S04E24: Equestria Games

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Re: S04E24: Equestria Games

Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:06 pm

Awesome moral that deeply resonated with me personally, 'nuff said about that, but also: Fluttershy doing arm curls! :whatsup:

Was wondering at first whether Claire Corlett would have any lines at all, but Sweetie got to say a couple things later, so it was okay.

Fun continuity mishmash, with resolutions to all the Equestria Games setup episodes, along with the return of a lot of secondary characters (the crystal ponies, Harshwhinny, the Saddle Arabians, Flitter & Cloudchaser when Spike was doing his cloud save, Derpy, Chunk Beefheart, etc.) Plus all of the Mane Six, the princess, Spike, and the CMC -- it felt like a very full episode. Even as a one-parter, there was this big feel about the whole thing.

Ponyville is a small town but it's home to a lot of exceptional ponies, so it does disproportionately well in the games.

Who took care of everyone's pets?
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:13 pm

Wayoshi wrote:I still think JFS is way better... I understand the moral can be related to easily, but what else spectacular is there here? :pinkieshrug:

I'm chalking this up to "OMG new episode" overreaction. :twiright:

I'm torn... this one had Spike learning a very good lesson, and actually focused a lot on his thoughts and feelings, and actually gave him proper respect in the end. But JFS had more of him with the CMC!
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Postby Watcher (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:21 pm

I really enjoyed this episode of My Little Pony a lot. I wasn't expecting the moral, and by the end I was crying a little bit. It was probably one of the most powerful episodes of the show, and I really appreciated it. :flutterunsmith:
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Postby Dexanth (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:31 pm

I can't believe pony did Cringe Humor.

And did it really well, in that it went from awkward to hilariously awkward.

This episode was overall really good. I guess even Princess Horses went through Security since otherwise they could have just gone horn laser pwe pew?

Although if so, that seems like a giant security vulnerability in and of itself :v:
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Postby InsertAuthorHere (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:34 pm

You know, I enjoyed the episode on the whole, liked the games we saw, and loved the way it handled Spike. And then I got to see the reactions to the episode:

"Worst episode ever!"

"Those meanies just want to be mean to Spike again!"

"We want the games! Get rid of Spike!"

So far, TRS is the only place to have an overall positive view of the episode. Which means I'm stuck here once again.

Excuse me, but my good will is officially gone. Good episode, excited and scared about the next one. See all of you next week.
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:36 pm

I would assume all the royalty goes through the security check, just to avoid loopholes. Remember Chrysalis was able to imitate Cadence, so such a security risk is a possibility.
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:37 pm

Dexanth wrote:I can't believe pony did Cringe Humor.

And did it really well, in that it went from awkward to hilariously awkward.

What made it so fantastic was that they did the entire song. They didn't cut away once the joke's been established. Spike has to endure the whole thing and so must we. :lol:


Although if so, that seems like a giant security vulnerability in and of itself :v:


This episode would've been a great time for the Changelings to attack. The princesses get back to Canterlot and everyone's a pod pony.
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Postby Dragoness (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:44 pm

Wayoshi wrote:ShinyNatuli: Emptyposting with the effort smiley when you refuse to fully watch the episode is offensive. :gumout: .

So basically I'm not allowed to say that the episode was flawed because the half I saw did nothing but make me want to stop watching? Good to know! Because "it's got a good moral" isn't enough for me personally to keep watching something that did nothing to interest me in its first half.
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Postby ScionVyse (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:45 pm

Mechanical Ape wrote:What made it so fantastic was that they did the entire song. They didn't cut away once the joke's been established. Spike has to endure the whole thing and so must we. :lol:

That's one of the best decisions in the episode. You can really understand what Spike is going through because you witnessed what he had to do. There's no cut away to "Wow that sure was embarrassing for Spike, derp derp derp," anyone who's ever been in a situation like that knows just how horrible Spike must feel right after that happens.
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:46 pm

:gonkity: They neutralized my magic...this is The...Worst...Possible...Thing!

:-/ What's the big deal? You're not going to need magic to watch the games.

:vogue: It's just not as fashionable.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:46 pm

A) You're not being fair to the episode by not watching it entirely.
B) Emptyposting with just an emoticon is bad most of the time anyways, it just comes off as worse when you commit A).

