Friendship is Card Games: The Jinxie Games · 11:49am Jun 25th, 2023
Hello, fillies and gentlecolts, this is Thrill O’Victory for ZBS Sports, and this week we have what is surely one of the athletic competitions of all time. We now go to the opening ceremonies.
I’m sure the protein in Zipp’s smoothie comes from whey or some other non-meat source. Possibly dried beans, since we haven’t exactly seen any cows in G5. Though I suppose the smoothie stand itself implies some degree of dairy production, unless Sunny’s going through a lot of bananas for the right texture… though that just leads to the question of who’s supplying those.
I know, I know, this isn’t the first time I’ve questioned the G5 supply chain, but after Applejack, I still wonder where everypony’s food comes from.
Meanwhile, in the context of the cocktail, “colada” just means “strained,” so Pipp’s smoothie of choice doesn’t necessarily have any rum in it. Though I can’t rule that out.
“Mom’s terrible at texting. Last week, she sent me a text that just said ‘Don’t.’”
Given Zipp’s relationship with her mother, I feel like that was a reasonable precaution. Also, I do appreciate how Cloudpuff’s face is the dog emoji on PegOS. One of the many ways gross and subtle that the royal family impacts their culture (and, depending on how they’ve reconciled the mobile networks, possibly those of the other tribes.)
It is sweet that Pipp’s this worried about her mother. A bit concerning that she immediately leapt to ponynapping. Putting aside what that may say about public opinion of the royals after the false flight debacle, I’d think the ransom letter would be more detailed than a single emoji.
Thank you, Zipp. Context for whatever Hitch is doing would be greatly appreciated.
Oh no. Referee Izzy. This will not end well. Though I’m surprised Hitch didn’t read the rulebook end to end before participating in this event.
I have to wonder how many ancient unicorn traditions there are, versus how many Izzy has made up. One that involves games, excitement, and a general lack of soul-crushing ennui feels invented. That or it fell out of favor decades ago and Izzy’s dusting it off in happier times.
Also, “every fourth purple moon.” G4 was bad enough, but this generation feels like it’s actively mocking attempts to figure out in-universe chronology.
Filing a dragon under “critter” feels disingenuous, but when Sparky’s the only known member of the species, I suppose it works. For now.
“Sparky isn’t even a critter! He’s a baby!”
Ha! I welcome every instance of Izzy being the voice of reason, intentional or not. Though she really should’ve brought up this infraction earlier. (I have to wonder what led to the “no baby dragons” rule. Regulations are rarely made for no reason.)
My first impulse is to tell Pipp we’ve moved on. On the other hand, her mother has gone missing, so her continued focus on the previous topic is entirely understandable.
Sending a text to let her daughters know that the family pet is coming with a written note…
I mean, it is a traditional method of sending messages in Equestria, but that is terribly roundabout. And raises the question of just how long the cellular networks have been in place. Still, I do appreciate Cloudpuff’s thorough royal herald training.
“Let’s reschedule for another time that’s more inconvenient to you both.”
This is one of the bits I heard about when the season first dropped. Many folks have commented on how terribly relatable it is. It can be hard for some parents to internalize that their children have lives and obligations of their own, but this is a bit on the nose. I have to wonder whether the episode writer was venting some frustration with that line.
I do appreciate how both royal sisters have a tendency to overdramatize situations, even if Zipp couches her exaggeration in a veneer of logical deduction. When you’re raised in the public eye and the heart of a grand conspiracy, every minor slip-up feels vitally important because for most of your life, it has been.
Also, lovely touch with Sunny slowly growing concerned with Sunny growing concerned with Pipp’s catastrophizing while Izzy’s just amused by the ongoing shenanigans. She may be wacky, but she’s paradoxically the most serene member of the main cast as well. Izzy will worry when there’s clear cause to worry… and insufficient crafting supplies for her to build a solution.
Huh. Very unusual case of Hitch putting his own interests over public safety. I have to wonder what has him so enthusiastic to take part in this event. I also have to wonder how the group got as far as the field day sign-up booth before anypony objected.
Ah. Hitch just doesn’t think Haven’s actually in any danger. Which, given how the most concerning bit of evidence is a love heart, is understandable from his perspective. Still a little callous… though on the other hand, I imagine that if Haven had been ponynapped, there’d be guards storming Maretime Bay to let the sisters know and possibly telling Zipp that the throne is hers until the situation is resolved.
