YMMV / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S2 E17 "Hearts and Hooves Day"

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• Alternate Aesop Interpretation: "Fully read the instructions before doing anything so you don't do something stupid."
• Broken Base: Depending on who you ask, Cheerilee and Big Mac's lovey-dovey talking is either hilarious or intolerable.
• Die for Our Ship:
  • When the episode was announced, the Big Macintosh x Anymare-(Or Stallion)-But-Cheerilee shippers cried that it was ruined. The episode's ending was left deliberately ambiguous. Mac and Cheerilee could get together, they could stay single, we don't know, and the writers were very careful about doing exactly that. In the end, all this episode really did was add Cheerilee to Mac's list of potential ships. This soon becomes clear that Big Mac and Cheerilee are not perfect for each other, as he begins dating Sugar Belle in Season 7.
  • If anything, by the end, the only ships sunk were those involving Caramel Ho Yay, given that he's seen flirting with a filly. Well, maybe... Straight Caramel shippers (he's been shipped multiple times with Twilight, Applejack, and Bon Bon if you can believe it) on the other hand has bitten the dust.
• Fanfic Fuel: With everything that happens between the two, this episode alone provides numerous potential for Big Macintosh and Cheerilee.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • The last episode, "Read It and Weep," had what looked like a cancer patient in the hospital. In this episode, there is an unexplained funeral.
  • Diamond Tiara's surprise at receiving a gesture of affection carries some depressing implications after seeing how she gets treated at home.
• Ho Yay:
  • Look closely at the opening shot in the classroom, and you'll see that a very surprised Diamond Tiara gets an H&H card from another filly.
  • From the same scene, who Tootsie Flute was going to give her card to is a little more ambiguous but the fact remains its either Truffle Shuffle (the chubby gray colt) or Twist.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • People are associating the stallion who likes jelly with the phrase "U JELLY?", Trollface, and "ME GUSTA".
  • Sweetie Belle's "Oh, come on!" has become a popular reaction meme.
  • Scootaloo sucking a rainbow of its color has become a reaction meme as commentary about companies ditching Pride Month come July 1st.
• Most Wonderful Sound: Sweetie Belle gets an entire song all to herself. Michelle Creber not only does the singing work for Sweetie Belle, but also Apple Bloom's normal talking and singing voice. Scootaloo never sang a word.
• Squick: During the song, the stallion inside the giant jars of jelly. The face he makes is a bit too happy for somebody covered in jelly. Seriously way too happy...
• Tear Jerker: Tootsie Flute finding out her Valentine likes somepony else. Poor little filly.

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