It kinda bugs me that everyone seems to think that the main six part of this story served no purpose. was everyone blind to the alliteration fact that it was suppose to be, in contrast, the exact opposite of what starlight was going through. the main six have a perfect friendship while starlight was struggling with trixie. please tell my I am not the only one who saw this ...
With the immediate opposing dialogues in the later half of the episodes, I thought it was pretty obvious. But still, I felt their story wasn't as strong as Starlight and Trixie's.
It's not quite the same. It would have had a better tie-in, if the Mane Six were dealing with being angry with each other and handling the argument right, or, if their adventure was similar to what Starlight and Trixie were doing. Really, the only back and forth was in bits of dialog, but without related context. The B-plot had no bearing on the main plot whatsoever. It was just, there.
I think the writers are FINALLY giving the background characters more of an spotlight because there is simply little to no more life lessons to be learned from the mane six, that and a change of cast is nice from time to time.
I hope this is the case, I kinda want LESS of the Mane Six and MORE of the background Characters with each season, I mean most of my favourite episodes of Season 6 focused LESS on the Mane Six: Gauntlet of Fire, No Second Prances, Dungeons & Discord, Times they Are A Changeling, and the Finale Two-Parter, these were Great episodes
Plus you're right about the life lessons comment, the Mane Six have lost that... spark that made them special, they need to be put into Situations that challenge them; like guide somepony else, or giving other side characters more expanded roles: Spike, Trixie, Thorax, Luna, Celestia, Discord, Derpy, Lyra, Bon Bon, Coco Pommel, Cheese Sandwich, Diamond Tiara, Gilda, Gabby, Ember, Moondancer, Iron Will, etc. SERIOUSLY THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!
They're no longer as interesting as they used to be, they're appearing in more episodes that really don't require their pressence at all, and in some cases; they're learning past lessons all over again but with slightly modified circumstances. Example; 28 Pranks Later; is pretty much Mysterious Mare-Do-Well, slightly different situation, same lesson, and Cart Before the Pony and Somepony to Watch Over Me is another good example, they've become, for lack of a better word 'Overpowered' or 'Flawless', like Superman; Overpowered and without fault; therefore bland and uninteresting
I think the joke with the song would have landed better, if they hadn't shown the entire song. It was fine as a punchline, but too generic for the show proper. It reminded me of those music videos that came out before Rainbow Rocks (not the ones after, those were great). They should have started singing, cut away to the main plot, then cut back at the last verse, just in time for the joke.
would have made it funnier indeed XD kinda like the one time applebloom starts her song and is interrupted that they don't have time for a song right now XD
"The Starlight I love is passionate, lively, and yeah, sometimes angry. Those are my favorite parts of you. That and the fact that you forgive me every time." ~Trixie... just perfectly described what I love about Starly. My waifu. Back off, Trixie! Aren't you supposed to be with Seth? And not with Starly?
I actually connected with this episode pretty well. It came out around the time I was sort of fighting with a friend, and was trying to keep my feels bottled up sort of like Starlight. Seeing her going through those frustrations helped me realize what I was doing, so I could release the pressure before something bad happened.
To be fair, as someone who was put in Starlight's shoes, I know just how it feels and am glad for this episode. I wish they did more with her anger and really focused on it vs bouncing around, because the lesson is very important. This one had several lessons actually: If you bottle up your emotions they'll get stronger and just burst, and don't be afraid to be mad at someone in fear you may lose them, and if you never tell them they'll never learn and understand. Communication is healthy. I had a pretty similar situation to this because I had people I grew so emotionally close to, I was terrified of losing them, so any emotional hurt I had I kept to myself. Because people never knew nor found out, it caused me to, surprise, blow up at someone more than I should have. You get afraid to tell people you're not happy, and especially from experiences where the other gets upset with you and/or abandons you. You don't learn to deal with it in a healthy way, it damages you, so this episode really hit me enough that I wanted to see someone say something about it.
Also one more lesson. This episode shows you should not be afraid to talk about your problems with your friends to them and that your true friends will listen, understand and forgive you for getting mad while also changing themselves so that they would not make the same mistake again. It's what I love the most about this episode because I've faced problems like this in real life where I have issues telling my friends how I really feel sometimes if not all the time
i agree with pretty much all your points doctor, how ever you didn't touch on the one thing that really made this episode, or it did at least for me. they finally put some explanation of how magic works, only a small but but its something to work off of.
That idea about the primary cast playing mentor to the secondary cast sounds genius and reminds me of a similar idea I've been thinking about since season 5 began airing. With Twilight and her friends spreading the magic of friendship across Equestria, that opened up a lot of new opportunities to have the secondary characters take the spotlight and have the Mane 6 and Spike help overcome problems and strengthen bonds with them (episodes such as "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone", "Make New Friends, But Keep Discord", and "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" come to mind, along with some season 6 episodes like "Viva Las Pegasus" and "The Times, They Are a Changeling".) To me, that's a sign that the writers realize that the target audience is growing up and the show is growing up with them. It's like the show is evolving in that sense.
Yeah, this was a great ep, not best of the best, but solid. Also you left out the best line of the ep "The Starlight I love is passionate" Very good example of the effect and why Trixie could be so... Trixie. But also, I have another idea on top of that. She's testing her limits. Trixie has never been close to somepony before, is new to all this. Part of it might have been her simply testing her limits with Starlight, see how far is 'to far' maybe even subconsciously trying to test how true a friend Starlight is. Poking her to see the reaction. Trying to get reassurance that Starlight won't just give up on her easily etc.....
Also, you just know the shippers went absolutely nuts at that line. I do like that Starlight has taken it on herself to mentour Trixie and teach her to do real magic. Makes me wonder why if Trixie has never undergone any formal magic training in the past and if this means that all unicorns have the potential to do real magic like this.
The writers knew what they were doing with that line. Much like Tia's "There's no wrong way to fantasize." And while I doubt every unicorn could learn everything, Do think it does work mostly like Lauren said from the start. That it's more like a form of art then anything else. It's like learning to paint, or draw, or something like that. Something anyone could study and work on, but some will simply have a more natural gift for.
You know, this episode made me realize that I have never seen a series where the main characters have maxed out there main character status before. There's nothing left for the Mane 6 to do. They have reached self-actualization. They can't grow anymore. Maybe passing the torch to other characters is a necessity and not an experiment.
I agree; I'd like to see Trixie interact with MORE characters, like Spike, CMC, Big Mac, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, I'd love to see how Trixie handles the CMC in a tough situation, and how would Trixie react personality-wise; would she be AS snarky or less, MORE understanding and gentle? I'd love to see Trixie and the CMC lost in the Everfree Forest and Trixie has to adapt to the situation while keeping the CMC safe
Big Mac takes an interest in magic and Trixie offers to teach him what she knows while Applejack tries to convince Big Mac to stop wasting his time because of HER dislike of Trixie and because Big Mac is an Earth Pony
This episode really took me to a new impression on Trixie and Starlights relationship. And how they interact. It'd almost like Starlight is more of a mother figure to Trixie and is trying to help her as well trying not to hurt her. Starlight should have talked to her in self of bottling up her emotions. And I would love to have more these secondary character episodes it definitely brings a much more insight and character development for the mane six and then supportive roles. I hope to see more.
I really do like the focus on secondary characters, as we got a surplus of Mane 6 centered episodes. While I didn't mind the Mane 6 being included, I wish they didn't get a _lot_ of screentime. While I do like the contrast between their relationship and the one Trixie and Starlight have, I believe the lessons that were learned from both Trixie and Starlight deserved a little more screentime. I also wish the song was cut out, or at the very least, just shortened it a bit. I admit, I audibly groaned when the song came on and to me it overstood its welcome.
