), I do love fussing over stats where anything of interest is concerned, Fimfic included. Happily, I’m not alone (because duh 
): Recommendsday blogger, fic writer and all-around awesome chap TCC56 does too, and in his latestMini Re-Reviews: "Magical Mystery Cure" - Season 3 Episode 13 · 8:17pm May 17th, 2020
TWILIGHT: "Yes! Finally, I'm a Princess!"
SPIKE: "...Where's the punchline, Twilight? We're all waiting."
TWILIGHT: "Punchline? I'm a Princess now, Spike. I can't go around tossing out quips and jokey asides."
SPIKE: "But... just last episode you were all snarky and remarking for characters of the day to not come back! What happened?!?"
APPLEJACK: "And you all said I was plum crazy for thinking Twilight would become blander if she became a Princess..."
I know I start a fair amount of reviews off addressing whatever viewer controversy it generated, and where on the scale I land, but with a few exceptions ("The Last Roundup", you know), they are minor at best, things confined purely to the episode itself, and which you don't recollect otherwise. They didn't change the fandom, they're nothing beyond some people liking the episode and others not liking them, and the debates gets a little heated at times. As you doubtlessly already know, in what can charitably only be called "My Little Pony: The Musical", we have nothing like that at all.
No, we have perhaps the episode that instigated the largest controversy the show and fandom ever saw, one which resulted in more then a fair share of people leaving the show or the fandom altogether (though not as quickly as new viewers were continuing to pour in mind, so it was still a expanding viewerbase, even if the zeitgeist was slowing down). To be fair, the wait of nine months - and a week - until Season 4 didn't help matters. All fans had to tide them over was the recently-launched comics (which were, if a reminder was needed, very, very popular at the time, selling in record numbers and largely really well-liked, with its weaker days a ways away in the future) and a direct-to-DVD spin-off that contributed massively to the controversy itself. The fandom churned out tons of content in that time, of course, but it was a long, agonising wait for all involved.
This is all a long-winded way of saying, as will often happen, that the episode itself was overshadowed by all going on around it, and not without reason. But given its prime position and major change to the status quo, unlike many others I've discussed thus far, it was revisited by many in the 7+ years since, and largely given a second chance. Good thing too: "Magical Mystery Cure" is most certainly flawed in more then a few ways if and of itself, never mind its effect on the show's future, and to deny otherwise would be foolish. But like the best FiM episodes, the staff at DHX went all out in executing (and revising: enough songs are credited solely to Daniel Ingram that we can tell the script changed substantially once it left M.A. Larson's hands, a fact he has confirmed) its messy script, that in the end, it delivers big time. It's just that the effect of its best parts, namely its songs, take a while to kick in.
If you're forgotten, that comment about it being the My Little Pony musical wasn't hyperbole. The first thing in the episode - literally, the first thing - after a second of rising plucked strings that starts many episodes, is for the orchestra to swell magnificently, as the camera zooms into Ponyville from afar, all while sparkles flash over the landscape and birds fly everywhere. It announces with no subtly that there's something unique and special - you might say magical - about this episode. In true stage musical/Disney animation fashion, we get our opening song that will later be reprised as an ending, with Twilight singing about how wonderful life in Ponyville is. Morning In Ponyville and its later reprise are the only songs here largely unchanged from M.A. Larson's script, as he alone is credited for the lyrics, and it shows, as while the lyrics are clearly not that of a songwriter, the swelling melodies, rising crescendos and so on all make it sparkle. Enough that'd we'd want to move to Ponyville, if we didn't already want to!
In true narrative karma, this is upended when Twilight is dunked in water, but it's not Rainbow Dash this time, but Rarity struggling to manage the storm clouds. Twilight soon finds out that Rainbow Dash is equally struggling with the pets at what was Fluttershy's cottage. Not even 60 seconds after the last song (bar the title sequence) we have the next one, What My Cutie Mark Is Telling Me, showing all the Mane 5 stuck in the roles of another in the group, with that pony's cutie mark. It's one of those ones that, while not perfect (where was Twilight's solo verse during it?) it just feels right upon hearing and watching it. Continuing the trend, we have a brief interlude before the next song that exposits the problem, of Twilight having receiving a new spell from Celestia to tackle, and upon reading out the end, trigging a reaction that swapped the Mane 5's Cutie Mark, their destinies, and their true selves. The third song, I've Got To Find A Way is nothing so much as the show's saddest song to this point, a true lament of Twilight mourning the mistake she's made, and other then she'd got to fix it, not knowing how to go about it. Despite having seen it dozens of times before, it still got me all teary-eyed.
We're only a third through the episode, but even if you didn't know or remember that, I'll bet it was obvious this episode was moving at warp speed. That the episode was far too rushed has been levelled at it from the moment it first aired, and this is very much still the case. We all know why - this was supposed to be a two-parter, but Hasbro plain wouldn't allow it, despite Larson and co. fighting tooth and nail for it - but less-known is that this episode was conceived before Twilight becoming a princess has been settled on, and wasn't instantly the choice for the episode where she would become one. Prior to that, it was just another stepping stone for her, with the episode's last third being just an indication of Twilight's progression after everyone's Cutie Marks were reversed. That certainly would have worked - give two minutes to that, and the remaining five minutes throughout the episode would have allowed for the right pacing and further exploration of the ramifications of everything going on here without adding much content otherwise. Because there's a lot, with both the exploration of swapped Cutie Marks and the gravitas of Twilight munging her friends' lives rather glossed over.
All of that being the case, this all still works really well, because a musical like this lives and dies on the quality of its song, and these are just wonderful ones, all superbly catchy and powerfully poignant. This is what I meant about them taking a while to kick in, in that they operate in a delayed-release manner: after barreling through the episode at breakneck speed, you wonder what happened, and then much time later (hours, days, months, and years for some people) you find they still stick with you. It has the wonderful effect of turning what seemed rushed and compressed into something else that... well, still is rushed and compressed, but which is also something beautifully poetic.
The episode's middle third is mostly the same set of strengths and weaknesses as its first, though with a longer not-song sequence before the classic A True, True Friend, it doesn't feel as rushed (whereas the rest begs to have twice the length, this is closer to 50% extra), though this is counterbalanced by how quickly Twilight moves from despair to hope as she hits upon the solution of using the dilemmas of the other friends to snap them back to their true selves, one by one. But this is the show about friendship, and however obvious it may be, boiling it down to true friends being there for each other is always worth stating. Think about the times you were there for your friends, and when they were there for you - it felt pretty great, didn't it?
Still, as mentioned before, up to this point we've gotten the pre-Princess-Twilight version of the episode, more or less, just condensed. What changes this episode, and the series forever, is that after everyone is all sorted out, Twilight realises how to finish Star Swirl's spell, but upon doing so, the Elements of Harmony whisk her away to some Milky Way-like ethereal plane. To the background of a gorgeous starscape and a relaxing yet beautiful piano melody that builds and adds instruments for Celestia's Ballad, the Princess sings about how far Twilight's come, while we witnesses, Matrix Reloaded-style, memories of her achievements through these 65 episodes dancing before our eyes. The scene where Twilight floats up and is encased in magical energy as she is forever transformed is still a choker, and the scene fully captures the weight and majesty of a life-changing event from which point there is no going back.
Much of the controversy at the time around Twilight becoming a Princess was about what this would mean for the future, and even knowing now how that goes, and that it was more bungled then pulled off spectacularly, that worry is largely gone. This episode is not responsible for Twilight's future arcs being largely non-starters, and in Season 4 it was strong enough, starting with "Princess Twilight Sparkle", that it sits better here now (thinking of this as the first in a three-parter with that two-parter is quite right, conceptually anyway).
