Hello & welcome back to Trotting Through Life and today, we continue our Party With Pinkie as we look at Pinkie's first episode of season 6 and for the record, I'm only going up to her second episode as I'll look at her others such as P.P.O.V during a future retrospective. And well, what is today's episode? One starring Maud Pie.
I think that I've made it clear back in my review of Maud's debut episode that I was not a fan of her. Well, I won't say that this episode turned me around on her, I actually found her more enjoyable in this episode than her first episode. And also the basis for this episode's plot borrows from a Christmas story that I love very much.
Now, this story isn't a direct adaption of Magi but rather uses it for inspiration for the episode. And thankfully, after two episodes that were repetitive in how they handled the plot, we finally get an episode that uses momentum to move the story along. With that out of the way, let's begin.
The Plot
We open with Pinkie and Rarity on the Friendship Train as we learn that they are heading to Manehattan. Rarity is going there looking for a new place to open up her next boutique, which we saw later in the season in The Saddle Row Review and Pinkie is going along as well and she is super excited and we find out it's because of Maud as they are meeting up for PSSD (Pie Sister Swap Day), which is a cute concept of Pinkie setting aside one each year to get with her sisters in a different city. I have to imagine that it's easiest to set this up with Maud as with her nonchalant attitude, it seems like she's willing to go with anything but Limestone, yeah.... Not sure how well, that'd go over and Marble, getting information out of her seems harder than getting season 1 Fluttershy to speak up.
Now, I'll freely admit that I was less than excited when I saw that Maud would be returning in this episode, the first time that I watched it but I've now watched this episode five times in trying to write this review. Not because it's bad but because of trying to find the time to post these reviews and while I won't say that Maud has grown on me nor will I say that she's one of my favorite characters. I liked how she was handled much more in this episode as she seemed to be handled in small doses and served more as a supporting character, which suits her better. And I actually did get a laugh out of her and as I'll discuss in the characters section, I think this episode does a much better job establishing how much Maud cares for Pinkie. The other big thing that makes this episode work for me is that Manehattan is one of my favorite locations in the show and I love seeing it each time, they go there.
(Is that supposed to be a Tony Manero pony?) Anyways, this is where we find out about PSSD and how Pinkie is looking to get her sister, a rock pouch as it would be perfect for her to carry Boulder around in. (I'm curious about something)
Y'know, that's not the weirdest ship that I've seen from this fandom. Getting back to the review at hand, Pinkie decides to use the sightseeing to find the perfect PSSD gift and Rares can use it to find a location for Manehattan based boutique and the sightseeing is really fun and it does end with one of my favorite gags of Pinkie drawing with a crayon on a menu at a fancy restaurant and Pinkie scolding her for the place, not being that kind of restaurant.
Yes, I did skip over the joke of Pinkie saying how much Maud was going to love her PSSD gift. It's not a bad joke but I feel that it does go on a bit too long but I understand it's purpose in the episode is meant to serve as buildup to the joke that comes with Pinkie heads to the Rock Pouch Store and finds out that it is closed.
Which, this is the first element that we see brought in from Magi and while, it has been a while since I've read Magi, I remember it being that the couple didn't have enough money or rather any money to pay for the gifts that they wanted to get one another. Perhaps, the closest that I can compare this episode is Mickey and Minnie's The Gift of The Magi because Mickey gets to the store right as the store owner closes up shop but is still able to get the gift that he wants to give Minnie.
Well, we find out that store owner has gone a trip to Canterlot with his grand niece and well, Pinkie will not be able to get the PSSD gift for her sister that she wanted to get. Pinkie returns to the restaurant and informs Rares behind a giant sundae and Miss Rarity suggests that Pink Party Pony just needs to look around Manehattan to find a new PSSD gift for Maud.
After this, we do get another funny moment and this courtesy of Rarity as we see our main trio at what appears to a swap meet/flea market as we get a showdown type moment where Rares tries to find the best gift for Maud. This is after she has exasperated every other option in finding the right gift for Maud and I love how the episode plays up this moment. It is just so funny.
It's at this place that Pinkie finally finds the rock pouch that she'd been wanting to get Maud as Rarity eyes on a rather sketchy looking stallion.
