Season 3 Episode Reviews: Too Many Pinkie Pies · 9:57pm Nov 17th, 2012
Well, it's time for another week of new Pony! So let's take a look at Pinkie Pie's solo outing this season, “Too Many Pinkie Pies!”
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TECHNCIAL SPECS:
Season: 3
Episode: 3
Written By: Dave Polsky
First Aired: November 17, 2012
SUMMARY:
While practicing a spell to turn apples into oranges, Twilight is interrupted by a hyperactive Pinkie Pie who's desperate for something to do. Unfortunately for her, Twilight is too busy with her incredibly useless spell to play, and she just missed helping Rarity design a new outfit. This revelation that ponies actually have lives outside of her sphere of influence horrifies Pinkie so much that she exhausts herself running around Ponyville, desperate to hang out with each of her friends. She finally collapses when she runs into Fluttershy.
Soon after recovering, Rainbow Dash and Applejack both arrive looking for the pink one. Rainbow Dash is planning to hang out by the lake and relax after she's finished her weather work, and invites Pinkie to join her. But Applejack is raising a barn at the same time, and would like Pinkie to help out. Now forced to actually make a choice between her friends, Pinkie panics and tries to perfect her super-speed, causing her to mess up Twilight's spell practice yet again. A poorly-timed comment, however, clues her in on a solution: she'll go to the Mirror Pool, a place her Nana had told her about, and create a clone of herself. And so she creates an incredibly hyperactive duplicate, sending it to Applejack's barn raising while she entertains Rainbow Dash.
At first, things seem to go without a hitch. But then Fluttershy invites the Pinkie!clone to a tea with her animal friends, and the drama replicates itself. Pinkie Prime and the clone go back to the pool and clone themselves again...but then the clones all decide to do it again...and again... Before long, Pinkie is drowning in copies. Still, she tries to unleash them on Ponyville...but the town can't handle that much Pinkie, and even her friends are sick of seeing her by the end.
Desperate to find a solution, Spike and Twilight try to research the Mirror Pool, only finding it mentioned in an ancient book hidden in a secret compartment behind a shelf. There's a spell to fix everything, but if they don't figure out which one's the real Pinkie, they run the risk of sending her back as well. Pinkie Prime arrives to try and sort things out, but her clones show up as well, and in the confusion even she doesn't know if she's the real deal.
While searching for the real one, Twilight and Spike unwittingly stumble across her, now looking like she's mere moments from going into Pinkamena mode. During her depressed ramblings, however, she gives them the solution: stage a test by forcing the Pinkies to do something they wouldn't normally do, and dispose of the ones who fail. AJ, AB and Winona corral the Pinkies into Town Hall (with Dash carrying in the real one), where Twilight submits them to the most boring thing she can think of: watching paint dry.
The Pinkies all try their best, but before long they start goofing off. Every time one steps out of line, Twilight ups and murders them, but since their clones, they have no souls and thus are all right to kill. Finally, only two remain, and Dash can take no more. One quick distraction later, and the only remaining Pinkie is the real one. Despite the torture of the exercise, she was willing to suffer for the chance of staying with her friends.
And so the episode ends with Pinkie dictating her letter to Celestia, telling her how she's learned that sometimes you have to choose between your friends, but that doesn't mean you lose out on having fun with them forever. The entrance to the Mirror Pool is sealed to prevent anything like this from happening again, and everypony's ready for another fun activity...except for Pinkie, who decides to just take a nap in the middle of Sugar Cube Corner.
REVIEW:
The episode opens with Twilight trying to turn apples into oranges. Why? Heck if I know, maybe there's a citrus shortage and Ponyville is in the middle of a Scurvy epidemic or something. Of course, if she wanted to ask if an apple could turn into an orange, Applejack has some experience in that regard. The real point of the scene, though, is to have Pinkie run in as her usual, incredibly happy-go-lucky self and for Rarity to behave even prissier than usual. The rest of the prologue is pretty much an altered version of the opening from "Party of One," with Pinkie running from friend to friend seeking something fun to do, my favorite being her spinning Dash's low-hanging cloud. She even collapses in front of Fluttershy again.
