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The sunset (heh) establishing shot is comfy – early evening as Twilight and Spike prepare for the viewing of the meteor shower. Spike sneezing and burning the book is something I would have thought would happen more often. In a way, it’s impressive that he manages to be such a good assistant in a library that’s entirely made of flammable wood and is filled with flammable materials in the form of books. There’s a beautiful view from the hilltop as Twilight and Spike make their way to join the other ponies, with some foothills rising into mountains in the distance and what looks like a river running down from them. There’s only so many ways to say it, but the whole beginning of the episode is some peak comfy, some of the best we’ve gotten in season 1 – even the BGM stands out to me as comfy here. Owlowicscious’s introduction falls within the same comfyzone.
The next morning, Spike among other things suggests grass pancakes for Twilight’s breakfast, I’d be interested to see that particular dish. A cursory search suggests we never actually see them on the show.
Spike’s anxiety about being replaced, his eagerness to help Twilight and be part of her life all strikes me as the sort of thing that might reflect the behaviour of little brothers – younger siblings often want to feel included, and getting to ‘help’ is a way to be included. Ultimately though I’m the oldest sibling, so I wouldn’t really know.
Spike’s Snidely Whiplash get-up made me chuckle, along with the silent-movie style piano sting. It’s an almost unrelated note but I love all of Joe Rinaudo’s videos of him playing the American Fotoplayer, the all-in-one piano-roll based instrument for both musical and sound-effect accompaniment to pre-talkies.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=eRGVYwobPDk
This one’s my favorite. I don’t know if anybody ever figured out what The Big Chase was from though – I would be interested in knowing, but I’ve never been quite interested enough to dig into where it could come from. Perhaps one day.
Anyway, that tangent aside – even if plausibility is stretched a little bit (ketchup lasting long enough on Spike’s feet to leave tracks all the way to the Everfree, a dragon seemingly so nearby to Ponyville when the last time a dragon was this close it was a much larger problem) I enjoyed the conclusion to this episode. There isn’t as much that I can say about it perhaps, but Spike deserved his spotlight episode and it was a pretty good time all round. I’d give it a rating of 8.3.