"My Little Pony: Make Your Mark" ...............................(SPOILERS)

[Guardian Prime]

The first special of G5 is coming,
and seems all isn't well in Maretime Bay.
Could something be inflicting,
their rediscovered magic?

Will the Mane 5 fix things...
before it's too late?

The special will debut on Netflix,
Thursday, May 26.
----------------------------------

SYNOPSIS:



My Little Pony: Make Your Mark
​

Months after magic has returned to Equestria, Sunny Starscout and her new pony friends are excited to celebrate their new lives on Maretime Bay Day! But while their group may have adjusted to magic's return, plenty of Unicorns and Pegasi are still having trouble mastering their powers, frustrating the non-magical Earth Ponies who wish to return to how things were before. Meanwhile, as Zipp realizes that the power of the crystals are fading, she goes on a mission to figure out why.

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[Caldwin]

So...are we still doing play by plays here?

 

[CoffeeHorse]

We should. It's part of the experience.

 

[Caldwin]

It's been a while. It'll be nice to do a play by play.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

It's always fascinating when we compare notes and find out that not only did we react to the same moments, but sometimes even have similar wording. It's something you can only discover if we do play by plays.

 

[Videomaster21XX]

I literally stayed up till 3am my time just to watch it the moment it came out. Only did it cuz I have today off.

It's nice. Nothing amazing, but it's a short story I do feel needed to be told.

I'm going to just spoil this though: No Sprout. He's not even mentioned. Sorry for those of you who liked him.

And then of course:

Spoiler: Near the end

So we have a villain. Some alicorn mare we don't know the name of who has at least one unicorn lacky it seems. I'm certainly interested in finding out who this is.

Also no name for the new dragon. I guess they'll wait before calling him/her Spike. Though honestly I'm all for them getting a different name.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I probably won't get to watch it until the weekend.

Good or bad, it's going to put me in a good mood. The movie came out the weekend my dad was in the hospital getting his diagnosis. I'm in a better place going into this one, and watching it is going to remind me how much better things are since the first one.

So I won't be surprised if my commentary is mostly "Sunny is adorable" and "Stop with the magical sticky hooves." I am in a mood to just enjoy how cute this is.

 

[Caldwin]

THIS IS MY PLAY BY PLAY. BEWARE SPOILERS!!!!!






So first of we have Zipp flying. It's nice that it's how this one starts out. We had to wait so long in the movie (till the very end) before the ponies could do the things they were supposed to be able to do. And the animation actually looks really good so far (I'm :26 seconds in).

Oh hey! It was very brief, but it did have the MLP motif.

Wait, if the windows were unlocked, why did they not open when Zipp nocked on them, only when she leaned on them?

The window's open, the guards are pegasi who are used to ponies flying. They don't think to look up?

Okay, family photo on the wall. To it's confirmed that this is her home. You know what? Gut instinct is to ask why she even needs to sneak around her own home, but then I remember the time Twilight sneaked into Canterlot library, so it pretty much tracks.

Opening music is okay, but it kinda miss the usual Pony motif.

EXPOSITION!!!

Wow! She just wouldn't be Izzy without a sphere stuck on her head.

Not sure about Sunny's dye job. Izzy is just as adorable as ever.

Pipp already has had more screen time than she did in the movie. She definitely looks like she's shaping up to be this generations Rarity.

Posey! Score one for G1 ponies making a reappearance. Too bad she's a bitch.

Wow! I'm actually liking Pipp now that she's actually getting screen time.

Okay, so Sunny still have the wings and horn, but she doesn't quite have it under control yet.

10:20 "Wow! Are you ponies thinking what I'm thinking?" Uh, I think so, Brain. But where are we going to find rubber pants our size?

But Mooooom! I don't wanna be Queeeeeen!

Zipps way of getting of the phone just mirrored Hazy's. Hazy just found her spirit counterpart.

Oh dear! There's a glitch in the magic...which is also happening in the first issue of the comic. This may be a bigger deal than I thought.

14:30 "What's with all the spoons?" There is no spoon!

Hitch is still Sheriff. And no Sprout. Good good. That's already an improvement in status quo.

You know, something this big (magic glitching in and out), it may be better if Zipp didn't keep all this to herself.

