The MLP Arena

Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Zapper on May 12, 2019, 03:04:09 AM

Title: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Zapper on May 12, 2019, 03:04:09 AM

The ponies are having a traditional school ball called Fetlock Fête and Sandbar asks out Yona to be his "pony pal" (see what they did there?) for this special event.
Yona is very happy about it but worries she won't be able to fit in with the ponies because of her yak-y ways. Rarity offers her help in a very "My Fair Lady" style including a song. The rest of the M6 join her (excluding Twilight), each of them showing Yona a part of the traditions such as preparing a gift basket or dance moves. Yona seems to fail at all of them during the montages but eventually gets it all right for rehearsal and again we get the MFL callback with the ponies exclaiming "I think she's got it!".

At the ball Sandbar is a bit weirded out by Yona's rapid change and the Student Six giggle but Yona seems to get everything right until she stumbles over her dress while dancing (a part she didn't rehearse) and chaos ensues.

Yona runs away and Sandbar finds her in their treehouse moping and vowing to stay there forever. Sandbar admits to her that he never wanted her to change because he likes her the way she is. They return back and all ponies do a dance from the yaks.

Before someone corrects me that the episode was based on "She's All That"... SAT was in itself inspired by "My Fair Lady" ;)
I was pleasantly surprised by the episode because I expected something annoying such as the episode where Pinkie Pie plays that yak instrument. But Yona was just too adorable and we got a song.
The song did not really have great lyrics, imo. But it was kinda hilarious seeing a pony spin on "The Rain In  Spain".
My point of criticism would be that this goshdarn show once again does a culture clash thing with a different species, kind of portraying the non-pony as the less cultured one. But we should be used to that by now.

It was good that Yona realized that just because you are not represented on a poster does not mean you can't take part. Her trying to "morph" into a pony could have been handled way worse. Such as Twilight actually changing her into one (as shown in the song montage when she is a ponyona for a hot second). But they "thankfully" just went for the behaviour bits.

I think the episode has rewatch potential as opposed to the last one where the characters actions just made me cringe a bit. Quibble posing as a sports pony was more annoying to watch than Yona learning the pony ways, imo.

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: StarSwirl05 on May 12, 2019, 05:28:20 AM

Spoiler

This was really hard to sit through. Everyone helping Yona was going too fast and/or using overly complicated methods. I was not fond of Rarity's choices for just about anything she gave Yona and she was also making Yona act more like herself. Plus, what was the deal with the trophy? It was just given away despite what the event was originally intended to be? Why is it that the pony that ended up ruining the entire event gets to share the trophy and then they all do the dance that was probably going to cause further issues at the end? There's a point at which being yourself is NOT a good idea so what exactly is the moral here?

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: kingluke on May 12, 2019, 06:05:24 AM

All I could think was, are they helping ehr to change who she is? and why is everything pony themed?.
I feel like twilight's school is one to brag about racial diversity and have like 5 creatures at the whole school.

Yona was super cute tho and I loved watching her. I'm also living for the Yona Sandbar thing.

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Zapper on May 12, 2019, 06:37:12 AM

Quote from: kingluke on May 12, 2019, 06:05:24 AM

I feel like twilight's school is one to brag about racial diversity and have like 5 creatures at the whole school.

Lol! I maintain my opinion that G4 ponies are officially the worst. No other pony incarnation was so far up their own butts than FiMies :lol:

Twilight is the only one who is really open to other cultures. She was the one befriending Zecora and she was taking part in all the hippogryph party stuff last season. Even when they gave her salmon juice she rejoiced.
AJ would have been like "why is it not applejuice huh? I hate ethnic food"  :lol: jk

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: kingluke on May 12, 2019, 07:02:43 AM

Quote from: Zapper on May 12, 2019, 06:37:12 AM

Quote from: kingluke on May 12, 2019, 06:05:24 AM

I feel like twilight's school is one to brag about racial diversity and have like 5 creatures at the whole school.

Lol! I maintain my opinion that G4 ponies are officially the worst. No other pony incarnation was so far up their own butts than FiMies :lol:

Twilight is the only one who is really open to other cultures. She was the one befriending Zecora and she was taking part in all the hippogryph party stuff last season. Even when they gave her salmon juice she rejoiced.
AJ would have been like "why is it not applejuice huh? I hate ethnic food"  :lol: jk

haha yeah, in the first gen they were all like, oh you're a now reformed pony eatimg smooze mutant? Welcome to dream valley! Can we get you some tea? XD Not to gatekeep or anythinbg? Tho I wonder if I could even gatekeep (is that a word?) for I didn't grew up with g1 .

