My Little Pony G5 News 09/12/2022 · 5:22pm Sep 12th, 2022
Safe to say Sunny's getting the hang of her new powers.
GOOD AFTERNOON, FIMFICTION FANATICS!!! This is the Dramamaster829; Critic, Actor, Writer, Motivational Speaker, and Occasional Singer, keeping you up to date with the latest news for Generation 5 and beyond! Earlier today, the newest trailer for 'My Little Pony: Make Your Mark' has just been released for the public to see. And with less than two weeks to go before the upcoming series is released onto Netflix, we're taking a further look as far as what this installment to G5 has to offer. With one minute and thirty-five seconds of material, we have an 'official' trailer to 'Make Your Mark: Chapter Two' which you can see right here:
Now the big question that is raising a ton of eyebrows: 'Chapter Two'. Why call it 'Chapter Two'? If these eight episodes represent it's first out of 'twenty-three' planned episodes (At least planned 'so far'), why not call it 'Chapter One'? Because apparently the very first special of 'Make Your Mark' counted as one big chapter one. Though if you ask me, that special reminded me more of one big pilot trying to take a concept and attempt to make it big.
And yet already we have A24 begging for us to take our show to the big picture phone!
Yes Alastor, yippie for you guys...
*Clears throat* Moving on... there's no mistaking that G5 has met a series of complaints since its inception into the MLP community. The animation, the writing, the execution, the character handling, stories, the music, the repetitive morals, the lore/worldbuilding, the list goes on and on (And I did 'tons' of 'Tell Your Tale' reviews to dive into those issues). On the subject of Make Your Mark, it's pretty clear that the way it presents itself is how it resembles the first initial movie... but again, on a slightly lower budget. It's not to say that the details are that bad, but like a majority of Netflix programs put together in tiny studios, they're always facing issues like handling the mouthing or whether it's colorful enough or too much for prying eyes...
Okay... overdramatic much...
Then we come to one of the key plot devices that the trailer touches on several times: Plant magic. The suddenly introduced ability for Earth Ponies to grow plants and various other crops through one step of their glowing hooves. Not exactly been done in 'G4' but apparently it's the one trait that 'G5' wished to incorporate in order to stand out (Or serve as a metaphor of 'evolution' taking place within the magic). After that brief moment when this power was merely hinted in the first movie, we eventually saw the magic at work prior to the Make Your Mark special and since then ponies have been learning to use this power especially during the events of the TYT run. And we thought 'trolls' were the only ones with green thumbs.
Somebody call for a green thumb!
NOT TODAY, STANLEY!!! *Groans* Why did that movie even exist?
Anyways... the trailer also reminds us of some 'antagonists' set to be making their moves behind the scenes: That being Opaline and her unicorn associate, Misty.
With those meddlesome ponies out of the way, I'll take over... and rule the empire!
As of yet, we still have no idea what the overall agenda of this 'Shadowy Alicorn' extends to. What we do know is that she's having her 'friend' Misty going out into Maretime Bay for recon, no doubt to study the effects of magic suddenly returning to Equestria and trying to determine how to retrieve this stabilized magic and return it to her mistress. Fans have speculated whether this unicorn mare is just as evil as Opaline or if she's really just the blundering sidekick trying so desperately to prove herself. There's no guarantee as to whether they will be featured in nearly 'every' episode, but if and when we do we hope to understand what role this Alicorn and her crony have that could put the endeavors of Sunny & her friends in jeopardy if they are not careful.
And another massive ordeal that still remains inconclusive is 'Sparky Sparkeroni', who we just learned in the trailer just happens to be fully addressed by name for this first series run. Though we look at him and instantly we're thinking, the 'Spike of G5'.
I'm still not seeing the resemblance.
The worldbuilding as far as G5 is concerned has been admittedly... jumbled, for lack of nicer words. While G5 has been referencing it's previous run on several occasions, fans are concerned that in terms of continuity and the state of its previous cast, that G5's major struggles are forming lasting connection. Such as the introduction of Sparky, a character who came a bit out of left field. Was this merely a random coincidence that this dragon egg happened to touch the shores of Maretime Bay? Is he going to have 'any' lines during this series or just be reduced to childish gibberish? If his appearance proves that dragons still existed around the time of magic's disappearance, what's the state of the dragon race itself?
But then comes the big twist by the trailer's end... the reintroduction of Twilight Sparkle!
No, not 'that' Twilight Sparkle...
Eh... close enough...
