A Friend in Deed
Pinkie Pie tries to befriend a reluctant Cranky Doodle Donkey.
"A Friend in Deed" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, written by Amy Keating Rogers and originally airing on The Hub on February 18, 2012. The episode centers on Pinkie Pie's efforts to befriend a new resident named Cranky Doodle Donkey, who repeatedly rebuffs her attempts at friendship.
Quick Facts
- Series
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Writer
- Amy Keating Rogers
- Air date
- 18 February 2012
- Length
- 22 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Pinkie Pie performs a musical number about making others smile while traveling through Ponyville, then encounters a surly donkey named Cranky Doodle Donkey who responds with indifference. Despite his desire to be left alone, Pinkie becomes determined to befriend him. Cranky objects to being called "Doodle" and explains he came to Ponyville to escape social interaction and live quietly with his memories. Pinkie's efforts backfire when her musical performance covers him in cake batter and knocks off his toupée, exposing his baldness. She partially redeems herself with a spa day and a replacement hairpiece, but Cranky remains unmoved. At his house, Pinkie accidentally ignites his precious scrapbook, destroying mementos of a lost love he had spent years searching for across Equestria. Cranky vows never to be her friend and kicks her out. Devastated, Pinkie seeks comfort from Twilight, who suggests respecting his wishes. Pinkie refuses to give up until she can apologize, leading to a chase. Cranky reveals the scrapbook contained memories of a female donkey he met at the Grand Galloping Gala years earlier. Pinkie returns with Matilda, a donkey living in Ponyville who kept matching memories from their courtship. Cranky accepts Pinkie's apology and friendship. Pinkie writes to Princess Celestia about how friendship takes many forms and that sometimes showing care means understanding when someone needs space.
Reception
The episode "A Friend in Deed" received a "C" rating from Sherilyn Connelly, author of Ponyville Confidential. Jen A. Blue called it "highly entertaining, if problematic," seeing it as a continuation of the love theme from "Hearts and Hooves Day," but focused on lost love rather than new love. Blue interpreted the "Smile Song" as exposing Pinkie Pie's pathological need for approval, arguing her happiness is fragile and depends on others' moods. Blue saw Cranky as a strong contrast to Pinkie: while Pinkie suppresses her remembering self and lives in the moment, Cranky clings to happy memories and suppresses his experiential self through cynicism. Blue criticized Pinkie's actions as "relentlessly thoughtless and self-centered" and said the episode teaches the wrong lesson—that ignoring someone's wishes and forcing help on them is acceptable. Despite praising the episode's construction, visuals, and music, Blue concluded that "apparently no thought was put into what this episode has to say about the supposed core focus of the show: the basics of relating to one another." Raymond Gallant of Freakin' Awesome Network rated it 8 out of 10, calling it "one of the stronger episodes of this season" and praising the "Smile Song" as "the best song of the series so far," though he noted Pinkie could be "a little too random at times" and criticized the lack of focus on the main cast. Brendan Kachel of flayrah described it as "a great episode, filled with inventive animation," comparing Pinkie's imagination scene to South Park, and praised its hilarious dialogue, though he felt it wasn't quite as strong as "Party of One." Kachel found the ending surprisingly touching when Pinkie reunites Cranky with his lost love. Kieran Hair of WhatCulture argued the episode teaches a problematic lesson: "if somepony doesn't like you, pester them endlessly until they change their mind." He noted that while the show tries to teach kids to look past a hostile exterior to see underlying pain, it fails to emphasize the equally important value of respecting personal boundaries.
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