Quick Gummy! To the Party Cave!

This episode was better than last week’s, but IMO was still not a very good episode. It did have some very funny parts, but the Yak’s behavior got old fast (the first time they did the Yak smash, it was funny. The second, third… fourth… times, not so much. I get *why* they were doing it, but it just became obnoxious).

Also I was looking forward to seeing more of Equestria in this episode, and while we did get some of that, it was cheapened (again, IMO) by the fact that it all took place in an afternoon. I know, it’s a cartoon, and Pinkie in particular loves to defy the laws of physics. The fact she made it all the way there, then sledded backwards all the way back was a funny gag, but I wish the worldbuilding could have taken place in a slightly more realistic situation. I really think a large part of the pacing issues of this ep could’ve been solved if the episode took place over a few days. Why did it *need* to take place in a single day? If it were written so that Pinkie had maybe 2 (possibly 3; I’m not sure how far away this stuff is supposed to be) days before the party, then the worldbuilding would’ve felt a lot more satisfying. But it also would’ve made the sledding backwards gag impossible (which I would’ve been OK with…)

I dunno, I enjoyed parts of this episode a lot, and really didn’t care for others. I don’t want to nitpick too much, so I’ll leave out any more specific critiques. But this sadly is probably now my second least-favorite episode of the season. And it’s a real bummer that those two were back to back episodes.

I try not to let the writer change my opinion of the episode, but this episode and last week’s were by new writers, and this week in particular almost felt like a completely different show (especially the pacing and types of gags and jokes). Obviously bringing in new talent can be good, but it seems like these two new writers were only given a basic intro to the series before being tasked with writing an episode. (I could be COMPLETELY wrong, but it’s just a gut feeling). A more thorough introduction to the show could help fix some of those things that make the episode “feel” off. And these past two episodes have definitely “felt” off. To me, at least. Reading other reviews, seems like this is another divisive episode.

Ok, I don’t want to rant anymore. But I hope we get some solid A episodes soon (I’ll settle for B+). After one viewing I give Party Pooped a C+ (compare to C- or maybe even D+ of Princess Spike). Maybe that’ll change with repeat viewings, but one of the problems with this and last week’s episodes is that they left me not wanting to immediately re-watch, unlike the better episodes of the series.