Cutie Mark Crusaders/Diamond Tiara musical episode? I can dig it. Big time.
...seriously though, where the hell are Scootaloo's parents?
I do believe she actually has a HOUSE, like i remember rainbow dash and the other crusaders visiting her during one of the episodes, think it was the episode Babs Seeds first came to town.
But they've never shown any family, so it might just be a dormitory who knows. The fandom more or less views scoots as an orphan so until the show provides otherwise that view won't be changing.
*Somehow a reflection on the season as a whole turned into a small rant*
I am in the camp of viewers who feel that this was a pretty disappointing end to a good season. The last few episodes barring The Mane Attraction were also a swing and miss for me, but that's a more personal viewpoint.
Honestly? This season overall felt extremely unorganized and thematically confused with itself. Some aspects of its theme with cutie marks was put on display very well (the buildup with the CMCs, using it as a coming of age story/rediscovering a passion etc), while others like the Map and Starlight Glimmer felt dispirited and flat. It felt like the writing staff had no idea how to really deal with it.
Of all the map episodes, I only distinctly remember Pinke and Dash's mission to Griffonstone. This season fundamentally built up an expectation in me that it would be using the cutie map A LOT more than it actually did, and the majority of episodes it did use it were uninspired and plain in the setup and resolution. (I'm looking at you Made in Manehatten/ Episode with the hobos on two hills)
This season felt more like Season 1 and Season 2 to me. There were more slice of life episodes, there were more personal focus on family, careers, and dreams. Which was why I thought the cutie mark aspect regarding the Crusaders and their roles as inspirations to others worked well. The map and starlight glimmer felt tacked on, a tumorous growth of themes that had no business in what should had been purely a season exploring the advancements of its multiple characters, both in spirit, mind, and physical circumstances.
Highlights of this season for me: Episodes like Ammending Fences, Canterlot Boutique, HearthBreakers, Castle Sweet Castle, Party Pooped, and Mane Attraction were great examples of character advancement, character resolution, and character intimacy (Twilight had a resolution of a recent event in Castle Sweet Castle, and a spiritual resolution of the past in Amending Fences, while Rainbow Dash and Rarity experienced advancement in aspects of their dreams.
Aspects of intimacy for our main chracters were also explored and advanced through family matters: The Apples and Pies, Cadance and Shining Armor, or through other subjects of intimate affection like Pets (Tanks for the Memories), and sisterhood (again Apples and Pies, the CMCs in general, Brotherhooves Social)
The biggest crime I can level against this season is that instead of further exploring these areas of advancement, resolution, and intimacy, that Map served as an anchor to gobble up much needed air time for themes that proved inconsequential. Had the friendship crusades across the land actually meant something for the resolution of Starlight Glimmer's revenge, then perhaps.
But no, Twilight shows Glimmer a dark future. That was the turning point, and at that time I scratch my head and go...so what was the buildup to this? Thematically? WHERE was it? Perhaps starlight glimmer could had been shown slowly learning about values of friendship and intimacy throught the season since we know she has been following twilight around, but the writers did nothing with it. Perhaps there could had been an earlier confrontation to further build up her character. Nothing.
Glimmer is what Sunset Shimmer was to me back in EQG 1, a flimsy villain that is thematically foreign. If they were building up for Glimmer to be induced into the Mane cast, perhaps it would had behooved the writers to spend more time on this mare across the 24 episodes. I would even say throw out episodes pertaining to the Map, they were mostly filler and had zero payoff at the end of the day. Honestly most of the finale could be done in earlier episodes with no repercussions.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders episode felt more like a season finale than this XD
The biggest crime I can level against this season is that instead of further exploring these areas of advancement, resolution, and intimacy, that Map served as an anchor to gobble up much needed air time for themes that proved inconsequential. Had the friendship crusades across the land actually meant something for the resolution of Starlight Glimmer's revenge, then perhaps.
But no, Twilight shows Glimmer a dark future. That was the turning point, and at that time I scratch my head and go...so what was the buildup to this? Thematically? WHERE was it? Perhaps starlight glimmer could had been shown slowly learning about values of friendship and intimacy throught the season since we know she has been following twilight around, but the writers did nothing with it. Perhaps there could had been an earlier confrontation to further build up her character. Nothing.
Glimmer is what Sunset Shimmer was to me back in EQG 1, a flimsy villain that is thematically foreign. If they were building up for Glimmer to be induced into the Mane cast, perhaps it would had behooved the writers to spend more time on this mare across the 24 episodes. I would even say throw out episodes pertaining to the Map, they were mostly filler and had zero payoff at the end of the day. Honestly most of the finale could be done in earlier episodes with no repercussions.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders episode felt more like a season finale than this XD
I agree that the biggest error with the finale is Starlight Glimmer's heel turn. Considering she was willing to go far as to doom herself and Twilight to a terrible fate...I find it hard to believe she was convinced NOT to be evil because of a bad future where there's just a bunch of dirt. Seriously, I don't know what the show is trying to say about cutie marks because they are so intrinsically linked with destiny and fate at this point.
