My Little Pony's Justice 2 - Official MLP Thread v2

[Kuzu]

A little more low key than most openers, but fuck that was unnerving.

[Penny]

It was okay, probably my least favorite of the season openers, but it wasn't bad or anything. One thing I did like was the beginning of the Part 2. It gave off serious Bioshock Infinite vibes. Also, this scene towards the end:

 

Twilight: "We each have our unique gifts and when we--"

 

Starlight: "QUIET!"

 

Twilight: O.O

[Kevin]

That was a good Season 5 opener! While I personally think it wasn't as good as The Return of Harmony or Princess Twilight Sparkle, this episode certainly did not disappoint! Pinkie's facial expressions really kicked it up a notch which was a hoot to see! I really like the villain, Starlight Glimmer, and even more glad that there wasn't a deus ex machina defeat of her towards the end and judging from the looks of things, I have a hunch she'll be back later on.

 

One thing I will mention is how dark the tone got both with those forced smiles and the removal of the cutie marks. It also looks like we're going to have another arc with the whole "Cute marks show on the map where a problem in Equestria is".

 

So far, a good start to Season 5!

[Lisbon]

I didn't like it, honestly.

 

I don't expect the show to be deep and complex, but when it comes off as being nothing more than nationalistic, then it's going to irk me .-.

 

Communism, at its core, is a good thing. It's just easy to take advantage of and create a situation like was seen in that village. If they had portrayed the village in that sense of people being more than miserable, mindless followers and actually seemed devoted to the cause whereas it was Starlight Glimmer just taking advantage of the otherwise good idealism she created, then it wouldn't bother me. 

 

But even if it wasn't going for that, all I could think of when I watched it was Communism vs. Capitalism. I see one side representing communism, and one side representing capitalism. I couldn't get those representations out of my mind, especially when they referenced it taking place in the east. If you're going to do a thing with a political message, please be subtle about it and don't portray one as inherently right and one as inherently wrong, unless it actually is inherently wrong, like fascism or so.

 

If they weren't doing Communism vs. Capitalism, then they really fooled me quite well.

 

I don't know. I'm seeing praise for it everywhere I look, but I found it to be kind of annoying with how it felt like it was going up on a soapbox to preach a political message. Maybe it's just because I like the show for being lighthearted and fun instead of intellectually stimulating, though.

 

---

Of course, that's not to say its without its positives. I really thought the villain, Starlight Glimmer, was quite effective, for one. I also really liked it when she interrupted Twilight's little soapbox schpiel about friendship xP That was amusing.

 

I also really liked the conflict it presented Fluttershy with - it was either cause innocent people to suffer or put her friends plan into ruination. I liked that moral dilemma quite a bit. Found it rather gripping, honestly.

 

Lastly, the chase scene at the end was very exciting and I liked how it didn't fall back on Twilight, or even the mane 6 for that matter, to save the day, but instead it allowed the people Starlight Glimmer had made suffer the longest exact vengeance. Really liked that.

[Dr. Mechano]

That was an eerily detailed depiction of a cult.

 

I like how the villain of this two-parter was more cerebral and less of a physical threat. The ponies had to outsmart Starlight Glimmer rather than just overpower her with magic, which is a neat twist on how premiers usually go.

 

Fluttershy's extended role in the episode was a nice surprise too. Premiers/finales usually focus on either Twilight or on nobody in particular, which is fine, but I thought it was nice that they shook things up a little. Using her as a scout was actually a pretty smart plan, and it had some genuine buildup throughout the episode, with her seeming to already like the town and all.

 

Perhaps they could have thrown in a line about how equality is a good thing, inasmuch as it's good to treat other people equally. Like, there's a difference between equality and "sameness." Equality understands that people are different, but treats them the same anyway; Sameness presumes that individual differences don't or shouldn't exist. It's a small nitpick, though, and considering the ponies are all still friends when they get their cutie marks back, the message of "You can still be friends even if you're different" still gets through.

 

Overall, good premier, looking forward to the rest of the season.

[Applejack1973]

Starlight Glimmer is one of the best villains.

