Season Six Episode Review: No Second Prances · 7:10pm Apr 30th, 2016
So...Trixie's back. And Starlight's here, too. In fact, the episode is pretty much a vehicle for the former villains, one of whom I enjoy in small doses and the other I still feel nothing but cold hatred towards.
...SO WHY DID I LIKE THIS SO MUCH?
This is “No Second Prances.”
TECHNICAL SPECS:
Season: 6
Episode: 6
Written By: Nick Confalone
First Aired: April 30, 2016
REVIEW:
To appreciate the hype of this episode, one must look back to the very beginnings of the show. Back when the fandom first emerged from the primordial cesspool that is 4Chan, there was only one season of FiM to overanalyze and overhype until people wished us dead. While the Mane 6 were celebrated for being well-realized characters in a toyetic cartoon, many fans clutched onto the background and guest ponies, crafting entire backstories and headcanons that one had to abide by, lest they be excommunicated from the herd. And one of the ponies latched onto the most was the Great and Powerful Trixie, a sort-of antagonist from a low-tier episode.
While Trixie didn't really do much other than serve as part of the conflict, she had a lot of qualities that could really get fans excited. She was the only unicorn besides Twilight to have some kind of magic as her special talent, her personality contrasted perfectly with Twilight's, and there were quite a few that thought she was disproportionately punished by the episode in order to facilitate the moral. The creators liked her as well, and plans were immediately drawn up for her return...as an actual villain. “Magic Duel” was a Season Two script that wasn't used until the more-or-less slapped-together Season Three, and had Trixie go full tyrant and take over Ponyville, albeit while under the influence of a sanity-draining magic amulet. The episode ended with her seemingly forgiven and running away, returning a couple of times in the comics.
Fast forward to Season Six. Starlight Glimmer, yet another counterpart to Twilight (making her the third one if you count Sunset Shimmer, which you should), is now the princess' student. And then an episode with no synopsis, simply called “No Second Prances,” is announced. We don't know what the episode's actually about until two weeks before it's scheduled to air, and yet everyone's thoughts are immediately drawn to Trixie. Then someone derped and released the preview clip a week early, spoiling that Trixie had indeed returned. Cue the fans celebrating...and also dreading that Twilight apparently didn't like Trixie, even after forgiving her for the Alicorn Amulet debacle. Nevermind that there's a difference between forgiving someone and actually liking them, but it still seemed rather odd.
The episode itself starts with Twilight's newest passion: proper table setting. And I will open my review by stating, for the record, that table setting, silverware etiquette, and anything related to those two fields is worthless crap from a time when everyone had to have a rod surgically stuck up their ass from birth and must be abolished for the sake of our species. You don't need three different forks to eat dinner, people. Anyone who says otherwise is also an ally of serving tiny cakes with tea, another evil that must be destroyed. Slobs of the world, RISE UP!
Anyway, Twilight's making a big deal out of this because Princess Celestia is coming for a dinner, and Twilight wants to show how great a teacher she is by having her student make a new friend in one day and bring her to dinner. (Needless to say, I am not going to like Twilight this episode.) Starlight's attempts fail, partially because she can't stop using magic for everything (even horrible things), and partially because of sheer bad luck/her past as a brainwashing tyrant. It's not until she goes to the spa to relieve her stress that she encounters Trixie, who has experience when it comes to conquering villages and being treated like crap because of your past sins. Cue Twilight trying to break the two apart because she doesn't trust Trixie, and doesn't trust Starlight to make good friends.
To be fair, while Twilight is absolutely awful, she does bring up a good point. Starlight is still trying to get over her own dark past, so having someone who still struts around in public like she's the best thing since sliced bread isn't the best role model to have. On the other hand, Trixie's crimes are nothing compared to what Starlight did. Trixie enslaved a village, but only after she had been broken by society rejecting her due to two fanboys exposing her boasts, and arguably she only went completely wall-to-wall crazy after the amulet began corrupting her. Starlight destroyed Equestria multiple times over because her best friend left her. Just saying, I think Twilight's pinning the “bad influence” marker on the wrong side of the equation.