I think that this episode should have been the last one of the series, because I had gotten a lot of nostalgia from this episode, especially when it came to this episodes song "Best Friends Until the End of Time". That song was almost nothing but a all the past seasons and episodes. The seasons changing along with the clothes that they wore was in remembrance to the seasonal episodes (running of the leafs, winter wrap-up, Tanks for the memories, etc.) The Apple Cart for all the Sweet apple acres episodes, the ship ( I mean come on I can't be the only one that seen "Pony Point of View" on that one. But nostalgia, aside the bottled up was a good thing to show since many kids, teens and even adults suffer from the same thing, how ever I think there was another lesson here the was not noticed too much, prioritizer. Trixie wanted to show off her skills that she had so much so that she tried to run before she knew how to crawl (magically speaking) and even the Main 6 had a similar problem they did the song and dance before they beat the record... or maybe I am reading too much into this and I should just say read the instructions first (you know, look before you leap) :)
This episode hit real close to home while also reminding me of a portrayal of Celtic mythology from one of my favorite movies I have experienced and continue to experience consistent mental breaks that stem from internalizing and not expressing thoughts and emotions it also reminded me of the owl witch from the movie song of the sea while the main focus of the story there is the mythology of selkies the owl witch is a great antagonist who places both her own emotions and others emotions in bottles though when she takes from others she takes so much that they turn to stone though this reminder kinda took my focus off the episode and led to me researching more about the mythology of my ancestors and making up a hypothetical version of mlp that draws almost solely from Celtic mythology with a bit of Finnish, Swedish, Irish and Scottish mythology thrown in
I'm wondering that as well, Dr. Wolf. After what we got so far, one has to wonder if this might lead up to something involving Chrysalis' victims and having panic attacks at her returning and outsmarting them a third time. If the focus is on characters like the Royal Family, Trixie, and others this season, it is a nice chance of pace from focus on the Mane Six and repeatedly making the Princesses the ones needing to have their sorry flanks rescued every time a Big Bad shows up to threaten Equestria.
This is the second time MLP has utilized psychokinesis (the first time being the Tantibus incident and seems like they had a much better idea of what they were doing this time. Is it possible that the writer of this episode took a page out of Goldenfox's book?
Funny how much how things have changed since my childhood. Back in the 80's, shows like the Care Bears and Get Along Gang, they were all pro bottling up your anger.
You got to make a video about why more "showing" than "telling" is such a big deal to us in MLP. The show is targeted for the younger audience who are not as critical as the adults who watch the show. My young niece doesn't even complain about how the lessons are delivered in episodes that people have issues with.....(you know which ones I'm talking about!). Think on that. Because I can't understand how this flow of children storytelling irritates some people.
It's just not a good habit. In all cases (kid or adult) writers should try to "show" and not "tell." It's a basic storytelling element, especially in scripts. Children may not care, but in all honesty, children watch a lot of things whether it's done well or not. That doesn't mean they don't understand the difference, and yes there is a difference in quality when you "show" more than "tell." I saw lots of things as a kid that I enjoyed. But the stuff I keep coming back to (even now as an adult) is able to hold my attention visually.
What about when you're telling a story about having Faith in your friend? Rainbow Dash's friends' "controversial" methods in that episode did not offend me because I saw right there that they had FAITH in Rainbow Dash's ability to learn her lesson in the scenario they set up. Yes, seeing her friends talk to her first and failed would validate their reasons to demonstrate humility and modesty in the form of "You Know Who". But I believe if they went in that direction, would that make it too obvious to the audience in the middle to climax of the episode that her friends are "You Know Who"? Did RD resent her friends after all of that? NO. Did she learned her lesson? YES. When I watch MLP, I don't dive into them with high expectations like everyone else. Whether I'm aware of a "showing" than "telling" moment or not, I don't let that stop me from enjoying a episode.
this episode I can relate, I have a roommate who has an ego, I bottled up my anger towards her because of how she treated me, my kindness was taken advantage of and it hurt, my parents are mad at her for leaving me with junk she left behind, not only that my anger, frustration and other feelings were bottled up because of what she did over the years...I can relate to starlight at this point about bottling up her emotion
Something I don't quite like about the episode is... well... Why does **suddenly** emotions are visible/can manifest like it did for Starlight's anger ? 'This' time, but not any other time ? Does is happen to other ponies as well ? How often does it happen ? Are there ''emotional catastrophes'' happening elsewhere that we aren't aware of ? ... and perhaps most importantly/specifically... Why 'her', and why 'now' and not before ? I mean, if they **previously** had made her cast a spell on herself to ''help block emotions/anger'' and then she had to bottle the excess(as a side effect, perhaps), that would have solved all of the 'holes' they created in their logic.
Not sure about you, but I was strongly reminded of Twilight bursting into flames with anger or frustration. Knowing that other powerful unicorns have emotional connections to their magic was an interesting bit. As to why the clouds were problem now and not before? Well, Starlight mentioned that it was because she usually used so much magic (enslaving villages or fighting Twilight or saving Equestria) that there was no spillage. The problem of manifest emotions was specifically because Starlight is so powerful, but not using strong spells with regularity, that there is magical excess.
I really liked the jokes about the Mane six's penchant to singing songs. I think the staff are sort of moving focus to the other characters because they want to keep it more fresh and probably because even if they love writing about the mane six it is nice to change it up every now and then. There's also the fact that if they give more focus to the other characters then they can do more with them in stories. Imagine having Trixie interact more with say, AJ. That has some fun possibility and now that they are having Trixie around more such an interaction will feel more natural and less forced, if that makes sense.
i don't know if the mlp crew is planning to switch main characters to a different set eventually. it makes sense since the mane 6's character arcs are being achieved so introducing new characters with their own character arcs would make it easier for the show to continue on with new characters, but still having the original mane 6 appear to get updates on what they are doing to.
What I want from the shift to secondary characters is for them to flesh them out so that they can get their own spin-off show. Can you imagine if Starlight gets enough fleshing out that when she feels she is ready to leave Ponyville to go to her own town, not the one she took over, but some place new, that that is when she gets her own show. My Little Pony, Guardians of Harmony. (I know that name is already used for something else, but it's a great name that deserves to be a show, dammint!) She could get her own cast of characters to call her friends, which would include Trixie and company, and fight for friendship and stuff. Imagine 2 pony shows running after each other, then sometimes their stories would intersect for a 2 parter which starts with the parent show, then concludes with the spin-off show, or vice-versa, or even ones where the same story happens but is told from different perspectives in both shows. I would love for that to be the case.
I admit I do bottle up my emotions (specifically sadness and anger) and I am scared about what will happen when my anger does finally explode out. I want to find a safe way to let it out, but I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
Sarah, I am so sorry I gave you a hard time for your sour attitude towards Twilight Sparkle in the past. After reading Bluthunder25's latest blog, I am now fully convinced you were relatively tame compared to him. Seriously, I think even your old Twilight hating self would look at this guy and be like "Geez buddy, take a chill pill!" To clarify, Bluethunder25 made a blog claiming he was going to talk about her positive qualities only for it to actually be a thinly veiled, spite-filled blog made to attack her even more. Here's a link to it: mlp.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Bluethunder25/Good_Things_About_Twilight_Sparkle If that wasn't bad enough, he also made a blog before that asking what if Sunset Shimmer had never been a villain to begin with. Yes, he was more or less saying he wished Sunset was always a hero just so Twilight's "Reason You Suck" Speech towards her never happened. Again, I don't think you were ever as harsh as him. In fact, remember back in ILoveKimPossibleALot's review of "Amending Fences" when I said I'm surprised you haven't outright said you wouldn't like Twilight even if she cured diabetes or solved world hunger, or if someone payed you? Well, now I'm starting to think Bluethunder25 is more likely to say that than you are. Again, I'm really sorry.
I just read the blog. I can see where he's coming from with the whole "don't dwell on your past" bit. That being said, Twilight had a good reason to not trust Trixie. I know I went on a small rant about Twilight in No Second Prances, but my rant was about her teaching. As a teacher, I know that sometimes I need to step back and let my students learn on their own and make their own decisions and twilight didn't let starlight make her own decision and that's what bothered me.
Okay then. But you do get what I was saying above, right? Even if your previous criticisms of Twilight were a bit extreme, at least you never went so far as to act passive aggressive about it as Bluthunder25 did. You were always upfront with expressing your initial dislike for her and never once did you ever try to blindside her fans with something incredibly condescending or spiteful aimed towards them. Honestly, I think you were nicer to Twilight than Bluethunder is being right now. His hatred for her is making your past hatred for her look like Mary Poppins.
You know how when a series has been going on for a long time shows add characters to the roster in an attempt to keep it fresh? Like how they added characters to the Fairly odd parents for example. This is what I believe is happening right now. And because mlp got such a rich amount of characters plus the series being focused on character interaction makes this a bit easier for them too. I think this will make them able to go on for longer than most other cartoons while also staying good instead of declining in quality.
