Afterthoughts: No Second Prances · 11:26am May 6th, 2016
art by mysticalpha
First, for any of you Fallout lovers who haven’t seen it yet, the Far Harbor trailer is out! Release date will by May 19th.
Now, on to the Afterthoughts…
As we all acknowledge, the original impetus for Hasbro to restart My Little Pony was to sell toys, but the creator’s intention was to create a show that was fun and meaningful for the entire family. Going into its sixth season, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is in an interesting place. The original younger audience for the show are now teenagers, and many have moved on to other pursuits. It is almost certain that the manticore’s share of the continuing audience are adults, including a lot of parents of the original younger viewers.
I have lauded the show’s progression into more mature topics and lessons before. It is reasonable for something so long-running to mature with its core target audience. Series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Harry Potter novels are excellent examples of this. And My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has increasingly delved into more mature morals and themes, with episodes like “It’s Not Easy Being Breezies” (which teaches us that sometimes being kind means knowing when not to be) and “Tanks for the Memories” (which centered on the five stages of grief).
At the end of Season 3, Twilight Sparkle graduated from being Celestia’s student. This year, we see her in the role of teacher, now with a student of her own. And this has opened up a surprising new realm of life lessons as we see Twilight struggling with her role as a teacher. At first, I considered that the writers might be weaving lessons on how to teach into the show, but that isn’t really the case. Starlight Glimmer isn’t a student in the classical sense, and friendship isn’t a subject that can be taught like math or history.
Rather, I think that the show’s writers are managing to slip us lessons on parenting.
And that, I feel, is entirely appropriate (and damn impressive) given the shifting viewership. This week, in addition to the more direct lesson about being earnest in giving people a second chance, the episode “No Second Prances” added in a nice lesson for parents that you shouldn’t try to pick your children’s friends.
Bravo.
The rest of my afterthoughts on No Second Prances below the break.
She ditched you?!
art by NCMares
Before I can talk about any of the little joys of this episode, I have to address The Great and Suicidal Trixie.
For the first time, we have seen behind the curtain into Trixie’s inner self, and what we have seen isn’t pretty. The Trixie we have seen up to this point is the Boorish, Boastful, Egomaniac Trixie. Some have tried to excuse this as just a stage persona. Some have written her off as having delusions of grandeur. Neither, we see now, is really the case.
There are people like Trixie everywhere. People who need to be The Best, to be Winners, to have a wall full of trophies and their name on everything. Not because they really believe they are awesome (like, say, Rainbow Dash), but because they need these things to assure themselves of their own self worth. These are people who, when they look inside to where that core of self-acceptance and contentment should be, find instead something empty and painful.
The stunt we watched with the manticore wasn’t truly suicide, although. Trixie had collapsed into self-loathing resignation, but she still truly wanted Starlight Glimmer to be there for her. She didn’t want to die. But she had reached a point where death was an acceptable alternative. Nor was this a leap of faith, because as much as she hoped Starlight would save her, she didn’t really expect her to. This was a cry for help.
Thankfully, it was a cry that was heard. And that is as much because of Twilight as Starlight herself.
It can be very hard to see self-worth by staring inward. For many, many people, self-worth is most easily recognized by seeing a reflection of it in a mirror held up by others. Seeing that others see worth in you lets you know it is there when you cannot see it for yourself. It is one of the greatest things that friends do.
This episode was abnormally poignant for me because I have been there. It was decades ago, and obviously my own cry for help was heard. Since then, I have grown to become quite confident in my own self-worth, but stories like this one have a way of striking home that is hard to put into words.
I walked away from the episode shaken yet happy. I knew I had just watched an amazing episode of My Little Pony, but it took me a while to realize just why I was having the powerful emotional reaction to it that I did. And most of the day to shake the emotional aftershocks. Other elements of the story naturally took a back seat.
art by AssasinMonkey
But there were other elements of the story, and many of them were delightful in their own ways. Here are a few bits I felt particularly stood out:
Starlight Glimmer is naïve in many areas (for example, it is nice that the mare who didn’t know how important Twilight and her friends were to Equestria also didn’t know who the Wonderbolts are), but she has not lost that insightful nature that made her such a great antagonist. Twilight Sparkle has much to learn about being a teacher, but Starlight Glimmer is going to help her become a better one rather than become a victim of Twilight’s flaws. Starlight’s scenes like the one pictured below are really what make her a unique and welcome addition to the cast.
(Favorite line of the episode: “Great. Thanks for asking in a completely not creepy way.”)
Trixie’s character gained some much-needed dimension as we learned about her idolization of Hoofdini. (I groaned a little at the name; I applauded the cutie mark.) And it was nice to see that her desire to be the best was not limited to being better than Twilight.
(And as an aside: how perfect was it that at the end of Trixie’s act, the manticore took a bow?)
Celestia was clearly not buying any of Twilight’s act, but didn’t call her on it. Instead, she allowed Twilight to rush off and fix the problem without a word. She knows Twilight all too well, and continues her hooves-off method of teaching that Twilight herself is struggling to learn this episode.
vector by Charity-Rose
It's really, really nice to see someone's reaxction to this episode with "own/similar experiences".
I've never been there (as far as I can remember), but it's really nice to see that the writer actually did a good job.
