Rantapalooza: my thoughts and frustrations · 6:43pm Nov 28th, 2015
(Spoilers for Season 5 Finale)
With the end of this season, I thought I might write about what I think about the state of the show in general and my feelings towards it. But I'm going to start this thing by first giving an explanation of my situation and why I haven't made progress on Night's Favoured Child. First off, after a year of health, social and academic trouble, I've had little motivation and opportunity to focus on NFC, or any fiction for that matter. Now it's compounded by financial troubles that mean I have even less incentive or opportunity to put effort into the hobby of writing fanfiction for MLP:FiM. Now I could do what others are doing and try and put up a Patreon so I have additional incentive to write MLP fiction and the blow to opportunity costs would help, but I'm not sure how effective or warranted it is. I'll still be writing even without Patreon, but I think it'll probably be a slow, slow affair.
Now for my thoughts on the show:
For the most part, I'm bored, annoyed or frustrated by it. It used to be fun and interesting, but now it's weighed down by gimmicks, one-note characters and stupid ideas and boring episodes. For the past season I've skipped most of the episodes, either reading their synopses online or skimming through the episodes on YouTube, and in the season for that I did the same for a fair few episodes.
But the silver lining is that I'm still interested in writing stories for the show on here. The trouble is in the pandering to fans it's filled in the gaps, and it's filled the gaps in with stupid, uninteresting ideas too. Their ongoing quest for redemption of villains sucks the life out of interesting characters and the constant addition of random one-note characters every other episode weighs down the show like a sack filled with lots of rocks. The focus it seems has become on the "friend of the week", that has a problem and a cardboard cutout personality and that's immensely boring for me. It doesn't help much now that we've got a new character yet again thrust into a central role or protagonist role
The show-makers made a terrible mistake of ending Twilight's role as the lead who needs to learn about friendship all too soon; her becoming an alicorn princess and ending her apprenticeship and studies under Celestia at the end of Season 3. After that we began to see more and more of the "friend of the week" that's become the go-to thing for the writers when they've run out of ideas. I can't bring myself to care about their random minor characters that show up for an episode just like I never cared about the "Monster of the Week" in urban fantasy shows or "Alien Race of the Week" in sci-fi shows. The over-reliance on the gimmick has made the show uninteresting and even irritating at times, and has been especially apparent in Season 5.
There were a few times that I found introducing a one-note character worked, like in "Rarity Investigates!", "Amending Fences", "Maud Pie", "Pinkie Pride" and , since the new characters found here weren't based on stupid ideas, contributed something to a major character and/or were funny or interesting. The strength of the show relies on the development and relationships between the core characters; the main seven characters and the side characters like the CMC. When it moves focus into random, cliché or bland characters that show up for an episode to hammer in an anvilicious point or attempt to develop the characters in a way that either doesn't work or rehashes development from earlier into the series, it takes away from the core aspect of the show.
The especially jarring thing is how they now insist on going back to where they started with making Starlight Glimmer Twilight's student in friendship, after taking Twilight out of her original role. Starlight's the replacement for it. It shows just how much of a mistake they made at the end of Season 3. What further saps the show is their need to stick to the evangelising of the message of friendship, love and whatever, which is now what the CMC apparently must do ever since they got their hideous cutie marks with an idiotic and dubious shared talent.
It seems that interesting characters, plot and conflict must be sacrificed on the altar of the message if the need be, and the need be is far too often. That is the show's key failing. Reforming villain after villain and continuously handing down the apostolic mission is a fucking bore.
So I should clarify that in my stories there will never be anything with a reformed Sunset Shimmer or Starlight Glimmer, or if there are they will have extremely minor roles. They're bland, they're stupid, they're hackish attempts to fill in the role Twilight previously filled in perfectly.
I hope the show forgets about Starlight like they forgot about Babs Seed, but I'm not holding my breath. At least they may relegate her to a minor role.
Though the season finale was great, I didn't like how they seem to be using a reformed Starlight as Twilight's replacement. She's just the show's version of Sunset Shimmer. If she could bugger off on a world tour to learn about friendship I'd be happy. Taking up the time and energy of the staff that could be used on the core characters would be a horrendous move.
Also, since when did she get so OP? Apparently an alicorn Twilight couldn't beat her with magic. That part was ridiculous. Though then again, Twilight's terrible at using magic in combat and stressful situations that need reflex and tactical ability.
3574463 Who knows? Starlight might go on her own travels next season. Other than that, I don't have much to say.
You should put this on pateron. You have a popular story that is still being read and reread to this day. I'm sure enough people would support it. However you might want to put out a chapter before you through it to pateron to reinvigorate people's attention in this story.