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: TJgamer on May 12, 2019, 08:23:52 AM

I enjoyed this episode despite some of the slight “pony master race” undertones as well as the very standard “be yourself” plot.
Yona is still best student and best yak, and I fully support the Yona x Sandbar ship (even before this episode aired).   ;)
I’m also glad their teachers apologized at the end for their misguided pressuring. I know it sounds petty, but a simple apology like that goes a long way in my book.

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Pinkie21 on May 12, 2019, 11:35:14 AM

Well, this one wasn’t *as* horrid as last week’s episode.  But man they just had to put the absolute worst character front and center, didn’t they?  The yaks were just a bad idea from the start. 

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Storybelle on May 12, 2019, 04:29:25 PM

Unfortunately another episode I didn't finish. Or get half way through.  :huh:

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Al-1701 on May 12, 2019, 05:29:38 PM

Quote from: Pinkie21 on May 12, 2019, 11:35:14 AM

Well, this one wasn’t *as* horrid as last week’s episode.  But man they just had to put the absolute worst character front and center, didn’t they?  The yaks were just a bad idea from the start.

They're MLP's answer to Carbombya.  And attempts to cover that up have fallen short.

I'm kind of getting sick of the "Just be yourself" message as it's portrayed in a lot of modern media.  There's a difference between your identity and your limits.  Self-improvement is not a bad thing and doesn't destroy who you are.

And, yes, there was a strong "Pony Master Race" undertone to this episode.

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: EnaRocketQueen on May 13, 2019, 05:44:34 AM

Didn't get to the end of this one. I knew what was going to happen without needing to watch

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Mermaid on May 13, 2019, 04:23:03 PM

I liked this one. I loved the my fair lady references. I also could t help but think about the Tales episode with Lancer and Brighteyes and the skating competition! I was soooo hoping we’d see some background ponies colored like them. The pony master race thing is bothersome though... I wish twilight would get more students of different species!  I love the idea of the young 6 but wish there were more characters for them to interact with at the school. It just seems like none of the pony students want anything to do with them.

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Pinkie21 on May 13, 2019, 04:33:44 PM

Quote from: Mermaid on May 13, 2019, 04:23:03 PM

The pony master race thing is bothersome though... I wish twilight would get more students of different species

Well, it is My Little Pony.  They shouldn’t have made that ridiculous friendship “school”, or introduce non-pony characters that hold any significant importance, in the first place, to be honest. 

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Bekuno on May 13, 2019, 06:35:04 PM

Thank you for posting the thread for me! I was working all weekend, didn't even get to watch until today  :sad: :zzz:

It was a pretty simple tried but true plot. Not all that bad, because I thought Sandbar and Yona were pretty cute together. And though she wasn't being herself she didn't seem all that upset with the mane six for teaching her things and they were right to apologize in the end. I REALLY like the song they did for this one. I can rarely stand Rarity but she gets so many good songs. 5/10 I'd say, because it was predictable but still watchable.

Also, I'm really glad we got to see more of the Treehouse of Harmony. If hasbro hadn't completely given up on FIM at this point it would have made an awesome playset.

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Al-1701 on May 14, 2019, 02:32:19 AM

I think another thing that hurt this episode was the need to get all of the Mane 6 involved.  It diffused the message, whatever it happened to be.

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Minty_Magic on May 14, 2019, 02:46:28 AM

I can't say I was really a fan of this episode. The "be yourself" message in this one felt really confused and weird. I wish this show wasn't trying to tackle prejudice and other more heated social issues with the other species because they always get it so wrong. :( In this one I felt genuinely uncomfortable because it seemed like Yona's culture and heritage was being erased. I understand she asked the ponies for their help but something about it still really struck me as off. Especially when Rarity told Yona she needed a different hairstyle. In the Hearths Warming special, wasn't it kind of implied that her braids were a fairly significant moment for her? Her braids always seemed tied into her heritage to me. The ponies are supposed to be adult figures, I wish they would have showed a little more care in how they helped Yona prepare for the dance.

Despite their best efforts, every diversity episode comes off with a sense that ponies are still superior to the other species in Equestria, they're just a little more friendly to the creatures who look different now. It kind of made me sad that the school really seems to be made up of all ponies except for the student 6. I appreciate what the writers are trying to do, and I'm all about promoting diversity and acceptance, but I think these kinds of tough social issues are way too much for a show like Friendship is Magic to handle. At least in its current state. I'll be interested to see how they handle stuff like this in the next generation. ;)

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Zapper on May 14, 2019, 03:34:34 AM

Quote from: Minty_Magic on May 14, 2019, 02:46:28 AM

In the Hearths Warming special, wasn't it kind of implied that her braids were a fairly significant moment for her? Her braids always seemed tied into her heritage to me.