I would argue she's possibly the best villain the show ever created, because she's just a unicorn who created a cult based on her warped ideals without having to be beyond god-like status. So much better than Sunset Shimmer because her madness had an actual method to it by challenging the society based around cutie marks. She was anti-cutie mark fueled by rage and loss and that is so fascinating. For all that hate and bitterness, she changed her tune a bit too quickly.
I don't know how the show can continue to have any more world-destroying villains at this point. We're pretty tapped out with Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek. Discord is so emasculated and pathetic that he annoys me whenever he appears. I'd actually love to see Starlight turn around as a villain again sometime soon. (Plus, I really hope we'll get great Elseworld stories explored in the comics, because "War Time Sombra" and "Zecora vs. Chrysalis" were really neat worlds)
Best Episodes: Cutie Map 1 & 2, Slice of Life, Rarity Trilogy, Brotherhooves Social, and Cutie Mark Crusaders Episode.
Yeah. 3-4 great episodes, a bunch of OK ones, and way too much "HEY FANS, YOU KNOW THAT PONE YOU HAVE A HEADCANNON FOR WELL WE PUT THAT IN THE SHOW FOR YOU ISN'T THAT PRECIOUS?!?"
I dunno, I didn't mind the fan service episode, I thought it was kind of fun. It was pretty cool to see a show actual acknowledge the passion of their fanbase. That being said I might take such a positive stance on this only because as a pro wrestling fan I'm used to having a show literally go out of their way to kill anything the audience starts to enjoy organically and then actively mock the crowd for their audacity to try to enjoy something on their own. So having a program actually show respect towards their audience and their ideas is a strange and foreign concept to me.
I dunno, I didn't mind the fan service episode, I thought it was kind of fun. It was pretty cool to see a show actual acknowledge the passion of their fanbase. That being said I might take such a positive stance on this only because as a pro wrestling fan I'm used to having a show literally go out of their way to kill anything the audience starts to enjoy organically and then actively mock the crowd for their audacity to try to enjoy something on their own. So having a program actually show respect towards their audience and their ideas is a strange and foreign concept to me.
You can show respect without making a garbage episode just to make fanon canon. To do that is pretty simple. Just keep making your thing as you've always made it. If people are fans of your thing, they are fans because of what you are already doing. The best way to serve them is to keep making more of what they love as best youcan. To show additional appreciation for the hardcore fans, you can engage with them in the side channels.
To no one's surprise, I will use KPop as an example of something that is doing this absolutely perfectly. The content of KPop groups is music, dances, and music videos. Nothing about the fans themselves is included in any of the actual music. I've never heard anything about fans mentioned in an actual song, or been visible in a music video, or anything like that.
But take just half a step outside of the actual content, and KPop does more fanservice than you can possibly imagine. Every time they appear on TV, have a concert, have a livestream, or appear in public, they provide the ultimate in fanservice. I've never seen fanservice to this level in my entire life. They even have fanmeetings which is like a concert where they maybe perform a couple songs, but mostly provide fanservice in an auditorium for an hour or few. They use their social media networks, especially Instagram, to constantly post things just to please their fan following.
My favorite example is this. It is Daesung, member of BIGBANG, and ridiculously famous dude. He does this livestream where he surprises a fan on her way home from school/work. He meets her when she gets off the bus, walks her home, gets food at the convenience store, signs something for the clerk, and generally goes all out to make her and the fans watching happy.
Please fans by continuing to make great content and heavily engaging with the community on the side. Engaging with the community via your content will just result in an inferior product.
Wow how about that new Christmas episode in MAY. A great rendition of a classical tale, probably one of the strongest musical episodes they've had in awhile.
Starlight Glimmer... she is very quickly becoming my favorite. She's been a VERY strong character this season and she does bad so good. I love how she's not an immediate 100% heel-face turn into a good guy and is really struggling with finding herself. Her playing her past in a tongue in cheek sort of way is a really great way of showing her insecurities about herself. And dat singing voice. Woof.
has anyone seen the finale yet? the episodes with starlight glimmer have all been really standout and I really like her interplay with trixie. They've sort of been in a holding pattern with the mane six, so it would be nice to see them use this opportunity to either sunset the current cast and use starlight as a nucleus for a new cast or to spin starlight and trixie into a separate show.
Comments
I didn't until a season went by after that and the show continued to be OK.
I do now that the current season is pretty baller.
...seriously though, where the hell are Scootaloo's parents?
[spoiler]Holy shit actual plot progression!!!!![\spoiler]
But they've never shown any family, so it might just be a dormitory who knows. The fandom more or less views scoots as an orphan so until the show provides otherwise that view won't be changing.
I am in the camp of viewers who feel that this was a pretty disappointing end to a good season. The last few episodes barring The Mane Attraction were also a swing and miss for me, but that's a more personal viewpoint.
