Ranking The Reformations of FiM, From Worst to Best (Version 5) · 2:47am Oct 19th, 2018
Now that we have another redemption of sorts, and "Nightmare Nights" from IDW comics has started its five issue run (fittingly it begins on the month that ends with Halloween and ends on the month of Valentine's Day) it's time for the rankings to be updated a little. Here's the previous version, from the middle of Season 8, like before I'm not counting the reformations/redemptions of any comics exclusive villains and as always this list is purely the result of my personal opinion so please respect it.
18. Vignette Valencia (Redemption Arc: Rollercoaster of Friendship)
Why she stayed on the bottom: I still don't have anything nice to say about this redemption/reformation. Vignette was an insufferable antagonist who quite frankly deserved no forgiveness and ended up being rewarded for her behavior when she got what she wanted in the end.
17. King Sombra (Redemption Arc: IDW Main Series #34-#37)
Why he moved down: Technically he's still in the same overall position of second to last, but with a newcomer on the list he got bumped down a number. At least the good thing is that this redemption will hopefully NEVER be canon, if the show wraps up without ever acknowledging it I'll be perfectly fine with it! I'm not saying a Sombra redemption arc couldn't work, but the best I could see would be him perhaps scarificing himself to stop a greater evil (essentially getting the "redemption equals death" treatment).
16. Juniper Montage (Redemption Arc: Movie Magic, Mirror Magic)
Why she moved down: Same as King Sombra, really, only really moving down to make room for a newcomer. Otherwise I still don't have anything good to say about her reformation. But at least she never got rewarded by having her delusional fantasies granted. Really, Juniper was never really a threat to anyone but herself, if she'd never got in her head that she could be an actress then none of the stuff that happened to her as a result would've occurred. Heck, she probably could've had a genuine friendship with the Rainbooms much sooner had she not tried to sabotage her uncle's movie.
15. Discord (Redemption Arc: Keep Calm and Flutter On, Twilight's Kingdom Parts 1 and 2, Discord and the Ponyville Players Dramaarama, Make New Friends, But Keep Discord, What About Discord?, IDW Friends Forever #2 and #20, To Where And Back Again Parts 1 and 2, Discordant Harmony, A Matter of Principals, IDW Main Series #57)
Why he moved down: Season 8 did NOT do Discord any favors, in his only appearances all season he acted like a jerk to his friends. Whether it was completely ignoring Big Mac's broken heart and telling him to basically get over it, his bet with Spike that went nowhere, or of course his entire conduct in "A Matter of Principals" where he tormented Starlight just because she was made acting headmare and he wasn't. Since Twilight knows the stone sleep spell, apparently, you have to wonder why she hasn't used it on Discord if all he's going to do is continue to act like an a-hole to those he considers "friends". If he's not gonna put in the effort to be reformed, he doesn't deserve to be treated as such. Who knows though? Maybe with the villain of "Nightmare Nights" supposedly being related to Discord, maybe we'll get a chance for Discord to redeem himself (I wouldn't bet on it but you never know.)?
14. Chancellor Neighsay (Redemption Arc: School Raze Part 2)
Why he's so low: *Sigh* oh Maurice LaMarche, you deserved WAY better than what you got here! I have no idea what we're supposed to make of Neighsay after "School Daze" started him off as a well-intentioned extremist with bigoted views and a lack of a filter, before "Friendship University" turned him into an idiot who would simply rubber stamp any school so long as it was a rival school to Twilight's and met his desires for a "Pony First" environment (even though as head of the EEA it's not about what he wants, it's about what standards the board is looking for, standards that Flim and Flam's school would've never met), and then "School Raze" in the first part had him lock up the student six despite no evidence they were involved in the magic theft (and one of them being an actual pony! Seriously, it's like Sandbar didn't even exist until suddenly Nicole remembered he did), and then in the second part he got deposed by Cozy Glow and once the student six freed him he disappeared until the near end of the episode. And through it all does he face any real consequences for his behavior? No. He just says he's sorry at the end and that's it, we're supposed to believe that he just magically changed his ways! Frankly, Neighsay shouldn't have been allowed to keep his job after what happened with Flim and Flam's school, and in real life his bigoted behavior would have him fired long before then! Like so many other things in Season 8, the idea for Neighsay as a reoccurring antagonist was there but the execution was a complete waste!
13. The Shadowbolts of Crystal Prep (Redemption Arc: Dance Magic)
Why they stayed the same: Their redemption was just there, really. There's nothing more to say about it. But at least unlike all the examples below them you don't feel like the redemption was half-arsed or poorly executed. The Shadowbolts did arguably have a good claim to being in the reformed villains slot. If "Dance Magic" had gone through more revising after being pushed back a year, maybe it could've done more with the reformed Shadowbolts, including the noticeably absent Indigo Zap.
