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

[Strickerx5]

So while I don't have too much to say on this week's episode, I will say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. It had a bit of a Party of One vibe to it. Pinkie got quite a few hilarious lines because of it as Andrea's delivery was spot on throughout. Also, I love how Twilight and AJ were just there throughout everything. It's like they didn't do anything for the most part because they were just low key enjoying the show. XD

So yeah, overall I found this to be an hilarious episode. Not as good as Party of One but definitely a joy to watch imo.

[AdventChild]

This week’s is Secrets and Pies.

And I felt it was pretty okay-ish.

It did have that air of Party of One with a dash (no pun intended) of MMMMystery on the Friendship Express with the sleuthing aspect and some of Pinkie’s mannerisms and reactions which I kinda like. Though the two episodes from the very earlier seasons mentioned are much better executed than it does here.

I wasn’t too sure or even too sold on the premise and can feel like an over exaggeration with RD’s and Pinkie’s character traits esp. with RD feeding pies to Tank and making him sick that felt rather cruel. But also, it is another situation like with Triple Threat where the solution was simply just talking it out honestly and earnestly. The humor was rather hit and miss for me, some feeling forced than others.

 So yeah, just a pretty okay episode.

[Kevin]

I saw the movie both with a friend of mine and with a meet up group.

Overall, I enjoyed it. While it had its flaws which I’ll get to in a moment, there were a bunch of things I liked.

The Good: 

First off, the animation is absolutely gorgeous and I think is the biggest strength of this movie. If you thought the facial expressions were great in the show, this takes it to a whole ‘nother level!

Pinkie and Rainbow really stole the show. I absolutely loved Pinkie’s antics and facial expressions too.

The scene where Twilight goes off on the rest of the Mane 5 was the strongest emotional scene in the movie. Rarely do we get moments like that in the series and I wish we had more of them.

Tempest was the best villain in the movie. She’s definitely one of the darker villains we’ve seen so far and had an interesting origin story on top of that.

The songs weren’t bad and mostly fit in with their scenes

Princess Skystar was adorable!

The Bad: 

I absolutely hated how useless The Princesses along with Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were. Poor Fluttershy barely got any screen time at time during the whole adventure.

The Storm King was a weak villain and I saw his betrayal of Tempest coming a mile away.

The writing in general could have been better. It wasn’t the worst from seen, but I’ve seen a lot better from various episodes of the show.

Overall, the first half of the movie was better than the second half. I see a lot of people are giving it a rating of 8/10 and I have to agree with that.

[DabigRG]

Watching the finale now and I will say that some episodes were more important than they seemed.

[AdventChild]

 

This week’s episode is Uncommon bond.

Or what I like to call ‘Montage of Sunburst with Starlight’s Friends’ since over half the episode felt like that.

Of course, with it being Starlight centered, I wasn’t anticipating it that much. And I feel neutral on the episode.

Some of the Sunburst moments with the others were fine even though again it seemed to take much screen time. Kinda expected Thorax to make some appearance, but then again it be just more padding scenes than necessary and already had a few episodes prior. Also, some nice continuity nods here and there.

Again, it didn’t change my mind about Starlight. Though her removing the seal of the mirror pool made me face palm and her going back to her shtick of using magic recklessly. And oh I bet this move won’t bite her in the flank in the near future :/ .

Also, with much time spent on Sunburst, it feels that we know him more than we know Starlight which could have been an opportunity to expand and expound on her likes and character more other than centering around the gameboard aspect. Hay, I’m surprised they didn’t mentioned or further use of her interests in kites mentioned earlier this season. Not to mention goes to show how much more interesting character are her friends than herself. Makes me wish Sunburst was the student, not Starlight.

Just an average episode to say the least.

[DabigRG]

3 hours ago, AdventChild said:

 

This week’s episode is Uncommon bond.

Or what I like to call ‘Montage of Sunburst with Starlight’s Friends’ since over half the episode felt like that.