Of course, Twilight turns out to be correct in the end. Trixie really was just using Starlight to one-up the pony that humiliated her – if she can't outclass Twilight when it comes to magic, friendship will do just nicely. The episode is vague, however, on whether this was her plan the entire time, or if it was something she came up with after learning who Starlight was. There's no indication that she was hunting Starlight down and faking a first meeting; the two simply run into each other while at the spa, and their conversation is nondescript grumbling about not being given a real second chance. It seems far more likely that Trixie was sincere in the beginning, and only shifted her priorities towards “beating” Twilight once she saw an opening. And then she shot herself in the hoof because Trixie is second only to Rarity when it comes to pork by-product.
Trixie isn't behaving out-of-character, even accounting for the ending of “Magic Duel.” Even when she was begging Twilight's forgiveness, she switched right back to boasting about how humble she was. Even in the comics that followed, Trixie is still shown exaggerating her accomplishments, going so far as to take over a kingdom of very stupid dogs. She's still a creature of ego, she was still shown up by Twilight getting rid of the Ursa Minor, and even under the influence of a power-boosting artifact, she was defeated by a wooden gun Twilight using Trixie's own skillset.
Now, the whole “killing yourself by performing the trick you know you can't do without Starlight's help” thing? That's a pretty...extreme reaction, more or less.
Starlight is much better here, unwittingly stumbling into the Twilight-Trixie war when all she wants is a new friend. Okay, she didn't want a friend at the beginning, but she's overjoyed to find somepony who also has a dark past and is trying to make up for their past mistakes. (Trixie is likely doing so for the sake of her career, but still, the thought counts.) Her failed attempts to make friends elsewhere, besides making Mrs. Cake look like a bit of a jerk, help highlight how out-of-place she is amongst the Mane 6, so Trixie really is someone she can reasonably relate with. This is part of why it had to be Trixie here, even if it meant Twilight coming off more poorly than was likely intended. About the only other villain we have that is in Ponyville and actively “reformed” is Discord, and do note that I am being sarcastic when I imply that he's turned over a new leaf. Even when he's trying to bond with the Mane 6, he can't resist being a dick, especially to Twilight.
All of this is wonderful character stuff, and the ending was obviously lovely and nice. Helping the episode along, though, is the very good comedy this week. Twilight's exhilaration over silverware setting is beautifully dorky, as is her obvious and overt attempts to pair Starlight up with ANYPONY besides Trixie. The rest of the Mane 6 mostly get a mandatory line, but are still amusing. Angel obviously loving the attention Starlight gives him, Trixie twisting the silverware into a little statue of herself, Cranky's stinger at the end...there is a lot to love here. I'm not really overly pleased with shoving in DJ-Pon3, Derpy and Cranky, as it brings back not-quite-wonderful memories of “Slice of Life,” but it accomplishes what the staff was going for.
...But seriously, how does Celestia keep her mane like that?
CONCLUSION:
Outside of Trixie's suicide attempt (which is more than likely just overthinking things), the episode was great. It made good use of a returning character, featured some good comedy, and has a wonderful charm of its own. I won't call it the best of the season so far, seeing as we're not even a third of the way through, but it's definitely up there.
Next time, the Wonderbolts return. And they will likely still be horrible ponies. Joy.
"...stating, for the record, that table setting, silverware etiquette, and anything related to those two fields is worthless crap from a time when everyone had to have a rod surgically stuck up their ass from birth and must be abolished for the sake of our species.."
Obviously somepony who does not know what fork to use for their hay.
Whipping out some discredited psychology here, Trixie is an Ego. Anything you can do, I can do better. There is *one* pony who can do a magic trick I can't, therefore I'm going to angst about it forever. Once she made her mind up to do the trick, she followed through even though Sunset had left because to back out would be to admit defeat. That's one trait Twilight doesn't have, because she will admit defeat, but only to regroup and try again. Twilight, in the same situation, would have backed out. Trixie can't.
3908012
Well that kinda is her thing. Performance, specifically magic tricks.
What good is a magician if someone in the crowd can outperform you? You can't really act humbled if the new actor on the stage so grossly outperforms you that it makes the audience realize that you're just a regular person.
Actors, performers and magicians in general, all rely on the presence and suspension of disbelief in order to wow and amaze the audience into thinking that you really are larger than life. A quick comeuppance just grounds you and in many cases, with comedians, actors and in this case, magicians, one performance can really screw your reputation.