They just ignored what they built up for the character to put as many makeover clichés in as possible. I was also not exactly happy with the "ewww yak food is disgusting!!!" joke and again the reminder that yaks have horrible hygiene to a point ponies have to wear hazmat suits to bathe her.
It made me feel bad for Yona, she is just a cute kid.

It wouldn't bother me that much if the yaks weren't supposed to be the pony world's equivalent to Pakistan (or generally any eastern mountain folk that use yaks for milk and meat). Like Al-1701 said, the yaks are like the Carbombyans from Transformers. It looks like they did not learn anything from that (they lost iconic voice actor Casey Kasem over these episodes).
Just do not make allusions to real world places and people if you really want to do these "ewww gross" jokes. It could be so easy.

But like I already mentioned, this show has been doing that from the start. Zecora, the buffalo herd and even donkeys. In an early season Rarity was making comments about how ugly mules are even tho donkeys live just like ponies. A mule is when a pony and a donkey have offspring. Classy. And that came from my favorite pony who is supposed to be generous :lookround:

These writers will never handle these issues with grace so they should have never made different species into different people.
They already did that with the ponies, so there was no need to have more "others".

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Al-1701 on May 14, 2019, 05:36:08 PM

Quote from: Zapper on May 14, 2019, 03:34:34 AM

It wouldn't bother me that much if the yaks weren't supposed to be the pony world's equivalent to Pakistan (or generally any eastern mountain folk that use yaks for milk and meat). Like Al-1701 said, the yaks are like the Carbombyans from Transformers. It looks like they did not learn anything from that (they lost iconic voice actor Casey Kasem over these episodes).

The only difference is the Transformers stopped using Carbombya after the fallout from "A Thief in the Night" while FiM just keeps going back to the yaks.  Because no one walked out in disgust, the people running this show don't seem to understand what they're doing with the yaks is offensive.

The problem is the people running the show are too ignorant of the issues, but believe they should be able to throw their two cents in anyway because their fans want the show to "topical".  My response to this is to quote Harlan Ellison: "You are not entitled to your opinion.  You are entitled to your informed opinion.  No one is entitled to be ignorant."

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: TJgamer on May 18, 2019, 05:01:30 AM

Speaking of ignorance, I wonder if Rarity is starting to mentally slip given the ugly outfit and wig she had Yona wear. Let's not forget that she came up with those ridiculous flying outfits in Rainbow Falls and was utterly braindead in Friendship University.
Also, nobody else at the party wore a dress except for herself. And that's strange because earlier in the episode, Rarity was making dresses specifically for the party. This is either a continuity error, or she did not get the memo from Twilight.
All of that, plus Rarity's method to have Yona speak "with sophistication", gives me the impression that she wasn't taught how to be a pony, but to be a clone of Rarity.  -_-

P.S. Her distaste for 'earthy tones' really rubbed me the wrong way for reasons obvious.

Title: Re: " She's All Yak" - FiM S9 Ep7 Discussion
Post by: Zapper on May 21, 2019, 02:05:05 AM

Quote from: TJgamer on May 18, 2019, 05:01:30 AM

Speaking of ignorance, I wonder if Rarity is starting to mentally slip given the ugly outfit and wig she had Yona wear. Let's not forget that she came up with those ridiculous flying outfits in Rainbow Falls and was utterly braindead in Friendship University.
Also, nobody else at the party wore a dress except for herself. And that's strange because earlier in the episode, Rarity was making dresses specifically for the party. This is either a continuity error, or she did not get the memo from Twilight.
All of that, plus Rarity's method to have Yona speak "with sophistication", gives me the impression that she wasn't taught how to be a pony, but to be a clone of Rarity.  -_-

P.S. Her distaste for 'earthy tones' really rubbed me the wrong way for reasons obvious.

While the writers don't keep the characters consistent, Rarity can get it especially bad because she basically learned her lesson pretty early on that being elite is not all that. But they still want her to be this upper crust wannabe, so they make her a snooty classist most of the time ^^;

I like your headcanon of Rarity losing it, tho. It must drive her insane that Ponyville is where her friends are but the city is where her business is. Ponyville seems to be fed up with her designs :lol: