WARNING: Tactical Nuclear Wall o' Text incoming! It's over... XD
Now that Magical Mystery Cure has finally aired, I wanted to discuss my thoughts on it and see what everyone else thinks as well (<- main discussion value, I genuinely want to discuss the pros and cons here). If you hate pony threads, then now's your cue to leave. I'm also amatuer at this, so forgive me if I come across as unable to speak my thoughts clear enough. I also won't be stating things like "imo", do to it being obvious that this is all my own personal opinion anyways.
Overall, I enjoyed the episode quite a bit for what it was and for it's short time limit (it should've been longer though), yet at the same time my main concern about Princess Twilight still stands (albeit somewhat lessened)- the show could very well become too Twilight focused at the cost of the focus on the rest of the main cast. First though, I want to go into the episode itself more.
The episode did start a little rushed by going straight from Twi singing merrily to discovering Rarity trying to do RD's job and thinking she always has done this. They do explain it shortly afterwards, but that's something I felt they should've setup beforehand. The main plotline itself though was actually interesting, though Celestia does come across as a bit of a ***** for basically tricking Twi into inadvertently screwing with all her friends lives. Still, seeing the rest of the Mane 6 trying to do each others' jobs was funny. Seeing Pinkie with her straight hair was a nice touch at getting across Pinkie's misery at the situation. I do feel there was too big an emphasis on "destiny", but it doesn't hurt the episode too much. Twi's answer to the situation is one that makes sense, and reminds me of the Discord 2-parter with a heavy focus on their friendships. My main complaint here is that the scene where Pinkie get's helped felt almost glanced over and incredibly rushed, and as a "Pinkie is best pony" guy I was looking forward to seeing her part the most.
As for the Princess part, it's handled fairly well and does a pretty good job of sticking to the characters personalities. Things like RD talking about having a new flying buddy were fun to watch. Celestia showing the events of all 3 seasons so far while discussing what Twi has learned really added a lot to the scene and reminded me of all the good (and sometimes bad) times we've had so far with the show. It's simply a beautiful way to lead up to an event that's bound to change things quite a bit - sort of a "reminder of the past while bracing for a hopeful but changing future" kind of thing, and I liked it. Twi's reaction in particular to suddenly being a Princess felt spot-on the vast majority of the time, with only the flying sequence at the very end standing out to me at this moment as out-of-place. Overall, it genuinely felt like how someone would react to such a radical change, and seeing her talk about how important her friends were in her speech did calm my fears down a bit (more on that later) while being a fairly heartwarming scene.
On the more technical side, the animation was absolutely incredible save for the flying Twilight at the end, which looked incredibly goofy as she got close to the screen. The scene with Celestia and Twi looking back on the past in particular deserves special mention, with the background being a gorgeous space-like scenery with vivid blues and whites dominating the scene. Alicorn Twilight does look a bit iffy at first when her wings are spread, but looks far better during the final scenes. Turns out Twi really knows how to rock a dress.
Admittedly, I didn't like Celestia's and Luna's looks much at the end, as their dresses look out of place on them. I'm also not fond of Celestia's oversized crown, especially when Luna's is small by comparison. It does look silly and makes it seem like Celestia is above her sister on the royal hierarchy, when the series' pilot established that they're suppose to rule Equestria together. It's a minor nitpick, but it does irritate me nonetheless.
The music was just all around great. Hearing so many songs and each one being done so well really made the episode a lot of fun. Sure, none of them are quite on par with the likes of "Art of the Dress" or "Smile", but I could see myself listening to them in my spare time. Hearing Celestia sing was also quite the treat, especially as someone who's been clamoring for more character development for both of the Royal Sisters. The humor was also done moderately well. While the episode clearly wasn't meant to be comedy focused, it definitely gets some good laughs throughout. Tabitha in particular reminds me why she is my favorite VA, though there was one scene that had me rolling that I just can't seem to recall off of the top of my head. The others get some good laughs as well, though I do feel that a bit more could've been done with Pinkie in general.
Overall, I find myself really liking the episode (much better than A Canterlot Wedding and The Crystal Empire, that's for certain). With the exception of my one major concern, I'm really looking forwards to seeing where they'll take this and how this will impact the show. But that does leave me with that concern; and while this episode did give me a bit of hope that my fears won't happen, it does still point to said possibility that the show could very well become mostly about Twilight instead of all of the Mane 6.
