TheBrianJ Reviews - The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows (short review + story notes) · 2:04am Oct 23rd, 2015
Cripes this has been an emotionally heavy season. We’ve dealt with some pretty intense and surprisingly deep themes, things like grief, isolation from friends, and achieving that which you’ve worked for so hard. Characters have been redeemed, others have been given incredible insight, it’s been an absolutely amazing season, and one that will go down as a truly thought-provoking period of episodes, not just for My Little Pony but for kids shows in general.
So FUCK IT, PINKIE PIE EPISODE TIME. Go below the Ponk for Ponk-related words.
IT’S BAYLEY!
Oh shit, Pinkie knows a secret about Cadence and Shining Armor? This could be a huge reveal at the end of the episode, a slow build with subtle clues throughout the episode that… oh. Oh, they just revealed it like a minute into the episode? Okay.
I’m actually glad they revealed it right at the start; given that the plot would be “Cadence and Shining Armor have a BIG SECRET” there was really only one way to go, so waiting until the end to reveal it would be anticlimactic. It also puts the episode’s focus on Pinkie rather than them, given that they really only played a cursory role in everything.
As I said in the intro, this has been a heavy season in terms of story, so instead we got a pretty lighthearted episode focusing on a character where they can basically do whatever the heck they want with it. That’s one of the things that really makes Pinkie Pie such an enjoyable character; no matter what happens to her, no matter how completely outlandish and insane, it just makes sense, because it’s Pinkie Pie.
Pictured: Because It's Pinkie Pie
And such, this was a fun episode. Was it deep, world-changing, or even really interesting? I mean, other than knowing that Season 6 will probably have a few episodes about the new baby. But it was fun, and sometimes having a fun episode is perfectly acceptable. It was just a series of comedic scenes without a whole lot of backstory/substance behind them, the kind of episode that doesn’t really further the overall plot but entertains the fans.
But in a few ways it DID advance the plot. As I said, Wife Horse and Husband Horse having a Child Horse opens up all sorts of potential fun storylines for the show. I also kinda liked how the CMC were portrayed… they got their Cutie Marks, and now they’re in that “Okay now what?” phase. I doubt it’ll be explored more, but it was a nice touch.
Really, it’s tough to find a whole lot to talk about in this episode. It wasn’t like a lot of episodes this season that had a lot of depth to them, this was just 22 minutes of comedy, and it was quite enjoyable. In fact, there’s really not much to talk about with this episode… so let’s talk about my story schedule instead.
SUDDEN TOPIC CHANGE
If there’s one thing I pride myself on, it’s hype. I come from the Paul Heyman school where if you know how to hype something, anything can be made interesting. Over the past few blogs I’ve been hyping up an upcoming story called Of The Night, usually with pictures of the moon. I wonder if you can see what I am hinting at. If only there was a character who this somehow applied to.
The point is, the first chapter of the story was supposed to come out soon, but after the first round of editing, it’s clear that some major work is needed, and will likely have a total rewrite. That said, it’s now being upgraded from a minor to a major story, one that is gonna be a lot of fun to get out there.
That said, it means it’s gonna take more time than originally expected, and I’m still in the mood to write. So that said, I’m gonna finally pull the trigger on a project I’ve had sitting around for a while. A multi-chapter comedy that really doesn’t require a lot of planning, deep thought, or outlining… no, it’s firmly in the “absurd meta comedy.” It’s sorta been on the backburner as an idea I can pick up at any point if I wanted to write, and I figure now is a good time to do it… each chapter can be written quickly and whenever, each one being (mostly) self-contained. Should be a fun one.
See you soon!
-Brian J
I felt that this episode had the best sibling moments between Twilight and Shining out of all official media.
I think you nailed the main reason I didn't much care for this episode at first. It's as fun and fluffy as Pinkie herself, and that's honestly kind of jarring after a season full of mourning, psychological self-harm, cults, criminal investigations, the conflict of creative expression and corporate practicality... I think I dove in and hit my head against the cement two feet down. I think this one's a lot better on the second viewing, when you (or, at least, when I) know that the episode really is going to be as straightforward as it seems.
And modular Ponk still weirds me out. I have a wide margin for her antics, but that one goes beyond what I can take from the show itself.
If your upcoming works (particularly 'Of The Night', which I'm very much looking forward to) are anything CLOSE to 'Exit Through Canterlot', I'll be a HAPPY mofo indeed!