Some of the Sunburst moments with the others were fine even though again it seemed to take much screen time. Kinda expected Thorax to make some appearance, but then again it be just more padding scenes than necessary and already had a few episodes prior.

Yeah, I noticed that as well. However, Thorax is more Spike's friend than Starlight's and thus it wouldn't really make sense here.

3 hours ago, AdventChild said:

Though her removing the seal of the mirror pool made me face palm and her going back to her shtick of using magic recklessly. And oh I bet this move won’t bite her in the flank in the near future :/ .

Also, with much time spent on Sunburst, it feels that we know him more than we know Starlight

O_0 ...oh...I didn't even think about that.

 

How so?

[Strickerx5]

This was weird episode for me. I don't have too much to say about it because... well, not much happened tbh. The first part of this episode set it up to be something special. A good old romp with an old set of friends. Maybe we'd even get a bit more added to that oh so "tragic" backstory Starlight has. But nope, 70% of the episode is spent having Sunburst interact with Starlight's friends and only in the very end do they resolve that predictable plot line.

I mean, it was neat seeing Starburst interact with characters I never thought I'd see him with (hell shippers are probably having a good day too) but that's where this episode ended for me. Outside of these unlikely character interactions, nothing else happened. The plot itself, while having an overall ok moral about hanging out with old friends, was beyond predictable. And man, that common sense switch was not in Starlight's position here as she let her full on season 1-2 Twilight show with the way she tried to handle things. I usually enjoy a good magical freak out but having it come from Starlight... a character that has already had quite a few episodes with these tactics not working out for her, somehow made it less enjoyable for me.

So yeah, overall this episode had a damn fine premise at the start but just din't pull it together during the execution. There are a lot of neat ideas at work here but they never actually come together for me. But hey, we got that little season final tease at the end there so there was that little surprise I guess.

[DabigRG]

Here are some neat questions:

Who are some of your favorite characters and what sticks out about hem?

Who are some of your least favorite characters and why?

What are some character traits or plot points that you think could make any character more interesting/enjoyable if they were explored?

Are there any characters or even episodes you feel could be combined?

 

[Waveshocker Sigma]

Glim Glam vs. the Friendzone 2: The Cuckening.

I honestly really enjoyed this episode entirely in spite Starlight and her whole past involving Sunburst. I wanted something like this to happen as a bit of a wake-up call to her, but I didn't think it'd be THIS glorious. I watched this back when the leak happened but kept quiet about it until now cause I really wanted to see everyone else's reactions to it. This episode was absolutely hilarious to me and I enjoyed it for that alone.

Also, add Sunburst to the list of Ladies Men of MLP alongside Spike, Big Mac and Shining Armor. Dude gets all the mares. <3

[DabigRG]

4 minutes ago, Waveshocker Sigma said:

. I wanted something like this to happen as a bit of a wake-up call to her,

What do you mean by that, exactly?

[DabigRG]

Has anyone see the 5th Equestria girls movie yet?

[AdventChild]

The finale is this week with Shadow Play.

Well, I do find the second half better than the first as it involves the Legends while the first part is basically a dragged-out fetch quest that revisits familiar places with the only thing of interest was the lava surfing with the dragons. Though it feels like there was a lot of potential wasted in this one.

Something minor but as much as I should be used to pony puns at this point, for some reason Ponehedge just rubs me the wrong way when I first heard it. This felt even too cheap and easy for the show. Maybe something like Golem Gardens or Slate Circle or whatever.

The plot points were easy to map out and some things have done before in openings/finales past i.e. villain reformation, etc. Pacing felt quick and slightly rush in the second half and I wanted to see more of the ponies of Legend/Original Mane 6. Wasn’t a fan of Starswirl’s attitude and that Twilight’s character has been taken some steps back doesn’t help to service the plot either. And speaking of which and tying in with returning themes, Starlight saving the day or being the “voice of reason” by bringing up her villainous past for the umpteenth time is getting redundant and stale at this point esp. when we had similar stuff with Luna/NMM eps beforehand.

