• Member Since 5th Feb, 2012
  • offline last seen 3 hours ago

cleverpun


ACAB | ♠️ | A teacher, student, writer, and opinionated reader. Responsible for cleverpun's Critique Corner. | Donate via Ko-fi

More Blog Posts229

Jan
5th
2014

Impressions of S4 (so far) · 11:01am Jan 5th, 2014

The fourth season is a third of the way done, and my reaction to every episode so far has been a resounding "meh".

That's not to say the quality of the writing or animation has declined, but I definitely think the premise has become contrived.

The premise of G4 has always focused on presenting strong role models and character development--the former via well-designed three-dimensional characters, and the latter via aesops. We've reached the point, however, where the characters have all undergone some character development, substantial and otherwise. This is most obvious with Twilight, of course, but all the main characters have had their moments (and Spike). But there comes a point where you move past easily digestible lessons, where the world becomes too complicated for black and white nuggets of wisdom. I think the characters have reached that point, or are fast approaching it. This is a normal part of real life, so it's only natural the characters would reach such a state.

The show's premise, however, means they still need to learn lessons every week. Lessons that can also be digested by the show's target demographic. But now that the characters are less neurotic and dysfunctional, those lessons have become more and more forced.

This theme--contrivances and artificiality--has been present in every episode of Season Four so far; from Twilight's backwards logic and the pointless conflict in episode two, to the exaggerated behavior in episodes three and four, to the blatantly, painfully forced problems in episodes three, six, and seven. Even episode eight, which focuses on a legitimate problem in a realistic setting, presents the conflict and its solution in an incredibly over-idealized, rushed, dare I say ham-fisted way.

I admit I might be biased. I could be spoilt on fanfic (a problem I noticed during S3, where every episode felt too short). I could be more critical of the show now that the novelty has worn off (pretty likely). To be honest, however, I think the show has simply hit its stride. It has reached the point where the demands for more content have outstripped its premise. Put bluntly, the characters have grown up, but still need to have childish lessons fed to them, to sell more fruit snacks and diapers.

Normally I do not bother to offer opinions on the show, since frankly there is no shortage of them. I made an exception for this, since I figured a descent into mediocrity warranted comment.

Also; every song so far has been painfully bland.

Report cleverpun · 768 views ·
Comments ( 25 )

You pose an interesting point here.

Do you think that the show would benefit from the addition of some new, slightly more neurotic, characters?

Maybe follow Babs Seed for some episodes, they could introduce a whole lot of characters there with new (or old) problems.

They could use that to continue with the old pattern of easy lessons mixed in among the normal story progression. The only issue I could see is that if they over do it they could end up diluting the show similar to what I've seen in some anime.

--Sollace

The show has indeed made its course in terms of character development for certain characters, but there is still more that could be done to a few. Either way, there is still a story to tell. This is what I look forward to. Honestly, I have enjoyed the season so far. Truly, I have found them to be meh, but they still retain the same enjoyment levels they had in season one and two.

And I really haven't found that the songs have been bland. This may be because I love music, all music. This is why I am in band at school, and if you think that these songs are bland, you will find that marches and quite a few performance songs are pretty much always the same. But I enjoy listening to them anyway. I suppose it is just how you feel about music.

Anyway, I would continue watching MLP till the eventual end simply because it is interesting in all episodes. But the end is blatantly coming, or there is going to have to be a massive change in the show. I honestly would be very open to watching an epic adventure for ALL. That is what the fandom is doing with The Journey of the Spark, and that is looking fantastic.

God, I ramble too much. I am going to read to go to sleep.

Oh, the show has unquestionably changed; you're not the first person to comment on that. Though I do think there's something to be said for everyone being more critical after the novelty wore off too, because they have been.

Even I was able to dislike Flight to the Finish, and I'm normally so uncritical of my television that I haven't disliked a single other episode of the show so far except Mare Do Well and maaaaaaaaaybe Spike At Your Service. I didn't even really have a problem with Magical Mystery Cure or Equestria Girls. That's the sort of unthinking glob of fat that I am with my television. So as you can tell, I'm not really the sort of person to take a disliking to a basically harmless episode like that. Yet here we are.