Blame Hasbro. The S3 finale was the show's attempt to have a season ending that could also be the show's ending, but also didn't preclude continuing the show, because Hasbro didn't order S4 until after S3's scripts were all finalized.
Starlight was powerful from the very beginning. She has to power to take away cutie marks, which are suppose to be immutable. Twilight needed a spell from Starswirl plus the Elements of Harmony to just switch around her friends cutie marks. I believe Starlight has more natural talent than Twilight but wasn't at the right place at the right time like Twilight was when she got her cutie mark.
Good to hear you're still alive... I can relate to life being a bitch over the last two years. As long as you still want to write anything, that's good in my book.
Oh and thanks for summing up my feelings on S5. Had S1 been like this I'd never have become part of the fandom. I doubt there even would be much of a fandom.
Anyway, I'll wait for NFC as long as it takes. It's one of the very best stories I've read (twice) so far and much better than a great many things I've paid to read.
Okay, I just decided to stop watching the show. The CMC episode was next on my list, and this is one shark I will not jump with.
Ride's over! Everyone get off!
i.imgur.com/hi9magR.jpg
Oh... Oh. M-Mr. Bones?
O-okay.
There will always be the fanfiction.
Ah! Someone else who is deeply concerned about individual special talents in [a group and their agenda] being allowed to exist! Yes, the idea that someone could have a special talent and cutie mark in "being an Equestrian"...
I do agree that the idea and will is there, but the execution has been sidelined.
that's why I stopped watching the show after Twilight became the princess of buy more toys.
Oh my god thank you I thout I was the only one that thout the show was getting bland. It's nice to know I'm not the only one
I thought if I voiced my opinion I would get linched in the fanfiction
I for one and quite fine with seeing Twilight's character evolve. Having her still be a "friendship student" after five years would only go to show how bad she is at learning that stuff. Instead, she's had the opportunity to transition into post-graduate friendship studies and take on a few students of her own - as befitting a princess.
I do think that Starlight's "reformation" was pretty tacked on to the end of the episode, but I don't see any clues to make me think that she'll be a regular part of the show going forward so I can live with that.
IMO - considering you have to stick to canon is pointless if it limits you.
Canon should only be stuck to when it enables an awesome story.
There have been many much, much better Twilicorn ascensions than canon, for example.
3575184 This.
3575184
Exactly. I prefer to completely ignore the Season 3 finale because none of it made any sense. None of it. Not the spell or its effects, not the ponies' behaviour after the spell, not Celestia being in the weird ascension dimension, not the ascension itself or the reason for the ascension.
If I do find or write a story that features Twilight ascended, I mentally rewrite the background in my head so she ascended some other way and/or for some other reason than what was stated in the show.
3574463
An interesting point here is that Starlight had easier "win" conditions than Twilight: all she had to do was stop the rainboom through any one of a million methods; the easiest being wacking Rainbow. Twilight, meanwhile, had to preserve the status quo, in the presence of a powerful and openly disruptive unicorn.
I noted that the situation was getting worse with every repeat, which added tension and urgency, but I would have found it very interesting if Twilight had been presented with a better future for Equestria in general, but not for her friends, as one alliteration: that would have presented her with an interesting conundrum.
It sucks when real life hits you in the balls. But NFC is worth the wait. Seeing NMM and Filly Twilight interact is amazing and watch how Twilight is affecting the mare in the Moon is priceless.
S5 is the worse season by far. too many bad or mishandled episodes. The A game was just not there. I'm getting better stories from here.
ANd yes the CMC marks are hideous and stupid. They basically told us what they were in show stoppers and now they put a bait in switch. Well I recon that like I do Tanks for the memories to fix that error.
Take courage that many want to see NFC continue.
3575523
Why do you retcon 'Tanks for the Memories'?
3575635 timing. According to Tanks for the Memories only 1 year has pasted since Twilight moved to Ponyville. I really don't like that and has been contradicted a few times before and now after that fact. Thus I move it to where it should have happened. Season 3 and Twilight doesn't need her wings for the episode so boom fix.
3575655
I think I recall many episodes in Season 5 mentioning that a year has passed though. I agree though, the idea that only a year has passed is very strange.
3576016 and this last episode contradicts it. NMM said years and it's supposed to be the present so Tanks has to be a flashback.
It's great to hear from you, Municipal Engines. I'm sorry life has been throwing you a lot of problems lately; here's hoping that you will overcome them in your own time. And while I'd definitely contribute if you started a Patreon account (NFC is my favorite fanfiction of any sort of all time), no matter what you decide, don't let yourself be rushed into writing. What you come up when you let the story grow at your natural pace is too special to risk forcing it out.
