Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 6 (The Gift of the Maud Pie)

April 3, 2016 ~ Matt Vetrano ~ 3 Comments

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

Season six started on a rather low key note with last week’s premiere not having much in regards to stakes or world building outside of the introduction of Flurry Heart. Still, while season five may have started SPECTACULARLY strong, it was right after the premiere that things started to go downhill with Castle Sweet Castle being a mindless slog to get through. Can this episode manage to keep the quality consistent with what we saw before, or is this season destined to have the same nose dive that season five found itself in when it refused to build off of what had been set up? Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Rarity and Pinkie Pie on a train headed for Manehattan with the one looking to open a third boutique location (the best idea for any small business owner is apparently to overextend themselves) and the other on her way to visit Maud Pie; one of the more recent challengers for title of Best Pony.

MLPS6E03-1 — “What about ME!? I’m the quirky one who breaks the fourth wall! I SHOULD BE THE FAVORITE!!” “Just because it worked for Deadpool-” “Oh THIS again!!”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 6 (The Crystalling)

March 28, 2016March 28, 2016 ~ Matt Vetrano ~ 5 Comments

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro.

Episodes directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby

It feels like it was just yesterday that this show was still on the air and not living up to it’s potential, doesn’t it? Season five was overall a disappointment, mainly due to the MacGuffin they introduced being underutilized (the Cutie Map) and the finale not really having the kind of punch and significance that we are used to getting from this show. There were more than a few important and satisfying episodes throughout the season (The Cutie Map, Slice of Life, Rarity Investigates, Crusaders of the Lost Mark) but taken as a whole it just didn’t do much to advance our main characters or the world that they inhabit. Fortunately, the best thing Hasbro could have done was to minimize the hiatus between season which means we can move forward right away so that fans (like me) aren’t moping for too long about the mediocrity of the last season. Can they manage to recapture the magic of this series with a smart and exciting season premiere, or will the mediocrity continue as we slowly realize that the show has reached its peak? Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Starlight Glimmer walking through the halls of Twilight’s Doom Fortress; looking for the library and hanging lampshades along the way.

MLPS6E01-1 — “It sure is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside! I wonder if that’s a reference to something… *COUGH* Badwolf *COUGH* Excuse me. Must have something in my throat.”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 5 (The Cutie Re-Mark) Season Five Finale!!

December 3, 2015July 3, 2016 ~ Matt Vetrano ~ 3 Comments

We’re finally here! It’s the end of the fifth season of My Little Pony and it has certainly been a rocky one. With some really strong episodes right out of the gate, it looked like this season was going to be the best of the series, but over time it started to wander back into its usually high, but not extraordinary, standards. Still, the season finales have always been a high mark for the series with A Canterlot Wedding being one of my favorite episodes of the series. Will they manage to pull out all the stops so that we can close this season on a high note, or will it just be another example of this season taking things too safe? Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Twilight trying to memorize a speech she’s going to give at Celestia’s School of Magic and progress seems to be slow… despite the speech being barely a paragraph long. Well Twilight being the perfectionist that she is continues to rehearse the speech over and over again to a captive audience of one.

MLP25-1 — “I wonder what Rarity’s doing right now?”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 5 (What About Discord?)

November 10, 2015July 3, 2016 ~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

We’re back with another episode of The Twilight Sparkle Show! After the two back to back holiday episodes, it’s time to get the series back into the swing of things, and what better way to do that than with another Discord episode? John de Lancie’s preeminent performance as the god of all chaos is definitely a highlight of the series, but his presence can occasionally be a bit underwhelming, especially when he’s being overly needy instead of a rascally force of destruction. Will this end up being another classic Discord episode, or will we finally tire with his never ending antics and codependency? Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Twilight playing the library equivalent of fifty-two pick up, in that she took ALL the books off the shelves and is going to put them back on (with Spike’s help obviously). Look, I’ve had jobs where the best thing to do when bored was alphabetize the DVD bins, but she’s using up a three day weekend (what holiday is it, Celestia Day?) to re-alphabetize the library which I’m PRETTY sure is already alphabetized! Is it just me, or is Twilight becoming less and less relatable as the series goes on? She started off as an introverted bookworm who had her moments of wackiness, but was definitely an audience avatar when compared to the vibrant and specific personalities of the other characters. They’ve since added to her character and given her defining traits, but I think they’ve gone a bit too far and are approaching Big Bang Theory levels of cartoonish nerdiness.

“After alphabetizing these books, we can follow that up with a rousing series of calculus problems followed by three dimensional chess!” “Can I just go outside?” “NO!! WE’RE BONDING!!!”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 5 (Scare Master)

November 3, 2015July 3, 2016 ~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

Get your nerves pre-rattled because this weeks’ episode is gonna be ultra-spooky! After three season, we finally get another episode based on the best holiday in the show due to it being an analogue for what really is the best holiday (Halloween) but also because it’s a celebration all about Luna!! Sadly, it looks like this won’t be another one of her episodes but that doesn’t mean they won’t find SOME way to have lots of fun with the fantastic setting they’ve got here, right? Will this be another classic that lives up to the original Nightmare Night episode which was also the first Luna centric one, or will this continue to be less than stellar like the last two episodes in the wake of Crusaders of the Lost Mark? Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Fluttershy battening down the hatches for whatever is terrifying her this time. Zombie apocalypse? Alien invasion? Were-rabbits? Nope, it’s simply because it’s Nightmare Night and that alone is enough to send her into full on survivalist mode. Then again, I’d be a bit hesitant to go outside if I saw ponies wearing those… questionable outfits.

