile with her music. In the end, she was only being disruptive to others and had her friends tell her she was no good and to quit. Based on what I've seen from Pinkie, she can be pretty hard on herself when she fails, especially at making others happy. The fact she went Pinkamena made sense to me because when I pour my heart into something and I fail at accomplishing my goals, I feel so discouraged that everything else that I am good at or enjoy feels meaningless. Its no different than the time Rarity lost her mane and suddenly her life's work felt meaningless. Depression is a real thing and its obvious that these two ponies put alot of emphasis on being successful to be happy, any failure causes loss of confidence in themselves.
While I do feel the MLP writers could have come up with a better ending to this episode, I believe lesson is more focused on not letting failure prevent you from enjoying something you love. If the writers had at least shown the rest of the Mane six showing that they found a way for Pinkie to play that wasn't disruptive back in Ponyville. The lesson would have been clearer. As Sweetie Belle once said: "You don't have to be good at something to have fun."
Well you are right in the fact that the moral is very confusing. The episode was fun but the lesson is way too open to interpretation and that is not good at all.
Here is what i take from this episode as a moral: Do what you enjoy doing as long as it doesn't hurt you or those around you in the process. The ending was supposed to make that clear by the fact that the yaks were tolerant about pinkie's bad playing. You just have to find the right ppl to do the things that you like with i guess. It's not fun if others don't enjoy what you enjoy.
I agree that the moral is confusing. Sure, an adult can see what the episode was trying to say, but a child might not. I want a moral-driven cartoon where you DON'T have to explain things to your kids after watching an episode. I do intend to have kids in the future, and I want to make sure they don't see things like this and get the wrong idea.
I don't believe that is what you took from the episode's moral. I believe you already knew that and applied it to the episode's moral.
If I could have tweaked the episode a bit, I would have had the girls (and Spike) say she could get lessons in Yakyakistan. With her taking lessons and learning the yaks way of playing, she wouldn't feel the same passion she did when she was playing her way. Then when Spike and the ponies go up to Yakyakistan to she her preform, she doesn't seem as happy as her playing was getting better. So the gang tells her she can still play the she wants, but incorporate her new skills to be better.
Idk it was sort of based on a story of mine so forgive me if it doesn't realate to everyone.
Felt like for this one that the concern could have been approached differently by the others when it came to Pinkie's playing. Instead of telling her to stop, they could have requested that she not be disruptive with her playing, which is just common decency and a better lesson overall to teach that while you might enjoy something and really want to share it, that there's a time and place for doing so.
The biggest part they left out was to inform pinkie about gaining criticism to get better. Yes i do think living with the yaks would have done her some good. Only because I feel as if she NEEDS some sort of month or year to stay there to learn the instrument shes passionate about. If I were pinkiepie i think i would have been pissed more then depressed.
They had a perfect opportunity to teach young artists about proper criticism. Then at least time loop and montage where she was being TAUGHT and told right from wrong of how to get better by PROFESSIONALS. I hated this episode because i personally am an artist. This doesn't show any thing valuable but a filler episode just to tell kids if your not good don't do anything at all, if your disrupting the peace WHO CARES CAUSE ITS YOUR PASSION.
the lesson of this should have been get better and learn from critics who actually have a good point. Not this bullshit. You have the absolute right to be concerned. I am concerned. This episode was the absolute shit show. If Rarity went through this her dresses would have never gotten better. I feel like she would have been a great aspect of the episode. The episode gets a 0/10 from me. I hate it, I hope it dies. They could have done it better. x-x
Yeah, it sucked. It really pissed me off that her friends told her to quit rather than seek improvement. They didn't even mention the property damage she was causing and suggesting she play privately.
Oh doc, I can tell how hard your holding back. Your a better man than I am that's for sure, because I can only talk about this one in my head with colorful words.
This episode was one of the worst of MLP so far. I've never wanted to create a step by step analysis of how Not to write an episode.
Nextgener me either. Ugh. I REALLY REALLY REALLY dislike this episode. ON A LONG SHOT.
The movie Rainbow Roadtrip can actually explain the reason why Pinkie reacted the way she did. Of course it was pretty out of character for her to go around disrupting the entire town with her Yovidaphone playing and I thought she had learned her lesson in 'A Friend in Deed' so it doesn't really excuse her behaviour beforehand. However, instead of her friends trying to come up with a compromise or a solution that would keep both parties happy they just straight up told her that she's really bad at it and should give up. This ties into the lore of Rainbow Roadtrip where it's explained that when a pony loses hope (such as Pinkie losing hope in becoming better at the one thing she has been hyperfocused on for days or weeks) they become affected by hopeless magic which manifests as symptoms of clinical depression, such as; feeling hopeless or helpless, having no motivation or interest in things (For example how the ponies of hope hollow stopped talking to each other and attending the rainbow festival, which they used to love, mirroring Pinkie's behaviour of not getting any enjoyment out of all of the thing's she usually does.)
Hasbro has stopped working.exe
This is where hasbro has reached their goal and has to come up with friendship problem and then it suddenly turns out somewhat good.
Hopefully, Hopefully...
There will be a Tempest episode and we will get to see her...
Soon...
This would work a lot better if it was Yona Yak had the instrument and was practicing for a Yak holiday.