Unfortunately, it's right after the commercial break that we get to something that fills me with dread. No, it's not that fainting couch surrounded by butterflies; I can totally imagine Fluttershy having something like that. The credits start popping up, and we get to the writer: Dave Polsky. For those who haven't been keeping tabs on the writing credits, Polsky was a writer in the first season who penned two particularly controversial episodes. The first, "Feeling Pinkie Keen," was roasted by the Internet for an incredibly poorly-delivered moral that sounded like an argument for religion. The second, "Over a Barrel," was a borderline racist episode where the ponies all behaved like idiots and Pinkie nearly destroyed a town with a song. While the first one was humorous in a few ways, neither episode ranks very highly at all, and the only reason Polsky doesn't keep getting flamed today is because Merriweather Williams came along and started sucking up all the hate. So how's this episode? Well, you're reading this, so I'm guessing you're about to find out.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack both offer Pinkie a possibility for a fun-time activity, but Pinkie – in a moment of Twilight-inspired insanity – freaks out over missing any sort of fun. Personally, I would have gone with the barn raising over relaxing at the lake, but that's just me. This leads to one of the funniest moments of the episode, as Twilight's orange spell is interrupted again by Pinkie trying to increase her speed until she can run back and forth between both activities. This causes a frog to get turned into a hideous frog-orange hybrid, forever cursing its existence and croaking to its fellow frogs to kill it and end its suffering.
Too bad Twilight decides to offer Pinkie practical advice, something that never ends well for anypony involved. The little clock-ticking noises as Pinkie's brain starts working out just what Twilight said and how she can humorously misinterpret it is hilarious. This brings us to Pinkie mentioning "Nana Pie" for the first time in a long while, reciting the old legend to herself while journeying through the Everfree Forest. Good thing everything remotely evil or sinister is within walking distance of Ponyville. What kind of hurts the scene, though, is the joke about Pinkie talking to her echo. It isn't particularly funny, and is mostly there to set up another joke when she gets the clone. Speaking of which, I love how the clones are created: they're literally just reflections of the pony in question that are pulled out of the pool.
The clone itself actually raises some pretty interesting points, but we'll get to that in a moment. For now, the important thing is that she's focused almost entirely on having fun, bounces a lot, and can't remember names. While she's dispatched to go to the barn raising, we get to see Rainbow Dash's idea of relaxing: reading the book she's finished a million times (seriously, she needs to keep going in the series and stop focusing on that one book) and getting a tan. Through her fur. No, my puny brain cannot comprehend this. In any case, Pinkie runs up and starts acting all excited, but when Dash tells her she just wants to relax, she obliges. Remember this. Oh, and she tells her about the clones, but Dash just writes this off as Pinkie being Pinkie.
Meanwhile, the clone is having trouble of its own. Fluttershy has decided to throw a tea party for her animal friends, including Harry the Bear (seriously, that one shot of a bear holding a tea cup is the second-funniest thing in the episode). Of course, this only kicks off the same crisis as before, as now the clone can't decide who it wants to hang with. The solution? Make two more Pinkies! This is where things start to fall apart for Pinkie, as the clones start cloning themselves without any sort of input from her. Even worse, every copy becomes more and more obsessed with just having fun, until they can do no more than bounce around and scream "FUN!" at everything. And when Pinkie unleashes them on the town, they promptly destroy everything in sight, causing the whole town to turn on anything remotely related to Pinkie. Meanwhile, Pinkie Prime is trying to get her friends' attention, but since they can't tell them apart, nopony is willing to listen to her. It gets so bad that even she doesn't know is she's the real Pinkie anymore.
Now let's look at the clones themselves. All of them are psychotically happy and one-dimensional in nature, caring only about having fun and not giving a horse apple about anypony else who gets in her way. They don't even know who their friends are, nor can they remember their names without Pinkie actually teaching them. In other words, the clones are a perfect representation of many fan interpretations of Pinkie's character, where she's basically brainless and incapable of doing anything other than goof off. Meanwhile, Pinkie Prime is respectful of her friends' choices, tries to tie in her playtime with what they want, and is horrified by what her clones are doing. In short, she's a three-dimensional character, with her own wants and desires outside of simply being funny and goofy. It's a wonderful little bit of commentary overall.
Also, a mysterious panel in the library? My foreshadowing senses are tingling...