My concern originates primarily from A Canterlot Wedding and The Crystal Empire's major focus on Twilight alone, as well as the hit-and-miss nature of Season 2 and 3's writing. In both of those two-parters Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were nothing more than comedic relief. All five of them could have been removed from those episodes entirely and nothing would've changed. The Crystal Empire even actively encouraged Twilight not to use her friends, in a show titled "Friendship is Magic". While Twi did let Spike save the day in the end, the fact remains that the rest of the Mane 6 did essentially nothing to help stop Sombra. Even the one thing they were allowed to do (don't let the Crystal Ponies know the Crystal Heart is a fake), they screwed up on and thus were entirely pointless. They were side characters for Twi's story in both of the last two "Equestria needs saving" stories. Now with Twilight becoming the Equestrian equivalent of a queen, that leaves more than enough potential for Twi to get even more focus over her friends. Considering that Twilight is only one reason out of six that I watch the show, I'd absolutely hate to see that happen. Twi is indeed awesome, but I still want my Pinkie Pie and Rarity episodes. It's hard to imagine making a Princess a side character at all anymore (like Twi has been in episodes like Fall Weather Friends, Stare Master, and Hurricane Fluttershy) or her not taking the spotlight in episodes focused on the entire Mane 6 (such as Swarm of the Century or Bridle Gossip). I also wonder how episodes dedicated to fleshing out her relationship with another pony (Feeling Pinkie Keen, Bird in the Hoof, etc.) will behandled, though I do admit that those could turn out particularly interesting specifically because of Princess Twi. Now many people have said to me that the writers have done a great job all-around so far and that they trust them not to screw it up. That's the thing with me though - I don't think they've done an all-around good job during Seasons 2 and 3. Season 2 in particular relied on flanderizing the characters a lot, doing things like making RD an unlikable ***** too often and making Pinkie do "random" things even when it doesn't make sense for her to do that. Pinkie's random, sure; but there has always been more to her than just "Lol, I'm random". She does actually think about what she's doing, and while being a fun-loving and energetic pony she does have priorities that she put's above those things. Just watch Too Many Pinkie's again if you still don't get what I'm saying here, as that episode breaks down Pinkie's behavior better than I can. Back on topic, there's a reason people don't like Mare-Do-Well, even if I do think it's underrated. With all that in mind, I can't say that I do fully trust the writing team in general not to muck this up, especially when something like Princess Twilight can so easily go wrong unless handled carefully. Admittedly though, hearing that Amy Keating Rogers is back has calmed me down some, as I interviewed her before back at BronyCon in June (it's on Youtube if you want to see it, though it is my first interview). I've always liked her writing style (Best Night Ever and Friend in Deed tie for my favorite episode) and after talking to her she definitely seems like the type who wouldn't completely neglect the other characters.
Overall though, my concern does still stand even if lessened somewhat by the surprisingly good episode and AKR's return. Whether I end up right or not remains to be seen, and I'll be sticking around until at least Season 4. As I've said in the past, even if the show and / or fandom goes completely to shit, I'll still always enjoy most of Seasons 1 - 3 and won't let either of those affect my opinions on them. As I continue to wait anxiously to be proven wrong, I ask you all the following questions:
- What did you think of the S3 finale overall?
- What are your thoughts on my personal fears over the future of MLP:FiM?
- What are your expectations of Season 4? Are you looking forward to some very interesting episodes coming out of Twilicorn? Are you concerned that it could go downhill from here or that the show has jumped the shark? Do you think there might be more Muffin Queen or other popular BG characters appearing in the show?
- Last but certainly not least, the universal brony question: Who is best pony in your eyes? Mine's still Pinkie.
Feel free to criticize me as much as you wish (I know, a dangerous thing to say on the interwebz), so long as you're mature about it. No "go hang yourself" posts or other crap like that, otherwise you'll just get reported and ignored. I'm genuinely wanting to hear other people's opinions, even if they vary from my own. I don't know how to end this wall-o'-text, so I'll just say moar Celestia plz and have a nice day.
Captcha: "have an inkling". Captcha scares me sometimes.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that Luna didn't have a single line throughout the whole episode, which is sad since Twi's coronation is the perfect opportunity to have Luna say or do something, especially after Luna's scenes in The Crystal Empire episodes.