Put it into Equestria where 1/3rd of the population has magic, where it's a everyday sort of thing, and you must go absolutely out of your way to prove how extra special you are.
I don't know, to me, it feels like the Trixie and Twilight war is personal for Trix. It isn't just a matter of ego, she doesn't pretend to be a magician, she IS a magician, and everything that comes with it. The performances, taking the center stage, the pedistal you must pretend you stand upon, not to mention the ego. Now make that her cutie mark, the one defining aspect of her life, that one thing that makes her special above all else, wowing the audience in a performance, and suddenly you just made Twilight's autism the sole, greatest insult you can make against someone like that. You've insulted her pride, her honor, her abilities and her greatest passion by destroying the only gratification she got from her passion. By stealing the breath away from a audience who's eyes are filled with stars.
Its an okay episode, but I'm kind of annoyed it makes Trixie feel so two dimensional because there are some definite qualms Trixie has, and maybe just having an episode about standing back and trusting the judgement of your friends, as well as realizing when there will be some people you never get along with, but not using this as an excuse to hurt your friends should they come to find genuine friendship with these sort of people, could have made for something a lot deeper than "NEVAH TRUST ANY1 NOT EVEN YO SELF".
Yeah... umm, I'm afraid that's pretty much where this episode completely lost me.
I can't help but draw something of an comparison last seasons Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep, or rather to the way some people reacted very poorly to the way it handled subjects related to depression and self-harm. Now I wasn't one of those, and while I could understand how the way Luna's issues were hastily resolved could be considered offensive, the episode at least felt liked it was doing its best to give those issues as much weight as a 20 minute cartoon can.
Here though, here Trixie pretty for all intents and purposes decides to commit suicide and it's played off as little more than a sight gag. I'm not offended, per say, because I don't think the staff were trying to make light of suicide. More so, I don't think they ever even considered that might be a possible interpretation at all, and that's what disappoints me most about this episode -- it's careless.
Worse still, there actually is the foundation of a good episode here, in spite of that mistake. The scenes between Starlight and Trixie as they relate to each other are all great, and the episode would have been betterif it could have focused more on that, especially in how both of them are trying to make up for past mistakes. Instead most a rather large portion of the run time is wasted on bland filler and forced pandering.
It also doesn't help that Twilight herself was horribly flanderized for the sake of creating the conflict this episode revolves around in the first place -- like Spike at You Service levels of bad character presentation. While as for Starlight, it's even more disappointing that after strong start this season as a genuinely repentant atoner, she instead spent most of this episode pretty reminding me of every reason why I wish she was still an antagonist.
I think that Trixie thought she could survive by teleporting on her own. Maybe. But not entirely certain of her own capability to do so. The old stage magician pride of 'the show must go on'. Though, her depression likely was a tributing factor to her continuing the act.
Personally, I enjoy the concept of the episode. It reminds me of a pre-crap family guy statement. To paraphrase:
"Now, Peter, the good book said to honor thy father. It didn't say you need to like him."
Semi-similar situation to me. Forgiving Trixie isn't the same as befriending her. Same with Starlight Glimmer. I may be remembering wrongly, but none of the Mane Six ever actually stated they forgive SG for her crap, simply that they'd try being friends with her.
Personally, I'm in the camp that doesn't care for Trixie or Starlight, and still felt both got off light. But eh, kid show.
The way Twilight was handled was... uncomfortable for me.
Not so much what she says and does, because her suspicions turn out to be right to an extent, but that she's the only one who truly apologised face to face will lead the audience to push all the blame on her. For everything.
You can already see it happening.
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Good news for you, then - unless dining with the Her Majesty the Queen herself, no one will actually care. Upper-class people use whatever fork is handy. If they use the wrong one, then a servant will come along and provide them with a replacement, or not. Whatever. Confidence in all things! Whereas lower-class people also don't care because, well, food is food, why should they care if they get it wrong? What are the higher classes going to do, oppress them more? No, rabid obsession with proper silverware placement is firmly the mark of desperate middle-class folk trying to pretend to belong in the upper class. Or OCD people. Which Twilight is.
I choose to take her at her word that it was a nice bonus rather than the initial or main goal.
Man, that episode is great, though. I mean, "Magic Duel", yes, but I'm referring here to "The Menace of Magneto."
