Hello, I'm Half the Battle,
and this is my Late to the Punchline Review
of Friendship Is Magic Episode 164:
Marks and Recreation, which is the second episode
written by May Chan, after Not Asking for Trouble.
I'll start the Character section
with a bit of confession time:
In my elementary school years and, to a lesser extent,
junior high, there was usually one boy in class
who was the F student.
It wasn't always the same guy;
maybe he misbehaved, maybe he didn't,
but for the most part, he just didn't try and
sometimes had a literal zero percent in the class.
(This was back in the day when class grades
were posted for all to see.)
But he'd be quick to tell you how lame
the "teacher's pets" were, how futile it was
to be smart, and how pointless you were
for trying.
He would actively discourage anyone
from enjoying school.
Fast forward to adulthood,
where we read about or encounter people who
spout misleading falsehoods or outright nonsense
to draw away a following after themselves,
alternately undermining or taking advantage of
people's desire to do actual good in the world.
In theology we call such people heretics,
or in politics we call them demagogues.
I'm not proud to say it, but for much of my life,
these were the sort of people I wanted to just go away.
The deceived we want to redeem, sure,
but what of the deceivers?
Well, Rumble seems to be in that demagogue category,
and the writers do a fascinating thing with him,
in my judgment, by making him the sort of antagonist
we might quickly dismiss, and then probing into
the issue he's struggling with.
While his "conversion" at the end of the episode
is necessarily unrealistically quick,
getting into his head gets me thinking about
people we too easily write off as the opposition.
In fact, one reason I'm happy the World Wide Web
came around in my early adulthood is that it gave me
an opportunity to associate and discuss with people
with opposite perspectives about a lot of things
and begin to see how the world looked
through their eyes.
I know this is a major theme in the series,
but this episode hit very close to home for me.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders are remarkably balanced
in this episode.
There's not just one leader or one idea pony;
their day camp project is a good example
of teamwork and shared responsiblity:
not the focus of the episode, but it's there.
Exceptional in this story is that the camp
isn't just an ad hoc adventure
the Crusaders just run off to.
They display a respectable amount of preparation,
organization, and thought in what they do.
That's even more apparent if you take into account
that the events of Fame and Misfortune
appear to take place between the conceiving
of the idea in the cold open
and the sign-up that follows the credits.
Sure, there ought to be an adult supervising,
but when is that not the case for these three?
Nevertheless, in the end they do take the almost
unprecedented step of going to an adult
with their problem, and Thunderlane uses
his knowledge of the situation, his adult
perspective, and bit of clever persuasion
to get the other campers back where they need to be
and address Rumble's real issue.
I do really like Thunderlane's positive approach
to the situation, as opposed to
the "because I said so" approach that we adults
are often tempted to lean on.
I also like the fact that these three are
mature enough to rein in each other's impulses,
most memorably when Sweetie Belle calms the others
and then loses her temper in the next scene
and has to be pacified by Apple Bloom.
That's important because of how personally
they take Rumble's rejection of cutie marks.
But they're also concerned about Rumble
and the other foals personally.
To them, the stakes here aren't just
the fate of a day camp but
ponies being misled as to their destinies.
The CMC's weakness is age-appropriate
and causes this episode to head in a different
direction than it would if one or more
of the Mane Six were in focus:
Their cutie mark advice and arguments
consist largely of slogans and platitudes
they've picked up here and there
—you might even call them talking points—
about how wonderful cutie marks are.
They go by what they've heard and been taught,
rather than drawing on their experiences
and lessons learned, something we do
more readily as we reach adulthood.
For example, think back to Call of the Cutie,
where Scootaloo defends Apple Bloom's blank flank
by speaking of "endless possibilities."
The adults in that episode then chime in
by talking about the thrill of discovering
who they are and what they're meant to be,
but also say the Crusaders have
"all the time in the world to figure it out."
Apple Bloom once dealt with
a fear of getting the wrong cutie mark
and ending up doing something she didn't like.
Luna addressed that fear wonderfully by helping
Apple Bloom really see she already knew
the answer to her questions.
And what does Scootaloo say just before
the CMC get their cutie marks?
"I don't care if I ever get my cutie mark
as long as I get to hang out with my best friends."
Finally, in On Your Marks! they came to
the same realization as Rumble,
that getting their cutie marks brings a resolution
that actually offers them more time
to do other things.
And by the way, what of Gabby?
My point here is that, if older and wiser,
the CMC might have seen that they have some
points of agreement with Rumble;
there is some logic to his perspective
and they've even been where he is, in some ways.
From that starting point, they could have
an audience to clarify the purpose of cutie marks
and have a dialogue.
But they're still kids,
and so they naturally focus on the antagonism itself.
They don't go so far as considering Rumble
"the bad guy," but he's the one in the wrong,
and so when he actually makes what sounds like
a good point, the best they can muster
is a battle of contradiction that just
pushes him and the other campers away.
To their credit, they start off by assuming
he's doing his best and deal with him gently
until he voices his anti-cutie mark heresy directly.
For most of the rest of the episode
they're so shocked they really don't know
how to respond.
And surely that's part of the lesson of the episode.
But I believe Rumble's situation also reminds the CMC
that not everypony gets cutie marks the same way.
