Monday, July 31, 2017

GoT S7E03: "The Queen's Justice"

Well, shut my mouth and call me a bitch. If I thought last week was insane...well, we were in no way prepared for this. My, how quickly the tide doth turn. Clearly they're tilting things in Cersei's favor because Dany needed to get knocked down a peg or two; she was becoming overconfident while the odds were stacked so strongly in hers. BUT THIS WAS TOO MUCH, GUYS. ;_; Somehow we've got to turn things back around. But we'll get to that at the end, with the previews...

Okay, so first of all--they had the courtesy to open with Jon arriving at Dragonstone! Bless them (you think at first!) Fire and ice are meeting at last, thanks to our girl Melisandre--who's been quite helpful in an apparent effort to redeem herself somewhat. ("The hot and the cold are both so intense; put 'em together, it just makes sense!") Jon and Tyrion make you think they're gonna come at each other like, "'Sup bro?!" and hug on the beach. Tyrion and Davos acknowledge Blackwater, more than once. Missandei is...not very chatty, we see, as Davos tries to be friendly with her. "I didn't ask!" Jon tells Tyrion as he hears anyway that no, the dwarf did not in fact consummate his sham marriage to Jon's sister...who's "starting to let on" to how much smarter she's gotten. Okay, there is SO much awesome dialog in this one, particularly from Tyrion. And Daenerys. I'll get back to the 'Varysandre' discussion later because dude, THAT was some ominous kinda shit.

"You stand in the presence of..." Missandei rattles off Dany's dozen or so names and titles. Then it's like, "...And this is Jon Snow. A guy. Oh yeah, he's been named King in the North..." Aiight, so Jon refused to bend the knee, which is a little bit surprising because you'd figure he would go with Tyr's reasoning--do that real quick, who cares, there's no time to spare, just get to convincing her camp that the Army of the Dead is THE biggest threat to everyone in Westeros. Both of them made quite reasonable, logical, and fair cases, and I think surprised each other in that sense. Neither is trying to deal with another crazy person here. BUT, the whole "ice zombie" thing IS admittedly difficult to believe without evidence. You need a camera, Jon Snow.

I was so, "You go giirrrlll!" with Dany's "faith in myself" speech. Now, I suppose Jon shot Davos that "Shut up" look because there's no way these people will take them seriously if they claim that he was resurrected, despite the fact that he was. "All right, seriously, what kind of fool do you take me for?" ("I don't know, what kind are you?") And/or, they won't trust a formerly dead man? Mel hadn't mentioned that about him either. Well, that little secret will surely come out at some point...just like the "Omg I'm your nephew" one. Speaking of which, thank goodness they didn't start giving us shipping fuel, or have them instantly fall for each other and get banging. Only one I'd really ship with Daenerys now is Jorah, honestly. (As for Jon? I frankly don't have a great choice for him, currently.)

So, then. SHIT. News arrives. Varys comes a-runnin' to deliver it. The first step went terribly wrong. Big probs, guys, big probs!
THEON! Ya gotta save Yara somehow, man. Your uncle's dragging her around like a dog.

Euron, you are a supreme twat. With mad swag. Truly, the most swag we've seen from anyone on this show, I think. Also--you're a disgusting pig. Euron "Finger in the Bum" Greyjoy. x_x Just, omf. And his disappointed look when Cersei still won't marry him yet. Good points, though, about how all these cheering dolts pretty much do simply enjoy severed heads...they'll cheer whoever seems to be winning, spit at the losers.
Who's in charge of Dorne now? Will they remain Dany's allies with Ellaria & the Sand Snakes eliminated? =\ Cersei's having her payback for poor Myrcella, yet...still...Ellaria and Tyene...that's pretty horrible too...urk. Cersei dreams of ways to kill her enemies--well of course you do. Monstrous Mad Queen. Wouldn't be shocked if you dream of torturing people just for the hell of it. ;p Gee, I wonder which child was YOUR favorite. (Bit more on that later.) Also, "Ser Gregor?" Let's call "it" by its proper name of Ser Robert Strong now, 'kay? But I get it; telling the Dornish ladies that Oberyn's killer is still around makes more of an impact than admitting that he's, well, whatever he now is. And then, LULS! Cersei is beyond giving a shit about people seeing her in her jammies with her brother naked in bed. It's just like whatever. x_x

