When the Cutie Mark Crusaders are magically transformed into grownups,they discover that growing up the right way means gaining experience and wisdom that simply can’t be rushed.
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When another author releases his own version of the events in AK Yearling’s Daring Do books, Rainbow Dash is furious, while Fluttershy is curious to know the truth.
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Starlight decides to hire a Vice Headmare in preparation to take over the School of Friendship from Twilight. But she soon realizes that hiring the right pony for the job is going to be a lot harder than she thought.
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Twilight's hopes of keeping her Trivia Trot winning streak alive are waylaid when she's unexpectedly paired up with Pinkie Pie, who has never been to a trivia night before.
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When Pinkie Pie seeks help from her old friend, the super-silly Cheese Sandwich, in finding her life's purpose, she discovers the unimaginable has happened
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Quick question. After this episode, does anyone still not ship Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich? It feels like one of those ships that's all but canon already.
Expectation: Pinkie and Cheese on the screen together, yay! Reality: What the heck IS Spike's purpose? (If I get replies saying deadweight or faceless assistant, I'm going to follow you home and destroy your fridge.)
When I first heard that Pinkie Pie was seeking her 'life's purpose', I was wondering if we'd get that 'deep' Pinkie Pie episode we were searching for. The episode wasn't exactly as big as I hoped, but the return of 'Cheese Sandwich' albeit in a different state than we normally see did make up for it. Although the aspect of taking 'Seriousness in sillyness' to be a HUGE oxymoron, that the one pony who suggested for Cheese to make a factory was... Rather boring (To me he's only funny when he's at the expense of a prank) and sometimes the episode didn't nail it on the comedy as much as we expect it was a 'decent' enough episode. I mean anything to have a song when Weird Al Yankovic is singing, garbed in a 'Willy Wonka' styled uniform with top hat and performing alongside Pinkie Pie is admittingly enjoyable. I think what did bum me out more is that the whole Pinkie's 'self-discovery' journey felt kind of shoved aside.
I mean when we put it this way, we all know Pinkie Pie enjoys throwing parties for ponies and making those around her smile (Hence how we got her cutie mark). I think what really had me thinking about her life purpose is how she compares her status to where her other friends have stood (Though she makes it clear Applejack's main place will always be on her farm and nowhere else, thereby confirming to fans who wanted her to do more). I mean she's not exactly an independent pony, staying in the home of a baker family (Who are either related to the Pies in some crazy way or only took Pinkie in because she didn't have a place to stay) which is a common real-life deal for young adults who still reside with their family. I guess it really didn't make a difference on what Pinkie's true goal would be if it was already established to begin with, then again I try to think of a stronger use like Dorothy discovered she didn't need to find something if it was never truly lost (Wizard of Oz reference). Overall, as a Pinkie Pie episode, it's not among the best I've seen her at her strongest but at least it's more enjoyable than the time she tried playing that Yovidaphone... Thing... Yeah, that was 'so' bad.
5100002 i say spike purpose is to be the bridge between pony and dragon, relations certainly got better mostly thanks to him so ambassador spike for the win
5100005 Well, Seriousness in Sillyness DOES have some merrit to it.
Despite popular belief, comedy is a hell of a lot of work. It's not just random sillyness, it's CALCULATED sillyness. Maybe if the episode went more along this route, maybe with Pinkie trying to up her comedic routine, it could have stayed a bit more consistent.
5100024 Maybe so. I mean I just feel like the method of adding calculations to determine the laugh factor of a comedic bit almost feels like having to 'explain a joke'. I may know bar-none about comedy, being my own humor outside the site is a bit... 'Dry'... But I do know this much about comedy: If a comedian has to 'explain' a joke, there is NO joke at all (Granted this one pony character wasn't a comedian, but that's beside the point).
I will give the episode a 'tiny' bit of credit as far as the moral is concerned. Aside from Cheese Sandwich, there are tons of folks who feel they have lost either their humor or their artistic talent or even their direction if they don't get to see how people feel about it. Just to see folks either enjoying all his practical jokes in one case, as a writer would want to see his readers enjoying his stories or an artist wanting to see the looks on folks faces when they see her heart, that's more rewarding than making themselves either laugh or be happy. Is it a 'relatable' moral? Absolutely I should think, but I do agree with you that if certain plot elements were adjusted to be more 'fitting' I'd probably have enjoyed the episode more than I expected.
But... Needless to say, I don't think this is a 'bad' episode (I'd let you know for sure). For me, it's not horrible nor amazing, as I said it's just... Okay.
Milo Murphy might think he's not a good actor, but his voice actor surely is. Case in point: this episode.
I don't have much else to say about it, honestly. It was a decent romp with Pinkie trying to help an old friend, and Weird Al's voice acting was so on-point that you had to really strain your hearing to recognize him. I also like how Sans Smirk wasn't a real antagonist; just someone who tried to help in his own way but found that it didn't work. All in all, a welcome return to form after the hiatus.
