S05E04: Bloom and Gloom

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S05E04: Bloom and Gloom

Postby Wayoshi (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:00 pm

Apple Bloom cannot get the prospect of her still nonexistent Cutie Mark out of her thoughts, and the increasing pressure causes anxiety that threatens to turn a special day into a nightmare.


This thread is for discussion of this episode. The episode airs at 11:30 AM Eastern / 8:30 AM Pacific on Saturday, April 18!

Official preview clips and images are okay to post, as is speculation about the episode.

Writer: Josh Haber
Last edited by Wayoshi on Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:17 pm

Nightmare wording really has me thinking this will be Apple Bloom's turn to get some wisdom from Luna.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:22 pm

The Doctor wrote:Nightmare wording really has me thinking this will be Apple Bloom's turn to get some wisdom from Luna.

Judging by the other synopses that we've seen, I think the nightmare in question is metaphorical rather than literal.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:27 pm

Still, it'd make sense for this episode to be the Luna dream one, they've done it for the other members of the CMC so far. My big question is...will Apple Bloom finally get her cutie mark in this episode? Is this the one that may change the show?
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:38 pm

I don't think it's going to happen in this episode, but I really am hoping that they will get their cutie marks at some point in S5.
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Postby Octavia (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:41 pm

It doesn't sound like Apple Bloom is gonna get her mark this episode. Since she's the one that's obsessing over it the most, it wouldn't surprise me if she were the last of the three to get her mark. It would probably lead to a good episode about jealousy. :annoyed:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:44 pm

Octavia wrote:It doesn't sound like Apple Bloom is gonna get her mark this episode. Since she's the one that's obsessing over it the most, it wouldn't surprise me if she were the last of the three to get her mark. It would probably lead to a good episode about jealousy. :annoyed:


I'll be a little let down if she doesn't get hers last. The jealously aspect just seems like a great plot point to address.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:05 pm

Well, in that case, considering the vagueness of the synopsis, could Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo get it in this episode?
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Postby Marimo (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:11 pm

I just wonder how they would be able to do the CMC getting their cutie marks. An issue the writing staff had with the key arc is that they had to make the middle 5 episodes in a way so that they could be played within any order. So I don't know if they could do an episode where one each gets their own episode to gain their cutie mark, since they would have to plan a deliberate order to know which one has a cutie mark in which episode. The alternative is them all getting their marks in the same episode, presumably near the end of the season, but to have Apple Bloom get hers last and have insecurities in the meanwhile would wind up putting too much focus on her for a group episode, and could result in Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle getting theirs early just so Apple Bloom getting her mark would become the climax. I suppose this episode could wind up giving us the conflict about her feelings about being left out without actually having Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle get theirs yet, giving us the conflict we would've wanted while still being able to focus on all three getting their marks equally later on.
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Postby Octavia (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:13 pm

They had the perfect opportunity to give Scootaloo her mark in Flight to the Finish. They even teased it a little. :argh:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:22 pm

ROBOT B9 wrote:Well, in that case, considering the vagueness of the synopsis, could Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo get it in this episode?


I doubt it. That scene and in the season teaser with Sweetie Belle about to sing I bet is part of an Apple Bloom Nightmare in this episode.

Octavia wrote:They had the perfect opportunity to give Scootaloo her mark in Flight to the Finish. They even teased it a little. :argh:


Logically Scootaloo really should already have her mark. She knows what she's good at and she loves to do it. Especially after learning that flying isn't everything she should have it.
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Postby Perpetual Lurker (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:35 pm

I relate to this tiny apple horse. Having no idea what you're going to do with your life while everyone else around you figures it out is incredibly nerve-wracking. :cry:
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Postby RudeCyrus (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:58 pm

Give these kids their friggin' cutie marks already!
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 5:02 pm

Marimo wrote:I just wonder how they would be able to do the CMC getting their cutie marks. An issue the writing staff had with the key arc is that they had to make the middle 5 episodes in a way so that they could be played within any order. So I don't know if they could do an episode where one each gets their own episode to gain their cutie mark, since they would have to plan a deliberate order to know which one has a cutie mark in which episode.

That might not be such a limiting factor anymore. For example, consider how Sweetie Belle finally learning how to use magic in Twilight Time, then we saw her using it again in For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils. That's a fairly minor thing, but it's still an example of an episode referencing something that happened earlier in the season.

I just think that each of the CMC have gotten big enough on their own to where they deserve individual episodes for getting their cutie marks. Cramming all three into one episode would be doing them a disservice, unless it's some sort of cop-out where they each have big episodes where they do different, important things, and then an episode at the end of the season where the three of them talk about it together and finally realize what they're good at and get their cutie marks all at once.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 5:22 pm

Fizzbuzz pretty much said everything I thought about how the storyline should be done. I'd like to add that I think the episodes shouldn't be consecutive but should be spaced out to create more of a surprise.
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Postby Bremen (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 5:26 pm

The Doctor wrote:Logically Scootaloo really should already have her mark. She knows what she's good at and she loves to do it. Especially after learning that flying isn't everything she should have it.


The big reveal will be the CMC already got their cutie marks, Discord just made them invisible so they would continue wreaking chaos upon the world.
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Postby Marimo (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 5:33 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:That might not be such a limiting factor anymore. For example, consider how Sweetie Belle finally learning how to use magic in Twilight Time, then we saw her using it again in For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils. That's a fairly minor thing, but it's still an example of an episode referencing something that happened earlier in the season.

