Get hyped for my season 4 finale, Twilight’s Kingdom, review! · 9:08pm May 10th, 2014
I’m aware that I missed yet another episode to review, but do not worry, sometime either this month or next month I shall catch up with both of the season 4 episodes I missed, For Whom the Sweetie Belle Tolls and Equestria Games. I want to present to you my overall opinion of season 4 and so of course, I need to watch all episodes for that.
Anyway, without further ado let me present to you reviews of last week episodes, and then of course present to you my review of season 4’s finale. I hope you enjoy!
Other Episode Reviews of Equestria Games
Thejboy88
Episode Review of Twilight’s Kingdom
Much to my annoyance, whilst I was able to watch the first part of Twilight’s Kingdom with no problems at all… okay, I missed the first 10 seconds of it but that’s no big deal, still caught the hilarious Spike line and reference to Season 3’s opener. Anyway, both livestreams I was watching lagged like made the moment it got to the 2nd part and I had to wait until a YouTube version was available. I’ve now watched said 2nd part, and so without further ado, here is my review of Twilight’s Kingdom.
Avoiding spoilers, which I’ll save for gushing and ranting about this episode segments, the premise of Twilight’s Kingdom is that Twilight feels she isn’t doing enough in her role as princess and that she has no new responsibilities. This really gets to her when, as a new evil emerges and threatens all of Equestria, Celestia chooses Discord to track down and stop this evil rather than her. Discord however does something nice, and suggests to Twilight that she use this time to try and unlock the mystery box. Meanwhile, this new evil threat is going about and stealing the magic of ponies, becoming stronger and stronger. An that should do as a basic premise, as I'm probably going to spoil everything in this following review so if you haven't watch the episode yet; go do that.
Now where should I begin? Oh yeah, this is the greatest two part episode in all of My Little Pony. Now I count these two part episodes as separate from one another, but if counting them as a single episode... the best episode... ever! Let's begin with the matters of Twilight; she finally gets attention. Despite being a princess, she has had very little focus the whole of this season, and I have to credit the writers as phenomenal geniuses as that actually plays a part. Twilight's belief that she has yet to contribute anything as a princess and feels nothing has changed is not just informed to us, nor shown to us within these two episodes, but has been shown to us throughout the entire season. Twilight's Kingdom is gives you plenty of pleasure on its own, but as a finale to a season, and also as a season finale to a now 4 season running series, it rewards like mad. Small things such as Discord's friendship with Fluttershy and Twilight's lack of activity play a part, and various moments get referenced from other seasons such as Spike saving the Crystal Empire in Season 3's The Crystal Empire and Ceberus running away from the gates of Tartarus in Season 2's It's About Time.
Anyway, Twilight is very eager to contribute in anyway she can, leaping at the chance to help out and she tries to do so several times. Her character comes across well and she faces difficult decisions within this episode, but faces them with quite a lot of confidence, and only once or twice shows any real hesitation. The next matter I should attend to is comedy and atmosphere. Both of these episodes overall have very little comedy, which oddly enough is good. The dilemma faced here is serious, more so than just about any previous situation and the main villain of these episodes is one that brings a heavy, dark, and intimidating atmosphere to just about every scene. There are humour moments; they are nice moments which while not huge, work because they are brief. They don’t take anything away from the tension of the episode, the emotions that boil within Twilight and Discord, as well as the overall tension.
I mention Discord, but before I can truly talk about Discord I must mention the main villain… Tirek. Do you recognise that name? Well if you’re aware of My Little Pony’s history then this finale offers another reward, as the My Little Pony’s series first antagonist debuts in Friendship is Magic. Tirek in the My Little Pony OVA, Rescue at Midnight Castle was a cruel, powerful, intimidating villain whose presence looms large and gives off an aura of evil. Tirek in Twilight’s Kingdom is pretty much the exact same, though with an even greater level of depth. While he’d always been evil, it should be noted that he did have a brother he cared about, but said brother betrayed him when Tirek threatened Equestria. We are given the understanding that Tirek did once care for his brother, but no longer does, but it is never fully explored and is left quite open to us. At the end of the day all I can say is, ladies and gentleman, we have this series best villain. He’s smart and manipulative, strong and intimidating, malicious but not in an over the top manner. He has some emotional depth, a backstory that gets us to know him but also shroud him in mystery, and his design is absolutely wonderful, a perfect transition from G1 to G4. I mentioned about the serious scenes present with this two part finale and Tirek is the reason why; he does just about everything a good villain does. Even when his inevitable demise comes, he doesn’t just take, he tries fighting back.
