MLP:FIM Not Asking For Trouble

This episode introduces us to another new writer, May Chan. It was storyboarded by Megan Willis and Jen Davreux (both started boarding for the show last season).

This is a Pinkie episode and that means plenty of really cartoony humor. It seems rarer and rarer to find good cartoony humor in modern animation, and that is what makes these episodes such a delight. All the jokes really hit. This includes both the slapstick and the verbal humor. These jokes are perfectly timed to work as well as possible. The animation is really well done and supports the jokes very well. On top of that Pinkie is both at her most eccentric and funny and at her most believable and relatable. This is because all of her over the topness comes from places we understand. We relate to and feel all her emotions with her, which makes us understand her over the top reactions and slapstick humor.

If this episode has one problem it is that Applebuck Season already did the moral, but this episode is so enjoyable that that is not a big deal at all.

By the way Pinkie is a car.

-Michael J. Ruhland

MlP:FIM A Royal Problem

Sorry this is late I had a really busy day. Luckily for you I am staying up a tiny bit late to write this (Hooray!).

This is the eighth episode written by the team of Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco (who have previously written Castle Sweet Castle, Rarity Investigates, The Hofffeilds and McColts, Gauntlet of Fire, Top Bolt, Celestial Advice and All Bottled Up). This episode was storyboarded by Roxana Beiklik and Aynsley King, both of who started boarding for the show with the Season 4 premiere.

This is a really enjoyable episode and I am glad to see another Starlight episode as I truly love this character. There is much more to recommend about this episode though. The characters are written perfectly. It is great that in this season Princess Celestia seems to be handled with more depth than she has been in previous seasons. She is no longer presented as nearly faultless, but rather to have her own anxieties. This makes her much more interesting to watch, and it is handled very well here. Luna is equally relatable and also feels very real. Speaking of Princesses, it is so great to see Twilight return to her geeky and adorkable, as she was starting to become more bland as this stuff was shown less and less. This episode though showed her being written fantastically though and much of the episodes best humor comes from her. Of course this is a Starlight episode though and she is handled amazingly though. To show her admittedly regret what she did and worry that she messed everything up, just show how much she has grown as a character.

The storyline is really good, except for one problem. It raises a question that will probably never be answered. If Celestia can't handle Luna's job, how did things work when Luna was imprisoned. This does not make much sense at all. However the storyline is told so well and despite this is a good self contained story, that if you simply overlook this you will see that this is truly an excellent episode.

-Michael J. Ruhland        

MLP:FIM Honest Apple

This episode introduces us to another one of the show's new writers, Kevin Lappin. The story board artists were Steve LeCouilliard and Mike Alcock. Both our new comers, This is Mike Alcock's first episode as a storyboard artist and Steve LeCouilliard's second (All Bottled Up was his first).

Personally I'm looking forward to Kevin Lappin maybe writing an episode that centers around Pinkie. She was perfect in this episode. By far my favorite part was her keeping a guitar in her mane. Pinkie was really funny in this episode, but fully remained her very caring self. She was in many ways the episode's comedy relief but she was put in here perfectly and each joke she was given was fantastic.

On to the story itself and it was good. The story was may be a bit too predictable, as you can always guess what is going to happen next, however the episode is more than fun enough to make up for this. Applejack's comments can be quite funny, and Rarity trying to defend her friend is quite touching. Both characters remain very relatable. We understand how hard it is for Applejack to talk about something she doesn't care much for and her desire to be honest and make her friend happy. Rarity we also understand perfectly. We know what it is like to want to stand by a friend when they mess up. Even if we haven't been through that situation before, we know it would be hard for us to decide between those we love and what we feel we need to do. If I had one compliant about the characters (minor spoilers) it is that I think Applejack should have realized what she did was wrong earlier.

While not one of the show's best episodes this is a very enjoyable one, and Pinkie is so great everypony that likes her needs to see this episode.

By the way it is strange that with this being the 7th season, they had not actually used the title Honest Apple before this.

-Michael J. Ruhland

MLP:FIM Hard to Say Anything

This episode introduces us to a new writer for the show, Becky Wangberg. It was storyboarded by Cory Toomey (who has been boarding for the show since the 2nd season) and Thalia Tomlinson (who has been barding for the show since the 5th season).