I mean, in some way I agree with you, that whole segment was kinda a waste of time, there were probably better ways to kill Spike's self-esteem than that (but the issue probably was, how do you also get the EqG flame actually lit, because it has to). But I mean, maybe the first half doesn't matter as much, or works better when you watch the second half. You really should watch and judge an episode as a whole, not as a half.

IAH: No need to bring that into the thread.
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Postby Star Platinum (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:47 pm

Dexanth wrote:Although if so, that seems like a giant security vulnerability in and of itself :v:


I'd think Celestia and Luna were an exception or we would have witnessed a cataclysmic cosmic event. :ohgawd:
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Postby Dragoness (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:49 pm

Wayoshi wrote:A) You're not being fair to the episode by not watching it entirely.

I was more than fair to the episode, though. I gave it half of its freaking runtime. :-/
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:50 pm

And as I just edited... you gotta watch it all, IMO, and I think others would agree.
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:52 pm

I think Celestia would allow herself to be scanned, in the interest of fairness...to show there's nothing special about her, even though there is :sheepish:

:speakest: I refuse to be scanned like a can of soup at the grocery store!

Image Princess...heh...Luna, would you get on with it? We're already 8.4 seconds behind schedule.
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Postby Dragoness (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 8:54 pm

The problem is, the writer's job in the first section of something is to sell their story. They failed to sell the story in the first half, which means they have failed. Period, end of. I shouldn't have to cringe and yawn my way through over half of the story to get to "the good stuff".
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Postby Watcher (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 9:03 pm

I figured that celestia and luna probably had to be scanned as well, since it prevents rumors that they may have cheated with the games. That, or the allicorns and stuff where in an area where any and all magic-usage was monitored publicly, so they couldn't cheat without instantly being caught. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Aramek (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 9:06 pm

cringe and yawn

I very much disagree with you.

But I am not disappointed you aren't giving it a chance, just saddened that you are depriving yourself of what was a wonderful experience for almost everyone else for a reason that seemingly only you see as a hurdle. I only fear you will get further entrenched the more we talk about how much we loved it.

It was an amazingly flawless episode.

I am sorry you feel differently.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 9:12 pm


... I need to check the smiley thread. :-I

I was kinda hoping pony TSA was some out of left field worldbuilding inclusion just because, since it was awesome. Still is awesome, but it was really just made for a critical plot detail.
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Postby Dexanth (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 9:19 pm

Watcher wrote:I figured that celestia and luna probably had to be scanned as well, since it prevents rumors that they may have cheated with the games. That, or the allicorns and stuff where in an area where any and all magic-usage was monitored publicly, so they couldn't cheat without instantly being caught. :pinkieshrug:


It's a small plot hole.

If they can tell if they used magic, why seal it off? :v: Though it depends on the type of spell, if its just 'magic went off!' and not like 'X did Y!'.

Okay I guess it still makes sense I can think of tons of ways to screw with the system if it's only an alarm.
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Postby Watcher (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 9:24 pm

Dexanth wrote:It's a small plot hole.

If they can tell if they used magic, why seal it off? :v:


My guess is, because in sports, a lot of it is entirely mental. The idea that someone might cheat against or for you can throw a lot of people off and prevent them from playing their best I suppose. At least that's my assumption--though I guess its not a big deal at all :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 10:05 pm

ShinyNautili wrote:The problem is, the writer's job in the first section of something is to sell their story. They failed to sell the story in the first half, which means they have failed. Period, end of. I shouldn't have to cringe and yawn my way through over half of the story to get to "the good stuff".

Well, what else about it didn't you like? At first it sounded like you dumped the entire thing over a single joke, but what about the rest of the first and second acts was that bad? Had you been expecting something different from what you got?
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 10:07 pm

Watcher wrote:I figured that celestia and luna probably had to be scanned as well, since it prevents rumors that they may have cheated with the games. That, or the allicorns and stuff where in an area where any and all magic-usage was monitored publicly, so they couldn't cheat without instantly being caught. :pinkieshrug:


:twiright: Considering there's an entire comic about how Celestia lets Spike solve something on his own, I don't really see the problem.
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Postby happysad (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 10:10 pm

I loved this episode. So many ponies! The stadium was huge and there were ponies everywhere and there was just so many of them in one place all at once, my brain almost exploded. All the points have already been made but I just wanted to drop by to mention that the enormity of the event was really well done and when they showed the aerial views of the stadium I gasped and pointed, look at all the ponies!

