"No Second Prances" Review
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- The Great and Powerful Trixie has Returned! And what Fantastic Episode to come back to.
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I certaintly related to Twilight more in this episode. I was surprised a lot of people say she was a right jerk for how she went about things but I would disagree only because I had a similiar situation myself. She was concern based of Trixie's past, and was in her right mind to do so. She knew that Starlight didn't know the past directly either, even though Trixie did tell her later on... But still ya. It was well done episode ^^
Er mer ged itz litnin bliz
If Starlight didn't show up at the end, Trixie would be dead. Yep, pretty dark.
Did Trixie did that trick or was it Starlight's doing?
This was a great episode for me, I was so glad of seeing Trixie return, this is by far her best portrayal and I got great depth into her character, as she did really want a friend and her meeting with Starlight and becoming friends and Twilight being caught in the middle was a fantastic conflict and Twilight learned a great lesson about letting Starlight make her own choices in her becoming a teacher, I give it a 9.5/10 ^^
.5?
I'd give it 10/10 just for that moment with Big Mac.
Also, I loved how I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Was she going to be evil, nice, misunderstood?
Can't wait for your review of it
+Rosie Sievers (rigifan32) my only problem with it is I kind of wish when Starlight ran away crying that Trixie was more angry at Twilight maybe saying "you always bring out the worst in me I hate you!"
+Rosie Sievers (rigifan32) How were your first impressions on the scene where Trixie shot herself from the cannon even though she knew she couldn't perform the trick without Starlight?
+Frankie Reese That scene made me feel sorry for Trixie and wanted to apologise to Starlight for what she did and luckily Starlight saved her just in time
+The Autistic Pony I gave it a 9.5 because the pacing was a bit off at times :p
the show has officially shown a pony getting so depressed that they commit suicide.
+Cheese Gal Correction, she ATTEMPTS suicide. It's only committed if it works.
What the heck you are one million percent right
+Cheese Gal
MLP has become Spongebob Squarepants!
+Cheese Gal More like putting pride above life to me.
+B'ars NI () More like putting what she consider to be valuable in life over life, to me.
Yeah I'm still trying to get over the whole "Trixie attempted Suicide" I mean did any of us ever think for even a second we could say "A character in My Little Pony attempted suicide on screen" and actually mean it?
Looks like the writers are taking a page out of Hey Arnold's book on how to get stuff past the censors. Kind of makes you wonder if they'll try to tackle other darker subject matter as well since I think that might help flesh out the world a little more to show that while it is certainly peaceful and nice, ponies still have problems.
Cranky: Okay okay. Why the crazy hair?
Celestia: Glad you asked! Funny story. Not funny ha-ha, but it was a Tuesday...
+animegx45 Why does everything happen on Tuesdays?
Wait...was that a reference to Kim Possible?! :D
+catluvr2 It's better than on Mondays...
+animegx45 This was answered in one of the IDW comics.
+Thane36425 Which one?
I'm always happy to see Trixie return. I think my favorite part of the episode was when Starlight joked about brainwashing Ponyville into become her friend. It shows that Starlight is comfortable enough with her past that she can joke about it
It was a neat episode, but i felt that Celesta was OOC, from what i have seen in episodes like "don't forget discord." that she was a bit more "trollestia" or more easy going. To see her act so serious at a dinner party with her former student was a bit strange, especially the way she seemed so stuck up, it was jarring to me.
+fithfire I know right? Wait, what if that wasnt really her, but a Changeling in disguise?
+fithfire You'd feel that way too when dinner parties get boring.
+fithfire For years fans have been wanting to see a more human (turn of phrase) side of Celestia, because she was always shown to be perfect, without faults. We got a taste in Slice of Life and now the writers just want to de-perfect her as much as possible, clearly.
I'm ok with this.
Maybe she's used to getting her way so it's like "fuck I thought my student is perfect and this dinner would be smooth like me" ........ probably not
+fithfire Yes! I agree! She was just so *annoyed* and it wasn't like her.
When I was already half-way through the episode, I was actually expecting Celestia to have a little 'princess to princess' talk with Twilight about being a teacher. After all, Twilight is being a little iffy and a bit new to this whole 'personal student' thing, and I thought Celestia would be perfect for giving a bit of advice as the end scene of this episode. But I guess the episode is still very well done and it definitely gives the viewers a moral that most of us can relate to.
(dat last scene about the hair tho x))
I liked that momemt when Twi made that forced smile to Trixie,the ending,talking big Mac XD
"No Second Prances" has probably replaced "The Gift of the Maud Pie" as my favorite episode of the season. While not an amazing and mind-blowing episode to me, I do really love this episode for one major thing:
Making me care about Starlight as a character.
This was actually my favorite episode of the season so far. Seeing once again how powerful Starlight actually is, and how she and Trixie actually made a good pair. How Twilight couldn't let go of her prejudice when it came to Trixie. It was a great episode.
I'm glad i wasn't the only that saw the scene with the cannon as very dark... i saw depression leading to suicide.... not an easy topic to deal with in a kids show....and the 2nd thing (correct me if I'm wrong), i thought Trixie could teleport on her own....
Starlight: Are you self centered?
Trixie: Yep!
Starlight: Just checking.
I died XD
"are you selfcentered?"
"YEP :) "
"k just checking"
it was always frustrating to me when the mane 6 challenged Trixie's "showoff... ness" when it was really all just part of the show. Maybe if they had talked to Trixie after her show and then shown her being a showoff it would have been better (at least in my opinion)
Actually my nitpick was the slight out of character Twilight was. At the end of season 3 episode with Trixie, it shows Trixie help Twilight and Twilight forgiving her. So it seemed out of place for Twilight not to think Trixie was no good. I don't know, I think it would have been better if it was the rest of the Main 6 or Spike be suspicious as Trixie did not show her good side to them unlike the Princess. But this episode was made to be a Twilight and Starlight centric episode and we don't need another episode putting Spike in bad light, so its a small nitpick.
As for Celestia hair, I assume it was her connection to the Celestia bodies as Twilight hair did the same thing when she moved the sun and moon.