Also, with Pinkie unable to play the instrument well is odd since she can play 10 instruments at once flawlessly.
I really enjoyed this episode, not as a moral aesop, but as a character and magic study of Ponies. I loved that at first the characters gave Pinkie several "moons" to improve, and to me it was interesting to see that rather than confront Pinkie with the issue of her disruptive public playing (which given the Ponies' tendencies to burst into mass-scale choreographed song and dance routines may not even seem and issue in their minds?), they instead thought that the issue was the quality of her performances, and so to avoid being bad friends by crushing her spirit, they grit their teeth and endured. Up to a point. I was really pleased with Pinkie Pie's consideration of the feelings of her friends when she put on her happy mask, and cried in private. It was alarming to see her withdraw and fall into depression over the loss of her hobby; fascinating, however, was the effect that her depression has on both her aura and her cutie mark's magic. With her natural joy and laughter stifled, rather than giving life to those around her, Pinkie's Earth Pony magic had inverted and sucked the life out of flowers as she passed by! Ponies emotional states have a dire effect on their racial and talent's magical well-beings.
After seeing that the previous montages were over several moons, I assumed that it also took a while for Pinkie's illness to manifest fully enough to the point that her friends could easily recognize that Pinkie wasn't feeling well (Ponies being notoriously less emphatically-attuned/perceptive than humans). After trying to cure/cheer her up (in which I observed that the Ponies took no special notice of Pinkie's manifest symptoms, being surprisingly perceptive as to recognize that her emotional issues were at heart) by reminding her of what she loves (reminding her of her Talents to perhaps revive her magic and thus her spirit), they eventually realized, along with the viewer, that nothing would revive Pinkie's spirit except for her newfound obsession with the yovidaphone. Unlike the viewer, they didn't seem to realize that their unsaid resolution to grit their teeth for the rest of their days would be unnecessary if they suggested that Pinkie play the instrument in private. That being said, I really must admire their willingness to withstand torture for the sake of their friend, and shake my head at their willingness to torture the rest of the public too for the sake of their friend.
Pony culture is quite interesting to me.
I think something that would have helped this episode is just a little bit of extra dialogue after they tell her to keep on playing, something along the lines of:
Fluttershy: But maybe don't play it outside my house at night?
Rarity: Or in my workshop when I'm trying to make dresses.
Rainbow Dash: Or in the middle of a Wonderbolts show.
Applejack: Or in the orchard when I'm... Come to think of it just don't play it anywhere near my apples.
Pinkie: Don't worry. I get it. I won't play it around other ponies.
Twilight: Thanks Pinkie.
Pinkie: Until I've had a chance to really get some practice in!
Everyone else: Urgh...
Pinkie: What?
I feel like after they told her that she was disturbing everyone, after all that depression and then relief that her friends want to see her happy again, that Pinkie will now be more respectful when playing. I know they never said that in the show, but I'm sure since Pinkie sacrificed the hobby for the wellbeing of her friends (and Ponyville), that she'll now practice more privately in consideration of others.
This episodes lesson was to not discourage your friends from doing something that makes them happy, even if they're bad at it. Thats a good lesson since everyone is bad at things when they start, and they need encouragement to motivate them to get better at it over time.
the problem is that when the friend is so bad at the thing they do, that they cause harm to others, then they either need to stop or find somewhere private to train until they no longer cause harm.
Then I'd hate to be your friend, it's not your choice whether that person stops doing the thing they enjoy. So long as their not harmful all you have the right to do is make suggestions or critiques, but it's their decision to keep playing or not and you need to respect that.
Except Pinkie WAS harmful.
She destroyed a dress Rarity was making.
She basically laid waste to an entire harvest of apples.
She was literally causing Fluttershy sleep deprivation.
If you think I would be a bad friend for stopping that, then I am more than happy to be a 'bad' friend.
miniman649 that's just bad writing. The lesson holds, they just put her in absurd scenarios
RavinKaito
the lesson is harmed by her being harmful to others with her hobby and them just being ok with it.
There is a difference between "I want to do this, even if I am bad at it." and "I want to do this, even if my actions causes others direct harm."
This episode portrayed the second version, not the first one. They may have said the first one, but actions speaks louder than words.
I saw a snippet of a screenshot of Pinkamena's return before watching this season (I'm currently catching up) and I was excited to see where it would make a return! Only to get to this episode, and right before they told her I knew this was where she would end up and I was immediately disappointed. I have ADHD, so I know exactly what it's like to have my emotions out of proportion to the situation; however, I felt like this was not an appropriate usage of it. To me, Pinkamena was something used when Pinkie felt like her life was completely falling apart. MadMunchkin's look on Party of One really opened me up to Pinkie's psyche, how it showed how much her friends meant to her, more than anything. Additionally, (while this isn't cannon in the slightest) in one of my favorite fanfiction series, Silent Ponyville, Pinkie gains her straight mane due to having multiple horrific nightmares which she must delve into Silent Ponyville to solve the issue of (seriously, read the series it's great!). Pinkie just seemed a little out of character to me. She's never one to give up this easily, even if she does hold respect for her friends.