Also, someone up thread wondered who was watching the pets and that got me concerned about the pets. Maybe everyone brought their pets over to Twilight's and the ponies put Owlicious in charge. Or maybe there's a pony pet boarder who didn't go to the games. IDK but now it's clearly on my mind. The pets are fine, right?
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Postby Wildfire (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 10:11 pm

Dexanth wrote:
It's a small plot hole.

If they can tell if they used magic, why seal it off? :v: Though it depends on the type of spell, if its just 'magic went off!' and not like 'X did Y!'.

Okay I guess it still makes sense I can think of tons of ways to screw with the system if it's only an alarm.


Like taking an unused anti theft tag into a store to set off the detectors at the door? :gotcha: (there's videos on Youtube of people doing this).

It didn't look like a scanner. Just something that zapped their powers. I imagine they'd have to walk through a 2nd one to get it lifted. :twiright: (to be honest it's starting to remind me of a certain topic).


PonyHag714 wrote:Now I'm picturing Spike singing "If I Could Turn Back Time." :dearcelestia:



As long as he isn't dressed like her in the video for that song. :aghast:
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 10:19 pm

I always get the feeling that, of all the characters on the show, Spike suffers from depression the most. I know others have pointed out that there has been several episodes about Spike's insecurities, but this one goes out of the way to show that this happens because Spike never believes that he's useful at all, even after being told many times.
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Postby Watcher (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 10:22 pm

The Doctor wrote:
:twiright: Considering there's an entire comic about how Celestia lets Spike solve something on his own, I don't really see the problem.


I don't really see a problem with it ether. I was just curious of Celestia and Luna had to follow the same rules as the other Unicorns, or if they where except from them-but I don't think we'll ever get an answer.


happysad wrote:Also, someone up thread wondered who was watching the pets and that got me concerned about the pets. Maybe everyone brought their pets over to Twilight's and the ponies put Owlicious in charge. Or maybe there's a pony pet boarder who didn't go to the games. IDK but now it's clearly on my mind. The pets are fine, right?


Well there are only so many seats at a stadium so not every pony in every city would be able to attend. Since there had to be some ponies still in town, I'm assuming that some of them may have been payed to take care of their pets. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby happysad (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 10:35 pm

Watcher wrote:


Well there are only so many seats at a stadium so not every pony in every city would be able to attend. Since there had to be some ponies still in town, I'm assuming that some of them may have been payed to take care of their pets. :pinkieshrug:


Oh, those are good points. Thanks!!!
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 10:45 pm

Mr. Big wrote:I always get the feeling that, of all the characters on the show, Spike suffers from depression the most. I know others have pointed out that there has been several episodes about Spike's insecurities, but this one goes out of the way to show that this happens because Spike never believes that he's useful at all, even after being told many times.

I wouldn't say he suffers from depression, per se, given that he's quite well able to feel happy and able to go and do things and such. I see it as more of an issue of underlying anxiety, a worry that he doesn't fit in or can't be loved or can't live up to his image or whatever. This is actually why I wish that the show would do an actual romance arc with him. If someone loved Spike like he had once loved a certain drama horse, and he had to fight those fears of inadequacy telling him he doesn't belong with ponies, I think that'd make for a really great episode.
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Postby Corpy (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 10:51 pm

happysad wrote:Also, someone up thread wondered who was watching the pets and that got me concerned about the pets. Maybe everyone brought their pets over to Twilight's and the ponies put Owlicious in charge. Or maybe there's a pony pet boarder who didn't go to the games. IDK but now it's clearly on my mind. The pets are fine, right?

