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Official Discussion Thread - S05E5 Tanks for the Memories


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Dash need to just come to terms that she secretly loves nuzzles even if they are not "radical".  :kissy:  <3

 

Saturday is upon us again and with it another new episode of the show we love, so sit back and watch adorable ponies do adorable things! This time we have our first Dash focused episode.  Winter is coming and our little Wonderbolt in training wants to have a blast in the snow with her pet tank, but the tortoise has other ideas.  What will happen?  Will we see Winter Setup?  Tune in to find out! The episode airs Saturday 11:30 AM EST on April 25th. :)

This thread is dedicated to discussing the episode before, during, and afterwards. As the thread is now open it may indeed contain spoilers. I ask that potential spoilers talked about or shown before the episode airs stay within the spoiler tags please, after the episode you no longer have to use the spoiler tags, but warning, if you haven't seen the episode yet after it airs, this thread no doubt will have all sorts of spoilers in reviews, images, etc. So tread at your own risk. :smirk:

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God Tier episode. It had literally everything I expect from a God Tier episode. Great story, all Mane Six, a great song, and a satisfying (albeit bittersweet) resolution. Plenty of hilarity and comic action kept it fresh, there was absolutely nothing unlikable about this episode. Double bonus points for the Game of Thrones reference and "AJ cries on the inside."

 

The message about accepting loss was also nicely done.

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Abbott and Costello reference was brilliant, as was the GOT reference.  There were some cringe moments, but I think that's just my personal preferences with regard to story flow.  In regards to comedy, though, the episode was on point.  The gags, the camera work, and the facial expressions were all brilliant.  I can imagine that the internet will be flooded with Dashie reaction faces immediately after.

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This episode was so sweet and heat wrenching! It made my face leak.  :cry: Fantastic episode! It's now one of my favorites form the show period. There were so many great moments that listing them would practically rewrite the episode. But there was something kind of interesting that a lot of peeps might not catch right away. The scene where the mane six comfort Rainbow Dash was very similar to the scene in Good Grief. An episode from the show Frasier where the cast comfort Frasier over loosing his job. (He started grieving as if he were dealing with someone's death) My brother pointed it out so I looked at the transcript for Good Grief and some of the dialogue was spot-on from what I remember. I can't re-watch Tanks for the Memories yet but I'll be comparing them again once the episode comes out to be sure. Might be a reference, which would be awesome sauce cause I quite like Frasier :razz:

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This one... wow, this one demonstrates a sublime metaphor for bereavement, particularly where the death is from old age or natural causes. And, quite honestly, the way they talked about it, you'd think they'd never see Tank again, so it does come off that way.

 

Spoiler

When Rainbow Dash actually started bawling, I was... left quite broken, to say the least. :oops: Understandable though it is that Fluttershy cries with her when she realises what she's done, when Rarity and Pinkie joined in, I didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

 

Anyway, looks like it could've been a good episode - if not for the shocking lapses in logic! For all the property damage that RD caused, shouldn't there be some kind of follow-up on that? It's the same problem Double Rainboom suffers! Apparently, nobody has learned their lesson.

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This one... wow, this one demonstrates a sublime metaphor for bereavement, particularly where the death is from old age or natural causes. And, quite honestly, the way they talked about it, you'd think they'd never see Tank again, so it does come off that way.

 

When Rainbow Dash actually started bawling, I was... left quite broken, to say the least. :oops: But when Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie joined in, I didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

 

Anyway, brilliance as always!

You know this episode does confirm the amazing power Fluttershy has over others.

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huh. I liked the episode, but I'm kind of surprised at the reaction it's getting. Kind of feels like that other Cindy Morrow episode, Hurricane Fluttershy, where others seemed to resonate with it on an emotional level a lot more than I did.

 

Maybe I'm emotionally cold or something as I really wasn't affected much by the Rainbow crying sequence. I actually kind of felt like the bit could have been trimmed.

 

The rest of the episode was great. Rainbow acting silly is always good. Nice Rainbow solo song. Loved the weather factory hijinks. Random 'Who's on First?' stlye routine was great. Don't even watch GoT, but that was still a cute reference.

