S4E1-2 - My Thoughts · 12:14am Nov 26th, 2013
Whelp, Season 4 has finally arrived, which means I finally have some new episodes to shatter my headcanon. Yay!
On that note, here are my thoughts on the series premiere.
Summer Sun preparations
So we open with Twilight practicing her part for the Summer Sun Celebration, which for some reason involves flying. More importantly, we learn that Twi's ascension to the throne has started to alter her relationship with her friends in ways she doesn't like. The gang heads off to Ponyville, leaving Twi in Canterlot. Twilight laments how her newfound responsibilities are separating her from her friends before she and Spike leave the platform.
In my opinion, this beginning is great. We get to see all the things we love about our colorful friends while also seeing what's started to change between them as a result of Twi's ascension. This was one thing I really wanted to see out of the beginning of this season, since it was glossed over in "Mystery Cure," and I like how this episode handled it. The changes are seemingly small now, but it's clear Twilight is already worried about the direction her new life seems to be going.
Also, there's something about the animation during the stained glass window bit that shines for me. Is it the lighting? I think it's something to do with the lighting.
Celestia confides in Twilight
One part that bugs me is Twilight's panic attack when Spike suggests a trip to Ponyville. It just seems like a forced reminder to me that Twilight freaks out about stuff, even though this was addressed in "It's About Time" and Cadance taught Twi how to manage stress during the events of "Games Ponies Play." True, these are Twilight's first royal duties, so I can understand what they were going for, but the whole thing just seems forced to me.
But that's okay, because Celestia interrupts to give us a glimpse of her character as she remarks that the celebration will finally be a true celebration for her rather than a reminder of the time she had to banish Luna. Since the nature of their relationship is what drew me into fanfiction in the first place, I was really glad this moment happened.
Side note: Is this the first Summer Sun celebration to happen since Luna’s return? But that would mean the first three seasons occurred within a year… meaning my absolutely insane attempt to cram all those episodes into a single year suddenly makes sense…
What I don't understand so much is how Twilight handle's the envelope she gets from (presumably) Pinkie Pie. She's just told Celestia that she's missing her friends, but for some reason, when Celestia asks who the letter's from, Twi dismisses the whole thing with a quick "Never mind, it doesn't matter." Isn't that what's mattered most so far this episode?
But let's move on. Celestia leaves Twi to her preparations only to suddenly be attacked by an evil black vine of doom, and we cut to black.
The princesses are gone
Twi awakes the next morning to find the sky is half-day and half-night and is quickly assailed by the Canterlot elite. Two guards rescue her from the crowd and inform her that Celestia and Luna are missing. Twilight orders the guards to search for anything that might lead to the princesses. Twi then receives news that the Everfree Forest is taking over Ponyville.
I don’t have a lot to say about this bit except that I liked how Twilight took charge of the situation and didn’t lose her cool.
Cut to Ponyville, where everything is being overrun by the same evil black vines that took Celestia as well as spikey black clouds that refuse to be controlled. It also disrupts unicorn magic, and despite their best efforts, the mane six are powerless against the infestation.
Twilight flies to Ponyville, hoping to resolve the situation with the Elements of Harmony. The gang decides Discord is responsible and promptly summons him. Discord claims innocence, though only Fluttershy is halfway convinced, and suggests they ask Zecora, who happens to be walking by with all her stuff.
I really enjoyed Discord’s antics in this episode, but I couldn’t help but feel the events of “Keep Calm” were a bit ignored at the beginning (other than the obvious fact he’s free). I’m not saying his reformation has to be complete, but I would have liked to see a moment of sincerity (a la end of “Keep Calm”) or for him to be more helpful earlier on, rather than mischievous and devious all the time.
That’s a minor complaint, though, so let’s move on.
Potion of Flashbacks
The gang asks Zecora what’s going on, and while the zebra is just as lost as they are, she happens to have a flashback potion that can be activated with a bit of “alicorn magic.” I enjoy Zecora as a character, but I really did not enjoy her dialogue here—it all felt way too forced. Also, why is “alicorn magic” the evil-looking stuff from “Crystal Empire”?
But again, that’s little stuff. Twilight drinks the potion and has several flashbacks, each going farther back in time. Her first visit is to the day/night Luna rebelled against Celestia, who subsequently banished her using the Elements of Harmony (thus shattering my precious headcanon).
This is the longest of the three, and while it’s cool and all, I’m not entirely sure why it was included here. I mean, it doesn’t really relate to the resolution or anything, and it doesn’t really tell us anything new about what happened. Luna was banished for rebellion – we’ve known that since the start, and while it does fill in some of the details (Celestia acted alone, for example), I didn’t exactly see the point. That’s not to say I didn’t like it, I just don’t see a particular reason for it to be there.