I do wish Sunny took a more active role in exploring the other tribes’ cultures rather than just observing them as they happen to her, though she could certainly be doing that sort of thing off-camera. Still, cultural outreach doesn’t pay for itself, and living expenses aside, she also has to determine what being an alicorn means for her in this brave new era. Sociology has a lot of competition on her priority list.
A surreal echo of Rarity in Izzy there, though I imagine she modeled the accent more on Haven. Still, when Bridlewood has a spa, I imagine some degree of fabulous influence yet lingers…
Oh hey, Misty has a B-plot. (C-plot?) And nopony locked the Brighthouse’s doors. (If nothing else, you’d think they’d get a lock installed after previous break-ins.)
Heh. I knew ZBS would cover this.
“I wish there was another way for a pony to get a cutie mark.”
This is definitely a matter of Opaline controlling all information Misty was exposed to for most of her life… but it also raises the question of how marks work in this era. Again. Though going by some other details I’ve heard about, we may be getting an answer there in time. (Yes, that time could be now, but I like the weekly cadence.)
Again, you’re telling me that the most hidebound, lawfully obsessive character in this entire show never bothered to learn the rules before competing. Really? 
Calling Zipp a detective is being at least somewhat generous.
I have to appreciate how the closed captioning went for “[maniacal laughter]” to describe the laugh Pipp immediately recognizes as Haven’s. Definitely no sinister plots to cement pegasus dominance over the three cities here, no siree.
Ah. This is the Make Your Mark analogue to “Mare Family Mare Problems.” I suspected as much, but wasn’t sure if they wanted to double up on this specific plotline. Let’s hope it’s not too much of a retread.
The diamond ring in a jewelry box in the background, between Alphabittle and Haven, is a lovely touch. Nicely camouflaged among his other winnings.
There is something deeply amusing about Haven introducing her daughters to Alphabittle in the wake of the movie. And I appreciate her falling back on royal courtesy in her nervousness.
“Sure, it was a little cryptic, but you girls do love decoding things!”
I genuinely appreciate this. She’s trying to make it fun for her daughters. (I have to wonder how many ARGs have crumbled under the weight of countless Pippsqueaks trying to solve them at Pipp’s command.)
… Wait a second, is that Boneless directly above Alphabittle’s head? (Well, a Boneless. Probably in the triple digits by now, but that’s clearly a 3D render of a G4 rubber chicken.)
There’s also the question of whether that’s a still to the right of Haven, but the teahouse doubling as a pub wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
I love Alphabittle’s smile as Haven says something important came up. Credit to the animators for some nice background details on this one.
Seriously, her getting this flummoxed as she tries to justify the visit is adorable. And Zipp retreating with all due haste is hilarious. Some things just shouldn’t be investigated.
Ah, good, at least Zipp put in that biometric lock on the elevator. I still think something on the front door is a good idea. Of course, between the residents, nopony wanted to visit half of them and the other half may not think any security without at least a platoon of armed guards is worth the trouble.
Misty’s plan to harvest magic from memories is… Well, for one, it’s creepy. For another, that’s kind of how magic works in Magic: the Gathering. Good instincts, wrong franchise.
Huh. I never thought unicorns associated magic itself with bad luck, but it does make sense during the “thousands of moons”—never mind how many years that translates to—they were magically defenseless.
“Truly superstitious.”
Dazzle’s not wrong, but let’s not forget that those same superstitions kept Bridlewoodstock from becoming more of a disaster than it already did. Can’t say I’m surprised that even in this more open era, pegasi see unicorns as savages in need of enlightenment.
It’s no surprise Haven dotes on Cloudpuff as much as she does. He’ll never leave the nest.
… Oh. I wrote that before she openly confessed her feelings of empty nest syndrome.
I admit, the Kafkaesque incomprehensibility of the field day games is growing on me. This may explain why the morose culture of Bridlewood held this event in the first place: To underscore the futility of struggle and the meaninglessness of excellence. You’re the fastest? The strongest? The sturdiest? Who cares? Nopony has magic and we’re all going to die.
Of course, in the modern era, it just looks like the Olympics as designed by Discord. Though it does still explain why Hitch never learned the rules. They’re impossible to learn in the timeframe he had. It takes a lifetime of unicorn culture to fully comprehend both the rules and their context.