 

Ponies in winter clothes might have been my favorite part. So much adorable.

 

it was a good episode, but for me, I liked Cutie Map and Castle Sweet Castle a lot more. Better than Bloom and Gloom though.

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huh. I liked the episode, but I'm kind of surprised at the reaction it's getting. Kind of feels like that other Cindy Morrow episode, Hurricane Fluttershy, where others seemed to resonate with it on an emotional level a lot more than I did.

 

Maybe I'm emotionally cold or something as I really wasn't affected much by the Rainbow crying sequence. I actually kind of felt like the bit could have been trimmed.

 

The rest of the episode was great. Rainbow acting silly is always good. Nice Rainbow solo song. Loved the weather factory hijinks. Random 'Who's on First?' stlye routine was great. Don't even watch GoT, but that was still a cute reference.

 

Ponies in winter clothes might have been my favorite part. So much adorable.

 

it was a good episode, but for me, I liked Cutie Map and Castle Sweet Castle a lot more. Better than Bloom and Gloom though.

I cried like Applejack.

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I guessed the long crying scene was for some comedy perhaps.  I'd have to rewatch it to get a full view of what I think, taking notes, but one thing I disliked was that RD got off scott free for what she did in the weather factory, though ponies getting off scott free is nothing new so I wasn't surprised. 

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I really liked this episode, found it very moving.  This season has very much been about dealing with issues I haven't expected the show to deal with ... But then ... more under spoilers.

Small references I liked:  The Game of Thrones reference was, of course, amusing, and I was very, very happy to see the "Hugh's on First?" skit.

And as someone mentioned already:  There was almost certainly a Frasier reference here.  I'm attaching the relevant Youtube scene.  (Cause the kids will totally get that!)  Spoilers, of course!  Starts at 18:28

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx-QaS_oh10&feature=player_detailpage#t=1108

And I like that it was Fluttershy who initiated.  She's changed a lot over the years, and this especially reflects her changes from the Breezies episode that's supposed to represent the most important choice she made last season.


This episode continues something I'm noticing from this season as a whole - dealing with serious issues.  After all, it can be very traumatic for young kids to deal when their pets are put to sleep and buried in the ground.

Yes.  This is an episode about dealing with death.  (Thank you, Kirby Krackle, for pointing this out to me.  I was bawling and had no idea why the episode was hitting me so hard until he laid it out for me.)

The tone is even set by the episode's title.  Tanks for the Memories.  Dash is starting it off by thinking about all the things she still wants to do with Tank - the things she'll never get to do with Tank.

It goes through the five stages.

First she's in utter Denial.  It's ridiculous.  Tortoises don't hibernate, they're not BEARS.
Then she's in Anger.  Don't say that word!  DON'T SAY THAT WORD!  SHE'S NOT UPSET!
Third she hits Bargaining.  If only she can keep Tank warm enough, if only she can keep Winter from coming, if only ... if only she does SOMETHING, she can keep him around just a little longer, and they can do the stuff she wants to do.
Then Fourth, she hits Depression - thank you, Fluttershy.  "I DON'T WANT HIM TO GOOO-HOOO-HOOOOO!"  While laying with the one about to depart in a bed.  (as in hospital bed?)
And on the other side ... Acceptance.  She goes through with it ... sits down next to where Tank's buried ... and spends just a little bit of time with him, before moving on.


 

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First off, I would like to apologise for being a little later than normal in getting my episode recap post ready. I've been in a bit of a teary state this morning which I'll get into why in just a bit. Also bare with me if my normal recap post sounds a bit off course.

With that said, here we go.

To quote from my tweet this morning:

"Awwww....that episode really hit home. It cover the unmentionable subject and did it with style! I'm teary eyed here!"

There are only a few words to describe what I felt about the episode and they are short but sweet. I tried to come up with a in-depth explanation on why this episode made me emotional, but I can sum it up in four simple words.

For me, this episode was Emotional. Touching. Heartbreaking and Heartwarming.

I went into the episode thinking that Tank will do his hibernation thing and that will be end of it without any major announcement, but for the episode to do a complete 360 degree u-turn and tackle the issue of death and grievance head on is something I wasn't expecting to have happen.