Left them at the apple farm?
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Postby Angel Beat (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 10:59 pm

So much secondhand embarrassment. :smirk:

It was a very fun episode. :v:

Nailed it!
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Postby Minty (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 11:01 pm

Everyone loves Spike, and I don't think a romantic arc would "fix" him. Besides, having a female character come in to make a boy feel better about himself defeats the purpose of the show.

I would like most to see more Spike episodes where he's with kids his age. Part of his insecurities could come from being the only kid among a bunch of adults, so seeing him hang out with others his age could be nice. His episode with the CMC was hilarious. He tried to be in charge but the CMC basically said "Hell no" and did what they wanted.
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 11:06 pm

The pets had a wild cider party, highlighted by Owlicious wearing a lampshade on his head and Gummy passing out in the sink. An attempt was made to contact Fluttershy, but she had turned her phone off. :whatsup:
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Postby Minty (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 11:09 pm

Obviously Discord took care of the pets.
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Postby MochaBean (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 11:13 pm

With the horn deactivation spell, they missed a golden opportunity to have a throwaway gag where either Rarity or some other unicorn is struggling without their telekinesis. I've always kind of wanted to see that. :smirk:

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Postby Durandal (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 11:29 pm

MochaBean wrote:With the horn deactivation spell, they missed a golden opportunity to have a throwaway gag where either Rarity or some other unicorn is struggling without their telekinesis. I've always kind of wanted to see that. :smirk:

:ohboy: "It's easy, sis -- you're just spoiled!"


I was 100% expecting a little gag where Rarity forgets about it and runs face-first into a door or something
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 11:29 pm

Minty wrote:Everyone loves Spike

But that's the thing, I don't think he really realizes it. Consider his behavior in today's episode, how he suddenly became a nervous wreck in front of the whole crowd since he's never really had such an experience before, and how he grew at the end of it. He's never really had anyone fall in love with him before, either, so that extra step up (vs. his normal treatment from others) would make him realize how he's loved.
Minty wrote:Besides, having a female character come in to make a boy feel better about himself defeats the purpose of the show.

Yeah, it would be terrible to introduce someone just to use as a Spike-specific friend or love interest. In this case, though, I think it would be reasonable for one of the CMC (particularly Sweetie Belle, though it could possibly happen with either of the others) to start having such feelings for him. If he starts hanging out with them even more in S5 then it would be easy to set up over a few episodes.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 11:33 pm

One little bit that gets glossed over is how alike Spike and Twilight are here. Spike has stage fright and feels (briefly) uncomfortable with all the praise and fancy titles. Twilight is clearly still feeling out of place as a princess and wishing she could just be down in the bleachers with her friends.

Yet Twilight is excited for him when he's getting praised to the heavens, hoof-fed gems, and fanned with palm fronds. I expected this to wind up being more of a shared experience for them, but there was only Spike's jab about how "you NEVER let anypony down!"

I'm glad that they reworked the Ponyille uniforms a bit. :gotcha:

Laughed at Twilight looking pensive when Spike asked about turning back time -- a spell Spike knows she knows. :smirk:

edit: :shepspike: "Hullo, Gaw-juss!"

I think palette-swap Red Griffon is new. Maybe she has returned from the Dark World.
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So, what are we supposed to make of these guests of honor?
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The princesses are obvious, and then there are foreign dignitaries.
And then... Mayor, Fancy Pants, Fleur, Cherry Jubilee, and two others I don't think we've seen. The last one is clearly important because of his giant hat.

rudecyrus wrote:Oh my god that was painful. I was cringing all the way through it. It was amazing.

That was the most awkward scene in the history of the show.

I wound up skipping through it the first time because holy crap. :eep:

Fizzbuzz wrote:Ponyville is not that small anymore. Besides, given Ponyville's apparently significant racial diversity, perhaps they were able to field more of the best kinds of pony for each event than other cities with worse racial balance.

And yet, we still never see any competitors in these games except the pegasi. :wat:
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Postby Peregrine (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 11:39 pm

SlateSlabrock wrote:That was the most awkward scene in the history of the show.

I wound up skipping through it the first time because holy crap. :eep:


Yeah, I found myself pausing this episode a few times to give myself some respite.
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Postby Aramek (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 11:55 pm

Meanwhile, I cackled madly and felt more powerful than ever.

:scheming:
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