“This is literally what every sport looks like to me.”
Now I wonder what athletic competitions Zephyr Heights brought to the table.
Thank you for underscoring my point about unicorn culture’s dismal, externally impenetrable worldview, Onyx.
Ah. Sparky has been relatively well-behaved for this chapter of Make Your Mark. He apparently feels he’s overdue to cause problems.
The influence of French continues to make itself known, for reasons probably best left unexplored.
Oh hey, Sparky’s weird tree magic. That hasn’t come up since “Growing Pains.” This could be quite interesting… and/or disastrous.
I do love the photo of Misty in Sunny’s album cutting her off mid-tirade. Kind of hard to feel jealous when you realize that you’re the only thing stopping you from being a ull-time part of the group. (Well, you and your liege lady/dark mistress/surrogate mother.)
Goodness, even the wallpaper of the Brighthouse ships Sunny and Izzy.
Oh, I love a good dramatic echo with different context.
Go around the cheering mob, Izzy. The stands can’t be that comfortable.
… Ah. Or eye-in-the-sky playcallers. I suppose that also works. Though asking a non-unicorn who’s leading doesn’t seem like it’ll lead to accurate results.
… Huh. Okay, when even the unicorns aren’t sure whether something’s part of the race, it’s gone pretty dang awry. Maybe Izzy did organize this whole thing, complete with info packets for the press.
Hmm. On the one hand, I appreciate a clever ploy to preserve the animation budget. On the other, it’s still teasing us with spectacle we don’t actually get to see.
That is clearly salami or a similar dried sausage on that charcuterie board. (Also cheese, so something’s getting milked.) I have several concerns.
The date has reached train wreck levels of horror for Pipp. She doesn’t want to stare, but she can’t look away.
(Also, this would be a perfect opportunity to learn about the sisters’ father, but the budget might not have been able to handle a new character model. 
)
You know, I was trying to defend the unicorns’ dignity earlier, but if they don’t want any, I can’t stop them.
Huh. On the one hand, there are already two pegasi en route to Sparky and an entire blessing of unicorns on the ground to telekinetically catch him if he falls before they can reach him. On the other, he’s Hitch’s son. The choice is clear… and given the events thus far, Hitch may have secured his victory anyway by helping with the rescue.
Oh no, he’s a bouncing baby!
“Somepony use your magic!”
What’s stopping you, lady?
Oh. The baby dragon’s there. Hitch definitely isn’t winning this.
Ah, we get to see Elderflower. Nice to have a face for the bit of advice from the previous episode.
Also, as I said, Kafkaesque futility. Though there’s still room for charity to the elderly.
Bridlewood has a media presence? I didn’t expect that. It might be newly organized.
Pipp’s full name is just Pipp Petals? Darn, I was hoping for something on par with her sister.
Eugh. That walk cycle with Haven and Alphabittle after the family hug feels half-baked. Or possibly 1.5x speed. Either way, that one needed to go back for a bit more polish.
Also, between the two of them, I do prefer this approach to the girls’ reaction to Haven finding a new significant other. Direct sabotage never makes anyone look good.
Why did tires screech? Isn’t the Marestream VTOL-capable? There could’ve just been a thud to wake up Misty.
Izzy pronking her way inside is a bittersweet bit of nostalgia.
Aww, Sparky wants to play with his kidnapper again. Or possibly torment her with more Home Alone-grade shenanigans. He may not see a distinction between the two.
Also, seriously, Hitch? You couldn’t keep an eye on your kid minutes after he nearly plummeted to his possible doom? (Spike’s been through worse.)
More weirdly janky animation as Izzy looks around before bringing Sparky back inside. I hope this doesn’t indicate a trend. I’ve seen better series fall to animation issues. (Alas, poor So I’m a Spider, So What?)
And we close on a hope spot for Misty. The seeds of doubt have been sown. Now to see what comes of them.
In all, there are definitely some issues here. Even with my justifications, Hitch not bothering to read a rulebook is some of the most blatantly manufactured drama I’ve ever seen, and issues both narrative and technical are clear to see. Still, I had fun with this one, and I genuinely did enjoy the cute shipping moments. I reserve the right to be a sap… though it would be nice to see more of why those two fell for each other. Still, at least they actually interacted with one another in canon before this, which is more than I can say for, as an example, Big Mac and Sugar Belle.
