History YMMV / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E22MarksAndRecreation

** If only it wasn't a blank flank exclusive camp [[note]] an exception is made for blank flanks who get their cutie marks during camp; they can come back[[/note]], it would've been interesting to see Diamond Tiara lock horns with Rumble over the ideals of cutie marks.

** If only it wasn't a blank flank exclusive camp [[note]] an exception is made for blank flanks who get their cutie marks during camp; they can come back [[/note]], it would've been interesting to see Diamond Tiara lock horns with Rumble over the ideals of cutie marks.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** In light of all the episodes portraying cutie marks as terrifying things this one goes out of its way to paint them as fairly undramatic.
** The overall moral that you can have more than one talent alleviates the complaints that the CMC were hinted to have other talents prior to "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E19CrusadersOfTheLostMark Crusaders of the Lost Mark]]" but those hints were seemingly thrown out the window.

* HarsherInHindsight: The episode's plot revolves around Rumble being afraid that getting the wrong cutie mark will destroy his chances of becoming a Wonderbolt. One season later, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E20TheWashouts The Washouts]]" would have Short Fuse mention that he was kicked out of Wonderbolts Academy over anger management issues, and his name, cutie mark, and behavior would strongly imply that his special talent (so to speak) ''is'' "anger management issues". That is, having the wrong cutie mark destroyed his chances of becoming a Wonderbolt.

** Rumble's anti-cutie mark philosophy is either as much of a [[StrawmanFallacy strawman argument]] as the episode makes it out to be - truly undramatic or not as limiting as he thinks - or a legitimate criticism of problems with cutie marks.

* BrokenBase: Rumble's argument that Apple Bloom hasn't experimented with potions in a while is either a legitimate counterargument or a StrawmanFallacy that would have easily been cleared up by Rumble talking to Twilight or Zecora to confirm that Apple Bloom has been successful at it in the past.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Rumble's anti-cutie mark philosophy is either as much of a [[StrawmanFallacy strawman argument]] as the episode makes it out to be - truly undramatic or not as limiting as he thinks - or a legitimate criticism of problems with cutie marks.

** With Rumble being so against cutie marks, the CMC could have easily gone to Starlight Glimmer for help, since she herself once had a longstanding grudge against cutie marks. Starlight could have either helped the CMC understand Rumble's motives (possibly with a {{Flashback}} to her youth, providing more detail to her StartOfDarkness), or even talked to Rumble herself, using a NotSoDifferent speech to help him see the error of his ways. Even some of the fans who dislike Starlight have voiced the opinion that not having her in the episode was something of a missed opportunity.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: While sitting around and doing nothing out of fear of getting a cutie mark is a pretty poor idea, Rumble's philosophy itself isn't without merit. We've seen that cutie marks can [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E6AppleoosasMostWanted directly contradict a pony's goals in life]], that foals are sometimes [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E18TheShowStoppers nudged a little too hard]] towards their "true talents", and that [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure frightening things]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E1TheCutieMapPart1 can happen]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E2TheCutieMapPart2 when marks]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E10ARoyalProblem are tampered with]]. Moreover, we've already seen a griffon who was [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E9TheFaultInOurCutieMarks desperate for a cutie mark of her own]], so a pony who sees them as limiting shouldn't be that much of a stretch.

** The Cutie Mark Crusaders could've used Rumble's weakness against him: he's afraid that anything but being a Wonder Bolt will become his cutie mark. They could've pointed out that if it were so, anything from singing to taking away their campers to ''sneezing'' could've earned him a cutie mark. Then they could've reasoned that cutie marks don't put you in a box, ''fear'' does.

** What would've happened if one of the Blank Flank Forever campers ended up getting their cutie mark? Would they hide their mark just like Kettle Corn did? Or would they have gone over to the CMC's side of the camp?

** Given that the Season 5 premiere shows that cutie mark extraction is possible, what would happen if Rumble got his hooves on such a spell?

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: Not many kids shows would have the gall to paint the moral of "BeYourself" in a negative light, as Rumble does. The episode explores the difference between being yourself as you are, versus becoming your best self. The episode also presents "becoming your best self" as "just do whatever bakes your brownies", which isn't something most children's shows like to preach, but it's also not entirely wrong.

* EarWorm: Prior to the episode's airing, Rumble's song was shown at Hasbro's convention "Hascon". It was filmed, leaked to the Internet and spread quickly through the fandom before the episode proper was released.

* MemeticMutation: Kettle Corn's drawings of circles led many to joke on connections to the heptapod's "language" from ''Film/{{Arrival}}''.

* Thunderlane. He appears to have at least some inkling of Rumble's insecurities, yet repeatedly forces him to go to the camp against his wishes -- even going as far as to lie to him by saying they're going to Wonderbolt practice. Is he a CoolBigBro handling the issue appropriately or making a bad situation worse?

** If only it wasn't a blank flank exclusive camp, it would've been interesting to see Diamond Tiara lock horns with Rumble over the ideals of cutie marks.

** For that matter, Thunderlane. He's the only adult we really see in the episode and he appears to have at least some awareness of Rumble's insecurities, yet repeatedly forces him to go to the camp against his wishes -- even going as far as to lie to him by saying they're going to Wonderbolt practice. If your little sibling is suffering from cutie mark anxiety, it might be argued that there are gentler ways to encourage them to be more well rounded than forcing them to go to cutie mark camp.

** ** For that matter, Thunderlane. He's the only adult we really see in the episode and he appears to have at least some awareness of Rumble's insecurities, yet repeatedly forces him to go to the camp against his wishes -- even going as far as to lie to him by saying they're going to Wonderbolt practice. If your little sibling is suffering from cutie mark anxiety, it might be argued that there are gentler ways to encourage them to be more well rounded than forcing them to go to cutie mark camp.