Now that Magical Mystery Cure has finally aired, I wanted to discuss my thoughts on it and see what everyone else thinks as well (<- main discussion value, I genuinely want to discuss the pros and cons here). If you hate pony threads, then now's your cue to leave. I'm also amatuer at this, so forgive me if I come across as unable to speak my thoughts clear enough. I also won't be stating things like "imo", do to it being obvious that this is all my own personal opinion anyways.
Overall, I enjoyed the episode quite a bit for what it was and for it's short time limit (it should've been longer though), yet at the same time my main concern about Princess Twilight still stands (albeit somewhat lessened)- the show could very well become too Twilight focused at the cost of the focus on the rest of the main cast. First though, I want to go into the episode itself more.
The episode did start a little rushed by going straight from Twi singing merrily to discovering Rarity trying to do RD's job and thinking she always has done this. They do explain it shortly afterwards, but that's something I felt they should've setup beforehand. The main plotline itself though was actually interesting, though Celestia does come across as a bit of a ***** for basically tricking Twi into inadvertently screwing with all her friends lives. Still, seeing the rest of the Mane 6 trying to do each others' jobs was funny. Seeing Pinkie with her straight hair was a nice touch at getting across Pinkie's misery at the situation. I do feel there was too big an emphasis on "destiny", but it doesn't hurt the episode too much. Twi's answer to the situation is one that makes sense, and reminds me of the Discord 2-parter with a heavy focus on their friendships. My main complaint here is that the scene where Pinkie get's helped felt almost glanced over and incredibly rushed, and as a "Pinkie is best pony" guy I was looking forward to seeing her part the most.
As for the Princess part, it's handled fairly well and does a pretty good job of sticking to the characters personalities. Things like RD talking about having a new flying buddy were fun to watch. Celestia showing the events of all 3 seasons so far while discussing what Twi has learned really added a lot to the scene and reminded me of all the good (and sometimes bad) times we've had so far with the show. It's simply a beautiful way to lead up to an event that's bound to change things quite a bit - sort of a "reminder of the past while bracing for a hopeful but changing future" kind of thing, and I liked it. Twi's reaction in particular to suddenly being a Princess felt spot-on the vast majority of the time, with only the flying sequence at the very end standing out to me at this moment as out-of-place. Overall, it genuinely felt like how someone would react to such a radical change, and seeing her talk about how important her friends were in her speech did calm my fears down a bit (more on that later) while being a fairly heartwarming scene.
On the more technical side, the animation was absolutely incredible save for the flying Twilight at the end, which looked incredibly goofy as she got close to the screen. The scene with Celestia and Twi looking back on the past in particular deserves special mention, with the background being a gorgeous space-like scenery with vivid blues and whites dominating the scene. Alicorn Twilight does look a bit iffy at first when her wings are spread, but looks far better during the final scenes. Turns out Twi really knows how to rock a dress.
Admittedly, I didn't like Celestia's and Luna's looks much at the end, as their dresses look out of place on them. I'm also not fond of Celestia's oversized crown, especially when Luna's is small by comparison. It does look silly and makes it seem like Celestia is above her sister on the royal hierarchy, when the series' pilot established that they're suppose to rule Equestria together. It's a minor nitpick, but it does irritate me nonetheless.The music was just all around great. Hearing so many songs and each one being done so well really made the episode a lot of fun. Sure, none of them are quite on par with the likes of "Art of the Dress" or "Smile", but I could see myself listening to them in my spare time. Hearing Celestia sing was also quite the treat, especially as someone who's been clamoring for more character development for both of the Royal Sisters. The humor was also done moderately well. While the episode clearly wasn't meant to be comedy focused, it definitely gets some good laughs throughout. Tabitha in particular reminds me why she is my favorite VA, though there was one scene that had me rolling that I just can't seem to recall off of the top of my head. The others get some good laughs as well, though I do feel that a bit more could've been done with Pinkie in general.
Overall, I find myself really liking the episode (much better than A Canterlot Wedding and The Crystal Empire, that's for certain). With the exception of my one major concern, I'm really looking forwards to seeing where they'll take this and how this will impact the show. But that does leave me with that concern; and while this episode did give me a bit of hope that my fears won't happen, it does still point to said possibility that the show could very well become mostly about Twilight instead of all of the Mane 6.