It's not exactly something that was introduced in TT. We also saw a bit of her magic going out of control in PTS, even though it was due to the forest. And it's precisely because it was a minor detail that it could have gotten through, because people aren't going to consider something like "Sweetie had troubles levitating a broom before TT" and "she can use magic to open a cardboard box's covers in FWtSBT" to be so linked that if FWtSBT aired first it woundn't have mattered as much. They can risk small possible references like that. The same can't be said for something more noticeable that does connect to previous episodes, especially if it's visible like cutie marks. They don't know if an episode may have to be held back or something like Trade Ya. You can't say it might not be such a limiting factor anymore due to them allowing a small detail when in the same season it was explicitly made a limiting factor when it came to linking the episodes of an arc.
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 5:36 pm

At this point, AB is ready to seek out Starlight Glimmer because even an equals sign is better than nothing.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:15 pm

I just saw that Larson has been dropping some writer info on Twitter. Haber is doing this one.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:34 pm

Ooh, now we're cooking. Can't wait to see what Haber's got for this episode, it seems like a good opportunity to do a range of emotions.
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Postby Applepie (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 9:36 pm

I guess this will end with a tease like in Flight to the Finish. :smirk:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Wed Apr 15, 2015 9:37 pm

Applepie wrote:I guess this will end with a tease like in Flight to the Finish. :smirk:


I think the CMC are going to get their cutie marks this season, and that this is the start of that arc.
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Postby Rainbow Crash (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:37 am

Perpetual Lurker wrote:I relate to this tiny apple horse. Having no idea what you're going to do with your life while everyone else around you figures it out is incredibly nerve-wracking. :cry:

Here's a big life secret: no one else knows what the fuck they're doing either, they just get good at faking it :spoiler:
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 6:25 am

The Doctor wrote:I think the CMC are going to get their cutie marks this season, and that this is the start of that arc.


Between the map and this, that's two story arcs so far. Hope that they manage to pull it off as well as they did in Equestria Games.
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Postby Chaos Sonic (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:24 pm

The Doctor wrote:
I'll be a little let down if she doesn't get hers last. The jealously aspect just seems like a great plot point to address.

i think she should get hers second, honestly. then we can have a jealousy episode when the first gets it, as well as seeing how she reacts to having one when one of her friends still doesn't.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:32 pm

I think the impact would be better if it comes last, though. Applebloom having to deal with both her friends changing and being afraid she'll be left alone again could be some powerful stuff if it's written right.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:52 pm

ROBOT B9 wrote:I think the impact would be better if it comes last, though. Applebloom having to deal with both her friends changing and being afraid she'll be left alone again could be some powerful stuff if it's written right.


Especially since Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle have shown that they would not care if Apple Bloom got hers before them. Would not be terrible if AB didn't get her last, but it would be a missed opportunity.
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Postby Throbulator (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:10 pm

Feels like this is shaping up to be another run of the mill 'BUT AH WANT IT NAOW' AB episode.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:29 pm

Don't worry, Applebloom. There are adult ponies who don't have their cutie marks, either. Maybe you can get a job as a gardener background pony, too.

The Doctor wrote:Logically Scootaloo really should already have her mark. She knows what she's good at and she loves to do it. Especially after learning that flying isn't everything she should have it.

A persuasive speech cutie mark?
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:04 pm

So, I wonder if we'll get another CMC song in this episode.
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Postby Marimo (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:13 pm

ROBOT B9 wrote:So, I wonder if we'll get another CMC song in this episode.

Try an Applejack lullaby.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:18 pm

:liarjack: Yup, your cutie mark doesn't change you, it's what's inside that counts.

:gah: But what about the story you told us about that village you and the others visited last week?

:bluh: Shup up.
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Postby Applepie (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:50 pm

And so AJ got a song, for a short time. :yay:
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Postby Ransom (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 10:10 pm

The Doctor wrote::liarjack: Yup, your cutie mark doesn't change you, it's what's inside that counts.

:gah: But what about the story you told us about that village you and the others visited last week?

:bluh: Shup up.


Nerdtime :ponynet: Well, strictly speaking a Cutie Mark represents what's already inside you, so it's a moot point. Now if you had your cutie mark magically mussed with, like a pony ripping it off with an evil spell, your best friend dinking around with ancient spell, or, oh yeah EATING A WHOLE BOWL OF HEART'S DESIRE FLOWER that's another story.

Basically, magically messing with cutie marks always ends badly.

Anyway, preview is adorable.
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 10:53 pm


  • That song. :allears: Welcome back, short Pony songs, you were missed.
  • Definite lead-in to dream sequence. Luna cameo probability: 85% and rising.
  • It's easy to hear, at times, that Michelle Creber's getting older. Just like everybody else!
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:09 pm

Mechanical Ape wrote:
  • It's easy to hear, at times, that Michelle Creber's getting older. Just like everybody else!

How old is she? I thought she was already 17 or 18 or something, so maybe she's just being directed to play Apple Bloom as sounding older than in S4.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:16 pm

Creber's 15, according to her wiki page.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Fri Apr 17, 2015 1:46 am

Huh, consider me corrected then. I suppose that's all the more reason I hope they'll get their cutie marks this season, since then it'd make sense for them to literally sound like they're growing up.
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Fri Apr 17, 2015 2:53 am

Cute clip. Nice to see AJ have a (short) song. :twasnothin:
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Postby Wylie (?) » Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:17 am

The CMC's voice actresses getting older is one of those things that they just didn't account for at the outset- they figured it was a three-year gig at best, so why not get some actual kids to play them? Now it's 5 years later and they're all 15-17 years old, and I imagine it's only going to get harder for them to keep those voices squeaky for the movie and beyond.
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