12. Tempest Shadow a.k.a Fizzlepop Berrytwist (Redemption Arc: School Daze Part 1, IDW Main Series #67-#68)
Why she moved down: You'll notice I tagged my Tempest apology fic to this list, and there's a very good reason why I did that. Tempest is sorely in need of one, and by that I mean she's the one who should be apologizing! I'll get more in depth about her when I review her two parter comic arc starting tomorrow, but throughout it all I get the sense that Tempest is the only one making a big deal about her broken horn and that she somehow thinks that everyone should either pity her or fear her! But a disability doesn't give you the right to be a jerk to everyone around you! Tempest was the only one who made no effort to maintain her friendship, all she cared about was her horn even after her friends tried to still include her in their lives. And not once has she ever truly shown remorse for the things she's said and done, the closest we've gotten is her realizing she wouldn't have wanted Glitter Drops to go into the cave and be scarred by the Ursa Minor, but even then she never says "Sorry" for blowing up on her friend for saving her life! She also never apologizes to Cadence for being so hostile to her and saying to her face that she's useless (imagine if she'd said such a thing while Shining Armor was present, he'd probably blast her hide to kingdom come). So far, "Nightmare Nights" hasn't included her in the rag tag team of villains, but there is a possibility later on that Tempest may get a chance to finally make her redemption look justified.
11. Stygian (Redemption Arc: Shadow Play Part 2, A Rockhoof and a Hard Place, IDW Nightmare Nights #1)
Why he stayed the same: Stygian is a bit of an unconventional pick for "Nightmare Nights" (though the most unconventional by far is Capper, I don't include him on the list since he was only really a villain for one scene that involved selling the mane six into slavery and it was quickly brushed aside. From then on he was a loyal ally to the ponies even when he had the chance to betray them) and so far he and Luna are the only ones who have appeared in it. I can see how he and Princess Luna are kindred spirits, both falling to darkness and becoming corrupted and banished by those who were once close to them and were blinded to what they'd become. But it's not known yet what role he's supposed to play in the team (if I had to guess I'd say he's the brains of the bunch: Like Donatello). What was most surprising was that he was mentioned in "A Rockhoof and a Hard Place" as a best selling author, penning his own biography on his time as the Pony of Shadows. So at least there's the sense that Stygian hasn't been forgotten.
10. Princess Luna (Redemption Arc: Friendship is Magic Part 2 (Mare In The Moon), Luna Eclipsed, Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?, IDW Main Series #5-#8, Friends Forever #7, Nightmare Nights #1)
Why she moved down: Luna's redemption has at least had the blessing of being fleshed out a little in some of the comics, but even then her redemption has been really awkward. It went from not being a thing at all in her debut to hastily being introduced and supposedly resolved in her reappearance in "Luna Eclipsed", and then hastily re-introduced and supposedly resolved for good in "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" while the main series Nightmare Forces arc that was supposedly focused on her suffered from a questionable timeline and a protagonist problem (it becomes hard to tell who's supposed to be the hero of the story: the rest of the mane six, Spike, or Luna). Even Friends Forever wasn't the greatest at tackling her redemption, Luna did much better (for the most part) when the focus was on her as a mentor (such as with Discord) or her sibling rivalry with Celestia (in the final issue). I should mention that although the Ponyville Mysteries chapter books elaborate on the dream world and the origins of Nightmare Moon a little, I have yet to read the final book so I can't say for sure if she plays any kind of role in the series that could count towards her redemption.
9. Starlight Glimmer (Redemption Arc: The Cutie Re-Mark Part 2, The Crystalling Parts 1 and 2, No Second Prances, Every Little Thing She Does, To Where And Back Again Parts 1 and 2, Celestial Advice, Rock Solid Friendship, Shadow Play Parts 1 and 2, School Daze Parts 1 and 2, Marks for Effort, A Matter of Principals, Road to Friendship)
Why she moved way down: Season 8 did Starlight no favors, though the only real reason why "Road to Friendship" demoted her so heavily is because she never got a chance to make up for it. After that she was basically irrelevant for the rest of the entire season, to the point where in the finale she was somehow taken down by Cozy Glow and reduced to a damsel in distress. They went from shilling her (which I detest) to now making her utterly useless. And it seems that in order to make Trixie look better, they had to make Starlight look worse. Yes, Starlight did apologize for trading away Trixie's wagon, but when even the episode points out the trade wasn't hers to make that's a big problem.