Oh yeah, lemme go back to the Varys/Melisandre thing. I THOUGHT he'd approach her about the still-open mystery of what he heard in the flames. Seems like that's gonna be significant. But really, he was questioning why she was hiding up there, watching the arrival of the guy she'd begged them to invite. Reasonable. She says she made mistakes, terrible mistakes...so now that she's tried to do what she could to make things right by setting Dany & Jon on this path, she intends to head to Volantis (for a very important purpose, no doubt.) She thinks that by continuing to stick around here, she could only be in the way of what needs to be happening right now, which J&D have to work out themselves. The show has been drawing attention to the similarities between these two, and now it's evident that they have some kind of connection. Expressing sudden concern for her safety, Varys advises her against returning to Westeros, but she tells him that she will have to--because she has to die here, and so does he. Which leaves him (and me) shook. Does this mean they're both gonna die in the show? ;n; (In some significant way, I hope?) Dammit, Mel, 'splain! And Varys, we need to know what the hell you heard. That must be related to this scene.

I kinda wanted them to become, like, friendly. Varys has a totally understandable bias against practitioners of magic. But now...well, we'll just have to see where this whole thing goes, because obviously something's going on there. (Liked some of the ways they addressed each other, though. "Dear Spider," "my lady," "I didn't take you for a bashful girl." And how Varys always bows to express agreement or consent.)

Onward to our second cliff chat, between our two brooding boiz (to be fair, Tyrion, Jon practices the brood almost constantly. He's the master. He's made an art of it. Nobody can out-brood Jon Snow.) Be interesting if you swapped problems and had Jon take on Cersei while Tyrion reckons with the Night King, but man...there's just so MUCH to take on. Two pressing wars at once. And oh, right, the dragonglass! Easily getting permission and aid to mine it--first good thing to come out of this miserable episode.
"Are you trying to present your own words as ancient wisdom?" "I'd never do that...to you..." XD O wise Imp. He is so, so good at talking. But Jon doesn't enjoy what he's good at (brooding! Having resting sadface! And yes, leading, though he never actually wanted to.) Does Tyrion represent water, flowing and mediating between the ice and fire?
"Talk to the hand!" "I talk to my hand all the time." *hand pops up with googly eyes and lipstick* "I'm Jennifer Lopez! Si, I like tacoooos!"

Jumping up to bossy, sarcastic, decisive Sansa, apparently doing a pretty good joj taking care of Winterfell and preparing for this longass season. (Would that the actual season of the show were long. Alas, it's the first to have a mere seven eps instead of ten! Augh!) Anyway. Hmm. That bit of advice from Littlefinger was...actually good? Intriguing insight into how his mind operates, I suppose. We expected, y'know, more immediately subversive kinds of whispers to Sansa. But basically he said to never stop thinking multiple steps ahead, consider every possibility, every contingency, and act as if all potential timelines are currently happening...so that you can't be taken by surprise. In other words, don't suffer from a failure of imagination! 8{ Ofc, Tinydigit's plans probably involve grooming her into a female version of himself, so. Yeah. -_- THEN comes a miniature Stark reunion. Meera seems not to get so much as a thank-you for dragging the 3-eyed raven all this freaking way. Sansa is creeped out by her bro's confusing new identity, and he needs to hone his sight so it can be of more use. (And, y'know, not fuck things up.)

Second great thing to happen this ep? Sam's cure worked on Jorah! I knew it would. So he's heading back to his Khaleesi, naturally. Nice lie, too. You just suddenly started feeling better and the greyscale disappeared, huh? Yup, must be the climate! ;) And Sam's like, "P'shaw, it was nothin'." I'll bet right now that your paths'll cross again. Best part, though, was Sam's explanation: "I read the book, and followed the instructions."
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Oh, and you wore gloves. Duhurr. 8-O *0* This guy's a maester prodigy--and his reward is a) no expulsion [yay?] b) praise from the archmaester c) copying all these old rotting manuscripts and scrolls. That have paper mites (and hopefully some valuable info?) in 'em. May need those gloves again?? Oyyy...

