art by Talons of Ice and Fire

This episode had a ton of heart. Plus, it tackled a few conceptual issues with the world of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic that really needed to be addressed, and it did so brilliantly.

However, I personally connected with and enjoyed the opening minutes more than the rest of the episode.

It was great to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders really stepping into their roles as Cutie Mark Councilors. Initially, it may seem a little surprising for adults to turn to children for help, but keep in mind that this is their Special Talent. In reality, this isn’t terribly unusual. Even though he is not a pony and has no magical representation on his thigh, my closest friend definitely has a special talent: computers. He currently works as a computer technician, but he has been helping adults get their computers working since he was twelve.

Likewise, I found the CMC’s initial case particularly interesting. (And not just because my first playful thought upon seeing Petunia was “She’s got a raider cutie mark!”) Cutie marks aren’t prophetic; Petunia clearly had an interest in archeology or paleontology before the mark appeared, but her parents were oblivious.

I am familiar with how parents, even ones who are caring and wish to be supportive, can fail to recognize or understand their child’s hobbies or interests. My mother was an English teacher, and easily understood my childhood passions. But my father had no ability to relate to a child whose favorite things to play with were words.

Similarly, my brother’s special talent is mechanics. He is exceptional at taking apart machines, fixing them and rebuilding them – a talent that served him well in the army as the commanding officer of an ARV group, and that he is currently putting to use in the civilian sector with trains. But growing up, I was blind to this, only seeing a boy who would not stop taking things apart… including many things that were not his to dismantle.

I was a little disappointed that the CMC didn’t so much help the parents understand their child’s talent as happen to be in the right place at the right time to see the parents figure it out themselves. But otherwise, I very much applauded that particular opening.

vector by chebut

But that was only the opening. The rest of the episode centered around Gabriella the griffon, and her desire for the impossible: a cutie mark of her very own.

Gabby was adorable!

Gabby was so energetic and optimistic that it was hard not to get swept up in it. She was indefatigable… which became problematic when combined with her excellent selective hearing. We knew what she wanted was impossible, but we still rooted for her. And I suspect some began to question if it was possible for a griffon to get a cutie mark, either out of desire to see Gabby’s wish fulfilled or a fear that the writers would take the easy way out. The episode gains much of its strength because they didn’t.

Where “The Times They Are a Changeling” seemed to portray Thorax as an aberration, the Gabby was clearly acting in defiance of a cultural generality. Stereotypes exist for a reason, and not just because of prejudice or lack of understanding. There is often a touch of truth to stereotypes when applied as a gross generalization. They are not accurate when applied to individuals; assuming or expecting them to is an act of prejudice. So the CMCs initial hesitation can be forgiven, especially as they both questioned their preconceptions before meeting Gabby and immediately discarded them with the first hug. And I really appreciated that Gabby openly acknowledged the accuracy of the griffon cultural stereotype while never accepting it.

Gabby even joins right in with the song, seeming perfectly at home with ponies breaking out in random musical numbers despite Griffonstone being a “no singing zone”.

I sometimes find a bit worrisome at times that the overall trend is for ponies to have positive qualities to export to other races rather than the other way around. But then I remind myself how much work and how many lessons have gone into building the virtue and character of the Mane Six and the CMC. Ponies have always been presented as flawed, and the characters of the show continuously strive to become better. By merit they have earned the higher ground they help lift others up to. So when others look up to them and see something virtuous and enviable, it is no different than how we as an audience do the same.

art by John Joseco

I really liked how the special effects of the Cutie Map signaling a job well done was used to draw Gabriella’s attention to the visiting ponies’ cutie marks and justify her leap of logic and fixation on them. What she really wanted was to find her purpose, but she had connected the two and, like many people, she had become fixated on an outward representation rather than the core quality it represented.

Racing stripes do not make a car go faster. Having a supporter give you his purple heart does not mean you have any of the virtues or positive qualities involved in earning one. Loving My Little Pony does not require that you walk around wearing pony shirts, and doing so doesn’t make you a brony. Inherently, we know these things. But how easy is it for us to find ourselves behaving as if having the style will give us the substance, even when we know it won’t. Or making similar assumptions about others?