But for the buildup this season had for the ponies of legend, it felt disappointing for me how they were shoved to the last half and felt relatively minor despite being a major plot element. The major wasted potential here that this could have been a finale dedicated solely on the original Mane 6 and be their own stars WITHOUT any help of the current cast.

It would have been better if the finale was all about the legendary ponies to explore more on Equestrian lore and make it more unique compared to others. Seeing how the ponies, a new group at that, got assembled/together in more further detail along with character interactions and dynamics and see how they work together as a team rather than a short flashback would have been a treat. Not to mention gradually developing Stygian’s turn into Pony of Shadow, whose dark form feels like a Kingdom Hearts boss btw. Hay, if they did that for S7’s finale and what we have for S8 opening, it would have been an interesting way to bridge the two seasons.

A middle of the road finale with a better second half than first.

[MetalSkulkBane]

Agree,  is Ponehedge kinda lame.

I stopped watching MLP some time ago but checked season finally out of curiosity. It's not the worst, but if I considered watching the show again, I no longer do.

I'm really disappointed by the villain. Stygian (that's a good name BTW, they could drop the shadow part) has criminally little screen time, and his origin is one fat misunderstanding, which makes his turning cheap. He kinda reminds me of Sombra, but he had a creepy presence to himself. Stygian has only ok-design on his side.

New characters are either undeveloped  (pillars) or unlikable (Starswirl). It's sad when Starlight Glimmer is the best character in the story, although that's at the expense of the mane six- Twilight, who are this epic 2-parter to get Attendance Award (then again, it tradition at this point). And yes, the 1 part is so much filler with a really annoyingly predictable twist.

The best I can say is that it adds to the lore (even if contradicts IDW comics much time, which worries me) and main conflict (Twilight following blindly her idol/ Starlight being voice of reason) is somewhat well made.

[Strickerx5]

20 hours ago, DabigRG said:

Has anyone see the 5th Equestria girls movie yet?

There's a fifth movie? Or do you mean those three episodes? If so I've only seen the first of them.

 

So this week is the finale of season 7 (still can't believe I'm typing that XD) and I found this one to be quite interesting. I'd say that seeing all this lore from the past season come together into one finale like this is impressive but I had to remember that the show has really been doing this since season 4. Hell, some could argue that it was like this back with the very first season finale as even that was built up to. Though, how does season 7 do in this regard? Well, that's where the interesting part of this comes into play.

There are a lot of different plots at play here. You have the ancient figures having gone missing, their fight against the Pony of Shadows, the Pony of Shadow's own backstory, Twilight trying to get her idol's respect, and Starlight trying to get Twilight to see that maybe Star Swirl isn't always right. That's five plots in the span of two episode lengths that have to be balanced and, for the most part, I'd say the show handles them well to be honest.

Though damn man, someone on the writing team must have started to read all the complaints Twilight was getting over the past seasons during the final months of making season 7 (and the movie) because this is the third time in a month Twilight fucked up XD. I like the lesson it brought though, as that whole saying of never meet your idle rings true here.

Also, I really like Starlight here. I know it's a running complaint within the fandom of the show always reforming villains but Starlight made a pretty good case for it here. Without that good will, our main cast would be a bunch of Star Swirls. Always willing to shot before talking. I'm not saying that necessarily makes Star Swirl a bad character (I kind of like this approach to him as it's a nice offset from the shows usual outlook and makes sense since he's from the past), but damn if he wasn't the main antagonist for most of this final. His constant dismal of Twilight alone during the first part actually had me feel for her. Like damn man, chill. She had good intentions. XD

Though, if there's one thing I didn't like about the final, it's how the old main six were handheld (outside of Star Swirl). It's actually quite amazing how much these character parallel the actual main six as Star Swirl (Twilight) takes up the most screen time. The others only get like 2 lines each. I realize that this was probably done due to having like, 15+ characters always in a scene (like rip animators) but it was still noticeable. Like, they were featured so prominently in other episodes before but now they're just sort of there for the most part. At least each of the actual main six got their time to shine in the first part before the cast blew up.