Do I think there's been an overall quality drop? Yes. I think so. Like you said, less character-based conflicts, and a lot more of the "just for fun" episode premises like Flutterbat or superheroes. Personally, season two was always my favourite for how well it balanced those two, whereas season one tipped further towards character and season four so far has mostly been all about the fun.

But I don't really have a problem with fun instead of a strong character focus, as long as they don't completely ruin the characters or contradict establishing characterisation, which was my main problem with MMDW and SAYS. I've still liked most of the episodes so far. Especially the premier with all its Discord-ness. And I actually really liked Bats! as well, despite its issues. (For the record, I disagree about all the songs being bland; "Stop the Bats" was a ton of fun.)

What I'm trying to get across is that I do think the show isn't as good for its lesser focus on strong characterisation, but that I think everyone being more critical now has exaggerated just how much of a quality drop that is.

For my mind, it isn't as much a quality downgrade as it just a shift of tone and focus, becoming more about fun and, well, cartoonish premises. And that's not something that everyone will appreciate. I'm fine with it because I embrace the show for all its aspects, but a lot of other people got into MLP for one specific element, and... Actually, this is something that I have a lot to say about, so I'll just direct you to a previous blog I wrote on the subject of broad appeal shows.

TLDR: I sort of agree, but not entirely.

Huh. I've loved this season so far. Flight to the finish and Bats! Are the only two ice found somewhat lacking, and I still enjoyed them. Seriously, I freaking loved power ponies and Daring Don't. I guess I'm just not as critical. But that's an interesting point about character development limiting the lessons they can learn. None of the songs have blown me away yet, but they've also all been the type that grow on you with repeated listenings.

hi hi

I don't think there is any less potential there. Harder to tap maybe, but I think it was probably pretty hard to tap into in the first place.

I think that part of the reason why the show gathered such a following outside of its target demographic in the first place was that the conflicts and resolutions they had were applicable to a broad range of people and situations. That broad range still exists to work from, but clearly it requires some effort.

Aww, come on Hearts Strong as Horses was cool!

I dunno, I thought Rarity Takes Manehattan was one of the best episodes in the entire series.

1684855 That might be an interesting direction. I could definitely see Hasbro doing a sequel series that focuses on different characters (maybe a time skip with some cameos like Digimon Adventure 2 did?) It's also plausible, since they would be able to create a whole new toy line and merch to go with it.

As you said, though, there's a tricky sort of finality that comes with a permanent cast shift. You run the risk of repeating yourself, or of diluting/shifting the premise too radically. It could work, but I personally do not like the CMC or Babs, so I'm not sure I would bother to watch a spin-off that starred them.

1685468 Well, even if they weren't putting the characters into counter-intuitive situations (see above comment), one of the tricky parts about multiple demographic appeal is that your options are much more limited. At the beginning, the show had all its options open, and by luck or something else it worked.

But now they've been going for 2.8 seasons, and it is starting to show in the ideas they are using. As DannyJ pointed out, there has been a lot more fluff episodes this season, and I highly doubt that is a coincidence.

1684867 I don't have a problem with dull pop or repetitive marching or whatever, on occasion. But good music to me has some depth, some things to discover and interpret, just like any good fiction. That's why The Who and Bad Religion are some of my favorite bands. That's why I detest everything Katy Perry has ever recorded. All the songs in the show since "Babs Seed" have been space-filling and dull; no hook, no memorable riff, no lyrical heft, dare I say no soul.

The same is, in some ways, true of the show as a whole. Anyone can be average. Anything can be adequate. Any story can be competent. If it doesn't move me then I'm not going to bother with it, not when culture produces so much other entertainment.

1685531 If by cool you mean really boring. See my response to JustAnotherTimeLord above for a slightly more complicated critique.

1684880 Well, I read the entire blog post, and (to use your phrasing) I sort of agree, but not entirely. I tend to be the sort of person who can turn off their brain and enjoy the ride with most fiction. That's the explicit reason I play certain video games.

However, at some point, you have to ask yourself if sitting through an "average" work--something that tries to hit all themes with competence instead of a single theme with greatness--is really worth your time. The world produces far too much entertainment for a single person to digest, and as I've gotten older I've developed a habit of simply quitting something if it doesn't impress me.

