Poll MLP:FIM S6E21 - "Every Little Thing She Does" - Grade & Discuss

[Amaris]

Episode Title: "Every Little Thing She Does"
Air Date: September 24th, 2016, 11:30 AM Eastern Time (4:30 PM GMT/UTC)

Summary: "Although Starlight Glimmer is excelling at her magical studies with Twilight Sparkle, she has been avoiding her friendship lessons. Feeling pressure to impress her teacher, Starlight attempts to tackle several friendship problems at once, with questionable results."

Live Streams:
HaxMega
BronyState Theaters
Brony Network
Equestria TV
Otaku Ascended

REMEMBER: NO OPEN SPOILERS UNTIL 3 PM ET (8 PM GMT)

=-

Ruminations:
I wonder if we'll get something similar to "Lesson Zero" this time around? I would imagine Starlight's handling of things will go gloriously south, and we'll get some more solid character moments from her. Also, the song "Every little thing she does is magic" keeps running through my head as I type this. On to the episode!

 

[DarkHorizon]

This is probably losing some points for

Spoiler

excessive use of the 'word' "chillax" (also for suddenly deciding spells work like in Harry Potter).

but getting a lot for

Spoiler

zombie Mane Five being HILARIOUS!

That half an hour flew by!

 

[Amaris]

(SPOILERS)

Oh, this one was fun! If there was ever any doubt that Starlight has been reformed from being an evil, scheming dictator, this episode put those doubts to rest. When Starlight cast the various obedience spells, she could have taken over the elements and used them to do her will against the citizens of Equestria. Instead, she only wanted to complete the friendship lessons in order to please Twilight, whom she clearly respects.

Clearly, Starlight is gifted in magic, just as Twilight was as a unicorn. She's great with spells and texts, but when it comes to just being friends you can tell she's had little experience. Of course, that's why she's getting friendship lessons from Twilight. I'm glad to see that Starlight can fail, and does fail at times, even when she tries her best. It's not to humiliate her, but to show that even a very smart and gifted pony can miss the forest for the trees.

The various examples of each of the Mane Six (sans Twilight) under the obedience spell were pretty fun to watch. Pinkie without the modicum of restraint she normally has is a sheer baking terror, Rarity's literal interpretations of Starlight's instructions were fun to watch (the mouse in the dress was adorable), Fluttershy's gathering of "all" of the animals was hilarious (except for the bugs, in which case I'm with Spike. Ew! Nightmare fuel!), Applejack's stories were gold. I had a deep, deep belly laugh when she said "and then Big Mac told me, with a whole lotta power comes a heck of a lotta responsibility!", and Dash's overcompensating when the kitchen caught on fire was terrific.

They spent an extra minute homing in on the final lesson, which I'm glad they did. Starlight sees magic as a tool, but she seems to believe it can solve any problem, which is a mindset Twilight had before she really learned her lesson about not manipulating those around you to get a "successful" result ("Lesson Zero" being an excellent example for her). Even after all of that, however, Starlight missed the point, and Twilight had to guide her to it.

On that note, I liked Starlight's apology, because once she got the point, she had that same facepalming revelation we all have when we miss the obvious staring us in the muzzle. I think it was genuine, and sincere, though I do like that the others accepted it while still being irked over what Starlight had done, even if it was with the best of intentions. Of course, Rainbow Dash's forceful and on-the-spot friendship lesson made that one abundantly clear, and had me laughing again:

"Here's a quick lesson for ya: DON'T CAST SPELLS ON YOUR FRIENDS!"

All in all, a fun slice of life episode that gives us more insight into Starlight, and just how her mind works, while giving us some great gags along the way. This episode gets an "A" from me.

 

[Kemaiku]

Actually, I think this is pretty spot on;

https://derpibooru.org/1257284?scope=scpeb959cc323161ef6309c34a7300120659b179df1a

She just gives a constant 'not giving a fuck' vibe on a fundemental emotional level, and still resorts to her primary problem of forcing her will on others after seeing it leave a dead planet behind if she doesn't stop.

I just don't get how the Castle, being a child of the Tree like the Elements, doesn't have something to supress her and do something about it. Unless her hacking the map undid some of it's protection.

 

[Amaris]

Actually, I think this is pretty spot on;

https://derpibooru.org/1257284?scope=scpeb959cc323161ef6309c34a7300120659b179df1a

She just gives a constant 'not giving a fuck' vibe on a fundemental emotional level, and still resorts to her primary problem of forcing her will on others after seeing it leave a dead planet behind if she doesn't stop.

I just don't get how the Castle, being a child of the Tree like the Elements, doesn't have something to supress her and do something about it. Unless her hacking the map undid some of it's protection.

Yeah, I think she'll need to be taught empathy, which is kind of really difficult to teach. Starlight isn't maliciously doing these feats of magic, she just doesn't get that what she's doing may harm somepony else.

 

[Kemaiku]

I hope that's all it is, because I keep imagining this going on behind the smiles.

Spoiler