I just realized I haven’t given my “brief” thoughts about each episode, I think I should remedy that.
Bridlewoodstock:
Definitely the weakest part of the chapter, it just seems kind of padded, with some of the background voice performances being a little too cartoony for my liking; it’s still good, but not great, kinda like Chapter 1
But unlike Chapter 1, the visuals and animation were absolutely spectacular, almost movie quality at points; the songs were also very good, better than “Everything is Gonna Be Ok”, though that one wasn’t bad, by any stretch; I do wish there had been more than 2, considering it was a music festival; the main and guest voice performances were great; overall I have positive feelings for it
Top Remodel:
Holy crap, what a great episode - all the character dynamics were absolutely nailed, it was nice to get an answer to what was going to happen with the former Canterlogic factory, and the sense of humor was on-point too - I loved that it leaned into Pipp’s love of horror, for one thing, and the return to the main storyline was welcome
I also liked that Misty was starting to question what exactly she was doing, poor girl
Sprout, in particular, was perfect in this episode, as he still seemed mostly like an annoying mama’s boy, but he did also seem to be chastened… somewhat - I also liked the fact that the series continued the feeling from the movie that it gives no respect towards him; I do wonder why Phyllis was only given a blink-and-you’ll miss it background cameo, but oh well - there’s probably enough to work out between Sprout and his mom that it would have to be mostly its own episode
The song was also great, and well-integrated into the episode
The Jinxie Games:
Another stellar episode! The nonsensical rules of the games were highly entertaining, and the running gag of Hitch being continually screwed out of trophies was also very funny; it was nice to see Cloudpuff again, and once again, overall, the humor was on-point
Of course, the highlight for me was Queen Haven and Alphabittle, and how much the episode leaned into their relationship, with them even sharing a kiss at one point (that I missed on first watch!), and that gag of the shipteases for Pipp and Zipp with Hitch really sent my sides into orbit
And man, that moment when Misty finds that photo of her with the Mane 5 - what a sweet moment, and how Sparky gives it to her to take with her, with her repaying the favor by depositing him back on the doorstep of the Crystal Brighthouse
Sunny Side Up:
Another strong outing! The highlights of this episode were the Misty and Opaline portions - the filming of the Sunny Side Up in-universe show, however, was also entertaining, as it was nice to see Sunny and Hitch act like surrogate siblings
Yeah, Opaline’s version of grounding seems like abuse, chaining Misty to one spot, completely unable to move for hours at a time - I also liked the bits of comedy with Opaline, having a persistent cough, and complaining about having to hike for the Dragonstone, with the scenes of her blasting the rocks being surprisingly satisfying; Misty accidentally activating her magic, and then seemingly not realizing it, was also quite funny
And then the little tidbits that we got of Opaline’s backstory - do I believe they were 100% accurate? No, but I think Skyros and her knowing Celestia and Luna when the 3 of them were fillies were indeed true - speaking of which, I think all 3 of those designs were super cute; I also love the fact that it caused a lot of “true fans” to jump to unfounded conclusions and then proceed to shit their pants over said conclusions - business as usual for the fandom, IOW
The Manesquerade Ball:
Yet another really great episode! The dialogue was a little bit clunky in the first part of the episode, but I loved the Mane 5’s getups for the ball, and Rocky’s and Jazz’s excitement over being invited was also great
The episode really picked up for me when Misty decided to seek out the Mane 5 because she missed them, and also was undergoing inner turmoil at that point - her getup is almost heart attack-inducing levels of cute
Easily the highlight for me was Misty bonding with Zipp - like, on the surface, it seems unlikely that they would, what with Zipp being the most skeptical of the Mane 5 and Misty having plenty to hide, but I like that Misty was able to lean into both of their dislike of attracting excessive attention, and the way she revealed the fact that she had no cutie mark to throw Zipp of her trail was brilliant, with her partial emotional breakdown afterward almost bringing a tear to my eye
