MLP:FiM Season 2 Review #13 - Baby Cakes

Previously on MLP Episode Reviews...

"Still, it stands out a bit among pony episodes for its oddities."

Haha, Jameson, haha. You thought Granny Smith's shenanigans were crazy?

You ain't seen nothing yet.

(Spoilers after the break)



So right off the bat we're introduced to the Cake family's two brand new foals, Pound Cake and Carrot Cake. As an added bonus, we get to have the Cakes' names canonized as well as Cup Cake and Carrot Cake. Pinkie is naturally overjoyed at all of this because she's Pinkie Pie.

So far so good. Skip forward a month and the babies are... surprisingly mobile, actually. Babies don't really get that mobile in a month do they? Whatever, they're ponies, they don't need such fickle things as logic.

Also I'm pleased to note that the model for foals seems less creepy than the foal we saw briefly in Mare Do Well. I don't know what they changed, if anything (and I don't care to go and do a comparison at the moment) but the two baby Cakes lean much farther "cute" than "creepy". Which is good, since it's basically their episode.

It's quickly established that Pinkie doesn't know the first thing about babies besides playing with them, and then the Cakes realize that they have a big order of some sort that they have to fill and they need a babysitter right now. They intelligently attempt to ignore Pinkies insistence that she babysit and go to ask every single other member of the Mane Six.

Somewhat less intelligently, that includes Rainbow Dash. Who they ask before Rarity. Does this seem odd to anypony else? I mean, granted, Rarity didn't even give them the time of day, but Rainbow Dash babysitting seems like approximately the worst idea ever. Possibly worse than Pinkie Pie babysitting.

So anyway, Pinkie gets the job because everypony else is busy and we head on our way to a relatively typical, if completely ridiculous, episode all about the main character dealing with babies. You've no-doubt seen this type before if you've watched a cartoon, and this sticks mostly to the formula... for a while.

It does start to get pretty formulaic for a while, though. Pinkie's eccentricities make it not as bad as it could be, but stuff doesn't really pick up until Twilight shows up.

Twilight offers to assist Pinkie in quite possibly the least tactful manner possible and reinforces part of the episode's moral of not biting off more than they can chew. It's not tackled a whole lot, but it's there a bit due to this scene and the report at the end. It also allows for a brief break between the crazy and the insane.

The rest of the episode proceeds roughly how your typical baby-daycare episode goes, except with some distinct twists. I won't go into too many details for fear of completely spoiling the episode and just summarizing things, but stuff gets crazy.

So really... it's pretty typical, just with pony-related shenanigans. The episode is very clearly one based primarily on laughs and moments that are completely over-the-top. Which, I suppose, is what Pinkie Pie episodes are all about!

And as ridiculous as this episode gets, and as much as I honestly wish it hadn't gotten quite as ridiculous as it did because, frankly, it's hard to explain logically and I think that only Pinkie should be able to break rules like that, it's all made somewhat better in the re-watch for one single reason: it's foreshadowed. Seriously. And that's awesome.

I'll give Baby Cakes a

6.5/10

Pros:
-Pretty darn funny most of the way through
-The horror-style sequence is brilliant and a great twist on the formula
-The Cakes. Just the Cakes.

Cons:
-Is completely ridiculous
-Totally godmodding foals

---

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that unicorn and pegasi foals are absolutely terrifying. Especially the former. Based on this experience, I must conclude that Earth pony foals are equally terrifying in some way. Can they summon enough strength to plow through walls unscathed?

Also, I find it odd that, if foals learn flying and magic so quickly and easily when they're only a month old, why do they have to relearn it later in life? This is a vital question that must be answered.

But most importantly, if a normal unicorn foal can hover itself and phase through walls, what did Twilight do? Given her particular ability with magic, did she just level half of Canterlot?

Your faithful (if somewhat concerned) student,
Lavender Print

P.S. - Pumpkin Cake may be pony Jesus