+raw666 to be fair, she didn't immediately forgive Discord or SUnset Shimmer either and also held suspicions about both of them for a while after each of their "reforms"
+Light Lati -- Still not convinced she trusts Discord yet, considering it seemed like she forgave him at the end of "Twilight's Kingdom," but still showed signs of distrust in "Make New Friends But Keep Discord."
Still think its a bit out of character for Twilight as most villains that are redeem, she is usually seem to trust them or try to help them be good. But like I said its nick pick, as Twilight isn't too out of character to even count as a plot hole, especially with how much of a control freak Twilight is and she wanting Starlight befreind someone from Ponyville rather then someone stop by Ponyville and a dark history with.
As for the Discord argument, there is one thing different about him then all the other redeemed villains. He goes out of his to aggravate Twilight. To borrow from Star Trek, Discord is Q and Twilight is every Stafleet Captain that has to deal with him. So I can why she never trust him at the moment, especially since is a very orderly creature and Discord is pure chaos.
Haku infinite -- To be fair, I think Discord also keeps giving Twilight reasons not to trust him, but I also find Starlight to be a different beast altogether. I get the impression from this episode that Starlight's power level rivals that of the alicorns. Making a fully edible cake in an instant? Manipulating another pony's mind/biology? Then there's the foreshadowing in the S5 premier where she removes an alicorn's cutie mark. That can't be an easy feat.
My theory is Twilight knows Starlight's too powerful to be locked up, and likewise too powerful to be left unwatched. Given how obsessed Twilight is with Celestia seeing how well these friendship lessons are going, I get the impression they're being done under Celestia's order. Not only is Twilight being tested, but the success of these lessons are the only thing separating Starlight from either a stone-form prison or banishment to the moon.
I feel it's like what Tirek tried to sell to Discord, that this friendship is just a different kind of prison. Personally, though, I feel it's more like parole. One wrong move and a harsh punishment awaits, but their true freedom can still be earned.
+raw666 It's possible to forgive someone and not trust or like them.
This was my favorite episode so far, and after Trixies performance she might be one of my new favorite characters. I saw her finale as a suicide attempt as I was watching it too. She was so torn apart by driving away her one and only friend led her to try to kill herself. I can relate to Trixie in this episode, which is most likely why this one resonated with me.
I'd say this is Trixie's 2nd best performance. Her 1st, of course, was in Turnabout Storm. LOVED HER as the prosecutor! She was PERFECT in the "I don't know whether to hug you or kill you" way.
My only nitpick with the episode was Celestia. She just seemed unusually annoyed and silent. She didn't say a word to Twilight as Twilight was freaking out at the dinner. She didn't seem like she attempted to engage in conversation with the others when Twilight left. It was just really odd seeing her in such a bad mood. Half wondering if Queen Crystalis managed to replace her.
We'll have to just wait and see! DUN! DUN! DUN!!!! :-)
+TimeTravelPony I think she was just pissed she was missing Trixie's show.
+Heather Kramer maybe she realized already what Twilight was doing with the "friendship lessons" and was thinking Twilight I didn't do that to you. As Starlight said to Twilight and was brought up in earlier episodes.
+Rin Tezuka (Darkness Edgedawg) She was pissed off because Cranky is ready to beat a bitches ass over not getting a gift
+Heather Kramer
I think Celestia was peeved that she was being lied to. Badly.
She may be useless as a leader, but she's not stupid.
Silver: "This has no Comedy"
Dr wolf: "The comedy was amazing"
... wut
+Kingofgames2000 Listen to his review again, and you'll see that he Did enjoy the comedy. It was just focused on the background characters rather than the Main characters.
DRWolf001 I know it was just a bit weird
+DRWolf001 Hi Doc You have Twitter?
+Grano Onis Different people having different thoughts.
fantastic review
i hope the people who attacked the writer of this ep sees this and understands that twilight character isint ruined for ever and that she have actually learned something in all these seasons prior and not just tricked us all
yes someone actually thought that for real
+the last of the shpee's Ever since Twilight became a princess, while MLP got way more interesting with
Season 4 and 5, the brony community kept getting more and more retarded.
+CrystalGemsForever yeah on twitter apparently :/
***** Why did they attack the writer?
+Jacob Carpenter why do you think?
they hated the episode?
kind of like after filli vanill when pinkie was mean to flutteshy
***** The brony community thinks they know whats best for MLP, when in reality, all they are doing is putting themselves before the show they supposedly love.
This, to me, is one of the best episodes, not just of the season, but of the entire series.
I think this is way up on the list of my favorite episodes too.
Yes, i agree with you so much
I loved this episode. It took the scene switch with me going "Wait, that voice..." to get it was Trixie. Also, the way Starlight led up to the reveal for Twilight was clever saying how she was great and powerful before Twilight finishes it with Trixie.
Despite the very unnecessary play on words in the title, I thought this was a great episode. I'm glad they finally addressed the issue that Twilight seems willing to quickly forgive some former enemies, but not others. That's been bugging me ever since "Three's A Crowd."
I also noticed that Trixie's wagon is even better than before. I really hope we see more of her and Starlight's interactions later on.
I will admit I really loved that scene at the end. Cranky Doodle was pretty much voicing the fandom by asking how Celestia always gets her hair to sparkle and wave all the time.
This is one of my favorite episodes now. I loved that they added some depth to Trixie's character! I also think it's good for Starlight to be friends with someone she'll be willing to open up to. She can be more honest with Trixie and Trixie can be more understanding because she can relate.
I agree with Silver Quill on this though, that Trixie was probably just going on with the show because she made a commitment to do it. She told people she would perform, so she was keeping her promise to give them a show. I also agree with Silver that Celestia hasn't been all that happy this season. She seemed particularly unhappy to have to visit Twilight. It doesn't make sense, but whatever. That's another topic.
Very dark. Hell it was a full on suicide attempt! But it was a really fun episode. And DJ Pon3 seemed to be along for the ride and totally ok with that.
+Vector Brony I just wish my imagination had Nowacking say something
+D HAROLD HIT THE DECK!
Cedric Davis WHY!
Nowacking is going to explode.
