'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic's' Season 2 had a brilliant first three episodes, especially "Lesson Zero", while "Luna Eclipsed" was also very good and "Sisterhooves Social" one of the season's best episodes with a subject that resonated with me. For me, Season 2 started off just as great and as promisingly as the first season did, though even with not every episode working the first season overall was more consistent in terms of quality.
To me though, the second season had its first disappointment with "The Cutie Pox". A far from a terrible episode, the show had worse and it's not even one of the worst of Season 2, but not up to top 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' standards. "The Cutie Pox" is cute with many good things and it is good to see that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were more interesting generally in Season 2, but it also felt a little bland and could have done with taking more risks.
Of course there are a lot of good things in "The Cutie Pox". The animation is as vibrant and richly detailed as ever and the music fits well. The theme tune is catchy, it is a take and leave theme tune for some but it has never been a problem for me. There are some very amusing moments, mostly physical, that don't come over as overdone or strained. The bowling alley intro was brilliant. Likewise there were some cute moments, such as Applebloom's genuine happiness when she earns her own cutie mark.
Much of the character writing is well done. The chemistry between the ponies is genuinely sweet, without being saccharine, and it was great to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle true to character and growing more distinct as the show continued to progress. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were fun, but standing out the most was the very relatable character development for Applebloom. Also identified with the moral, sincerely handled and done with tact without any beating around the head. Michelle Creber stands out of the voice acting.
However, for early 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic', "The Cutie Pox" felt rather safe and the lack of conflict in the storytelling and not much being hugely at stake compared to other episodes made it on the bland side.
Also to be honest questioned the point of "The Cutie Pox", as it doesn't really hugely progress anything and the amount of filler made the quite thin storytelling a bit too padded. Also serving not much point to the episode was the presence of Zecora, who only seemed to be there for convenient plot device reasons.
In summary, nice enough but needed more oomph generally. 6/10
To me though, the second season had its first disappointment with "The Cutie Pox". A far from a terrible episode, the show had worse and it's not even one of the worst of Season 2, but not up to top 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' standards. "The Cutie Pox" is cute with many good things and it is good to see that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were more interesting generally in Season 2, but it also felt a little bland and could have done with taking more risks.
Of course there are a lot of good things in "The Cutie Pox". The animation is as vibrant and richly detailed as ever and the music fits well. The theme tune is catchy, it is a take and leave theme tune for some but it has never been a problem for me. There are some very amusing moments, mostly physical, that don't come over as overdone or strained. The bowling alley intro was brilliant. Likewise there were some cute moments, such as Applebloom's genuine happiness when she earns her own cutie mark.
Much of the character writing is well done. The chemistry between the ponies is genuinely sweet, without being saccharine, and it was great to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle true to character and growing more distinct as the show continued to progress. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were fun, but standing out the most was the very relatable character development for Applebloom. Also identified with the moral, sincerely handled and done with tact without any beating around the head. Michelle Creber stands out of the voice acting.
However, for early 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic', "The Cutie Pox" felt rather safe and the lack of conflict in the storytelling and not much being hugely at stake compared to other episodes made it on the bland side.
Also to be honest questioned the point of "The Cutie Pox", as it doesn't really hugely progress anything and the amount of filler made the quite thin storytelling a bit too padded. Also serving not much point to the episode was the presence of Zecora, who only seemed to be there for convenient plot device reasons.
In summary, nice enough but needed more oomph generally. 6/10