Everyone needs to grow up, but there's not just
one path or timetable for doing so.
Toe Tapper got his mark doing what he loved to do,
but was scared to do.
Kettle Corn gets hers
by trying a random new thing like the Crusaders
kept futilely doing; it works for her,
but she still has a hobby that she prefers.
My first impression upon seeing this episode
was what TV Tropes calls a "Fantastic Aesop,"
a moral that only applies within the universe
of the story.
We don't have cutie marks
in the real world, and I think we all know
that luring kids away from day camps is bad.
So what are we intended to take from this?
It might help if cutie marks were more directly
analogous to something we're familiar with.
Is refusing a cutie mark a valid choice
like going straight into the work force
instead of going to college?
Is it a questionable choice like
going through college without a major
and getting a degree in general studies?
Or is it a problematic choice like
just living off other people and
never looking for work?
I don't think it's about any of those things.
The philosophical question that all the ponies
are dancing around here is whether life is better
with definition, or utterly limitless?
The CMC hold an essentialist approach
that there's something at your core
that is your nature, what you are meant to be,
that manifests itself visibly as a cutie mark.
You find your identity.
Rumble represents the existential idea that
you give life your own meaning,
and he dismisses the CMC's idea as fatalistic.
He would say you choose your identity.
Your own philosophy probably determines
who, as a viewer, you most identified with
in this episode.
The way cutie marks work in this series
definitely supports the CMC's side of the debate,
and it's understandable that Rumble finds
the unarguably deterministic nature of all this
deserving of fear and resentment.
For Rumble's part, he learns the lessons
of having the courage to swallow his pride,
and of being open to new ideas.
In a sense, he's accepting reality
as he crosses the line in the dirt
and takes up his brother's positive perspective.
But he's also accepting freedom,
because remember, he's put himself in a box
by being afraid to do anything but fly
to ensure he gets the right cutie mark.
And he's accepting balance, realizing that
even though some things in his life are
imposed from outside, he still has the freedom
to find his own place within that,
as Thunderlane does by cooking
at Wonderbolt headquarters.
I believe those are the intended takeaways
for this episode.
If you want the lesson
in one sentence, it's this:
Don't be a one-trick pony.
I understand the critique that this story
misses an opportunity of having
the CMC and Rumble find common ground,
or of more fairly dealing with the question,
"Is it ok not to want a cutie mark?"
I think the CMC's failure here is in character
and not a writing problem,
but I understand the concern.
I'd say I'm about halfway okay with
the direction the episode takes here.
My main issue is with the resulting tone of the story.
On both first and repeat viewings,
it comes across to me as though
Rumble is in the wrong
because he has an unacceptable opinion
and just needs to fall into line
with the conventional wisdom of society.
Now, I'm sure that's not intentional
on the part of the writer, and
MLP is famous for not taking that approach
to its lessons.
But it is odd.
The fifth season opener, though also one-sided,
at least gave good reasons to love cutie marks,
based on valuing one another's differences,
while this episode presents it more
as a matter of conformity.
Let's talk about Emotional Resonance.
This is light comedy for the most part;
it's a mild episode.
We get little moments of "feels" here and there,
such as Apple Bloom realizing her cutie mark work
has kept her from some of the things she enjoys.
Sweetie Belle tops my list for funniest scene,
between her shouting at Rumble and
giving a frantic speech to Thunderlane.
Some of Rumble's ridiculous references
to oppression and tyranny are worth a chuckle or two,
especially given the parallels
between his character and Starlight Glimmer's.
I find it funny that the campers initially do
basically the same things at his camp
that they were doing with the Crusaders.
Kettle Corn wins the award for cuteness here.
I'm hoping for another episode with her
and her circles.
I also love her unintentional haikuing,
though it's worth pointing out that Rumble
gets an ironically timed accidental haiku as well.
Thunderlane's role in this episode is awesome;
he'll fit in well with the rest of the Wonderbolts.
And now for the rest:
Rumble's tune is remarkably catchy
for a song we're supposed to disagree with.
It's one of the better songs of the season,
and it makes Rumble a more likeable character
just by its musical appeal.
Given the story's anti-demagoguery angle,
there might just be a lesson even in that.
I'm surprised to see the term "blank flank"
tossed around so casually by the CMC
and everypony else.
In the past
it's been used more or less as the pony equivalent
of a slur for late bloomers or
kids who are developmentally behind schedule.
There must be a more neutral term for
ponies who haven't acquired their marks yet.
And I'll just say once again that
the cutie mark area is not the flank of a pony,
it's the hindquarters.
I enjoy this story, I really do.
The CMC impress by showing themselve
mature, capable, and generally encouraging,
but with plenty of room to grow.
The lesson isn't a simplistic
do this/don't do that
but an identity question that gets into
some deep philosophical territory.
If this review sounds negative,
it's because the good things about the story
are fairly straightforward
while the couple of issues I have
with the presentation just take awhile to talk about.
In that regard, it's very similar in quality to
On Your Marks! and It Isn't the Mane Thing About You.
All things considered, while still a pretty good
episode, I think Marks and Recreation falls
a smidgeon short of the show's overall standard,
earning Iron Armor.
You can find my reviews and articles
at Halfbattle.com as well as on my YouTube channel.
I am Half the Battle, and thanks for watching.
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