The solution to the Pinkie problem is a pretty basic joke. "Watching paint dry" is one of the most common "boring" gags in the history of comedy, having been invented back when prehistoric man first practiced the art of graffiti. The real fun, though, is the way the clones try to amuse themselves. The return of that poor frog-orange was hilarious, as was one of the clones sprouting fingers. The real highlight, though, was the episode revealing how good the Hub is at manipulating us. Last week, one of the commercials for the season had Pinkie reshaping her face to look like a G1/G3 pony, terrifying Fluttershy and Rarity. Well, that happens here...but she horrifies another clone, while Rarity and Fluttershy cringe at Twilight's rampant killing spree. Seriously, the way she so callously blows up each of the ponies is more than a little disturbing. Sure, they're clones, but they obviously had some kind of consciousness and self-awareness. By the end, her horn is glowing red from overheating, while the once-full room is now empty save for the real Pinkie. Of course, they could have saved themselves a lot of time by realizing that only the real Pinkie would be upset by the destruction the clones are causing, but that's a minor quibble.
I do like how the real Pinkie got through the test. It highlights one of the key differences between her and the clones: she knows and loves her friends so much that she's willing to suffer if it means she can stay with them. The clones, being knock-offs of knock-offs, were so obsessed with fun that they gave in to their own selfish desires, and thus had to die. In the end, Pinkie actually shows a considerable amount of growth from this experience.
The moral itself is a pretty basic one. Sometimes you just have to choose between different activities and friends, and that can be hard, but if they're real friends, they'll understand and offer you other chances down the line to hang out. The ponies actually show some foresight and seal up the Mirror Pool, thus robbing the world of yet another source of evil. And the ending, while pretty much a repeat of the opening, is pretty amusing in and of itself.
CONCLUSION:
Honestly, this is to Dave Polsky what "Hearth's Warming Eve" was to Merriweather Williams. Despite his previous track record, Polsky actually pulled off a surprisingly good episode. The best parts were obviously the comedy, with plenty of funny background gags. While a few resources are recycled (such as Fancy pants appearing for no reason and one clone banging the drums from "A Friend in Deed"), there's just a lot of fun to be had with a bunch of Pinkies destroying Ponyville. At the same time, though, there's also a lot of heart here. Pinkie's existential crisis is surprisingly heartbreaking given how late it's introduced. And if you like to interpret it as a commentary on how Pinkie's character can be misinterpreted, it's actually rather brilliant. While it has a few weaknesses (Rarity is a tad off and the way the clones die is rather disturbing), there's also a lot more to love.
Overall, this is a very strong episode, and just a lot of fun to watch. While last week was a bit of a disappointment, it looks like the season is going to be strong after all.
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Well, a fun episode has done me wonders. What's next on the docket?
...
Oh, there is an episode next week after all...and it's a message show...about bullying...
C-Can we get to the Trixie one? Because no matter how that episode ruins thousands of fanfics, it would still be preferable to talk about than a message show about bullying. The stack is definitely against you, FiM. Prove me wrong.
i heard in season 3 trixie will be back...and make ponyville into her own image with blue everywhere and her face everywhere
The Trixie episode has me on edge even more than the bullying episode.
You say the mysterious panel is foreshadowing. I saw it as convenient way for the writers to get out of explaining where this mysterious book was being kept. I will bet you 100 pseudo-bits that nothing even remotely similar in the library is ever referenced again.
Just two more weeks till Trixie! Hang in there and then you can rage to your heart's content!
I really enjoyed this episode. I was giggling and laughing the entire time. The Fluttershy picnic definitely had some of the best moments. I was a little bummed that the G1 face gag was somewhat ruined by the Hub promo commercials, as the shock of seeing that for the first time during the episode would have been epic in scale. Still,the rest Pinkie's antics really took me by surprise and I was just delighted when the episode ended. Ah, I love this show.
It was also nice to see a Pinky Pie that started to realize just what her antics seem like from others' perspective. I'm hoping this will keep her from going overboard in the "making new friends" department as the series goes on. I'm also a little glad that we didn't see Pinkamenia make a return. From a fanon perspective, I've really grown to hate that side of Pinkie.
I liked this episode. Surprise surprise, Dave Polsky actually wrote a good episode for the show. Maybe someone talked to him after "Dear Princess Celestia: the cowboys and Indians just needed to talk it out!" and "Dear Princess Celestia: Atheists are stupid" and told him to shape up.