And well, this is where the second part of the Magi inspiration comes in as Pinkie really really really wants to get the rock pouch to give to Maud as the perfect PSSD gift. The Pouch Pony (That's what the MLP Wiki calls him) realizes and he is a con artist and cons Pinkie out of her party cannon as he sees value in it and is willing to part with the rock pouch, if Pinkie gives him the cannon.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. Again, as I mentioned up top, this is more inspired by Magi rather than doing a direct adaption of O. Henry's Christmas classic but it feels kinda one sided. True, there are certain adaptations, where you only see one side part with something that means so much to them but in the end, you find out that the other party did end up parting with a treasure that they held dear. Whereas here with The Gift of The Maud Pie, we only ever see Pinkie part with something that she holds dear. The party cannon for all intents and purposes is an extension of Pinkie's personality and she feels as though, she is losing a part of herself by giving it up. I understand the feeling as I have a stuffed Mickey Mouse plush that would cause me to make the same face that Pinkie is making, if anyone ever tried to barter him away from me. And in that regard, this scene does work well but at the same time, I can't help but feel that this is a bit one-sided as we never see Maud part with something that she values such as Boulder. Imagine Maud trying to find the perfect gift for Pinkie and having to give up Boulder, that could have given the episode that extra punch.
I am not trying to demean or belittle Maud in the slightest as I truly did enjoy her in the episode and her speech at the end about what gifts really mean is wonderful and is a great lesson but I can't help but feel mixed on how this is handled. After Pinkie trades her party cannon, we get a funny moment, where she comes back and Rarity notices that something is up with Pinkie as she isn't her bouncy flouncy self (oh wait, I just described Tigger) and does a funny Pinkie Pie impression.
Rarity finds out that Pinkie traded her cannon and is shocked and dismayed at this news. And then, we see come to the Pie Sister Swap and I do like this moment as it is cute seeing Pinkie and Maud trading the gifts that they got one another. And Pinkie is so excited but as Maud sees her playing with the cupcake scented confetti that she got her little sis, she is wondering why Pinkie isn't using her party cannon and man, Rarity breaks and reveals the truth quite easily to Maud. Though, this does lead to a great moment of Maud finding the Pouch Pony and through her expressionless face scares the guy into taking back the rock pouch and giving Pinkie back her party cannon.
The episode ends with Rarity finding the perfect location for her Manehattan boutique and finding out that she is now part of the Pie Sister tradition.
I want to make this clear, I like this episode quite a bit but I do wish that I could have liked it more. It's not a bad episode by an stretch of the imagination and it did help me to see Maud in a better light than her debut episode but with this episode using The Gift of The Magi as the basis for it's story, I wish it had just pushed it a little further with how they handled the story. Again, perhaps it's not fair to judge it on that as this more inspired by O. Henry's story than actually adapting it but again, I think that seeing Maud having to part with something that she treasures such as Boulder to find a gift for Pinkie could have pushed this episode up a bit slightly more. Still, it's not a bad episode and I enjoyed my time with it.
Characters
Main Character
Pinkie Pie voiced by Andrea Libman
I really enjoyed Pinkie in this episode as you saw how much her sister meant to her. To the point that she was willing to part with something that she holds dear and that moment broke my heart but it showed how much Pinkie loves Maud. And I admire that and episodes like this show that is more to Pinkie than just being the fun loving goof off that people think she is.
Supporting Characters
Rarity voiced by Tabitha St. Germain
Rarity was mostly in the episode for moral support and to set up a future episode but the former is more important and in that regard, I think that Rarity worked really well in this episode and you could see how much she cares for her friend throughout the episode as she goes out of her way to help Pinkie. Also, I have to laugh because back in my Look Before You Sleep review, I said this in regards to pairing up Rarity with a different character than AJ.
The Rarity & Applejack pairing just feels tired and cliche because ooh, they’re from two different worlds. We get it but try a different pairing, how about Rarity and Pinkie Pie or Rarity and Rainbow Dash.
And this season gave us two Rarity and Pinkie episodes and last season gave us, a Rarity and Rainbow Dash episode. Which, I'll gladly take those pairings over AJ and Rarity any day of the week. Still, hate that pairing but we aren't here to talk about that.
Maud Pie voiced by Ingrid Nilson
This episode helped me to understand why like Maud and she doesn't come across as the one note joke that she was in her debut episode. Honestly, if this had been Maud's first episode, I'd probably have a warmer reception than I did because I feel that this episode better highlights her as a character and better shows her love for Pinkie with her simple action of getting the party cannon back. Yes, her saving Pinkie spoke a lot to her love for sister but I feel that this moment spoke on a higher level to how much she cares for Pinkie. I won't bring up my complaint again as at this point, it is just a nitpick but I am curious as to what a Maud story without Pinkie would be like as I think that could flesh out her character even more. And from what I understand Friends Forever put out an issue that had Maud and Rarity team up. I may have to check that out to get my answer.
My Final Thoughts
I do think that this is a good episode. A really good episode in fact but I do think that if had gone that extra push and shown Maud parting with something that she holds dear, it could have been a great episode. But for what this episode is, I enjoyed my time with it and it's one that I'm happy to return to and feels quite appropriate to watch with the holiday season fast approaching, even if it isn't a holiday episode, it's still a good lesson for this time of year. Join me next time as we look at the episode for Party With Pinkie as I look at the second Pinkie and Rarity episode....
Spice Up Your Life
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