When I saw Rainbow Dash start crying the first time round, I thought it was part of the episode being in the light hearted style that I was used to. But once Rarity and Pinkie got in on the act, I knew something wasn't right.

But the realisation hit me when after the episode finished and I shut down the computers and turned the lights out and went to bed, I actually started to cry.

I couldn't sleep for the life of me.

Even holding a Fluttershy plushie couldn't make the tears stop.

It wasn't for Tank and the hibernation, but I had the sudden realisation of what they actually did.

The show staff did the impossible.

That's right. They went there.

They covered the issues of death, grievance and acceptance without us even knowing about it.

An issue that I know all to well and experienced in my lifetime three times over.

When I say that, this isn't something that I made up. I've been there and been though a lot and back. True and honest.

I lost my Nan, my Pop and my grandma in a five to six year period. All of them were influential figures in my life, but my Nan was the spark that kept me going when I was certain to give up on life altogether during a rough patch in my life. When she died in 2009, a little piece of me died along with it. I was devastated when she passed away, I couldn't even think of saying goodbye at the time. I wasn't ready to "let go" of the past and look towards the future. I just couldn't do it.

All this time during the episode, Rainbow Dash did exactly the same thing that I did. She wasn't ready for Tank to go into hibernation and did everything in her power to stop winter from happening, just like when I went off the rails a few months after my Nan passed and almost lost everything including my job, my friends and my life in general.

The death of someone, especially a close family member or relative is very difficult to comprehend or understand. I didn't know that at the time, but after seeing Rainbow Dash in the same situation as myself, it broke my heart. It made me cry. It brought back the memories of the past. I could easily relate to what she was going through.

That's it. Only words like these can describe the pain that I've been though in losing someone close. This episode pretty much hit home in a big way for me.

Although I would like to do into more detail on my fulll thoughts of the episode, you can read on those on my blog which can be viewed here.

 

The audio description version of the blog post and also a personal thoughts video is now also available:

 

 

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Hm, maybe I'm too literal-minded, but all the while I was watching it, I couldn't help but feel Rainbow Dash's reaction to be strangely overblown.  I kept waiting for some kind of explanation as to why this was hitting her so hard... until the full blunt force of the metaphor hit me.

 

Kudos to the show staff and all that, great episode, but now I'm worrying about whether I have the mental capacity to fully enjoy a children's show.  Then again, I watched it right after spending 6 hours writing a term paper, so my mental condition was probably not ideal.

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Okay, wow. This was the kind of episode that got me into MLP in the first place. It was a very real and believable situation for poor Rainbow Dash to find herself in. Plus, there were some awesome other touches, like, apparently Cloudsdale moves! Cool! Mobile cities! Plus, ponies doing Abbot and Costello and a near-predictable line from Twilight. Awesome performances all around, especially Rainbow and Fluttershy. And, Dash finally got her solo! This was a near perfect episode.

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Okay, I'm going to say this right now. This episode is definitely my favorite RD episode, and certainly up there with my favorites overall. It hit me on a personal level. 

 

First off, there were just a bunch of little things I liked....

 

  • More Tankness in general. He never really got that much screentime before.
  • References to past episodes (Fall Weather friends mostly)
  • The idea that Cloudsdale can move to different cities and bring seasons. Don't know why, but I think that's a cool thought.
  • AMAZING song. (Bout time we got an RD one!)
  • Those OC names...
  • More of Rainbow's house. Seriously, that place looks awesome.
  • Rainbow and Tank's robes, complete with those slippers.
  • "But Applejack cries on the inside!" "It's true."
  • Facial expressions and other cool animation things.

Okay, now for the main reason I loved this one: the moral. 

 

As I've read through this thread a little, I saw that some people are thinking Rainbow was overreacting a bit. Honestly, I don't. I think they handled the moral of letting someone go just as right as they can get for MLP. You see, a few years ago, my dog got diagnosed with cancer. We tried of thinking of everything we could, but we eventually had to put her down. So yes, this is why this episode relates with me personally. It was just amazing the way they handled Rainbow's reactions, right down to the crying bit. It....almost made me cry. *sniffle*

 

(As a side note, the only thing I can think of that bothered me is that the other ponies could walk in Rainbow's house. I thought that thing was made of clouds...)