Cedric Davis Really?
I came up with a way to end it on a similar note, without the expense of Twilight (as I believe that her character wasn't exactly handled right, kinda overplaying her bit):
Twilight decides to instead have Celestia (and the others) go and see Trixie's show. She could then keep an eye on Starlight and Trixie, and if all goes right, use this opportunity to show how Starlight's lessons are paying off. She says the trick's name and nopony know what it means, then lights and gets into the cannon. The manticore is revealed and Twilight panics. Trixie is fired, but Twilight flies up and catches her midair. They could then discuss how Twilight didn't trust them, despite Trixie literally trusting Starlight with her life. We could then have Celestia come in and give the lesson about second chances. She would bring up Luna and Discord and how they were given second chances. Then bring up how Discord betrayed them and was still forgiven. This also shows Twilight as still learning herself.
That would be an unplanned event and we all know how Twilight gets when she can't control things CoughLessonZeroCough. I think this was very much in character for Twilight, all throughout the series we have seen what twilight is willing to do when it comes to princess Celestia and even when she just can't control things in general and it usually over rides her rational thoughts.
+Cybresamurai That is true. I only believed that she should have grown a bit more. I feel that she should have had it "snap" inside her that she screwed up and wanted to give Starlight the benefit of the doubt. Her stress could kick in again after seeing the trick and doesn't want to take any risks with the situation.
I'm glad Trixi has finally been redeemed, and I loved comedy in this episode.
This is by far the best episode of season 6 so far, almost everything was on point and not overdone, the Starlight Glimmer story arc is slowly but surely turning into one of the best arcs the writers have come up with, I cannot wait to see how it will culminate by the end of the season and hope Starlight and Trixie's friendship will be explored more deeply.
"Great writing"? Trixie performed a trick alone she knew she might not survive without assistance.
Twilight was more suspicious of Trixie than ever of Starlight after her change, but Starlight's doing was much worse and not under the character-changing magic of an amulet.
And those are just a few things... bleh. I like the overall idea but I was totally disappointed by the execution.
+BerlinBronyANdy Plus I was totally confused by the portrayal of Trixie. I thought if was downright horrible and unconsistent. Oh well, opinions differ...
+BerlinBronyANdy it seemed a bit like a suicide attempt
+BerlinBronyANdy Agreed! Trixie even apologized to Twilight and made a effort to make up for her misdeeds at the end of Magic Duel.
+Mr Xd2 Or idiotic writing. I set for the latter for now.
+BerlinBronyANdy not really, did it go too far yes but it seemed fine
It has to be magical hair spry that makes Celestia's mane wave.
My only nitpick I have with this episode was when fluttershy cowered from the manticore onstage. Fluttershy, you helped a manticore in season 1. Why is she scared of them now?
I thought it was the same case as when Twilight wanted to use some of Fluttershy's animals for some magic practice. Fluttershy was completely freaking out that an animal might get hurt.
+tails1152 Ah. But.... how would the manticore get hurt? I'm legit curious as to how.
+Thy Lord, Arceus Either the cannon missing and hitting the manticore somewhere else or the fact they are launching a pony at his face. There was also Trixie's cone shaped helmet
+tails1152 Oh, yeah. That makes sense.
+Haku infinite it probably would have been better if Fluttershy just wasn't in those scenes or they said something to alleviate something
Welp, there goes another villain.
Chrysalis, you are our only hope.
+Neo Machine I know right? I love Chrysalis as a villain and hope they never reform her. I still love Trixie no matter what. even reformed as of now XD.
+Neo Machine Trixie was clearly redeemed back in Magic Duel. But the Flim Flam brothers are still assholes.
I guess Tirek isn't dead either.
id flip out in glee if Tirek found another way to escape and tricked Starlight into helping him, with the promise of getting everything she ever wanted over accepting Friendship. But thats just me.
I SO WANT CHRYSALIS to comeback. Part of me still believes that Sombra though isnt really dead like Meghan McCarthy wants us to think. What if that changling that flew past the Crystal EMpire in the Premiere was holding Sombra's horn or something.
How insane would that be.
Or new villains, like the map means we can at least ones we already know like a Griffin, dragon, or horse from Saddle Arabia.
+Neo Machine You say that as if Trixie wasn't redeemed back in Season 3.
2:46 “Although, there is one moment that actually gets a little dark for this show the more you think about it”
A *little*‽
The whole time Starlight felt tempted to use her magic, in hopes of gaining new friends. I kept on hearing Merlin's quote from "The Sword in the Stone" in my head.
"Don't you get any foolish ideas that magic will solve all your problems...because it won't"
As for this episode, I loved it too. Like Twilight, I also had trouble in giving Trixie a second chance.
What with her always speaking in a rather sly and duplicitous tone.
On a side note, I'm sticking to my guns in thinking Twilight...may not be ready for a teaching role just yet.
Such a role is a very difficult one to have and requires wisdom, patience, experience and care. Twilight is still rather young and learning herself.
With Celestia being a teacher, it made sense. She has been around for...who knows how long.
So, that much knowledge and experience makes her a rather capable mistress. Twilight is like a college student just after graduation, at this point.
She may have mastered one level of learning. But she still has a long list of other things to learn, as does Starlight.
She's even trying to keep herself as a good example as the Princess of Friendship.
Regardless, this was still a very fun episode with great development
Love the way Twilight is back to almost “Lesson Zero” status, how hear control need gets
the best of hear. The model student turned teachers struggles, you can see the:
“Not how or the way I would have done it”, “from my past experience” and “don’t
repeat my mistakes” wheels turning in hear head. But Twilight also remineds me
of AJ in this episode, like in “Apple Family Reunion” and ”Somepony to
watch over me” were Starlight stands in as Applebloom.
First portal of the grieving progress, and now suicide awareness. wow...
So true.
Don't forget Luna's -self harm issue- Tantabus.
DT gets at least verbally abused, Sombra had slave soldiers, Starlight has PTSD= My Little Edge: Bleak Depression is Not Magic
Am I the only one who thinks Twilight not forgiving Trixie is completely stupid? She EASILY forgive Starlight after....she enslaved an entire town for who knows how long and nearly destroyed all life with her time travelling.
