My Episode Review/Rant on My Little Pony: Make Your Mark-Have You Seen This Dragon?

Greetings and salutations, my friends.

This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.

Today, I'm gonna give you guys my take on the 9th & final episode of My Little Pony: Make Your Mark's 2nd Chapter: "Have You Seen This Dragon?".

Here's the rundown of it:

First it was Sunny's lantern. Now Sparky is gone. So it's all hooves on deck to find Hitch's baby dragon buddy ASAPP - as soon as pony-possible.

Following my review of "Hoof Done It?", I decided that I wouldn't waste any time getting my analysis of "Have You Seen This Dragon?" done and over with. After all, "Hoof Done It?" ended with Opaline wanting Misty to bring Sparky to her and acquire the magic of his dragonfire, and I knew that plot element was gonna be quite the motivator for getting started.

Luckily, just like "Hoof Done It?", I only had to watch "Have You Seen This Dragon?" two more times this year to get started on my review. It was easy for me to figure out what I wanted to say regarding the episode, mainly on the grounds that it didn't offer too much in one sitting or make itself get too big.

So, what do I think of "Have You Seen This Dragon?" in words? Especially after seeing it two more times this year?

Well, as with every "Make Your Mark" episode I've reviewed thus far, "Have You Seen This Dragon?" was another stinker of an MLP (G5) installment.

And as with the previous episodes, the prime problems with "Have You Seen This Dragon?" particularly revolved around its story. The plot in question was written by Lynne D'Angelo, who previously wrote "Ali-Conned"; and once again, Randi Rodrigues was the one who directed it. Similar to "Hoof Done It?", the writing also negatively affected the characters.

First and foremost, I'd like to start off by stating what I think of the tone.

Similar to its predecessors, I generally found the tone of "Have You Seen This Dragon?" to be terribly-done. The comedy was either dull or flat, and what really makes the gags all-the-more vexing is that they came across as incredibly childish, particularly the visual-based jokes. The episode also tried its best at being something with emotion and heart, but in the long run, the attempts were ultimately fruitless. Whatever moments the film had that were supposed to tug at one's heartstrings seemed kinda null & void.

Of course, it was how Rodrigues and D'Angelo handled the majority of the series's characters that really made me want to tear pieces of my hair out.

Since Opaline didn't have as much screentime compared to the other characters, I'm gonna start by talking about what I thought of Opaline in this episode.

Despite having only one scene in "Have You Seen This Dragon?", which is the part where Misty returns with some of Sparky's dragonfire, it was clear that the episode was supposed to serve as the landmark of Opaline's conquest for dragonfire and establish Opaline as a growing threat to Equestria. All of this is particularly shown after Opaline absorbs the dragonfire into herself.

However, looking back on the scene as a whole, I personally found it to be underwhelming. The display of Opaline becoming more dangerous than before was clearly there, but everything about it lacked feeling. In this case, despite Opaline absorbing the dragonfire and the results being remarkably clear as day, I couldn't sense any sort of significant personal change in the character. She still came across as the same pathetic joke that I already found her to be, and once her newfound powers start wearing off, Opaline reverted back into being as obnoxious as always. She shouts and yells like she has a megaphone in her vocal cords, acts like an overgrown and petty child, and monologues about her petty desires to control magic and rule over Equestria with no solid motivation other than that she "just wants to".

All in all, I still couldn't take Opaline seriously as a villain nor did I think the scene helped her improve and develop as a character. If anything, it seemed like her scene in "Have You Seen This Dragon?" caused the character to be more pitiful than before. It's just like when "A New Generation" depicted Sprout Cloverleaf as the main villain all over again. Despite taking charge of Maretime Bay, gaining the loyalty of its residents, and acquiring a giant robot to control, Sprout was still the same pathetic, petty, brainless, and infuriating manchild the movie portrayed him as from the beginning, whether it was before Hitch left to find Sunny or after. If none of these things are examples of villains being completely one-dimensional, I don't know what would be.

The only other problem is that Opaline's scene in "Have You Seen This Dragon?" didn't get me interested in seeing where she was gonna go next with her new scheme. As a landmark moment, the entirety of it was weakly delivered and bland, both in its execution & portrayal. It just wasn't powerful enough to leave much of an impact, let alone signify itself as a game changer for the G5 series. In a way, the scene felt like it was part of a simple Tuesday for the series, just like all the "enormous magic-based" events that occurred near the end of "A New Generation" and Make Your Mark's first "chapter".

On top of this, the characters of Hitch, Sunny, Pipp, Zipp, and Izzy were mind-bogglingly infuriating throughout this episode! In fact, "Have You Seen This Dragon?" showcased each of the original five at perhaps their very worst.

In all of the scenes the Main 5 were featured in, I could tell that the basic intentions were to address what happens when people let their worries over something get the best of them; and that when you're working with others as a team, it's important to have an organized plan for everyone to work with instead of just going off on your own & getting in each other's way. After all, teamwork is how you can successfully accomplish a goal, right? And keeping a cool head is important, yes?

Here's the problem, though:

In the process of trying to deliver the messages, D'Angelo, Rodrigues, and story editor & show helmer G.M. Berrow caused the Main 5 to frequently come across as cringeworthy imbeciles who literally wouldn't even find the noses on their own faces! I hate it whenever characters are given the idiot-ball specifically to prove a point about something, and considering how often that's happened throughout MLP (G5) in particular, it's one of the biggest reasons for why I'm not a fan of the series.