Plus, and this is more of a nitpick but being the Luna fan here I have to mention it, what even were Celestia and Luna here? I mean, at least we got a little piece of lore with the show actually confirming the books with them being students of Star Swirl back in the day (hell I mean now we even now know that they've actually aged)... but how do you just sit around for thousands of years without looking for the pony who had that much of an impact on your life? Plus, when information does come to you about him and the others after all this time you just let others figure it out? Like what, how?

...Maybe those reports Star Swirl wanted were more demanding than we know. In which case I feel them on it. XD

So I guess what's really interesting about all of this is what it means for the future of the show. I mean, we now have prominent figures of myth like Star Swirl back. How are they going to react to the new world.

I guess to end on a slightly lower note, I did find the overall plot to be rather tame for the most part. Underneath all of this, the plot is pretty point for point with a really quick resolution. It's not really anything to bring the two-parter down imo but it was noticeable.

Anyways, overall I did quite enjoy this finale. It did a lot to tie up the arch they were doing and opens a lot of opportunities for the future. It's not the best one we've gotten, but I'd probably put it in the upper half of two parters. Definitely higher in terms of finales.

 

 

So yeah, that was season 7. Again, that's just crazy to even think about. Overall, I have to say that I was surprised with the season. I feel as though it had a lot more highs than lows. Plus, some of those highs... easily the best in the show imo. Particular highlights for me include A Royal Problem, Discordant Harmony, and The Perfect Pear (of course). I'm not sure where it ranks in my general list of top seasons but I will say it's probably still slightly lower than 2 and 1 but definitely a fair bit higher than 3, 4, and maybe even 6. A good season to say the least.

[DabigRG]

4 hours ago, Strickerx5 said:

There's a fifth movie? Or do you mean those three episodes? If so I've only seen the first of them.

Yeah, that. Enjoy the 2nd and 3rd ones whenever you get around to them. I'm sure we'll have stuff to talk about with the latter one...

 

[Kevin]

I've seen the Season 7 finale a few times now and it goes right up there with The Cuite Remark as one of my favorite season finales of the show. So much continually, things coming to full circle, develop, and detail coming out of this!

We've been hearing about Starswirl so much and I'm glad we finally get to see him for real now despite being an asshole. Personally, I really want to see him come back in Season 8. There's so much character development potential within that's begging to be done!

Speaking of coming back, I certainly wasn't expecting the Elements of Harmony to make a comeback nor stay around after being used. I'm curious to see where things go in regards to them from Season 8 onwards.

All in all, great job, writers! I'm looking forward to seeing what the next season brings and given the little preview we've seen so far, I'm excited!

[pastelspectre]

it's been a while since i posted in here..apologizes. i have seen all the episodes of season 7 and the finale made me tear up. it was good, man. very emotional. a little cheesy at the end, but heck, that's what makes it good in my opinion. i loved the previous episodes, secrets and pies and the one with starlight and sunburst.

[Dark Qiviut]

Note: Credit to a user (and friend) offsite named A.V. for linking to the trope on the EQD Forums several months ago, eventually leading me to inspiration for this post. This post is also connected to two other threads I created a while ago on the MLP Forums.

---

One of S5's biggest strengths (aside from using the mane character's strengths to dominate the story at time) is telling a really mature story. When done right, it pulls no punches and tells a really compelling story with often mature and gray morals.

S7 follows up that level of maturity in many episodes, too, but also adds another important element into it: not dominating one side of the conflict. Named "Both Sides Have a Point" on TV Tropes, several episodes present the audience both sides of the story and expanded upon that. Examples include:

• Parental Glideance: Windy and Bow sometimes act really hyper and get to the point of sometimes embarrassing Dash by accident. Can it get overbearing? Depends on your perspective. However, Scootaloo doesn't have parents around her all the time and dreams of having parents like them, because she feels neglected back home and doesn't have parents that stick around and really appreciate her.
  