But, as in 2013, it is still the case that the episode doesn't really justify Twilight's ascension, due to not being set up well. There wasn't NO setup, with "The Crystal Empire" and brief moments in the previous episode "Games Ponies Play" being there seeing to that, but we needed a lot more. We all know by now that Season 3 was a hectic one at the writing level, with tons of premises scrapped as the season was revised to just 13 episodes, and the decision for Twilight to be a Princess coming down from up top with reduced time to implement it. More importantly, the event that justifies Twilight's ascension in the first place - finishing Star Swirl's unfinished spell - is flimsy at best (no surprise it was added in after the script had left Larson's hands!) and while we're still miles better then Season 8's blatant "just want to sell toys" feel (ironically, the Student 6 and the school didn't even come from the executives, but from the new showrunners), we cannot deny that Twilight was made a princess to sell toys, and the episode doesn't fully hide that fact.
(Oh, and I find considerable fault in how Twilight's body was stretched just enough in leg and neck height to notice, but not beyond that - it reads as the staff trying to strike a middle ground between showing her change, but not wanting to change her body beyond the wings for fear of angering viewers - so on top of her looking less cute and adorable in a small but pervasive way, it reeks as cowardly, failing to fully satisfy either group. Despite coming into the show with this being the norm, I've still not adjusted to her alicorn body, and I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing she kept her original size, just with alicorn wings rather then standard pegasi ones.)
Mind you, DHX and Daniel Ingram flex their magic during this sequence (he wrote the score too, not just the songs), and the episode has the right tone as it revels in Twilight's change thereafter. Not without hiccups - Behold, Princess Twilight Sparkle is the one weak song in the episode - but it's worth tipping our hand to Twilight and the episode acknowledging that she would never have gotten this without her friends. She'd still be stuffed away doing research that would be intellectually fulfilling but leave her empty inside (another future Larson episode will tackle this more directly - you know the one) has she not moved to Ponyville and added these five wonderful friends to her one baby dragon friend. Learning the virtues of charity, compassion, devotion, integrity and optimism from them all (what wonderful alternate terms to the Elements) has left her thankful beyond words. We all have that event in our lives where other people shaped it for the better in ways we can't fully express our gratitude for, and the penultimate scene perfectly captures that, in my eyes. With the final reprise, Life In Equestria, the episode ends on the right note, with Twilight ready, for now, to face whatever's coming (pity she was basically regelated in the future to having far less agency and being constantly unsure of herself, but as always, that's for another day).
This review is already overlong, and there'll be plenty of time in future episodes to discuss what the show did with Princess Twilight then. Keeping to just "Magical Mystery Cure", it is flawed, undeniably so. Doubtless Larson's original notion of the problem's cause being a literal Pandora's box from Celestia that Twilight wasn't supposed to open, as well as Rainbow Dash and Twilight flying around during the last few minutes with virtually all the characters we've met these past 65 episodes, and the adventures they had getting glimpses, would have worked much, much better. It's such a cliché to say at this point, but the great majority of this episode's problems, as opposed to ones done in by future parts of the show falling slack, could have been solved by it being a two-parter.
But, it still works, and I think I love this episode. I shouldn't, but I do. It encapsulates the raw emotional honesty that justifies why we love - unjustifiably, some might say - this silly little show about pastel cartoon equines. The songs being as phenomenal as they are, with a good four of the seven being common candidates for Top Song lists, makes the episode such a great one, despite its severe pacing issues that shouldn't be ignored. And while it might have felt sore at the time had this being the series finale, given time, it would have been fine. It's not my choice for best series finale (best as in the best end note and feeling to possibly end the series on, not the best episode), "Twlight's Kingdom" has that locked up with its denouement. But it is powerful all the same. Despite the severe pacing issues and non-starter explanation of Twilight's ascension, this episode's highs in the music, animation and emotional feels are strong enough that "Magical Mystery Cure" still merits an 8.5/10.