What did Trixie do in her episodes? Act like a jerk in one and enslave the town in another....only unlike Starlight she was corrupted and possessed by the Alicorn Amulet.
i started to think this after the episode. ... - starlight makes even more friends and her and her friends have a stronger connection to the elements of harmony and become new bearers.
I like that theory hope it comes true
+Bob Shev That would be great - Which element would you assign Trixie? I mean: Starlight is obliviously magic.
+Bob Shev That would be a fun idea, especially if they continue a nice gradual pace for Starlight and any potential friends she encounters! My only question with that is what element of harmony would Trixie best represent? It's really hard to pin one for her. It's a safe given that Starlight would represent Magic!
+Bob Shev why? the only way I can see that happening is if the mane six die.
i was thinking more of a stronger connection to the elements ut i see were your coming from on that
This was the one episode in which I felt sorry for Trixie....
I loved this episode so much and I'm glad Trixie returned also the feels were major powerful in this I give it a 10/10 :)
I thought the way Trixie and Starlight interacted was very endearing and sweet.
Starlight and Trixie clicked right away. The ability to empathize and understand one another makes them a nice pairing.
I think it is good to note that both Trixie and Starlight made mistakes in this episode. Starlight tried to force Big Mac to talk with her magic and Trixie said she was just using Starlight for a brief moment due to her egotistical manner.
Trixie seemed so depressed and dejected that it appeared that she had lost all hope. She had made a friend and lost her due to a slip of the tongue...
I can really get that! And this episode is now one of my favorites. I would love to philosophize and depate the different aspects of the show and characters. This episode is actually more complex and deserves to be analyzed.
The episode showed traits in Twilight, Starlight, and Trixie all showed similar traits and I think that is important too.
The moral of the episode is... When it comes to making new friends, you have to make your own decisions and give others their space to make their own decisions, no one can make then for you, and that everyone deserves a second chance at redemption.
+LeoHightower Well, that's a mouthfull
+WoodenBoy BearLover (WoodenBoy7101) Its a work in progress.
IronicTB exactly!
I really liked this episode and I feel it's going to be one of those episodes I love more and more each time I revisit it.
I'm actually happy for once that Mlp: FiM can show what it really feels like to lose a precious friend. Especially when you feel like you've done nothing but screw up throughout your life. People call it dark while I call it the real deal with no sugar coating it. Losing friends isn't something that can always be repaired. For first time since pinkie pie got depressed during her birthday, the show is revealing true elements the heart goes through when we do something we HIGHLY regret and feel there's no possible hope for change.
Thank you writers for no longer sugar coating real life situations that people have a hard time dealing with. This reached out to me and I absolutely LOVE this episode.
As weird as this might sound to some, I think Trixie and Starlight's fallout and the scene where Trixie performed that dangerous trick even though she knew she couldn't do it without Starlight was actually handled fantastically. The scenes managed to capture the emotion that both Starlight and Trixie were facing during the fallout after Starlight had her feelings hurt. And it did show that Trixie had genuine remorse for what she said, unlike her apology in Magic Duel. I know i'm making a bold claim by saying this, but this episode was flawless when taking everything that made this epsidoe great into account. It's a solid 10/10 for me and probably the only one i'll give for this season.
+Frankie Reese Eh I think the dialogue could've been better in some areas. Like Starlight saying how she regrets being EVIL feels too on the nose if you ask me; almost like the writers are talking down to us half the time because they feel the constant need to spell things out for us. Starlight wasn't even really evil to begin with. She was just misguided in her way of thinking, and made a lot of bad choices that ended up putting her in antagonistic role against Twilight and her friends early on, but only to realize later how wrong she was, so she was never evil. Just somepony that made a lot of mistakes, so this whole "I used to be evil" stuff feels too childish. They should've just had her say, "I regret the mistakes I made" or something like that. That would've sounded more grown up if you ask me.
apart from that, i agree with you. the rest of the episode was flawless. I loved the humor in it especially. Plus, I love how this episode fleshes out Trixie more as a character, and how even when you do forgive someone, it doesn't always mean that some animosity won't still be there between the two parties.
To be honest with you, I thought the fist few episodes this season were meh at best. Granted, I did love seeing Sunburst and Starlight together again, but it felt rushed, so I'm hoping we'll see an episode with those two again sometime this season.
However, "Gauntlet of Fire" surprisingly impressed me, and this episode is arguably even better than that one, so I'm hoping this a trend that maybe the rest of the episodes will be great from here on out, and that the season was merely off to a slow start. At least, that's I'm hoping for.
+Steven Escareno No, see, that's one thing I would definitely disagree on. Starlight was EVIL. She didn't just do something she thought was right. There's every indication that she knew exactly how bad her actions really were and she was actually just doing it all out of spite. Out of a pathological need to live up to something.
And this episode right here, I think, helps to really support that mentality. Starlight wasn't misguided. She's an impatient sociopath. She's clearly interested in making a token effort, but she has terrible social skills and very quickly resorts to the same "manipulate everyone" tactics that she's been using for who knows how long. When given someone who actually empathizes with her to some degree, she immediately opens up and just connects with Trixie on a very personal level.
I think the episode really did superb work developing Trixie's personality as a foil for this, too, as Trixie comes off less like someone who _lacks_ social skills and more like someone who just doesn't _want_ to use them. When given someone approachable, she's perfectly friendly, but she just reacts to negativity or distrust with passive-aggressive smugness and boasting. She's an egomaniac with no verbal filter and no respect for anyone who doesn't respect her. NOT just a self-obsessed jerk.
Fuzzballfox Onionring Even if what you just said is true, it doesn't dispel what I just said. Saying stuff like "Oh i was evil. I was totally utterly evil. oh how evil I was" saying corny crap like that is too on the nose, and not realistic. You think most criminals that get out of jail, after doing some sort of unspeakable crime, are going to be like, "Oh i was evil. I was totally utterly evil. boohoo." No ex convict is going to talk like that. Sure, the ones that truly do feel sorry for their crime at best will say crap like, "You know. I was young. I did a lot of messed up crap in my day, and not a day goes by that I don't regret my past mistakes." That's how a grown up would talk. Nobody that gets out of jail would be like, "Oh dude, I was totally evil. How can anyone like me because i was totally evil."