Then we have Discord, effectively the deurotagonist of Twilight’s Kingdom as it’s just as much about Twilight as it is about Discord. Through the season, each of the mane 6 have taught a lesson of their respective element to another pony whilst truly embracing their own element, and for Twilight, it is Discord. Discord has several layers here, his friendship with Fluttershy, his friendship with Twilight, his desire for freedom and to be himself, as well as his own doubts. Discord’s friendship with Fluttershy is marvellously presented here, Fluttershy in having faith in Discord, and Discord in having his doubts centre mostly on his friendship to Fluttershy. His shaky friendship with the other ponies gives him room to disbelieve and abandon the ponies friendship in a believable manner, as he receives little love from the others until they realise how Discord had tries to help them with the mystery box. As you know, Discord was sent to take down Tirek, but Tirek convinces Discord to join his side for various reasons that make a lot of sense for Discord as a character. Throughout betraying the other ponies though, and in particular, Fluttershy, Discord shows plenty of doubt, conflict, and guilt, but remains steadfast in his friendship with Tirek as he can finally be himself and be truly free. Of course, Tirek was manipulating Discord and betrays him, letting Discord really know how precious the friendship he had before was, even if didn’t allow him to do all he wanted and if he wasn’t accepted all the time. There is quite a bit that can be said about the Twilight and Discord interaction as well, but for now, I’m going to get some negative matters out of the way before praising these two episodes some more.
The negatives stand as three matters, though to be fair one of these can be explained as a flaw and improvement of a character. I’ll start with that negative then; when Celestia, Luna, and Cadance give all their power to Twilight, Celestia then instructs Twilight not to tell her friends… that is just stupid. Celestia should well know that Twilight’s power is all about friendship, and while her friends are put at risk in being informed, the whole of Equestria was already inches away from being conquered and/or destroyed, not like they could be put in any more danger. This fault can however be seen as a flaw of Celestia, a factor that actually makes me like Celestia more (proof that part 1 and part 2 of Twilight’s Kingdom is just amazing), as at the end she sort of realises the error in having Twilight work alone. That, or I could be looking too much into the final scene.
The other two negatives cannot be simply explained away though. First off, Twilight begins to realise her lack of princess responsibilities when she is instructed merely to smile and wave for a crowd rather than attending an important meeting. The problem here is that there was no reason for her to not attend the meeting, it makes little sense. This negative however is a mere nitpick in contrast to the great flaw in logic that the princesses have. They give their powers to Twilight in particular because Tirek doesn’t know about here… except Discord obviously does and they had no way of knowing that Discord hasn’t already told Tirek. In fact, he ends up doing just that. Also, it’s kind of obvious to tell there is a fourth princess when you have stain glass windows of her within the castle!
If I were to try and say anything else negative about it, is that I feel there were areas it could have been better. Twilight and Fluttershy are really the only members of the Mane 6 who really play a role of importance within this episode, despite the ultimate thing about it once again being the power of friendship. Pre-Tirek’s appearance I feel was ample time to try and get some good funny moments; pretty much just one involving Spike bragging about saving the Crystal Empire. Also, putting emphasis on how everyone of the Mane 6 but Fluttershy have been treating Discord would have also been good, to truly motivate his return to villainy.
Back to the good though, for instance the songs. Now there are two songs within this episode, appropriately placed and spaced to make them feel special and not interfere in Tirek making the audience cower under bed sheets. I wouldn’t call them the most memorable, but they feel grand, they make you feel happy listening to them and just help solidify the greatness of an episode, even if both songs get overshadowed by all the other details of awesomeness.