Finally we get to the battles. The Unsullied take Casterly Rock thanks to Tyrion's brilliant sewer route, BUT it turns out that most of the Lannister army is actually off defeating the Tyrells. (DAMN YOU TO HELL, RANDYLL FUCKING TARLY!! And damn you too, Jaime. "High-may," as my phone pronounces your name for some weird reason. Why must you look so majestic riding that pretty white horse of yours? Also, I wanna be a stableperson/horse-caretaker/breeder in Westeros. Looks like it could be a pretty in-demand, pleasant job. 'Til the poor horsies die in the battles of stupidass humans, that is...) So Highgarden is theirs and Olenna is to be executed. OLENNA! ;__; My hero. Thankfully Jaime wasn't an ass to her, and didn't use the same poison she'd used on Joffrey. Boy, will Cersei be pissed that he talked her out of the more brutal executions when (if? probably when) she learns that WASN'T Tyrion's doing. But yeah, Joff *was* a complete cunt (the only kid who took after his mum, so definitely her fave, right?) "You must be very wise by now." That's our Olenna--witty and badass to the bitter end. Cersei IS a disease, Jaime...and may you, or Arya, or SOMEONE on the good side be the end of HER.

So, looking ahead to next ep...*Ron Weasley voice* "Can we panic now?"
My my my, how things change. One minute Dany is all, "Pfffft. Did you not see three dragons flying around outside? And the Dothraki? You think I need YOUR help?!" Now it's: "Fuck. All my allies are gone. I'm losing." *initiate begging mode* Bet she's going to have to agree to help Jon so he'll help her. Yaaassss, the master plan, she is coming together. *taps fingertips together in eeeexcellent fashion* From the preview (slowed to 0.25-speed on YouTube), it seems as though that's exactly what will happen. She had to be placed in a desperate position to make this alliance occur, so that she would admit, "You were right! I'm sorry. We do need each other."

Plus...well, so many questions from the preview. "Who's that? What's that? Who's that? Who be doin' what now?!" Go, Theon! (Maybe?) Go, Brienne--who or what is she swinging her sword down on?! :0 Littlefinger--ugh, you can't be up to any good, eh? I swear, he'd better bite it by the end. Him, and all of Team Cersei save for Jaime. OH NO, IS THAT--well, nm. Just have to wait and see. x__x
So lesson learned--do NOT be cocky, Dany. That's what got Oberyn's head smashed in. Leave it for Cersei. At the same time, maybe it'll be wise to heed Olenna's advice to "be a dragon," since these initial "clever plans" were out-clevered. (Still honestly amazing that Yara & Theon didn't anticipate a potential attack by Euron, though. Yara & Ellaria were too busy with another sort of invasion below deck, ehHEH.) Dammit, we need to give the Iron Bank reason to invest in you over Cersei!!

There are always a few key people who just can't fit into each episode; this time it was Arya (still presumably heading north to add another Stark to the reunion) and the Hound (with Beric & Thoros.) I look forwad to seeing how they'll figure into this, too. Tormund and the wildlings we'll see again eventually, and Brienne will obviously do something important next week.

P.S. "Give me ten good men, and I'll impregnate the bitch." The taking of Casterly Rock had me soooo pumped and cheering until we realized what Euron and Jaime had done.
P.P.S. Still no sign of Gendry. But, Hot Pie for King!! Someone who takes the time to brown the butter is def monarch material, yo. You win, AND you bake pies.
P.P.P.S. I need a GoT musical *Patrick Star voice* really, really badly. And a THG crossover: "The Hunger Game of Thrones."

Monday, July 24, 2017

BE A DRAGON.

HOLY FUCK WHAT JUST HAPPENED OH MY GODS AND GODDESSES. Just gotta spill my immediate reactions after watchin' S7E02.

Varys is all, "I CHOOSE YOU, FIRE/DRAGON-TYPE POKEMON!" *throws Pokeball* (He was the Flying-type gym leader of Westeros with all those little birds & has some Bug-types as well, but he's branching out. XD) I feel like Dany should've had that little discussion out with him much earlier? But, it was a fair enough exchange, I suppose. Just seemed an odd time to round on him like that; by this point I'd figured he would've already made such a promise to her and that she fully trusted him. That he'll be gauging her effectiveness, but be up-front about it rather than going behind her back against her if he stops liking how she's doing. But, anyways. Good to see it. Any ruler needs to be kept in check and remember that their job is to serve their people. And I mean, so far he hasn't betrayed or deserted anyone who didn't deserve it. (She got all dem eunuchs on her side, yo. xD) I love his for-the-people, no-blind-allegiance position. Sensed sincerity from him since the first season. I mean, poor guy was willing to die if she didn't accept his promise. (And you hadn't even thanked him for Dorne and Highgarden yet?! Honestly, girl.)

Mel-Mel's back! Aka, Little Red Riding Hood. Knew it. (And we can see where all this is going...the prince and the princess, the three heads of the dragon, the R+L=J that I suspect may be saved for the season finale...? It was like, "Talk to this dude, he literally freakin' died and I brought him back to life! But no, no, I fucked up massively with Stannis-Not-the-Mannis and am gonna be hella careful from now on...let him tell you...") Hooo, BOI. Go, Jon, go. Join them. (And please don't let things be shaping up largely according to my hopeful vision, only to fall tf apart...)

Leavin' Sansa in charge...hmm, she kinda likes that. Shut her right up. B-| (Again they're teasing this "Will Sansa get too much of a taste for power??") But ol' Slimyfingers better heed Jon's warning (fat chance)...how much ya wanna bet he's gonna try and pull some shit while he's away? Somebody'll have to take care of him (Arya? Brienne? And/or, hopefully Sansa will ultimately put one over on him, whether or not she pretends to go along with him or actually does for a time...)
Doubt Davos will be real happy to see Mel again, but guys, you're all on the same side here. The "boo-boo" with Stannis sacrificing little Shireen and others is fucked-up and hard to get past, I know it. Dangerous things indeed, prophecies. But y'know, I did appreciate Varys' little "touché, fair enough" bow when Dany pointed out that she's willing to forgive those who once made big mistakes and served the wrong people. (Especially if they had really shite pasts, apparently. And are still genuinely trying to help, in their own very different ways, to ultimately bring about the greatest good for the greatest number in the realm and also save it from complete and utter devastation.)

And okay, here's one thing I like about Randyll Tarly: his loyalty to Olenna & her House. He may be a totally shitty father, but at least he does appear to have a good sense of loyalty and honor.
But SAM, I HEART YOU. ;w; Bravely trying to save Jorah, peeling that nastyass greyscale off (omg, beyond disgusting, I would've been scraping that shit off as fast as it could form...chronic scab-scratcher here. That was hella satisfying to see Sam remove.) Aaaaand, then another grossness-to-food transition. xD

*ahem* We got dat hot Grey WormxMissandei action goin' on here, yeah booooooiii. {:'-] Really sweet, romantic scene.
PLUS...can we now have Arya/Hot Pie shippage? xD (For the gods' sakes, though, HP, give her a napkin, will ya?)
Change of plans there! Go kill Cersei now, vs. go home to Winterfell. Nice choice, Arya. Cersei gonna get it either way. >:| (Hopefully it'll still be you who gets the honor.) And then Nymeria--she belongs in the wild now with her own pack, but...doesn't mean that's the last time we'll see her, eh? ;) Go rejoin your pack, Arya. :'3 Through that steely, single-minded, must-go-get-Cersei determination broke the young girl who just misses her family and wants to reunite with them. *cue Daughtry's "Home* (Guessing we'll see Bran next week again too.)
"NOW this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,
And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."
~The Jungle Book 

OH YEAH HOLY SHIT DESTROY THE GIANT CROSSBOW DUDES. >8@  /B-|

Yara/Ellaria, whoooa...! Saw that coming. Yarallaria, lol. I guess a certain other Greyjoy doesn't care too much for lesbionic shenanigans. Oh, yeah, forgot about the psycho one being out for you, huh?!? 8-O  D-x Guess he's got his "gifts" for Cersei...shit gaiz (ze missiles are coming, fire our shit! 'But I am le tired...') Also, I probably wouldn't give myself away by screaming before attacking. ><
You're on, Euron. Hopefully on fire soon. x-}

So, I love the teams now led by Dany and by Jon, which obviously have to merge. (Baelish can choke, though. We're grateful af to the knights of the Vale but don't trust you, man. You the kinda bitch don't do nothin' outta the 'goodness' of yer heart; gotta be somethin' in it for you...)