Don't get me wrong:
I liked it, but I liked it for the chemestry between Twilight, Starlight and Trixie - as well as for the humor.
I've seen and learned the lesson of that episode, but without personal history "around" it.
I was pretty confused when Trixie actually did that trick including the manticore.
Like:"This can't work."
Surprisingly: I wasn't thinking/seeing her committing suicide.
I learned that it could be interpret that way through Twitter and then I was like: Whoa.
Yeah... Probably because I didn't expect Trixie actually die in that episode ^^"
It's true what you say about growing up with each season and TBH:
You're explanation about Twilight struggling as a teacher adds a lot to the episode for me.
For me Twilight simply acted OOC, but I couldn't put my finger on it why. Now I know it - I guess xD
Thank you very much, your blog was really fascinating
3924005
Exactly, and Trixie knows this. That's why she lived up to her namesake and plotted to undermine Twilight in a different way.
I came away pretty satisfied with this episode. I've seen plenty of grumbling on Twilight's behavior, but that just makes her a more interesting character and not just a perfect princess pony. She's got anxieties, just like a person would in real life. And how many can claim that they've NEVER held a grudge against someone else? Yeah, Twilight forgave Trixie last time, but that doesn't mean she has to like her, even if she's the princess of friendship. And for Twilight to pony up and admit she was partially to blame for the conflict helps flesh her out.
First time I've heard the parenting angle, but I can roll with that.
That's a good way of looking at it! I was rather dissatisfied with this episode, but perhaps with this in mind, a second viewing will look better to me.
That's very different from how I saw it! It was my feeling that Celestia was just bored and mildly frustrated at having her time wasted.
3924005
.... Sorry, I just had to poke you because of your name. Phonetically it's not the same as mine but... It was still similar enough that I looked twice.
For once, I liked a Trixie episode.
And the manticore had horns. That's a nice design.
3924044
Really? That was the first thing I thought about when I read the synopsis was that this was a parenting thing as well as a teaching thing. I mean, shoot, I know of certain cartoons that run with similar premsis. "kid gets a new bad/cool friend that the parent finds questionable and tell them to stay away" the difference there and here though...
The kid usually loses his new friend in the procress and the parent is usally proven right.
In regards to the Fallout 4 news: I am so pumped for Far Harbor!
This is why I love Starlight so much. It's nice seeing her help teach Twilight how to be a better teacher, hopefully, she also teaches Twilight how to ask things in non-creepy ways.
I actually rolled my eyes at the name. I missed the cutie mark though, but upon seeing it now I think it fits the character.
Trixie has trained that beast well.
The moment Trixie walked on stage to perform that trick, then announced her new title for the magic show, I immediately became uneasy because I know what she was feeling.
I'm glad your call was heard.
You had quite the impressive insight into the idea of self-worth here, Kkat. While I hadn't really thought at length about it (too dang busy as of late), I think you're spot on. Also, as a parent (who actually started MLP at the end of Season 3 with my 2 year old), I'm delighted to see these things. I hadn't seen it from the parenting perspective (I seriously should have), so thanks for whacking me upside the head with that one.
I know what you mean by struggling with self-worth. It's difficult...both for the person struggling and even for the people around them. I recently had a friend who tended to doubt everything good said to them...it got bad. Really bad. To the point where the cry for help almost wouldn't be heard again. Thankfully, this person was pulled from the edge...though I know it will be a struggle for years to come.
I've had my own issues as well. For years I always thought my writing was actually terrible and no one had the guts to tell me. When you get in that mindset, sometimes even friends and family can't get through (they couldn't for me). It took a miracle of winning an honorable mention in a global writing contest to finally shut that voice up forever.
If anyone has a friend who can be the mirror that Kkat is talking about...keep them close. Make sure that they're showing you your self-worth though. There are many "friends" who find it far easier to criticize and demean than build up. The worst part about those folks is that they think they're doing you a favor. Now we all need a kick in the tail occasionally, but never forget to cherish those who can show you just what you can do...
And then push yourself to believe them.
I'm so exciting about Far Harbor
As I said...Twilight really did a bad job.
Oh, its easy! It simply requires the time tested and proven method of being an utterly abhorent human being, Utterly horrible people tend to believe themelves better then the plebs they're surrounded by daily.
Oh? What's that? You're a decent person? Well, clearly you were either not born then or sequestered yourself and have learned nothing of the 80's and 90's.
Oh my God... I just saw the ending, and forgive me for the extra post, but...
Really Cranky? You are sitting across from perhaps the most mysterious and benevolent beings in the whole and breadth of your little slice of creation, a chance to ask her anything, anything at all, be it religion, politics, whatever comes into that pretty head of yours, and keep in mind baldness was once considered a sign of wisdom (grass don't grow on a busy street), not to mention my personal fav has deigned to take time from her own personal life and time (remember this is a dinner, her day of having to act as the overseer of this clutch of cunty clowns called Equestria is at an end and she's probably exhausted) and enjoy a meal with her former apprentice who of course had to drag along that terrorist and a plus one so she had to wear the bling... and now she has to hear perhaps the stupidest question she'd ever heard in her long life to ever come from the vent hole of one whose supposed to be an adult.
Poor Celestia... she's really starting to show her frayed ends from having to deal with this garbage.
Tbh, Starlight is best pony, glad that we're getting episodes of her