I really liked this one. I didn't even think of the 'Pinkie feeling left behind' angle.
It was a nice moral about not losing your way, it had me smiling, and I'm glad they didn't go the 'everyone must be excessively happy and outgoing' angle with Sans Smirk, but rather 'everyone has something they'd be happy doing and that's okay'. Coming back from the hiatus strong!
I agree with DragonShadow - Overall, a really nice, albeit admittedly somewhat unspectacular, episode.
Don't really have any other comments about it. Though I will say that it was kinda nice to see that they didn't go the well-trodden route and demonize Sans Smirk. There has to be at least some method to the madness, after all.
Ok, Let's see here... oh yes, the one where Cheese Sammich does the right thing and ends up with the wrong Result.
Now that my Gear is in Top Brain Let's Engine our Starts.
First of all, Pinkie's Dilemma was relatable and on point and here's why: All her friends have gone above and beyond their wildest dreams.
We have 3P (Purple Princess Pony, A.K.A. Twilight Sparkle) who went from literally being "Sunset Shimmer 2.0" to a Major Power of Equestria, capping it off with developing the future of the land via Best Method (A School), then we have Rainboom Dash, who hasn't only attained her Dream, but it's well en route to its upper echelons. I'm pretty Sure when Spitfire Retires R. D. Dash will be the Wonderbolts' Captain. Next is Beauty incarnate (Rarity, for those of us with a brain so dense Maud Pie might find attractive). Her dream was one somewhat similar to mine: Have a branch of her establishment on the city of her Dreams, yet ended up with a fledgling Empire, covering not both her target but also Equestria's Fashion capital! Then we have the Flutters that is Shy and her dream of an Animal Pit stop... I ask of you... Do you think Mis Shy would have pulled it off had she still being as she started? The Answer is " No!!!" Finally, we get to the one closest to Pinkie's Situation: A. J. which, despite being stubborn as 18 mules, had little to no need to change too much, Sweet Apple Acres is her world, and her world is perfect. This said Pinkie saw herself as "just another Party Pone", and felt that it was expected of her to well, go Beyond, Plus Ultra! as they did.
Now: Enter Best Weird Al Other self C. S. Sammich, whom after a lifetime of being a Romani style Party Pone, was contacted by someone that appreciated his job well enough to offer him a more comfortable, stable life, which worked out for a bit. Unfortunately, Mr. Sammich forgot that the catalyst of his destiny was in the making, not in the developing: Cheese NEEDS to make Ponies Laugh, so being the director of a factory won't do: in factories, the ponies are constant, his comedy gets exposed to the same people over and over, which ends up atrophying not only Sammich but his targets too. It's a miracle he only lost his ability to do the laugh, it could have been much, much worse. In Diend, the issue wasn't "Cheese Sammich is working in a factory" but "Cheese Sammich is an admin on a factory". which was what P. P. Pie helped him realize, let the one unable to smirk (my deepest sympathies to that poor unfortunate pone) do the admin, let Sammich go in the wild, to do in-field tests of the products and R&D on new, more creative ways to cause a laugh, which then S. S. Smirk will Mass produce and get them to every pone that might need a Cheese Sammich brand moment of Fun without having to get the proper Sammich, which made P. P. Pie realize that she was already doing the Maximum expression of her porpoise.
Now regarding the Fridge basher's question... Spike is a butler, an assistant, heck, even a slave, but he's fart more, his porpoise is far beyond that those aspects of it, Spike is a Hero, a Diplomat, a Glorified Fax Machine, he's a Squire of Friendship and much more... so there's no need to rage about the less glamorous aspects of his purpose and to bash those poor poor fridges...
I feel like this episode was a big missed opportunity in that it really does not answer the question that was brought up in the episode of what Pinkie is going to do in the future. We instead get more of what we already knew which is not new (how many epsidoe go over really similar concepts? quite a few honestly) and would not be so bad but this episode brings up a very good and big question of what Pinkie is going to do and then essentially drops it. They use it as motivation to have her go and start the plot but you did not need that to start the plot (I would find Pinkie would probably go see a friend that has a big life event even without having questions about her life seriously Pinkie would throw Cheese a party and we would have almost the same exact episode) and bringing it up and not really using it makes it even more aggravating than not using it at all.
I agree with some others that so many of the writers have no clue on how to write Pinkie outside of one liner and sight gags. That is really disappointing especially since this is certainly one of the last if not the last Pinkie centric episode.
It is not a bad episode (and Weird Al does a good job on his end) but on the whole it is a very mediocre episode at best and drops the ball on actually having something interesting to say.
I felt that this would have been stronger as an 11-minute episode. Once Cheese's flashback ended, the solution was evident. But then we had to get through a montage of Pinkie attempting the science of comedy and a padded-out conversation about Pinkie not wanting to work at the factory before we reached said conclusion.