I loved Trixie, all the remarks and comments, while some a bit much where fun! "Cause we're amazing... and friendship is magic and stuff." The mane 6 segment was a nice mirror to show how much Starlught needs to grow and the song, im pretty sire was a big joke, while also being very catchy.
I personally found it funny how the scene kept switching through similar lines of dialog. Example: In one location, after learning they lost the game, Rainbow shouts, "Ahhhh, nuts!" Cut to another location where Bulk Biceps throws a cart of nuts with an screming "Ahhh!" "Nuts!" cries a scared Trixie!
It was another interesting episode for the MLP staff to start with for season 7. I don't know if they may have had an actually 2 parter planned for Celestial Advice and instead chose to trim it down in favor of what we got in the end. But I liked both episodes nonetheless. With this one, my biggest nitpick would have to be Trixie. First off, she does seem quite a bit more on the clueless, carefree side in this episode compared to any other she's been in up till now. This might be in part that she's not preparing for a show or involved with saving Equestria from an invasion of changelings so we get to see her in a more relaxed, casual manner. Secondly, her talents with magic are kind of hard to tell just how much she has. In Boast Busters we did see she did use magic in her act and she had skill with levitation (and to Rarity's horror hair-don't magic). Then in Magical Duel she got a power boost with the Alicorn Amulet and was able to do all kinds of highly advanced magic like age spells and even seal Ponyville in a giant forcefield. When her magic was returned to normal her offensive magic couldn't do more than tickle Rainbow Dash. In No Second Prances her magical ability seems to practically nonexistent since she needed Starlight to be able to teleport her just as she's about to get eaten by a manticore meaning now she can at most do at most basic unicorn magic and relies more on magic props like smoke bombs rather than real magic. So in this sense, it feels like her abilities have gotten weaker and more like she's learning almost from the ground up now. As for the Mane Six in the Escape Room. I gotta say I do like the idea of games in which players have to work as a team to win rather than be focused on the single player trying to beat the others into victory over the ways players can then cooperate and perform better than they could alone. And of course, the victory song at the end that made them lose was an expected but humorous punchline to it all. Guess the griffin team was friends enough to solve the puzzles, but not enough to start singing a song about their friendship. My favorite line in the episode was when a Starlight's anger-infused Granny Smith started berating Trixie about talking about her dark past and Trixie replying she didn't even know she had one. Now it's got me wondering if she actually does and with the Applejack's parents episode coming up maybe we'll see something of a feud between the Apples and the Pears and this could, in a way, be a subtle hint to that. And lastly, we got another good showing from Spike being supportive, snarky, and been in enough seasons of the show to know just when trouble is about to strike. He hasn't been a punching back for the two episodes he's been in so far this season and from the preview for the next episode, A Flurry of Emotions, a Twilight Episode, looks like he'll be helping out again. Here's hoping he can make it the first three episodes he's been in relatively unscathed.
I'm pretty much with you on this episode. The main plot was really good, but the subplot with the Mane 6 was a bit of a drag. Heck, I wasn't even sure if the way the Mane 6 acted was done because of weak writing or just lampooning the general idea of little kids' shows. I probably would've trimmed a few pieces from the subplot, and given a little more room for the main one. Though I'll admit, that puzzle room would be kind of fun if it were real. Also, I thought some of the funniest moments were with Bulk Biceps and his cart. I especially laughed at the way he shouted "Nuts," which reminded me of that one scene from "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist."
The beginning of this season felt solid, one way it feels like their not putting their best foot forward but on the other hand it's still has quality If it was not the season beginner I don't think we would have this problem and start singing super awesome
I liked this episode, because it added a little bit of world building, in that it gave us a little more information on how magic works. Starlight says that magic is strongly influenced by emotions and as she bottles up more and more of her rage, notice how tired and drained she looks. If she kept doing that, would she lose her magic all together, as well as her ability to feel anger or passion? This also feeds into 'Freindship is Magic' because that would indeed add to the idea that magic is emotion based.
I'd like to think that there was a third lesson involved here: Communication If you don't tell your friend what's wrong then they're going to think that there's nothing wrong The third lesson I felt was the glue that held this episode together, making it a triple whammy.
it kinda feels to me (and I know I could be wrong), like a next generation thing. Like when in digimon the next show is about a totally different team, but with the old one still showing up from time to time. The only 2 things that speaks against my theory are that 2 members of this team are Discord and thorax, who probably will show up rarely and with that in mind, the new "team" is a little too small to actually become the next generation. I mean I would highly welcome this next generation thing, but again, I think for now, the new team is still too small to fully hold up.
Dunning-Kruger Effect prime example: Neelix in _Star Trek: Voyager_. Oh, sweet Celestia, how I hated him. See that left peak in the graph at 3:48? That's where he was for at _least_ the first four seasons.
#DRWolf001 Trixie was appropriate in her supposedly "amped-up" actions in the story. Who wouldn't be happy about, as Trixie herself said, being able to do "real" magic as opposed to just stage tricks? As for her insensitiveness, remember that Trixie has apparently been living on her own in her traveling carriage for a while now, going from town to town, not only performing but exercising her superiority over others in sometimes petty ways (showing up Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack on stage, for instance). Habits tend to die hard. I think that Trixie feels comfortable enough around Starlight that she feels she can relax and be herself, even if that means being quite abrasive. As Trixie said near the end of the episode, she's relaxed and secure enough around Starlight that she's not going to break off their friendship over a simple fight or miscommunication. Maybe she was a little over-the-top, but remember, the *entire point* of the episode was that Starlight didn't *tell* her she was being over-the-top, which led to the bottle breaking and all her anger rushing out at once. And they still made up and remained friends even after that.
Episodes based on secondary characters would be a nice new change of pace. I will always love and enjoy the mane six as the stars but I'd also welcome seeing characters like Maud get more of the spotlight.
I have been thinking about the Episode of All Bottled Up. Didn't Trixie already know a disappearing spell? They used one to hide from the changelings during the season 6 finale. Sorry Starlight disappearing is not Teleporting! One is not being seen the other is not being there (still visible just somewhere else). Third... Okay, I took the No Second Prances of Trixie being shot at the Manticore as maybe Trixie knew teleport just was bad at it as a possible reason for her to go ahead. But if she really didn't know the spell then... um... yeah no prancing around that issue.
I see the Mane 6's B-Plot as showing what commincation between friends enables, to contrast Twilight's and Startlight's approached. Granted that might be more ponient if Twilight was in a situation where she was angry with her friends, but the point still stands, commincation vs non-commincation.
Only huge issue I had with is how Spike choose to not go with the Mane 6 like that. It hurts seeing Spike being left out of stuff the Mane 6 are in, but the writers making him decide to not go on purpose makes it worse. Its like the writers know many fans hated how Spike got left out but instead of addressing it, they deliberately make him choose to not go(especially for iffy reasons like comics. Like.. he rather read his comics than be included with the girls??) and not care. Its just as bad as him being forced to stay behind to watch over something. Its absolutely aggravating.
i swear the vibes given off by that red cloud of anger that starlight had in that bottle reminds me way to much about the red lanterns from the green lantern series. anyone else get vibes likw that?
well I'm going to give all bottle up a 8.8 out of 10. Because I love a Starlight Glimmer and Trixie theme, Spike being (sorry for my language) a smartass, Starlight being angry at Trixie and, if we LUCKY Starlight and Trixie may get a NEW best friend for the season finale.
The whole point of the mane 6 scenes was for a parallel on how the mane six are perfect friends to accentuate that Starlight and Trixie are having problems
I liked the two opening episodes quite a bit actually. In fact, I honestly loved them. I also don't mind that they're slowly starting to give more spotlight to secondary characters. But I hope the transition (if that's what it is) isn't complete before all the stories that have been told with the Mane Six have indeed been told. 1. I'm still waiting for Rainbow Dash to have an episode that gives her as great a moment as "Wonderbolt Academy" and "Top Bolt" did. I think Rainbow Dash still has a lot of potential to show the good parts of her character. I still want a Rainbow Dash/Scootaloo sister episode. 2. (A bit of an extension of the ending to 1) I want a sister episode where the sister relationship isn't the source of the conflict. Rather I'd like to see the sisters working together to resolve the conflict the way the Mane Six mares did in the Cutie Map episodes. There are a few others, but those are the main things I really want the most. That's just me, though.