Thus, it was wonderful to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders quickly shift to the idea of helping Gabby find her purpose in life. They know – and the episode make a point to remind us – that you don’t need a magical mark to have a special talent or a purpose in life. These things are not unique to ponies; they are universal.

Additionally, the CMC did their best to let her down gently in regards to getting an actual cutie mark. Only Gabby’s aforementioned selective hearing made this far more difficult than anticipated. I was really impressed by the maturity shown by the Cutie Mark Crusaders in this episode.

art by mysticalpha

I was also impressed and deeply touched by how Scootaloo’s own struggles became the impetus for her to push striving for the impossible with Gabby. Instead of giving the CMC the idiot ball, the writers made this crucial decision a major positive note in the episode by rooting it deeply in Scootaloo’s character.

This show continues to allow the characters to grow and mature in very pleasing ways. While I feel this season has not been kind to the characterizations of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, it has been an amazing vehicle for the characterization and growth of Fluttershy, Spike and the CMC. I have been very impressed. In that regard, this is probably the strongest season the show has had.

On a related note, this episode was filled with other call-backs to previous episodes. This season has put a much greater emphasis on continuity, and it gives this episode another way to shine.

art by SilFoe

Sometimes songs can seem out of place; but in “The Fault In Our Cutie Marks”, the song was used perfectly. This was the perfect time for a montage. And the song delivered that while slowly unveiling a new crisis: Gabby was too skilled for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to discern an area of aptitude.

No matter what happens in November, I guarantee this is as close as anyone will come to getting "tired of winning”.

The episode ends with the CMC encouraging Gabby to come back, but I’m not sure this is a character that is really suitable for return visits. Likewise, considering how fun a character Gabby is, I can only imagine how many writers are going to want to make use of her. However, that might be more difficult to execute than it is with other characters in the show.

Gabby’s seemingly universal skill set presented a unique challenge to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. This was used excellently in the episode… but it would be hard to write her without her taking on characteristics of the dreaded (and far too often misused term) “Mary Sue”. How do you challenge a character – or make them feel well-rounded, flawed and relatable – if one of her pre-defined characteristics is “being good at everything”?

The song itself was charming, and I really enjoyed the march-like emphasis on percussion. But the first time I heard it, I found it forgettable. Naturally, I gave the episode several watches before formulating my Afterthoughts; and by then, the song had really grown on me, becoming the part of the episode I looked forward to most. But it isn’t a song I think that I will download and listen to outside of watching the episode.

art by AssasinMonkey

A few final thoughts:

I cannot help but admire how much the animation quality has increased in the last couple of seasons. I point out often how the characters have become more expressive, but I want to take a moment to applaud the animators on how beautifully layered a lot of scenes are, and how they have played with perspective in exciting and fun new ways. These people put a lot of extra effort into their work, and they have created something beautiful.

We often give accolades to the writers and voice actors, but the storyboard artists and animators are every bit as much stars of this show, and deserve our thanks and appreciation.

(I’d list them all here, but there are a lot of them. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has one heck of a crew! So instead, I’ll leave a link here.)

Here are some scenes that particularly impressed me, one from Crusaders of the Lost Mark (which was full of amazing animation) and a couple from recent episodes.

Diamond Tiara POV from “Crusaders of the Lost Mark”

Multi-layered train scene from “Buckball Season”

Gabby takes flight from “The Fault In Our Cutie Marks”

It was likewise great to see more of Griffonstone. And to see the events of “The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone” not only shown through another character’s perspective but through entirely new animation.

In terms of writing, I couldn’t help but notice the plethoria of ponyisms in this episode, especially Apple Bloom’s multiple apple-based cuss-replacements, as well as “Crystal Empire Clear” and “something in this apple sauce smells fishy” (which is a wonderful apt yet cringe-inducing metaphor).