Now to rewatch, just picturing everyone in their "Game of Pones" pony forms. /)^3^(\

P.S. Gendry, dafuq are you, man? xD #foreverrowing

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Favorite 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' Episodes+'Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction' stories!

(Acknowledging that I love or at least like most of them. The ordering is...rough, very rough. I don't think it's possible for it to be wholly solid and unchanging.)

For AYAotD?, I wanted to give the somewhat underappreciated Seasons 6 & 7 some presence, so I just let them have the last (un)lucky 13...rather than try and decide on further ones from brilliant S1-5, which got to be difficult af.

The Tale of (the):

1. Dead Man's Float
2. Apartment 214
3. Locker 22
4. Jagged Sign
5. Dream Girl
6. Old Man Corcoran
7. Curious Camera
8. Shiny Red Bicycle
9. Laughing in the Dark
10. C7
11. Room For Rent
12. Dollmaker
13. Badge
14. Silent Servant
15. Dark Music
16. Quicksilver
17. Prom Queen
18. Super Specs
19. Lonely Ghost
20. Crimson Clown
21. Chameleons
22. Captured Souls
23. Renegade Virus
24. Watcher's Woods
25. Unfinished Painting
26. Vacant Lot
27. Carved Stone
28. Whispering Walls
29. Frozen Ghost
30. Thirteenth Floor
31. Station 109.1
32. A Door Unlocked
33. Full Moon
34. Hungry Hounds
35. Unexpected Visitor
36. Prisoners Past
37. Silver Sight
~*~*
38. Virtual Pets
39. Night Nurse
40. Lunar Locusts
41. Highway 13
42. Forever Game
43. Many Faces
44. Reanimator
45. Time Trap
46. Oblivion
47. Zombie Dice
48. Last Dance
49. Secret Admirer
50. Bigfoot Ridge

An Honorable Mention or two, or three? Phantom Cab...The Dangerous Soup...Twisted Claw...The Hatching...Dark Dragon? Eh? Better stop now? Yeah... 

Likely least faves: Final Wish, Manaha, Long-Ago Locket, Closet Keepers, Phone Police, Pinball Wizard, Train Magic, Midnight Ride, Fire Ghost, Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Misfortune Cookie, Laser Maze, Jake the Snake, Walking Shadow, Stone Maiden

And favorite Beyond Belief stories (168 out of 225...again, pretty much adore every single one! ;-p)...

Town of Remembrance
House of Shadows
Cup of Joe
The Gathering
Halloween
The Grave
The Gravedigger's Nemesis
Dead Friday
The Mystery of Douglas Hibbard
Room 245
The Mandarin's Bowl
The Land
The Getaway
The Subway
Bright Lights
The Ice Box
The Bucket
One For the Road
The Diner
Precious
The Doll
The Caller
Last Rites
Hot Car
Phantom Drifter
Get Your Kicks at Motel 66
Trucker
Epitaph
The House on Barry Avenue
Merry-Go-Round
Red-Eyed Creature
The Wall
The Hand
The Chalkboard
The Apparition
Creepy Comics
Teasdale's Motor Car
The Witness
Grave Sitting
The Prophecy
Dream House
Malibu Cop
Murder on the Second Floor
The Card Game
Graffiti
Who Was I
When I Was Big
They Towed My Car
The Hooded Chair
Cook Out
Secret of the Family Tomb
The Motorcycle
The Wailing
The Horn
The Chess Game
The Mirror of Truth
Mail Order Degree
Kid in the Closet
Terror Night
Second Sight
The Phrenologist's Head
The Murder of Roy Hennessey
Witness to Murder
Tants
Connie
The Bloody Hand
Hubert's Curse
The Find
The Girl Next Door
Ring Toss
The Warning
Wax Executioner
Surveillance Camera
The Prescription
The Sewing Machine
The Cake
Mystery Lock
The Gift
Wheezer
The Viewing
Number One With a Bullet
On the Road
The Scoop
The Wrong Turn
Screwdriver
Writer's Agent
The Sleepwalker
Mysterious Strangers
You Are Next
Anatole
The Landlady
Count Mystery
For the Record
A Joyful Noise
Bon Voyage
The Nightmare
Seven Hours of Bad Luck
Crypt Ghost
The Battered Doll
Bad Dreams
Blood Donor
Blind Man's Dog
The Lady in a Black Dress
Imaginary Friend
The Wealthy Widow
The Golden Cue
Two Sisters
The Greedy Investor
The Curse of Hampton Manor
The Man in the Model T
Buenos Dias
Stitches in Time
Mental
The Cigar Box
Roulette Wheel
The Flower Jury
Money Laundry
Used Car Salesman
The Music Box
Angel on Board
Ghost Town
Rock & Roll Ears
The Escape
The Wallet
Where Have All the Heroes Gone
Aspen Sunny Side
Moonstruck Beach
The Vision
Dust
The Secret of the Coins
The Perfect Record
The Pass
The Woods
Titan
Night Walker
The Old Bike
The Impossible Car Dream
One Hand in the Till
The Music Teacher
The Wreath
Gratuity
The Magic Rose Garden
The Vigil
The Devil's Autograph
War Surplus
Bus Stop
Couch Potato
The Bridge
Healing Hands
The News Stand
The Mentor
Eclipse
Ghost Visitor
Voice From the Grave
The FBI Story
The Dorm
The Dealer
The New House
The Candidate
The Ring
The Handyman
Above the Clouds
Deadbeat Daddy
Sit-Down Comedian
Damsel
The Stalker
Shared Vision
Devil's Tattoo

