Episode Title: "Marks and Recreation" Air Date: September 30th, 2017, 11:30 AM Eastern Time (3:30 PM GMT/UTC) Summary: "Wanting to help as many young ponies as possible find their Cutie Marks, the Cutie Mark Crusaders invite a host of "blank flanks" to their own "Cutie Mark Day Camp," but they're surprised to find one camper who doesn't want a Cutie Mark." Live Streams: HaxMega BronyState Theaters Brony Network Equestria TV Otaku Ascended REMEMBER: NO OPEN SPOILERS UNTIL 4 PM EST (8 PM UTC/GMT) the day the episode airs. =- Ruminations: Firstly, love the play on words with the title. So we get to see the CMC plying their trade, once more, to help other ponies find their special talent. We also answer a question that a few folks had years ago, which was: what if a pony doesn't want a cutie mark? Well, now we'll find out! So, on to the episode!
So this episode we find out that there are fillies and colts who don't necessarily want a cutie mark. Spoiler Seeing the CMC get to work on fulfilling their special talents by helping other ponies find their cutie marks is a nice callback to earlier seasons. They've clearly been progressing, though it seems they've bitten off more than they could chew. So the idea of a cutie mark camp is a good one, and I think it works well here. We get to see all of the other ponies trying new ways to get their cutie marks, and they're far, far less dangerous than the attempts we used to see with the CMC back in the day, which I can only say is a good thing. Rumble's particular issue of not wanting a cutie mark is an interesting one, because it raises a question I think many of us had. That being, does your cutie mark define you, or can you do more than what it represents? As we find out, it's not an unfounded fear, and so it naturally occurs that Rumble manages to talk his fellow ponies out of getting theirs for fears of being pigeonholed, and unable to explore other avenues they enjoy. Even a pony who got her cutie mark at the camp is willing hide hers because she likes to paint circles, oddly enough, though it turns out she's a pro at haikus. Of course, as we eventually learn, your cutie mark doesn't define you, it only helps guide you, and you can still enjoy other aspects of life without fear of being forced into one specific profession that you may not love. A nice lesson for kids who still aren't sure about what they want to do, and a nice reminder that even if you think you know, you're not going to be forced into it if you change your mind. All in all, a sweet little slice of life episode, and a good CMC episode. This one gets a B+
Now that we're past the spoilers... I am very happy that they did this episode. I liked that there was at least one pony afraid of growing up, which is what Rumble really was afraid of. How many kids don't want to grow up because of what might be? It was a good thing. A from me.