[Dark Qiviut]

I must say, this impressed me. There's no bombastic One Scene nor the overreliance of Twilight to save the day. Other characters had the chance to shine, and it was a team effort to remove the fraud. Starlight doesn't have the mysterious past or whatnot. She's just a normal unicorn with an evil philosophy, but one she believes is right. From a technical point of view, the dialogue is fantastic with a lot of clever jokes, including nicely done meta references.

 

Pinkie's slip-up is also how you execute her obliviousness correctly: She was oblivious, but got called out for it. She realized it (being the only time this time), and they all suffered the consequences.

 

This is easily Sonneborn's best episode. Does it overtake Return of Harmony as Larson's best episode and best two-parter? That remains to be seen.

[Strickerx5]

Well that was a very interesting start to the season. Have to say I did, overall, enjoy it though I do have some faults:

 

Pros:

- Nice to see the spotlight on the entirety of the group instead of just Twilight in an opener for a change. Really highlighted why all these different personalities work so well.

- The facial expressions in this had me down right laughing at points.

- Really loved how they handled Fluttershy in this one. They didn't even touch on her shyness! Instead, they highlighted her element, gave her a problem, and had her solve it brilliantly. This might just be my favorite depiction of her so far. *cough*sheisthebestmainafterall*cough*

- Love how they just threw out the whole "staff of power" cliche with it being revealed as just a stick.

- Starlight is a great villain. Love how they didn't try to bring in some old deity for this one (and risk completely messing over an already unstable timeline). Instead, she's just a unicorn with a special power that truly thinks she's in the right. Can't wait to see how this arc progresses. I wonder if they'll touch upon it in different episodes or just save it for the final.

- The animation continues to impress. Didn't notice one off shot at all! Especially loved the contrast in color pallet as the opener progressed.

- Love how they're expanding the world. Can't wait to see more new places.

 

Cons:

- I'm just convinced that most of the writers just don't know what to do with Spike. Why he got left home is beyond me. Though... I guess he's better left there than being the butt of every joke. Also, as a side note, those were some very stereotypical male lines he had. :/

- Is it just me or is Rainbow Dash just constantly screaming throughout this?

- The whole sequence of Pinkie Pie giving away how they found out about the cave just rubbed me the wrong way. While season 1 Pinkie might have done that, I'd like to think she learned enough to have not given it away. At least not in that blatant of a way. It's really just another example of the writers shafting character development in order to advance with the given plot.

- Not a big fan of how it was all paced. I mean, the episodes didn't feel rushed in any way but I just felt like nothing was happening for the longest time.

- Have to say I wasn't the biggest fan of some of the newer ponies introduced here. I mean, it sort of felt like they were being shown as a mane six version B. Almost to the point that if, at the end, they had written them to have been a second branch of friendship I wouldn't have been surprised. They also have some painfully bland (or already in use) character traits. I mean really, there was Muffin Pony, Not-Rainbow Dash, Not-Pinkie Pie/ Cheese Sandwich, and Snow Bro Pony.

- A sickening lack of Luna here...

 

 

Overall, got to say this opener did it's job. Got me up to date with what's happening in the world, what to expect from the rest of the season, and got me excited for it. While it's definitely not my favorite opener (don't know if it's my least favorite yet but it sure as hell doesn't beat out The Return of Harmony... though, I don't think anything will at this point), it definitely was a good watch. Looking forward to what this season has in store!

 

 

and i swear this opener better not be any indication for the amounts of Luna we're going to get >:V

[Dr. Mechano]

Also, as a side note, those were some very stereotypical male lines [spike] had. :/

Maybe, but I think it was probably more to give him something that Fluttershy specifically wouldn't be interested in. Rainbow Dash would probably have been all about some hoofball. I like to think it probably wasn't meant as a "Boys like sports, girls don't" thing; This show's usually pretty good about avoiding stereotypes.

[Celestia]

In Season 4, Celestia appeared in the first and last episodes, and only gets a brief non-speaking appearance in between. Therefore, Celestia not appearing in this premiere can only mean she'll be in literally every other episode until the finale! HOORAY!

 

Let me dream, okay?

