My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro
Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby
We’re back with another episode of Scootaloo Explains It All, and while we won’t be breaking the forth wall this time around (I guess Pinkie Pie has the day off), we WILL be dealing with family problems as the one thing both her and her idol Rainbow Dash have in common is Absent Parent Syndrome! All that’s about to come to ahead, at least for Rainbow Dash, in an episode that has been a REALLY long time coming, but can it POSSIBLY live up to the hype that has been generated over all this time!? Let’s find out!!
The episode begins with Scootaloo doing the most Scootaloo thing imaginable (with the help of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle) by trying to launch herself straight to Cloudsdale using a makeshift slingshot. Never mind that she’s snap her neck if she tried going THAT fast THAT quickly, there’s no way she’d have enough thrust to make it all the way to a city in the sky! Then again, this is a land of magic horses, so maybe Newton’s Three Laws of Motion are more suggestions than outright rules.
“Fly like an eagle!! Through the revolution!!” “What did she say?” “I don’t know. She wants to buy a beagle?”
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro
Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby
We’re back with another episode of Unbreakable Fluttershy who hasn’t had a starring role since last season’s Viva Las Pegasus and has barely even shown up since this season began. Fluttershy isn’t the easiest character to write for considering how much her defining characteristics can sometimes limit what she’s capable of doing, but in recent seasons they’ve managed to put out a few gems with her that complement what makes her unique in the cast. Can they continue that going into season 7, or will this be remembered as a half-hearted piece of season filler? Let’s find out!!
The episode begins with Angel Bunny (Fluttershy’s own Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne) doing some parkour in Fluttershy’s house (okay…) before it all ends the same way every parkour run inevitably does so; with the runner getting GREVIOUSLY (and hilariously) injured. Oh I’m sure he’s fine! He’ll be back to being an abusive jerk-wad in no time!
“Did you… get… the shot?” “I think so.” “My work is done…”
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro
Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby
We’re back with another episode of All in The Pie Family; a show that ALSO had a breakout star named Maud! Okay, it was spelled Maude, but close enough!! Maud Pie is one of the most popular characters of the series since her debut in season four to the point that she’s one of the very few secondary characters to have multiple episodes focused on them. Seriously, does anyone even remember the last time Zecora got a speaking role? Not even The Cakes get more than one chance in the spotlight!? PINKIE PIE LIVES WITH THEM FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!! No… have to focus. Lack of Mr. and Mrs. Cake aside… Maud has had a very strong record so far as her episodes tend to stand out quite a bit, and with the solid track record this season has so far with supporting characters, it seems likely that that trend will continue. Do they manage to pull off another great episode with everyone’s favorite April Ludgate impersonator, or are we reaching the point of oversaturation one of the show’s more interesting characters? Let’s find out!!
The episode begins with Maud Pie getting her Rock-torate in Rock Studies (because Geology isn’t a funny enough word) and the whole Pie family is there for the graduation ceremony… which only includes her. Hey, at least she’s not trying to get a job in an oversaturated market, which I assume is the case with Magic Studies graduates. I mean, if the choices are CONTROLLING THE UNIMAGINABLE POWER AROUND YOU or looking at dirt all day, I’m pretty sure we’d ALL go for the one that lets us shoot fire balls.
Oh look! Their mortarboards are ALSO made out of rocks!
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro
Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby
We’re back with another episode of Flurry Heart’s Day Out! Oh yes, the little rascal who we’ve barely seen since her debut in season six and is cute to a weaponized degree! Feels like a wasted opportunity if you ask me! Well wait no longer, fans of all things cute and baby related, as the writers have heard your pleas and we now have another episode with the extremely marketable bundle of joy! Does this episode bring the adorable goodness that we require along with an interesting story about being a good parental figure, or will Flurry Heart turn out to be just as uninteresting as poor Nicky Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? Let’s find out!!
The episode begins with Twilight in her Doom Fortress talking to one of the nurses from the Ponyville Hospital about a possible appearance by the Princess to cheer up some foals who managed to get something called The Horsey Hives. Technically hives are a symptom rather than the root cause of an illness and often caused by allergic reactions (meaning that the entire class must not only be allergic to the same thing but must have been exposed to it at the same time), but I guess they’re MAGIC hives and can be spread any number of ways. Twilight is easily convinced to help out by delivering food, gifts, and reading materials, which of course spells DOOM for everyone as Murphy’s Law is just as stringent a rule in this world as gravity is; meaning something is gonna come RIGHT through those front doors and screw everything up!
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro
Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby
We’re back with another episode of I Love Trixie, starring MLP’s very own Lucy/Ethel besties Starlight Glimmer and THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!! It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of any episode that puts these two together, and the fact that they are the subject of the season premiere’s second episode is certainly a good way to get me to overlook the fact that we’re starting the season off without a big two-parter to shake things up and start things off with a bang. Does this turn out to be yet another wonderful use of the two best characters the series has going for it right now, or has this particular team up managed to run its course already? Let’s find out!!
