Fillies, gentlecolts, and foals of all ages, welcome once again to another edition of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Recap/Review. Hey, do you know what’s been sorely missing from this season? If you said Cutie Mark Crusader episodes, well you’d be wrong. But, that’s exactly what we’ve got on tap this week. Will the CMC finally find their true talents, and earn their cutie mark? Or is that just false gossip? Find out as we stop the presses with “Ponyville Confidential”.
The newly marked Featherweight
We open the episode at the Ponyville schoolhouse as the Cutie Mark Crusaders are lamenting over the fact that they still haven’t earned their cutie marks, while a pegasus colt named Featherweight has managed to earn his. Apple Bloom, carrying a newspaper, thinks she’s finally found out the surefire plan to earn their marks. However, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo try several different newspaper-related hobbies, and none earn them the marks they seek. They go to Apple Bloom to complain, and she tells them that she meant that they should join the school newspaper, The Foal Free Press.
Diamond Tiara wants juicy news
At the meeting for the school paper, Cheerilee enlists Diamond Tiara as the new editor in chief for the paper. Despite their past problems with Diamond Tiara, the Cutie Mark Crusaders decide that if they want their cutie marks, they’re going to have to deal with the grief of working with her. They get articles done on baby birds, a hat Rarity made, and Ponyville: The Early Years. But none of them meet Diamond Tiara’s standards of juiciness.
Before the girls call it quits, Sweetie Belle discovers Snips and Snails having an issue with bubble gum, and decides that it’s perfect stuff for their paper. And Diamond Tiara agrees, so she makes the three her new gossip columnists. They go under the nickname of Gabby Gums (Since they couldn’t put all of their names in), and seek out more gossip. However, the school doesn’t exactly give them much more hot gossip.
Gabby Gums becomes a hot read
Later on, Rarity discovers the school paper in Sweetie Belle’s saddlebag, and finds herself laughing hard at the story within. This gives Sweetie Belle an idea, and tells the girls that they should focus not on the school news, but instead cover the lives of the Ponyville citizens. The paper becomes an instant hit around town, with columns on how the mayor dyes her hair grey to hide her pink mane.
However, that doesn’t seem to be enough for Diamond Tiara, as the girls begin to tell even more harsh stories, most of them being fabrications, or hurtful to certain ponies reputations (Like Applejack asleep on the job, and Twilight apparently being too up scale for Ponyville). After seeing contents from her diary in the paper, Rarity soon discovers that Sweetie Belle is the one behind Gabby Gums. Sweetie tries to apologize, and Rarity asks her if getting a cutie mark is worth hurting other ponies.
Some harsh vengeance is served on the Cutie Mark Crusaders
However, despite wanting to quit, Diamond Tiara forbids the Cutie Mark Crusaders from ending the Gabby Gums column. She blackmails the three with embarrassing photos which she plans to put in the paper should they quit.
Forced to continue, the three try to get new stories, but every pony in ponyville hates them now. Dash gives them a downpour, Twilight puts up a force field in front of her house. Even Big Macintosh has quite a few choice words for the three. All of Ponyville hates them, and they hate that they’ve destroyed the friendships they made. the Cutie Mark Crusaders come up with an idea, and put an apology article in the next paper. They apologize for prying into the lives of other ponies, and promise to end Gabby Gums.
Later that day, Cheerilee decides that Diamond Tiara clearly wasn’t the right pony for the job of editor in chief, so she gives Featherweight the job instead, and Diamond Tiara is given the lower job of working the printing press, as she ends up covered in ink to end the episode.
Did “Ponyville Confidential” stop the presses? Or did we get a rather dull edition? Let’s print out some pros and cons.
PRO
This episode had a solid pace to it. Nothing felt like it dragged, and nothing felt too short. Not to mention, it did hold up quite well in the comedy department. After the last few episodes sorely lacking in big laughs, there were quite a few moments here that had me legitimately laughing hard (Rarity’s yell of “I’ll Destroy her” had me particularly chuckling).
I gotta give Rarity points big time in this episode. She delivered in the humor aspect, but I also think she delivered especially well in being the most level headed of the adult ponies, which I’ll get more into shortly. She was more disappointed in Sweetie Belle’s actions than totally angry with her, which is what I like. I guess some of the stuff from “Sisterhooves Social” stuck with Rarity.
Diamond Tiara is a great antagonist. She’s that snobby, mean spirited rich girl that you just hate, but love to watch her be so cruel. Especially since you know she will get her comeuppance by episode’s end, which she did. I noticed her voice seems a bit off in this episode compared to previous ones, but I didn’t think it was a major issue.
CON
I was not a fan of how the adult ponies treated the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Yes, they did do something extremely hurtful to all of them, but this got nearly to the point of almost exiling the three. And while it led to Big Macintosh getting some lines in a funny role reversal, I just don’t like the idea of the things that was done to the three. I get that it was important for the moral to sink in for them, but I also didn’t think it had to be that harsh.
Another thing that bugs me is, while the apology column was a good way to get the moral across, and finish the episode right, I still think they should have had a taste of their own medicine. And not having the embarrassing photos printed seems a bit too fair an ending. Now while that kinda contradicts my previous con, don’t misconstrue. They deserved to be embarrassed, not to be exiled.
And my last big issue regarding the episode is simply that it’s another Cutie Mark Crusader episode. Now, granted they can deliver on occasion with episodes, as seen with “Hearts and Hooves Day”, but five episodes this season focusing on either one of them or all three is complete overkill. The rest of the mane six have barely had two episodes focusing on them, while they have had almost a quarter of a season dedicated to building them up. I really hope season 3 downplays them a little, or at least just do a Scootaloo episode, and leave the CMC follies at that.
“Ponyville Confidential” was an okay episode. Far from perfect, but nothing too terrible. There were some notable issues, but nothing that wouldn’t make this episode enjoyable for anyone watching it. It’s far from the CMC’s best outing this season, but far from the worst too.
RATING: 7.5 out of 10
Next week, the game is afoot… I mean, ahoof! Pinkie Pie is guarding a cake that is on its way to a contest in Canterlot. But when the cake gets ruined, Detective Pinkie sets out to sole the “MMMystery on the Friendship Express”.
See you in seven days Bronies and Pegasisters.