  So, was Dash justified to feel upset at them for crossing the line? Yes. Was she justified to suggest disownment of them because they embarrass her? No! She really crossed a major line and showed a lack of appreciation for both their support and sacrifices. The episode and moral are right on the money.
• Forever Filly: Rarity's overbearing attitude was written to be in the wrong, and the motive to trigger it was really flimsy, but she has a really good point. She loves SB and wants to generate the memories that bonded them. OTOH, Sweetie Belle isn't interested in those same passions, but doesn't exactly say she's too old to abandon them altogether. She has a really important job and doesn't want to neglect it.
• Perfect Pear: One of the grandest daddies here. While the Pears' and Apples' tribal hatred of each other is very silly in today's world, it wasn't the case back then, both in Equestrian timeline and our own. Both families competed for supremacy and profit in Ponyville, leading to this lifelong feud. Given historical context, you can see where they come from. Additionally, so do BC and Bright: They loved each other too much for their families to separate them.

But this plot presentation was used rather sparingly. Then To Change a Changeling aired, foreshadowing a major shift in the story structures for the rest of the season. Sure, TCaC could've written off Pharynx as some stereotypical throwback grump who hated change "just because" and wanted things to be the way they are. Instead, Lappin went for the high road: Pharynx hates the way the hive's run, because the Changeling kingdom is so complacent and doesn't prepare to keep the hive and its inhabitants safe. He has a very solid point, and luring the Maulwurf away doesn't guarantee their safety.

When Haber returned to the show, the gray approach to conflicts took off:

• Daring Done?: Daring's upset from the collateral damage she caused. While the episode could've absolved her of her guilt and paint Somnambula's residents as the bad guys, DD? doesn't do that. At least, not entirely. She learns at the very end to be more aware of her actions and the consequences they may carry. Secondly, the citizens are absolutely justified to be upset at the statue being destroyed. Somnambula was so important to the town that destroying her statue comes across as a desecration of their ancestry and history.
• Mane Thing: Despite being told in Rarity's POV, the episode paints neither her nor the citizens of Ponyville as the bad guy. Rarity's justifiably upset for losing her mane, and thus loses her voice. She covers herself from embarrassment and says nothing, but Ponyville doesn't recognize her, consequently.
• A Health of Info: Twilight is absolutely right; Fluttershy needs to rest. The episode hammers in that lesson: FS catches swamp fever from Zecora, because she wouldn't sleep (shooting her immune system), while Twilight did. However, AHoI goes out of its way to make you understand Fluttershy's position. She believes she caused Zecora to catch it and would do whatever it takes to help her heal. Can you blame FS for thinking this way? Not at all.
• Marks and Recreation: S7's most underrated episode, outside of All Bottled Up. Rumble was the episode's antagonist, but he has very real reasons to fear getting his cutie mark. He loves everything he does, and he fears getting a mark will ruin his love for them. Rather than shooting him down, M&R justifies it: Apple Bloom loves making potions with Zecora, and Rumble asks her when she last did it. She couldn't answer. Was his approach (sabotaging the camp and making everyone bored) extreme? Yes. But his fears weren't unfounded. The climax handles his fear brilliantly: letting Thunderlane (a WB) lead the charge by giving everyone at the camp activities they love doing, and Rumble joins in.
• Zeppelin: Fame written correctly. The fans have a very real reason to be on the cruise and are treated like real people. Star Tracker's awkwardness wasn't excused, but he wasn't a stereotype, either; he's a kid who's eager to make an impression. Think about this. If you won the opportunity to be with someone you idolize, would you be excited or nervous, too? Probably so.
  