This plot came with a high degree of difficulty -- if the story is about making others laugh, then the gags have to be legitimately funny in order for the story to feel satisfying. While acknowledging that comedy is fairly subjective, I thought that the script usually did a good job with that. Granted, everything fell into the category of "take a well-known gag and then have the opposite happen," but that's a good path to take when you have the freedom of animation to sell the jokes. (Although that well started to run dry by the time they reached the "ink stains appearing on somebody else's clothes" bit.)
Speaking of difficult: I know there'd be a lot of complaints if Weird Al guest-starred in an episode and there wasn't a song, but the song we got felt more obligatory than anything. For Cheese Sandwich to begin to get his laugh back because of an unfunny spoonerism was not the best way to begin the resolution. But the writers especially missed the mark in the ending with Sans Smirk.
Sans Smirk (correctly) hadn't been set up as any kind of villain or boss character to overcome -- he was simply someone with a sense of humor who didn't express it with laughter. That kind of person does exist in real life -- a person who will hear a joke and respond by matter-of-factly stating, "that's funny." They legitimately think that the joke is funny; they just aren't prone to actually laughing.
Granted, there's no better feeling of accomplishment than coming up with something so funny that it does make that kind of person laugh. But making that the crux of Cheese's return to laughter was to set the story up for failure (see "high degree of difficulty" above -- a pun from an elementary-school joke book would not believably make someone like Sans Smirk laugh out loud). The resolution was that Cheese needed to be present in order to share in the laughter of his "customers," and making the factory workers laugh would have been enough to accomplish that. Instead, the writers undercut their own ending by going too far.
I'm not saying this was a bad episode. The basic premise was solid and there were some good jokes ("Are you sure this is edible?" "I am not!"). There just wasn't enough for a half hour, and the filler brought the rest of the episode down a peg.
No not really or at least we and her learn nothing new. We and her already know that she brings joy and laughter to the world and that it is important. It is akin to having an episode where Fluttershy deals with being shy (again). Further we really do not get to answer the more interesting question. We already know that Pinkie would likely do something that brings joy and laughter but what we do not know is how she expects to do that. This is further compounded by how she earlier laments on how other characters know what they are going to do such as Rarity having boutiques, Applejack has her farm, and Dash is in the wonderbolts so she is actually bringing up the interesting question of what will she do and the episode drops the concept like a hot potato.
Is she going to have her own bakery? Will she stay in town to be a party planner? Will she travel Equestria bringing cheer with her? The writers forgot to give her a revelation of anything interesting. What she learned in this episode was done much better in a couple of minutes in the "Smile" song which makes the revelation Pinkie has already done and drops the actual potentially more interesting question that was brought up (and it drops the interesting consequences of that choice such as if she decides to do something that keeps her in town how will it affect her that some of her friends are likely to be away fairly often as in Rarity and Dash or if she decides to travel like Cheese she will have to deal with leaving her other friends behind, this is an important aspect of growing up and would have made for an interesting moral to a story but this episode opts to go with a story that has already been done before and frankly done better before).
I will admit I did like the episode but I thought way far ahead about the outcome of the season in general when I first heard what it was about. I considered the possibility that this could lead to a kind of ending that would connect to the finale and we would get similar episodes for the rest of the mane 6 sans Twilight, maybe even Spike, similar to the rainbow connection of season 4.
With the synopsis detailing Pinkie searching for her life purpose I thought this would end with her having to face a decision of taking off with Cheese to spread laughter across Equestria or helping Twilight to rule Equestria. Then I thought of how Rainbow has the wonderbolts, Rarity owns three boutiques and may wish to expand further, Applejack runs the farm, and Fluttershy has the sanctuary, plus maybe Spike might find information about his real family and decide to find them. They all do have reasons that they won’t all be there for Twilight all the time while she is ruling Equestria and I thought this series could actually have a bittersweet ending where the characters despite being friends may have to all go separate ways. This does not seem to be all that likely even before this episode’s synopsis was released but definitely not now. This is what happens when I have too much time to think about things lol.
I know some people question Pinkie’s search for a life purpose in this episode but when she compares herself to her friends at the beginning, but I find it kind of understandable and even relatable. A lot of the people I knew at school all seem to be doing well in careers, social and family life, or both, but I’m really not very social and still don’t know where I want to go in life so I feel a bit lost sometimes in the same way Pinkie feels in this episode so it makes me appreciate it a bit more. As Pinkie clearly states, her friends are all in positions of authority - I.e. Twilight (and Rainbow?) - or running their own businesses - Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy. From her point of view they probably seem more successful which can make one very conscious of their own accomplishments and feel they haven’t done quite as well.
It was great to see Cheese one more time before the series end and I really did like Sans Smirk. You do expect him to be a stick in the mud but he really does have a good sense of humour and really rolled well with both Pinkie and Cheese’s exuberance. He also feels a bit relatable as I don’t always show emotion and I feel he is a bit more relatable to that regard than Maud and Mud Briar as he actually does express emotion but is calm and relaxed about it rather than just staring straight faced all the time. Although maybe it’s his more emotionless personality that makes him a character easy for Pinkie to get along as he is a healthy blend of her sense of humour with Maud’s emotionless character. I don’t know maybe that’s just me.
