Retrospective Review: Over a Barrel and A Bird in the Hoof · 6:03am Mar 12th, 2021
S1E21 Over a Barrel
When I was young, you could still find old black-and-white shows like The Lone Ranger and westerns on TV. Plus, all the classic Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry cartoons still played. So I saw "cowboys and Indians" plots all the time growing up.
But it's a rather risky idea for writers in 2010 to recycle the trope.
This episode raises a lot of questions about how Equestria works. I believe this is the only episode with the pony-pulled trains, so what, they're still used on routes that don't warrant a locomotive? And just how long has the area around Appleloosa been part of Equestria? Over a thousand years? And was this the only instance of ponies getting drunk on salt?
Braeburn is annoying.
Appleloosa is filled with the same background ponies as Ponyville, except they're wearing hats.
The first sign that ponies and buffalo can come together is that they agree that Pinkie Pie's song is terrible. And I agree, too.
There's an interesting dynamic with some characters quick to take one side and others taking the other, without understanding the full context. I like the resolution with both sides seeing the good in the other. But in the end, this is just lazy writing, classic Western tropes with a thin pony veneer, and little of consequence happens in this episode.
S1E22 A Bird in the Hoof
Here's the origin of "banish you and then throw you in a dungeon in the place that she banishes you".
The reactions of the characters to the official dinner with the princess are a bit overblown, but fit the characters.
It's hard to get mad at Fluttershy, even if stealing someone's pet is a horrible thing to do.
Whereas last episode channeled old Westerns, this one channels Benny Hill.
The episode is ruined for me because it involves Twilight Sparkle, If any other character had been the one to interact with Fluttershy, the episode would have worked better. Because it's inconceivable that Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, would not know that the princess had a pet phoenix named Philomena.
Both of these episodes had little consequence in the series, and could easily have been omitted.
I figured they were the emergency option, the equivalent of humans getting out of a car and pushing. After all, the engine is still present... and judging by that specific frame, has enough steam pressure for the whistle to work. Huh.
The region may have been a disputed area that ponies hadn't expanded into until recently. The town is clearly a new settlement.
To my knowledge, yes. Which is a shame, because it's a funny concept.
Season 1 Twilight "nothing but magic matters" Sparkle? I wouldn't be surprised if she never noticed the princess had a pet at all. (Or Celestia was worried what Twilight might do with Philomena. We certainly never see the phoenix after this in the show.)
I never actually thought about the fact that Twilight should have known what Philomena was. c.c That's honestly a glaring oversight that now makes me like that episode far less.
5473478
In general, "Twilight not knowing something" is a big problem with this series, when "Twilight knows something from a book, but it works differently in the real world" can create the same conflict while actually fitting the character better.
5473515
Kind of just like how Twilight should have known Celestia would not banish someone and then lock them in a cage in the place they were banished to. Not for this. :|
5473531
Personally, that makes sense to me. I suspect Twilight Sparkle never broke any rules, save for reading after lights out, and has no experience with punishment to know what a reasonable punishment would be. She imagined terrible punishments, which reinforced her desire to never get in trouble.
5473535
I always felt like she would have more of a read on Celestia's character, though of course that presumes she's able to do that at all.
That being said, it's 2021 and this is literally the first time anyone has given a good explanation for why Twilight would have been terrified of Celestia in this episode. :| The fandom has failed me.
The buffalo, much like the Diamond Dogs, never appear again in the show. (Pay attention to my choice of words)
5473531
The "not for this" is the important bit; it took a few seasons, but eventually we found out how close this line was to how Tartarus works. As you subtly drew attention to by paraphrasing it.