Plus if you have dialogue that spells out everything for your audience, then it destroys the replay value for the kids watching this show. Think about it for a minute.
If you spell everything out for kids like they're stupid, then it hinders them from learning how to think for themselves. Look up Jeremy Jahns' review of "Smurfs 2", as he explains it better than I can.
In one particular scene in smurfs 2, Papa Smurf and the rest of the main smurf characters save Smurfette, and after she thanks them, he's like, "Of course, that's because we're family and that's what family does." Whereas if he just said, "Of course smurfette. we could never forget about you", or something like that, then it would've been fine. Kids still would've gotten that they cared about her. And even if they were stupid enough not to make the connection back then, they could watch it ten years later and be like, "You know something...Papa Smurf is like a father to smurfette. I totally didn't notice that before. Deep man. Deep."
Or take Pixar's the incredibles for instance. When Bob Par starts working for syndrome unknowingly, adults got the impression that his wife helen par thought he was cheating on her. /But if you're a kid watching it, you'll be like, "Oh man she must think that he's lying to her about not doing superhero work", and that infidelity crap flies over your head. Yet 10 years later, you'll be watching and be like "Omg. I totally didn't see that before. Helen thought Bob was cheating on her. Man I totally didn't get it before." This not only adds to the replay value, but it also allows you to experience things that you didn't pick up the first time.
But if you spell everything out for someone, then the only thing you're giving your audience to come back to is nostalgia, which isn't good enough anymore. Hell, Lone Ranger has nostalgic value, but that franchise is dead.
Seriously, what's wrong with just having Starlight say something like, "Oh man i made a lot of mistakes in my life. Brain washing poinies, and nearly destroying equestria. Gosh, I truly was a horrible pony back then." What's wrong with her saying something like that? Why does it have to be totally on the nose all the time? Are you saying bronies are stupid? That we need everything spelled out and spoon fed for us to comprehend? Seriously, you have to leave some stuff up to your audience to figure out on their own; otherwise it just feels like the writers think their audience is stupid.
Steven Escareno Out of the first few episodes we got for Season 6, The Gift of Maud Pie was the best episode. It may have a followed a predictable plot, but it had a great execution with it. Everything else was decent to meh for me.
Frankie Reese Yeah I don't think there was a lot of things wrong with "Gift of maud pie" either to be honest. At least in terms of execution, but it did make me realize how one dimensional Maud is. Granted, she was a great main character in "Maud Pie", and I think she worked great as a supporting character in "Hearthbreakers", so I have nothing against her. I just think that given her character, there's not really all that much to explore with her. I mean you have both Limestone and Marble Pie that were introduced last year, whom we barely even know, so i think the episode would've worked better if it had been say Limestone instead, so we could get to know her character more. Maud is too one dimensional to where I think she's best as a supporting character rather than a main one.
I'm no expert on the matter, but didn't the potrayal of Twilight and Starlight remind anyone of a protective mother and her rebellious daughter?
For me, this episode was very, very solid and I love the humor, animation, and the moral about some people deserving a second chance. I would rate it an 8.5/10. :D
I liked this episode, particularly for the character development that was shown in everypony. Starlight, Trixie, and Twilight each had distinctly complex (yet not unbelievable or confusing) motivations and emotions. Trixie's ego, mixed with her flamboyance and the recognition of her past mistakes, as well as her desire to gain friends and redeem her reputation, really interested me. I love examining characters, as both a reader and stage performer, and the fact that the show is going beyond the stereotypes the mane 6 originally portrayed is wonderful! This episode really proved to me, above all the others, that Hasbro is going deeper into the psychology and reality of the world than I ever expected.
My theory on Celestia's hair... A thousand years ago, Luna did it to her as a prank. Cue everyone loving the new hair. And Luna finally has enough...
We're all agreeing that Trixie would die in that stomach of the manticore's if Starlight didn't came back, right? So she was about to commit suicide... Right? Or is it just me?
+Jeppe Hansen Yes, essentially, she was about to publicly commit suicide. I was honestly unsettled as I realized this.
+Kol the destroyer well she was depressed after losing her only true friend... depression makes you think/do things.
FurryMage I was unsettled because it's such a dark thing for this show. Anything else, I would have simply felt sad.
Kudos to staff for putting something like that in the episode, though, it sheds a lot of light and gives more depth to Trixie.
Hold on guys, this is getting waay to depressing. Cant we just Like laugh at some tiny Colored horses. Like the part with Rainbow Dash, yeah.. I remember that.. Starlight was Like "whats a wondercolt" and Rainbow was like "have you not heard about our Lord and Savior, Like who the fudge do you Think you are, you little piece of horse" and then.. and then the thing happend.. Yeah, the thing.. Goddamnit Trixie, y u du dis 2 mi?
+Jeppe Hansen It was all I could think about during that scene...
Kinda interested and happy that Celestia dint go and like but in, like she always does. It just seems that every time Twilight is left to do something on her own while Celestia is around, Celestia is the one that teaches TWILIGHT the lesson. It was great to see Celestia being included, but not butting in, kind of like telling us that Twilight has outgrown Celestia's parenting. And I use parenting because Twilight is free to get answers from Celestia from time to time as even adults don't know anything, I'm just happy that Twilight has grown up and has found other ways of getting said information.
Had Trixie under the microscope for this episode, and all things considered I think they handled her pretty well. I get the impression she was honestly trying to clean up her image while trying to get her career back on track, but at the same time she was still stubbornly holding onto her grudge against Twilight. Really is hard to tell if she was just using Starlight to get back at Twilight or if she just couldn't resist rubbing in Twilight's face when she messed up. All I do know is she didn't place much value on Starlight's friendship until she invoked the Discord Effect.