This episode does feel a bit off but with all the relatability in it I really don’t hate it. I am disappointed this season isn’t going the way I thought it could but like I said I thought way too hard about that. It was still fun so I don’t hate it but I don’t know if I would put it in my top five for this season.
Okay, Cheese selling novelty gags and losing his laugh feels strongly reminiscent of The Royal Canterlot Family series by CartoonNerd12. It's not as shippy as I would have liked, save for one hug, but I still enjoyed it.
This was a pretty good start to the second half of the season. It was good to finally see Cheese Sandwich again (and get a new song out of him), and Sans Smirk was an interesting new character. Pinkie starting to worry about her purpose in life, and how far all her friends have come compared to her, was an intriguing storyline, even if it did end up with Pinkie realizing she was already fulfilling her purpose. And there were plenty of laughs along the way.
So, while not the best episode, this was still an improvement over the last couple of Pinkie Pie episodes (especially "Yakity-Sax").
The Gag Factory reminds me of the one from the Ed, Edd, and Eddy movie.
I can relate to Pinkie Pie. My brother from another mother left to the states and came back a different man. After so many attempts, all my friends and I managed to bring him back to his old self and we all threw a big party… and got either laid or wasted or both. But in the end, everyone was very happy.
5099998 Well, if Cheese is as old as Weird Al (59, as of this post) that'd put him well over twice Pinkie's age of "somewhere-in-her-twenties"
On the bright side, at least they're both consenting adults, unlike many other ships...
- Interesting premise, and a weird look into what professions are available in Equestria Can't really manufacture comedy though, but hey, at least they tried, right?
My OC Cassandra has level 99 observational skills, and she noticed that, several times in the ep, there was an 8-ball on the conveyor belt that nopony seemed to acknowledge. Any idea what it was about?
5099998 To be fair, I already shipped these two and the ep didn't really encourage or discourage it - nothing like the heavy StarTrix vibes in Student Counsel.
5100160 I think she decides that she doesn't need a big purpose beyond what she already does - making ponies happy. (In my headcanon, this eventually leads to her opening a school for party ponies.)
5100041 To be honest, I also suspected at first that Sans might be someone like Svengallop or Gladmane and the ultimate cause of Cheese's troubles. I was very glad to see that it wasn't so.
5100002 Spike was not important to this episode. He's also not important to the series, and his purpose appears to be to act as a failure sponge. The theory being that if the truly awful episodes happen to be Spike episodes, everything else will have less failure in it or at least seem better by comparison. The series has met mixed success with this strategy. Also, for some weird reasons, folks obsess with Spike and treat him like a real character.
5100016 Agreed. It did feel mostly forced. I think that was on purpose, but this does seem like something Al would be totally on board with as a plot. It felt like he had fun playing his part at least.
5100168 The song did feel obligatory and uninspired.
Anywho. The episode wasn't terrible. It did some neat things, but it was pretty forgettable.
Oh I get that is what they ended up doing the issue I have is that it is a waste of an episode compared to what we could have gotten. We already have episodes devoted to how Pinkie brings joy and laughter as being the point of her whole being so this episode is redundant which is sad considering how few episodes are left. To reuse an example do we really need another episode devoted to Fluttershy overcoming shyness or would you rather a Fluttershy episode at this point would be better served looking into a new facet of the character or reveal more about the specifics about what the character might do in their future?
This is not to say this makes it a bad episode just a wasted opportunity. It would not be as galling if the episode did not directly point out that 4-5 of the mane six have their futures fairly well developed with reasonable expectations at this point barring surprises (Fluttershy has more conjecture and questions but even she has more developed than Pinkie in this regard at this point) and Pinkie makes a very astute observation that she has no shown ideas for her future and she is at an age where this should be something she is thinking about.
I just kind of want more from a last season episode than a rehash of concepts we got pretty well developed by mid -late season 2.
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Quick question. After this episode, does anyone still not ship Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich? It feels like one of those ships that's all but canon already.
Sorry for super late post. I didn't really know when they were airing in the US
Expectation: Pinkie and Cheese on the screen together, yay!
Reality: What the heck IS Spike's purpose? (If I get replies saying deadweight or faceless assistant, I'm going to follow you home and destroy your fridge.)
When I first heard that Pinkie Pie was seeking her 'life's purpose', I was wondering if we'd get that 'deep' Pinkie Pie episode we were searching for. The episode wasn't exactly as big as I hoped, but the return of 'Cheese Sandwich' albeit in a different state than we normally see did make up for it. Although the aspect of taking 'Seriousness in sillyness' to be a HUGE oxymoron, that the one pony who suggested for Cheese to make a factory was... Rather boring (To me he's only funny when he's at the expense of a prank) and sometimes the episode didn't nail it on the comedy as much as we expect it was a 'decent' enough episode. I mean anything to have a song when Weird Al Yankovic is singing, garbed in a 'Willy Wonka' styled uniform with top hat and performing alongside Pinkie Pie is admittingly enjoyable. I think what did bum me out more is that the whole Pinkie's 'self-discovery' journey felt kind of shoved aside.