Izzy Moonbow, of course, was being her usual irritating self. She constantly came across as an airhead with zero sense of intelligence, cracking jokes that are both out-of-place and just plain exasperating. Sunny Starscout, Zipp Storm, and Pipp Petals weren't exactly any better, mainly because they did things that either generally irked me or made them seem like less-than-bright individuals.

Nevertheless, when it comes to which character whom I've had the very last straw with thanks to "Have You Seen This Dragon?"...it was definitely Hitch Trailblazer.

For the duration of this entire episode, Hitch did nothing but grind my gears. I mean, I get it, he was extremely worried about Sparky and wanted to get him back, but still...I had a hard time sitting through his scenes and not looking at him as anything but a childish buffoon. Especially when he initiated his "Operation: Glitter Bomb" movement and was posing as a masked vigilante, he was so cringeworthy during that moment! Also, whenever Hitch openly expressed how worried he was for Sparky, including when he'd comment that he fears Sparky disappeared because he's being a terrible dragon-dad, I wasn't able to sympathize for him or actually care about whether he'd get Sparky back.

With all of this being said, I may as well go ahead & comment that I've officially started to figure out why I was never a fan of Hitch. Aside from not being a tolerable individual, Hitch is perhaps the most pointless character of the whole main G5 group! He literally doesn't have a meaningful purpose for being part of this series, and if he was excluded from the equation completely, he wouldn't be missed.

From a retrospective standpoint, it seems like the only notable aspect regarding Hitch is that he's the first My Little Pony lead character to be a stallion, and I'm beginning to wonder if this was based on Hasbro simply trying to garner interest from male audiences. His position as sheriff of Maretime Bay does solidify him with a role of sorts, his relationship with animals and abilities to communicate with them do serve as something to remember him by, and his status as Sparky's caretaker does give a reason for Hitch to be focused on, but other than that...I'm having a hard time finding any reason to get personally interested in the character. His appearances beyond "A New Generation" have also further indicated that Hitch is around simply to serve as an unnecessary comic-relief, which only makes the character's inclusion all-the-more meaningless.

Plus, just like Ana Sani's work as Izzy, I absolutely hate J.J. Gerber's performance and interpretation of Hitch.

Here's why:

In "A New Generation", Hitch was played by James Marsden, who notably starred in entertainment media like Disney's "Enchanted" and the live-action "Sonic the Hedgehog" movies. When Marsden took on the part of Hitch, I noted that he didn't just capture how much Hitch strived for order & justice. He further translated the character as someone who isn't without a sense of maturity, providing perfect leeway for showing how much Hitch genuinely cares about others and tries to be the voice of reason.

J.J. Gerber, on the other hand...well, his interpretation of Hitch was quite honestly the opposite of how I described Marsden's take on him. Outside of his voice for the character not sounding anything like Marsden's, Gerber's portrayal and interpretation of Hitch made him sound like a whiny & immature child in an adult body, including whenever the character was whispering, talking normally, or shouting! He turned every piece of dialogue he had into something that's either galling or bland, and his performance hardly has any kind of personality, heart, or passion. And just like Ana Sani, Gerber clearly isn't capable of delivering his portrayal with a natural emotional range or three-dimensional texture, because for some reason...the tone of his performance never seems to actually match what his character is expressing.

In short, J.J. Gerber is by far perhaps one of the worst voice actors of this generation, and he's the 2nd cast member of the G5 series that I have a particularly low opinion of.

Before I wrap up this review, though, I'd like to mention the one positive I noted from this episode. The positive in question revolves around the subplot centering on Misty trying to catch Sparky and bring him to Opaline.

In my reviews of the previous episodes from "Chapter 2", I commented that I generally found Misty Brightdawn to be annoying. And idiotic, because she did things that were literally stupid beyond anything; her actions in "Hoof Done It?" are a prime example of why I think this, that's for sure.

Refreshingly, though, I'm happy to report that Misty wasn't an infuriating imbecile in "Have You Seen This Dragon?". Compared to her previous appearances, Misty demonstrated a greater amount of competence this time, as well as abilities to be resourceful, resilient, and sharp-witted. The best part was that none of the setbacks Misty endured revolved around her being stupid. Rather, they happened either because of rotten luck or terrible convenience as she was trying to get Sparky. It was something I enjoyed seeing, and I found it to be a good step-up for the character.

Plus, the scenes with her and Sparky were...kinda cute? It's hard to say because Sparky is still too irritable for my taste.

Change of pace regarding Misty's characterization aside, I also found myself sympathizing for her. It was clear that her desires to gain a cutie mark were at the forefront as she was going after Sparky, and when she ultimatley had to return to Opaline with only a small bit of dragonfire to compensate for her failure, I actually felt sorry for her! Especially after what Opaline said to Misty near the end, because it made me want to give her a hug and hope that things would get better for her. The only thing I couldn't help but wish was that Misty had an actual sense of character development in this episode, although I guess her growing fondness for Sparky will have to do.

In conclusion, though..."Have You Seen This Dragon?" proved itself to pretty much be another headache-inducer of a G5 installment. Outside of Misty, the characters were too irksome and imbecilic to sit through, and the writing & direction for this episode were atrocious! As Chapter 2's final episode, this was also a rather underwhelming way of concluding the season.

So, I rate "Have You Seen This Dragon?" a solid one out of five stars.

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With this review being completed, I'm going to once again be taking another emotional break from reviewing episodes of "My Little Pony: Make Your Mark". There are other things outside of the series I've been wanting to give a critique of, and with the year 2024 already being halfway over, I want to get them done as quick as possible.

Other than that, there are things outside of reviewing that I'd like to turn my attention to more, so this break is very much needed anyway.