I'm hoping they give more background ponies their own stories, just to shake things up a bit. Once a show loses it's ability to surprise its audience, it's time to lower the curtain for good. One pipe-dream I have is that Vinyl and Octavia get their own episode. (Even if Nowacking never gets to do Vinyl's voice.)
Honestly, I felt like Trixie was really insensitive to Starlight in this episode. I've seen previous episode with Trixie in them, and even though she was overconfident, she wasn't that oblivious. Starlight clearly looked stressed and mad but Trixie ignored it because "Starlight doesn't get mad at me" and continued to not only make things harder for Starlight but also being very blunt and rude about sensitive things for her. The literal "bottling up your anger" idea was interesting and I enjoyed the parts when they cut to The Mane 6, but Trixie honestly ruined this episode for me.
This was a great episode for me, I relate to Starlight bottling up her anger as I had that experience time and time again when things don't get my way ^^ 9/10 ^^
The mane 6 were there as a juxtoposition. Twilight's friendship group has their shit together and know each other really well (though are not perfect still), but Starlight's friends are still figuring things out. That was also exactly what the song was doing in praising friendship as a problem solver, while Startlight was there struggling with balancing her anger/frustration with her desire not to loose a good friend.
This episode reminds me of a quote (there is swearing) "Its okay to lose your shit every once and a while, because if you hold it in you'll be full of shit and you finally lose it it'll be a shitstorm, and nobody wants that"
Great review, was a suberp episode This episode gave me some world building head canon, That bursting into song is random and jarring, but only ponies in places like Ponyville do it, rural areas, but places like Canterlot and Las Pegasus dont, because it is aginst the status quo,
I guess because of the heat that the writers are feeling from the fandom after Season 6, (even though Season 6 was really not that bad and was actually enjoyable) so they are sorta playing it safe with Season 7 and not biting off more then they could chew.
I think to keep the series going they are going the power ranger route of replacing old with new characters for the same spot. A thought I applaud because I really think they reach a end with the Mane 6 arcs since they are achieve what they wanted or go through so much progression that its getting to the point the only way to continue it is to regress them.
yeah they were pretty well LinkedIn opposite of what was happening between the two blocks and was actually pretty interesting that they showed how truly opposite it was during the song and most of all they kept on saying nuts a lot. I really think someone in that creation of this episode was obsessed with nuts
REJOICE! The writers for the season premieres are the chief story editors. Quality for each ep must be checked by them. MEANING QUALITY IS ALWAYS UP TO PAR WITH THESE TWO EPS.
"All Bottled Up" except every frame of Snowflake working a nutshack plays the Nutshack theme except every time they say "nutshack" the Bee Movie trailer plays backwards.
Like I said before on EqD - this espiode was bit weaker thank first one mainly because Trixie evolved a bit during her previous experiences, yet here it feel like her ego is over the top - simmilar to cluelessness of Mane..3 in Cart before Ponies - like they/she forgot all her lessons also the moment Glimmy "bottled" her anger - it was completely predictable it will break out later on (was not sure about exact way, but it was obvious)
I think this is a win-win between creators and fans. We wanted more characters, locations, etc and Hasbro wants to sell more toys. more characters = more play-sets/outfits = more money.
The only thing I hate about it was switching to the main six ponies and not sticking with the main part of the story. Beside that, I really love Trixie and Starlight in this episode that I wish they used all their time on.
So in other words, Starlight has learned absolutely nothing. Good job writers. I've got to give you credit, you certainly know how to keep your sub-par characters consistent. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but hey, it's something.
I'm glad Starlight said what everyone who hates Trixie was thinking and calling her out on being an insufferable nag Then Trixie pulls an Applejack and learns absolutely nothing because "Where's the fun in that?" What the _hell_, writers
This was a pretty fun episode. I just don't quite understand why Starlight's anger was suddenly manifesting itself into a physical form. I've never seen that happen with any other powerful unicorn.
I related to this episode fairly well. But not to Starlight. I related to Trixie. I am fairly oblivious, and sometimes have trouble knowing when I'm doing something wrong or being annoying unless someone snaps at me. If they just tell me it's fine or ignore my behavior, then chances are I'll keep doing it, even if I do recognize it's wrong on some level. But if someone gives me the verbal equivalent to a smack in the face, it tells me that I really do need to stop. And it's enough to get me to cease the offending behavior altogether. I've lost friends because they didn't tell me when I was bothering them, causing me to keep doing it until they couldn't take it anymore and abandoned me altogether.
I don't know, it was a good lesson for Starlight about not bottling up her emotions, and I agree that the younger audience should be able to grasp the idea from what they saw here. The character I had trouble with was Trixie. Yes they ramped up certain parts of her personality for the episode, but I honestly feel they went too far. A pony who depends on audiences for a living would have learned a long time ago how to read ponies better than she read Starlight, and a unicorn who can wield the Alicorn Amulet, no matter how poorly, should already know the theory behind simple stuff like making teacups out of anything. This just wasn't the Trixie we all know, laugh at, and then love. Hasbro! Never. Do. That. Again. ... It was also nice to see the Mane 6 having fun that didn't result in a dramatic "Elements of Harmony save the day" thing. It showed, subtly, the benefit of team building and deeper friendship in a way that the younger fans should be able to pick up on. As for the song, I don't know about EQG, I felt it was more of a return to some of the songs from the early seasons.
Can the Dunning-Kruger Effect can also be called dumb luck, and the only was you can call yourself talented is if you can do it more then once when needed, and it can indeed help if your able to undo whatever it was. Well that my opinion and the last two parts were a poke to Trixie for her ego trip.
They did explicitly say that the season opener was not a two part episode. Thus attempting to connect the two is a touch like attempting to connect any other stand alone episodes. We got two episodes, not a two part episode. Is ee this being one of those obvious things that the entire fanbase is going to miss yet again.
I have too many questions about this episode, and its frustrating to know they'll likely never be answered nor any of the head scratching moments ever brought up again. this episode would have worked much better as an Applejack episode where SHE had to deal with Trixie, keeping her anger from showing because she's trying to be the better pony. It would also work because it would be a lesson about being honest with others about how you truly feel, and of course AJ is the Element of Honesty [does anyone even remember the Elements of harmony, anymore?] And, let's be honest, AJ has been in need of a good episode for a long time, now
TorridPrime217 - But Starlight fit better and they were the best friends that would work best for this, especially since we needed their friendship we barely see to get fleshed out.
I would also like to see the teacher-student dynamic fleshed out- OH WAIT! They axed [sorry, I mean 'wrapped up'] that plot thread in the last episode! I'd prefer that long-awaited Zecora episode
It kinda bugs me that everyone seems to think that the main six part of this story served no purpose. was everyone blind to the alliteration fact that it was suppose to be, in contrast, the exact opposite of what starlight was going through. the main six have a perfect friendship while starlight was struggling with trixie. please tell my I am not the only one who saw this ...
I thought that was the point too.
With the immediate opposing dialogues in the later half of the episodes, I thought it was pretty obvious. But still, I felt their story wasn't as strong as Starlight and Trixie's.
Same.
It's not quite the same. It would have had a better tie-in, if the Mane Six were dealing with being angry with each other and handling the argument right, or, if their adventure was similar to what Starlight and Trixie were doing. Really, the only back and forth was in bits of dialog, but without related context. The B-plot had no bearing on the main plot whatsoever. It was just, there.
Yes, if the Mane 6 had gone through any similar conflict, and resolved it correctly, it would have worked.
I think the writers are FINALLY giving the background characters more of an spotlight because there is simply little to no more life lessons to be learned from the mane six, that and a change of cast is nice from time to time.
"there is simply little to no more life lessons to be learned from the mane six,"
"Only the dead have nothing left to learn."
I hope this is the case, I kinda want LESS of the Mane Six and MORE of the background Characters with each season, I mean most of my favourite episodes of Season 6 focused LESS on the Mane Six: Gauntlet of Fire, No Second Prances, Dungeons & Discord, Times they Are A Changeling, and the Finale Two-Parter, these were Great episodes
Plus you're right about the life lessons comment, the Mane Six have lost that... spark that made them special, they need to be put into Situations that challenge them; like guide somepony else, or giving other side characters more expanded roles: Spike, Trixie, Thorax, Luna, Celestia, Discord, Derpy, Lyra, Bon Bon, Coco Pommel, Cheese Sandwich, Diamond Tiara, Gilda, Gabby, Ember, Moondancer, Iron Will, etc. SERIOUSLY THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!