As to the "Princess Twilight" debacle, I agree that it's been poison for the show's story-telling and structure from the word go. But I have a great deal of sympathy for the writers and show-runners on that point: Princess Twilight is obviously a creature of Hasbro Corporate, who thought it would be a big-selling toy, and not of the creative team. It's painful to watch them struggle with that millstone around their necks – trying to ignore it happened, awkwardly fumbling for what the character's new role might be, little glimpses of the adorkable old Twilight shining through that really don't make sense for a character that has fully mastered the Magic of Friendship... but it's the lot they've been given. If only Corporate had contented itself with shoving hot air balloons and train sets into the background of scenes, rather than messing with the central protagonist of the show. Twilight can no longer plausibly fill that role, and a yawning void is sometimes the result.
Still, I take the good with the bad, and there were several episodes this year (notably, none of them involved Twilight) that I enjoyed more than anything since season 2. So there's definitely enough fun to keep me coming back: some more episodes in the vein of "Rarity Investigates" and "Brotherhooves Social" are what I'm looking forward to in the next season.
I'm sorry that things have been going so badly for you; I hope that they improve.
3574463 Didn't she beat Trixie in a duel? The bottomline being that it's one more thing that definitely makes no sense.
3577451 Could be justified by saying that trixie simply sucks :/
I don't really see much difference between the show's handling or quality of supporting characters now and in earlier seasons.
Aside from that, it just seems to me that the show is evolving, and I appreciate the mild risks its taking by changing its status quo bit by bit. For instance, giving the CMC their cutie marks felt like something that would happen in an episode before the series finale, and I was pleasantly surprised they dared do it now. Even if the marks they got were clearly not the original intention, it made sense to me considering how things have turned out. I disagreed with the idea of making Twilight an alicorn and I thought the execution was shoddy, but there were also good moments in MMC and any idea of the show being ruined by it are ludicrous. The changes she's underwent are an expression of long-term character development.
I don't know what is behind the creative decisions that drive the plots (beyond the obvious pressures of the toyline and the marketing), but at no point have I felt that the storytelling has been led by laziness or any sort of bad faith. Rather, it seems like the writers are acutely aware of the possibility of things getting stale and are trying to keep things fresh. Twilight could have gone on sending friendship letters to Princess Celestia all the way up until now, but they didn't treat this concept as dogma.
Some ideas work, others don't. There are plenty of opportunities the show is missing, but also others its grasping and hitting right on the mark, at least in my opinion. I still find the show fun and heartwarming, and I'm pleased that it has the capacity to surprise me.
(And on a sidenote, I feel like any speculation over Starlight Glimmer becoming a main cast member or replacing Twilight in the group is way, way premature and not backed up by all that much as far as I can tell.)
3577821 She was willing to go on stage and challenge everybody; to some extent she probably doesn't suck, not as good as twilight, but still. Also, we have to consider that it probably wasn't the first time she'd done that and it's been confirmed she went to Celestia's school for gifted unicorns.
3578385 valid point.
OK first off their marks are SIMILAR not IDENTICAL and the show has never actually stated that your mark and what your doing at the time are precisely related ill stop bitching about this assumption if they do the dumbest thing and make it a shared talent but they never actually said that yet ,
Second get patreon
Third so which pisses you off more they apperently alicorn twilight ruined the show or they are retconning it with glimmer
Fourth I read somewhere that moondancer and glimmer were supposed to be the same pony which makes the whole mess alot more interesting heck their backstories are identical and fit twilight Glimmer: this foal i used to have fun with displayed awesome magical talent and was shipped off to canterlot.
3579050
You didn't really read what I said, did you?
I never said that Twilight becoming an alicorn ruined the show. I said it restricted it severely and made it worse. It was done too early and they have handled it poorly. Second, I never even mentioned that the marks were similar or identical. I said their design was hideous, which it is; the colours clas and it's needlessly complex. Thirdly, yes, they seem to be retconning Glimmer into Twilight's origiinal role (a role I feel Twilight suited much better than she does with the alicorn princess emissary of friendship, and was not used to its full attention) and I dislike that immensely, though refer to my first point that I never said alicorn Twilight ruined the show.
Honestly I had fun with the finale. I mean, those alternate timelines were amazing (steel wing RD, amazoness FS, clown princesses!), also, twilight being completely creepy? Priceless. And hey, to an extent you should be a tad happy, the night eternal works!
Whatever happens to the series in the future we'll see, overall I'd say I wasn't too amused by this season but it had good moments. On the other hand we can conclude from canon that alicorns aren't OP at all, Twilight was outmagicked by Starlight and Celestia couldn't do much without the elements (even against Sombra, a unicorn).