 

But yeah, I was pleasantly surprised. I was kinda hoping we'd get a more low-key two parter at some point, so that was nice, and it looks like we might see a recurring villain in Starlight? Might just be setting up for the finale or something tho'.

[NGw00d]

The opener was fun, maybe not as good as past ones as others have said, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I liked Starlight a lot and hope to see her return in the future seeing as she did get away, and I like the fact that she didn't learn her lesson like most villains in this show seem to usually do, so that could set up some interesting things for upcoming episodes. While it was pretty obvious she was going to be the bad guy even before the big "I still have my cutie mark reveal," it was cool for them to subtly hint that from the very beginning because her colors were never faded like the rest of the ponies. Always fun to see how many little details they throw in there.

[Fuzon-S]

I'm not the wordy type, but I'm gonna say that after watching it (as in just now), 'tis good, I like it, I enjoyed it. A thumbs up and a half from me.

Now if I may be pardon, I got some catching up on Boom.

 

inb4 fan remixes of that particular song from the first half-hour of the episode.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, almost forgot...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chrysalis should've known better than buying a "homemade" taco for 25 Bits from a group of pirates griffons. :I

[Forte-Metallix]

Finally saw the premiere! I was surprised by just how creepy the undertones of this pseudo-utopia were. Pinkie Pie's failed attempt at stealth had me in stitches! Starlight Glimmer makes an interesting antagonist; I can't tell if she's a well-intentioned extremist or just a manipulative liar with a lust for power. All-in-all, a good start.

 

But I noticed something: Even without their cutie marks, the ponies were not all equal. Some could fly, and some had telekinesis! If Starlight really wanted everypony to be equal, she probably should've taken away all their wings and horns, too.

[Old dead account]

Hmm, so. New villain basically

-wanted all ponies to be equal(might as well make them all earth ponies while you're at it)

-forcefully removes their special talent

-took over a town

-is the only known unicorn to have the power to remove cutie marks

-lied about being equal

-her insincerity was revealed by washing paint off of her

-she gets away

Starlight Glimmer is pretty much Amon.

That said, this season premier was better than the last two season premiers. High hopes for season 5.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

Hmm, so. New villain basically

-wanted all ponies to be equal(might as well make them all earth ponies while you're at it)

-forcefully removes their special talent

-took over a town

-is the only known unicorn to have the power to remove cutie marks

-lied about being equal

-her insincerity was revealed by washing paint off of her

-she gets away

Starlight Glimmer is pretty much Amon.

 

Den it will be revealed dat Twilight Sparkle and her are long lost sisters and Starlight ends up committing suicide.

 

/don't take this seriously.

[The Deleter]

Uuuh, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and Starlight Glimmer? What's next, Nightfall Glitter, Sundown Flicker, and Evening Twinkle? Someone's getting lazy in the naming department. 

 

That, or they're setting up a new batch of protagonists to phase out the current ones. More Princess-y protagonists, to be exact.

 

 

Aside from that, that was a pretty solid season opening. I liked the creepy cult undertones it had, especially considering how tame the episode was.

 

Is it me, or is the Animatic better than the end product of the scenes in the beginning, though?

 

[Snatcher2047]

I rather enjoyed the premiere, although I found the climax to be a little... meh.  I guess having a sort of open ending will do that.  I did like how all the Mane 6 got their moments to shine, with Pinkie and Fluttershy getting some good moments especially.

 

I'm rather interested in seeing just how much of this season will be about the Mane 6 going from place to place to solve problems and how much will be more slice of life stuff.

[Kuzu]

Yea, that was a rather low=key opener all things considered. I do kind of like how it was the townspeople who saved the day rather than the Mane Six.

[Celestia]

That, or they're setting up a new batch of protagonists to phase out the current ones. More Princess-y protagonists, to be exact.

They have no reason to change the main cast (aside from maybe adding new members at some point), mostly because Hasbro's not gonna stop making toys of the main six. I think Starlight has more potential as a villain, anyway. Maybe even team up with some of the other jerks and form a rogues' gallery or something, that'd be cool and/or hilarious.