I mean when we put it this way, we all know Pinkie Pie enjoys throwing parties for ponies and making those around her smile (Hence how we got her cutie mark). I think what really had me thinking about her life purpose is how she compares her status to where her other friends have stood (Though she makes it clear Applejack's main place will always be on her farm and nowhere else, thereby confirming to fans who wanted her to do more). I mean she's not exactly an independent pony, staying in the home of a baker family (Who are either related to the Pies in some crazy way or only took Pinkie in because she didn't have a place to stay) which is a common real-life deal for young adults who still reside with their family. I guess it really didn't make a difference on what Pinkie's true goal would be if it was already established to begin with, then again I try to think of a stronger use like Dorothy discovered she didn't need to find something if it was never truly lost (Wizard of Oz reference). Overall, as a Pinkie Pie episode, it's not among the best I've seen her at her strongest but at least it's more enjoyable than the time she tried playing that Yovidaphone... Thing... Yeah, that was 'so' bad.
wait has this episode only just official released, wow that means many ep have leaked then since im way ahead of this one
Honestly, that episode was mediocre for me. It had some fun parts, but the overall humor seemed forced most of the time
.
Personal opinion of course
.
5100002
But I have no fridge...
5100002
i say spike purpose is to be the bridge between pony and dragon, relations certainly got better mostly thanks to him so ambassador spike for the win
5100002
Butler?
5100005
Well, Seriousness in Sillyness DOES have some merrit to it.
Despite popular belief, comedy is a hell of a lot of work. It's not just random sillyness, it's CALCULATED sillyness. Maybe if the episode went more along this route, maybe with Pinkie trying to up her comedic routine, it could have stayed a bit more consistent.
5100024
Maybe so. I mean I just feel like the method of adding calculations to determine the laugh factor of a comedic bit almost feels like having to 'explain a joke'. I may know bar-none about comedy, being my own humor outside the site is a bit... 'Dry'... But I do know this much about comedy: If a comedian has to 'explain' a joke, there is NO joke at all (Granted this one pony character wasn't a comedian, but that's beside the point).
I will give the episode a 'tiny' bit of credit as far as the moral is concerned. Aside from Cheese Sandwich, there are tons of folks who feel they have lost either their humor or their artistic talent or even their direction if they don't get to see how people feel about it. Just to see folks either enjoying all his practical jokes in one case, as a writer would want to see his readers enjoying his stories or an artist wanting to see the looks on folks faces when they see her heart, that's more rewarding than making themselves either laugh or be happy. Is it a 'relatable' moral? Absolutely I should think, but I do agree with you that if certain plot elements were adjusted to be more 'fitting' I'd probably have enjoyed the episode more than I expected.
But... Needless to say, I don't think this is a 'bad' episode (I'd let you know for sure). For me, it's not horrible nor amazing, as I said it's just... Okay.
Milo Murphy might think he's not a good actor, but his voice actor surely is. Case in point: this episode.
I don't have much else to say about it, honestly. It was a decent romp with Pinkie trying to help an old friend, and Weird Al's voice acting was so on-point that you had to really strain your hearing to recognize him. I also like how Sans Smirk wasn't a real antagonist; just someone who tried to help in his own way but found that it didn't work. All in all, a welcome return to form after the hiatus.
The episode was clever in my opinion. I liked how it solved Cheese's problem without making Sans Smirk a villain.
5100021
Better move your beer to a safe location then.
5100018
You have my pity then. Go ahead and make your reply.
5100020
Finally, a smart reply.
Yeah I agree with that. And don't forget the changelings! He befriended Thorax which helped the changeling situation!
5100033
5100031
Yeah I thought San Smirk was going to be like Svengallop.
5099998
Literally nothing in the episode points to a Pinkie/Cheese romance.
Anyway, the episode was alright. So alright I don't really have anything to say about it.
Not fucking kidding, i thought that Cheese Sandwich x Pinkie Pie was confirmed until i checked the wiki.
5100037
Aw c'mon. Butler is a refined and respectable position.
5100070
Okie doke, just include that instead of just saying butler.
Sounded like you said Spike does nothing but butler work or something.
(Edited to sound more reasonable)
Just like in some fanfiction, pinkie is quite hard for the new writers to deal with and it showed.
5100073
What? No.
5100087
I wouldn't say the term Butler anyway.
Say au revoir to your fridge.
I really liked this one. I didn't even think of the 'Pinkie feeling left behind' angle.
