This was a very good episode I have to say (espcially when I had zero expectations for it, except that I wanted a good episode out of it). Jokes this time around weren't so plentiful like in other previous episodes but they were sprinkled throughout and still did a good job of getting a chuckle out here and there. Animation was much better this time around as there weren't as many background pony clones, errors (as far as I could tell), and whatnot and the magic efects have really improved since Season 1. This was a bit more action oriented than previous episodes and the moral of the story was barely even there in this episode but I don't really care; there aren't an endless amount of lessons a show can do if it is a teaching show so sometimes you just gotta splurge a little and have a good episode.
Story was good for a 30 minute television show about bright colorful minature equines living in the fantastic and magical land of Equestria; it was too fast for me personally and I wish they slowed down to take their time on somethings like maybe take it a little slower for Zecora and Twilight's training. I loved Fluttershy being the one who, in many ways, saved the day for the ponies with the help of Rarity's fine dress making and her little animal friends. Oh, and Zecora, not her biggest fan but the way she played out in the episode makes me really quite enjoy her return to the scene of MLP. I don't think I had a problem with the story at all, tbh; it didn't throw any curveballs like Too Many Pinkie Pies and didn't (IMO) disappoint in the antagonist area. The only minor nitpicks I have towards the story was that it was a little too fast and I didn't like Trixie apologizing for her actions; I always found Trixie to be an antagonist who could go farther than the others and could potentially be a very intimidating villian if given the power and chance but that's just personal views on the characters so whatevs. I was also disappointed because I went to the comments on one of the Magic Duel clips and saw talk of Sombra and how they might be doing what they were doing with Season 1 and connecting certain episodes to create an overarching story of Sombra's return. I doubt the Alicorn Amulet really has any connections to Sombra so...yeah. It doesn't really affect the score of the episode and again it was a personal thing but...dammit that would have been so incredible if they really were doing that like they did with Season 1.
*sigh* Oh well, in the end I have very few complaints and really only nitpicks towards the episode. Overall, it was a very good episode, a great magic showcasing, and wonderful return for The Great and Power Trixie (imo). 9.0/10
I like this whole zero hype behind episodes thing, it certainly is helping me enjoy the show a lot more.
EDIT: Yeah the show is somewhat getting darker but then agian...when is a show about ponies that most people consider for little girls getting darker a bad thing really?
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