Since the finale is tomorrow... · 11:17pm Nov 27th, 2015
Alright, so below the cut, I will be discussing what I think about the coming finale. Enter at your own risk. Also, I'll mention the album "It's A Pony Kind of Christmas", since I've been listening to it since last night. I mention this because I don't what your religious affiliations are or what your initial opinions of the album are, so I'm bringing it up in case.
The finale is with 24 hours, my dear subjects. The fact that I'm not freaking out about it means I'm still in shock of it being here, and odds are you won't see me freaking out until it actually airs tomorrow. I'm splitting this blog up into different subjects, so here's a table of contents for what's to come:
Episode Summaries
Speculation of What's Come
Starlight's Reformation(?)
Starlight Isn't Good and She Shouldn't Be Portrayed As Such
Episode Summaries
The Cutie Re-Mark Part 1:
Starlight Glimmer, hoping to obtain revenge against the Mane 6, acquires a spell that could change the past, present and future of Equestria forever.
The Cutie Re-Mark Part 2:
Princess Twilight and her friends continue to fight against Starlight's attempts to alter the past, but they fear that their efforts may be in vain.
Speculation
So, it's no secret at this point that Starlight has acquired a spell that will send her to the past so that she can affect the lives of Twilight and her friends alike. Question is, how did she acquire this spell? And what exactly will come of this? Well, I'd like to show you some pictures from MLP's Facebook, which has managed to get the fandom in a tizzy:
Ever wonder what it would be like if the Mane Six never got together? Find out this Saturday during the two-part season finale of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic on Discovery Family Channel at 11:30 AM EST!
-Actual quote from the MLP Facebook Page
However, things get more interesting as they show images for the coming finale, too.
Another day in Ponyville, exactly as nice as every other day. Everything is equal in Ponyville. There’s absolutely nothing wrong here. So if anypony asks, say that everything is all right…and it just might be.
Watch the two-part season finale of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic this Saturday on Discovery Family Channel at 11:30 AM EST!
AKA, PURE NIGHTMARE FUEL! Oh, but it only gets more interesting!
Oh no!! Do you think Twilight Sparkle and Spike will be able to get out unscathed and save their friends? Find out this Saturday on Discovery Family Channel at 11:30 AM EST!
Plus, there's the promo for it:
And that's not all! For those who watched Friendship Games, there was a scene where Midnight Sparkle opened portals to Equestria and we could see into Ponyville, Rainbow Falls, and all sorts of places! However, if you look at these places, you'll notice something... off, about them.
If you think I'm pulling this out of nowhere, it was actually confirmed that Friendship Games took place during the finale. Don't believe me? Check it out:
Now, what can we make of this? Allow me to make points for it:
-Starlight gets a spell to travel back in time
-Starlight compromises the future as revenge against the Mane Six for ruining her plans
-Twilight and Spike have to find out a way to battle Starlight so that they can save their future
-They end up teaming up with the other Mane Six members after being separated for some time
However, there is one other issue in this that has people in a tizzy... And allow me to sum it up in this next point:
Starlight's Reformation(?)
Everyone has this big idea that Starlight's going to end up being reformed just like every other antagonist in this show. There was an editorial over in EQD, and I gotta say, I suggest reading it: LINK HERE.
As for me... Well, it really begs the question: Can Starlight actually be reformed? And would it really be for the better?
Personally, I don't want Starlight to be reformed. I don't THINK she can be reformed whatsoever, and it would take a goddamn MIRACLE to do it in my opinion. Some people will make jokes about her ideology and roll their eyes at her, calling her a commie. Other sympathize with her and INSIST on making her out to be a misunderstood individual rather than the pony she really is.
A couple months back, I addressed this issue simply because I couldn't take it anymore. I do not hate Starlight, just what she does. I like the fact that she is a villain and that as a villain, she's terrifying and manipulative. I do NOT like the fact that people don't seem to understand just how scary she really is and that they'll write her out of character to make her seem like a saint when she's actually not.
This situation honestly reminds me of Harley Quinn and a lot of other female villains. People will write them as good guys and bring out all the good things they did, how little that is, and then they will completely ignore the bad things they did too. Harley can be a good person, but she has done a LOT of bad things. It's horrible that she was abused by the Joker and no one should ever have to go through what she did, but her being a victim of abuse doesn't excuse her behavior.
I want you all to read this out loud:
A villain's backstory can only explain, not excuse their behavior.
