S03 E12 - "Games Ponies Play"

[brianblackberry]

This is the official thread for information and chatting about the twelfth episode of season 3 - "Games Ponies Play"! Is this the rarity episode we all been hoping for? Will it be like the Olympics? Of course we also have the return of Princess Cadance and the Crystal Empire. The episode airs at (9:30am Central/10:30am Eastern on February 9th).

This thread will not be locked and thus commenting is open as soon as you see this; remember though, there are spoilers in the comments section so read at your own risk if you haven't seen the episode!

She's a champion!

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Totally called that the pony they picked up wasn't the inspector. XD

[elsporko]

That was pretty stupid of them. Like, they do dumb things in other episodes for plot reasons, but that was really bad.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

...and they're going to find out she's not the Games Inspector right before the commercial break.

[elsporko]

YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Bump--cha! XD That was cute.

Mustagia?

"Cinnamon bun?" What? Just what.

Wait wait wait.

dat ending.

[Rosewind]

Really nice episode! I was confused at the start because it was Spike and the pets again. I think it was neat that last episode and this episode ran two different parallel stories. The ending was a nice tie in.

My favorite part was probably when Rainbow smashed into the window and slid down, while Rarity was clueless. Hilarious! I also liked how Twilight wasn't freaking out and practicing keeping cool. It was actually refreshing to see her react differently to pressure.

Also, that commercial teaser for next week!

This episode was good! A solid 9/10.

[elsporko]

I'm guessing being able to keep cool will be part of how she solves the problem next week.

Maybe I need to watch again at some point but I wasn't too impressed. The amount of awkward dialogue they had to go through to keep from knowing they had the fake was just... awkward.

[RarityDash]

I liked this one a lot.

So it was another Dave Polsky episode, which as usual meant the humor was very much on point. Less characteristic of Polsky, it was a rather ambitious episode that did some interesting things. The clever frame thing with the previous episode was handled wonderfully. It introduced a couple new characters and through smart humor immediately made them endearing. It also went for a good balance of the mane six, given each one a few good moments while also making time for both these new characters and Cadance and Shining Armor. The episode did a lot and it moved quick, but at the same time I never felt like the pacing was off. It was a very well put together episode.

Also glad to see more of the Crystal Empire (might inspire us on the lore team... ). It's an interesting setting and I hope we spend more time there. The Crystal background pony designs were better this time too. Some of Cadance's stylists were really cute. I also suppose it's now established that outsiders aren't as affected by the Crystal magic as the crystal ponies themselves are. Affirms my suspicions that they are their own unique type of pony.

So yeah, nothing really bad to say about this one. A very solid, exciting effort I think. Probably one of the better of the season.

Makes me kinda sad we have only one more episode left...

[Bellosh]

I really liked how this time around, there were a lot more crystal pony designs floating around than the season opener. Also funny to see that Prince Shining Armor has been reduced to coaching duties these days. Whatever happened to the days when he was a glorious Captain of the Guard?

Anyway, I liked this episode quite a bit. I give it my usual 4 out of 5. ^_^

[tacobob]

I really enjoyed this one 4.5 out of 5 tacos....but really...Did we just see....

Rainbow Dash's father? :!:

and it's interesting to see that Earth Ponies come in different sub-breeds..Like Mustangs..Did we ever get her name? It was one of those episodes where they really had to fix the episode's issues at the very last second. Lots of gags. Chuckled more than a few times..Tis a shame we only have one episode to go for this season. SIGH.

[YourLittleBrony]

My god I love Cadance's new mane-do.

Nice that we knew what was going on with the Mane 6 while Spike was failing to watch the animals. You dont see that concept too often in tv, so its always a nice treat. For a second I was a little confused at the start but then I realized "oh, its a parallel storyline sort of thing." This is really becoming one of my favorite episodes.

The Equestrian Games, I think I can safely assume that this is their Olympic Games. Im willing to bet that come season 4, we'll be seeing their games in action. I'll be looking forward to it.

And I believe that pony they thought was the inspector is claustrophobic.

[kunio18]

great epsiode deffo my 3rd fave one of the season, lots of comedy and that little cheer song that they all did was stupendous !

[GreenshotApple]

I agreed with what ya'll above said.

Simply liked the fact they put episode 11 and 12 together to show what spike did and what the mane 6 did. Awesome.