The second flashback takes Twi to the day Celestia and Luna turned Discord to stone (thus explaining his wacky pose in “Return of Harmony”) and then farther back to when Celestia and Luna took the Elements from the Tree of Harmony. Twilight realizes the tree must be in danger, and the gang sets off to find it.
I enjoyed these two flashbacks more than the first, mostly because they were relevant to the current story and (in the case of the second) added something new. They were also kept fairly short, which is usually a plus in my opinion.
Into the woods, back again, and then into the woods again
The gang notes this is similar to how they first met and how they need to face the danger together. Before long they encounter a cragadile. It goes after Twilight, but the gang manages to subdue it. AJ brings up the valid point that Twilight is kind of important as the current leader of Equestria and suggests she return to Ponyville before anything bad happens to her. Twi points out she’s the only one whose seen the tree, but Dash replies that it should be pretty obvious when they see it, and Twi heads back. Back in Ponyville, Discord is surprised to see her back and wonders why she thinks she’s better than everyone else and accuses Twilight of returning out of selfishness. Twilight decides to go after her friends.
This, in my opinion, is the weakest part of the episode, mostly because of all the things that don’t make sense. For starters, what’s the gang planning to do when the find the tree? RD assumes something evil will be attacking it, and it’s been established she thinks they’ll be using the Elements to solve the problem. How are they going to do that without all the Elements there? And isn’t Twilight the one most likely to know how to fix problems involving ancient magic things?
The part with Discord is even worse because it misses the entire point of the scene before it. Twilight reluctantly returned because everyone felt it was her royal duty—it was reinforcing the idea of their shifting relationship that started way back at the beginning. Discord somehow conflates this with selfishness on Twilight’s part, and this somehow motivates Twilight to go back. A better motivation would have been to say that Celestia and Luna didn’t run from danger but confronted it themselves, playing off Twilight’s desire to please Celestia and be like her (and could have been turned into a sincere moment for Discord if the writers wanted). As it is, the whole thing feels more like a pointless aside.
Twi and Spike catch up with the gang, which has found the tree, but Twilight is accosted by poison gas plants, and Spike runs to tell the others. The others turn back and save Twilight from the evil plants, and the gang proceeds to the tree.
The Tree of Harmony
The gang finds the tree overrun with evil vines and thorns and are unable to clear said vines and thorns away. Twilight realizes they have to return the Elements to save the tree. They do so, and the evil vines and thorns are wiped away. Celestia and Luna are also freed. The tree releases a box thing with six keyholes, and the group heads back to Ponyville. Discord reveals that he planted the seeds for the evil vines and thorns a thousand years previous, but the tree’s residual magic kept them from sprouting as he planned. They have the Summer Sun celebration, and all is well with the world, the gang having realized that they don’t need the Elements to stay together because of the power of friendship.
I’m not really sure how I feel about this six-key box thing. It sort of reminds me of when Luna magics Starswirl’s journal out of nowhere at the end of “Crystal Empire,” but that was subtle, a little thing at the end and hinted at things to come. The box is definitely more straightforward, both in the fact that it’s RIGHT THERE and in the obvious correlation of number of keys and number of friends. I’ll have to wait and see how it plays out before I decide if I like it or not.
Whelp, that’s it from me.
~Scribblestick
Well, Twilight spent a lot of the episode being worried that her identity as a princess would make people treat her differently. I didn't find it a big leap for Twilight to want to completely reject the idea that she is better than anypony else because of her identity as a princess. Reminding her of Celestia has its merits, but I found that this form of motivation plays more on her fear that her being a princess would affect her relationship with the others.
Okay, time to ramble...
The Good
- Discord was interesting, but not the episode focus. Well done there.
- The girls were well-written.
- The plot paced well, nothing seemed overly rushed.
- Ponies are back!
The Bad
- Twilight looks more and more like a worm to me. If she's transforming into the traditional alicorn mold, then she's doing it in a rather grotesque sort of way, because her neck just looks weird.
- Spike is still freaking useless and ignored.
- They really expect me to believe that the previous three seasons all happened in one year? Really? That's a load, especially since it means that EVERYTHING is out of order, which is just completely lazy (and anachronistic, since some episodes have continuity).
The Rant-worthy
- The ceremony. Why is Twilight so stressed when her "part" consists of literally just making some sparkly lights? Way to show all of Equestria that Twilight is the Royal Third Wheel, Tia. Come to think of it, why is she in the ceremony at all? It's a bit of a slap in the face to Luna, first off. Tia made mention not once, but twice that this specific ceremony was supposed to celebrate Luna's return, not to feature the new Princess-wannabe. Not to mention, the whole thing is pure pageantry to begin with, since Tia handled the ceremony just fine for over a thousand years, and with only one sun and one moon, the service is a bit binary. There's no room for Twilight to be shoehorned in.