 *~*~*
And on this beautiful 600+-pin board, I pinned all the Baby-Sitters Club, Goosebumps, & Boxcar Children books (plus other amazingness) with favorites toward the bottom of each section (because they were added first.) The BSC ones were added by series or sub-series, with the main-series books divided by sitter, and those ALSO in favorites-order (thus, Mallory's are all the way at the bottom because she's the best! ;D Only one great Stacey one was accidentally deleted & is now at the top of the board.) The Goosebumps ones be visible here. Maybe a few I should've pinned earlier (lower), but ah well. * Boxcar * BSC Little Sister * BSC (that grid and the 'yearbook pages,' etc., are also on the pinboard)
 
{  }  {  }
^ also me @ bocpodcast, pokemon, cartoonnetwork, disney/pixar/nick ones, originalfunko, etc.....etc. etc. etc. 
^^ also comments here from MAR 1 2020 @ 7:01 AM, MAR 7 2020 @ 1:08 AM, MAR 30 2020 @ 4:28 AM (mostly Rainbow Rangers lol) 

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Ranking the first half of MLP:FiM (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) Season 7!

1. Rock-Solid Friendship - Oh my god. My love for Maud is boundless. Only issue with this ep is that it needs a lot more Limestone. And Marble. Outside of Pinkie herself, those two are my favorite Pies. (Though I love the whole family...Cloudy Quartz & Igneous Rock are great. But oh, man, do I feel Limestone on a spiritual level. Maud, too.) I'm suuuuper-delighted that Maud now lives in Ponyville adjacent and is Starlight's latest new friend! Hopefully this means we're in for more Pie sister shenanigans (and I mean all four of 'em!)

2. The Perfect Pear - I'll just paste my YT comments about this one below.

3. Honest Apple - Stuff I adored: Inky Rose. 'Nother new fave! I'm all about her "Wednesday Addams" look. Excellent usage of buttons, spiderwebs, and black...8-D Also really like Lily Lace ("lit'rally" the Valley Girl one--but a cool, relatively smart VG?), and Starstreak. The fashion contest was rather brilliant. They pretty much brought their A-games. Inky's and Starstreak's creations are my favorites; I want them. Now. My style. Very. (Although, Inky was designing for stallions; maybe the spider-cutie-marked model's her bf? Or just f?)
Unsurprising, who voted for whom.
Starstreak's model's hair. (Actually Lily's as well.) Hoity-Toity and Photo Finish (who needs a fainting couch of her own! They both need to switch to untinted glasses so they can tell when belts are identical, though.) Rarity shredding on Pinkie's guitar; sick! Her asking "Is anything okay?" No, Rarity. Nothing is okay. Not one single solitary little thing. Strawberry Sunrise--ROFLMFAO. You never know when a random-ass blind-bag pony will appear as an actual named show character, and boy, can they surprise you. Never would've expected that to be her cameo, but I love it. Like oohhh, snap. Shots fired. xD
AJ's "Oh, whoops" moment was sorta priceless, too. Very well-done by both.
Gawd, she turned so mean on everypony--you'd think she'd get it by now that they're not designing things for working the fields/orchards. -_- AJ, I love ya, but you've helped with and worn and liked "girly," high-fashion shit before. Prioritizing function over fashion is great usually, but once again we just have somepony "getting carried away" and acting a little too extreme/unreasonable/jerkish so a lesson can be learned. Appreciate it, AJ...they did do a pretty wonderful joj. All in all, a good time. Nice ending. All three do deserve a boutique showcase. Bet that other goth-pone ('Moonlight Raven?') will be back to check out Inky Rose's items. And that they'd both love Maud.

