#6: MMMystery On The Friendship Express (Season 2)
-----------------------------------------------------------
To get one thing out of the way, yes, there is going to be quite a bit of Season 2 on this list. I can`t help it- it`s probably the best season and the episodes are as such some of the best. Like this one, for example.
In this episode, all the ponies board a train to an area where a dessert competition will take place. Pinkie Pie is in charge of guarding the ultimate masterpiece from Ponyville, the excellently named MMM, from disaster and the jealous other competitors, among them a french Griffon (I hate griffons, as does anybody who watched Season 1), an old woman and Pony Joe, who runs the doughnut shop in town, each eager to take home the trophy. Sometime late in the night, Pinkie nods off and awakens to find an enormous bite taken out of the cake. She seeks Twilight Sparkle (Nerd!)`s help to solve the mystery, and they go around colelcting clues in hopes of solving the mystery of the bite.
This is a fun episode because of how much it plays on the mystery formula. It`s filled with in-jokes regarding mystery stories, spies, and ninjas- there`s references to James Bond, Pinkie Pie (and later Twilight) wears a Sherlock Holmes hat and smokes a bubble pipe, and Twilight (later Pinkie when the tables turn) dons Watson`s bowler hat. I love how the mystery unfolds, slowly building up to when the biter is revealed. It`s great to see Twilight Sparkle do her 'smart pony' thing and work to solve the mystery, and even Pinkie gets some legitimate detective work done here and there.
The interesting thing here is that for a children`s show, this episode plays out very well like a legitimate mystery. You have your suspects, your clues and all the other staples of mysteries- and if you can piece the information together, there`s even a strong chance you can figure out the mystery before the ponies if you`re a fan of the show or at least know some of the ponies' traits.
Overall, this is a really fun episode for anyone who likes mysteries. When an episode works not only to entertain but to occasionally show funny little aspects of the characters (Rarity wears false eyelashes and Pinkie Pie looks funny in a bowler hat), you can tell it`s a good one.
No comments:
Post a Comment