Brotherhooves Social review

Mrs. Doubtpony

These reviews do contain spoilers

So last week, we had an episode involving Applejack and Rarity being called to Manehatten to help Coco Pommel. But wait a minute. What about the Sisterhooves Social? Wasn't that a conflict in last week's episode that didn't get resolve? Well that's where today's episode comes into play. Similar to the season 3 episodes Just for Sidekicks and Games Ponies Play, today's episode plays out during the events of Made in Manehatten. Not only that, but this is an episode that centers on Apple Bloom and Big Mac.

I'm actually surprised it's taken this long for a Big Mac and Apple Bloom episode, or an episode for Big Mac bonding with his family. For the most part, it's always been Applejack bonding with her family. It's nice to see a change of pace and give some much needed development for Big Mac and strengthen the bond between them. What better way to have that then during the events of Made in Manehatten, Big Mac decides to fill in for Applejack?

I am glad that we got to see the Sisterhooves Social again and see more events. The last time we saw the Sisterhooves Social was back in season 2, and all we saw was the final race. There's not much to talk about these events since most of them are similar to the first time we saw them. I was pretty glad to see some new ones added like the pin juggling, the cheerleader like chant, and even a song.

Speaking of songs, we actually have an interesting choice for who's singing; Big Mac and Apple Bloom. Now I've never had a problem with Apple Bloom singing (Though, I think Sweetie is the best singer of the CMC), but Big Mac is actually a surprise. So what are the results of this? Well it should be noted that this song is sung mostly by "Orchard Blossom", AKA Big Mac's female alias, so it's not really him singing unfortunately. It's not a bad duet to be honest, but the song itself is probably one of the weaker songs of the season. It does accomplish what it tries to be, but it's not exactly one of my favorite songs. It's not bad, but it could've been a little better.

The interactions between Big Mac and Apple Bloom are pretty cute. While most of the bonding is between Apple Bloom and "Orchard Blossom", you can tell Big Mac is really giving it his all to try and help out his sister. Apple Bloom herself is fine and all, but I feel that the whole thing about her once looking up to Big Mac could've been better. There's really no indication she once looked up to him except for when Granny Smith mentioned the bug plane in the intro. I wish they built up more of it like Apple Bloom being encouraged to remember what it was like back then. It's a minor gripe for me though.

But the biggest thing everyone will be talking about is the fact Big Mac crossdressing. Personally, I find nothing wrong with it at all. There have been cartoons in the past that have done this whole scenario before. You could actually name half a dozen random cartoons and most, if not all of them. have had a male in female's clothing before. I don't find anything wrong with this and, naturally, this results in some comedy, which is something Dave Polsky is good at pulling.

To be honest, the comedy isn't bad at all. It's obviously relying heavily on Big Mac as a female. While most of the jokes are good and there are some genuine funny moments, some of the jokes feel a little outdated to me. Some of them felt a little outdated like the whole "powder your nose" joke and that it seems Big Mac is trying way too hard at times to be female. It's nothing that kills the episode, but it's just kind of weak.

There's also something about the Sisterhooves Social that confuses me. If there's a "loose definition" as to what counts as a sister and that as long as somepony has a strong bond to another, why is it even called Sisterhooves Social then? I mean Rainbow and Scootaloo, who I am glad got to be together and have some great scenes together, aren't technically sisters by blood, and everypony knew Big Mac was in disguise and let him compete. So why not have this whole thing be renamed then to Family Social or Friendship Social? This whole thing implied it was only for sisters only, but yet allowed brothers and ponies not related by blood to play.

The biggest highlight in this episode though has got to be the ending. For the first time ever, we actually get to hear a very solid heart to heart speech from Big Macintosh. The emotions here are really good and the dialogue used is absolutely perfect. The fact that Big Mac is jealous of Applejack being a hero and now being seen as always the best is a shocker and does open up some doors as to maybe some sibling rivalry between Big Mac and Applejack, or maybe Big Mac saving the day somewhere down the line. The entire scene is perfect and I have no criticisms for it. Hearing Big Mac with that speech, the emotions, and everything was heartwarming and absolutely beautiful. Even if you don't like this episode, you have to admit this scene was perfectly done.

While Brotherhooves Social isn't perfect, this was a strong episode for Apple Bloom and Big Mac, especially for Big Mac. The comedy was pretty solid all around. The interactions with the characters are great. The ending scene is brilliant and one of the best scenes in the entire season. The development for Big Mac is fantastic. It's an all around great episode. While there are some things that I wish were improved and some questionable stuff here and there, it's not enough to make this episode really bad at all.

Next week we have ourselves another interesting episode that has the Cutie Mark Crusaders helping out a long time rival. What exactly is going on with Diamond Tiara? Will there finally be some character development for her? Does she get reformed? We'll look at that next time.

FINAL SCORE: 8.5 out of 10 (B+)