S01 EP03: "The Ticket Master"

S01 EP03: "The Ticket Master"

Well, due to some unexpected life bullshit, this post has been delayed! And it'll be even shorter than the last one because I've decided to scrap the episode recaps unless I'm doing them in the style of the first review. I mean let's face it, my audience is more than likely entirely made up of Bronies, so they should know all this stuff already. For the sake of anyone who might happen to not be a Brony, I will include a link to an episode recap on the MLP: FiM Wikia. As for my thoughts on this episode...well, you'll have to read on for the details, because holy shit, did some of my previous opinions change.

And now, on with the review!

Episode Recap

From the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Wikia Entry:

"The Ticket Master is the third episode of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, season one. In this episode, Twilight Sparkle receives two tickets from Princess Celestia to the Grand Galloping Gala, an exclusive event hosted by Princess Celestia herself. This leads to arguments among Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity andFluttershy, who all want to go with Twilight's extra ticket."

What I Liked

*The episode opens with Twilight Sparkle assisting Applejack with the apple harvest, so she gets bonus points for helping out my favorite character. She seems to be a lot more open and personable than she was in the pilot just one episode later, and it's a huge improvement. 

*Spike's attempts to be low-key and pretend not to give a shit about the Grand Galloping Gala are adorable, and I'm assuming are probably a good approximation of the first stage of transforming into a Brony. 

*I like that Rarity has a logo, and it looks just like her. Sadly, that's about as close to character development as she's gonna get in this episode other than being somewhat boy-crazy.

*Fluttershy of all ponies has a minion. Minions, actually, if you count the birds that were helping to clean the library for Twilight Sparkle. If the show was darker, it wouldn't surprise me at all if she had bodies buried somewhere. 

*I liked...Pinkie Pie? The fuck? Because seriously, she was waaaaaaay less annoying in this episode than she was in the pilot. All I wanted was for her to calm the hell down and stop talking like she's trying to sell Micro Machines toys...and she did! If she came off like this when her character debuted, I might have liked her from the start. Even her song didn't irritate me, which given my antagonistic stance on musicals is rather surprising. If she can keep this up, then I may actually come to have more of an appreciation for Pinkie Pie. 

Please God, Pinkie Pie, don't go and fuck this up like...

What I Hated

Rainbow. Fucking. Dash. I mean goddamn, did she not suddenly  turn into just...the biggest, most self-centered bitch or what? I have to actively remind myself that she saved Twilight Sparkle's life in the pilot to keep myself from completely despising her in this episode. If I am to believe what I've heard about season 2, this is only going to get worse and Pinkie Pie won't have to fill the slot of The Hated One.

What The Fuck

*Why the fuck did this apple have a reflection that looked like it came through a window? I hate that shit, it's just so friggin' distracting when there's no windows around to cause that effect. Yes, it's a nitpick. I pick nits! And you know what?

*Woah, what the hell happened to Sweet Apple Acres? It can't have been that long between the pilot and this episode, so why's the place look like it's been falling apart when before it looked closer to pony Eden?

Sweet Apple Acres' insurance didn't cover instances of "plot convenience". 

* So did they use up the animation budget on this episode or was Rarity's fantasy sequence like that as a stylistic choice? Because if it's the former, I can see why they chose her's to squelch on the dynamic animation. 

* Princess Celestia should change her goddamn name to Eris. I bet she has a tree of golden apples tucked away somewhere in that castle, which she stares at and thinks to herself:

"Soon."

It's really hard not to come to this conclusion given the entire plot of the episode rests on the fact that Celestia, a seemingly god-like and nigh omnipotent being should be well-fuckin'-aware that Twilight Sparkle had 5 close friends in Ponyville and only sent one ticket. Then when Twilight returns them because they detonated a drama bomb, Celestia sends 4 more like it's no big deal. She even sent Spike one the instant after he felt sad about not getting one himself when he was completely alone. 

Bitch be trollin', yo. 

What I Think Of The Characters

Twilight Sparkle: I'm glad to see that she's remained likable since the pilot ended. Also, she can teleport, so that's pretty cool too. 

Applejack: Still chill as fuck, and had the best reason to want to go to the Grand Galloping Gala. She remains my favorite.

Rainbow Dash: It seems that her decency is way, waaaaaaaay the fuck deep down, because Rainbow Dash came off selfish as hell in this episode, super off-putting. 

Rarity: Same as always. We need a damn Rarity episode, stat, because her character is going nowhere.  

Fluttershy: Shown to be capable of mild sociopathy by joining in on trying to manipulate Twilight Sparkle with favors. I like her more now. 

Pinkie Pie: She shut the fuck up! This makes me happy, and I don't hate Pinkie Pie...for now. 

Closing Thoughts

Okay, so this episode was pretty good as a stand alone. Although I do still wish that they had kept the magical girl elements in this show, this episode proved that "Lesson of the Week" stories can and do work for the series. If My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic can maintain this level of quality, I will continue to not have to cringe every week when it comes time to do these reviews. 

Here's to hoping that the show can continue it's streak of entertaining episodes! See you next time!

-Apathy Pony