YMMV / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S8 E7 "Horse Play"

• Accidental Aesop:
  • If somebody with no acting experience expresses interest in taking part in a play, you shouldn't put them in the lead role even if they are playing themselves. Give them a part that they can handle so that they aren't under so much pressure.
  • Nepotism is not a wise method for hiring people for jobs. Pick someone that can actually do what you ask of them.
  • Don't worry about what you're not good at, there are other things you are good at, and you're good at doing them for a reason.
• Alternate Character Interpretation: Celestia's Bad "Bad Acting" starts out rather severe and gets progressively worse with coaching, but she understands her acting lessons well enough to relay them to the Mane Six, and after the play she delivers a convincing performance just to punk Twilight and her friends. Was she really terrible at acting, or was she playing The Gadfly the whole time? With the exception of her disappointment in Twilight's failure in Brutal Honesty, she appears to thoroughly enjoy herself at everypony else's expense.
• Broken Base:
  • Fans are split on the idea that Princess Celestia can’t act. Some find it hard to accept considering she’s a princess, therefore it’s her job to put on a good face even during the toughest of conditions. Other don’t mind the idea, justifying it by claiming that dealing with royal duties and conflicts isn’t the same as acting in a stage play.
  • Celestia’s outburst towards Twilight and her attempts to ignore her after finding out she’s hid her feelings towards her Bad "Bad Acting" has also been proven to be rather controversial. Were her actions justifiable as she felt betrayed that her most faithful protege wasn’t being honest and upfront with her, or was she acting unreasonably petty and immature for one of the ruler of Equestria?
• Fanfic Fuel:
  • The era where the alicorn siblings ruled Equestria for around 111 years before the Nightmare Moon incident.
  • The idea that Fleur-de-Lis or Fancy Pants have connections to royalty has already appeared in a few fanfics, but Fleur talking with Princess Luna ahead of the play has only served to add more fuel to the idea.
• Genius Bonus: Raspberry Beret's next line after improv is brought up begins with "Yes, and...", the number one rule of the craft.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Celestia's false declaration of retirement suddenly takes on a whole new meaning in the Season 9 premiere...
• Most Wonderful Sound: Princess Celestia giggling with joy at the idea of a play honoring the first time she raised the sun.
• One-Scene Wonder: Trixie is responsible for one of the best visual gags of the episode, despite not even appearing in person.
• Tainted by the Preview: The episode summary of Celestia not being able to put on a performance despite being the public leader of the country who's had to handle some pretty hard times with grace put off some fans.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: The Young Six are relegated to a non-speaking cameo throughout the episode. You can switch them with normal ponies and there will be no impact on the plot.
• The Woobie:
  • Raspberry Beret gets so frustrated with Celestia's Bad "Bad Acting" that she starts crying after Celestia's failure at charades.
  • Celestia when you take in her backstory. It turns out that she only had around a century worth of time with her sister while she spent the next 1000 years ruling alone. Cut to the present, you then find out that your protégé's Hero Worship of you still blinded her to the idea of being equals which you spent years trying to pound into her skull while lying to you in an attempt to spare your feelings. Seeing your student fail has never been this crushing.