  Most importantly, Twilight also has a point. She joined the cruise to hope she'll spend quality time with her family, and she accepted IW's deal so she and everyone else would be happy. She was justifiably hurt when she missed a moment so dear to her, but the episode acknowledges that taking her anger out on her family and not sincerely apologizing to Star for accidentally stepping on his hoof was out of line. Rather than undergoing the clichéd result of having fun and damn everyone else, Cadance informs her that she can establish her own boundaries, and Twilight asks everyone for peace.
• Uncommon Bond: Starlight understandably wants to bond more with Sunburst however she could, but Sunburst also has his own pastimes and accidentally gets caught up with her closest friends instead. Starlight's magic trick (changing the scene and themselves as if they were kids) was creepy, but it's in character, and the episode doesn't demonize her or him for that.
• Shadow Play: The granddaddy of this presentation. SP wasn't your straightforward good-vs.-evil story, even though the villains and heroes are established. Villains aren't completely encased in a vacuum. Heroes have their flaws and missteps, turning them into fuller beings. SP presented a high-quality story where you can understand everyone's perspective. That's how gray the conflict is.
  
  The Pillars are absolutely justified to feel upset at Stygian, accuse him of trying to steal their magic, and eject him from their group. During a very dark time in Equestria, Stygian stole their priceless artifacts and told them nothing about it. It was not a magically friendly era. But Stygian is also a person. He feels worthless in their group, since he's basically Equestria's Squib. Yes, he was wrong to steal, but you can see where he's coming from. Becoming one with the Pony of Shadows gives him status equal to his ex-friends, because the PoS listened and comforted him.
  
  On the other side, Twilight's reason to release Star Swirl et al from Limbo was really short-sighted of her, but her motives were also justifiable. Star Swirl and the Pillars altogether are Equestria's most important figures, and bringing them back can help make Equestria in a safer place. Unfortunately, she completely overlooked the PoS, and SS was rightfully ticked at her for it. She was so embarrassed for what she did that she did that she'll do anything to prove to him she's no slouch or idiot.
  
  With the PoS released and Ponehnge destroyed, the Elements were needed to push him back to Limbo and keep the Realm secure. But what the RM7 knew about the PoS was the story Sunburst told them and the Pillars' side of the story. To use the Elements to banish him again stung Starlight Glimmer, a former villain. Blasting them felt so extreme and didn't go after the source of the problem. Her strength as a detective took over here, and she was able to piece together the jigsaw puzzle.

Seasons four and five really brought forth a mature approach to storytelling in FIM by telling really risky and adult conflicts and attaching gray morals, but S7's presentation feels even more mature by telling really gray stories. Many earlier seasons' conflicts were mostly one-sided, although they did go to a middleground at times; whether they succeeded or not depended on the execution.

So, why is it important to tell a gray story? Like telling a deep moral or theme, you're showing a respect to the audiences watching it. FIM is an all-ages, family-family program with very young kids as the base demographic. Like I wrote in one of the threads linked above, kids may not the mature brain development as adults, but they understand respect. You're not talking down to them by writing a deep, multi-sided story. High-quality, gray stories show children stories and characters don't have to be so black and white. Some of FIM's best episodes prior to S7 — like Sisterhooves, Amending Fences, Mane Attraction, Lesson Zero, Winter Wrap Up, Testing Testing, Flight, Fault, and Times — were told through a multi-sided conflict. S7B ran with this trope and was successful most of the time. The majority of S7B would not have benefited without that complex approach.

---

So, here are some questions for those reading my post:

1. What episode(s) would greatly benefit by telling a multi-sided conflict than one only? How would you revise the episode to make it better?
2. What do you feel about S7's gray approach to their stories? Do you hope Seasons 8 and beyond continue to follow through it?
3. Do you have any possible episode ideas that could tackle a conflict while validating both or more points equally? How would you go about it?
4. Which episodic themes do you want to see tackled in a multi-sided perspective rather than have just one shot down and ignored?

[Your Vest Friend]

Parental Glidance was bullshit with its moral. No, Dash was fully justified in her approach. They didn't just embarrass her, they wouldn't respect her boundaries at all, and as an adult she was perfectly okay saying "reign it in or piss off". I mean, it couldn't have been mild embarrassment even before if she actively went out of her way to leave them out of her life. 