- Tia and Luna are just freaking useless. Apparently becoming an alicorn does NOT confer you with new powers, because these two have accomplished nothing in three seasons. I used to think it was just because Tia was a bona-fide Chessmaster, but now I really believe that everything was just an extension of Adults are Useless. And Twilight doesn't even do much either, mostly winning out of a combination of blind luck and Deus Ex Magica. First we have Luna sleeping through an entire INVASION while her sister gets her ass beaten by a roided-up bug, and now Tia gets kidnapped by a VINE and Luna gets nabbed OFF SCREEN. That's a pretty epic low point.
The Tree
Oh me oh my, that freaking tree. It's a world-ruiner. It's a canon-defiler. It could end the mythos in a flash of Fridge Logic all by itself. Walk with me here, people.
Being the Tree of Harmony, there can really only be one of two ways to play this. Either the Tree is formed by Harmony, or the Tree is the basis of Harmony. Either way has massive issues.
1) If the Tree is created/grown by Harmony, then as long as the land is harmonious, there should be no appreciable challenge to the Tree (c.f. Discord's imprisonment). Problem is, we see no source of disharmony in the episode—in fact, things are better than ever between Tia and Luna and the Element-bearers (all of whom would presumably have a greater impact on the Tree than anypony else due to their contact with the Elements). What this really means for the mythos is that Friendship isn't in fact the magic, Harmony is (and they are not the same. I can have a harmonious working relationship with people who are not my friends), which means that Twilight got Starswirl's spell wrong and got rewarded for it anyway. But we already know that this isn't possible, because of the second option:
2) The Tree must be an avatar of Harmony, because it was able to be stifled without disharmony being present, and that allowed the Everfree to go bonkers. If it were the former, than the order would have been reversed. This produces a whole mess of problems. For starters, try explaining to a foal that a metaphysical interpersonal dynamic grows on a freaking tree. Yeah, I thought so. It also has the threat of removing any responsibility for being a good friend ("The Tree made me do it!"). But ignoring the moral ramifications, how about the fact that the Tree is basically the source of its own coverup? I explain.
Twilight got made into an alicorn, presumably by Harmony or some derivative thereof. This happened because Twilight discovered that friendship is the greatest magic there is, and it happened without anypony else's input. But the problem is that it isn't, this Tree and/or Harmony is/are. Which means (again) that Twilight got the spell WRONG, and got rewarded anyway. Given the nature of the Tree's existence—how Tia and Luna knew about it but never told anypony about one of the most foundational aspects of Equestrian life—smacks of government conspiracy, founded or enacted by Harmony itself! Why the pony hell is this tree not public knowledge? Foals should be taking field trips to see this thing, Twilight and her friend-scientists should be studying it, articles should be written about it's status in the freaking paper. There's no logical reason to have it be kept hidden, except to make it even more vulnerable to attack (as we saw).
Not to mention, Twilight almost literally spent her entire life studying relational magic. Imagine, if you will, that you just got your PhD in astrophysics, and right after you get your diploma the dean of your department comes up to you and tells you "Oh yeah, by the way, everything you learned or read is wrong. The world's actually flat." You (and by extension, Twilight) should at least react with a hearty "What the hell, dude?!" But good little Twilight never questions Tia, not even when she tells her that black is white and up is down.
- - - - - - - - - -
Okay, so after whining myself almost inside out, I still honestly liked the episode. It was kinda fun, the environments worked for the story, and it was well-paced, as I mentioned above. Also, it gave us this:
SENZU BEAN!
djotter.blossers.net/StorageBank/senzu.gif
Nothing really stellar, but not enough to hold it back from being a good episode. The flaws are of a more global nature, and not specific to this episode per se.
6/10, may pony again.
Also, I like my version of ancient Equestria and Tia and Luna's fight a lot more than Studio B's. Mine are more interesting, for starters. Oh well, chalk up two of my works to the pile of thousands that got Jossed on Saturday morning.
And no, don't even get me started on the Mystical Box of Bullshit and More Questions. What the hell IS it? What does it DO? Why is it in a freaking TREE? How does the tree KNOW? Why does it EXIST? Why is FIM now turning into a freaking fetch quest?
/sigh
THIS. All of my this.
1543172 Good to see you back, albeit a bit ruffled.
Regarding the ceremony: Hasn't the whole thing always been pageantry, even when Tia did it alone? She does this every day, they just pick one day out of the year to make a big show about it. Twilight being stressed didn't bother me so much (at least not as much as her freakout in the castle), but you're right, she doesn't really have a place in the ceremony.
Alicorn uselessness: The scene where Tia and Luna find the tree convinced me that, yeah, Tia's a bit of an idiot. "This tree has a vague powerful magic and it should be totally fine if we take away the super-powerful magic jewels and never return them"? I mean, sure, stopping Discord and all, but I get the feeling Tia had only half-researched the whole magic tree thing before deciding to permanently strip it of the Elements (which apparently led to its subterranean force field wearing off).
The box: To quote "Alicorn Day," "It's come so far out of left field for me that I don't actually have any feelings about it."