Friendship Is Magic S02EP05 - "Sisterhooves Social"

[Acynder]

ONE.DAY

[ZephyrBurst]

What I didn't like though was how Rarity suddenly forgot she's the element of generosity and wasn't willing to compromise with Sweetie Belle. Dunno, felt a bit too forcefully convenient for the episode.

Her being the element of generosity wouldn't change how she is. Yes, she's got those traits which led to her matching that element, but it's not going to suddenly magically change her to compromise in every situation. I felt she was written right in this. This is her work, her entire livelihood. For the most part, it's usually the only times she truly freaks out is when it involves her work.

[BaconofChaos]

Hmm. Random thought: A lot of what I'm hearing from people is "Oh I like this, it reminds me of me and my sister/brother". I wonder if maybe I enjoyed the ep less because I'm an only child. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into it.

[Angie Cakes]

Hmm. Random thought: A lot of what I'm hearing from people is "Oh I like this, it reminds me of me and my sister/brother". I wonder if maybe I enjoyed the ep less because I'm an only child. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into it.

probably. I know that when I watch episodes of shows where the conflict has something to do with being an only child, I usually find them boring.

I was actually thinking while I was watching it that the only children probably won't like this episode as much

[Acynder]

I liked it. And I'm an only child.

[Angie Cakes]

like it as much

as just a thing in general. as in relatablity (that's not a word, is it?)

I dunno what I'm talking about

[FIM Fan]

I liked it. And I'm an only child.

Me too! I always wished I wasn't an on only child but, I am. Anyway, I think it has to do more with likes and dislikes. There are some episodes I don't like as much in this series. Just like some of my favorites may not always be yours. It's all a matter of Personal opinion.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

There is a little bit of meta-generosity going on in this episode. Rarity always seems like she's used to giving of herself on her own terms. Rarity is still being generous in different ways, cooking a breakfast that isn't burnt for example, but she has trouble when Sweetie Belle tries to out generosity her, and she doesn't know quite what to do when she has to give something she wasn't expecting.

I think Applejack and Applebloom's portrayal of turning hard work into a game was spot on, and I think more folks could use them as a good example. Thats part of why I think this was such a well crafted episode, because even though they had the drama of ponies making mistakes, they had a good positive pair take center stage for a bit.

Also: Grapejuice? Yes, thats definitely what they're making there... gotcha.

((Also: all this talk about being an only child or not is making me want to draw a comic where Dinky adopts a big sister for the Sisterhooves Social even more now.))

[Ancre]

I loved it ! It was a pretty cute episode, with a lot of fun stuff in it. The fans are going to make a lot of fun pictures and stories out of all this new material (and are already doing it). We've seen Rarity's parents ! They're oddly fitting. I think the show creators couldn't have made them better. I love them !

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Also, when Rarity said "With Celestia as my witness!" did anyone else sorta expect Celestia to peak through the window or something?

[FIM Fan]

I just watched this episode a second time. Is it just me or did Rarity's parents seem to have a little bit of a Canadian Accent? I just found it just a little weird that they both seemed to have a accent and yet Rarity and Sweetie Belle don't. I could be wrong. I could just be looking too much into this. Did anyone else notice that?

[RarityDash]

I didn't notice. It wouldn't surprise me at all though considering pretty much all the voice actors who work on the show live in Canada.

[FIM Fan]

Wow, I did not know that. You learn something new every day.

[brianblackberry]

Hmm. Random thought: A lot of what I'm hearing from people is "Oh I like this, it reminds me of me and my sister/brother". I wonder if maybe I enjoyed the ep less because I'm an only child. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into it.

I have sisters but no brothers here, and this was far from a favorite too as I thought the episode was adorable but very formulaic. Its was a "its alright" episode, part of it was only because it had my two favorite ponies in the show, plus Sweetie Belle was beyond cute. I knew every episode wasn't going to be gold, and this was one of those. So far though this season has been amazing, the first four episodes were incredible.

[Doc Hoof MD]

This was an awesome Sweetie Belle episode. It slightly expanded on the relationship between Sweetie Belle and Rarity. It also introduced their parents. All in all it was an ok episode.

I am waiting for a Scoot episode now

[HopeFox]

What I didn't like though was how Rarity suddenly forgot she's the element of generosity and wasn't willing to compromise with Sweetie Belle. Dunno, felt a bit too forcefully convenient for the episode.