Not only that, but this episode could have been better with some line changes. For instance the Yak could have offered to teach her. As someone who wants to become an animator but has low confidence, I understand the part about not caring as long as you love it (this could be more properly applied to other situations such as my nostalgic love for quite a few of the Direct to DVD Disney films I grew up with. However, I know their flaws as well), but I also need to get better. If I don't practice or learn from a professional I won't get any better, and I should want to be better. They also should have addressed the fact that her playing was being disruptive and that she could play elsewhere or at at different time. It really upset me that they didn't address it because, as you mentioned, the writers made it VERY clear that she was being disruptive.
i did not understand why Twilight and the rest, not suggested to have Pinkie take lessons, or ask Yona for advice
Just because Yona is a yak doesn't mean she knows anything about the yyaxdfrjophone. But lessons probably would have been a good idea.
she probably knows more about that thing then any pony
Here's my take on how the story could be tweaked; the instrument was out of tune. After Pinkie's friends tell her about all the damage it's causing, she could answer "It was working just fine in Yakyakistan." Then she goes back and explains the problem to the Masters and they find something simple like a loose valve. She comes back and her playing,while not great, is less destructive. problem solved
You know it's bad when The Doctor himself takes an issue with an episode. You know you fucked up severely (Seriously though, Fuck this Episode!)
no, you are completly right, Dr.wolf. I was listening to this and your opinion on it and it hit me real hard because i'm not the one of the hobbie, a friend is, and believe it or not it's caused me a lot of my own life because i supported it and i allowed it, i'm still trapped on it, and i have been for years. he's passionate about it like no other and is not really that bad at it but the conditions for it are not nearly ideal and i, being a supportive freind, let it consume me too in this delusion of acomplishment and "light at the end of the tunnel". it has made me so sad, so desperate and feel so stupid for not be able to say "no" to him. it really hurts this episode didn't had the balls to call pinky out and in the end rewarded her for it at the expense of everyone around her, even her friends, because that makes me think that i'm actually the odd ball here.
According to this episode. If my hobby is screaming in people's ears with a megaphone, that is okay as long as I really enjoy it.
Who cares if it is disruptive and hurts people ears? I get depressed if I am not doing it, so it is okay.
I agree with much of what you said, I wish they had made the rest of the yak audience wince save perhaps the pro- maybe, have the pro applaud say the instrument is for happiness and offer to teach her some techniques so that others can hear it too. So that it shows that you can do what you love, no matter what skill level you're at, but there is always room for improvement.
“Maybe I’m taking this too seriously “
*somewhere Firebrand feels a disturbance in the Force *
I think the message the episode was goingfor was more along the lines of "You shouldn't have to give up doing something you enjoy just because you aren't good at it" which is actually a good lesson. People shouldn't feel have to feel too ashamed to do something they love. Its ok to draw badly, sing out loud even if you're voice isn't great or dance awkardly etc if that's something you love and especially if forcing yourself to stop altogether brings you down.
The problem was that lesson got muddied by how it played out. The main problems were the fact that Pinkie's playing was so intrusive and that she disregarded every other aspect of herself in favour of one hobby she'd found a passion for. I think just a couple of extra scene's or lines in which Pinkie: a) acknlowledged what she was good at but still felt miserable about giving up something she really loved and b) at the end found a way to play where she wouldn't be bothering anyone else would have gone a long way. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing something you're bad at but love as a hobby so logn as you aren't bothering other people.
There's actually a children's book that does this plot better. It's called Little Boy with a Big Horn.
It revolvesves around a young boy named Ollie who owns a big tuba and plays a song called Asleep in the Deep on it. However, his tuba playing disrupts some people, and they complain to his mom about it. Unlike Yakity-Sax, Ollie is aware that his playing is annoying people, and actually takes a boat out into the ocean so he can play without disturbing anyone. While he's playing the song, it alerts some sailors on a ship nearby to some rocks, and they avoid a collision with them, which makes Ollie a hero.
So yeah, if you want Yakity-Sax done right, read that book.
At the end of the day it's Pinkie pie's choice whether to play it or not, sure her friends can offer their own input but they need to respect that she loves to play it. Could they have advised her not to play when it can be disruptive sure, but look Pinkie has never shrugged off one of the other mane six's hobbies and is always supportive of them. So why should they treat her any different just cause she's doing something they don't like.
I enjoyed this episode, the humor was on point and it avoided doing so many things I was afraid would happen given the premise. Her friends were up front with her about her lack of talent, and they weren't the ones to drive her away from ponyville. It's not the best episode ever but it's a very good one.
She was literally driving people insane. If doing what you love is THAT problematic, then you need to be set straight. I'm surprised they didn't give her the "rainbow dash treatment" and mobilize the entire town to terrorize her into learning a lesson.
SHE SHOULD ASK THE PROFESIONAL HOW TO PLAY THE DAMMMM INSTRUMENT! AAAAAAAAAAAH!
Why am i so mad
Because the professional told her that her shit playing was actually amazing?
Happy masks before he heard her playing they could ask him to teach her how to play
From what they said, it'd have turned out the same anyways. He'd have asked her to play, told her she was great because [nonsense reason given in the episode]
Doc just broke 100,000 subscriptions! Just in time for BronyCon!
So how long before someone replaces Pinkie's playing by the Yakety Sax song?
