MLP:FiM 2x03 "Lesson Zero"

[Gepard]

Twilight fears disapproval. This is an issue of hers going all the way back to "Boast Busters," and I think that's what we see here in her fears that Celestia will be disappointed in her. I like that she went crazy because of it. I don't like that she got so creepy about it, and then everypony just shrugged it off at the end of the episode.

 

[Jetfire]

I think I enjoyed it more the second time around...I watched again a few hours ago.

If the next ep thread has a poll...will the grading go like this?

Rainbow Dash - 20% Cooler Than last week.
Derpy Hooves - Derp derp.
Pinkie Pie - What? It's good!

I am out...you get the picture though.

[edit]

Excellent = somepony
Good = somepony
Average = somepony
Bad = somepony
Horrible = somepony
??? = somepony This one would be for fun.

 

[Kemaiku]

Grading thread up on Brony Kingdom for Episodes 1-3 now.

 

[Manticore]

Eh...one of my least favorite episodes. Not as bad as Cutie Mark Crusaders or Showstoppers (neither of which I've managed to finish yet), but ...I was browsing tvtropes for much of the episode because that was more interesting to me than what was on the screen. :/

Loved the Rainbow Dash/Applejack scene and the Fluttershy scene though.
​

 

[Roger Wilco]

Whaat? I love the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Those two are among my most favourite episodes.

 

[Manticore]

Whaat? I love the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Those two are among my most favourite episodes.

That's perfectly fine; I don't claim to share the same tastes as you. I'm not their biggest fans, and prefer them when they server as a vehicle for the Mane Six to do stuff (such as in Stare Master, Cutie Mark Chronicles, or Return of Harmony).

 

[Count Zero]

But they did that in the episode!

While I wasn't totally convinced of Twilight's breakdown I did find the escalation hilarious. One thing that bugged me, though, was that they already overdid Twilight's OCD even before she realised that she had to send a report by the end of the day. We never saw her being so obsessed with lists and double and triple checking them. I think the breakdown would have been more plausible for me if it had just been normal Twilight before the friendship report drama.

 

[MrPointy]

I really liked this episode.

Twilight Sparkle panicking under pressure fits well with what we've seen of her character (end of Swarm Of The Century being a big example, I'd add Ticket Master and Feeling Pinkie Keen to an extent). She is very much obsessive about her studying, her planning - in general she's obsessive.

Her breakdown was great, because 1) MLP is a kids show first and foremost, so there's no real room for subtlety as far the main plot is concerned, otherwise kids won't get it, and 2) Crazy Twilight was very much in the vein of Ren & Stimpy, which I loved and I'm guessing the writing staff did too. I'm not bothered by how wound up Twilight got before snapping because I think that's how she is under pressure.

 

[Wanderlust]

The biggest thing i didn't like was over dramatic rarity. The way she was acting seemed so OOC to me. There needs to be a more subtle buildup of tension to a SCREEEEEEM than there was.

They used the same scream effect as when her boutique was invaded by the parasprites. That scream happened only after a long buildup of battling the parasprites and when all hope seemed lost. Here she screamed when she lost a ribbon..

Twilights nuttyness could have been toned down too and i didn't like celestia in this epi..

Other than that its fine

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Twi is an extreme overachiever and one of these days it's going to catch up to her. I understand her and how she puts herself under such pressure when everypony else wouldn't. Her friends were telling her to relax about it and I suspect Celestia would tell her the same...

"My most faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
I greatly appreciate the effort you go through each week to tell me what you have learned about friendship. What I notice, however, is that you greatly overreact about things you cannot control. My little pony, you do yourself a grave disservice and will someday end up in Ponyville Urgent Care if you do not relax. If you are late with a letter, I will not be in the least upset with you. I asked you to report your findings as they come, not by a certain date. Please, my dearest student, relax. I would not want to lose you too soon.

Princess Celestia."

 

[Wanderlust]

She should have wrote her a letter informing the priceless that a lesson had not come up.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

To a student like Twilight Sparkle, it probably didn't occur to her to do that. She instead went to any length to do the assignment. It's something that occurs when you're an overachiever. You let things get very far out of proportion, so far in fact that you forget the obvious solution.

 

[Kemaiku]

Or that friendship goes through periods of calm and inactivity that don't bring drama, which having lived in Ponyville for a year now she would know.

 

[Amaris]

Yep. For an over-achiever, "nothing happened" is just another way of saying "didn't try hard enough".

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Or that friendship goes through periods of calm and inactivity that don't bring drama, which having lived in Ponyville for a year now she would know.

Again, Twilight forgot the obvious in her panic, which happens to some overachievers.

 

[Gepard]

 

[Amaris]

Ha! Nice.

As I mentioned earlier, I hope they focus more on slice of life and such, because I don't like the show getting too dark. One of the reasons I love it like I do is because it's very optimistic and lacking in cynicism.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

And I like that it's something my nieces and I can watch together. Both the eldest and I laughed today at "Lesson Zero." As the eldest has not entered kindergarten yet, I had to explain that Auntie Peach was laughing because Twilight's reaction was like Auntie Peach's could sometimes be.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

One of the reasons I love it like I do is because it's very optimistic and lacking in cynicism.

That is also one of the reasons I love VeggieTales.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

One of the reasons I love it like I do is because it's very optimistic and lacking in cynicism.

That is also one of the reasons I love VeggieTales.

My reaction when watching that one with the USS Applepies... and the tomato as Captain Kirk...