This episode gave us a good insight into the personal life of Trixie, as she's constantly shifting in and out of character. Her interactions with Starlight are often as her true self, but once Twilight's on the scene she defaults to her stage persona and places value on her grudge above all else. It isn't until she loses the respect of the only pony to ever show her true kindness does she seem to realize the folly of her ways. Despite trying to hide her true feelings from Twilight behind her stage persona, you can still feel the facade breaking down, so much so that once she's on deck her stage persona seems the furthest thing from her mind, baring her soul to every pony in attendance.
In the end, despite Twilight telling Trixie she's better at the manticore trick (despite the fact we all know that's a lie since Twilight can easily wink herself and Trixie can't), it still kinda feels like Trixie doesn't really care about that anymore. At that point, I think Trixie's just glad she didn't lose the first friend she's had in a long time. She still has a long road to recovery, but I think this episode far more than Magic Duel sets her on that path.
I feel Trixie is one of the characters with the greatest potentials and I'm glad to see the writers actually do something with that potential. I can't say it was perfect handling, but I also view Trixie through rose-colored glasses, suffice to say however good a job they may have done a part of me wants to say they could have done better. I do have to give them some credit for slipping a suicide attempt in under the radar, and handling it with dignity and grace, but I also question if it was a step to far for a little girl's show.
I have to say the character dynamic is unbelievable. They are the kind of characters you never see coming together but when they do it makes so much sense. This is easily one of my favorite episodes of this season so far.
I was really shocked how dark they went. That look on her face after the stunt was kind of "I'm still alive???" She while thinking for pretty sure Starlight was gone, still had hope, but went ahead, let fate decide what happens. It was no fluke or accident of the story, there is no possible other way to see that, she "jumped" and if she was "caught" or not, either was OK at that point to her.
Trixie basically attempted suicide...
Have you seen that Tom and Jerry episode where they presumably let themselves get run over by a train in depression?
That was played as a joke. Back then, cartoons tended to be more lenient with dark humour.
Heck, there was even an episode of Looney Tunes where a bird who broke up with his girlfriend spent the entire episode trying to force Sylvester to eat him.
I'd be happier with Twilight in a teacher's role, if it didn't feel so much like her character was backsliding into a lot of the OCD-esque attitudes that I had thought she'd moved past. Maybe she didn't come as far as my mind thinks she had, but Twilight is starting to feel like a flanderised version of herself, and to be honest it's starting to hurt my enjoyment of the show as far as she's involved.
Personally I loved Trixie in this episode, and despite a few misgivings about the idea that she might have gone back to hating Twilight, her feelings actually felt very well done and believeable. My issue was with how Twilight seemed so disinclined to give Starlight any space and room to grow. If Starlight's redemption and Twilight's forgiveness of her had been less unconditional I'd have said it was appropriate, but considering Twi's attitude to Starlight in the premiere, and the fact that giving Starlight space to make her own choices was Twi's own takeaway from that very episode, it felt out of place here.
On another note, I've seen some people claiming that Trixie was intending to use Starlight to get back at Twilight from the very beginning, but I didn't see any evidence of that in the episode itself, besides from Trixie's gloating when Starlight chose the show over the dinner. And even then, her reasoning was that she got caught up in the moment. From their first meeting, the chemistry between Starlight and Trixie didn't seem like it was being faked by either of them.
We're only 5 episodes into the season so it's a bit early to tell.
She's probably uncomfortable with her new role. I have neurotic tendencies that I had gotten control of for the most part in high school, but I slipped back into them in college with a new environment and new things expected of me.
There's also a bunch of new writers on the show. Every writer has a character (and/or archetype) or two that they don't write very well. Maybe the writer of this episode just isn't that good at writing Twilight.
When did she move past that? This feels very much in character to me especially in this episode where starlight pressed two of Twilights "Buttons." Going against the schedule and possibly getting princess Celestia even mildly uncomfortable.
Spotted Hyena
Not just in this season, though, but looking back to how she reacted in What About Discord, and how in The Hoofields and the McColts she spent much of the episode incapable of doing anything without a book to tell her what to do.
Cybresamurai
As I said, I could be mistaken. If I am, it's probably because I'm confusing fan characterisations with her canon portrayal. But Her extolling the virtues of properly placed silverwear didn't sit all that well with me, as an example of something not related to having buttons pressed.
It all feels odd, when back in season 4 Twilight was willing to trade away a pile of her own books, and only held on to them because of the memories they held, as opposed to because of any usefulness.
+andymac4883 While I don't care for this episode, I didn't have a problem with twilight considering she acts how many parents react when a kid brings home a questionable friend. I think the backslide (ocd and overdependence on books thing) was way more jarring in the Hooffields episode. She did all that growing then all the sudden we're back to a book freakout.
Oh! Also one of my favorite jokes of the episode was Twilight in the bushes going "Who can say who said what? I certainly can't! Can you?"
To Vinyl. Who is mute. And literally cannot say. Like that was such a subtle joke and made me laugh so hard.
"Way to go dum-dum" is hands down the best line in MLP.
I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed Celstia's constant "I am having *none* of this shit" face throughout the episode.
I honestly thought that Starlight not showing up to the dinner was a sign of her dedication to her friend, since she had to choose between helping a friend in need and a formal event.
I'd like to think that I'd do the same thing in her horseshoes, but I can't be certain that I'd do it every time.
Did you notice that Starlight didn't teleport the helmet out of the manticore's stomach? Its going to be rough for him to pass that.
5:05- that question my dear Dr. Wolf may quite well be beyond our comprehension.
I like the mutual student teacher dynamic between Starlight and Twilight; after all, you never stop learning!
"Everyone and Everything is my superior in that I may learn from them." Quote
I LOVED IT! Trixie is one of my favorites and this episode only made me relate to her even more. I felt really bad for her too. Everyone deserves a second chance.
Celestia has a invisible secret service pony following her around with a giant box fan. That's how her hair does that. Luna has one too. :P
I found the Big Mac scene rather disturbing actually. Starlight straight up FORCED Big Mac to talk. No one seemed even phased by the fact that Starlight exerted her will over someone else so easily.
AJ was pretty angry about it.
Mirality Yeah she's pissed she messed with her brother but doesn't seem at all put off by the actual action. It's treated less as something morally wrong and more like a minor screw up.