I'll admit that I'm reaching here.... But I think the idea was that Pinkie is ALWAYS thinking of others and sacrificing for others' happiness and finally, for once, she found something that makes HER happy on a personal level and... her friends wanted her to stop.
This episode was a mixed bag for me, the lesson could have been more clear. But based off of Pinkies reaction I really do understand why Rainbow just pretended to like pies instead of dealing with Pinkies craziness
I found it hilarious! Now we know that Pinkamena has the ability to affect her enviroment whenever she is depressed.
That was a really cool detail! I love it when Pinkie Pie casually warps reality around her.
Don’t take it to seriously, just enjoy the episode.
I disagree about the lesson.
I've dealt with many people with severe depression. That one passion could mean the difference between feeling horrible vs Happy.
Worst episode of season 8 thus far
These were my thoughts EXACTLY.
What I had wanted to see were the other mane 5 approaching pinkie and letting her know she can pursue this passion as long as she’s aware of her surroundings and opts not to disrupt the lives of the ponies around her. Perhaps Twilight could even magic-ex-machina a room in her castle with sound-deadening walls to allow pinkie to practice in an isolated environment.
They just approached it really poorly.
Good stuff doc. It was great to see Pinkamena return and all the bits of continuity. Not sure what the writers were trying to achieve either though. Pinkie's path to extreme depression was not only unbelievable but like you said, she has so much more going on. A friend of mine came up with the alternate concept for this episode and it's pretty good:
"All they needed to do was find a teacher for Pinkie and ask her to practice in private because its noisy and distracting, then encourage her to give a recital at her teacher's discretion. Literally no reason for hurt feelings."
Maybe it was an off day in the studio but the other thing would be to reveal that Pinkie Pie is actually secretly a bit shy and faces that with a vengeance and then some. Know that the Cheese Sandwich episode from way back was a fan fave but wasn't mine because of the plot which felt loose in my opinion - an excuse to use Weird Al I guess.
Overall, season 8 has really been mostly nothing but hits really and it was a matter of time where there was a dud. Oh well but the psychological implications for young audiences could be something to watch. Then again, this episode was a good example of when creatures take things too far and most of us can be guilty of that once or twice in our lives /)
I like this episode and I don't like that other reviewers say she's supposed to stop and only do the things that she knows how to do and can't do anything else and it's a good episode plus she's rarely selfish and she gave it up when she was asked and falls into a depression she was only trying to broaden her horizons
Uh oh... Dr. Wolf's angry
Kane Aquino Not angry. But obviously restraining himself.
Don't worry. He's a civilized wolf. He's not going to go savage or anything.
FusionOmni As long as nobody lets any evil secretary sheep near him with a dart gun.
i still liked the episode but i will admit it was all over the place, in my opinion here's my idea of how i kinda figure this episode would really work
everything at the beginning was fine, pinkie plays badly and everyone tells her that she isnt doing well and right after mention she needs some lessons. when pinkie does get the lesson shes plays tremendously amazing, but the new problem, she overplays and just wont quiet down, annoying everyone around her because of how much they have to endlessly hear the instrument. But the new issue, the rest are scared that they would hurt pinkie's feelings by telling her she is annoying. This would cause Rainbow Dash (i'd see her being the one to first lose her patience, and in which case the only one who is fine with all the music is rarity cause lets be real, she wouldnt have trouble) to flip out and tell pinkie to just shut up, then we can have pinkie move to yakyakistan. This would give us a moral that while others are ok and willing to let you have fun with what you enjoy, but please dont let it control your life and where others may not want to hang out with you because it'll be all you talk about.
Idk if i may have messed up on the moral and just sound like an idiot but it's honestly what i think would make the episode better.
I think the message of the episode would have been better and clearer if she had gone to Yakyakistan to learn to play the instrument properly instead of to just mop around (honestly, I feel like the thing that the "proper" way to play it is to play it anyway that makes you happy was a cop-out). It would send a message that sometimes you are bad at something you love, and if practicing doesn't help you can seek mentoring, you can ask someone that is better than you for help. It is not like sucking forever or dropping it should be considered as the only options, I don't like how it was presented like those were the only options.
I’m so confused @.@ online it said this doesn’t appear until Aug 25 and it’s the last episode of the season. Someone clear this up for me was the one TV and I missed it cause I thought MLP didn’t come back until August!
You know, I'd be interested to see someone with kids in the target age range do something kind of like a "kids react" sort of series with MLP episodes. But more of a conversational type thing. Let the kids watch the episode and then discuss what lesson they took away, without any prompting of a particular interpretation. Sometimes I think we pick up on things that seem obvious to us as older fans that might be a bit subtle for younger viewers. My kids are grown (yeah, I'm like Dustykatt old or older!) and I know when they were around 7 - 10 they didn't really "do" subtle. Pretty much had to spell things out fairly bluntly. Which is also why they tend to crank up character reactions (e.g. Pinkie getting so depressed and moving) just to make it clear to younger kids exactly what she's going thru. I was pretty much the same way at that age. That said, this episode (while pretty funny to me - I laughed a good bit) did seem a bit muddled with the possible messages. So would like to hear what average kids in the target audience see.