 

You know, I used to be an RD fan. But she's becoming more and more overpowered by the awesomeness of Applejack. But hey, maybe this episode bumped her back to my favorite pony spot....

 

Nah. AJ's still best pone. She cries on the inside after all. 

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Sweet Celestia, I loved this episode.

 

I don't know if I loved it as much as Castle Sweet Castle, but it's an extremely close second for me this season. The emotional subject matter was fantastic --- but what I really love is the concept of Rainbow Dash learning that she can't always get what she wants, and sometimes needs to be a little bit less selfish. I love Rainbow Dash's personality, but there's always something really nice when circumstances give her time to show she isn't necessarily all "I'm awesome!" 100% of the time. It's great to see her attachment to Tank, and the loyalty she has shining through. She wants absolutely nothing other than to spend all of her time with her little tortoise, and it's just sooooo darn cute that it hurts.

 

It rang really close to home for me. I've had a few pairs of pet rats, and they've all been really special to me in their own way --- but the most special was my very first rat, Tulio --- and when he was getting old and, unfortunately, dying, it totally ripped me apart. It was like "Wait! What about all of the cool stuff we still have to do? you haven't learned to play rat basketball yet, and we were going to make a grass box so you could dig up treats... and what about the next episode of My Little Pony? Who's going to watch it with meeeeee?!". It was totally devastating, and absolutely hard to let go and accept the idea that I was going to have to move forward without my best furry buddy with me at all times.

 

So while Rainbow Dash's situation isn't nearly as permanent, I totally understood the over reaction. I mean, I freaked out at my vet's office when they told me Tulio was just old and it was his time. When something is an inevitability, and goes against everything you want, it's really easy to over react and feel a great deal of anger and spite towards the thing that's inevitable.

 

 

Ffffffft. Seriously. This was an awesome episode thematically, and I love the way they approached such a serious topic with a parallel.

 

That and the whole "AJ cries on the inside" thing. I don't know why, but that made me laugh so hard. I just imagined a little thought bubble with AJ being the biggest cry baby of them all right next to her, and that was it, I was totally done. Aha.

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I liked this episode! 

 

This was an interesting episode about loss even though not covering death itself. Rainbow Dash hated to see Tank hibernate and saw it as a loss. But she learned that Tank will return. If we replace "hibernate" with "die" we see Rainbow acting so extremely. She goes through the Five Stages of Acceptance.

 

  • Denial as she believes Tank is just tired despite talking to Fluttershy and Spike.
  • Anger as she snaps at her friends. 
  • Bargaining as she literally tries to stop winter.
  • Regret, as she hides herself from her friends in her house. 
  • Acceptance as she is willing to let go. 

And to top off the idea of loss, RD literally helps "bury" Tank. You know I wondered if Hasbro would tackle death or loss and thought it would focus on Applejack's parents or maybe one of Fluttershy's pets. But this was a good surprise. 

 

Other stuff: 

 

  • Twilight goes Game of Thrones with her "Winter is Coming" 
  • Applejack cries on the inside.
  • Assertive Fluttershy telling Rainbow that she won't have Tank. 
  • The Abbot and Costello "Who's on First?" Routine with the three Pegesai. 
  • A great tour of the Weather Factory and a further look into RD's house. 
  • Interesting seeing that Cloudsdale isn't fixed in the air bout moves into Ponyville to start winter there. Cool Idea, but now I'm getting a crossover between Columbia from Bioshock Infinite and Cloudsdale.

The only thing I didn't like was that Rainbow Dash didn't suffer any consequences for damaging the Weather Factory. That puts a bad precedent that in Equestria only non-ponies suffer consequences and ponies get maybe an admonishing and a lesson but not having to maybe help rebuild what they damaged or such. 

 

Still of the many RD episodes which honestly many I didn't like, this one matched up with the Sonic Rainboom one.

 

7/10

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