8. Gilda (Redemption Arc: The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone, The Hearth's Warming Club, Friends Forever #24)
Why she stayed the same: I suspect Gilda had a role in bringing Gabby along in Gallus' flashback to spend the Blue Moon Festival with Grandpa Gruff. Gallus mentioned Gilda once, so the two of them have some kind of ties, and Jim Miller basically tweeted that Grandpa Gruff is Gallus' guardian. Other than that though, there's not really much to say about Gilda. Though it seems that no matter how many new griffons embrace friendship, the old guard refuses to accept its values in Griffonstone.
7. Babs Seed (Redemption Arc: One Bad Apple, Apple Family Reunion, Bloom and Gloom, IDW Main Series #21-#22, Friends Forever #13, Friends Forever #36)
Why she stayed the same: There's really nothing more that can be said about her. Babs was the first of the reformed "antagonists" to be disposed of and forgotten. "Bloom and Gloom" was the last time she was relevant to the show and that was just to set up for "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" later on in Season 5. For all intents and purposes, Babs was a precursor to what was to come for a similar antagonist whose role she arguably occupied in "One Bad Apple".
6. Wallflower Blush (Redemption Arc: Forgotten Friendship)
Why she stayed the same: The whole point of Wallflower Blush was that she detested being ignored and felt invisible, so you would think that if she was willing to go to the extremes of stealing memories the Rainbooms would make an honest effort to try and include her in the circle of friends. But she hasn't cropped up in any of the Equestria Girls shorts, and wasn't even given a mention in "Rollercoaster of Friendship" (like say she was attending summer school or was out of town). Still no word on whether or not there is an extend version of "Invisible" or if the speed up part was just an in-context joke.
5. Pony Trixie a.k.a The Great and Powerful Trixie (Redemption Arc: Magic Duel, No Second Prances, To Where and Back Again Parts 1 and 2, All Bottled Up, To Change a Changeling, Uncommon Bond, Road to Friendship, IDW Main Series #21-#22, Friends Forever #6)
Why she moved way up: It's amazing what one episode can do for a character! In the span of an episode, Trixie shot way up in likability points, primarily because she actually apologized for fighting with Starlight and admitted that she really did consider her a friend and not just an assistant. It's the kind of stuff we should've been getting a lot sooner from pony Trixie, an idea of what she's like behind that stage persona. She also apparently seems to be living in Ponyville full time now if episodes like "A Matter of Principals" and "Road to Friendship" are any indication. I just hope that we can have an episode with her and Starlight where one or both characters don't do things that make you wonder if it's a friendship even worth having.
4. Equestria Girls Trixie (Redemption Arc: Forgotten Friendship)
Why she moved up: It was a tough call to determine whether or not she deserved to beat out her pony counterpart, but honestly human Trixie dropped the mask first and did it better. As great as it was to see pony Trixie in a good light for a change, it could only do so much to make up for her bad performances in Season 7 and debatedly Season 6. It would've been easy to just make Trixie a decoy antagonist and nothing more, but instead "Forgotten Friendship" took the high route and gave us a chance to see what a humble Trixie could be like, that even she could understand what it was like to be vulnerable and despised. Plus, at least you can understand why she hasn't been so much in the Equestria Girls franchise, Sunset may have befriended her but it's doubtful the other Rainbooms are as forgiving (Rainbow Dash especially would likely hold a grudge).
3. Diamond Tiara (Redemption Arc: Crusaders of the Lost Mark, Ponyville Mysteries: Schoolhouse of Secrets and Tale of the Timberwolf, IDW Ponyville Mysteries #3)
Why she stayed the same: From here on out the results don't change and there's really not much to say. Diamond Tiara has gotten nothing new since last I updated this list, and sadly I foresee that trend continuing for the rest of the show's life-span. The best we might get is a cameo appearance like the one she had at the beginning of "It Isn't the Mane Thing About You". It's a shame because there are so many stories that could be told with her, so many opportunities that could be utilized, but the moment she was reformed she was simply tossed aside and forgotten. I guess maybe if the show did decide to redeem Spoiled Rich for whatever reason (it might be one of those crazy ideas they'd save til the final season) I wouldn't be opposed to it if it meant more screen time for Diamond Tiara, so long as the redemption was handled decently.
2. Sci-Twi (Redemption Arc: Legend of Everfree, Forgotten Friendship, Equestria Girls Series)
Why she stayed the same: Not much to say about her, everything that there is to say I've already said. Her redemption arc was fine for what it was, and now she's mostly shone because only she and Sunset Shimmer seem capable of holding the Equestria Girls franchise together. "Rollercoaster of Friendship" was the big chance to show that a non Sunset/non Twilight lead story could work, and it utterly failed! So for better or for worse it seems the next special is going to focus almost exclusively on the two. And speaking of Sunset Shimmer...