4. A Royal Problem - Things I loved: The dignitaries (especially that pretty yellow/orange-haired one!) The hilarity of Luna, who evidently eats the outsides of pineapples. O_o Celestia's fruity pancake faces! 'Specially the pineapple/peach ones. 6: Twilight, still as insane as ever. <3 (But quit idolizing your fellow royals already, girl. Geez.) The reveal of Daybreaker was pretty epic, even if the battle wasn't precisely "real" (yet)...looked like a Fire-type vs. a Dark-type, hah. "Shadowball!" Terrific episode for both sisters! This one feels inspired by the Celestia-vs-Luna comic. In fact, there's a lot of match-up between the subject matter of recent issues and S7 episodes.
(Hey, Cellie, talking to oneself is behavior typical of the highly intelligent. ;) No wonder I do it so much. ;D Also, you don't throw away a beautiful plate of pancakes just because one pony doesn't want them right now! :O It was nice to get (very) quick glimpses of some Canterlot ponies and whatnot; I spotted a couple with red curls...;) In the castle staff and at the flower show. Luna's creepy teeth-falling-out nightmare, with the foals taunting her about her fake smiles, and the attitude Celestia uses to deal with ponies even when she's exhausted made me think of Effie. ;3;

5. Parental Glideance - Yaayy, my two fave ponies' parents are FINALLY met this season!! So Scoots' slingshot actually friggin' works and just HAPPENS to land at the hooves of..."Bow Hothoof?" I'm not understanding this name. Is it supposed to be some kind of pun/reference? Thought maybe it'd be spelled Beau, but...whatever. I love Windy Whistles! Her 80s look is RAD! Nice hair colors too. Of course, I'm disappointed they didn't make Firefly Dash's mum, but let's officially agree that she is her grandmother! Loved their house, Dash's favorite sammich, the amazing Pegasus-wing dexterity on display throughout the episode (too bad Lyra isn't one, they make better hands than hooves do), and the turtle poster ("When the going gets tough, the tough don't notice because they have hard shells!") And the fact that Rainbow's dad lit'rally tore off his shirt and threw it onto a random filly's face. XD There was some great writing and voice-acting going on in this one, truly. I must say, I am Dash...for better or worse, lol. "I'm AWEsome!" And I can't really blame her for the outburst?? I mean, guys. Really. Come on. There need to be limits, eh? It was a sweet ep, though, with the Dashaloo and family bonding. Windy & Bow certainly did make Dash who she is.

6. Hard to Say Anything - Got ourselves a canon Big Mac relationship! (A legitimate one!) Nice musical sequence. Great ending (with the title's fulfillment); Feather Bangs may be the town's Gaston/Bieber blend, but he's actually far less repellent than either of those. xD Now, who will HIS lucky "bimbette" be? Personally I might go with the one with the Flitter/Cloudchaser/Stormwalker-esque color scheme. Or perhaps the light-green/yellow...

7. All Bottled Up - Love Starlight. Her friendship with Trixie is great. Now, we've just gotta get her OTHER friend Sunset into the ACTUAL show (those latest EG shorts were fun, but c'mooooonnn. It's still kind of annoying that we had to get this whole weird pony-human dimension just to sell humanoid dolls as well as ponies. Like, if you wanted to do their human forms, fine, but why couldn't it have been realistic humans with human names and stuff...? Idk. I like EG, but we could just as easily do without it.)