+tetsiga45XxX
This Big Mac gag become very annoying like he can't talk sentences except with his Yups and Nopes. When he clearly can. I think writters took this as comedy gag too far and not allowing him to express himself, except when they need him to. But in those cases they try make it as a joke by giving him female voice or get shuted by other ponies.
***** People can not like speaking and keep to themselves so I don't really see a problem with the way Big Mac speaks. But that's not really relevant to whats being talked about. Regardless of whether you like or dislike Mac's way of communicating you have to agree what Starlight did was messed up.
tetsiga45XxX The issue is that they consider out of character or wrong for Big Mac to say ANYTHING except for yups and nopes. Not because he is a "small talker". It feels forced to be a comedic gag for each time when Big Mac appears.
My reaction to the final line of the episode:
"No, don't you dare cut to credits! Answer the bloody question!"
Cut to Credits, Que incoherent expression of rage.
Of interesting note is that when Luna was depowered in the first few episodes, her mane was normal, and yet by nightmare night Luna had developed the same ever-flowing effect of her sister. Twilight also didn't immediately go all HD mane when becoming an Alicorn & neither Candice or Flurryheart show any sign of this what-so-ever. So despite Luna & Celestia both being Alicorns, and the effect being something fans originally associated with the Alicorn princesses, it may have nothing to do with their status after all.
Maybe it is something akin to the Royal we? A leftover trait from more traditional roles that the sisters maintain out of habit due to their age? Or is it connected to their roles as the governors of the celestial bodies of the moon and sun?
I loved the episode, and also think the writing was spot on. But I might be biased, me being a huge Trixie fan. What I am very happy about, is the acknowledgement of the similarities between Trixie and Starlight; it was a pet peeve of mine from the ending of season 5, and I was pleasantly surprised that they did think about it. I still don't like Starlight Glimmer much, but this brought new light to her story arc; it's going in the right direction. Hoping we get more Trixie.
Interesting, I never thought what Trixie did in the end, was trying to suicide. They mentioned the trick could be performed without magic, and Trixie must have known how. She was sad, but she is proud, so I saw it as Trixie trying to do it all by herself, risking her life. It was moronic? Yes. It was a bit dark? Yes. It was dangerous as Tararus and probably could have ended up very bad? Of course, that is why she was still hoping Starlight would help her. But imho she was not committing suicide.
That moment when Trixie hoping Starlight will help her really touched me for some reasons..It really is a fantasist one
I love it. Trixie and Starlight play off each other very well. And the comedy was definitely on point.
"How do you get your hair to do that?"
MAGIC *snort *snort
The fact that the sneaked in a lesson about suicide, let alone brought Trixie back in the *perfect* way has quelled any worry I could have for future episodes. We might have some slow ones eventually, but we know for sure the creativity is still there. Looking forward to more surprises!
I especially enjoyed the Big Mac talking moment even if there were other good jokes. It would've never crossed my mind that Trixie was so depressed that she shot herself into the mouth of the manticore without any sort of way out in case the trick failed. Trixie was probably the best possible candidate aside from Sunset Shimmer and I'd like to see her in future episodes even if she isn't a huge part of the plot. Even now that Twilight is a teacher, her actions show that teachers will also make mistakes and can learn something from the students. Celestia's hair probably does that because she cast a spell on it.
Dear Dr Princess Wolf,
Today I learned that unicorns really abuse their magic. Like, ALL the magic.
Dragging ponies, dropping cake on ponies, forcing ponies to talk, silverware abuse, etc.
Oh and ethereal mane magic. Cause that ain't conditioner.
this has to be my favorite Trixie episode, i will say that at first i was afraid that she was just befriending Starlight just to get back at Twilight, but you can tell that she truly wanted to be friends,
that was a great review Doc, you even got me thinking about Trixie's trick, maybe she wanted to be eaten by the manticore, maybe the fact that she lost so much over the years that losing Starlight was the last straw, i dont know i could be over thinking it.
keep up the great work
The part where Angel favours Starlight over Fluttershy was both adorbs AND hilarious!!!
My thoughts on this episode is that is I'm glad to see Trixie back after 1 season that her being absent and Starlight learning more about friendship even though Twilight wasn't sure about Starlight's choice of making Trixie her friend.
I really thought Twilight was out of character for this episode. After having forgiven Trixie after her apology from the last time they met for this complete 180 to occur really rubbed me the wrong way. She's supposed to be the "Princess of Friendship". A princess of friendship shouldn't be trying to prevent friendships. I just thought that this was out of character for her and she would have learned that lesson by now. She's the one who's supposed to be the mentor. I expected better of her.
Something that I think is funny was when Cranky Doodle thought Twilight said nose hair trimmers!
Great Review Wolf,
To me, the episode rocked on how everything was so Balanced and keeps the story flowing, And it was very nice to see Starlight have a friend that has a Relatable Past which was Trixie, I mean, That was Genius! :P And all the Funny Scenes were also great too, Even the Last line xDD
Best guess on Celestia's mane and tail: it comes from her connection to the sun. The Journal of the Two Sisters explains that alicorns can actually draw energy from the sun and the moon, and Twilight's mane and tail began to flow magically when she was moving the sun and the moon during the season 4 finale. It's just a guess though.
Didn't Twilight learn to give Starlight space to learn on her own in 'The Crystaling?' Not only that, but Celestia's teaching style is very hoofs-off, so did Twilight learn from Luna instead? I don't get it.
I believe Celestia's and Luna's ethereal manes come from achieving a certain level of power over time. Sombra had a similar effect, although Discord lacks it completely -- but he's always an exception to the rule.
+Ben N (BNuts) Discord is not even a pony, so i doubt the same rules would apply to him. As for Twilight, you know how she is. Throughout the series, she's been prone to micromanage things too much at times. Plus, I think her intervening with Starlight's friendship with Trixie had more to do with her past animosity towards trixie than it did anything else. I"m fairly sure if it was any other pony than her (i.e. pony x), then she'd probably be cool with it.