In all, this was enjoyably serviceable, which is more than I can say for some episodes of Make Your Mark. Now for our next event:
Fruitful Negotiations 1W
Sorcery
Parley — Each player reveals the top card of their library. For each nonland card revealed this way, create a Food token. Then each player draw a card. (A Food token is an artifact with “2, T, Sacrifice this artifact: You gain 3 life.”)
What Sunny began, trade deals continued.
Haven’s Herald 1W
Creature — Dog Mutant
Flying
When Haven’s Herald enters the battlefield, draw a card. If you’re not the monarch, each other player may scry 1.
“Just sending a text doesn’t carry the proper royal gravitas. Besides, he’s so cute!”
—Queen Haven
1/1
Bridlewood Brewmaster 2W
Creature — Unicorn Citizen
Lifelink
2W: Target creature gains lifelink until end of turn. This ability costs 2 less to activate if it targets a Unicorn.
The Bridlewood’s tradition of distilling stretches back to distant memories of Twilit Era alchemists.
2/3
Crest of Unity 2WW
Enchantment
Creatures you control get +1/+1
Hoofcraft — Each creature you control has first strike, vigilance, and ward 1 as long as you control three or more Ponies, Pegasi, and/or Unicorns.
Sunny just thought it was nice wallpaper. Her later disciples made it a holy symbol.
Reverse Expectations 1U
Instant
Choose target attacking creature and target creature blocking it. Exchange those creatures’ base power and toughness with one another until end of turn. (Exchange power with power and toughness with toughness.)
Everypony loves an underdog.
Thoughtroot Sage 2U
Creature — Unicorn Wizard
Partner with Rooting Familiar (When this creature enters the battlefield, target player may put Rooting Familiar into their hand from their library, then shuffle.)
Whenever a player on your team draws their second card each turn, any number of target players each mill three cards.
1/4
Aerial Announcer 3U
Creature — Pegasus Scout
Flying
Whenever one or more creatures attack you, a planeswalker you control, or a battle you protect, draw a card.
ZBS makes little distinction between sports coverage and war correspondence.
2/3
Conveniently Absent 3U
Sorcery
Target creature’s owner puts it on the top or bottom of their library. You become the monarch.
More than one ruler of Zephyr Heights has taken the crown after a parent’s unfortunate skydiving accident.
Aberrant Detail 1B
Instant
Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. That creature gains your choice of deathtouch or lifelink until end of turn.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”
“… What’s a finger?”
Rooting Familiar 2B
Creature — Boar
Partner with Thoughtroot Sage
Whenever one or more creature cards are put into a graveyard from anywhere, target player on your team draws a card and loses 1 life. This ability triggers only once each turn.
3/2
Relic of Laughter 3B
Artifact
Lifelink
1B, T: Relic of Laughter deals 2 damage to target opponent.
2B, T: Relic of Laughter deals 2 damage to any target. Activate only if an opponent lost life this turn. (Damage causes loss of life.)
Some Elements resent being forgotten.
Trim the Poppies 6BBB
Sorcery
This spell costs 2 less to cast if you have less life than each opponent, 2 less if you have fewer cards in hand than each opponent, and 2 less if you control fewer permanents than each opponent.
Target player loses half their life, discards half the cards in their hand, and sacrifices half the permanents they control. Round up each time.
Haven’s Privateer R
Creature — Dog Pirate Mutant
Flying, haste
Haven’s Privateer can’t block unless you’re the monarch.
Letters of marque are rare in landlocked Zephyr Heights, but not wholly unheard of.
1/1
Zephyr Heights Malcontent 1RR
Creature — Pegasus Rebel
Double strike
Dethrone (Whenever this creature attacks the player with the most life or tied for most life, put a +1/+1 counter on it.)
Some parts of the city resented the royal family long before their deception was revealed.
1/1
Improbable Dalliance 3R
Sorcery
Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for 1 or one mana of that creature’s color.)
Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap that creature. Until end of turn, it gets +1/+0 for each creature that convoked this spell and gains haste.
Irrational Referee 4R
Creature — Unicorn Advisor
Whenever a player casts their first spell each turn, that player flips a coin. If they win the flip, they copy that spell and may choose new targets for the copy. Otherwise, counter that spell. (Copies of permanent spells become tokens.)