The episode begins with Trixie and Starlight in the kitchen of Twilight’s Doom Fortress where the former is getting some remedial lessons on magic. I don’t know why she needs magic when she’s already a master of MAGIC!, but I guess THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE will not be outdone in ANY field of study. At the very least, she’s still the master of adorable frustration which she proves to us once again after the fifth attempt to turn a pepper shaker into a teacup fails.
“You put an anti-magic spell on this, didn’t you. Yes Trixie. I took the time to come up with a spell to nullify all magic and placed on a random object you JUST SO HAPPENED to try and turn into a teacup. I absolutely did that.” “AH HA!! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE IS TRULY THE MASTER OF DEDUCTION AS WELL!!”
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro
Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby
We’re back with another episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and it feels like an ETERTINTY since I last said that! Then again, the show has taken MUCH longer to start a new season in the past, particularly between seasons four and five when they were being switched over from The Hub to Discovery Family, but that doesn’t mean it was any easier to go without my weekly fix of Pony Magic! Now the new season is actually doing something very different right off the bat as the show USUALLY starts off with a two-parter to open the season with yet decided to forgo that for the first time since the series began to instead have to separate episodes to start us off with. Does a less bombastic opening salvo for the season still manage to bring the excitement needed to bring the fans back on board, or does this first episode drop the ball right off the bat? Let’s find out!!
The episode picks up not too long after the events of the season 6 finale where everyone is getting ready for the award ceremony to honor Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Thorax, and Discord, for their brave efforts to thwart Queen Chrysalis’s latest scheme. They didn’t CAPTURE her so she’s still out there probably scheming something else, but her power has at least been diminished since all the Changelings turned on her and became beautiful florescent colored bug horses for their troubles and installed Thorax as their new king. Probably less to do with his role in overthrowing the monarch than the fact that he now has BAD ASS ANTLERS!
“Luna. You can stop now. Even if you get it on, how is he ever gonna take it off?” “THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT TOLD YOU TO USE VELCRO STRAPS!! NOW LOOK WHERE WE ARE!!”
Dragon Ball Super and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Toei Animation and licensed by Funimation
We’re back with another episode of Bulma’s Birthday Blowout, and… yeah, I’m not gonna beat around the bush on this one. We’re in straight up filler mode and not the fun kind like watching Vegeta eat a giant octopus. Sure we get little snippets of Goku training on King Kai’s planet and Vegeta being awesome, but for the majority of the episode we’re dealing with Goten, Kid Trunks, and The Pilaf Gang doing pointless shenanigans while we wait for Beerus to make it to King Kai’s planet. Ugh… even Yamcha would be more interesting to follow, but I guess we have to follow what happened in Battle of the Gods… even the uninteresting parts. Oh well. Let’s get started…
The episode begins with Beerus and Whis who remind us that they’re on their way to King Kai’s planet and that it’s going to take some time to get there, but at least they manage to have some funny banter back and forth before they leave the episode completely. Come to think of it, one of the best aspects of this show so far has been the dub which manages to stay pretty sharp and even somewhat self-aware for those who’ve been following the series since the beginning. Now not all of the dialogue hits as is the case with pretty much any dub (except Yu Yu Hakusho and I will FIGHT YOU on that!), but for something that has all the hallmarks of a cheap cash grab to milk the fans of the franchise (the weak animation, the fact that we’re picking up RIGHT after DBZ ends, the constant fan service) I think they’re managing to at least get the character interactions right. Speaking of which, we get even more of the Sean Schemmel Comedy Hour as King Kai has notices Beerus’s B-line straight for his planet and is bemoaning his lot in life while Goku stays as oblivious as ever.
“Boy, King Kai! It’s not often that I see you shitting bricks like this. Did YOU forget it was Bulma’s birthday too?”
Riverdale and all the images you see in this recap are owned Warner Bros Television Distribution and The CW
Episode directed by David Katzenberg
We’re back from the two week hiatus of Riverdale, and while I may be one of the more critical voices out there of the show, I’m honestly glad that it’s back. The last few episodes have been a marked improvement and the show has been on an upward swing in general since SHE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED has packed her backs and skipped town, and even when the show is at its WORST… well at least it gives me something interesting to write about! Has the show come back from its break rearing to go and ready to prove itself, or are we in for more of the same old same old? Let’s find out!!