One of my favourite factors to this episode is obviously Tirek, easily one of my top ten favourite characters and all-round best villain of this series. That is an element though, rather than a moment, and there are three to four favourite moments of mine within this episode. Starting with the only one featured in the first part of Twilight’s Kingdom, I absolutely loved the moment where each of the Mane 6 not only discover the special keys they’ve been given, but try to use them to open the mystery box. It’s the only comedy moment that really stands out, Pinkie interacting with Boneless the rubber chicken, was just hilarious.
Another favourite part is Discord’s betrayal of Fluttershy and Tirek’s ensuing betrayal of Discord. You know what I thought at this scene? This was worth turning Discord into a good guy. Nothing he had done so far had me thinking that he was better as a recurring good guy, but in that moment, I actually appreciated him being a good guy. It was an emotional moment full of impact, a moment that really does establish the depth of Discord’s character and what both his friendship to Fluttershy means and vice-versa. It is also where we learn of the origin of Tirek’s necklace, and hints to Tirek’s depth as a character as well. Overall, it is my favourite scene of the season.
Of course, it only just outdoes one of the most insanely awesome, piercing the heavens fight scenes depicted within a cartoon. Twilight and Tirek fight… DBZ style. It’s short, yet satisfyingly so as we are treated to bloodless yet action packed fighting as they blast and smash the ever-loving **** out of each other. I was roaring with excitement, my heart racing as they laid the smackdown on one another. My favourite part of the fight definitely being the following segment;
Finally, my last favourite moment of Twilight’s Kingdom were the ending moment where friendship spread across Equestria, and we got to see each of the four ponies (one breezie and a dragonequas as well) who were taught a valuable lesson of friendship and in turn gave each of the friendship keys to the Mane Six. It was a moment that truly summarized season 4’s journey.
If after watching a season finale and you’re left with your main concern being ‘How the heck are they going to top this’, then I say you’ve just watched a mind-blowingly epic finale. I have, and in typing this review am left as breathless as I was watching the finale. Twilight’s Kingdom Part 1 is a 9.5/10, whilst Twilight’s Kingdom Part 2 manages to be even on it’s own, a 10/10. Alone one part is within my top 20 favourite episodes, and one part is in my top 10; together they are simply the best episode of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic ever!
Well, that's 2 of the best episodes of the season, how could you missed it ?
I don't know if I like Twilight's Kingdom more than Return of Harmony as my favorite two-parters. Discord's conflict with the Mane 6 is what made the episode for me (and the fight scene of course). Why should he be friends with ponies that treat him like crap ? And I really liked Twilight integrating him into the group.
And with dat hint at the ending, I'm hoping for more Dislestia for season 5 too
I would also like to think the reason why Celestia told Twi not to say anything, wa because she was afraid for Twilight's friends. We see Tirek is ruthles, who knows what he would've done if he found out that the girls were hiding information from him.
lol, dat comic.
Two things I gotta ask:
1) Now that you feel that Discord's reform fits, are you going to try showing him off as a FlutterDash shipper in your stories?
2) Since your headcanon counts FiM in the same continuity as G1, would you say this Tirek is a reincarnation or descendant of the original?
It has taken me way too long to get around to replying to comments, but now that I'm starting here, hopefully this will begin my progress to get all my various fanfiction and My Little Pony matters done with greater consistency. Without further ado, let's begin replying.
2097369 I missed out on them because the most convenient time to record playthroughs with my younger brother is on Saturdays. So recording has gotten in the way of being able to watch a few episodes and on occasion I ended up not having time or forgetting to watch said missed episode within the week. Worry not, I shall get onto that matter within June, probably after June 10th.
The friends treating him like rubbish is quite understandable, as until Twilight's Kingdom he had in turn treated them rather terribly. Twilight's Kingdom honestly felt like the only time Discord made an effort to be friendly with anypony other than Fluttershy, and the others, notably Twilight, seem to realise that he can be nice within that very instance (which is of course moments before Discord gets convinced in going bad). I do not blame either side in this case.