There's a lot of blank flanks on the beach...not all of them foals either. I wouldn't question it so much if not for the fact that some are definitely not foals.

Actually, also noticing that Hitch and Posey's marks are only on their right side. Oh dear! Is this going to be a thing now, only having cutie marks on the one side?

Pipp...stop singing...please!

I don't think you have to make a report when there's no report to make, Zipp.

They don't know what an egg is?

26:11 "Sure, I can zip it." Oh, hah! Yeah, that's funny...because her name is Zipp, and she said she could zip it. Ha ha...yeah...funny! *facepalm*

I guess it was unavoidable that there would be a musical number. *head desk*

At least it was short.

Ugh! The one G1 pony and she is such a bitch! Not fair!

Uh oh! There seems to be a correlation between bitchyness and the powers going wonky I think they just need to get rid of Posey. They can send her to wherever Sprout is.

So nobody ever have an argument...EVER!

Wait...are they implying that earth ponies do have magic and that its...walking??? So walking is the earth ponies magic power? They really are getting hosed.

Well, so far this storm hasn't had any snow. So I'm not sure if I should be anticipating wendigoes or not.

Uh oh! Not just getting separated, the crystals are fracturing. That could be extraordinarily bad.

Okay, I really want to know what is up with that egg. I'm betting it winds up being the mcguffin that saves everything...but so help me, if it's Spike and Spike hatching is what saves the day, I am going to roll my eyes so...freaking...hard.

37:55 "It's too dark in there. Take this." "It's dangerous to go alone. Take this."

Well, that danger wrapped up quickly!

Yup! It's Spike. Well, at least his hatching wasn't what saved the day. It was completely incidental. So, I guess my eyes are safe.

Oh good, Posey removed the stick that was in her ass.

Oh, hello! What's this? Villian introduction? Huh!

 

[Dvandom]

I was unimpressed. And looking at the comic this week, is every major story going forwards going to be "Oh noes, the magic is going away again!"

It is, at least, now clear that the comic happens after this mini-movie, rather than before.

---Dave

 

[Caldwin]

Yeah, I was wondering too. If that's what it starts to becom, I'm not sure how long my interest is going to hold. There was a bit of an eye roll when I noted "nobody have an argument...ever."

 

[CoffeeHorse]

To be fair, this is how Hasbro always wanted their media to work. The comic and cartoon tend to at least start with the same bullet points. It is unusual to get multiple versions of the same story right at the same time like this, but that's either weird luck or Hasbro finally figured out how to get multiple branches of a franchise to launch at the same time.

 

[Shadewing]

Just watched it. I liked it overall, it's a simple story but one that works and makes sense this early on.

 

[Shadewing]

Yeah, I was wondering too. If that's what it starts to becom, I'm not sure how long my interest is going to hold. There was a bit of an eye roll when I noted "nobody have an argument...ever."

Yes. Because it's not like G4 never established that bad shit happens when the tribes can't get along.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Maybe that's why G1 was such a nightmare world.

 

[Caldwin]

Yes. Because it's not like G4 never established that bad shit happens when the tribes can't get along.

oh, I know bad shit happens when the tribes don't get along. It's just that between the comic and the show, I honestly had the feeling of "didn't I just see this" at first.

And I think what Dave was saying (correct me if I'm wrong) was that he (and I) hope that this isn't something where every week for the entire series it's going to be "why isn't our magic working?" Like every episode was Ganon trying to get the Triforce. Every episode was Gargamel trying to eat smurfs. Every episode was Megatrons latest scheme to rob earth of its energy so he could rule Cybertron. That was fine at the time...but it could get really old really quick here.

I'm not saying it's going to be like this. It just struck me that the first episode of the series and the first issue of the comic had nearly the exact same plot. It raised an eyebrow, that's all.

Not saying I didn't enjoy it, because I absolutely did. I was having a blast watching it. Just one single note of "please don't make this the entire series."

 

[Shadewing]

The way I see it, atm at least, is that becuase this is all very new to everyone; what Harmony exists is extremely fragile. This is why it seems like every disagreement leads to 'bad stuff happening' and magic not being completely solidified in their world. I feel it is overall more of a plot point then just a plot hook. Friendship and acceptance isn't gonna be something that is magically overcome, even in a world of colorful talking ponies. Though I imagine that an actual BBEG could be a big help in pushing that Harmony. So far we've had just a wannabe dictator and and some loosely racist ponies.