The episode begins with a rather helpful recap of what’s been going on for the last few weeks, and not just the PREVIOUSLY ON RIVERDALE one we get every episode. Jughead is basically summarizing the Jason Blossom /Polly Cooper love affair with some brief snippets of the both of them together before they were ripped violently apart. Of course, if you’re just reading this then you don’t GET to see the pretty pictures, but I’ll do my best to summarize as it HAS been a few weeks since we’ve last done this song and dance. AHEM! Jason Blossom disappeared on the Fourth of July and was found several weeks later with a bullet hole in his head. He was trying to run away with his pregnant girlfriend Polly who was sent to a Girl’s Home for… I guess being pregnant, but the TRUE reason is that the Coopers and the Blossoms have a Hatfield/McCoy generations long pissing match going on and her parents wanted her out of sight and out of mind. Jason’s plan was two-fold. Number one, sneak Polly out of the facility, and number two, deliver some drugs (given to him by the local gang known as the Southside Serpents) to an address upstate so he can have a decent amount of cash to start their new life. Well, as famed Prussian General Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke once said, “no plan survives contact with a bullet to the head” so now it’s up to the denizens of Riverdale (mostly Betty and Jughead) to figure out who pulled a Romeo and Juliet on these two. Now I like the way they present these details in this opening bit, but there is a part of Jughead’s narration that’s throwing me off. The series keeps pushing this point that the Coopers are some sort of ultra-controlling and outwardly perfect dynasty within the Riverdale community, and I just don’t see it. I mean sure Betty and Polly’s mother (who I delightfully refer to as Lemon Mom) certainly ACTS like that’s the case, but there’s never been a demonstration of clout or even that much opulence (the same way the Blossoms have been portrayed) to have this make any sense. Hell, I don’t even know what their dad’s JOB is, let alone if it’s anything important, and Lemon Mom is a journalist… for a local newspaper. Oh, well SAY NO MORE! DON’T CROSS THESE PEOPLE!
It’s like the Reynolds Family before Frank lost all sense of decency.
Riverdale and all the images you see in this recap are owned Warner Bros Television Distribution and The CW
Episode directed by Allison Anders
We’re back with another episode of The Incredible Jughead! Just like Bruce Banner, our nominal hero of this show (Archie certainly isn’t the star of this) can’t stay in one place for too long as trouble follows wherever he goes. That, and his last house got torn down, so we should probably get that resolved before too long as well as the whole POLLY WENT MISSING thing from last week. Does this episode manage to tie up some of the loose ends that have been left dangling as we enter the second half of the season, or will this show double down on making things as needlessly complicated as possible (*cough* Lodge Industries *cough*)? Let’s find out!!
The episode begins with… honestly, what looks to be a better show but I guess I’m supposed to find this hilariously dated instead. It’s a dream that Jughead is having where he looks a bit closer to his comic counterparts and they’re playing Lambs in Clover by Jack Strachey; a song that you probably don’t know by name but you’ll recognize immediately when you look it up. First, Ren and Stimpy were doing this kind of twisted domesticity set to Lambs in Clover over two decades ago and were doing it WAY better, so I’d hardly call this edgy or even that subversive. Second, while I will grant them that Jughead has basically looked the same since the 1940s, it’s not like the series was hermetically sealed in the golden age of Boomer Americana! The series grew over the decades and kept up with the times, and while there were places where it took longer than it should to catch up to society, taking a shot like this feels like mocking Batman for wearing purple gloves which he hasn’t worn since before World War 2. Granted, I know more about the comics than most people, but then I always thought the public perception of the series was late sixties youth culture; not mid-fifties suburban paradise!!
“This is not my beautiful house! This is not my beautiful wife!”
Riverdale and all the images you see in this recap are owned Warner Bros Television Distribution and The CW
Episode directed by Steven A. Adelson
We’re back with another episode of CSI: Riverdale! When we last left our intrepid sleuths Betty and Jughead, they were getting one step closer to solving the mystery of Jason’s death, but now the evidence is point to Betty’s parents which makes things a lot more difficult to say the least! Oh, and Archie was doing stuff too I guess, but JUGHEAD AND BETTY! They’re next plan is to find out where Polly was sent and see if she has any clues that can lead them to the killer! Will the dynamic duo manage to save Polly and find the truth that has been eluding them for so long? What will Betty’s parents do once they find out what she’s been up to with that Jughead boy!? And uh… is Archie gonna do something of mild interest? Let’s find out!!
The episode begins with Betty and Jughead who are about to initiate their master plan to find out where Polly’s been locked up. Step one, have breakfast with Betty’s mom! Okay, that doesn’t SOUND too hard, but this is Lemon Mom we’re dealing with who has just gotten back from her Women in Journalism retreat and is ready to tear everyone at the kitchen table a new asshole for the indecency and bad taste of merely existing in her presence.
“THIS BREAKFAST… IS UNACCEPTABBBBBLLLLEEEEE!!” “WE GET IT! You hate everything! Would you PLEASE shut up about it!?” “The funny thing is, this is still better than breakfast with MY dad.”
The Reviewers Unite 