Honestly? This season overall felt extremely unorganized and thematically confused with itself. Some aspects of its theme with cutie marks was put on display very well (the buildup with the CMCs, using it as a coming of age story/rediscovering a passion etc), while others like the Map and Starlight Glimmer felt dispirited and flat. It felt like the writing staff had no idea how to really deal with it.
Of all the map episodes, I only distinctly remember Pinke and Dash's mission to Griffonstone. This season fundamentally built up an expectation in me that it would be using the cutie map A LOT more than it actually did, and the majority of episodes it did use it were uninspired and plain in the setup and resolution. (I'm looking at you Made in Manehatten/ Episode with the hobos on two hills)
This season felt more like Season 1 and Season 2 to me. There were more slice of life episodes, there were more personal focus on family, careers, and dreams. Which was why I thought the cutie mark aspect regarding the Crusaders and their roles as inspirations to others worked well. The map and starlight glimmer felt tacked on, a tumorous growth of themes that had no business in what should had been purely a season exploring the advancements of its multiple characters, both in spirit, mind, and physical circumstances.
Highlights of this season for me: Episodes like Ammending Fences, Canterlot Boutique, HearthBreakers, Castle Sweet Castle, Party Pooped, and Mane Attraction were great examples of character advancement, character resolution, and character intimacy (Twilight had a resolution of a recent event in Castle Sweet Castle, and a spiritual resolution of the past in Amending Fences, while Rainbow Dash and Rarity experienced advancement in aspects of their dreams.
Aspects of intimacy for our main chracters were also explored and advanced through family matters: The Apples and Pies, Cadance and Shining Armor, or through other subjects of intimate affection like Pets (Tanks for the Memories), and sisterhood (again Apples and Pies, the CMCs in general, Brotherhooves Social)
The biggest crime I can level against this season is that instead of further exploring these areas of advancement, resolution, and intimacy, that Map served as an anchor to gobble up much needed air time for themes that proved inconsequential. Had the friendship crusades across the land actually meant something for the resolution of Starlight Glimmer's revenge, then perhaps.
But no, Twilight shows Glimmer a dark future. That was the turning point, and at that time I scratch my head and go...so what was the buildup to this? Thematically? WHERE was it? Perhaps starlight glimmer could had been shown slowly learning about values of friendship and intimacy throught the season since we know she has been following twilight around, but the writers did nothing with it. Perhaps there could had been an earlier confrontation to further build up her character. Nothing.
Glimmer is what Sunset Shimmer was to me back in EQG 1, a flimsy villain that is thematically foreign. If they were building up for Glimmer to be induced into the Mane cast, perhaps it would had behooved the writers to spend more time on this mare across the 24 episodes. I would even say throw out episodes pertaining to the Map, they were mostly filler and had zero payoff at the end of the day. Honestly most of the finale could be done in earlier episodes with no repercussions.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders episode felt more like a season finale than this XD
I would argue she's possibly the best villain the show ever created, because she's just a unicorn who created a cult based on her warped ideals without having to be beyond god-like status. So much better than Sunset Shimmer because her madness had an actual method to it by challenging the society based around cutie marks. She was anti-cutie mark fueled by rage and loss and that is so fascinating. For all that hate and bitterness, she changed her tune a bit too quickly.
I don't know how the show can continue to have any more world-destroying villains at this point. We're pretty tapped out with Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek. Discord is so emasculated and pathetic that he annoys me whenever he appears. I'd actually love to see Starlight turn around as a villain again sometime soon. (Plus, I really hope we'll get great Elseworld stories explored in the comics, because "War Time Sombra" and "Zecora vs. Chrysalis" were really neat worlds)
Best Episodes: Cutie Map 1 & 2, Slice of Life, Rarity Trilogy, Brotherhooves Social, and Cutie Mark Crusaders Episode.
I just want to say:
The excessive pandering fanservice episode was awful.
Moondancer and Noir Detective Rarity episodes were so goooood.
Other episodes, good enough.
To no one's surprise, I will use KPop as an example of something that is doing this absolutely perfectly. The content of KPop groups is music, dances, and music videos. Nothing about the fans themselves is included in any of the actual music. I've never heard anything about fans mentioned in an actual song, or been visible in a music video, or anything like that.
But take just half a step outside of the actual content, and KPop does more fanservice than you can possibly imagine. Every time they appear on TV, have a concert, have a livestream, or appear in public, they provide the ultimate in fanservice. I've never seen fanservice to this level in my entire life. They even have fanmeetings which is like a concert where they maybe perform a couple songs, but mostly provide fanservice in an auditorium for an hour or few. They use their social media networks, especially Instagram, to constantly post things just to please their fan following.
My favorite example is this. It is Daesung, member of BIGBANG, and ridiculously famous dude. He does this livestream where he surprises a fan on her way home from school/work. He meets her when she gets off the bus, walks her home, gets food at the convenience store, signs something for the clerk, and generally goes all out to make her and the fans watching happy.
Please fans by continuing to make great content and heavily engaging with the community on the side. Engaging with the community via your content will just result in an inferior product.
And dat singing voice. Woof.