“What are you?” “Sexy changeling. And you?” “Sexy dragon.” “Wait, isn’t that offensive?” “I don’t know. Should we ask Spike?”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 5 (The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows)

October 21, 2015July 3, 2016 ~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

We’re back with another episode of All My Ponies!! When we last left our heroes, the CMC had gotten their Cutie Marks and got Diamond Tiara to turn to the good side! Considering that we had SUCH a big event episode last time, it’s unlikely that they’ll keep up that kind of momentum with the episode to follow but that doesn’t necessarily mean that this one will be bad. Will the more relaxed tone of this episode ease us back into what we usually expect from this series (which is quite a lot already), or is this a disappointment after Crusaders of the Lost Mark turned out to be such an important benchmark for the series? Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Pinkie Pie in her happy place which is decorating an infinite amount of cupcakes and yet all of them look the same. WHAT IS THE METHOD TO HER MADNESS!? Well we don’t find out because the best pony ever (Cupcake) walks in with a note she received from Cadence and Shining Armor. There’s some big news that she’s privy to because she’s been requested to cater the event and Pinkie seems to be just as excited!

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 5 (Crusaders of the Lost Mark)

October 12, 2015July 3, 2016 ~ Matt Vetrano ~ 5 Comments

We’re back with another episode of the Cutie Mark Crusader Chronicles! It’s actually been quite some time since the last CMC centric episode with Apleloosa’s Most Wanted being the last one I can recall that had all three of them in it in significant roles. Now that they have another episode to continue their never ending quest to find out what their good at, will this be another example of the show recycling ideas it’s already done like the competent but derivative Made in Manehattan, or will they do something new with these characters who’ve been working toward s a single goal for five seasons now? Let’s find out!!

The episode starts with the CMC in their clubhouse trying to decide what to do next to get their Cutie Marks and break out into song. What, this early in the episode? Don’t wear Daniel Ingram out too quickly! Actually, they do cut the song short because little ol’ Pip Squeak (who has the worst name to give a grade schooler other than Stupid Face) comes bursting into the CMC headquarters to ask for their assistance in winning the Student Council presidential election. Wait, so the CMC are basically a temp agency now? People just come up to them to do random chores with the promise that they might earn their Cutie Marks?

“Cutie Mark Crusaders! My gutters need cleaning!” “We can get our Cutie Marks in landscaping!!” “Oh yeah! Totally! Now I need them done by Thursday. Bring your own ladder.”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 5 (Made in Manehattan)

October 3, 2015July 3, 2016 ~ Matt Vetrano ~ 5 Comments

Wait, they had a new episode of the show air the same day as the premiere of Friendship Games!? How much pony do we NEED in a week!? Well now that I’m done with my extensive look at the latest movie from the Equestria girls series, it’s time to return to the show that started it all as we get ANOTHER Rarity episode to talk about!! THREE IN A ROW! WOO!!! Now Canterlot Boutique was a bit underwhelming, but they made up for it and then some with the masterfully executed Rarity Investigates! Can they repeat the success of the latter with this episode about her and Applejack going to the big city, or will this be more in line with the former which was only decent? Let’s find out!!

The episode begins in Twilight’s doom fortress where she’s feeling the ennui of living the princess life. Her search for thrills and excitement can no longer be satiated by reading the same books over and over again. She yearns for something more; like maybe another Changeling invasion or some creature from the depths of hell to plunge the world in peril again.

"Blech... Shouldn't my human friends be begging for my help by now?" — “Blech… Shouldn’t my human friends be begging for my help by now?”

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Super Recaps: Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

October 1, 2015July 3, 2016 ~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

For the third year in a row, the mad geniuses behind Friendship is Magic has brought us a movie based on what might be one of the dumbest and cynical ideas that you could come up with for a spinoff of a fantasy series. If you think about it, this is the same crazy idea that led to awful movies like Highlander 2: The Quickening, Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, and Masters of the Universe. Somehow though, despite all that was working against them, the team that made colorful horses into a cross generational smash hit managed to make Equestria Girls into a quality and meaningful extension of the series. Neither of the previous films were perfect, but they managed to be a lot of fun and at brought a bit of variety to the franchise which is more than I think anyone was expecting. Now they’re back with the third movie which looks to go even more in depth with the parallel universe gimmick by making the Twilight Spark of this universe the focus of this outing. Will they be able to knock it out the park again with this movie, or have they gone as far as they can with this secondary series? Let’s find out!!

The movie begins with everyone running frantically to school to face whatever new threat has befallen them this time. Oh no wait, Rainbow Dash just needs a new guitar string. Well, to SOME people that would be an emergency (mainly Rainbow Dash). Oh well, at least there’s absolutely NOTHING strange going on at this school for once and everyone can… wait who’s that?

First a trio of sirens and now the Unabomber!?!?

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 5 (Rarity Investigates!)

September 21, 2015July 3, 2016 ~ Matt Vetrano ~ 4 Comments

What is this? TWO Rarity episodes in a row? Has Hasbro been getting my letters!? Well we’ll find out if that’s true if the next episode has Luna and Celestia teaming up with Fiona and Cake to take down Sephiroth. ANYWAY, with last week’s episode being a mild disappointment for me, I’m happy that they’re giving Rarity another chance so soon to make up for it and this one might just do so what with its premise being that Rarity is going to play the part of the detective in some sort of crime or mystery! Will this be a return to form for everyone’s favorite fashionable unicorn, or are the writers still having trouble getting back into the swing of things after the mid-season hiatus? Let’s find out!!

The episode begins as Rarity is introducing her new line of clothing to the shop which is based on a fictional bad ass female spy named Peggy Carter. No wait, I got that wrong. What was it? Shadow Spade? Okay, let’s go with that.

“This is from the day she went to the experiments that turned Steve Withers into Captain Canterlot, and this is from when she went to see him at the bar during their campaign in Griffonstone, and this is from her spin-off miniseries!!”

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