3908435
People have been doing this for years. It's an endless cycle. "Twilight screwed something up, which means she's unworthy of being the Princess of Friendship! Celestia should just take those wings back! She's dumb and sucks and rawr!"
Twilight screwed up this episode. If anything, it's a repeat of the lesson she learned back in the premiere about not suffocating her student. But at the same time, there is genuine reason to worry about Starlight, someone who is still grappling with a dark past, becoming besties with someone who did much of the same thing and who is still an egotistical blowhard. She handled it in a bad way, but Twilight also had the added pressure of pleasing Celestia, which we have seen can drive her completely bonkers.
Also, TWILIGHT WAS RIGHT. However much Trixie genuinely wanted Starlight's friendship, she was still willing to use her as a pawn in a game that nopony but her gave a shit about playing. The fact that Trixie knew how vulnerable Starlight was - because she had gone through the same experience - and still manipulated her in that way speaks far hasher about the showmare's character than the princess'.
But no one will talk about this. People are predisposed to zeroing in on every mistake Twilight makes and using it as proof that she "isn't ready" to be a princess. And yet, I don't find any of these moments really objectionable. Twilight ruined Moondancer's life? Yes, but that's because the old Twilight - the one who didn't care about friendship - had no idea how much her rejection would hurt. Once she did, she did everything to try and make amends, and even if Moondancer would never forgive her, she could still get her life back together and escape the hole she had dug for herself. Twilight distrusted Discord? Yes, because who WOULD trust an openly passive-aggressive trickster who has nearly destroyed Equestria three times since waking up, is only held in check because of Fluttershy, and who has made it his mission to screw with Twilight whenever possible? And again, Twilight was right - Discord had engineered the situation so that it would prey on her insecurities about being the "Princess of Friendship" and make her look like a jealous fool. About the only time I can think of where Twilight legit screwed up as a princess was with the yaks, but she is still a new princess, diplomacy is a skill that needs to be learned, and again, we had the fear of disappointing Celestia to go with.
Not helping matters right now is that Trixie is involved. Remember that this is the pony who was given a billion sob stories about how sad and tragic her life was, and how the Mane 6 were evil monsters that ruined her life for laughs. Even when Magic Duel happened, and we saw Trixie willingly use a power amplifier to get revenge, people zeroed in on the "corruption" part and said it excused everything else she did. People seem to jump through any hoops they can to defend her, even when she's legitimately screwing up. It doesn't matter how sincere she was when she first met Starlight. I imagine she was genuine in wanting to be friends. But the minute she turned that friendship into a contest to prove herself "superior" to Twilight, that sympathy was gone.
3908621
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...I got nothing. You summarised it perfectly. Nothing I can add to that.
Hmm... I'd love to see what Trixie would make of post friendship games EQG Twi and/or sunset. Any thoughts on that?
This made me care about both of them, which is a accomplishment. Didn't really hold opinions on either of them before.
Oh wait, there's one thing!
Starlight's "I got a spell for this, lemme cast it without asking!" did remind me a little of how Twilight used to be during season 1 and 2.
3908538
3908621
It gets better. I just read somebody's post about how Twilight left Trixie's survival up to fate... when she talked Starlight into giving her another chance.
Because Twilight Sparkle is and has always been lacking in empathy.
What the f*ck.
3908621 As far as I'm concerned, she went out to find the thing in the first place.
... So tempted to make a blog just to say fandoms suck in so many words.
MLP-fans -not all of us, but many vocal ones- seem to blindly adore the "blue" ponies.
"How DARE Celestia lock her sister up in the sun? All she wants is wuvs!!"
She tried to hold daylight ransom. Daylight needed for growing food, food for eating, eating for living.
"Discord is so cool! How dare they ruin his fun!"
Yeah. If you replace fun with "mentally torturing and raping of ponies."
"Chryssie's just feeding her subjects!"
In the most inept manner possible by trying to conquer a nation. No love gained through fear.
Honestly, I'm half-surprised I haven't had a rage-fit and posted one of those crappy attention-grabbing "I'm leaving the fandom" blogs...
3908435
3908621
I like Twilight as princess and would be the first to agree with other past examples where the fandom falsely blames her, but this episode just left an undeniably sour taste in my mouth. I don't expect Twilight to be perfect, but I do expect her to at least be competent and this time around she done screwed up --BIG TIME-- in a way that actually makes me feel like agreeing with that little screencap comic.