This episode may be nothing spectacular, but not every episode of a show needs to be. This is instead just a nice enjoyable episode. The best thing about this episode is the humor. If Scootaloo got to shine last week than Sweetie Belle gets to shine this week. Her love of fairytales was charming and her line about growing older because it was a long ride there was quite funny. I also love how when she tries to pass it off as she used to love fairytales, she just happens to have the book with her (also in the illustrations why do the princesses not have wings?). Also helping the episode out is Big Mac's song. Again Daniel Ingram can really write a country song and I love whenever a song from this show is in that genre. Even though that ends up leading into a comedy sequence, the song before than is actually quite good. Though I know it is part of the story, I was kind of disappointed when Feather Bangs interrupted it. The relationship between Big Mac and Sugar Belle is fully believable and charming.  My fellow Disney fans should also enjoy a great Beauty and the Beast reference in this episode.

However this episode does have its flaws as well. Feather Bangs, is kind of a bland character and feels like he was made for plot convince. The story also feels like it has been done before, with little new added. However the episode is certainty fun enough to make up for these faults.  

-Michael J. Ruhland   

MLP:FIM Parental Glideance

This episode was the first episode written by Josh Hamilton and was storyboarded by Jae Harm and Kaylea Chard. This is the first episode Jae Harm storyboarded for, and Kaylea Chard has been boarding for the show since season 3.

Ok usual I avoid any spoilers, but there is simply no way to talk about this episode without mentioning this. We meet Rainbow Dash's parents, and get much more confused about Scootaloo's parents. Since I already reveled that simply don't read any of this if you do not want more spoiled, because more spoilers make this episode much easier to talk about.

First off yes it is really cool to see Rainbow Dash's parents, but I am here to talk about the episode itself, and to be honest this episode is............ really good. While the whole being embarrassed by your parents plot has been done so many times in cinema and TV, it usual doesn't feel this real (yeah I know I am calling an episode about a talking Pegasus real). However it is. Image someone you loved achieved their lifelong dream, would you not be attempted to react like they did? I know I would, and if I were Rainbow Dash I would be embarrassed to. The scene where Rainbow Dash yells at her parents and immediately feels terrible afterwards is almost heartbreaking, because these ponies simply feel so unbelievably real.

However what really makes this a great episode is so great is Scootaloo. While she is funny, she is far from comedy relief here. She is not only important to the story because of telling Rainbow's parents that their daughter is a wonderbolt, but she is essentially the heart of the episode. Her pride in Rainbow Dash, her longing to have parents like Rainbow Dash does (does she have neglectful parents, no parents or what? This needs to be explained in a future episode). and the heartbreak she has when Rainbow yells at her parents are so utterly believable and some of the most moving scenes in this show's history.

Wow this is such a great episode. I am excited to see what Josh Hamilton writes for this show in the future, he had a fantastic start here.

-Michael J. Ruhland  

MLP:FIM Forever Filly

This episode was written by Michael P. Fox and Wil Fox. This is the fourth episode written by them as they previously had written The Gift of Maud Pie, Applejack's Day Off, and P.P.O.V.. The episode was storyboarded by Marta Demong and Desirae Salmark. This seems to be the first episode for both of them, though Desirae Salmark has storyboarded on the feature film, My Little Pony Equestra Girls: Legend of the Everfree.

This is a quite enjoyable episode with a good lesson. What makes the episode work is the characters (though this can be said of so many episodes of this show). These characters feel real to us and because of that we believe what is happening to them. We understand Rarity wanting to hold onto the past and we also understand Sweetie wanting to be treated as an adult, without hurting her sister's feelings. Along with this there is also some good humor, such as the photoshoot and the scene before the theme song.

On the downside, while the side story about the dog is enjoyable, it does feel kind of tacked on to drive the lesson further home, and we have seen this story done elsewhere before. There is still more good in this episode than faults and these good points easily overcome the faults.

Overall this is definitely a good episode, even if it isn't one of the show's best.

-Michael J. Ruhland

MLP:FIM Fluttershy Leans In

This marks the second episode of the show to be written by Gillian Berrow (the first was the excellent The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows). The episode is storyboarded by Carrie Mombourquette (who started boarding for the show in season four), and Megan Willis

(who started boarding for the show last season). Dave Wiebe (who has boarded for the show since the first episode) provided some assisted with some of the storyboarding.

This is an excellent episode even if in many ways it differs from the average episode of this show. This is a much more slow paced episode, and there is less humor or action compared with the average episode. However this works to the episodes advantage making it feel more unique in the show's line-up. The whole episode sort of has a relaxed feel that just makes it quite enjoyable. Also really helping this episode is the writing of Fluttershy. I really appreciate that this show allows one of its main characters to grow this way. She has learned from previous episodes to be more assertive, yet through all this there is never a second of this episode where she does not feel like the Fluttershy we know and love.

Overall a great episode.

-Michael J. Ruhland