I also hope for DisLestia in the future. The staff apparently have been talking about it on Twitter, and one of them joked about having a Discord and Celestia date episode... that would be brilliant. Thanks for commenting, Fernesh.
2097427 That was effectively the reason Celestia gave to Twilight, but my point is more that Tirek was kind of already making every single pony suffer as it was. Sure, he could have made Twilight's friends suffer in particular, but I feel he was going to that anyway to everypony, he gave off that truly diabolical level of evil where regardless of who you are or what you know, he's going to make you suffer all the same.
Furthermore, with friendship being such a key thing, everything tends to work better when they rely upon and so dealing with Tirek could have been more conceivable with a group effort. Anyway, thanks for commenting, Alchemystudent.
2097461 As a fanfiction writer for Super Smash Bros, I was of course pleased to see a comic featuring both SSB and MLP. Thanks for the comment.
2097506 1) Now, while I did say the following;
That is after all, only one moment. Overall I feel reforming Discord was not a good decision, but my opinion has improved given we've witness his true reformation and shown that he is not quite as powerful as previously thought. Much like how many people said about how we'll have to wait and see how they utilise good guy Discord or Alicorn Twilight to realise whether it's truly justifiable, I'd say the same here. The previous stuff involving good guy Discord, whilst funny, never really amounted to anything and I cannot truly be satisfied with good guy Discord until the worthy moments outweigh the unworthy as it were.
That said, my 'Truth series' is set to try all they can to follow the canon of the show whilst also telling an original tale, so Discord being a good guy will unfold within the series. Will Discord get any particular focus? That depends, I feel that for a series that involves a slowly building up major event as I do intend, Discord's presence or lack thereof is a nessecary matter to be told.
As for overall how I plan to use Discord in fanfiction in general, I've no clear idea. I may try my hand at a Dislestia story using Discord, with Fluttershy as the 'shipper on deck', but I'm uncertain of Discord being a FlutterDash shipper or writing a story involving it. I feel his presence may either do good or harm to FlutterDash, as Rainbow Dash is the most openly hostile towards Discord and I do feel that his close relationship to Fluttershy is part of that. Either he can use that to help Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy get together, or use that to form the mindset that Rainbow Dash shouldn't get together with Fluttershy.
I think this is the longest possible way to answer 'maybe', ever put into written form.
2) I was going to say that Tirek was the same Tirek from G1, but given the altered back-story with Scorpan being his brother, I feel descendant would likely work better. It's undecided, but as The Shy Knight and the Rainbow Princess does actually have a moment wherein Tartarus is brought up, I'll be sure to try and address the matter of Tirek eventually within the series. Thank you for commenting, Eddy13.
2152788
Well, I was just curious as to how you felt about Discord now. Thanks for clearing that up. Nice to hear you plan to include Discord in your main fanfic series. Hopefully, you'll do a good job portraying him. You also raise a good point to Discord having either a positive of negative effect on FlutterDash. I guess it depends on how the writer feels about him. Glad you're considering jumping on the Dislestia wagon. Believe it or not, I'm currently working on one called Wedding of the Millennium, and before you ask, there is FlutterDash in it as a side pairing (along with hints a couple other pairings I like). If you decide to check it out, great; if not, I understand.
2153070 There are in fact a lot of ships I'd like to write for but have yet to get around to. These ships may be brought up within the Truth Series, whilst some will come from one-shots. If I have time this Christmas, I'd love to write up the other Winter based fanfic I had planned (ended up writing Winter Snuggles because I felt it was easier to make a beginning and end for), which is a SweetieSpike one-shot.
Sparity, TwiPie, SoarJack, RariPie, and DisLestia are also ships I'd like to try my hand at writing, I just enjoy FlutterDash way too much and find ideas come easier for FlutterDash fanfics.
2153700
That's interesting. I do have two questions for you:
1) What sparked your interest in DisLestia?
2) What is your decision on checking out my story?