Oh, and Rarity's "Applesolutely!" and AJ's little grin at that slip made it all worth it to me. :-D I think Tabitha was indulging in a bit of improv there!
The way I see it, Pinkie realizes that she isn't making anyone happy anymore due to her not being good with the instrument. And not making anyone happy is the worst thing that can happen with her and it would really make her feel awful. It's similar to what happened in Party of One when she assumed that her friends don't want her around anymore.
To quote the late Robin Williams, "I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that."
I think that quote fits Pinkie Pie to a tea and this episode oddly enough does cement that imo.
Pinkie spent most of her foalhood alone with her family on the rock farm, there was no happiness to behold. When Pinkie smiled for the first time when she saw the Sonic Rainboom, it gave her life a new meaning and she desired to share it with others because she doesn't want anyone to experience the same loniness and sadness as she did when she was a filly.
Yes, the moral could've been worded a lot better, all it would've taken is for one of Pinkie's friends to say "We understand that you are passionate about the instrument, maybe you can have one of the yaks teach you how to play." That would've made the moral's presentation stronger.
Yeah Pinkie leaving Ponyville is extreme, but this isn't the first time that something like this has happened, she almost left Ponyville in Pinkie Pride after she forfeit the Goof Off.
Could the presentation have been better? Yes, but I actually do think that this is a good episode (as well as a personal one) despite its flaws
I got some enjoyment and laughs out of the episode, but Pinkie was being REALLY unreasonable here.
Pinkie was ACTIVELY being an EXTREMELY socially ignorant annoyance, who, by this point in the show, REALLY showed have known better.
And when she gets told to PLEASE stop, she does, but goes into an EXTREME DEPRESSION.
NOTHING, not even *THE THING SHE BASED HER LIFE AND JOB AROUND*, PARTYING. HOW!?
Celestia gave up on her dream, and didn't be like "I'M the bucking PRINCESS OF THE SUN!! I DESERVE to be an actress, no matter HOW awful I am!!".
Honestly, the episode would have had a MUCH better, and more MATURE moral, if the Yaks hated her playing, for being so awful, and they had to flee.
The Mane Six apologise, and Pinkie sadly says that she truly will never be a good player of the instrument.
The Mane six comfort her, and Twilight says that it will be ok, and that they will help her enjoy life again.
*Either Twilight says:*
*(A):*She says she knows a therapist called Peaceful Mind, who can help them work through their feelings, and that they will be there for them. Eventually, after a long amount of time, she is back to her normal self again.
I KNOW it's REALLY depressing for an MLP ending, and it could ALSO send out it's own unfortunate implications, but it is a harsh truth of life, that sometimes you DO need to give up on something, because you either can't do it well, or are actively harming those around you.
Considering how long MLP has been going on for, the now more grown up audience, should be able to handle more grown up morals.
*OR:*
*(B):* Twilight says that as long as she PROMISES to never play it again, untils she gets really good at it, from somehow getting practise from a teacher, then she can continue to pursure her hooby. With the extra catch, that she MUST also not abandon every other part of her life, OR go into a depression where she refuses to do anything, even her JOB, if she ends up being unable to ever get better.
And also that she can't play this music, regardless of quality, at the worst possible times, which she will be informed of.
This here moral shows that sometimes you need to get professional help with a hobby, in order to become better at it, and that you should really not practise things like music, that are disruptive to others, while near others. ESPECIALLY if you're bad at it.
The lesson this episode basically states is this. Ahem. If you're doing something that's destructive, disruptive, and even borderline dangerous, but you enjoy it, then keep doing it because it makes you happy. I'm sorry, but no. Just. No! Let's say I'm a mural artist. I got permission to paint a mural on this one abandoned wall, but I love painting murals so much that I just start painting random murals on as many building in the city as I can find. Unfortunately, I'm not a very good artist , and several of the buildings owners tell me to remove the murals I make. But painting murals makes me sooo happy. Well, according to this episode, not only should I not remove the murals, but I should paint more, despite it not being my property and despite others voicing their displeasure, because "it makes me happy". You know what happens now? I get arrested. FOR VANDALISM! A crime that Pinkie committed on numerous occasions in this episode (the most notable case is the apple orchard thing). I know it's slightly different then that, but she's still disturbing the peace and causing destruction, and the worst part is she never makes up for any of her actions. I agree, this episode is garbage!
I can’t help but think they just made the episode just so they could make the pun in the title
I feel like this would have been a great place for a compromise moral, or a half-resolution like in Episode 3. "Do what you love *but* be mindful of the ponies around you" doesn't sound like an unreasonable caveat even for a kids' show. The way they handled the lesson here reminded me a lot of the show's early seasons, where they would sometimes seem to get unfortunate implications by trying to simplify a moral to the point that the show's intended audience (at the time) could understand it.