It doesn't really matter that Twilight was somewhat right to have her doubts about Trixie, the way she stalks her own student and tries pushing any ol' other random pony she can lay eyes on as an alternative friend is goes past comedic gag and straight into creepy town. What's worse is that the only reason Trixie inadvertently admitted any kind of anterior motive at all was because Twilight is the one who forced a confrontation, when otherwise Trixie really was entirely genuine in her friendship with Starlight.
That said, it's not like anyone came out of this mess of an episode smelling like a rose. Especially not Starlight who pretty much repeatedly demonstrates over and over again that no matter how repentant she might profess to be, she's still otherwise prone to abusing her magic at the drop of the hat. Her real sin, however, is that prior to having some sense talked into her, she seemed willing to just sit by and watch as lethal stage act that Trixie had already being insufficiently skilled enough to perform.
Trixie doesn't get off the hook either as she also made mistakes, but in the end her mistakes were at least realistically relatable. I didn't think she ever really meant to make her friendship with Starlight into any kind of one-upmanship contest, but rather that she was just running her mouth bragging (which has always been her principle vice) and inadvertently jammed her whole hoof in and then in an ill-thought attempt to correct herself ended up jamming the other hoof in there as well. That said, attempted suicide was still a rather inexcusable overreaction.
Wouldn't Starlight be the fourth counterpart to Twilight, with Moondancer being the third?
3908621
For what it's worth, even though Trixie is usually ranked as my Best Pony, I agree with you here. I'm usually the first to point out that the Alicorn Amulet's "corruption" isn't in any way, shape, or form an excuse, for example. It is because Trixie is an arrogant, egotistical blowhard that she's my Best Pony, after all. I take the bad with the good - warts and all, as Cromwell said (or probably not, but whatever).
Plus I never liked giving her a tragic background, but then that applies to most characters. I've never bought into the "Scootaloo is an orphan" thing, either.
3909646
This is still a cartoon for 8- to 12-year-old girls. Trixie was never in any danger even if Starlight or Twilight had done nothing.
3909646
Honestly, "attempted suicide" is not what I thought during that scene, and still don't.
However, Trixie clearly did intend to make it a personal thing from the moment she knew Twilight was involved. Look back at the scene of her reveal: She put on her obnoxious stage act, complete with cape and wizard hat, and got right in Twilight's face. She took them off later and was much more friendly when she was just with Starlight again. In other words, this was simply to get under Twilight's skin, and it worked. She even bent Twilight's silverware into her likeness to annoy the princess before leaving:
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And later on, she blatantly manipulated Starlight into helping her with her show instead of going to Twilight's dinner, which was super-important to her. As 3908621 noted, Trixie made this a contest because she wanted to.
3909923
Trixie flat out states, "If I tried it, I'd get chewed up and swallowed by that manticore," and the fact that Starlight had to ultimately intervene suggests that would have been exactly what would happened and that they both knew it. So I really don't see what it can be seen as other than suicide.
It's rather hard to say who actually started what. Yeah Trixie was pretty clearly egging Twilight on, but Twilight herself never even gave her the benefit of the doubt before presuming she was up to no good. Maybe it was Trixie's plan all along, or maybe it was just a reflexive reaction to the attitude by which she was herself being treated. Besides, even if she was the whole time intentionally trying to irritate Twilight over lingering unresolved grudges, that's not really the same as have ever intentionally set out to specifically play Starlight and Twilight against each other.
Edit: As Trixie herself admits, she's jealous of Twilight, pretty much for having every advantage that she wish she had herself. I don't think she would have so openly told Starlight that if it had been her intention to be manipulative. Rather, I think that when the situation came down to it, when Starlight inadvertently was placed in a positon where she had to choose between them Trixie fully expected Starlight to choose Twilight -- every pony always chooses Twilight. When Starlight chose Trixie instead, it was a surprising elation and she let it feed into her wounded ego causing her to say things she didn't really mean and very obviously instantly regretted.
3909947
I disagree. If you rewatch the episode, you can see Trixie playing with Starlight's emotions when it looks like Starlight might go to Twilight's dinner instead of help with her trick. She's not sincere there at all. But if you believe she was sincere there... well, then we won't find agreement, because there's no way I can interpret that in any other way. Trixie was using her.