 

Plus the naming thing with Twi Sunny and her seems to be a running theme of sorts. It's more obvious with Sunset that "this is how Twilight could have turned out if Friendship^TM didn't happen", but yeah.

[Old dead account]

I don't like the idea of phasing out any of the mane 6 but I would like to more of those 4 townsfolk that helped everyone else out.

[Emperor Robrainiac]

Well, that was pretty interesting, though one of the less exciting two parters, but still enough to get me back into a pony mood.  I'm really interested in seeing where this is going. 

 

Man, that village was pretty creepy, with the forced smiles and everything. Interesting to have a big villain this time around who's not an ancient evil, but a unicorn with strong powers. I couldn't help but laugh at her telling Twilight to shut up when she was about to give her a speech about the moral. 

 

Looks like she might be a re-occuring villain as well? 

 

Also, I swear, every season the expressions on the characters get more and more better. Pinkie Pie's death glare throughout the song was amazing.

 

Overall, a nice beginning to the season. With life getting so busy, I'm kinda glad the season is starting later than usual. I always found that this show is fun to watch with friends who like it as well, and since I'm taking the summer off, It'll be nice to catch up with them again.

 

Oh, and i almost forgot... That completely random wilhelm scream during the final party scene... I swear there's someone that knows it's annoying someone, and keeps adding it in the most random places. XD

[DaBatGuy]

Damn, I forgot how good this show can be. I had gone cold turkey for the entire hiatus to avoid any potential spoilers, only reading the comics and watching EQG2. I didn't even rewatch old episodes to keep nostalgia from clouding my judgement of the new season. However during the hiatus I followed Gravity Falls, Steven Universe and Korra, easily some of the best animated shows of this decade and after their most recent episodes I started to underestimate how good this new season could be in comparison. "Pony has great stories but it has be written for a younger audience" and "Hasbro controls the IP, DHX only push the envelope so far" would be my excuses if the season was less than stellar.

Boy was I wrong, I never expected this show to deal with such a real-world topic, specially for a 2 parter. The ponies have dealt with lots of creepy monsters and evil abominations but none of them sent cold shivers down my spine quite like this episode with the cult village. The scenes in the "re-education" room effected me personally because of the brain washing techniques that felt all too similar to a self help "seminar" I was dragged into once. Neither of Celestia's "deaths" or the destruction of the library created a scene as dark as the mane 6 being slowly broken psychologically.

I'm glad the staff did something new with this grounded, realistic villain instead of simply trying to one-up the anime spectacle of the Tirek fight. Starlight might not be the most entertaining villain but she needs to come back with a new army of Equalists Markless that willingly adopted her ideals and NOT turn into a evil abomination that gets a rainbow redemption. Pinkie was great this episode, ironically she was more cautious and perceptive of the threat than the rest of the group for once. This is also the first 2 parter without the royal exposition dumps which was great for Twilight stepping into her princess role; seeking out major problems herself and handling them with her posse.

[Dr. Mechano]

I like that there were already subtle signs that Starlight herself wasn't truly "equal" to the other townsfolk, even before we saw her cutie mark. She had a somewhat brighter color scheme compared to the dull, washed-out look of the "equalized" ponies, and lived in a bigger, nicer house than the rest of the town as well.

 

I am rather curious what they could have planned for her. Now that her hold over the town is over, what sort of trouble can she cause in the future? I'm definitely intrigued at the possibilities.

[Dark Qiviut]

I must say, this impressed me. There's no bombastic One Scene nor the overreliance of Twilight to save the day. Other characters had the chance to shine, and it was a team effort to remove the fraud. Starlight doesn't have the mysterious past or whatnot. She's just a normal unicorn with an evil philosophy, but one she believes is right. From a technical point of view, the dialogue is fantastic with a lot of clever jokes, including nicely done meta references.

 

Pinkie's slip-up is also how you execute her obliviousness correctly: She was oblivious, but got called out for it. She realized it (being the only time this time), and they all suffered the consequences.

 

This is easily Sonneborn's best episode. Does it overtake Return of Harmony as Larson's best episode and best two-parter? That remains to be seen.

 

---

 

This was from a little while ago. Now I'll get a little deeper into The Cutie Map.