I may not actively hate--or even explicitly dislike--Doctor Who, the Walking Dead, Killing Floor, Torchlight II, or countless other things, but apathy can be even more damning than hatred. If something does not demand your attention, why should it get any? Especially when there's something right behind it in line that may be better.

I have tried and left behind all the properties I mentioned, and many others. In doing so I had more time to get to other things, things that stuck with me and that I still return to. I understand where you are coming from, because I used to be the same way. I think as people grow older, however, they learn that time is a resource, and cutting your losses can be better than investing more for no return.

1686395 Starring best pony doesn't automatically make an episode good. Especially since Rarity already has many more fluid episodes.

Trivia; this reply is longer than the blog post. :rainbowkiss:

hi hi

1686487
I can't actually speak on Season 4, cause I haven't watched it. But in general, I think there is a lot of material out there that all sorts of people can at least relate to. There are some issues that people struggle with their entire lives, and even while getting better at them, they're never perfect. (As long as you leave some of the plot open to interpretation, you can go a long ways on the Forer Effect.)

Anyways, I think for myself at least, when I stopped being able to relate, my interest dropped significantly.

1686487

I get and agree with what you're saying. If a show was just doing a lot of things competently instead of actually being good at any given thing, I wouldn't consider it worth my time either. But I wasn't talking about broad-appeal shows as being like that. In my opinion, a show that juggles a lot of different things is perfectly capable of being good at all of them. I wouldn't be a fan of Doctor Who for example if I didn't consider it to be consistently good despite its wide variety of genres.

MLP season two was the same to me. Characterisation was strong, but so was that sense of fun when it was being less serious. I liked the slice of life stuff, but I also liked the adventure episodes. It did a lot of things, but I thought it did really good with most of them. And I think that for all of season four's focus on it, it still does the absurd episode premises well. I just think that since it no longer marries that with the characterisation and well-presented morals and such, people who were in it more for them are gonna have a bad time. Although I still like the silly episode premises, I find it weaker overall just like you do because I also liked it for those other things that are now absent.

To use an analogy, it's like having a really excellent buffet containing all your favourite foods at one celebration, but at the next one the host takes everyone to a restaurant instead. It's a great restaurant and all, but it probably doesn't serve everything that you could have gotten at that buffet. If you're like me, you're happy enough with the items you found on the menu that you do enjoy, but you may still be peeved by the restricted choice.

Which would be unfortunate if you had a craving for something specific on that night.

1686723 Fair point. I suppose if I watched the show for the lessons instead of the characters, and if the lessons weren't so contrived, it wouldn't bother me as much.

1686986 Your analogy certainly applies to Doctor Who; no continuity or consistency, regardless of the quality of the dishes served. Doctor Who's shoddy excuse for plot (despite it's bizarre reliance on it) is why I don't enjoy it.

G4 is more like a buffet that focuses on a specific theme. I was willing to forgive the episodic nature of it, because of that sense of continuity that was tying it together. The characters made each episode important, because they are the entire point. Now that it is missing, G4 is certainly the same type of directionless buffet that Doctor Who is.

1687712

In the interest of not getting into a barely-relevant debate about Doctor Who, I'll get to the MLP part.

I think your interpretation of the buffet analogy was almost the reverse of what I intended. Forgive me for not defining my terms better, but the different things a person can like a show for can transcend the genre. It's not "one foodstuff represents adventure episodes, another is comedy episodes, another is slice of life, and the theme holding it all together is the characters". It'd be more accurate to say that the characters are also an available dish, as is, say... the animation itself. Or the voice acting. Just anything that a person can like a show for.

If anything, this season is the themed one because it's focusing on one thing, that being the silly just-for-fun premises like Flutterbat or superheroes. Whereas before in season two it was the kind of broad-appeal show that I talked about in my blog and in my poorly-constructed buffet metaphor. Not directionless, but a happy marriage of normally conflicting elements that is able to satisfy multiple audiences (e.g. how there are fans that like MLP for the adventure episodes, fans that like it for the slice of life and character episodes, etc.)

What I was trying to and failed to say in my original comment is that the show was that, but now it's "themed" if you will around these episode premises, and you're enjoying it less because one of your favourite things from the buffet table was the character focus and strong morals and the other things you mentioned in the blog above, which just aren't being served anymore. Because they're not a part of the theme.