1. Sunset Shimmer (Redemption Arc: Rainbow Rocks, Friendship Games, Legend of Everfree, Forgotten Friendship, Equestria Girls Series)
Why she stayed the same: It's really amazing how Sunset could go from being one of the most despised antagonist in the entire franchise after "Equestria Girls" to the most adored character and mascot of the spin-off franchise after "Rainbow Rocks". Her redemption was something no one actually expected to have any real effort put into it, they all expected it to be another "instantly forgiven" redemption and that was it. Everyone was surprised when Sunset Shimmer had to prove to the whole school that she'd changed, and spent most of "Rainbow Rocks" in the background, unwilling to step up and take charge until the situation forced her hand. She stagnated a tad bit after that, as the attention shifted to newcomer Sci-Twi, but her appeal rocketed back up tremendously with the Equestria Girls franchise and "Forgotten Friendship" which showed that although she'd come a long way, she still had things to improve on. And redemption is a life long process, there will always still be things you'll need to atone for and even some who will never fully forgive you. I don't want to jynx anything, but I think it's safe to say that Sunset is likely to stay at number one on the reformations list until the end of the show and the Equestria Girls spin-off shorts.
And there you have it. Come back tomorrow morning when we'll include the Top Thirty Songs of MLP FiM, and then tomorrow night I intend to include a wishlist of possible things for Season 9 (and possibly beyond).
Neighsay's is probably in my top 5, but it's certainly not my favorite.
I still would have liked to have him have a better backstory, like rather than being a shadow being, he was instead a normal, curious Unicorn, perhaps some sort of researcher for the Crystal Empire's ruling family, who got corrupted, like Saruman in a way, slowly being driven mad by the shadowy whispers in his mind. He would die, but perhaps be reconstituted into a new being
Forgotten Friendship also helped in highlighting Sunset's impatience and anger management issues which probably would not have helped her cause
I am able to respect opinions, however, I am lately wondering why the way you look at the show is so constantly negative? I'm seeing this for a while now, ranging from judging an episode so quickly that it seems hardly possible to even develop an informed view about it to even writing stories where you assume the right to rewrite the writing of another, more experienced and better author than yourself and claim to make it better than them.
But I'm using this quote as a prime example for what I noticed. You first show appreciation for Neighsay as a villain for being such an extremist, then you are suddenly unsatisfied with him when he does the exact same things that you would expect an extremist like him to do; being so jaded and bent on revenge that he becomes blind for everything else (the approval of Flim and Flam's school) and then full-on enacting his extremism when he has a chance to (Twilight gone from her school, no one there to stop him so using the opportunity to lock up the Student Six that he hated since he first saw them because of his extremism, did you forget the plot of "School Daze"?).
He was constantly in-character, yet your words here make it look like he wasn't.
What you wrote here doesnt't sound like complaining about "bad quality", it sounds like you rather want it to be bad quality by force.
As I said, I can respect an opinion. But this here reads like you either only glanced over what Neighsay did, making you overlook pretty much everything about his actions, before you proceeded to write this, or, like you just ignored everything about him and decided to pretend it's different so you can talk bad about his role in the show.
Your words here sound like you just want to talk maliciously about the show, in a way that is so extreme that you even remind me on Bronycurious (Tommy Oliver) right now, and that's a bad thing.
Personally, I don’t consider Sombra’s appearance in the comics canon due to lack of consistency, so you’re not alone in not liking it. I also feel the same way with Vignette getting redeemed because I really don’t think she’s the type.
As for the others, I disagree with your opinions.
By the way, what is your inspiration behind doing things like this?
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I am wondering about this, too. The way he talks here and flatout ignores established facts about Neighsay and his characterization in favor of his opinion reminds in an unsettling way on the infamous Bronycurious (Tommy Oliver).
I fear SuperPinkBrony12 tries to get views via bashing the show.
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Perhaps even like that of the Nostalgia Critic, who is nothing but an idiotic jerk in my opinion.
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That might come like a shock, but I never actually watched NostalgiaCritic, save for a few tiny meme clips. So I can't tell how close they are to each other.
But another fitting comparison would be MythrilMoth. I've seen him talking negatively about the show in rather absurd ways often, especially lately, and I think he does that because that's what people like to hear.
It's a dark path to go down on and not exactly helpful for the reception and image of the show, especially not these days.