I also see some of the clone antics as a bit of self-deprecating comedy on the more sociopathic Pinkie that showed up in season 2, particularly Pinkie as a torture device in 'Last Roundup' and Pinkie as a jerk Holmes in 'MMMMyster'.
I thought today's episode was surprisingly deep, considering the previous Pinkie episodes. And yeah, Twilight straight up murdering the clones was a little
for me.
Two weeks until the fan shitstorm the Trixie episode is sure to cause. Almost no matter what happens, someone is going to be pissed off about it.
512169
Yeah, they kind of ruined the gag a bit. I do love the manipulative editing on the promo, though. Kind of makes you wonder if they changed anything in the others...
I am in full agreement about Pinkamena. I just threw that reference in there because of how depressed Pinkie was during that point. She really needed a hug.
512174
I like to think that his stuff from the first season was mostly written before the show had even started airing, so the actual direction for the series was still up in the air. Keep in mind that most of the fan references and gags in that season were purely on the animation team's part, since that's one of the last steps in the creative process. I guess taking a season off from the show has done wonders, since this actually feels like it belongs as a FiM episode.
And I agree that the clones are a bit of a jab at her behavior in the previous season. It's just one of those touches that make this series stand out against its contemporaries.
512185
I know. I'm really, really scared for what will happen. Much like Luna, Trixie is a loaded subject, but "Luna Eclipsed" had a significant advantage over "Magic Duel." Luna only had one season to fester in our imaginations, while Trixie has had two. Luna's personality was drastically different from what many fans expected, but it was generally accepted because she really had no character to speak of outside of two lines and trying to destroy Equestria during a temper tantrum. Trixie, meanwhile, was meant to be a flat antagonist, but "Boast Busted" was so poorly-written that it unintentionally made her appear sympathetic when she was really just a jerk through and through.
Personally, I'd go for the redemption path for two reasons. One, the ending of "Boast Busted" was awful and needs to be addressed if Trixie's to return. And two, there's a certain somebody on this site who might not react too well to Trixie being a purely evil villain all of the sudden and use it as an excuse to alter his plans for a certain other pony. But of course, it all depends on how good the episode is. I could buy an evil Trixie as long as the story is entertaining.
Making the clones fully three dimensional is a good plot
bunnypony, but most of this episode plot hinges on the fact that the clones are imperfect copies.512169 Trust me, that face gag WAS terrifying when if you didn't see the promo. I screamed.
I really like this episode. Pinkie's character is much better than it was for most of season two, and this is, in my opinion, her best episode since season one. I have to say that I really was not all that disturbed by Twilight's, as you put it, murdering of the clones. I viewed it much more as her simply converting them back into the natural magical energy that exists in the pond they were created from. The energy then just went back to the pond, ready to be used again. If anything I think that it proves that the clones were really nothing more than magical constructs that mimic some base personality traits of the original, and are not actually self aware. I don't think the spell Twilight used would have actually worked on the real Pinkie as it seemed more like a despell than anything. Twilight was probably just being overly cautious.
Well now we know where royal guards/recurring sentient beings come from.
I am glad I don't have much head cannon for Trixie. I have only read one fic that have had her with a big roll. But I will be on my watch.
The Alicorn amulet vector we have seen is fresh in mind.
I would agree that the killing of the clones was actually disturbing, I was thinking that last bit with the test, what if the real pinkie gets sent to the pool and a clone stays? I was having an inner panic attack, but I knew that wouldnt happen but still freaking out at the end.
512590: Grimdark fanfic time!
With the real Pinkie trapped in the pool, and the clone comes by to gloat that now all of Pinkie's friends like her instead, and Pinkie will never get to see her friends again...
512590>>512594
I guarantee that something like that is already in the works, if not already on it's way to being approved.
512625: Oh, more than 1 something ,I'm sure. :-)
I'm glad people have been enjoying this episode. Personally I found it a bit meh... not bad, just underwhelming. Not sure what I was expecting, but this didn't leave me very fulfilled. There were lots of great moments no doubt, with introspective Pinkie doubting if she's the real deal being among the best, but it all kind of falls flat when it should have been obvious that she was the real thing (at least to her so-called friends), as she was the only one of the bunch acting at all different while all the rest where the same one-note bounce around shouting fun caricature. If the clones had even the slightest bit of depth or even individual variety the whole dilemma might have been more believable, but as is it makes me feel sad if that's actually what Twilight and the rest really think of her to the point that they dismiss the real one just because she's acting melancholy.