Good Job Rarity..now your a hair stylist for the Crystal Empire

4.2/5 Apples

[ping111]

I really did love this episode. I figured it would be the wrong pony this entire time, but I think they went along with it very well, and revealed the big lie at just the right time. Everypony also showed their Element very accurately, and Cadance looked gorgeous in the end. I'm very impressed how they merged two episodes together. However, some of the soliloquies between the characters were kind of obvious or loud. Also, the "sudden change of heart" at the end was really cheap and childish, but they did play it quite well.

Finally, this epi has AWESOME vocabulary! "Auspicious"? "Funnest" (Many people don't believe that "funner" is a word)? Love it!

I wish I had taken show notes as I watched, so that I wouldn't have to call from memory.

[FrankT]

So, this episode is taking place at exactly the same time as "Just for Sidekicks". That is AWESOME!!!!!!-

[Cadabra]

Being a fan of Faulty Towers, I adored the reference!

[BaconofChaos]

I really liked this one. Not huge laugh out loud moments, but lots of little fun bits.

Dash splatting against the skylight and Rarity's face during it were both fantastic.

I really like that pony with the pale yellow coat and light green mane. Fans have dubbed her "Chickadee"

Yes, the "wrong pony" bit was predictable, so much so that I was convinced it was a double-bluff, and that she actually was the inspector. Ah well.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

I'm not gonna lie... I made it about halfway through the episode and found myself wanting to skip ahead to find out what the heck was going on. Nothing made sense, and I ended up stopping the tape and walking away for a few hours before getting myself psyched up to go back and try it again.

From the outset, I just didn't get what the premise of the episode was supposed to be. They want to have the Crystal Empire host the games, and they say there is a good reason for it, so why is it in doubt? Is it a competition? If it is a competition, aren't they giving the Crystal Ponies an unfair advantage? Why not just decree that the Crystal Empire should hold the events, if the reason is that good?

Dash says its humiliating to get passed up, but if the Crystal Empire does host the games, then some other place is going to get passed up. Do those other ponies not count for some reason? What about their problems, what about their little fillies who are going to get the monotone announcer letting them know that the games are being held in the Crystal Empire, because they weren't good enough to get the elements of harmony's endorsement? What about all their hard work?

"The friendship is more important than the competition."

"When meeting with important guests, it was tradition for rulers of the crystal empire to weave crystals into their manes in a very specific way."

Wait... what? Why is this important? The Royal Canterlot Voice was tradition too, but nobody went bending over backwards to continue that one. Do the other potential towns have to have a traditional mane style? How can you judge two towns based on something that has nothing to to with the games itself, especially when the rubric for grading is not the same for each one? Why couldn't Rarity just do something she was good at? Is her special talent for making avant garde designs not good enough?

And shouldn't a judge or inspector be impartial and unbiased? I mean, she got to see that nobody really cared about her or anyone that wasn't "specially important," and her supposed unvarnished tale from the not-games inspector was a tale of special treatment, even if it was for the wrong person. It just goes to show how biased their treatment in general was.

I'm just thankful that once the not-inspector mare was introduced, the episode finally started to make some kind of sense, although maybe not in the way the writer intended. Although that was about halfway through the episode, watching everyone mess up actually made me smile, since they were basically trying to cheat the selection process to begin with, I would have been ok with the Crystal Empire not being selected if it were to come down to superfluous niceties and not their actual readiness for the games themselves.

I guess they were trying to make some kind of point about keeping calm and not freaking out, which in my opinion is a great lesson to learn, but I just don't see how Twilight staying calm did any good in this situation. The games inspector wanted an unvarnished look, and so if they hadn't been ready, she would have appreciated it. And if Twilight hadn't assumed everything would be fine, she might have checked to make sure she wasn't suffering from confirmation bias.

The real lesson I got out of this episode, even though it wasn't the one they were aiming for, was: it doesn't make sense to give one pony special treatment, while ignoring others. Everyone has hopes, dreams and feelings. Even if you don't know who or where they are. (If I didn't know any better, I would say that Polsky keeps trying to subvert the message of the episodes he writes, just to see if he can get away with it.)

So in that regard, I give this episode the rank of "So bad, its good."

[Dessa]

Yeah, it all works out, even if it is kinda messed up. The sheer charm of Chickadee alone does a lot for it.

[weesh]

(shudder)

That was painful. But unlike Ginger, I only needed to pause it for a few minutes at a time.

So much squirming in my seat...

So little of redeeming value...

But the Dash splat, Dash's dad, Dash accepting responsibility for the error and the parallel storytelling were nice.