 

[Caldwin]

Could be right. In fact, you're probably likely right. It was just an uneasy feeling when both the comic and show had the exact same plot. But there's more to talk about than just that.

I can't wait to see who this villain is. It seems like all the great pony villains are purple.

Also I happened to notice that Hitch was the one to hatch Spike. Going by G3 and G4 tradition, does that make him a princess?

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Make Your Mark

00:13 Zipp! I bet you didn't think she'd be so prominent when G5 started. She and Pipp got the short end of the stick the first time around and truly every effort has been made since to make up for it.

00:28 This location is still gorgeous. It's interesting seeing it from so high up this time.

00:36 Oh, we're going to watch her sneak around in the castle and steal the thing. I don't know why I expected this to be offscreen.

02:18 Exposition!

02:23 Sunny! We've seen this before.

02:58 We laugh at Pipp, but Sunny's obvious nervousness is a reminder that Pipp does have legitimate skills. Talking to a camera isn't something you just do.

04:49 Hitch's animals have turned against him. Top 10 Anime Betrayals.

05:49 Posey.

08:23 Oh come on. Izzy has telekinesis and still uses sticky hooves. Come on, animators. Have some fun figuring this stuff out.

08:25 Like that. Sunny immediately comes to my rescue with a mouth hold like nature intended.

09:10 You know, there's a point where things getting impaled on Izzy's horn will be overdone to the point of being lazy writing, and there's a point beyond that where it'll be so overdone that they have to reach so hard to find ways to shoehorn it in that it'll become creative writing all over again. Running gags are funny that way.

09:42 Sunny tipping over her whole cart strains credulity in a good way. What a lovable dork. Also I'm enjoying the reminder that she has a real day job.

11:50 Little salon project. The 2D show is canon.

13:40 And the catastrophe finally strikes... or not. Wow G5 actually pulled a fast one. It's like they're having fun with the fact that we expect it to be predictable.

15:02 And Hitch still has his day job. I really appreciated the day jobs in G4, and I'm glad to see that aspect hasn't been dropped.

15:58 "You're bored." Hitch is wrong but also probably right. That's good writing.

18:11 WHY isn't Zipp discussing this with the others?

19:04 I've played enough Spyro to know that that is a dragon egg.

20:06 The complaint box. This obviously isn't the best system but we can't say Hitch isn't efficient.

20:23 Hitch, have you not already learned your lesson about leaving villains unsupervised in the station?

24:22 We're about halfway through and they're still stringing us along with the imminent disaster that is going to strike at some point.

27:20 I appreciate the effort that went into Zipp's reflection in the mirror behind her. I absolutely would have had a camerapony visible in the reflection. This is why I don't get to make cartoons.

29:15 And disaster finally strikes. For real this time?

37:57 It's dangerous to go alone. Take this!

38:58 No boss fight down there? Come on. There is obviously a boss level somewhere down in that pit.

39:54 G5 Posey is evolving into G1 Posey.

41:24 Spyro 3 flashbacks.

42:19 There was a bigger villain the whole time... and they're saving her for later.


I enjoyed this more than my play by play might make it sound. I would run into the post limit if I tried to note every time Pipp is being cute or Zipp is being the best face maker or Izzy is being a better Pinkie Pie than Pinkie Pie was. G5 isn't the most interesting or exciting thing, but it's a subtle joy to watch.

G5 is a mood. It puts me in a good mood. I could see myself watching this again.

 

[Dvandom]

The comic's "where did the magic go?" plot had to do with part of the crystal being stolen, so they're not reusing the "nobody ever argue" thing, at least. But yes, if our only options are YouTube shorts and "the magic is going away/gone" for the main stories, that's gonna get old fast. Even though the "movies" are really only two full length episodes' worth, not having regular seasons means there's no room for full-episode non-epic stories.

---Dave

 

[Swerve]

So who thinks Twighlight or Flurry Heart went evil? I know...a stretch...but conspiracies are fun.