Part of me is starting to wonder if all the gloomy doubters expecting the end of all things good about the show with each episode have something of the right idea; low expectation making it harder to get disappointed, but then again, I was my same optimistic self in the 2nd season and was rarely disappointed back then.
Still, like I said this episode had it good points with some of my favorite stuff being while Dash ad Pinkie where hanging out. It was great to see Dash pretty much just brushing off the talk of clones as more typical Pinkie randomness, the diving into water slowly gag was classic and doubly so with Dash actually asking how she did that, and of course best of all the fact Pinkie was willing to just chill with Dash instead of being an uncontrollable ball of reckless hyperactivity.
512754
Awww, I thought you'd like this one.
Still, I have to say that keeping your hopes reasonable is the best way to go. Don't go hoping this will blow your mind in all sorts of ways; just expect to be entertained, and most of the time you'll be satisfied.
512890
I thought I'd like this one too.
Still, I don't hate it or anything. The episode got off to a pretty strong start, and Pinkie herself was pretty great throughout the whole thing. I just feel the episode's big dilemma was painfully undersold by the Pinkie clones all being identical in their shallowness, making it far to obvious that the only one acting differently was the real thing. If maybe each had their own unique one-dimensional personality it could have worked, but as is...
As to the reasonable expectations thing; that's pretty much exactly what I do, or at least try to. Worked pretty well for me last season, but not so much this season (so far at least). Crystal Empire was better on the 2nd and 3rd viewings though, so maybe this one will be too. I'd still like to get an episode that I unambiguously enjoy the 1st time around though.
512998
Well, to be fair to the episode, Twilight actually gives a reason why she doesn't just jump to that conclusion. Apparently, she's incapable of imagining Pinkie being that depressed. If you expand on that, she has no idea just how intelligent the clones are, and considering a whole bunch just ran up to declare themselves the real pinkie, it's entirely within the realm of possibility for a clone to act depressed to throw them off until she's dealt with the others. Of course, we know that won't happen, but that's our advantage as viewers.
It's still a weak plot point, agreed, but it's not quite as awful as a lot seem to make it out to be.
513097
Within the realm of possibility, sure, but none of the clones exhibited any particular variance in personality, leaving the melancholy real one the only standout. If even one other clone had been in the slightest bit different form the rest the whole thing would have been far more believable.
This was definitely a fun episode, and I do hope you're right on the library secret panel foreshadowing. And yes, next week is definitely going to be very, very divisive just based on the subject matter. The FiM team has said that they are going to try and keep the same lighthearted tone, but I'll admit I'm still a touch worried.
512594>>512629 This was literally the first thing that popped into my head once the clone massacre scene scene ended. Just a bit sad when you think about what this says about the fandom.
.........
Ah, who am I kidding it's still an awesome idea.
Applebloom: Bullying's bad!
Big Mac: You should listen to your cousin.
Bad Apple: Oh...okay then, Big Mac!
The remaining 21min 50sec will be made up of the FiM cast reenacting scenes from Die Hard.
...wait, what? Twilight hasn't shown up at all in "Bringing Up Blueblood." Were you planning on something? You shouldn't change what you intend to do with Twilight in your fic just 'cause the show went one way.
(In all seriousness, though, I won't do that. I'm kind of sad that you think I would...
)
514067
Sorry.
Also, I'm pretty sure those three lines of dialogue will be vastly superior to next week's episode. I've seen enough bullying episodes to know how horrible those things can get.
514104
As I've said, I'd actually be perfectly fine with Trixie being a villain, as long as at least one of two conditions are met:
1) Trixie is in some way possessed or compelled.
2) Trixie is HAMTASTIC
I thought it was a fun episode.
Also... PINKIE PIE WATCHES PAINT DRY
I never actually red the fic (it was in the feature box a while ago) but it came to me immediatly when that scene happened. 