If you noticed at the end of the trailer, the crystals which hold all the pony magic together featured a brief hologram of sorts of Twilight Sparkle, the previous princess of Equestria. Yet interestingly to note, the projection shows Princess Twilight before we see her as the 'Celestia' ruler by the end of the series. Which on that note alone shares the same instance when we witnesses the Tree of Harmony's conscious in the form of Twilight Sparkle as her regular alicorn form during the overall series. Does this imply that the crystals themselves have the ability to share a project of Twilight as a means of communicating with our Mane 5 cast? Or do the crystals hold some form of message that could perhaps open up some clues as far as what happened that made Equestria the land as we are witnessing right now.
Either way, there's definitely more to what's happened with the magic that the series has let on. The comics tell one thing, but this Netflix run could very well tell a different story. At this point, how are we as a fanbase to know what's canon or not?
Great... he's rambling again.
As far as the remaining details of the trailer is concerned... I hear all the complaints from the fans of what G5 is working with. The cast in general, while having had some positive reception for the most part, are majorly critiqued based on either how they were handled or the choice of actors in place of the film's portrayal. On one hand, we've given this new cast all the time we can offer to really be in tune with their roles to tell the stories of these characters while offering their own schtick. On the other hand, I watch these characters at work and sometimes I'm feeling a mix of 'G1' and 'G3' vibes as opposed to the characteristics of the cast we came to love in the previous series. Not to say they are 'bad' or anything, far from it. But sometimes it feels as though they try so hard to fit in with today's modern audience, that it's the relatability that's up for debate.
And let's face it... not 'everything' G5 has offered so far has been 'completely' memorable. The stories feel as though they are missing a certain element to tie it together (Perhaps something loss in translation with the writing or the effectiveness of the morality of the scenarios). The music... yes, I admit they can be upbeat and fun at times... but are 'any' of them the kind of songs you'd actually talk about as much as Pinkie's 'Smile' song or 'Magic Inside' by Countess Coloratura or even 'Magic of Friendship Grows' in the series finale? I've yet to really find 'one' memorable song apart from at least 'one' in the first special, which doesn't say a lot. Execution wise... I feel like G5 has a lot of work and that all depends on how this first wave of G5 series can help atone for that. Because otherwise, I know a bunch of angry fans giving the studio behind this series a 'Are you bucking kidding me?' who'll be raging through their emails non-stop...
Overall... I've tried to take it easy on G5 since it's just been getting the ball rolling, but I do feel there's definitely room for improvement. Based on what I've seen in the trailer, while there are certain elements that do leave me curious, is it enough to truly get me invested in the belief that they know what they are doing? More often than not, I've noticed that G5 feels as though it's taking a few step downs while it was 'G4' that made the effort to really step up even when their show was ending. It's not like I'm expecting the 'perfect' follow-up, what I do ask is whether there is any 'awareness' that whatever they are trying has not been reaching home plate as of yet? Hopefully within the next few weeks, by the time 'Make Your Mark' is set to air on Netflix once more, we'll see if this even has what it takes to measure up with all the other series that came before (Hopefully better than 'Tell Your Tale' especially with their more 'recent' episodes).
But an even bigger question remains: What do YOU think? Be sure to leave a comment below at your earliest convenience.
Until then faithful readers, this is the Dramamaster829... signing off!
I am intrigued by this new trailer dropped and what to expect, from the dynamics between Opaline and Misty, if Misty is evil or just trying to be evil for the sake of her boss or something. Sparky's finally addressed by name, and I do hope he's not just there to be cute and learns how to speak. And I thought I spotted Sprout wearing a hard hat as those giant grapes grew behind him. If so, I'd like to see where he stands now. After almost starting a war in Maretime Bay, attacking innocent ponies, and destroying Sunny's home. That guy should've faced a big punishment. But we hadn't seen him since then. He was featured in the game sabotaging the festival all because he was scared of everything changing in his home town. But he's made no appearance in the YT series or even mentioned at all. If it is him I do wanna see what he's been doing and if he was indeed fired from being deputy.