Am I being less confusing yet, or have I just made it worse?

hi hi

1687712
Those are some big "ifs," right there. My earlier comments about the themes and the lessons were about an, as of yet, untapped potential. There are still lessons out there that don't need to be contrived, my hypothesis is that they really just aren't terribly concerned about it. (Especially after watching "Too Many Pinkie Pies.")

People go to school for years and years and still don't learn everything there is to know, and life is complicated enough that people can get put through the same scenario over and over, with seemingly minor differences here and there to drastically change the way they approach it. (correspondence bias.)

Also, some things tend not to get old, as long as they're done honestly. People continue to enjoy love songs on the radio, no matter how many have been produced before.

The problem of character Flanderization is another can of worms entirely...

1688246 Sorry, I have a habit of getting off-topic when I don't have anything else to add. I was trying to say that I agree with you (that there is still moral ground they could explore), but that it's a bit of a moot point (since my main criticism on that front is that the lessons they are trying to teach are no longer appropriate to the characters, not that the lessons themselves are bad).

1687837 Clearly every thing I say is a barely-relevant debate :rainbowkiss: But fair enough, we can leave the Doctor Who part alone (especially since I'm not familiar with it enough to have such a debate)

I think of characterization and plot as a crucial ingredient of everything, not just a single dish. That may be why I took your metaphor the wrong way. Otherwise, I agree with your assessment--the fact that unfocused shows have a habit of alienating tone shifts means I've seen what you are describing before.

1688459

Well, let's just assume that some dishes at the buffet are tastier and more prominent than others.

I don't know. The season's not too.. bad... :unsuresweetie:

1710497 Don't seem too confident, there :derpytongue2:

1710518 Bats! do got some dark elements.. :derpytongue2: And Pinkie says to always be optimistic. :pinkiehappy:

Also; every song so far has been painfully bland.

Ah, let's remember the Great Classics:

[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=5py0UWBQOxo]

[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AQahOkKfxc]

[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IQkkyN9JAg]

[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzvwJ4dAzbQ]

That one always gets me...:rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh::yay:

2492877 My favorite song from the show will always be Smile Smile Smile. The first time I heard it, it gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling; that sort of unqualified, sincere optimism that helped draw me into the show in the first place. Even now, with my jaded irritation at the show, that song still has some of what made it special the first time I heard it.

In general, though, I think the fandom's musical efforts eclipsed the show's a long time ago. Even remixes of the show songs tend to have a little more depth and energy, and songs like "Hooves Up High" or "Gypsy Bard" are actually more evocative and engaging than a lot of the show's music.

2492902 I can't believe I forgot about that one! It obsessed me for weeks!

Well, maybe it's because of Smile HD:

[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqVVtaWd8Pw]

It sort of really marked my experience of the song. It also traumatized my little brother, caused him to desire watching Dragonball, and resulted in us watching the second half of the abridged Namek saga.

That was a thing.

Anyway, would you say that it would be commercially advisable to have the show keep up with the fandom and evolving the merch a bit? Because, well, the actual MLP toys are such ugly, garish, horrible little things...

2492920 Yeah, I saw the first ten seconds of that and was like "no thanks."

Eh, the merch is what it is. If you are not its audience, then Hasbro isn't going to do very much to sway you since they already sell well. The TCG is probably as out there as they are going to get, since they CnD'd Fighting is Magic.

As I noted in my response to 1684855, a sequel series isn't improbable since they would be able to make even more Pallet Swapped merch, but they aren't going to even consider that until FIM wanes in popularity.

2493024 There's a card game?

Actually I saw some legit good-looking merch... in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy shop.. in Oslo.

Ah, here it is:

entertainmentearth.com/images/AUTOIMAGES/FU3108lg.jpg

Lovely. [Tracks the maker] Ahhh, see, this is what I'm talking about.

2493032 12 USD :ajbemused: That's half a copy of Titanfall or a TF2 action figure.

Yes, there's a card game. I didn't pay much attention to it since TCGs tend to sacrifice elegant game design in order to be a money sink, but it's a thing.

Login or register to comment