" the Mane Six have lost that... spark that made them special, "
What?
They're no longer as interesting as they used to be, they're appearing in more episodes that really don't require their pressence at all, and in some cases; they're learning past lessons all over again but with slightly modified circumstances. Example; 28 Pranks Later; is pretty much Mysterious Mare-Do-Well, slightly different situation, same lesson, and Cart Before the Pony and Somepony to Watch Over Me is another good example, they've become, for lack of a better word 'Overpowered' or 'Flawless', like Superman; Overpowered and without fault; therefore bland and uninteresting
I think the joke with the song would have landed better, if they hadn't shown the entire song. It was fine as a punchline, but too generic for the show proper. It reminded me of those music videos that came out before Rainbow Rocks (not the ones after, those were great). They should have started singing, cut away to the main plot, then cut back at the last verse, just in time for the joke.
would have made it funnier indeed XD kinda like the one time applebloom starts her song and is interrupted that they don't have time for a song right now XD
This one gave me mixed feelings too. However, I did like the whole thing about Trixie being yelled at to be honest.
"The Starlight I love is passionate, lively, and yeah, sometimes angry. Those are my favorite parts of you. That and the fact that you forgive me every time." ~Trixie... just perfectly described what I love about Starly. My waifu. Back off, Trixie! Aren't you supposed to be with Seth? And not with Starly?
I love Trixie even more in this episode. She was being shady to Starlight Glimmer.
I actually connected with this episode pretty well. It came out around the time I was sort of fighting with a friend, and was trying to keep my feels bottled up sort of like Starlight. Seeing her going through those frustrations helped me realize what I was doing, so I could release the pressure before something bad happened.
To be fair, as someone who was put in Starlight's shoes, I know just how it feels and am glad for this episode. I wish they did more with her anger and really focused on it vs bouncing around, because the lesson is very important. This one had several lessons actually: If you bottle up your emotions they'll get stronger and just burst, and don't be afraid to be mad at someone in fear you may lose them, and if you never tell them they'll never learn and understand. Communication is healthy.
I had a pretty similar situation to this because I had people I grew so emotionally close to, I was terrified of losing them, so any emotional hurt I had I kept to myself. Because people never knew nor found out, it caused me to, surprise, blow up at someone more than I should have. You get afraid to tell people you're not happy, and especially from experiences where the other gets upset with you and/or abandons you. You don't learn to deal with it in a healthy way, it damages you, so this episode really hit me enough that I wanted to see someone say something about it.
Trixie should be Starlight's student
Also one more lesson. This episode shows you should not be afraid to talk about your problems with your friends to them and that your true friends will listen, understand and forgive you for getting mad while also changing themselves so that they would not make the same mistake again. It's what I love the most about this episode because I've faced problems like this in real life where I have issues telling my friends how I really feel sometimes if not all the time
One of The best part of this episode was the return of the 'QUIET!' Face lol
i agree with pretty much all your points doctor, how ever you didn't touch on the one thing that really made this episode, or it did at least for me.
they finally put some explanation of how magic works, only a small but but its something to work off of.
At least, for unicorns like Starlight.
I really liked this episode. I'm actually a pretty big Trixie fan so seeing her so innocently oblivious, and yet so self confidant was so gratifying
I thought the contrast between the two plots was hilarious. Especially the song.
Dash: "Ah nuts."
Bulk: "AAHHH!"
Trixie: "NUTS!"
That idea about the primary cast playing mentor to the secondary cast sounds genius and reminds me of a similar idea I've been thinking about since season 5 began airing. With Twilight and her friends spreading the magic of friendship across Equestria, that opened up a lot of new opportunities to have the secondary characters take the spotlight and have the Mane 6 and Spike help overcome problems and strengthen bonds with them (episodes such as "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone", "Make New Friends, But Keep Discord", and "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" come to mind, along with some season 6 episodes like "Viva Las Pegasus" and "The Times, They Are a Changeling".) To me, that's a sign that the writers realize that the target audience is growing up and the show is growing up with them. It's like the show is evolving in that sense.
Yeah, this was a great ep, not best of the best, but solid.
Also you left out the best line of the ep "The Starlight I love is passionate"
Very good example of the effect and why Trixie could be so... Trixie. But also, I have another idea on top of that. She's testing her limits. Trixie has never been close to somepony before, is new to all this. Part of it might have been her simply testing her limits with Starlight, see how far is 'to far' maybe even subconsciously trying to test how true a friend Starlight is. Poking her to see the reaction. Trying to get reassurance that Starlight won't just give up on her easily etc.....
Also, you just know the shippers went absolutely nuts at that line. I do like that Starlight has taken it on herself to mentour Trixie and teach her to do real magic. Makes me wonder why if Trixie has never undergone any formal magic training in the past and if this means that all unicorns have the potential to do real magic like this.
The writers knew what they were doing with that line. Much like Tia's "There's no wrong way to fantasize."
And while I doubt every unicorn could learn everything, Do think it does work mostly like Lauren said from the start. That it's more like a form of art then anything else. It's like learning to paint, or draw, or something like that. Something anyone could study and work on, but some will simply have a more natural gift for.
You know, this episode made me realize that I have never seen a series where the main characters have maxed out there main character status before. There's nothing left for the Mane 6 to do. They have reached self-actualization. They can't grow anymore. Maybe passing the torch to other characters is a necessity and not an experiment.
I hope trixie becomes a recurring character in the show. Maybe she could move to town and start a magic parlour store
I agree; I'd like to see Trixie interact with MORE characters, like Spike, CMC, Big Mac, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, I'd love to see how Trixie handles the CMC in a tough situation, and how would Trixie react personality-wise; would she be AS snarky or less, MORE understanding and gentle? I'd love to see Trixie and the CMC lost in the Everfree Forest and Trixie has to adapt to the situation while keeping the CMC safe
Big Mac takes an interest in magic and Trixie offers to teach him what she knows while Applejack tries to convince Big Mac to stop wasting his time because of HER dislike of Trixie and because Big Mac is an Earth Pony
This episode really took me to a new impression on Trixie and Starlights relationship. And how they interact. It'd almost like Starlight is more of a mother figure to Trixie and is trying to help her as well trying not to hurt her. Starlight should have talked to her in self of bottling up her emotions. And I would love to have more these secondary character episodes it definitely brings a much more insight and character development for the mane six and then supportive roles. I hope to see more.
I really do like the focus on secondary characters, as we got a surplus of Mane 6 centered episodes. While I didn't mind the Mane 6 being included, I wish they didn't get a _lot_ of screentime. While I do like the contrast between their relationship and the one Trixie and Starlight have, I believe the lessons that were learned from both Trixie and Starlight deserved a little more screentime. I also wish the song was cut out, or at the very least, just shortened it a bit. I admit, I audibly groaned when the song came on and to me it overstood its welcome.
I think that this episode should have been the last one of the series, because I had gotten a lot of nostalgia from this episode, especially when it came to this episodes song "Best Friends Until the End of Time". That song was almost nothing but a all the past seasons and episodes. The seasons changing along with the clothes that they wore was in remembrance to the seasonal episodes (running of the leafs, winter wrap-up, Tanks for the memories, etc.) The Apple Cart for all the Sweet apple acres episodes, the ship ( I mean come on I can't be the only one that seen "Pony Point of View" on that one. But nostalgia, aside the bottled up was a good thing to show since many kids, teens and even adults suffer from the same thing, how ever I think there was another lesson here the was not noticed too much, prioritizer. Trixie wanted to show off her skills that she had so much so that she tried to run before she knew how to crawl (magically speaking) and even the Main 6 had a similar problem they did the song and dance before they beat the record... or maybe I am reading too much into this and I should just say read the instructions first (you know, look before you leap) :)
dr wolf i have a question do you think you could do a dramatic reading on the second exile it is really good
This episode hit real close to home while also reminding me of a portrayal of Celtic mythology from one of my favorite movies I have experienced and continue to experience consistent mental breaks that stem from internalizing and not expressing thoughts and emotions it also reminded me of the owl witch from the movie song of the sea while the main focus of the story there is the mythology of selkies the owl witch is a great antagonist who places both her own emotions and others emotions in bottles though when she takes from others she takes so much that they turn to stone though this reminder kinda took my focus off the episode and led to me researching more about the mythology of my ancestors and making up a hypothetical version of mlp that draws almost solely from Celtic mythology with a bit of Finnish, Swedish, Irish and Scottish mythology thrown in
i think its like a story shift to 2 gen of the eliments, and spike is in that i hope
I'm wondering that as well, Dr. Wolf. After what we got so far, one has to wonder if this might lead up to something involving Chrysalis' victims and having panic attacks at her returning and outsmarting them a third time. If the focus is on characters like the Royal Family, Trixie, and others this season, it is a nice chance of pace from focus on the Mane Six and repeatedly making the Princesses the ones needing to have their sorry flanks rescued every time a Big Bad shows up to threaten Equestria.