Steven Escareno There needs to be a crisis that Twilight is present but unnecessary to solve, or that she becomes an obstacle to solving so she can learn that she's not always the 'hero.'
What animosity could Twilight carry toward Trixie? All of the worst things she did were under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet, and Twilight said she forgave her at the end of 'Magi Duel.' It's less than useless for Twilight to hold a grudge for that long, and obsessive for Trixie to do so (although perhaps not out of character for her).
Twilight was definitely holding the idiot ball this episode. I hope this doesn't mark a trend, since she was also sharing the idiot ball with Starlight during 'The Cutie Re-Mark.'
+Ben N (BNuts) She was under the influence, but Trixie's face is still associated with, not one, but two of the near annihilation events of Ponyville. Even though she's not inherently evil, Trixie makes dangerously poor decisions that put Twilight's friends' lives on the line. I could see her as a dangerously bad influence for someone with genuine power like Starlight.
At least this episode, her stupid decisions only put her own life at risk, but it still shows that she shouldn't be leading in a relationship with anyone. But given her fake confidence, Starlight would probably follow her lead anyway. If this weren't framed in a kid-friendly show, I'd be just as concerned really.
EmessariesOfChaos Trixie didn't cause the 'annihilation event.' That was Snips and Snails with the Ursa Minor. Trixie wasn't going to annihilate Ponyville, just rule it with an iron hoof. I honestly think Rarity did more damage in 'Inspiration Manifestation' than Trixie did in 'Magic Duel.'
Ben N Her boasting was the direct cause of them going to provoke the Ursa. Had she never come, that never would've happened. That incident is also a perfect example of why she is a bad influence. When people listen to her, bad things tend to happen. For a perfectionist, it must seem pretty unnerving to let her be an influence on her first pupil - who she was unable to actually defeat I might add.
I kinda wanna ship Starlight and Trixie now
+Lunarocks Productions Or Starxie.
+Ryan Barham omg that sounds like a super market in Canada Toronto (It's called Starsky) pronounced Star-Skee
Trixie's "suicide attempt" can be interpretated in several ways. In a way, it's likely she does this to show that she's being serious about being Starlight's friend. That she's willing to still be shot straight into the jaws of a hungry manticore just to show that she's sorry about using her to get at Twilight.
That deep down, they had a real connection and Trixie didn't want to lose that.
Random thoughts:
Twilight's obsession with silverware placement, as a metaphor for her being a control freak. Also how she freaks out and panics when her carefully laid out plans suddenly go wildly off script. Starlight magically setting the table, getting an off script friend (any takers on a bet that twilight had written every pony in Poneyville into a multi branching plan.)
Trixie's attempted suicide as a perfect teaching moment on social outcast/bullying pushing people over the edge. Remember her working title, she knew she had done wrong and was trying to apologize for it. We meet her at a spa, where I'm wondering if the main motivation was just paying someone to just care for and pay attention to her. Her profession is "stage magician" which is often portrayed as a geeky loner hobby. Ponies constantly gossip behind her back. Then she finally after years of going solo, she finally has a friend which she loses do to her own actions. This is the last straw, she gives up.
Cont.
Why was Flutterfly the only Pony truly terrified when she could understand what the Manticore was saying? Everypony else was calm because, they had suspension of disbelief on their side. They all assumed that it was a trick, an act that the manticore was trained. Fluttershy had her eyes covered and never saw Trixie get eaten. My hypothesis is that she fainted when she heard the Manticore say "yummy!".
Here is a new hypothesis on Celestial. Yes, she has cool waving hair. What if the waving hair is a disability? I personally have had people comment on my cool accent and ask where I am from. I don't have an accent, it's a disability caused by a partial hearing loss. I am so tired of explaining it.
Why suicide over just losing a friend? I'll direct you to www.depressioncomix.com/
Depression is very hard to explain to the non depressed. Being at the edge of suicide is likewise hard to explain.
If Trixie did try to commit suicide, she was smart. Better to die a martyr than live as a pariah.
Celestia's hair does that to keep her horn from tooting.
Oh god! The Facial Expressions, Big Mac's Freak Out even Celestia's Dead Pan sigh at the end. This may just knock 'Brotherhooves Social' off of my fave comedic episode pedestal. X3
I have a possible answer for Celie and Luna's mane flowing all the time "Magic *snort* *snort*"
I kind of wish when Starlight ran away crying that Trixie was more angry at Twilight maybe saying "you always bring out the worst in me I hate you!"
I hope this means we'll get to see more Trixie.
Question: Why did Fluttershy get so worried when she saw the manticore? I mean she has seen and worked with manticores before.
Thank you! I didn't get that :/
+Russell Dickson I was wondering this too, until the thought OMG a character is attempting suicide, took over. Maybe she knows this one has been mistreated, instead of just having a thorn in its paw?
That was only once wasn't it? Like in the series premier? I think that time was an exception because the manticore was hurt.
+Russell Dickson I think that she was more worried that the trick didn't go well...
no offense doc, but I was upset with Twilight and her hubris in this episode
+James W yeah, it was a bit horsed, er Forced. ^-^
+James W actual the writers want Twilight to teach how to teach. A teacher is not perfect.
+RyuImperator you mean to learn how to teach (?)
89taklung yes, sorry english is not my native language.
Seeing how hard it was for twilight to control her powers when she absorbed all three other alicorn's magic, maybe Celestia has to do some kind of constant magic in order to manage her own magic?
This has got to be one of my favorite episodes for a couple of reasons which are:
1-Rainbow Dash's face in that one seen was hilarious
2- This is the fourth time they showed Celestia in season six in only six episodes!
3-A lot of background characters were shown that were actually part of the plot.
4-Trixie despite her intentions to get back at twilight was actually a good character in the episode.
5-We got to hear Big Mac talk more
6-Someone actually asked Celestia about her hair
7:Starlight Glimmer and trixie became friends!
Yaaaaa for this episode!💫
I also enjoyed the fact that Starlight is doing exactly what Twilight feared doing in Boast Busters: Using a ton of magic and making it seem like she's better than everyone else. Having Starlight smart out the episode that way only to bump into Trixie seemed like an interesting callback to me.