I'm Writing a Review of "Princess Twilight Sparkle" to Stick it to the Man! (Spoilers Inside) · 12:38am Nov 24th, 2013
So the moment that we have all been waiting for has come! Season 4 of pony pony pony love has finally arrived, and we shall rejoice! I don't know about you, but I have been waiting for this day since... well... about a week after season 3 ended. It has been far too long to be legal (end of November? Really Hasbro!?), but no matter! The day has come! Bring out the fine wines and exquisite meats, roll out the red carpet, and get yourself a haircut, because it is time for me to review this sucker!
Don't shave though, because it's still No Shave November.
So if you remember the last, and only other, time that I did a episode review, you will know how it works. If not, then let me break it down for you. I will first point out the things that I really like about the episode (The Good), the things I didn't quite like about it (The Bad), and then the HOLY GOD KILL IT WITH FIRE (The Ugly)!!! So without further yappin' on my part, let us go!
Alright, I'm going to straight up say this right here, and right now: Twilight is completely adorable when she is "flying". They actually did what I wanted at the end of season 3, which was show that Twilight has no freakin' clue how to fly, and while she is trying to learn, she is having a lot of issues with it. Indeed! The entire opening sequence of the first episode is just showing her attempting to fly around. I know this is such a simple little thing, but it actually shows that yes, she doesn't just "get it" right off the bat (right season 3 ending?), and it does take time to learn things like this, from flying to everything else in life. Yet if you work at it, it will come to you.
Remember kids, always buckle up, and never drink and fly your magical alicorn!
Another thing I really liked was how much they actually put Princess Luna into the episode. Before you call me a sellout or something because "Herp Derp, Luna > Celestia!! LOLOL!!!" I just mean that they at least mentioned her. Think about it, in Canterlot Wedding, they didn't mention her at all, even though her power is at least within the same realm as Celestia (headcanon!), so where the hell was she? Sleeping? Playing video games? Posing for pictures of her doing these things? There was no explanation other than that she wasn't there, and somehow missed it all.
This time, not only did they mention her, but even if she doesn't say a lot in the episode (at least in the present day), she is actually a very important figure. She is part of every little moment that happened in the memories (by the way, I heard a million fanfictions crying out during those flashback moments), from getting the Elements of Harmony to her imprisonment, she was there. It was a simple detail that they put in that really made me happy.
Though let's face it, we all know who the real ruler of Equestria should be.
Finally, and this really can't be said enough, they did the episode right. They didn't pull the season 4 ending where they rushed it or anything like that. They made sure to put it into two episodes instead of one. It felt a little rushed in a few areas sure (namely the Everfree Forest part), but it was still very good. They took the time to make sure that we got a sense of how bad things were thinking, it took the time to mention the obvious "doesn't this sound like something Discord would do?" as well as point out how unlikely the ponies were to trust him on merely his word alone, it went through the struggle Twilight's friends were going through as they try to grasp the whole balance of Twilight being a friend vs being the princess. Finally, it went through the little details that don't have too much meaning right now (why show Luna's rebellion? there's was no point!), but may be important later in the season.
Oh, and before I go on this good part: yes yes, what's in the box? We're all thinking the same thing.
What the hell is this book box!?
Personally, I hope it holds the key to a slightly more continuous series like Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 most likely: still episodic, but with a overarching plot.
There is actually very little I can put here without really really nitpicking, but I'm going to go for it!
The first thing that comes to mind is how... well... selectively rushed they were. I know I know, I just said a few paragraphs ago that they weren't rushed, but is it just me, or did it seem like they rushed some very important points in this episode? Two examples I can think about is the battle with the rockodile and the whole "let's show how Ponyville is falling apart!" With the rockodile, I felt like it ended up like a cheap high school date or something: lots of freaking out about it, followed by quick action, then finally disappointment. One moment, they are freaking out about it, then Twilight get cornered, then... wait... it's over? Well, that was quick.
The next moment of these was how they are showing each of Twilight's friends getting beat up by the various effects of the vines (and vine... clouds? I have no idea). Fluttershy's animals are getting thrown out of the forest, Applejack's farm is being destroyed (again), Rainbow Dash is being attacked by Derpy Hooves jumping on vine-lighting clouds, Rarity is having her horn be screwed up by the magic of those vines, and Pinkie Pie is... wait... what is going on with her?
NSFW posts aren't allowed anymore, so no.
Oh, and the last very minor thing that I have is that there was suprisingly little interaction between the ponies other than Twilight and someone else. Applejack takes a close second, but there was very little between most of them. Fluttershy helps Pinkie's drooling: no followup. Rainbow saves Fluttershy: no followup. Rarity doesn't even talk to Pinkie at all. These two characters especially need to start interacting with one another! THIS IS A CRIME!!
I'm not biased in the slightest.
All in all, it was a wonderful start to the series. I know I posted a few negatives and such and my positives were... interesting, but I wanted to make sure to tell what I thought was poor and some of the very interesting things were good. Discord's portrayal I thought was good, but that's a common thing that I would assume a lot of people might expect, so I left it out. This is one of the better episode(s) in a while, and I from what I've seen from Hub commercials and such, I can tell that there is much more to come here.
But finally...
This sequence right here...
Rarity is not very well versed on the movements on astrological bodies, is she?
Luna's in the opening titles now, even!
It takes a lot more to phase Rarity than an apocalyptic sky. Maybe a spider or dirt.
But in truth the sky looks perfectly normal if you only see half of it. It is easy if the window is in the right angle and you aren't paying attention.
I think it is a rare example of a villain suffering the Worf Effect. Create a scare/threatening looking villain and then have it summarily defeated by the mane 6 to show how badass they are when they work together. Which then kinda links to the next scene where they kick twilight out.
Yeah it kinda sucks, it would have been fun to see a legit fight like with the manticore. But it probably wouldn't have worked so well in the story
There was a scene for Pinkie originally but it was taken out. I would guess for time. The scene was essentially Pinkie using her strange powers changing outfits to deal with the crazy weather and then getting frustrated because as she would put the weather just wouldn't "MAKE UP YOUR MIND". Personally I think they could have dropped the "Twilight as princess you should not go adventuring with us" subplot (which in some ways make a little bit of sense but then does not make up much sense in so many more major and important ways) to get that back.
Of course the biggest criticism and I am surprised it did not make your ugly comments is that the story NEEDS MORE PINKIE PIE! j/k...mostly
Actually there was a Pinkie and Rarity interaction in the episode. Around 14:20, shortly after Twilight arrives at the library, Pinkie jumps forward to speak with her, unnecessary invading Raritie's personal space
Which causes Rarity to glare at her
And then Pinkie gets a twitch tail and throws herself down on the ground, just as a plant bursts into the library crashing into Rarity and sending her flying
...I don't know if that is good.
1534960 Doesn't count. They didn't kiss.
1535006
imageshack.com/a/img826/3862/rpiz.jpg
1535072 Less of a touch, more of a... sniff...
You know what happens at the end of the season? Tell me!!!
1534213 Personally, I prefer smexy Rarity
1534317 Fun fact: When Twilight gets out of her balloon, she's still a unicorn.
1534338 Yeah, but you have to play up the fact that they are super badass. If you don't do that, it doesn't exist. Celestia has this pretty hard no lie, but the rockadile? No.
1534648 Hey, half of RariPie is Pinkie Pie, so there you go! Ha! NAILED IT!
1535319 Porn. Lots and lots of porn... then... everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.
1535432
Hah, I noticed that too
1535461
I am not 100% sure but I think you can see discord's shape in fluttershy's window at one point too.