Shadow Play was just stupid all around. The guy was threatening the entirety of Equestria. Regardless of what happened before, it doesn't justify his actions and it reaches a point that taking him out entirely should be the best recourse. Doesn't help that everyone was handed the idiot ball so Starlight could be forced to save the day again. 

Mane Attraction wasn't even a multi-sided conflict, it was Applejack making Coloratura see that she should be herself instead of going with the manufactured image Svengallop made for her, any other arguments end up being pushed to the wayside (what doesn't help is that the song that supposed to represent Coloratura being herself, Magic Inside of You, is equally as phony and fabricated as Spectacle, but with none of the self-awareness). 

 

[Dark Qiviut]

On 12/11/2017 at 2:13 PM, VEDJ-F said:

Parental Glidance was bullshit with its moral. No, Dash was fully justified in her approach.

Dash's approach was NOT justified whatsoever. It doesn't matter how angry she was at them. She has no right snapping at them, swatting Bow's hoof away, treating them like they're worthless, and threatening disownment. Even though they were reckless, they still loved her and sacrificed a lot to help her dreams. Dash took her parents' support back to childhood for granted and translated their appreciation and dedication for her as a nuisance. Her anger was abusive; it was NOT okay, period. Scoot was absolutely right to be horrified at what she said to Bow and Windy; she'd kill to have parents like that, quirks and all, because she'd receive appreciation and attention she never or rarely got by her own parents. The moral was exactly right.

On 12/11/2017 at 2:13 PM, VEDJ-F said:

The guy was threatening the entirety of Equestria. Regardless of what happened before, it doesn't justify his actions and it reaches a point that taking him out entirely should be the best recourse.

From the opener of Part 1, Stygian/The Pony of Shadows was clearly unlike the big bad ones like Tirek. Star Swirl's journal explained the PoS's origins from their perspective, but not his. When the Map got involved, the problem was way deeper and more complex than the audience can perceive. Starlight knew something was up. That a simple banishment wouldn't genuinely solve the problem. Think about it from SG's perspective. She understands that villainy isn't confined inside a vacuum, so she can offer a fresh perspective unlike anyone else in the group. Hers is as valid as theirs; Stygian's backstory doesn't mirror hers by accident.

On 12/11/2017 at 2:13 PM, VEDJ-F said:

Shadow Play was just stupid all around.

Quite the contrary. It's fresh and multi-layered. It seamlessly weaves in so many side plots without hurting the flow and imbalancing the cast, and it all makes sense. It's the best two-parter of the show.

On 12/11/2017 at 2:13 PM, VEDJ-F said:

Mane Attraction wasn't even a multi-sided conflict, it was Applejack making Coloratura see that she should be herself instead of going with the manufactured image Svengallop made for her, any other arguments end up being pushed to the wayside (what doesn't help is that the song that supposed to represent Coloratura being herself, Magic Inside of You, is equally as phony and fabricated as Spectacle, but with none of the self-awareness). 

None of what you wrote diminishes Rara's point. She was justified to not believe AJ at all, because Svengallop helped boost her career. AJ had to catch him in the act in order to convince her to disassociate from him. She had a valid reason to trust him. Prior to Pear, TMA was the best AJ episode, and the way AJ, Rara, and TMA as a whole were written are why.

The Magic Inside is one of S5's best songs, if not the best. It was raw, emotional, beautifully scored, and well done as a whole. She recognized how she couldn't sacrifice her soul for fame, and The Magic Inside shows us how free she is without Svengallop manipulating her like a puppet with strings.

[Strickerx5]

So um, another massive heads up guys. Apparently another major leak is currently in progress (like files are still coming at the time of writing). For those of you very weary of spoilers, might want to avoid most places for the time being.

The current list includes things like:

- The entirety of Season 8 episode descriptions (also starting to see some gifs of new scenes popping up now too so they might have some full episode files now...)

complete with...

Spoiler

a new intro, movie is officially canon

Update: Confirmed full, unfinished episodes are out there. Not just gifs anymore.