This is the second time MLP has utilized psychokinesis (the first time being the Tantibus incident and seems like they had a much better idea of what they were doing this time. Is it possible that the writer of this episode took a page out of Goldenfox's book?
I wonder if the main six will actually turn into secondary characters by the end of the season, that or secondary main characters
Funny how much how things have changed since my childhood. Back in the 80's, shows like the Care Bears and Get Along Gang, they were all pro bottling up your anger.
You got to make a video about why more "showing" than "telling" is such a big deal to us in MLP. The show is targeted for the younger audience who are not as critical as the adults who watch the show. My young niece doesn't even complain about how the lessons are delivered in episodes that people have issues with.....(you know which ones I'm talking about!). Think on that. Because I can't understand how this flow of children storytelling irritates some people.
It's just not a good habit. In all cases (kid or adult) writers should try to "show" and not "tell." It's a basic storytelling element, especially in scripts. Children may not care, but in all honesty, children watch a lot of things whether it's done well or not. That doesn't mean they don't understand the difference, and yes there is a difference in quality when you "show" more than "tell." I saw lots of things as a kid that I enjoyed. But the stuff I keep coming back to (even now as an adult) is able to hold my attention visually.
What about when you're telling a story about having Faith in your friend? Rainbow Dash's friends' "controversial" methods in that episode did not offend me because I saw right there that they had FAITH in Rainbow Dash's ability to learn her lesson in the scenario they set up. Yes, seeing her friends talk to her first and failed would validate their reasons to demonstrate humility and modesty in the form of "You Know Who". But I believe if they went in that direction, would that make it too obvious to the audience in the middle to climax of the episode that her friends are "You Know Who"? Did RD resent her friends after all of that? NO. Did she learned her lesson? YES. When I watch MLP, I don't dive into them with high expectations like everyone else. Whether I'm aware of a "showing" than "telling" moment or not, I don't let that stop me from enjoying a episode.
this episode I can relate, I have a roommate who has an ego, I bottled up my anger towards her because of how she treated me, my kindness was taken advantage of and it hurt, my parents are mad at her for leaving me with junk she left behind, not only that my anger, frustration and other feelings were bottled up because of what she did over the years...I can relate to starlight at this point about bottling up her emotion
Something I don't quite like about the episode is... well... Why does **suddenly** emotions are visible/can manifest like it did for Starlight's anger ? 'This' time, but not any other time ?
Does is happen to other ponies as well ?
How often does it happen ?
Are there ''emotional catastrophes'' happening elsewhere that we aren't aware of ?
... and perhaps most importantly/specifically... Why 'her', and why 'now' and not before ?
I mean, if they **previously** had made her cast a spell on herself to ''help block emotions/anger'' and then she had to bottle the excess(as a side effect, perhaps), that would have solved all of the 'holes' they created in their logic.
Not sure about you, but I was strongly reminded of Twilight bursting into flames with anger or frustration. Knowing that other powerful unicorns have emotional connections to their magic was an interesting bit. As to why the clouds were problem now and not before? Well, Starlight mentioned that it was because she usually used so much magic (enslaving villages or fighting Twilight or saving Equestria) that there was no spillage. The problem of manifest emotions was specifically because Starlight is so powerful, but not using strong spells with regularity, that there is magical excess.
I really liked the jokes about the Mane six's penchant to singing songs. I think the staff are sort of moving focus to the other characters because they want to keep it more fresh and probably because even if they love writing about the mane six it is nice to change it up every now and then. There's also the fact that if they give more focus to the other characters then they can do more with them in stories. Imagine having Trixie interact more with say, AJ. That has some fun possibility and now that they are having Trixie around more such an interaction will feel more natural and less forced, if that makes sense.
Still love the episode though.
I just keep thinking of the huge cast change in Transformers after the Death of Optomus Prime. Wounder if MLP will do some thing like that?
i don't know if the mlp crew is planning to switch main characters to a different set eventually. it makes sense since the mane 6's character arcs are being achieved so introducing new characters with their own character arcs would make it easier for the show to continue on with new characters, but still having the original mane 6 appear to get updates on what they are doing to.
the mane6 song remembered me the msic "Friendship Through the Ages"
What I want from the shift to secondary characters is for them to flesh them out so that they can get their own spin-off show. Can you imagine if Starlight gets enough fleshing out that when she feels she is ready to leave Ponyville to go to her own town, not the one she took over, but some place new, that that is when she gets her own show. My Little Pony, Guardians of Harmony. (I know that name is already used for something else, but it's a great name that deserves to be a show, dammint!) She could get her own cast of characters to call her friends, which would include Trixie and company, and fight for friendship and stuff. Imagine 2 pony shows running after each other, then sometimes their stories would intersect for a 2 parter which starts with the parent show, then concludes with the spin-off show, or vice-versa, or even ones where the same story happens but is told from different perspectives in both shows. I would love for that to be the case.
I admit I do bottle up my emotions (specifically sadness and anger) and I am scared about what will happen when my anger does finally explode out. I want to find a safe way to let it out, but I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
Sarah, I am so sorry I gave you a hard time for your sour attitude towards Twilight Sparkle in the past. After reading Bluthunder25's latest blog, I am now fully convinced you were relatively tame compared to him. Seriously, I think even your old Twilight hating self would look at this guy and be like "Geez buddy, take a chill pill!" To clarify, Bluethunder25 made a blog claiming he was going to talk about her positive qualities only for it to actually be a thinly veiled, spite-filled blog made to attack her even more. Here's a link to it:
mlp.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Bluethunder25/Good_Things_About_Twilight_Sparkle
If that wasn't bad enough, he also made a blog before that asking what if Sunset Shimmer had never been a villain to begin with. Yes, he was more or less saying he wished Sunset was always a hero just so Twilight's "Reason You Suck" Speech towards her never happened. Again, I don't think you were ever as harsh as him. In fact, remember back in ILoveKimPossibleALot's review of "Amending Fences" when I said I'm surprised you haven't outright said you wouldn't like Twilight even if she cured diabetes or solved world hunger, or if someone payed you? Well, now I'm starting to think Bluethunder25 is more likely to say that than you are. Again, I'm really sorry.
I just read the blog. I can see where he's coming from with the whole "don't dwell on your past" bit. That being said, Twilight had a good reason to not trust Trixie. I know I went on a small rant about Twilight in No Second Prances, but my rant was about her teaching. As a teacher, I know that sometimes I need to step back and let my students learn on their own and make their own decisions and twilight didn't let starlight make her own decision and that's what bothered me.
Okay then. But you do get what I was saying above, right? Even if your previous criticisms of Twilight were a bit extreme, at least you never went so far as to act passive aggressive about it as Bluthunder25 did. You were always upfront with expressing your initial dislike for her and never once did you ever try to blindside her fans with something incredibly condescending or spiteful aimed towards them. Honestly, I think you were nicer to Twilight than Bluethunder is being right now. His hatred for her is making your past hatred for her look like Mary Poppins.
I do get what you were saying and I do agree with you.
I think that they are going to do a lot more with the secondary and backround chartacters.
You know how when a series has been going on for a long time shows add characters to the roster in an attempt to keep it fresh? Like how they added characters to the Fairly odd parents for example.
This is what I believe is happening right now. And because mlp got such a rich amount of characters plus the series being focused on character interaction makes this a bit easier for them too. I think this will make them able to go on for longer than most other cartoons while also staying good instead of declining in quality.