I think the problem here was that Rarity was being generous in the wrong way. I mean, if she'd been truly ungenerous, she'd have told her parents, "No way. Take her with you or pay Fluttershy to look after her." But she saw looking after Sweetie Belle as a chore. A chore that she generously agreed to undertake, but a chore nonetheless. As Applejack put it, Rarity was giving, but she wasn't giving in. It was only when she actually started treating her time with Sweetie Belle as a blessing rather than a burden that it could really work out well for both of them.

It's worth noting that, aside from the meteor shower in "Owl's Well That Ends Well", we hadn't actually seen Rarity treating Sweetie Belle as anything other than a nuisance. (To be fair, she is one.) "Sisterhooves Social" seems to be the turning point in their relationship.

Now that we've seen Rarity's parents, I think this attitude makes more sense. Rarity's parents seem nice but painfully lower-class, while Rarity dreams of being a sophisticated social climber. She obviously loves her family, but she still wants to distance herself from them and their culture, which is the source of her difficulties with Sweetie Belle.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Rarity is pretty good at giving. She's less good about being volunteered.

I don't mind the fact that its a simple story. For me, sometimes the best stories are the ones you've heard before, as long as they're told well and told honestly. But I guess I can see why it wouldn't be a commonly shared opinion.

[Kneazle]

Poor Scootaloo

[Davroth]

Finally some spotlight for Applejack.

Now that I think about it, not only does she get little spotlight, most of the times she gets the sticky end of the stick.

[teygrim]

I think you misunderstood that scene. Rarity's parents were leaving on a week long vacation and were simply there to drop Sweetie Belle off. More than anything, I think the point of the scene was to establish that Sweetie Belle doesn't in fact live with her sister usually.

Oops, my bad.

___

But on another note, has anyone else been disappointed with the resolutions of the past two episodes. I mean, last episode, Luna only wanted to be accepted but, in the end, she just had to accept that she was feared and ostracised because it amused the Ponyville folk (ie the episode ended in the same place it started). And for this episode, Rarity had ligitimate complaints but they were completely ignored. Personally, I would have gone mental with some of the things Sweetie did but she was very mature and held herself back. I understand that Rarity needs to lighten up but I think there also needs to be boundaries. And the lesson about "compromise" isn't very effective when the writers decide that only one person needs to make a change.

[VinylScratch]

Bubblin burt toast...yum

[Apolline Allura]

Kind of! It didn't surprise me in the least, and I was half-expecting her to pop in from off screen and say "Yes, Rarity?"

[flutterscotch]

hi hi

Also, when Rarity said "With Celestia as my witness!" did anyone else sorta expect Celestia to peak through the window or something?

No, but holy crap Gone with the Wind starring Rarity would be HEEELARIOUS.

[kal413]

This was the best episode of the season in my opinion (Save for Episode 2, but I kinda still consider that first).

It actually had a plot, the character development was great, and the overarching theme was just what this show is about. Plus, I can relate very well to Rarity in this one. Even though Sweetie was just trying to help, it can get very frustrating sometimes, especially in that short period time. It's a wonder that Rarity didn't explode earlier. I kinda wished that Sweetie would compromise as well, but I think the main reason she was persistent in this one was because her parents left and she really wanted to spend time with Rarity. In Stare Master, it shows that she can actually listen to Rarity when it comes to unrequited help, so she can back off. She's still small, so what can you expect on consistency?

Hopefully they continue these slice-of-life episodes.

Another reason I loved this episode was because itt did not focus around comedic exploits unlike the previous two. Very well done, indeed.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Children are not 100% rational machines. There was -I think- a strong message about negativity coming from a role-model. There was someone in chat the other night talking about how one of their folks offered to sew a halloween costume, but once a design was decided, said parent did nothing but berate and criticize. Its a thing that I've seen happen a lot. Sweetie Belle might have done a lot wrong, but Rarity was supposed to be the responsible adult. She didn't lay down expectations ahead of time, and she failed to provide for Sweetie Belle.

When it comes to being negative, there's always something that a parent can pick up on to criticize because, lets face it, kids are still learning. They're not perfect. The point is that you can focus on criticizing if you want and turn someone bitter and resentful, or you can be encouraging and positive and inspire someone to be even better. It doesn't really matter if the role-model is right or not, its about whether or not they're helping.