8. Forever Filly - At first I was afraid Sweetie Belle was going to take on that insufferable "I'm grown-up and hate all that stupid baby stuff now" attitude. But actually, you sympathized more with her. It was quite obvious that she wanted to be helping Zipporwhill. Rarity was seriously oblivious. How RUDE is it to show up unannounced and assume that someone, even a child, is free to just drop whatever they were intending to do next to spend the whole day with you?! Anyway. No matter your age, you can still enjoy balloon animals and silly dressup and puppet shows and larger portions of your childhood-favorite ice cream flavor. Just, under better circumstances...?! The ending made it clear that neither is "too old" to goof off (messily) with her sister in public. xD Best part of the ep? RIPLEY! Omg, what a cutie. ;; That little terrier mix looks pretty much the way I picture Haribo/Harrybo (my Gummi Pup Sweet-Scented Pillow Pet who is too perfect for this undeserving world) to look in regular-dog (that is, non-dog/pillow-hybrid) form. Also, Sassy Saddles! Kept expecting the episode to cut back to her wishing for Rarity's return, but that would've been pretty cliche. Hope to continue seeing her. Also look forward to seeing the CMC grow physically (Twist is already taller, leaner, more svelte and sexy than the other fillies. She gon' be a bombshell. ;)

9. Not Asking For Trouble - "Pink pony better check self before wreck self!"

10. Discordant Harmony - Pinkie's advice was good; Disco (Cordy?) just went about it wrong. Now that they're besties, being himself does make Flutters comfy. ^^

11. Celestial Advice

12. Fluttershy Leans In - I kept waiting for the specialist ponies to see their errors and admit that they just hadn't been grasping Flutters' vision. The ending felt a bit rushed.

13. A Flurry of Emotions - This and "Celestial Advice" were fine. They just didn't do as much for me as the others.

*TPP: 🍐 Wow. What a great episode...finally, the story of their parents...*sniff* *tear-flick*  "Bright Mac, Bright Mac--wherefore art thou Bright Mac?!"

I mean, of course I still wanna know how they died, but I figured we wouldn't learn that. Least not yet. But that was so romantic. ;3; Pear's song is beautiful. And she was really pretty (Granny Smith too, though I maintain her name should have been Annie Smith before she became a grandma. That would've been a clever apple name pun.) Speaking of which, Grand-Pear of course sounds like the French word for grandfather, only...what a weird name to give a colt? xD 

I guess...they're still Apples to the core, but pears as well. 

I also really liked Burnt Oak. 
But "Chiffon Swirl" sure sounds like a baker-type name to me, Mrs. Cake. ;p Pretty one, too. (I liked how she was all, "Oh I see you're 'busy...'" *wink-nudge* LOL) 
Plus, Mayor Mare didn't always have white hair. xD Oh, and Applebloom sure took after her dad, physically. :D

NEW Favorite Characters: 1) Inky Rose 2) Lily Lace 3) Starstreak 4) Pear Butter 5) Windy Whistles 6) Bright Mac 7) Bow Hothoof 8) Strawberry Sunrise // 9) Coconut Cream (pastel filly, not blind-bag mare; maybe her relative?)

And now to look forward to the resumption of the season...er, sometime or other...as well as GAME OF PONES' return two days before me birfdee, eeeeeee......!!!! x~3 #GameOfPones #MyLittleThrony What a month. *w* Apparently the next pony ep features the return of Coloratura, so YAAYYY (lots of new faves getting introduced or coming back, I love it! Let's have more Treehugger & everypony else in that pic!!)

EDIT! Best new characters from remainder of Season 7:

Mistmane
Somnambula
Rockhoof
Flash Magnus
Mage Meadowbrook
Stygian
Pharynx

From the movie: I like all of the main new characters, but particularly Skystar (& the other seaponies/hippogriffs), and then Tempest Shadow.
Been tracking all the favorite comic ones in here.

FAVE Equestria Girls:

Sunset Shimmer
Adagio
Aria
Lemon Zest
Sugarcoat
Sour-Sweet
Principal Cinch
Gloriosa Daisy
Timber Spruce
Juniper Montage
(also like Sonata, Sunny Flare, Indigo Zap, etc.)

https://www.pinterest.com/tequilamocknjay/my-pony-pals/