Thanks for pointing it out I was going to explain my opinion on the controversial lesson in this episode and when rainbow whent overboard with her prank's but because I don't have the proper technology or help to continue making videos I have been stuck with only one review wich sucks but personally I don't understand why they are contradicting the lesson in other episodes tho its good to have pride in something you like but in my opinion if that something affect other people's lives then that is a different story it is going overboard
I can't believe this what I'm seeing in your interview but it got our imagination combination instrument like ours
I think my deal with this episode is that Pinkie has a "scoutch" of manic-depressive bipolar disorder. Anything that seems to set someone off does towards Pinkie not matter the severity. I would even go as far to say there is a hint of delusions of persecution through schizophrenia with that pink floofball. Think back to Party of One, something so small set her off to where she even created hallucinations. The writers didn't pull it off super well, but I can't imagine our pink ponk is completely stable, and we really saw that attitude shine through after Twilight's little discussion (which could've been handled SO MUCH BETTER than "you don't want you wasting your time on something you are not good at" Some princess of Friendship) and her attempt to act cool about it despite the heavy heartbreak. Probably why Pinkie Pie was such a great choice for stories like Cupcakes and RTI. Then again, what do I know? These are simply cartoon horses in a cartoon land and stuff. (Still waiting for that Granny Pie reveal though. I'm thinking we need Betty White for this role.)
was expecting Starlight to appear
She doesn’t have to appear every episode. Not that I have anything against her, but she appears often enough to me.
AceRay 24 it's like what DWK once said, if it's one of the main cast that has a problem aka the Mane 6, then Twilight shows up, if its anyone else that has a problem aka secondary characters (Maud, Cmc's, heck prob even Discord and etc), then Starlight appears xD that guy is a prophet lol
Can this episode be non-cannon please.
I figure that the lesson was, "Sometimes you just need to deal with crap that comes your way." Though, the better option would have been making a magical silencing room, like what Starlight Glimmer did to Trixie back in To Where and Back Again. There was an option to have a more mutually beneficial ending to the episode for all of the Mane 6. On the other hand, doing that may give the wrong impression that there is always compromise. Sometimes there just isn't room for compromise, and I appreciate that this is something that is rarely explored.
It does bother me that Pinkie was taken to such extremes where she was more of a drug addict versus just a bad player. Being that it was so overblown in this one episode which likely took place in a very short amount of time, Pinkie needs professional help for the addiction. Her friends came off as enablers to a bad habit. It was badly played out.
Writers messed this episode up
Orrrr... what if it wasn't writers, I mean they could write something like "Pinkie interrupting everyone" and the animators took it too far
Good setup, bad moral, ignores character growth entirely.
Why not have Pinkie go to Yakyakistan to learn how to play it properly, and she gets so into her lessons cause she wants to share what she got to experience.
This was an opportunity to learn more about Yak culture.
Something I just thought of is maybe a reason why the Mane 6 didn't try to find a Yak or someone else to help Pinkie play better. In "Horse Play" Twilight tried everything she could think of to get Celestia to act better, including getting her acting lessons, but nothing worked on her.
So maybe that's why the Mane 6 didn't try to get Pinkie lessons: because of the call-back to that episode, fans might think that, if they DID, and it worked for Pinkie, it might look like Pinkie can be taught to do something that she started off awful in, but Celestia can't be taught. And odds are, some fans would complain about that too, so...
Could not have said the worries any better myself. The show seems to have a habit of using extremes rather then finding the healthy middle ground.
I can understand what Pinkie dealing with in this episode. Just because you dont good at something, that does not mean you not enjoy why you bad at it and you should not doing it stop doing what you like even if your best friend say "you should just stop. You suck at it". I maybe bad at throwing dart but i still enjoy it even i got the lowest point...
the problem is that Pinkie was literally destroying others fun and disrupting the livelyhood of others by doing what she found fun.
You can do what you like, even if you are bad at it, but if you playing darts constantly gets others hurt because you might suck at throwing them, then you should find somewhere private and play.
miniman649 She was playing privately in a forest at the beginning of the episode.
and for the rest of the episode, she was playing all around town and outside Fluttershy's house in the middle of the night.
And that was BEFORE they told her to stop.
she was being inconsiderate towards others with her music and took no hint when they were running away screaming everytime she came around.
miniman649 To be fair regarding the ponies of ponyville they panic, scream & run around a lot. And The ponies of equestria are kinda nuts/rude themselves *Looks at "Fame and Misfortune" & multiple other episodes*. Haha All of them need therapy.
I'm going to guess why Pinkie played music at the scenes below tell me if you think any of them are possible.
As for playing an instrument in the middle of town & at a park. I can't really say anything about that since its common for musicians to practice at parks & musicians do play on street corners/certain areas (idk what would be considered a street corner in ponyville).
Should she have been at Fluttershy's place in the middle of the night to play her instrument? Probably not (Unless she was there to try to help the animals & Fluttershy achieve even better sleep or something of that regard but thats just a possibility).
I can't really say where she was going regarding Applejack's farm it kinda looked like she was going to hillish area or maybe further out of town. Was that road built to run through sweet apple acres to somewhere like the pie delivery road in "Over a barrel"or does it just exist for the orchards? (And unfortunately pinkie had her eyes closed while bouncing through she never saw the damage she was doing to Applejack's farm).
The stadium the wonderbolt's perform at seems to have no rules at all which really isn't a good thing. That doesn't mean she should have been playing there though (The only guess i have is that she wanted to support rainbow through her playing instead of doing a normal cheer).
Im guessing Pinkie asked rarity if she could play some music for her while she worked & since rarity was trying to be supportive she said yes. (I looked back at the Fluttershy scene & saw Pinkie had shut her eyes missing fluttershy shaking her head).