The subplot of Sunny trying to teach the Mane 5 the Unity Dance was as entertaining as it needed to be, the song was once again great and well-integrated, and it was nice to get more Queen Haven and Alphabittle - I wonder if they were implying anything by the way that Alphabittle looks closer at Misty
Finally, I love that Misty gave Zipp the book about Alicorns, but tore out the pages that were presumably about Opaline, demonstrating her turmoil
A Little Horse:
This was a wonderful little breather episode before the finale of the chapter; when I read the blurb, I was wondering about similarities to A Day in the Life, and while there are some broad similarities, I think MYM does enough different with the concept to make it worthwhile - it feels like a nice little character piece, with Sunny going to whatever lengths she needs to to get what Pipp most needs, Izzy brewing a tea that was always helpful to her, Zipp having a great sister dynamic and trying to protect Pipp from herself, and Hitch attempting to keep her entertained through various means
There were so many really funny moments in this episode, from a lot of Sunny’s exchanges with Queen Haven, to one of Izzy’s teas accidentally giving Pipp Izzy’s voice (I bet it was a lot of fun for Ana Sani to mimic AJ Bridel’s delivery), to Zipp taking Pipp’s phone from her and the subsequent failed effort to get it back, to Pipp giving notes on the play put on by Hitch and the critters, which pisses Kenneth off to the point that Hitch declines to translate his chirps
I also like that Misty shows up eventually; I also think it’s a nice character moment that Pipp is the first pony that Zipp decides to show the results of her detective work to, as it shows that they have a sisterly bond, and so Zipp, despite anything else, intrinsically trusts Pipp most of all
Sure, Misty’s there, but that’s mainly so she can relay to Opaline just how much Zipp has figured out and get things ramped up for the next episode
I want to end off by saying that I love the title - since it’s a pun because Pipp is sick, but also leaning into the fact that Pipp is the smallest of the Mane 5
Missing the Mark:
What an ironic name for an episode, as this one is anything but missing the mark! Misty once again fell victim to the cycle of abuse, as the bit of love she had gotten from Opaline had her returning to her familiar life and attempting to steal Sparky, though she does try to back out, a bit too late
Opaline demonstrates that she is perhaps irredeemable once again, or at the very least must be punished before being redeemed, as she essentially says she’ll let Sparky drown once she’s done draining his magic
Misty tries to do the right thing by getting the Mane 5 but once again only makes things worse by getting them trapped by Opaline - the scene of them realizing that Misty had been working for Opaline all along was genuinely heartbreaking, and the acting is great, especially Bahia Watson as Misty - I also like when Misty tries to explain why she did what she did, how conflicted she sounds
It also makes it all the more triumphant when Misty finally has had enough, and comes to the decision that she would rather do the right thing and never get a cutie mark than do the wrong thing to get one - in broad strokes, it reminds me of the CMC saying they didn’t mind if they ever got a cutie mark; and also like the CMC, Misty gets a super flashy cutie mark acquisition, which is also really satisfying
Then, the fight between Opaline and Sunny is actually pretty epic, with Opaline attempting to brute force a win by blasting nonstop, and Sunny being smarter and first running, then putting up small shields when she Alicorns up, with Sunny being able to strike the decisive blow after receiving a boost from her friends; I also like that while Sunny was clearly victorious in the battle, the war is far from over, and Opaline, in broad strokes, actually succeeded in what she had set out to do, and is looking to power up further so she can guarantee herself all the magic in the Crystals - she feels like a genuine threat
I do wonder about the implications of the ending, whether Misty will continue to live with Opaline and act as a double agent, or if after Opaline went back to her study to scheme some more, she left and won’t return - speaking of implications and Opaline’s study, anyone notice how Opaline has the chest that sprouted Twilight’s castle? I wonder if there will now be some drilling down into lore, looking into what Argyle had found all those years ago
Overall, a really stellar chapter, easily the best stretch of MYM we’ve gotten yet - if it didn’t quite reach the heights of ANG, it came damn close, and is the first piece of G5 material that I think I can say that about.