But I am curious about the projection of Princess Twilight or if that's the Tree of Harmony instead. Either way it's nice we're seeing how she looks in this new animation. And hope this further connects with G4 maybe possibly bringing in the rest of the old Mane 6 in some form
The crew need try their best to impress me, so many questions and so many things to keep track of *sigh*, if they can do good with “Chapter 2”, it’s all fine and dandy with me, anyway, stay cool, stay classy, you’re awesome Drama 🎭 XD
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There's definitely some dynamics centered between Opaline and Misty. We clearly see that Opaline is the power-hungry of the duo, gunning for magic she feels rightfully belongs to her. Misty, on the other hand, I've seen sidekicks like her before. She tries to act evil but it comes off more awkward than threatening. On one hand, there's a chance Misty has too much good in her to be evil but on the other she wants to be in Opaline's good graces 'so badly' she'll do anything to prove her loyalty. It's the relationship between the two whether it's strictly professional or it's something personal as to why Misty would work for Opaline. Something's up and hopefully we'll learn more about it.
My one issue with Sparky is exactly my thoughts on Flurry Heart's introduction. On one hand, the little filly was absolutely adorable and she had an insanely powerful wave of magic. The problem is she's also like the little fairy baby Cosmo and Wanda had, an excuse to introduce a cute character with barely any personality. I'd like to know where Sparky stands. Is he just another cute little sidekick for Hitch? Or is there something special surrounding Sparky?
There's a reason I hadn't mentioned Sprout as much in this blog, and no it wasn't just because I didn't know if that pony was Sprout or not. But then if we were to consider if this is the series where Sprout makes his return... what's his endgame? Now in the video game, he also returns, causes mischief, and yet it's all good? Does that even carry with the Netflix series? Likely no. After all, he started a war, many innocent ponies were caught in the crossfire, and Sunny's home was wrecked... and all of a sudden all the ponies are going to be all buddy-buddy? While I don't treat 'TYT' as highly, we were given this idea that Sprout had left the law business either out of shame or cowardice. Either way, even he has a story and hopefully we're going to find out just what that is.
Now that ordeal with Princess Twilight as a projection in the crystals is a rather interesting plot choice. They are definitely keeping close to how Twilight looked from G4 and carried it out to G5. Somehow, the princess we all remembered is heavily connected to everything that's going on in the realm of G5. Hopefully, we shall find out just what that is.
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I know for certain that the crew behind 'G5' are really trying for something special. They tried with their first movie, which half the fans liked and others... well, you read the comments. 'Tell Your Tale', I had this fear that it was going to be another 'Teen Titans Go' thing much like the previous MLP series following 'Friendship is Magic' (And some 'questionable' episodes TYT released would nearly support my belief). Now 'Tell Your Tale' does have good moments, and some of the songs are catchy. But I feel that series is one up-and-down rollercoaster. Then when 'Make Your Mark' started, with it's special, I thought this was a chance for G5 to prove something that it's heavily focused on story telling. But just when I thought things were going one way based on the trailers, turned out the direction it went wasn't quite pleasing for me (Though the introduction of the villains was a surprise).
I haven't said much about the comics because I don't follow them as often but hopefully it's gotten some strong supporters. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed with 'Chapter Two'.
All fair points. Also, would like to point out I think I spotted Sprout in the trailer as well. At least, a pony that looks like him wearing a hard hat
🎵Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine On You Crazy Pony!🎵
Oh Shit
! I was thinking of these trolls:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/Trolls_%28film%29_poster.png
Misty, from Pokémon😏!?
BRILLIANT!
Love the 1st name, not a huge fan of the last name doe.
In my head canon, I'll call him Sparky Whitmore Jr.😏
Twilight Sparkle: "I'm With You."
Me:
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To reiterate, I purposely didn't put much emphasis on whether Sprout was featured in the trailer or not for several reasons. I merely wasn't certain if that one pony in red with the hard hat was truly Sprout or just some other pony. But if that were the case that it 'is' Sprout, it's likely since being relieved as Deputy he's been struggling to find some purpose in this town. And working in construction was one of those odd jobs that he was put to work in and likely was bound to fail. It's possible that he was given help from the Mane Five out of sympathy when it seemed as though he couldn't find any purpose in an otherwise increasingly changing atmosphere.
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The last part of the joke was merely an argument that for whatever reason G5 chose 'not' to feature Twilight Sparkle in her final form by the G4 series' end but rather as she regularly looked after getting her wings in Season 3. It's either a creative choice that's a shoutout to her being a hologram through the Tree of Harmony or... the G5 team just couldn't figured as long as Twilight Sparkle is involved it's not going to make a difference.
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Yeah, true. I've seen a fic on here suggesting he joined his mom's company in the R&D department, if G5 decided to go in a similar route for him, the hard hat and machinery behind him would make sense
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I 2 had a theory about the events with G5 & The Last Problem... but I don't think it's gonna come to fruition😔.