HOW YOU LIKE THAT PLOT TWIST · 9:06pm Nov 28th, 2015
So yeah, great finale. Great finale. Except for the fact that, uh, well...
Easily one of the most dangerous villains in the series has twisted time multiple ways did it and was forgiven for it just because. Her excuse is that she had a friend who moved away after he got his cutie mark.
And uh, I guess that's it. That's our villain. That's her reason for bringing about some of the most horrible experiences the heroes have been put through. And they just brush it off. And everyone hugs.
And then I do this.
I'm getting a little tired of this shit. I get this is a kid's cartoon, and that forgiveness is golden, and all that lah-dee-dah....
...but seriously. There needs to be some repercussions for using what is most likely an illegal spell. Jailtime! That's all I ask. A few years in the pen would straighten Starlight out more than just giving her a hug. At least Discord had been turned to stone first. At least Nightmare Moon was (implied to be) a possessive evil spirit or something. At least Sunset Shimmer was fucking stupid and her plan wouldn't have worked anyway.
THIS villain was on the same level of characters like Tirek, Chrysalis, or Sombra. She fucked up the timeline intentionally for petty reasons. And... she gets a pass? Sombra dies, Chrysalis gets blown away, and Tirek gets re-imprisoned. Where's THEIR reformation episodes?
...Wait, guys, no! DON'T DO IT! DON'T ---
couldn't find a "good tirek" pic so this will have to do
It's pretty obvious that vengeance isn't a value the ponies put a whole lot of stock in.
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Apparently, neither are things like legal consequences or enforcing the law.
3575171 But what would punishing Starlight accomplish? If all she needed was to recognize the value of friendship, the most prudent COA would be to forgive her. At any rate, she stated she'd accept any punishment they gave her, and it's not like she's going to be using that spell ever again after what she saw it caused.
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I wonder how that would work in real life.
"Oh, Officer! I've totally realized the pain I've caused in forcibly brainwashing other people into joining my dangerous cult, stealing illegal weaponry, and then employing that weaponry. And after all that, I must say I am most truly sorry."
"Ehhhhh, tell it to da judge!"
3575258 It looks like there really is no prison for normal ponies, just Tartarus for really bad guys. I don't think they really have a criminal justice system at all.
3575321 Humans and ponies have different values, as we all know. Is it any wonder there's so many HiE wish fulfillment stories?
3575322 There was that jailhouse in Appleloosa.
Yeah, I liked it, but Glimmerdemption could have been handled so much better, and it doesn't help that her excuse was pretty damn weak. And I'm not really a fan of Starlight becoming a seventh ranger of sorts; I dunno, it just feels like when other kids' shows would add new characters to the central cast after going on for a while, which was usually a Jump the Shark moment. Hoping MLP avoids falling into that trap, I mean the show survived Twilicorn, after all.
And they should have included Limestone kicking ass with Pinkie and Maud in the war sequence, dammit
I'm actually more okay with Starlight's redemption than I thought I'd be. Yeah, it would have been really cool if she stayed on as a recurring villain for at least another season, but surprisingly I'm not mad that it happened this soon. Reason being that Starlight made up for all the disappointments of Sunset Shimmer's villainy by being the very sort of villain that Sunset should have been: Starlight Glimmer felt deeply and personally wronged by the mane six, and then set out to destroy them and all that they stand for in a suitably epic fashion. Since that story has been delivered, I feel very satisfied. I'm willing to see what happens next now that we have a Mane Seven.
Would it have made more sense to have Starlight stand trial for her crimes, possibly landing her in a maximum-security unicorn prison for a while? Yeah, but I think we have to accept that that's just not what type of show this is. If it still bugs you, one could argue that Starlight is on parole and that the mane six are personally seeing to her rehabilitation.
And Sombra never died!
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I think the reason Sunset was an incompetent villain is that she was never really meant to BE a villain. We see her make a much better hero in the sequels, so that was kind of the idea: Sunset doesn't always know what's right and was too stubborn to admit she'd fucked up majorly by running away from Celestia instead of just finishing her studies.
As for Starlight, honestly at this point, I really think the writers need to let the punishment fit the crime. Starlight is guilty of the following things:
-Beginning a dangerous cult whose sole purposes were against the very things ponykind requires to thrive
-Assaulting, kidnapping, and imprisoning a political figure, along with five others
-Enforced brainwashing methods
-Mass deceit for personal gain
-Resisting arrest
-Stealing and utilizing what is said to be a "forbidden magic," i.e., "there's a reason this thing is not legal to use"
-Generally fucking with the fabric of space and time in ways that might have left it irrepairable, for petty revenge
These are some pretty big crimes. With Sombra, they killed him off, which is fitting for a tyrant who tormented his own people. Tirek was imprisoned for life, fitting for someone who was essentially attempting mass genocide. Discord was turned to stone, fitting for someone who simply couldn't respect the rules and didn't understand the extent of the damage he was doing. Nightmare Moon, sent to an isolated prison for attempting to overthrow her own government, but it's said that NMM was merely Luna being controlled by some other power.
Chrysalis got off easy, despite attempting to overtake the kingdom.
Sunset Shimmer got off easy, despite attempting to overtake the kingdom.
Starlight Glimmer got off easy, despite nearly destroying the entire kingdom out of petty revenge.
See where this is going?
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I agree with that, actually. It does seem now that Sunset was set up to eventually be the main protagonist of Equestria Girls, and after her showing in Rainbow Rocks, I warmed up to that idea. I like good girl Sunset, she's cool. Still, I hold a torch for the incredible villain that Sunset could have been, and I'm glad we were able to get a taste of that with Starlight.
I know, I get it. I agree, even. But... I can also understand why Twilight went the route that she did. Locking Starlight up would have made perfect sense, but it wouldn't have solved the underlying issues that led Starlight to do what she did in the first place. And Starlight did prove that she could be reasoned with.
Though... I just wonder how things would have turned out if Starlight had seen the barren wasteland future, then turned to Twilight and said "I don't care."
And Sombra never died! He was only shattered into pieces, which shouldn't have killed him based on what we saw of his powers!
Never.
The next generation of people in power, formed by this show, will be glorious. They will have learned to solve problems with reason instead of punishment.
And lawyers will be extinct.
Think of it, Fife.
Extinct.
Lawyers.
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I'd like to see you try saying that to anyone who has ever lost a loved one to a murderer; or to a genuine rape victim whose rapist got away with his crime, which is easy to do in this day and age; or to anyone who ever was robbed by someone they thought they could trust (like me, for example).
I mean, with that kind of logic, maybe all John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy needed was a hug. That would have totally stopped their hideous killing spree.
I really, really hope you mean that comment as a joke, but even then, I consider it poor taste.
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