Even though I was a critic of various executions of Season 4, one of the bigger pluses is how much they approached maturer and grayer morals. Rarity Takes Manhattan talked about how you shouldn't quit your most positive qualities because someone took advantage of you. Pinkie Pride delved into the very mature theme of jealousy over an individual who can not only do the same talent you love and work on, but are also better at it. Some people know how much I praise Testing Testing's excellently executed moral and approach to it.

Season Five commenced it with one of the most mature conflicts of not just the entire show, but family TV altogether. It's an entire episode where the conflict between how two ponies approach what friendship is about. Is friendship supposed to be about agreeing with one another? Or is friendship about where despite having serious disagreements, you can still be friends? Can friendship work under the philosophy that conformity trumps all?

Yesterday, I mentioned how The Cutie Map had a very eerie similarity of George Orwell's Animal Farm, a storybook criticizing the way the Soviet Union was governed and politicized. Starlight Glimmer's goals run through very similar propaganda. She continued to spread the idea that in order to be true friends, you must be equal. Give up what makes you you. The song, In Our Town, is revealed by Ingram himself to be heavily inspired by WWII propaganda music. This is a really bold direction that hones in the criticism of how strict communist countries had or currently run such as the USSR and especially North Korea. The fact that they explicitly describe the area it's located as "East Equestria" (an implied allegory of the old Eastern Bloc) confirms this powerful message further.

One of the cleverest directions Sonneborn, Larson, et al. induced this skewed opinion of friendship equating conformity is how the show never told the audience the name of the town. If you give this town a name, you risk breaking apart the theme of conformity and how the only way to thrive is to be like everypony else in Equestria. The lack of name retains that mystery behind the history of the town. More importantly, it reinforces Starlight Glimmer's skewed opinions of how the only way to actually be friends is to not conform to the rest of society. Keeping it nameless makes this drab village very inviting by teasing about how despite its dinky appearances, it could be one of the best places you'll ever run across. It's a very tiny thing quantitatively, but it really established credibility in Glimmer's propaganda.

Undoubtedly, Starlight Glimmer's a fraud. By not conforming to the very same messages she claims to celebrate (not sacrificing her cutie mark while forcing everyone else to do so), she becomes a major hypocrite. However, don't let that mean her beliefs lack any level of sincerity. As a character, she's incredibly sharp with a sense of how she can be one step ahead of the others. With the ReMane Five locked up, she manipulated FS into trying to out her accomplices. Even more, Starlight doesn't act like some magical being who reigned in terror æons ago. She's a unicorn with very strong magical powers, and we have no idea what her past is. There's no doubt that her lack of past is intentional; it makes her feel both relatable and real.

Unlike the other villains, she does believe in the magic of friendship, but not the MoF that the others believe. Instead, she sees the concept of individuality as a hindrance of both growth and triumph. Her idea of the cutie mark doesn't translate to being someone of equal potential, but how you must conform to Equestrian matriarchy/patriarchy. By telling everyone to give it up, force them, and hammer it in, she's making them believe that her totalitarian opinions will lead to an eventual Equestrian revolution. Not "revolution" as in warfare, but "revolution" as in how a new ideal of Equestria can be legitimately established. Even after she was revealed to be a hypocrite, she never relented that belief. Consequently, this further legitimizes her gray opinions on Equestrian society.

Starlight Glimmer is a very credible, three-dimensional villain. She has very legitimate motives that back up continuity from not just the whole series, but also Magical Mystery Cure. One big problem from that finale is how it conveniently changes the whole definition of the cutie mark from being something you innately like and look forward to for the rest of your life to how it's forced on you. Starlight Glimmer — and the two-parter's theme itself — openly critiques the very structure and magic of the cutie mark. Surprisingly, SG's political assessments and critiques of the cutie mark system not only opens up further discussion and history of the cutie mark, but it also closes the continuity gap that Magical Mystery Cure opened. Her angst over the cutie mark isn't plucked out of thin air. It's an ongoing discussion in the fandom, including Pinkie Pride itself. There's legitimate backing to it, and she has very good reasons to tell passersby to abandon the practice. By being a very slick motivational speaker, Starlight Glimmer becomes both imposing and very threatening.