P.s I just remembered Blue note playing in the middle of town & randomly at Sweet apple acres i guess you really can play music anywhere.
let's go over each of those instances them.
Park: She should have seen ponies less than positive reactions and taken that as an indicater that her music was not welcome, nor wishes around.
At Fluttershy at night: If pinkie thinks that kind of music helps ponies, much less animals, sleep, then she is a moron with capital M and deserves to have her instrument taken away.
Applefarm: She was running on a path true, but she should have noticed that her music was literally destroying their apples and harming the farm. She is literally a threat to the apple-family at that moment.
Stadium: again, if she had paid attention, she would have seen she was annoying everyone around her and harming the wonderbolt's performance and therefor harming the job of one of her friends.
Same with Rarity. She is harming her work.
All of this only indicates two things: Either Pinkie does not care for her friends work and is happy to destroy it, or she is an idiot who does not notice what is right in front of her.
The fix for this story is so obvious that I'm surprised the writers didn't see it. If as the story indicated, Pinkie is self-taught, then she might actually be doing something wrong which a professional youvidaphone player (I hope I spelled that correctly) could help her correct. Change the last scene around where the professional yak player simply shows Pinkie that she has to align the pipes correctly and her enthusiasm is suddenly rewarded by a quality of music which every pony can easily enjoy. Problem solved....New lesson to be learned (Never be afraid to ask for help from those who know how.) I think this would have been a much better lesson, and you could have kept all the over the top reactions since, by nature, Pinkie does tend to be over the top.
I hate how Pink's character was treated just to teach a lesson. A lesson which, isn't that good. She was blind to her friend's discomfort and, when she moved away, she was choosing her hobby over their friendship. Pinky is always trying to make everyone else smile and is attuned to their feelings. Here, everything went down the drain to teach a "My hobby, as horrible as it is, is something I'll pursue regardless of what everyone else thinks or how it affects them, and my friends should support me."
I thought that having this be the return of Pinkamena was a bad thing, when we saw Pinkamena in season 1 it was because Pinkie thought her friends abandoned her and her hair straightened and her colors darkened, but in this episode a hobby made her go even farther gone she became a mix of Pinkamena and being discorded, it just looks like it's falling down stairs in development
Only just now watched the episode. My opinion: I actually found it to be really funny and enjoyed the whole ride. The message is kinda muddled, but I can look past that to enjoy an episode that’s just trying to entertain.
Though, on that message...Whisper of the Heart did it better.
I feel like the depressed at everything trope was a little worn and cliche. I think what could have at least helped that along was seeing some of Pinkie's enjoyment returning, but then a brief reminder somewhere along the way brings her back down. It would have been similar to dealing with a low point of depression and trying to get yourself out of it, but not being entirely successful at first. Which would have been a neat way of showing that sometimes people can't always bounce back so fast, even those among us we see as the happy people.
Another possibility for resolution could have been seeing the rest of the mane six attempt to play the instrument, trying to understand what Pinkie finds to be so enthralling about it. They then find that none of them can really manage to get anything close to what Pinkie can produce. It would change the context of what counts as 'good' to them, making both Pinkie's ability and that of the professional that much more awe inspiring.
I think that would go towards a lesson about finding natural affinity for a skill, but having others tear you down for pursuing it, even with good intentions.
Love the pondering expressions in the beginning, that was funny! ^^
One way I think this could have been better is that when Pinkie's friends tell her she's not very good at playing the yovidaphone, she decides to go to Yakyakistan to find a teacher. Said teacher is a brutal perfectionist who puts Pinkie down for the tiniest mistake. This would make Pinkie's depression much more believable. The episode could have ended with Pinkie, with her friends' encouragement, proving her teacher wrong and becoming a master yovidaphone player which would teach a much better lesson, that you can accomplish anything as long as you stick to it and just because someone says you'll never be good at something doesn't make it true.
I believe the message was meant to be more around the lines of "If something brings you joy, than continue it, even if you are not great at it." Although, I agree that it comes off as what you had interpreted.
You have a good point!! I also saw what lesson the writers were trying to go with, but it WAS an odd way to end the episode, and maybe not exactly the right message overall.
I see a lot of people saying this was the worst episode, and... okay, yeah, I can tell this one didn't have as much thought put into it as others. But I don't want to say that it was stupid to make it in the first place, because I can tell the writers are just at a loss for ideas, and just wanted to get SOMETHING out there. They DID take the time to make all of this, and I really appreciate THAT... it just wasn't my personal favorite. :1
They basically turned Pinkie into Season 6 Spongebob
Sorry but I think she was very much in character. Remember she loves Yakyakistan and has a very good relationship with them. So it is very likely she'd get excited over a musical instrument of there's. I can also buy her getting depressed when she stops playing it, she really enjoyed doing it so to learn she's not good at it was just a massive blow. I can relate because I feel that way about my drawings sometimes.
RedfurredPikachu ok but that just sounds like the sheer level of annoyance that Spongebob reached in Season 6
Yeah, but I doubt that a musical instrument would suddenly be her single source of joy, and that if she couldn't play it, she would abandon her friends, family, job, and role as a party pony and leave the country. I don't see how that could be in character. They didn't even bother trying to explain her overattachment to the instrument
Well, she was in a romantic relationship with a lifeless object...