---

It wasn't like the script was unsalvageable though. The biggest thing they could have done was have 2-3 more scenes similar to Twilight's cheerful hello to the games committee pony. If she had felt welcomed and respected without feeling targeted, her speech at the end would have made more sense. Why did the scrip call for her to be splashed?

[FlammingHeart]

I absolutely loved this episode the way Cadence tought Twillight dignity was hillariouse. I think it is one of the most fun episodes ever. I really do not agree on it was false, as it tends to be that in embarrasing situations. Offcause they could have asked at the train station who she was. Asking later or prying later would be rude so they did not want to take the risk of offending her.

I also have to agree the ending was cut of and they got away with it to easy. I had hoped to see them to work for fixing their mistakes instead of jsut padding teir heads and say they meant okay. Anyway how can she say at the end she got a unbiase story of the recpetion when she heard the reception Chickadee got was meant for her.

And yes it is Rainbowdash father so much i had to stop reload and catch a good picture of it

http://img46.imagesh...ibowsfather.jpg

[abc]

awesome episode, 1

2 rainbow dash moments, rainbow dash moments everywhere!

and 3, the mare on the left, when we saw dashie with her father, could that be her mother?

im just drawing that because she has the same eye colour as her, and her fathers are a sort of yellow, unless magenta-ish eye colour is a dominant trait?

meh, maybe, but i really dont feel like listing the possiblities of recessive and dominant traits, i'd be here for a while

(not that thats a bad thing c: )

but yeah, 9/10, the episode was hilarious and was overall awesome.

EDIT: No, nevermind, i disproved my on theory, the mares eyes are a brighter colour pink, while dashies eyes are more of, like i said a magenta colour.

[Doc Hoof MD]

I decided to have a double feature and watch both "Just for Sidekicks" and "Games Ponies Play". I saw that JfS was a Spike episode so I didn't really want to watch it. Something in my head told me to watch it first anyways so I did and I am glad that I did. I really liked how the stories went along at the same pace and I also liked how they both came together at the start and at the end.

Out of the two, I have to say that I liked "Just for Sidekicks" a lot more. It was a lot more fun to watch than I had expected and I also liked the CMC's inclusion. Overall I would give that episode a 4.5 out of 5. It was a solid episode and it left a smile on my face.

Now, as for GPP, I didn't like this episode as much as I wanted to. It just felt weird and the voice acting seemed really off at some parts. It was cool seeing princess C and SA again as well as the rest of the Crystal Kingdom. I also liked how Rainbow Dash took something like this so seriously. The fact that she didn't want any of the crystal ponies to feel the crushing disappointment she felt really moved her up on my list. I thought the ending was a little corny along with being incredibly rushed. Why would one pony's testimonial sway her decision so much? Why were they looking for a pony with floral print luggage? Who identifies someone that way? Were all of the other towns really so bad that something like that was the deal maker? I bet it had something to do with Fillydelphia's recent parasprite infestation

I am not saying that it was a bad episode but it just wasn't that great. I liked the fact that everypony(except Applejack) had their moment. I'll probably watch it again soon but I doubt anything will change. Meh, I have to give the medal to Spike and his episode. I can only hope that the finale ends the season with a bang. I mean the good kind of bang.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Its true, the Dash splat was the single best part of the entire episode.

I also thought that Pinkie Pie's dramatic "Yes," was pretty good, although I get the feeling for some reason that Pinkie Pie is a lot less cheerful in general lately.

Perhaps the message of the episode would have rang a little more clearly if, after Harshwhinny got splashed or whatever, one of the crystal ponies had walked up and helped her out? I dunno.

There is a huge difference between remaining calm and collected and assuming everything is going to be fine with no worries. Assuming that everything is going to be fine can lead to all sorts of disastrous results. I've known a few people in my days who latch onto the first idea that seems to make sense and never bother to look more carefully. It makes sense, and it made sense first, therefore it must be the single correct answer. This, of course, causes a number of mistakes to happen that could have easily been avoided. (Like the time my friend was looking through the phone book to call the hospital, didn't see the correct entry, and decided that hospice must be the number because its sounds pretty much the same. I had to bite my lip to not give 'em a hard time about that one.)

How might they have shown this in the episode? Perhaps if they'd included a scene where Twilight does her little breathing thing and calms down, but remains firm and contradictory. Or if she were to calm down, and not go with the first course of action that comes to mind. Maybe if she had thought up several courses of action and compared them against each other calmly to figure out which one was best.

Meanwhile, in Cloudsdale...