It was a nice moral about not losing your way, it had me smiling, and I'm glad they didn't go the 'everyone must be excessively happy and outgoing' angle with Sans Smirk, but rather 'everyone has something they'd be happy doing and that's okay'. Coming back from the hiatus strong!
I agree with DragonShadow - Overall, a really nice, albeit admittedly somewhat unspectacular, episode.
Don't really have any other comments about it. Though I will say that it was kinda nice to see that they didn't go the well-trodden route and demonize Sans Smirk. There has to be at least some method to the madness, after all.
It's good to be back.
5100000
Don't do the fretting... is OK...
Ok, Let's see here... oh yes, the one where Cheese Sammich does the right thing and ends up with the wrong Result.
Now that my Gear is in Top Brain Let's Engine our Starts.
First of all, Pinkie's Dilemma was relatable and on point and here's why: All her friends have gone above and beyond their wildest dreams.
We have 3P (Purple Princess Pony, A.K.A. Twilight Sparkle) who went from literally being "Sunset Shimmer 2.0" to a Major Power of Equestria, capping it off with developing the future of the land via Best Method (A School), then we have Rainboom Dash, who hasn't only attained her Dream, but it's well en route to its upper echelons. I'm pretty Sure when Spitfire Retires R. D. Dash will be the Wonderbolts' Captain. Next is Beauty incarnate (Rarity, for those of us with a brain so dense Maud Pie might find attractive). Her dream was one somewhat similar to mine: Have a branch of her establishment on the city of her Dreams, yet ended up with a fledgling Empire, covering not both her target but also Equestria's Fashion capital! Then we have the Flutters that is Shy and her dream of an Animal Pit stop... I ask of you... Do you think Mis Shy would have pulled it off had she still being as she started? The Answer is "
No!!!" Finally, we get to the one closest to Pinkie's Situation: A. J. which, despite being stubborn as 18 mules, had little to no need to change too much, Sweet Apple Acres is her world, and her world is perfect. This said Pinkie saw herself as "just another Party Pone", and felt that it was expected of her to well, go Beyond, Plus Ultra! as they did.
Now: Enter Best Weird Al Other self C. S. Sammich, whom after a lifetime of being a Romani style Party Pone, was contacted by someone that appreciated his job well enough to offer him a more comfortable, stable life, which worked out for a bit. Unfortunately, Mr. Sammich forgot that the catalyst of his destiny was in the making, not in the developing: Cheese NEEDS to make Ponies Laugh, so being the director of a factory won't do: in factories, the ponies are constant, his comedy gets exposed to the same people over and over, which ends up atrophying not only Sammich but his targets too. It's a miracle he only lost his ability to do the laugh, it could have been much, much worse. In Diend, the issue wasn't "Cheese Sammich is working in a factory" but "Cheese Sammich is an admin on a factory". which was what P. P. Pie helped him realize, let the one unable to smirk (my deepest sympathies to that poor unfortunate pone) do the admin, let Sammich go in the wild, to do in-field tests of the products and R&D on new, more creative ways to cause a laugh, which then S. S. Smirk will Mass produce and get them to every pone that might need a Cheese Sammich brand moment of Fun without having to get the proper Sammich, which made P. P. Pie realize that she was already doing the Maximum expression of her porpoise.
Now regarding the Fridge basher's question... Spike is a butler, an assistant, heck, even a slave, but he's fart more, his porpoise is far beyond that those aspects of it, Spike is a Hero, a Diplomat, a Glorified Fax Machine, he's a Squire of Friendship and much more... so there's no need to rage about the less glamorous aspects of his purpose and to bash those poor poor fridges...
Peace and out B
es!
Il Ponxo
I feel like this episode was a big missed opportunity in that it really does not answer the question that was brought up in the episode of what Pinkie is going to do in the future. We instead get more of what we already knew which is not new (how many epsidoe go over really similar concepts? quite a few honestly) and would not be so bad but this episode brings up a very good and big question of what Pinkie is going to do and then essentially drops it. They use it as motivation to have her go and start the plot but you did not need that to start the plot (I would find Pinkie would probably go see a friend that has a big life event even without having questions about her life seriously Pinkie would throw Cheese a party and we would have almost the same exact episode) and bringing it up and not really using it makes it even more aggravating than not using it at all.
I agree with some others that so many of the writers have no clue on how to write Pinkie outside of one liner and sight gags. That is really disappointing especially since this is certainly one of the last if not the last Pinkie centric episode.
It is not a bad episode (and Weird Al does a good job on his end) but on the whole it is a very mediocre episode at best and drops the ball on actually having something interesting to say.
5100160 I mean... the question is answered, no?
I felt that this would have been stronger as an 11-minute episode. Once Cheese's flashback ended, the solution was evident. But then we had to get through a montage of Pinkie attempting the science of comedy and a padded-out conversation about Pinkie not wanting to work at the factory before we reached said conclusion.