Allow me to pull a quote in about Harley:
why do all you people, and I mean the fandom AND the new writers, insist on bringing out Harley’s good side like she’s some kind of saint? I love Harley precisely because she’s a sly fucker who wanted to make money writing best-sellers out of her patients’ mental illness. She was an opportunist who desperately desired a life of glamour, and going with the Joker, besides an entire world of pain and abuse, gave her exactly that: she was finally in the limelight, outside the ordinary, going down in history. That was pretty much clear since the start in her characterization??? So why is everyone and their cousin pretending she was the Good Doctor TM or that she gives a shit about people ouside her inner circle? Harley used to be funny and cunning before being squeezed into the role of another boring antihero that has nothing to do with her characterization. If DC wants so badly to prove they can write what they believe to be “”””empowered women””””, what about trying show that women can be manipulative and ambitious too? That they can be horrible and selfish? I just don’t get it.
Something I noticed about female villains is that they'll be held to the standards of heroines which... doesn't make sense? I see fans gushing over Tirek and Discord and Sombra as villains, relishing in what bad things they did because it made them INTERESTING and it does make them INTERESTING. They want to understand why they do the things they do and they want to make their own theories and plans. They adore them AS VILLAINS and they portray them AS VILLAINS.
Someone who comes to mind is Tambelon on Tumblr, who is the mod of the blog askopalescentpearl, a blog that is meant to show the life of Sombra's Queen Consort, Opalescent Pearl. In her blog, Pearl is in love with Sombra, but she also recognizes that what he did to the Empire was WRONG and by no means defends his actions. Even Tam, the mod, acknowledges the shitty things he did and takes a lot of time to show the damage he did. She talks about Pearl's survivor guilt, how Pearl understands why her fellow ponies despise her for loving him and not aiding them by turning against Sombra, and in her RP blog for Pearl, speaks about how Pearl herself is not a saint. Pearl is not a perfect pony and she doesn't present herself to be. She is complex and real, and she hates when people want to limit her to something she is more than.
When it comes to female villains, and female characters overall, whenever they possess a trait that a fellow male character has, they're criticized for it. Starlight is manipulative and so invested in her own ideology she doesn't care who gets hurt. Yet, she's criticized for it because people want her to be a hero, not a villain, and people want to sympathize for her and will make up a story to make her seem good when she isn't.
No. No, I don't want that. I don't want a last-ditch effort to make Starlight good when she's great as a villain. I love MLP, but even I know that the magic of friendship can't fix what Starlight has.
If she is reformed, they'll have to make it a miracle for me to believe it's real and that it's good.
Anyway, moving on from that... I've been listening to the Pony Christmas album, and let me tell ya, it's freaking cute. Pinkie singing 12 Days of Christmas was fun to listen to and all the other songs were so nicely in character. But, one song in the album did make me cry:
I want you to look me in the face and tell that this song didn't make you cry.
If you don't wanna listen, it's the song Days Gone By sung by AJ and AB, as well as other Apple Family members. It was so heartfelt and sweet, especially with AB getting her cutie mark recently. My God, I cried when I heard it because that opening line, "When family cannot be here..." took me so damn off-guard. I don't listen to Christmas music that much, so I haven't heard Days Gone By, but I am so glad that this was the first version I heard. It's so beautiful and damn the writers, because they KNEW what we were going to think when we heard it.
"Oh, sugarcube, if Mom and Dad were here, they'd be so proud of you."
So, let's get ready everyone. The finale is coming, and we must prepare ourselves for what's to come.
You and me both.
As for Starlight Glimmer, she's my second favorite antagonist (although, depending on how things go tomorrow, she might become my favorite) for precisely the same reasons you said.
But I'd be lying if I said I hoped she was still a villain at the end.
Although that's mainly because I'm more of an optimist than anything. At least, when it comes to the show.
But, I'd say there is a good chance she'll get redeemed.
There are two reasons I say this:
1. Most of the villains and antagonists have been redeemed, and the only two major ones that haven't have basically been put into positions where they can't do anything.
2. G.M. Berrow's next book is going to be about Starlight Glimmer, and the summary for it is that it's about Twilight Sparkles "most notorious pupil".
Glad someone else agrees with me on Starlight Glimmer. But I fear it will happen all the same. It's a shame that women have to be praised as saints, but men have to be treated as villans who don't deserve forgiveness. Isn't the 21st century, where a person's gender, color, or ethnicity should no longer matter?
Really, I understand the appeal of Starlight reforming. Allow me to explain by not actually explaining anything:
Everybody likes Darth Vader.
Nobody really likes Emperor Palpatine.
3572457
I think I'd be more cool with her being redeemed if it were more of a Vegeta-Redemption, y'know? They hang out with the protagonists and they're still a little shit, but no one really does anything about it because what can they do?
3572453
Yeah, I saw that. But, I think I saw somewhere that GMB posted on Twitter, "Don't believe everything you read," or something along those lines. IDK, maybe we'll see where it goes.
3572492 I saw that quote too, but I don't see it as an outright denial of anything.
3572483
...True. However, I like Vader because he's a complex character and how he fell to the darkside because he saw that he had more beliefs on that side than on the light side. I like him, villain or reformed, but as for Starlight... I dunno, I'm still really on the fence with her being reformed like Dizzy. They'd have to pull miracle for it to work for me.