My concern originates primarily from A Canterlot Wedding and The Crystal Empire's major focus on Twilight alone, as well as the hit-and-miss nature of Season 2 and 3's writing. In both of those two-parters Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were nothing more than comedic relief. All five of them could have been removed from those episodes entirely and nothing would've changed. The Crystal Empire even actively encouraged Twilight not to use her friends, in a show titled "Friendship is Magic". While Twi did let Spike save the day in the end, the fact remains that the rest of the Mane 6 did essentially nothing to help stop Sombra. Even the one thing they were allowed to do (don't let the Crystal Ponies know the Crystal Heart is a fake), they screwed up on and thus were entirely pointless. They were side characters for Twi's story in both of the last two "Equestria needs saving" stories. Now with Twilight becoming the Equestrian equivalent of a queen, that leaves more than enough potential for Twi to get even more focus over her friends. Considering that Twilight is only one reason out of six that I watch the show, I'd absolutely hate to see that happen. Twi is indeed awesome, but I still want my Pinkie Pie and Rarity episodes. It's hard to imagine making a Princess a side character at all anymore (like Twi has been in episodes like Fall Weather Friends, Stare Master, and Hurricane Fluttershy) or her not taking the spotlight in episodes focused on the entire Mane 6 (such as Swarm of the Century or Bridle Gossip). I also wonder how episodes dedicated to fleshing out her relationship with another pony (Feeling Pinkie Keen, Bird in the Hoof, etc.) will behandled, though I do admit that those could turn out particularly interesting specifically because of Princess Twi. Now many people have said to me that the writers have done a great job all-around so far and that they trust them not to screw it up. That's the thing with me though - I don't think they've done an all-around good job during Seasons 2 and 3. Season 2 in particular relied on flanderizing the characters a lot, doing things like making RD an unlikable ***** too often and making Pinkie do "random" things even when it doesn't make sense for her to do that. Pinkie's random, sure; but there has always been more to her than just "Lol, I'm random". She does actually think about what she's doing, and while being a fun-loving and energetic pony she does have priorities that she put's above those things. Just watch Too Many Pinkie's again if you still don't get what I'm saying here, as that episode breaks down Pinkie's behavior better than I can. Back on topic, there's a reason people don't like Mare-Do-Well, even if I do think it's underrated. With all that in mind, I can't say that I do fully trust the writing team in general not to muck this up, especially when something like Princess Twilight can so easily go wrong unless handled carefully. Admittedly though, hearing that Amy Keating Rogers is back has calmed me down some, as I interviewed her before back at BronyCon in June (it's on Youtube if you want to see it, though it is my first interview). I've always liked her writing style (Best Night Ever and Friend in Deed tie for my favorite episode) and after talking to her she definitely seems like the type who wouldn't completely neglect the other characters.
Overall though, my concern does still stand even if lessened somewhat by the surprisingly good episode and AKR's return. Whether I end up right or not remains to be seen, and I'll be sticking around until at least Season 4. As I've said in the past, even if the show and / or fandom goes completely to shit, I'll still always enjoy most of Seasons 1 - 3 and won't let either of those affect my opinions on them. As I continue to wait anxiously to be proven wrong, I ask you all the following questions:
- What did you think of the S3 finale overall?
- What are your thoughts on my personal fears over the future of MLP:FiM?
- What are your expectations of Season 4? Are you looking forward to some very interesting episodes coming out of Twilicorn? Are you concerned that it could go downhill from here or that the show has jumped the shark? Do you think there might be more Muffin Queen or other popular BG characters appearing in the show?
- Last but certainly not least, the universal brony question: Who is best pony in your eyes? Mine's still Pinkie.
Feel free to criticize me as much as you wish (I know, a dangerous thing to say on the interwebz), so long as you're mature about it. No "go hang yourself" posts or other crap like that, otherwise you'll just get reported and ignored. I'm genuinely wanting to hear other people's opinions, even if they vary from my own. I don't know how to end this wall-o'-text, so I'll just say moar Celestia plz and have a nice day.
Captcha: "have an inkling". Captcha scares me sometimes.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that Luna didn't have a single line throughout the whole episode, which is sad since Twi's coronation is the perfect opportunity to have Luna say or do something, especially after Luna's scenes in The Crystal Empire episodes.