This plot came with a high degree of difficulty -- if the story is about making others laugh, then the gags have to be legitimately funny in order for the story to feel satisfying. While acknowledging that comedy is fairly subjective, I thought that the script usually did a good job with that. Granted, everything fell into the category of "take a well-known gag and then have the opposite happen," but that's a good path to take when you have the freedom of animation to sell the jokes. (Although that well started to run dry by the time they reached the "ink stains appearing on somebody else's clothes" bit.)
Speaking of difficult: I know there'd be a lot of complaints if Weird Al guest-starred in an episode and there wasn't a song, but the song we got felt more obligatory than anything. For Cheese Sandwich to begin to get his laugh back because of an unfunny spoonerism was not the best way to begin the resolution. But the writers especially missed the mark in the ending with Sans Smirk.
Sans Smirk (correctly) hadn't been set up as any kind of villain or boss character to overcome -- he was simply someone with a sense of humor who didn't express it with laughter. That kind of person does exist in real life -- a person who will hear a joke and respond by matter-of-factly stating, "that's funny." They legitimately think that the joke is funny; they just aren't prone to actually laughing.
Granted, there's no better feeling of accomplishment than coming up with something so funny that it does make that kind of person laugh. But making that the crux of Cheese's return to laughter was to set the story up for failure (see "high degree of difficulty" above -- a pun from an elementary-school joke book would not believably make someone like Sans Smirk laugh out loud). The resolution was that Cheese needed to be present in order to share in the laughter of his "customers," and making the factory workers laugh would have been enough to accomplish that. Instead, the writers undercut their own ending by going too far.
I'm not saying this was a bad episode. The basic premise was solid and there were some good jokes ("Are you sure this is edible?" "I am not!"). There just wasn't enough for a half hour, and the filler brought the rest of the episode down a peg.
This episode was extremely stupid. I hated it. What a waste of a musical genius like Weird Al. They shouldn't have even bothered bringing him back.
5100162
No not really or at least we and her learn nothing new. We and her already know that she brings joy and laughter to the world and that it is important. It is akin to having an episode where Fluttershy deals with being shy (again). Further we really do not get to answer the more interesting question. We already know that Pinkie would likely do something that brings joy and laughter but what we do not know is how she expects to do that. This is further compounded by how she earlier laments on how other characters know what they are going to do such as Rarity having boutiques, Applejack has her farm, and Dash is in the wonderbolts so she is actually bringing up the interesting question of what will she do and the episode drops the concept like a hot potato.
Is she going to have her own bakery? Will she stay in town to be a party planner? Will she travel Equestria bringing cheer with her? The writers forgot to give her a revelation of anything interesting. What she learned in this episode was done much better in a couple of minutes in the "Smile" song which makes the revelation Pinkie has already done and drops the actual potentially more interesting question that was brought up (and it drops the interesting consequences of that choice such as if she decides to do something that keeps her in town how will it affect her that some of her friends are likely to be away fairly often as in Rarity and Dash or if she decides to travel like Cheese she will have to deal with leaving her other friends behind, this is an important aspect of growing up and would have made for an interesting moral to a story but this episode opts to go with a story that has already been done before and frankly done better before).
I will admit I did like the episode but I thought way far ahead about the outcome of the season in general when I first heard what it was about. I considered the possibility that this could lead to a kind of ending that would connect to the finale and we would get similar episodes for the rest of the mane 6 sans Twilight, maybe even Spike, similar to the rainbow connection of season 4.
With the synopsis detailing Pinkie searching for her life purpose I thought this would end with her having to face a decision of taking off with Cheese to spread laughter across Equestria or helping Twilight to rule Equestria. Then I thought of how Rainbow has the wonderbolts, Rarity owns three boutiques and may wish to expand further, Applejack runs the farm, and Fluttershy has the sanctuary, plus maybe Spike might find information about his real family and decide to find them. They all do have reasons that they won’t all be there for Twilight all the time while she is ruling Equestria and I thought this series could actually have a bittersweet ending where the characters despite being friends may have to all go separate ways. This does not seem to be all that likely even before this episode’s synopsis was released but definitely not now. This is what happens when I have too much time to think about things lol.
I know some people question Pinkie’s search for a life purpose in this episode but when she compares herself to her friends at the beginning, but I find it kind of understandable and even relatable. A lot of the people I knew at school all seem to be doing well in careers, social and family life, or both, but I’m really not very social and still don’t know where I want to go in life so I feel a bit lost sometimes in the same way Pinkie feels in this episode so it makes me appreciate it a bit more. As Pinkie clearly states, her friends are all in positions of authority - I.e. Twilight (and Rainbow?) - or running their own businesses - Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy. From her point of view they probably seem more successful which can make one very conscious of their own accomplishments and feel they haven’t done quite as well.
