

His reaction to the game board is pretty the only time any small amount of sympathy for him was felt. Sunburst didn't strike me as a particularly likeable character, he came over often as too insensitive, such as the way he talks about Twilight and his tossing aside of Starlight, not particularly grateful and doesn't really learn from his mistakes. Not to mention a great, relevant and honest lesson. The game board stuff was a lot of fun and there is a lot of well meant and grin worthy dialogue. It is good that the episode did not ignore continuity and it was also good to see how important Sunburst was to Starlight. Trixie is not annoying here nor are her negative traits exaggerated. Love Maud, no surprises there, who has great comic timing and while her personality is very simple and deadpan it is a funny and likeable one.

Starlight has come on as a character by a long way and written well. Sheridan always brought a lot of nuance to Starlight and she does here, while Nilssen makes deadpan wildly entertaining. The voice acting all round is great, Kelly Sheridan and Ingrid Nilssen always deliver and deliver here. The music is never at odds with the action and stylistically and tonally it fits very well. The animation is rich in colour and the refinement and attention to detail are quite something. "Uncommon Bond" has a lot of good things. If asked whether "Uncommon Bond" is recommended, my answer would be a medium "y". Though not the worst, it's better than "Honest Apple" and "Marks and Recreation" while being nowhere near as good as "A Royal Problem" and "The Perfect Pear". While there is a good deal to admire about it and it is a decent episode on the whole, it did for me have a few big flaws and towards the bottom end of a generally solid Season 7. Actually think that "Uncommon Bond" could have done more with its premise. "Uncommon Bond" did sound interesting conceptually and also rootable, an oft-strength of the show. Maud Pie is one of my favourite recurring characters, she has always been likeable and very funny in a deadpan way while moving whenever she's vulnerable. Trixie varied, at times funny and at other times annoying. Starlight Glimmer is one of those characters that divided the fandom since she reformed, actually don't dislike her at all (she's grown on me a lot) though her reform took a lot of getting used to.