And I totally did not get that the ponies were sealing the cave. I was confused why Big Mac, Twilight and Pinkie were hanging out in the woods plugging holes (
). It felt very random... thanks for making me understand what it meant.
When I saw them seal the entrance to the pool with that rock I actually said out loud: "Tom?"
I think I know what Fancy Pants was doing in Ponyville.
514119
If she isn't HAMTASTIC, she isn't Trixie.
Me, I am currently running with the theory that the little necklace she has is related to Sombra somehow. Which then ties into the guess he is gonna be the season's big bad.
I still want Trix to get a happy ending though. Befriend ALL the ponies.
Especially Twilight.
I found this episode completely horrifying.
Maybe it's because of my background of working with clones. Admittedly, they were clones of bacteria and plasmids and stuff, but still, I was a little sad that I had to have my transgenic tobacco incinerated. I have a lot in common with Fluttershy.
And here we go!
I actually disagree. I found this episode to be incredibly annoying. I particularly feel they went overboard with the fourth wall breaks, Pinkie physics (even without the clones), and the brony shout-outs. If the clones had broken out into song, as Pinkie is wont to do, I probably would have stopped watching right then and there.
I find it odd that you mention "Feeling Pinkie Keen" negatively, because that's actually one of my favorite episodes. In fact, I think the only one I like more is "Baby Cakes".
One thing I did like about this episode is that the clones have caused so much havoc that even Fluttershy joined the angry mob in front of the library, and near the head of it at that!
Let's see which of the main characters have nearly (or completely) destroyed the town so far, shall we? There's Applejack in "Applebuck Season", Twilight Sparkle in "Lesson Zero", Fluttershy in "Swarm of the Century" and maybe "Putting Your Hoof Down", Spike in "Secret of My Excess", and now Pinkie Pie in "Too Many Pinkie Pies". What took her so long, actually? Anyway, that just leaves Rainbow Dash and Rarity. I didn't mention the CMC because... well, they're the CMC; it should be obvious.
Still, even though I disagree, I have to say that this is a very nice and well-written review.
Huh, I guess you didn't notice the orange jay in the beginning.
The clones don't just not remember names, they have no memories at all. They are simply reflections. They are there purely for the purpose of what Pinkie wanted in the first place, which is to have fun.
Thinking about it a little more, the only real complaint I might have is that the music and the scene of Pinkie Pie visiting the pool and creating the first clone was unexpectedly epic... and then the rest of the episode didn't really live up to it. Not really a problem, just a little tone whiplash.
Hm... I, too, overall enjoyed this episode... yet... as a few have expressed, for me, the low point, while not a deal-breaker, was them assuming that Pinkie couldn't be depressed... granted, aside from them being clones, Twilight didn't know how it all worked, so it did still make some sense.
You mentioned "Party of One" when comparing the intro, and I noticed that, as iif in nod to that, it was Rainbow Dash who brought in the depressed Pinkie Pie... another stealthy shout-out, perhaps?
Still, I do agree about Twilight's killing spree, especially because we see them graphically -for a kids' show- explode... Twilight leaves no chances with these clones. No "go to a corner", just immediate termination. Pretty darn scary.
It was a fun episode (and unexpectantly deep), though I gotta agree with you that I'm more interested in the Trixie episode than a bully themed one. Though I have confidence that the FiM staff will pull something off at least decent or different from what's come before.
I'm really liking the mystery of that library and also hoping that becomes an arc element(it already has me thinking about Gravity Falls and other shows), plus they never explained what happenend to the previous occupant.
My guess is that Trixie's necklace has some kind of magic amplifying/be careful what you wish for thing to it, that's going to lead to her victory but also her needing help in the long run.
Found another sneak peek of the new Trixie episode! Thought you'd fancy it since you were anxious to get to the Trixie episode, so I came back to this blog to show you! ...That is, if you haven't seen it already.
What do you think?
~hannahs98
554847
Actually, I have seen that one. Thanks for bringing it up, though.
I'm still undecided on how I really should feel about the episode going in, but the clips have both helped and hindered its case. On the one hand, it's definite proof that Trixie is using some kind of dark magic boost, which would make her a straight villain. But there's still plenty of wiggle room for her to get some kind of redemption. Either way, I just want a good episode Saturday morning. That's all I hope for every week, and that's not about to change.