Not even Maud went so far.
This episode...hurt me. Deeply. Pinkie is my favorite character, and she was just...out of character the whole way through. I feel like this episode would've been way better if Pinkie ran away to try and, say, learn from a yak master (or Yona) instead of drown her sorrows. Maybe pull a Party of One where RD's chasing her all around trying to find her training grounds but she evades her. All so she's not making other ponies suffer when she plays. And then maybe she and the yak teacher do a duet!
Or maybe just, Pinkie plays her heart out at the yak hut and all the yaks actually get angry but the Mane Six stand with her, Pinkie says her lesson...and the yaks destroy anyway, they run away in the balloon, and Pinkie "wah wah waaaahs" with her yuvidiphone as the show irises out.
it looks good and i am looking forward to see the ep.
I liked this episode, but I guess I didn't overthink it. I thought the INTENDED lesson was really good, to keep doing what you're passionate about even if you're bad at it. It's a really rare moral to see because usually the moral would be "practice makes perfect" or end up being a big joke in the line of "turns out she was playing well all along, yak music acquired taste." In reality, you may never, say, become an Olympic figure skater or have your art displayed in a famous museum or, more relevantly, sell 1 million copies of your yovidaphone album, but that doesn't mean you should give up as long as it makes you happy. Also I really enjoyed the return of Pinkemena without the crazy. But I can see how the lesson could have been handled a whole lot better, what with how Pinkie was actually being a huge public nuisance and then took having this new hobby criticized way too personally.
BASICALLY you see a lot of people losing motivation to do the things they enjoy because "oh, I wasn't any good at it" or "oh, my friends didn't really understand" but those things don't mean you should give up and become someone who goes from their boring dayjob straight to the couch with no interesting hobbies.
I think it's just one of those episodes that you just can't place it's meaning and how well it was delivered in a neat box of good MLP episodes and sub-par ones. It has it's merits of continuing to do what you love but if it comes to the expense of your peers not being able to enjoy your company because of what you do then maybe you need to think about taking a step back, listening to other's advice, and either practice minimally or turn your attention to learning how to do something better before just jumping in.
In a way this episode can speak to a lot of us trying new things and feeling like, while we think we're great, others constantly point out our flaws. Though in these cases those are more suggestions on how to get better or to help us see that we have some skill but perhaps the medium we're pursuing should shift to a different one.
Sorry if this doesn't make too much sense but another great video review Dr. Wolf, thank you
It was a good lesson tho irl I'm good at sewing but it kinda doesn't effect my family except my uncle since he kinda think is a excuse not to go nowhere
*sees thumbnail* Oh shit, Dr Wolf is angry.
And I don't disagree at all. This episode was *bad,* not just in execution but in moral. This could do legitimate harm to its impressionable target audience.
They didn't resolve the issue at all! Pinkie is still going to disturb other ponies when she plays, regardless of what the Yaks think of her music. At the very least, the rest of the Mane 6 should have been explicit with Pinkie Pie about not playing when other ponies are trying to work or sleep. Or maybe they could have gotten Pinkie a teacher to help her get better at the whatever-phone. But the solution they found was not really a solution.
If there had been some introduction to this, of getting this from the Prince, it would have been great. There are some character flaws and premise issues but it was pretty good. Mostly because this is how my singing affects my family, even though I sing well, and that it continues to confirm my theories.
I'm starting to get the feeling that at least half of the episodes in this season have been real busts...
I think it’s an interesting episode to watch
Fletcher Gilmore I agree it was definitely interesting.
I agree. Only minutes after watching it, I was shocked at the hate it's getting. Not only does it give us insights into the real Pinkamena (not the sociopathic killer that everyone made her out to be) but it has themes of home and the importance of the listening to your friends, rather than just trying to cheer them up, among other themes. I really enjoyed it.
I think this would have been a good setup to encourage her to take lessons and see a difference in her performance as time progressed. Would show she was serious about it
Pinkie Pie is a pony of extreme emotions. So I don't see her getting depression as serious. (Or I don't see it as meaning it has to be her favorite thing in the world.) It is more if what a normal pony would feel is a four or five in sadness, Pinky feels a 10 or 11.
Actually what would have made the episode better for me would have been if at the end the yaks cheer for her. Not because she was good, but because they are happy that a pony is clearly trying to take part in their culture and plays the instrument with such passion. They acknowledge that Pinky isn't good, but everyone has to start somewhere. Maybe ending with the professional yak offering to be mentor and teach her, since she hasn't been able to just learn it on her own without a guide. After all, if she is serious about playing, (and we know Pinky can be serious), I bet she would love the opportunity for guided teachings in private until she is able to share her enjoyment with other ponies at a better skill-level.
I actually thought that was the kind of message they would go out on, Pinkie getting a teacher and being all happy smiles all around. With something silly like:
"Just because you love something, doesn't mean you can get great at it on your own. But if you just have the courage to ask, you might find a friend or somepony who can teach you how to make your talents shine."
I was honestly hoping that Yona would show up in this episode and tell Pinkie that she's terrible