3572499 Least we forget, when he was originally confronted with the error of his ways, he still believed the Jedi were evil. And Obi Wan's response was "Then you are lost!". You can't help someone who refuses to help themselves.
The prime example of how to redeem a villan is in the Rankin Bass Chrismtas special Santa Clause is Coming To Town. The Winter Warlock is the one who has to decide he wants to change for the better, and is the one who must realize his mistakes in order to be redeemed. No one else can make the decision for him.
If you want me to believe a villan is capable of change, show me proof that they have seen the error of their ways on their own, and not simply because they're trying to save face.
3572487 They seem to want to go that route with Discord, but I don't like how they keep playing up his trickster aspects because that just implies he hasn't changed at all. Vegeta technically was still a villan at the start of the Namek saga, interested in stopping Frieza for his own goals, rather than because it would help Gohan and Krillin. As the old saying goes "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".
3572499
Oh, I'm not disagreeing with you. We haven't had a villain motivated by revenge yet, either. I mean, we had Nightmare Moon, who was motivated by jealousy, which I guess is like revenge. And Discord who was motivated by... um....
But that's only two! So far, all of our actual Villains (capital "V", so Trixie doesn't count) have really been villainous for the sake of villainy. Sombra, Chrysalis and Tirek weren't misunderstood in their youth or serving what they believed to be some higher purpose. They just wanted power. They weren't bad guys only because they didn't know they were really good guys; they were just bad guys. Especially Tirek. I mean, jeez, the dude's full name is Tirek E. Badguy! You can't get more "bad guy" than that!
I personally don't think that Starlight is "just a bad guy." Really, I think she's the worst kind of Villain: The villain that honestly believes that she's a hero. She really thinks that what she's trying to do is for the good of everyone.
....
OH! SNAP! CHARMONY! I JUST HAD THE BEST IDEA EVER AND I WANT TO GIVE IT TO YOU!
3572546
YES. I actually discussed this a bit in that old Starlight blog I made, but dude, seriously, once someone is too deep into their own ideology, you really can't change them. It's practically impossible.
3572525
YES, THIS^^^ This also ties in with what Phyco is saying. Starlight believes what she's doing is right, and because of it, she can't see the error of her ways because she sees no error.
Allow me to pull in an example from my blog about Starlight. I started talking about how The Town is a lot like a cult (hell it is a cult), and this trait came to mind:
derpicdn.net/img/2015/4/5/865661/medium.gif
THIS was the face Starlight made when Twilight called her out for how she was treating everypony. She was smiling, smiling because she thought that Twilight's grievances about how distressed she and her friends were seemed trivial to her, like a foal wanting a cookie before dinner.
Starlight can't be helped because she refuses to help herself, and she refuses to help herself, not because she thinks that she's beyond help, but because she thinks she doesn't need it.
I like Starlight Glimmer. I am happy if they keep her either as a villain or reformed. The reason why I like this villain is because of the charm she has. The amount of threat she holds to even go so far as to rewrite time to prove she is a hero. I see Starlight Glimmer in more of a Knight Templar. Her personal beliefs won't let her see the consequences of her actions. I don't think she sees another way Equality can exist in harmony and I believe she will notice this in the end of the first part before things start going out of control.
Starlight Glimmer is an amazing character added to the show, but then again we really have no say on what the head of the storyboard is going to do to the show.
"This is their show. We have no idea what they are going to do. And they are going to do whatever they want to do while we are just strapped into their wild ride." And yet people don't seem to understand this.
3572578
Hey, there's something to consider. What would happen if the Mane 6 never became friends, because they lived in a world where no one is really friends and no one has anything they can do better than anyone else?
The answer is simple: Nightmare Moon would have won.
It's going to be an event on that level that would snap Starlight out of her blinders. Not because she sees the error of her ways, but because she basically causes the Apocalypse, and the only thing that can prevent it is the very thing that she opposes with every fiber of her being.
You can still have that Starlight idea; I'll even PM the details to you. It involves Sombreyyyyyy
3572630
My god, YOU TEASE. NOW I WANNA KNOW MORE.
3572630
nah, nightmare wouldn't have existed
she'd be equal to her sister, so no jealousy
tirek wouldn't have had enough magic to steal to be worth it
chrissy wouldn't have enough love
sombra or discord though, they would wreck those poor, equal ponies
EDIT: i had a brilliant (and likely stupid) idea
starlight trading the marks to tirek for protection from discord and sombra
3573150
Depends how far back she went, I suppose. Actually, if she went far enough back, there probably wouldn't have been animosity between the three tribes, and so Equestria would've never taken shape. No matter what Starlight did or when, her ambitions are big enough that Big Boss wouldn't have survived his mission. She's going to change history, alright!
TAIMU PALADOKUSU
Lets do this!