The only reason why I liked All Bottled Up is because I’m a bit like what happened with Starlight in the episode right now
I bottled up my anger
I loved Trixie, all the remarks and comments, while some a bit much where fun! "Cause we're amazing... and friendship is magic and stuff." The mane 6 segment was a nice mirror to show how much Starlught needs to grow and the song, im pretty sire was a big joke, while also being very catchy.
I personally found it funny how the scene kept switching through similar lines of dialog. Example: In one location, after learning they lost the game, Rainbow shouts, "Ahhhh, nuts!" Cut to another location where Bulk Biceps throws a cart of nuts with an screming "Ahhh!" "Nuts!" cries a scared Trixie!
It was another interesting episode for the MLP staff to start with for season 7. I don't know if they may have had an actually 2 parter planned for Celestial Advice and instead chose to trim it down in favor of what we got in the end. But I liked both episodes nonetheless.
With this one, my biggest nitpick would have to be Trixie. First off, she does seem quite a bit more on the clueless, carefree side in this episode compared to any other she's been in up till now. This might be in part that she's not preparing for a show or involved with saving Equestria from an invasion of changelings so we get to see her in a more relaxed, casual manner. Secondly, her talents with magic are kind of hard to tell just how much she has. In Boast Busters we did see she did use magic in her act and she had skill with levitation (and to Rarity's horror hair-don't magic). Then in Magical Duel she got a power boost with the Alicorn Amulet and was able to do all kinds of highly advanced magic like age spells and even seal Ponyville in a giant forcefield. When her magic was returned to normal her offensive magic couldn't do more than tickle Rainbow Dash. In No Second Prances her magical ability seems to practically nonexistent since she needed Starlight to be able to teleport her just as she's about to get eaten by a manticore meaning now she can at most do at most basic unicorn magic and relies more on magic props like smoke bombs rather than real magic. So in this sense, it feels like her abilities have gotten weaker and more like she's learning almost from the ground up now.
As for the Mane Six in the Escape Room. I gotta say I do like the idea of games in which players have to work as a team to win rather than be focused on the single player trying to beat the others into victory over the ways players can then cooperate and perform better than they could alone. And of course, the victory song at the end that made them lose was an expected but humorous punchline to it all. Guess the griffin team was friends enough to solve the puzzles, but not enough to start singing a song about their friendship.
My favorite line in the episode was when a Starlight's anger-infused Granny Smith started berating Trixie about talking about her dark past and Trixie replying she didn't even know she had one. Now it's got me wondering if she actually does and with the Applejack's parents episode coming up maybe we'll see something of a feud between the Apples and the Pears and this could, in a way, be a subtle hint to that.
And lastly, we got another good showing from Spike being supportive, snarky, and been in enough seasons of the show to know just when trouble is about to strike. He hasn't been a punching back for the two episodes he's been in so far this season and from the preview for the next episode, A Flurry of Emotions, a Twilight Episode, looks like he'll be helping out again. Here's hoping he can make it the first three episodes he's been in relatively unscathed.
I'm pretty much with you on this episode. The main plot was really good, but the subplot with the Mane 6 was a bit of a drag. Heck, I wasn't even sure if the way the Mane 6 acted was done because of weak writing or just lampooning the general idea of little kids' shows. I probably would've trimmed a few pieces from the subplot, and given a little more room for the main one. Though I'll admit, that puzzle room would be kind of fun if it were real.
Also, I thought some of the funniest moments were with Bulk Biceps and his cart. I especially laughed at the way he shouted "Nuts," which reminded me of that one scene from "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist."
The beginning of this season felt solid, one way it feels like their not putting their best foot forward but on the other hand it's still has quality
If it was not the season beginner I don't think we would have this problem and start singing super awesome
I liked this episode, because it added a little bit of world building, in that it gave us a little more information on how magic works. Starlight says that magic is strongly influenced by emotions and as she bottles up more and more of her rage, notice how tired and drained she looks. If she kept doing that, would she lose her magic all together, as well as her ability to feel anger or passion? This also feeds into 'Freindship is Magic' because that would indeed add to the idea that magic is emotion based.
I'd like to think that there was a third lesson involved here: Communication
If you don't tell your friend what's wrong then they're going to think that there's nothing wrong
The third lesson I felt was the glue that held this episode together, making it a triple whammy.
it kinda feels to me (and I know I could be wrong), like a next generation thing. Like when in digimon the next show is about a totally different team, but with the old one still showing up from time to time. The only 2 things that speaks against my theory are that 2 members of this team are Discord and thorax, who probably will show up rarely and with that in mind, the new "team" is a little too small to actually become the next generation.
I mean I would highly welcome this next generation thing, but again, I think for now, the new team is still too small to fully hold up.
well i'd hope that they'd allow for other characters to have a spotlight like maybe something like a day in the life of the town drunk or the town dj?
Trixie can be a beanbon, although her mistakes can make Starlight really angry, even her same expression from The Cutie Map part 2 episode
I am curious to see if MLP can successfully create a spinoff series with spinoff characters while still set in the same world.
Maybe they plan to use this season to see if people would be comftable with Trixie and Starlight being main characters? I would not mind that.
Dunning-Kruger Effect prime example: Neelix in _Star Trek: Voyager_. Oh, sweet Celestia, how I hated him. See that left peak in the graph at 3:48? That's where he was for at _least_ the first four seasons.
#DRWolf001 Trixie was appropriate in her supposedly "amped-up" actions in the story. Who wouldn't be happy about, as Trixie herself said, being able to do "real" magic as opposed to just stage tricks? As for her insensitiveness, remember that Trixie has apparently been living on her own in her traveling carriage for a while now, going from town to town, not only performing but exercising her superiority over others in sometimes petty ways (showing up Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack on stage, for instance). Habits tend to die hard. I think that Trixie feels comfortable enough around Starlight that she feels she can relax and be herself, even if that means being quite abrasive. As Trixie said near the end of the episode, she's relaxed and secure enough around Starlight that she's not going to break off their friendship over a simple fight or miscommunication. Maybe she was a little over-the-top, but remember, the *entire point* of the episode was that Starlight didn't *tell* her she was being over-the-top, which led to the bottle breaking and all her anger rushing out at once. And they still made up and remained friends even after that.
In this episode, Trixie was a bit like the modern day SpongeBob character; obliviously happy and ignorant to what was going on.
my favorite episode so far, i would love to see more episodes about these two
You missed the part where Trixie states She loves a very Passionate Starlight XD
No end gag, Doc? ;)
Episodes based on secondary characters would be a nice new change of pace. I will always love and enjoy the mane six as the stars but I'd also welcome seeing characters like Maud get more of the spotlight.
I really enjoyed this episode because I did an escape room with my friends the previous day the premiere came out
I hope there are more secondary characters getting episodes of their own
I have been thinking about the Episode of All Bottled Up. Didn't Trixie already know a disappearing spell? They used one to hide from the changelings during the season 6 finale. Sorry Starlight disappearing is not Teleporting! One is not being seen the other is not being there (still visible just somewhere else). Third... Okay, I took the No Second Prances of Trixie being shot at the Manticore as maybe Trixie knew teleport just was bad at it as a possible reason for her to go ahead. But if she really didn't know the spell then... um... yeah no prancing around that issue.
I see the Mane 6's B-Plot as showing what commincation between friends enables, to contrast Twilight's and Startlight's approached. Granted that might be more ponient if Twilight was in a situation where she was angry with her friends, but the point still stands, commincation vs non-commincation.
Only huge issue I had with is how Spike choose to not go with the Mane 6 like that. It hurts seeing Spike being left out of stuff the Mane 6 are in, but the writers making him decide to not go on purpose makes it worse.
Its like the writers know many fans hated how Spike got left out but instead of addressing it, they deliberately make him choose to not go(especially for iffy reasons like comics. Like.. he rather read his comics than be included with the girls??) and not care.
Its just as bad as him being forced to stay behind to watch over something.
Its absolutely aggravating.
i swear the vibes given off by that red cloud of anger that starlight had in that bottle reminds me way to much about the red lanterns from the green lantern series. anyone else get vibes likw that?
Trixe at some points in the episode actually reminded me of season 1 Pinkie Pie
well I'm going to give all bottle up a 8.8 out of 10.
Because I love a Starlight Glimmer and Trixie theme, Spike being (sorry for my language) a smartass, Starlight being angry at Trixie and, if we LUCKY Starlight and Trixie may get a NEW best friend for the season finale.