It all make sense to her. That’s the problem.
4/4
Warding Dance G
Instant
Choose one —
• Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
• Target creature you control gains hexproof until end of turn.
• Target Unicorn you control gets +2/+2 and gains hexproof until end of turn.
Intrepid Vinerunner 2G
Creature — Pony Scout
Haste
Will of the council — When Intrepid Vinerunner enters the battlefield, starting with you, each player votes for a basic land type. Intrepid Vinerunner gains landwalk of each type with the most votes or tied for most votes. (It can’t be blocked as long as defending player controls a land of that type.)
2/1
Ancient Tradition 3G
Enchantment
At the beginning of each combat, target creature you control gets +1/+1 until end of turn for each enchantment you control.
Channel — 1G, Discard Ancient Tradition: Target creature you control gets +1/+1 until end of turn for each enchantment card in your graveyard.
Shambling Sargassum 4G
Creature — Plant
Hexproof from blue
4(gu)(gu): Monstrosity 3. (If this creature isn’t monstrous, put three +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes monstrous.)
U: Target spell or permanent becomes blue until end of turn. Activate only if Shambling Sargassum is monstrous.
4/6
Alphabittle’s Winnings 2
Artifact
At the beginning of your upkeep, you gain 1 life.
1, T: Add one mana of any color.
2, T, Sacrifice Alphabittle’s Winnings: Draw a card.
“I’m not sure what half of it does, but they’re great conversation pieces.”
Mnemonic Harvest 1UB
Sorcery
Target opponent mills five cards. Exile a nonland card milled this way. You may cast that card for as long as it remains exiled, and mana of any type can be spent to cast it.
Misty dug for magic and found something far more precious.
Grand Prix Goose 2UR
Creature — Bird
Flying, haste
Dethrone
A goose respects no authority but its own.
2/1
Memories of the Land 2RG
Instant
For each land you control, add one mana of any type that land could produce.
Personally significant bonds define magical capability, whether to places, to people, or to the Blind Eternities themselves.
I'm just going to pop in with this: having grown up in a farming/ranching community, then being forced to live in a big city to get my degree, I am distressingly aware that a very large number of people do not know where foods come from. Hell, when I was doing my bachelor's degree, I remember hearing some of the other students talking in amazement that dairy comes from cows. And given how detached from reality more and more people are becoming every day, this does not surprise me.
And let's be real, the writers in this show are not going for logical consitency. They're going for memberberries and "lol" humor.
Haven and Alphabittle do seem like a cute couple though.
Almost every single personal ranking of the Chapter 4 episodes I have seen have been relatively consistent in which episodes tend to be high and which ones tend to be low. And they are mostly consistencies I agree with. This is one exception; some people seem to un-ironically enjoy the "rules makes no sense and we're acknowledging it" vibe of these unicorn games, and find the resulting shenanigans funny. More power to them: I found it excruciating, and not just for "acknowledging the bad/lazy writing gives us a free pass!" thing that's so common in media these days. Add in Sparky returning to his destructive baby shenanigans after a few episodes of mostly being a silent prop with a few moments of gurgling, plus even the tolerable jokes being run well past their sell-by point (that "we're not showing the prohibitively expensive sections of the games that we're narrating, and thus it's more believable" bit is at least three times the ideal length), and this was just painful.
On the other hand, it's still preferable to the slogs that the specials have been, or the two worst episodes in Chapter 2 ("Growing Pains" and "Hoof Done It?"). And the Haven/Alphabittle thing at least hits the correct beats from a conceptual standpoint, making it tolerable. So I don't judge this episode from the TYT short copying its homework from this script and beating it to market. Small miracles are still miracles!
Speaking of small miracles, this ended up being the weakest of the normal-length episodes of this chapter for moi. So it's all uphill from here!
Though the Pipp episode towards the end, "A Little Horse", was both DOA off its focal character and in possession of schizophrenic writing that made an absolute hash of it from a narrative standpoint, and barely ahead of this. It is the other remaining episode where many folks unironically had it high in the ranking. But we'll get to to that in three weeks' time.
This was a funny, if somewhat incoherent episode. As always it's Queen Haven for me, and as with the overlapping TYT short I am delighted at the melodrama of two teenage girls seeing their single mom go on dates.
