This episode lacked the feeling of stakes that the other Big Bad episodes did. Nighmare moon presented a real problem, Discord was literally turning their world upside down, Chrysalis's plot was great and she almost succeeded. Sombre... He wasn't even the real antagonist of the episode. Celestia's test was. Sombre was just a roadblock and a means to put pressure on them to hurry the fuck up.
Not to mention that he was the most poorly developed characters of the series
I hate to say it, but this probably among the worst episodes of the series.
So I'm currently in a lounge room in my dorm doing a group 20 hour pony marathon ending in the new episode.
...I'm sure there's no way I will be regretting this decision 20 hours from now.
You won't regret it. We have done the same thing for Evangelion, Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, and many other shows. None of those are regretted. They only created fond memories. We even forged strong friendships with random strangers due to lounge anime marathons.
Pony onwards!
Survived the marathon, which involved lots of ponies, roller coaster tycoon, arm wrestling, and cupcakes. No regrets.
Hard to deny Sombre was a laughably shitty generic villain, but I thought everything else was pretty damn awesome and exceeded my expectations. Mind too tired to elaborate though.
The villain was definitely not as great as Discord, but I only think that's because they want to focus on Twilight Sparkle more. Celestia was saying to Luna that they were trying to see if Twilight will be the one they need in the future. It's obvious that something even more dangerous than Sombre will be in their future.
Moral of the story: If there ever was a problem that is insurmountable, I shall throw my wife at it.
Enjoyable episode, but they did not need a villian really. That brings the mark of the episode down a little. Although I DO like that shining armor and cadence were fleshed out. Rather they than Sombra in my opinion.
Although that opens up the possibility that he may return. Also the Dark Magic stuff was played up a lot...calling it out now, but twilight may have a crisis of magic and destiny in the future, and King Sombra may play a part. It took both Sisters to banish Sombra, couldn't even kill him, and the ending does show his intact horn flying away.
Also Cadence was referred to as the Crystal Princess by the Crystal Ponies...but there was no concrete statement that the Empire was her previous home or if she was even connected to the Empire...wierd
I enjoyed these episodes, and I think they'll land slightly above the series median for me. Great animation, directing, background music. The musical numbers weren't my favorites but I thought they did their job pretty well and the crystal pony song is currently stuck in my head. Very cool uses of magic with Celestia's visions, the anti-gravity spell, and Sombra's tricks and manipulation. I'm glad we have a progression plot going in the adventure episodes now, especially after the confirmation by Tara Strong that alicorn Twilight is not a real thing. As for comedy, Rarity was the best in this episode, but almost every cast member got a good moment or two, especially Spike.
On the downside, there were the typical 2-parter pacing issues with the first episode being slow and the second being jam packed. And Sombra didn't exactly *detract* from the episode, but the lack of motivation and therefore emotional resonance evoked by his character was a bit disappointing. However, I understand the decision to trade off some villain development for more of a focus on Twilight's growth.
Just evil crystal stuffs; it doesn't really need an explanation. I was kinda expecting Shining Armor to turn evil, but I guess that would have been too cliché.
They got stuck in when he fought Sombra right before they got to the Crystal Kingdom - Sombra's magic seems to create evil dark-magic-powered crystals, that possibly can be cleaned using friendship-magic. There was a blink-and-you'd-miss-it shot of them preventing him from doing magic.
Yeah I noticed him trying to do magic and fail, and then he just shook his head and went on his merry way. No impact whatsoever.
And that's why I think these two-part episodes could make better two hour movies. They could expand on things like that, and the background of the Crystal Empire, and maybe give Sombre more screen time.
Oh, I thought you meant what the crystals were about rather than how they got there. Yeah, it's easy to miss this kind of stuff when it happens so quickly.
A feature length pony movie could be interesting, but it would naturally have to be quite different to standard pony.
I completely agree with you as far saying that the episode was focused on Twilight's test and was not a "Big Bad" story.
However, I don't think you've given proper justification for why that's actually a particularly bad thing. I get that you wanted to see a "Big Bad" story and didn't get one, but that doesn't make this a terrible episode.
Comments
Crystal heart...
What's Cadence's cutie mark again?
Also, the "OH FUCK!" look on RD's Face!
Thanks LoC
Not to mention that he was the most poorly developed characters of the series
I hate to say it, but this probably among the worst episodes of the series.
Survived the marathon, which involved lots of ponies, roller coaster tycoon, arm wrestling, and cupcakes. No regrets.
Enjoyable episode, but they did not need a villian really. That brings the mark of the episode down a little. Although I DO like that shining armor and cadence were fleshed out. Rather they than Sombra in my opinion.
Although that opens up the possibility that he may return. Also the Dark Magic stuff was played up a lot...calling it out now, but twilight may have a crisis of magic and destiny in the future, and King Sombra may play a part. It took both Sisters to banish Sombra, couldn't even kill him, and the ending does show his intact horn flying away.
Also Cadence was referred to as the Crystal Princess by the Crystal Ponies...but there was no concrete statement that the Empire was her previous home or if she was even connected to the Empire...wierd
Also on the 2nd watch the looks on Luna's face and the looks she was giving Twilight are very weird.
On the downside, there were the typical 2-parter pacing issues with the first episode being slow and the second being jam packed. And Sombra didn't exactly *detract* from the episode, but the lack of motivation and therefore emotional resonance evoked by his character was a bit disappointing. However, I understand the decision to trade off some villain development for more of a focus on Twilight's growth.
Luna is jealous of Twilight because Celestia favors her more than Luna. Return of Nightmare Moona!
Musical numbers were utterly unnecessary. They detracted from the episode.
Also, seriously, it was at the top of the castle? Laaaaaaaaaaaame.
Pinkie Pie remains best pony.
Not sure why nobody took them out though.
And that's why I think these two-part episodes could make better two hour movies. They could expand on things like that, and the background of the Crystal Empire, and maybe give Sombre more screen time.
My face:
A feature length pony movie could be interesting, but it would naturally have to be quite different to standard pony.
However, I don't think you've given proper justification for why that's actually a particularly bad thing. I get that you wanted to see a "Big Bad" story and didn't get one, but that doesn't make this a terrible episode.