The whole point of the mane 6 scenes was for a parallel on how the mane six are perfect friends to accentuate that Starlight and Trixie are having problems
This is my favorite Trixie and starlight episode also Trixie's absolutely adorable in this episode
Equestria Daily had a discussion on whether or not Starlight and Trixie should be made the next Lyra and Bon Bon by Hasbro. Shipping-wise.
I liked the two opening episodes quite a bit actually. In fact, I honestly loved them. I also don't mind that they're slowly starting to give more spotlight to secondary characters. But I hope the transition (if that's what it is) isn't complete before all the stories that have been told with the Mane Six have indeed been told.
1. I'm still waiting for Rainbow Dash to have an episode that gives her as great a moment as "Wonderbolt Academy" and "Top Bolt" did. I think Rainbow Dash still has a lot of potential to show the good parts of her character. I still want a Rainbow Dash/Scootaloo sister episode.
2. (A bit of an extension of the ending to 1) I want a sister episode where the sister relationship isn't the source of the conflict. Rather I'd like to see the sisters working together to resolve the conflict the way the Mane Six mares did in the Cutie Map episodes.
There are a few others, but those are the main things I really want the most. That's just me, though.
I'm hoping they give more background ponies their own stories, just to shake things up a bit. Once a show loses it's ability to surprise its audience, it's time to lower the curtain for good. One pipe-dream I have is that Vinyl and Octavia get their own episode. (Even if Nowacking never gets to do Vinyl's voice.)
The song reminds me of of the legend your were meant to be
Honestly, I felt like Trixie was really insensitive to Starlight in this episode. I've seen previous episode with Trixie in them, and even though she was overconfident, she wasn't that oblivious. Starlight clearly looked stressed and mad but Trixie ignored it because "Starlight doesn't get mad at me" and continued to not only make things harder for Starlight but also being very blunt and rude about sensitive things for her. The literal "bottling up your anger" idea was interesting and I enjoyed the parts when they cut to The Mane 6, but Trixie honestly ruined this episode for me.
This was a great episode for me, I relate to Starlight bottling up her anger as I had that experience time and time again when things don't get my way ^^ 9/10 ^^
The mane 6 were there as a juxtoposition. Twilight's friendship group has their shit together and know each other really well (though are not perfect still), but Starlight's friends are still figuring things out. That was also exactly what the song was doing in praising friendship as a problem solver, while Startlight was there struggling with balancing her anger/frustration with her desire not to loose a good friend.
This episode reminds me of a quote (there is swearing)
"Its okay to lose your shit every once and a while, because if you hold it in you'll be full of shit and you finally lose it it'll be a shitstorm, and nobody wants that"
Great review, was a suberp episode
This episode gave me some world building head canon,
That bursting into song is random and jarring, but only ponies in places like Ponyville do it, rural areas, but places like Canterlot and Las Pegasus dont, because it is aginst the status quo,
Why do I feel like the flat mane Starlight is like Pinkamena?
I guess because of the heat that the writers are feeling from the fandom after Season 6, (even though Season 6 was really not that bad and was actually enjoyable) so they are sorta playing it safe with Season 7 and not biting off more then they could chew.
I think to keep the series going they are going the power ranger route of replacing old with new characters for the same spot. A thought I applaud because I really think they reach a end with the Mane 6 arcs since they are achieve what they wanted or go through so much progression that its getting to the point the only way to continue it is to regress them.
yeah they were pretty well LinkedIn opposite of what was happening between the two blocks and was actually pretty interesting that they showed how truly opposite it was during the song and most of all they kept on saying nuts a lot.
I really think someone in that creation of this episode was obsessed with nuts
REJOICE! The writers for the season premieres are the chief story editors. Quality for each ep must be checked by them. MEANING QUALITY IS ALWAYS UP TO PAR WITH THESE TWO EPS.
"All Bottled Up" except every frame of Snowflake working a nutshack plays the Nutshack theme except every time they say "nutshack" the Bee Movie trailer plays backwards.
Like I said before on EqD - this espiode was bit weaker thank first one
mainly because Trixie evolved a bit during her previous experiences, yet here it feel like her ego is over the top - simmilar to cluelessness of Mane..3 in Cart before Ponies - like they/she forgot all her lessons
also the moment Glimmy "bottled" her anger - it was completely predictable it will break out later on (was not sure about exact way, but it was obvious)
Starlight is likely to become a magic teacher like Celestia.
I think this is a win-win between creators and fans. We wanted more characters, locations, etc and Hasbro wants to sell more toys. more characters = more play-sets/outfits = more money.
The only thing I hate about it was switching to the main six ponies and not sticking with the main part of the story. Beside that, I really love Trixie and Starlight in this episode that I wish they used all their time on.
So in other words, Starlight has learned absolutely nothing. Good job writers. I've got to give you credit, you certainly know how to keep your sub-par characters consistent. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but hey, it's something.
I'm glad Starlight said what everyone who hates Trixie was thinking and calling her out on being an insufferable nag
Then Trixie pulls an Applejack and learns absolutely nothing because "Where's the fun in that?"
What the _hell_, writers
This was a pretty fun episode. I just don't quite understand why Starlight's anger was suddenly manifesting itself into a physical form. I've never seen that happen with any other powerful unicorn.
I honestly love Starlight now more than ever. She's seem so real and willing, and repeatable than most characters.
I related to this episode fairly well. But not to Starlight. I related to Trixie.
I am fairly oblivious, and sometimes have trouble knowing when I'm doing something wrong or being annoying unless someone snaps at me. If they just tell me it's fine or ignore my behavior, then chances are I'll keep doing it, even if I do recognize it's wrong on some level.
But if someone gives me the verbal equivalent to a smack in the face, it tells me that I really do need to stop. And it's enough to get me to cease the offending behavior altogether.
I've lost friends because they didn't tell me when I was bothering them, causing me to keep doing it until they couldn't take it anymore and abandoned me altogether.
I agree and relate. However I also relate with Starlight because sometimes I don't tell my Friends out of fear either so I relate to both characters
I don't know, it was a good lesson for Starlight about not bottling up her emotions, and I agree that the younger audience should be able to grasp the idea from what they saw here. The character I had trouble with was Trixie. Yes they ramped up certain parts of her personality for the episode, but I honestly feel they went too far. A pony who depends on audiences for a living would have learned a long time ago how to read ponies better than she read Starlight, and a unicorn who can wield the Alicorn Amulet, no matter how poorly, should already know the theory behind simple stuff like making teacups out of anything. This just wasn't the Trixie we all know, laugh at, and then love.
Hasbro! Never. Do. That. Again.
...
It was also nice to see the Mane 6 having fun that didn't result in a dramatic "Elements of Harmony save the day" thing. It showed, subtly, the benefit of team building and deeper friendship in a way that the younger fans should be able to pick up on. As for the song, I don't know about EQG, I felt it was more of a return to some of the songs from the early seasons.
Can the Dunning-Kruger Effect can also be called dumb luck, and the only was you can call yourself talented is if you can do it more then once when needed, and it can indeed help if your able to undo whatever it was.
Well that my opinion and the last two parts were a poke to Trixie for her ego trip.
I suspect this is a set up for Starlight and Trixie leaving town together at the end of the season.
They did explicitly say that the season opener was not a two part episode. Thus attempting to connect the two is a touch like attempting to connect any other stand alone episodes. We got two episodes, not a two part episode. Is ee this being one of those obvious things that the entire fanbase is going to miss yet again.
Secondary Characters are rather fun in this show so I imagine they'll shift it over to them in some episodes and the mane Six.
I have too many questions about this episode, and its frustrating to know they'll likely never be answered nor any of the head scratching moments ever brought up again. this episode would have worked much better as an Applejack episode where SHE had to deal with Trixie, keeping her anger from showing because she's trying to be the better pony. It would also work because it would be a lesson about being honest with others about how you truly feel, and of course AJ is the Element of Honesty [does anyone even remember the Elements of harmony, anymore?]
And, let's be honest, AJ has been in need of a good episode for a long time, now
TorridPrime217 - But Starlight fit better and they were the best friends that would work best for this, especially since we needed their friendship we barely see to get fleshed out.
I would also like to see the teacher-student dynamic fleshed out- OH WAIT! They axed [sorry, I mean 'wrapped up'] that plot thread in the last episode! I'd prefer that long-awaited Zecora episode