So Misty Just Had A VERY Big Episode! | My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale Episode 53 Review/Discussion · 1:58am Jun 2nd, 2023
Wow! I mean, just when I was getting back down to writing, this episode comes out and blew me away so much that I just had to talk about it! Okay, so you all know how out of the two shows that G5 currently has, I prefer Make Your Mark over Tell Your Tale. I think Make Your Mark has a lot more relevance to the overall story arc, the lessons and situations are told far better, and the 22-minute episode format is just generally more appealing to me as a longtime FIM fan. However, Tell Your Tale has just been getting better and better with each release and it all culminates with this episode, the one airing right before the big culmination event that is Make Your Mark Chapter 4, and it’s the one where we see Misty…actually throwing away the Opaline necklace?! Holy cow! We got some actual plot development in this series at long last! Redemption confirmed!!
Spoiler Alert from here on out!! You have been warned.
So the episode begins with Misty playing with some hoof puppets of herself that are telling her different things, basically playing up the cliche “Angel vs Devil” conflict we see a lot in children’s media. The evil-looking one is basically all “RARR!! GET THAT DRAGON, MWAHAHAHAHA!!” But the adorable good puppet is like: “Nooooooo! Stay loyal to your friends!” This is the perfect symbolization of Misty’s internal conflict summed up in a 15 second sequence. But while that is happening, the Mane Five show up! Misty tries to say that she was just analyzing grass, which is admittedly really hilarious, before low and behold: Opaline appears out of the necklace to talk to Misty!!
This can only go well.
Misty tries to put Opaline away to hide her from Sunny and co and I just love the comedy here, how Misty is trying her best to get Opaline back inside while pretending like totally nothing is wrong. The mix between physical and verbal comedy here just had me in hysterics. Well, once that situation is taken care of, Zipp suggests that Misty take off the necklace, to which the latter refuses and runs off, claiming that she needs to run some errands. Those errands end up being a tree of shadowfruits that Misty tries to get for Opaline, but finds that she can’t due to the necklace constantly getting stuck on the branches. So she puts it down and Zipp takes it because of course she does!
So with the necklace now being in the hooves of the Mane 5, what happens next? Well, cue about 3 minutes of absolutely hilarious shenanigans of it being passed to each pony and turning them evil and the opposite of who they are. Basically like the Mean 6, but it’s the actual characters getting corrupted and not clones. Izzy becomes a destructive monster to arts and crafts, Hitch decides that he actually likes litter and that the rules are optional, Pipp becomes a hard rock guitar player (nice reference, Hasbro. I see what you did there), Zipp becomes a tyrannical dictator, and Sunny decides that friendship is for weak-minded losers while tearing up photos of her friends (I bet she’s going to regret that a lot later on. Those are not things you can just replace, girl!!).
Basically, we got comedy gold and seeing all of the Mane 5 as evil versions of themselves to a really comical degree was just so funny and ridiculous to watch. This is where Tell Your Tale shines the brightest in my opinion. Whereas Make Your Mark thrives more on portraying scenarios through a realistic and mature lens, Tell Your Tale just embraces the absurdity of these situations and runs with it. And I think that’s what makes both stand out as their own distinct entities in a very unique way. They’re wildly different shows with very distinct tones that just happen to be held together by both the same characters and a singular, overarching narrative. Yet it never feels out of place. You know exactly what you’re getting when you watch either series and that’s what makes them perfect. Each episode from either show builds up from the last and it really feels cohesive.
Anyways, what about Misty? Well, while all this is happening, Misty is frantically looking for the necklace and soon catches wind of the mayhem going on in the Crystal Brighthouse. There is so much chaos going on in just 30 seconds with the Mane 5 being evil that I think it would even give Discord a good run for his money. Nonetheless, in that moment, Misty knows what she has to do. Like a superhero, she jumps in with some cool acrobatic moves and manages to close the necklace. Once all the dust has settled, Misty admits that she doesn’t exactly feel like herself. It’s not exactly coming clean yet, but I say that it’s a neat start. I think we’ll actually finally get to see her admitting everything in Chapter 4. And yes, I know full well that it won’t be the same way I wrote it in Worthless and that’s totally fine. I’m not setting my expectations that high. The Misty Saga thrives on dark, gritty, and Snyder-esque storytelling, something I can’t imagine MLP in canon ever doing. So in whatever form it comes, I know it’ll be great.
So Misty asks the Mane 5 to follow her and this is where we get the best moment of the episode and the one moment that blew me away. This just may be the best moment in G5 so far. Misty actually throws the necklace down the cliff, symbolizing her finally rejecting all the abuse that she has endured from Opaline, and how she is choosing a new life with new friends. Guys, this has got to be the best MLP redemption I have ever seen ever from this franchise. There’s no preachy speech from the main character, no obligatory flashback backstory to excuse explain the bad guy’s actions, none of that. All of Misty’s backstory has been filled in with Make Your Mark already and this entire time, we’ve been watching her discover life beyond the dark castle walls and how much better her life is with a circle of friends who love her for who she is, not just what she can do for them. It’s all shown and not told, which is a first for MLP and something I honestly never expected! And better yet, this is something Misty discovers on her own and she’s not told this by anyone. She sees how much better her life is now and makes her decision on her own, no strings attached. This is incredible and realistic storytelling. Misty didn’t need to admit anything (yet). We don’t need to see that now. What we needed to see here was her definitive turn towards the light and we got that here in spectacular fashion. All we needed to see is a single, symbolic action and we definitely got that here.
Well done, writers. Well done.
So after a fantastical, magical explosion after the necklace shatters, Misty realizes that she feels so much better and more like herself. Zipp asks about the necklace and where it came from, but Misty says that she doesn’t want to know, which is probably for the best. We don’t need to know where the necklace came from, just that it existed. Magical items in MLP aren’t really known for being explained, you know? Best to just leave it.
So that was My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale Episode 53 - “As The Misty Clears.” Best. Episode. EVER!!!! Well, okay. “Starscout Code” is actually my favorite episode, but this is a very, very close second. What the heck, I actually ADORE Tell Your Tale now?! Well, you learn something new everyday.
NOW GIMME THAT FINAL SHOWDOWN, WRITERS!!!!!
With that being said, I will see you all actually pretty soon. Make Your Mark Chapter 4 releases next week on June 6, so mark that date on your calendars, everypony! As for me, I’m going to see if I can finish both The Fall of Opaline and Redeemed before that date. No promises, but I’m certainly trying. I’ll let you guys know if it works out. Byyyyyyyyyyye!! 
Funny I see this just as I’m about to post my story regarding this episode
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Wait, you are? What’s the story?
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Give me a few secs and you’ll see
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Okay, maybe might take a bit longer than that.
Point is, it’s been submitted and should appear soon.
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I can’t wait!
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OK, you can see it now
I loved this episode too. We're finally getting to see Misty's redemption
I haven’t watched Tell Your Tale myself.
Is it canon to Make Your Mark?
Is it required to watch?
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You should watch it and yes, it is canon to Make Your Mark. Some events that happen in that series won’t make sense without Tell Your Tale viewings and vice versa. So yeah, both are required viewing.
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The one thing I'm hoping most of all going forward is to meet (or at the very least learn the identity of) Sunny's mother.
And maybe also Pipp and Zipp's father and Izzy and Hitch's parents.