- Possible second movie information

- Future series production timeline

- Some EQG stuff... don't know if it's a new movie or anything

- Possible G5 concept art

Spoiler

Apparently Season 9 is going to be the final season for FiM with a full reboot coming in late 2019-2020.

 

So uh... yeah, some pretty big stuff. Again, take it all with a grain of salt as we really don't know if it's all real (I imagine the season 8 stuff at least is seeing as actual animation is coming out of that). Just use caution is all.

Tho... for those who don't really care I need to geek out about something in one of the season 8 episodes here.... (SPOILER GIF BELOW)

Spoiler

YOOOO, we getting dat Celestia episode bois!!!!!!

 

[Blue Wisp]

43 minutes ago, StrickerXmas said:

 

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Apparently Season 9 is going to be the final season for FiM with a full reboot coming in late 2019-2020.

 

Spoiler

Well huh. Didn't expect MLP to get a reboot.

But maybe now I can stop hating on Twilight Alicorn and Starlight Glimmer.

Sorry, but I'm still bitter about those two choices. Those two things fucked the series for me.

 

[Strickerx5]

21 minutes ago, Blue Wisp said:

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Well huh. Didn't expect MLP to get a reboot.

But maybe now I can stop hating on Twilight Alicorn and Starlight Glimmer.

Sorry, but I'm still bitter about those two choices. Those two things fucked the series for me.

 

Spoiler

The "reboot" aspect of the leaks is surprising to me too. While MLP in general is no stranger to complete re-imaginings... it looks as though G5 is about to use the same cast of characters just with different traits. It's really odd. I was expecting G5 to be a lot more different. Though, this is all REALLY early so who knows at this point. I mean, compare what FiM was going to be in its concept art to what we have now. For all we know, none of what's being leaked could make it to the final product.

As for Twilicorn... eh, I've personally just mellowed out on it. I was not ok with it in the beginning (mainly because it totally destroyed her character in the seasons to follow) but now I've just sort of accepted it. Especially considering that she's actually now been an Alicorn longer in the series than she was a Unicorn. Plus, season 7 and the movie saw some interesting moments for her so I'm just hopeful season 8 can follow through with that.

Starlight though, I honestly never hated her. Her disconnect from the main six in most cases is something I actually find pretty amusing to see more often than not. She's become less of a Twilight 2.0 and more of her own thing. I really only hate her backstory which, to this day, is still pretty damn stupid.

 

Though, another update from the leak about Spike...

Spoiler

Apparently he's getting wings and we might see his dad...

well den

[Your Vest Friend]

Seen them, pretty interesting.

I've even done some work for them and worked out the names of all the new kids on the block.

[Forte-Metallix]

16 hours ago, StrickerXmas said:

As for Twilicorn... eh, I've personally just mellowed out on it. I was not ok with it in the beginning (mainly because it totally destroyed her character in the seasons to follow) but now I've just sort of accepted it. Especially considering that she's actually now been an Alicorn longer in the series than she was a Unicorn. Plus, season 7 and the movie saw some interesting moments for her so I'm just hopeful season 8 can follow through with that.

Same here. I still think making her a princess was an interesting twist on the typical fairy-tale ending. In most girl-centered shows with this scenario, becoming a princess means the heroine gets to live happily ever after. But FiM handles it a little more realistically- Twilight didn't get a happy ending handed to her with her crown; she then had to learn to live with new responsibilities and burdens of being an authority figure. If anything, becoming royalty made things a lot harder for her instead of being an end goal.

Everything Twilight went through in the first three seasons was just training her for her true destiny. Being a princess or any kind of ruler is a responsibility, not a reward. And ever since she got her own kingdom, Twilight has only continued to grow as a character, eventually moving from Mistress of Friendship to Teacher, guiding Starlight down the right path just as Celestia once did to her. Magical Mystery Cure wasn't the end of Twliight's character arc: It was just the end of her tutorial level.