A common problem in two-parters is the lack of naturality in the dialogue. Only Return of Harmony had much conviction in the dialogue. The Cutie Map's dialogue is incredibly believable. Sure, there's some repetition in Rarity's "divine" comments, but that's me being a little picky. Pinkie Pie was incredibly on point throughout; if you're a very big brony of her, you will like her here. She retains that same zaniness that we grew to know and love, but she's not a random idiot. Her comedy has purpose, and her obliviousness isn't exaggerated. She was acutely aware of how forced the ponies were acting, and it creeped her out. When she wasn't liking how Fluttershy bobbed to the propaganda, her glare snapped her out of it.

Honestly, the disagreement the Mane Six had with their impressions over the town was awesome! Pinkie Pie was extremely apprehensive over the town, Starlight Glimmer, and the townsponies. However, Fluttershy had a completely opposite opinion of the town. Despite Glimmer's scary predisposition, FS wasn't willing to quit on the town and believe there were some good intentions behind everything here. In Bats!, FS's skewed opinions of how to handle the bats was completely wrong, yet treated as in the right despite Applejack having more justification to get rid of the vampire fruit bats. Here, both FS and PP had very solid opposing opinions of the town. This establishes not just the gray morale in this whole episode, but also Starlight Glimmer's politics. They were a driving force in the conflict, but neither side was one-hundred-percent right. Each of the Mane Six had strong, solid, differing convictions of the town. None of them were right nor wrong.

There's one bugaboo that I must talk about: "The Staff of Sameness." Not the staff itself, but the naming. It's extremely blunt and very anticlimactic. It gives off that feeling of evil before SG confronted them. While the rest of the episode had extremely clever writing, the name of the staff comes off as extremely convenient. If there was more cleverness in the name, like "equalibrium," "The Gate to Freedom," or something else (if you can give me other names in the comments, feel free to), it would make SG's morale even greyer. Fortunately, Sonneborn and Larson were able to overcome this stilt and deliver a story that was extremely solid from top to bottom.

 

The MLP Forums's (and fellow friend of mine) LZRD WZRD mentioned this in his analysis, and I'll do it here. "In Our Town" is an accurate, yet creepy, tribute to WWII propaganda songs. There's a sick stench of utopian creepiness that will make you shiver down your spine. But one meter really hones in Glimmer's justified philosophies: "You can't have a nightmare if you never dream." What makes it scary is how there's truth into this line. It turns the idea that dreams are an inherent nightmare; in order to have a true good night's sleep, how about giving up the ability to dream? It's a scary question to ask, but the way the song's written and how it's delivered makes the concept one of the best ideas out there. The line tackles internal conflict and offers implications on how you can tackle it. (I'm thinking of breaking down the entire some in a future analysis, and you can read the other two here.)

I'll do more at a later date, but for now, it's safe to say that this episode ranks as one of the best at this point. There are very good reasons why The Cutie Map has so much intrigue in this fandom. The conflict concept is bold and fantastic. But what it did was tackle this dark theme, merge the concept of the cutie mark in both MMC and the rest of the show, and approach it very naturally. It's extremely believable, and its execution is utterly fantastic. A very bold direction like this is extremely needed, and to have it done and done well in TV-Y programming is revolutionary.

[JayRaR]

I must say, that was a pretty good albeit rather deep opener for this season! I was not expecting communism (or equalism?) and Orwell vibes coming from a children's cartoon of all things. 

 

I really felt that a 2-parter was complete even though the bad pony got away. The one thing that bothers me though is how Starlight was able to overpower an alicorn's magic and remove her cutie mark, strenth, AND magic all at once. I thought the stick would be some super ancient relic, but no it was the unicorn's magic that had something to do with it. I'm really curious as to how she got that power, but I feel it'll be revealed in time as I don't think that's the last we see of her.

 

I chuckled when Rainbow Dash was going on this adventure (Applejack too maybe?) because of the danger, but she barely did a thing! It was also funny that RD was expecting a fight under this one pony's basement, haha. Surprisingly, there's wasn't too much fighting going on, which was fine by me.