STRAY OBSERVATIONS
- I'm taking a break, folks. I've been doing 2.5 reviews a week for months now, and have reviewed 63 episodes (missing the series premiere) since November 2019. It's a lot of time in my life, to spend several hours writing a review several times a week. Possibly just for a little while... possible forever, these reviews are stopping. The posts aren't done yet - soon enough I'll do a short retrospective on the three seasons, as well as a final episode ranking with adjusted scores. But Season 4 might be a ways away. Just want to get other stuff going is all. You all understand, I'm sure.
- I noticed (and adored) how during 'What My Cutie Mark Is Telling Me', that the voice actors all adjusted their characters' voices to reflect their different upbringing. Pinkie Pie singing with a slight southern drawl is the most obvious example, of course, and the one that make me take note.
- I'll save most of the thoughts for when I (eventually) get to "Princess Twilight Sparkle", but there's sufficient argument to be made for the events of this episode being merged with those two. Going by my memories, that episode is slick with plot padding (unique for two-parters) that doesn't really change its overall effect going forward (the Tree and relinquishing the elements is all that really matters). Merging its vital components with this one organically (for the Season 4 Premiere, this is - leave Season 3 ending in a more S1-esque low-key manner) as well as involving Discord (his absence during an episode like this is quite mind-scratching, when you think about it) could have produced something truly phenomenal. More on that when we get there, but reflect on it for a moment: keep the plot and songs and ascension of this one, but mix in the relinquishing of the elements, kickstarting the Keys arc and Discord being involved (though in a different capacity, naturally) from there. They really merge together, don't they? And it would give extra weight to giving up the Elements, doing so right after using them to restore the Mane 5 to normal.
Just popping in here to say thank you for these! I may not yet have commented on them beyond S1, but I have skimmed them, and read them properly for episodes I've already rewatched. I'll be back to comment on your thoughts for S2 and S3 as time goes on. Whether you continue or not, these are reviews I'm going to be pointing to in the future, I'm sure.
And yet, my blindbag collection is sorely missing glorious Student 6 toys. Nothing was ever produced for that season. The movie sucked up all the toy spots and even then, we got very little out of Hasbro for the final two seasons.
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Honestly, I'd forgotten you skim-read them when they were new!
I think when I started out doing these, I anticipated a lot more people doing these kind of rewatch projects, among other things. Nor did I anticipate how much time and effort each review would take, never rarely thought of these episode in a writing-critically sense before, you know (on that, I'm actually quite curious to see how your re-reviews compare to your original ones once you reach "Sleepless in Ponyville", both in opinion and writing style!) But it was an undertaking, done for personal reasons far more so then readership ones. Sometimes undertakings just need to step back and gain some distance, you know. That's all.
But thanks for being here: given the length of them, it's no small feat to read them, I'll admit (almost every time I repost these in the EqD rewatch threads, I get comments about the "Mini Re-Reviews" of the title being inaccurate; I' not gonna say this contributed to me not really cross-posting to there, but...). No matter the delay in getting a response, my friend, I appreciate it. We're all here to enjoy Pony, and that's enough.
You rock. Whoo.
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Well, the first bit is very unlikely to change much. I rewatched that a bit before I started on the full-series rewatch, and I still loved it. I would be staggered if it fell below a high four. The "writing style" bit I suspect will be informed partly by the condensed format I use for the rewatch thoughts, and partly because I'm not going to be writing about a new episode this time around.
Yay!
My biggest problem with the episode, pacing aside, is the fact that the big grand episode defining "A True True Friend," has really lazy lyrics. It's basically the same verse repeated with transitions for 3 whole minutes, with the exception of the Pinkie Pie cheer up part. I do think personally I love the episode too, for the reasons you stated. Not sure about in an unbiased way, but I think I agree for the most part. Am looking forward to your season 4 reviews when they eventually come!
I’ve been meaning to post a comment here for about a week now..
Thank you Mike for a truly excellent series of reviews over the last six months or so. Even if you choose never to write about MLP again (entirely your choice) these reviews should become a standard reference when it comes to criticism of the series. You’ve expressed so many things more articulately than anyone else I’ve seen writing about MLP before now and have put your finger on so many issues I’d never managed to put my own on. Thank you.