There's one thing I do completely agree with though, the whole "friend of the week" thing, also the thing about the CMC and of course the fact that they need some sort of friendship conflict generator through ponies not as attuned with it or whatever (enter Sunset and Starlight). You could say they've become one trick ponies... Badum tish!
Oh and, good luck with RL, I hope we'll see the return of NFC sometime in the not too distant future.
3580815
I wouldn't say that Starlight "outmagicked" Twilight, it's just that Twilight sucks at combat (she literally just points her horn and shoots a beam) and just didn't really think to tinker with Starswirl's spell. Also, the magic and power levels in this series is really, really inconsistent. Apparently holding a bunch of ponies in place is hard even when you're an alicorn (or a dream together when you're an alicorn whose speciality is dreams) but time travel, transmutation and erecting a massive city-wide shield are all comparatively easier and less effort; and Starlight went from having to spend years of studying one subject to be able to do her cutie mark spell to altering a powerful time-travel spell to be even more powerful.
Essentially I don't put much stock on how the writers handle magic and power levels.
3581259 Although I agree the power levels aren't the most consistent, I think it's interesting that you chose those specific examples. Personally I don't think those show any particularly inconsistency.
1) It's a very common trope in all forms of fiction that using magic on living beings (especially unwilling ones) is more difficult than using it on objects. Assuming that's true, freezing several dozen ponies would logically be much harder than transmuting one object.
2) Shining's gift is explicitly to make that particular shield on a large scale. And it was difficult for him (though that might have been Chrysalis' fault).
3) Starswirl did all of the hard work with the time travel. Altering an existing work is always easier.
3578312 I just wanted to say I completely agree.
Also, I'd like to point out that FiM is – at least at present – primarily made for children. Aside from meaning that it shouldn't be held to the same standard as other shows, this also means that (of course) they need to sell toys. I personally don't think that's a bad thing; though it has led to some rushed moments, I think that Hasbro needing to sell toys actually encourages the writers to change things every once in a while.
Hi, I just want to say that if you made a Patreon I would support you.
I actually think Sunset Shimmer works fairly well. You just need to push her personality a little and then she's quite interesting.
I've always felt Sunset got way too much hate than she deserves. She's pretty promising and her redemption was quite well handled. Also she makes sense since human Twilight can't fill the role that pony Twilight does.
However I can also see that the level of writing has decreased significantly. I don't like season 1 though because of it's hostile atmosphere but season 5 was really pushing it with some ideas that even I thought were bad. Without Lauren to provide direction things tend to fall apart.
I'm not sure Twilight was perfect, at least not in season 1. It could be quite jarring at times that she always had to be present.
However I'm not that bothered by the one-off characters. Those have always existed.
I agree with you about season 5 and starlight, I personal hate starlight, and glade u wont have her in story unless it a minor role if that.
night favor child is one of my favor stories and I cant wait to see more of it.
if you did do a patron page I more the likely put up 5 buck on it a month.
3574463
Sunset is better, honestly. Suprising she had such a good turnaround after the mess that was equestria girls.
3692544
Its because her first time was awful in a shit movie. She got better.
It doesn't help that EQG is niche compared to the main series.
5191545
Her redemption though was quite well handled and is the reason her role in the second was so well received. She was portrayed as pathetic rather than sympathetic. Also while she was given a second chance she still had to clean up her mess and was not given much sympathy during that.
This made people want to see where she would go. With Starlight it was the other way around. She was presented as sympathetic and did not really have to clean up her own mess and also was instantly shown as accepted. This made her have a hill to climb for many people.
5191572
I did enjoy the aspect that people actually did hold her actions against her, and she was reasonably understanding of that.
On the pathetic part...huh, that is unique to her. The other redemed weren't in such a position.
Hell, it goes unsaid that Sunset really did have nothing else to go for. All starlight lost was a friend, discord never had a reason. Sunset lost her family of one (Celestia) and her home(the palace) in her childish pursuit of power, at least from her understanding, at a presumed young age.
Edit: neglected to mention that she would've been made to stew in her feelings as the portal stopped functioning for a period. Even if she regretted her rashness she would have found she couldn't return.
I think the other redeemed could have functioned better with sympathy if they...actually deserved it.
5191591
Discord never really had much sympathy either. However with him the question of redemption is not so clear. Starlight and Sunset were both ponies so they are not innately evil. Discord however is the embodiment of chaos. So for him it's not so much redemption but more so holding him against his nature.
That is what makes it so fascinating for me. They didn't really redeem him but rather blackmailed him into control. Discord always has pushed the mane 6 and their moralities and by doing so causing them to grow.