As for the overlap itself, there have been a few episodes of TYT that make it seem like it's assumed the target audience might not be watching MYM at all. One of the most recent ones was a spirited retelling of the season finale, seemingly to catch viewers up to speed.
He's been there since A New Generation
The cheese lives on.
Ah, I think I know what Izzy's rulebook is:
As pointed out, boneless has been there since the film, and Pipp's full name had already been established by Word of God. The official version is that she was named that as a result of Zipp going by Zipp. Speaking of them: Surprised to see no comment on it, the implication of Haven commenting on their "friendship" with Hitch is that she's cool with both her daughters dating (or possibly having casual flings with) the same stallion. I am still not over that.
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I would hardly blame writers for a detail put there by animators, unlike you have a copy of the script and proof it explicitly requests cheese and salami there.
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Production team then. My point stands though.
Edit: most animation is also done with storyboarding, where the production team puts together stills that show the animators what they want. The animation studio isn't just given a script and told to "do what you want." So there's a very good chance that the storyboards include those elements.
My complaints, beside my general distaste for people not understanding where their food comes from, is one of immersion. When a show, or a movie, or a comic, or whatever makes you question "wait, that doesn't make sense," it breaks immersion. Worlds with logical consistency create immersion, which creates investment and belief. The more the audience can believe the world, the easier it is to maintain the illusion. Break that consistency, or established rules/logic, and you break the immersion.
The closest we got is Zipp calling her "Pipplette" once in the comics.
But that's not really definitive on whether that is her full name or just Zipp being flippant.
Spider is even worse when you realize the later episodes got redrawn and dolled up after the production team realized their show turned out to be really popular. So yeah, it could've looked even worse.
It took some digging, but I was able to find a recipe for vegan salami that retained the pink color and marbling. Granted, that raises the question of why ponies would try to retain that look when they presumably didn't have the original to compare it to, but... at least it's possible?
This episode would have been stronger if they had spent more time developing the jokes. There was good comedic potential in "Bridlewood has a competition where every sporting event is a non sequitur," but as you pointed out, having Hitch be the one to get frustrated by the rules' inconsistency was so opposite his character that it cast a shadow over the jokes. Either make Sunny the competitor (and give her something to do for once) or -- a better solution -- lose the rulebook and have Hitch be surprised for good reason by every new violation he commits.
Similarly, "Pipp is repeatedly grossed out by the thought of her mother being in a romantic relationship" has good comedic potential. I'll grant that her frustration at not being the center of attention is very much in character, though... maybe if they had leaned more into that instead of a kidnapping hypothesis that none of the characters seemed to know how to react to.
Credit where it's due, however. In a series that seems compelled to explain every little thing to the target audience, I was impressed that they showed enough restraint that neither Pipp nor Zipp blatantly exclaimed "They're dating?!?" (and especially that they let the audience figure out on its own why Queen Haven would uncharacteristically end her letter with a heart). Unfortunately, there have been so many past episodes where the main cast hasn't been able to figure out obvious plot developments that I assumed that was what was happening here, so I didn't get to enjoy the sisters' reactions until halfway through.
Meanwhile, the progression of Misty's arc (still the most interesting arc, and one that I really hope gets a satisfying resolution) felt a little half-baked here. Having Misty discover that the main five have kept a photo where she's part of the group is absolutely the right call. Having her discover it in a photo album -- rather than, say, among a wall of pictures while she's ransacking the place for something magical -- was a little forced. Having Queen Haven's speech drive the point home for Misty was a good idea, but having the ZBS broadcasters replay the speech felt very forced (the brighthouse scene could have begun with the TV showing Haven approaching the microphone to indicate that we've jumped back in time a couple of minutes, then fade the audio into indistinct background noise until it's time for Misty to hear the part about being together).
But that's been the problem with this series as a whole, hasn't it? Nobody on the staff was given enough time to hone their work, so the writers had to turn in scripts that didn't get enough drafts and the animators had to make compromises in render time and the number of characters in any given scene. It's a shame that those are the people who will shoulder the blame when it's unlikely that anybody would have been able to turn in quality work under the circumstances.
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We know that their storyboarding is communicated poorly to animators, though; "Pinkie Pie falls to pieces" was supposed to be metaphorical and somehow nobody caught it in time.