It was great to see Cheese one more time before the series end and I really did like Sans Smirk. You do expect him to be a stick in the mud but he really does have a good sense of humour and really rolled well with both Pinkie and Cheese’s exuberance. He also feels a bit relatable as I don’t always show emotion and I feel he is a bit more relatable to that regard than Maud and Mud Briar as he actually does express emotion but is calm and relaxed about it rather than just staring straight faced all the time. Although maybe it’s his more emotionless personality that makes him a character easy for Pinkie to get along as he is a healthy blend of her sense of humour with Maud’s emotionless character. I don’t know maybe that’s just me.
This episode does feel a bit off but with all the relatability in it I really don’t hate it. I am disappointed this season isn’t going the way I thought it could but like I said I thought way too hard about that. It was still fun so I don’t hate it but I don’t know if I would put it in my top five for this season.
Okay, Cheese selling novelty gags and losing his laugh feels strongly reminiscent of The Royal Canterlot Family series by CartoonNerd12. It's not as shippy as I would have liked, save for one hug, but I still enjoyed it.
It was nice to hear Weird Al in MLP again. Sans Smirk is an interesting character, as well.
Even after all this, the Cheese Pie ship still remains moored. Damn you, writers.
This was a pretty good start to the second half of the season. It was good to finally see Cheese Sandwich again (and get a new song out of him), and Sans Smirk was an interesting new character. Pinkie starting to worry about her purpose in life, and how far all her friends have come compared to her, was an intriguing storyline, even if it did end up with Pinkie realizing she was already fulfilling her purpose. And there were plenty of laughs along the way.
So, while not the best episode, this was still an improvement over the last couple of Pinkie Pie episodes (especially "Yakity-Sax").
Was great to see Cheese again. Not the greatest episode, but an okay one.
5100145
Indeedy do.
The Gag Factory reminds me of the one from the Ed, Edd, and Eddy movie.
I can relate to Pinkie Pie. My brother from another mother left to the states and came back a different man. After so many attempts, all my friends and I managed to bring him back to his old self and we all threw a big party… and got either laid or wasted or both. But in the end, everyone was very happy.
Sans. O3O
I liek dis episode.
This was a good episode. Let it not be said that season 9.2 gave us nothing worth having.
5099998
Well, if Cheese is as old as Weird Al (59, as of this post) that'd put him well over twice Pinkie's age of "somewhere-in-her-twenties"
On the bright side, at least they're both consenting adults, unlike many other ships...
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Interesting premise, and a weird look into what professions are available in Equestria
Can't really manufacture comedy though, but hey, at least they tried, right?
5100073
Not at all.
5100327
Yeah looking back maybe I should have worded that better, lol
5100341
You worded it appropriately.
My OC Cassandra has level 99 observational skills, and she noticed that, several times in the ep, there was an 8-ball on the conveyor belt that nopony seemed to acknowledge. Any idea what it was about?
Reference: https://derpibooru.org/2108880
5099998
To be fair, I already shipped these two and the ep didn't really encourage or discourage it - nothing like the heavy StarTrix vibes in Student Counsel.
5100160
I think she decides that she doesn't need a big purpose beyond what she already does - making ponies happy. (In my headcanon, this eventually leads to her opening a school for party ponies.)
5100041
To be honest, I also suspected at first that Sans might be someone like Svengallop or Gladmane and the ultimate cause of Cheese's troubles. I was very glad to see that it wasn't so.
Well, that was an episode. Let's see how others ... oh dear.
5099998
I don't.
5100002
Spike was not important to this episode. He's also not important to the series, and his purpose appears to be to act as a failure sponge. The theory being that if the truly awful episodes happen to be Spike episodes, everything else will have less failure in it or at least seem better by comparison. The series has met mixed success with this strategy. Also, for some weird reasons, folks obsess with Spike and treat him like a real character.
5100016
Agreed. It did feel mostly forced. I think that was on purpose, but this does seem like something Al would be totally on board with as a plot. It felt like he had fun playing his part at least.
5100168
The song did feel obligatory and uninspired.
Anywho. The episode wasn't terrible. It did some neat things, but it was pretty forgettable.
5100408
Remind me never to say the word Spike around you.
5100384
Oh I get that is what they ended up doing the issue I have is that it is a waste of an episode compared to what we could have gotten. We already have episodes devoted to how Pinkie brings joy and laughter as being the point of her whole being so this episode is redundant which is sad considering how few episodes are left. To reuse an example do we really need another episode devoted to Fluttershy overcoming shyness or would you rather a Fluttershy episode at this point would be better served looking into a new facet of the character or reveal more about the specifics about what the character might do in their future?
This is not to say this makes it a bad episode just a wasted opportunity. It would not be as galling if the episode did not directly point out that 4-5 of the mane six have their futures fairly well developed with reasonable expectations at this point barring surprises (Fluttershy has more conjecture and questions but even she has more developed than Pinkie in this regard at this point) and Pinkie makes a very astute observation that she has no shown ideas for her future and she is at an age where this should be something she is thinking about.
I just kind of want more from a last season episode than a rehash of concepts we got pretty well developed by mid -late season 2.