My Episode Review/Rant on My Little Pony: Make Your Mark-Growing Pains · 11:30pm March 17th
Greetings and salutations, my friends.
This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, I'm gonna give you guys my take on My Little Pony: Make Your Mark's "Growing Pains".
Here's the rundown of it:
After noticing countless mishaps caused by out-of-control Earth Pony magic, Hitch Trailblazer becomes concerned over the safety of Maretime Bay. So, as the town's sheriff, he enforces a law that prohibits Earth Ponies from using magic for the time being. This is particularly to the disappointment of Sunny Starscout, who believes that Earth Ponies should simply practice and not be given any restrictions.
Meanwhile, to help Hitch focus more on his sheriff duties, Izzy Moonbow volunteers for a very important task: Be the temporary dragon babysitter of Sparky Sparkeroni.
(Finally. An episode with a story I can actually comprehend and describe in words!)
Considering my previous two reviews and the methods I'm using for analyzing each of Make Your Mark's episodes, I'm gonna go ahead and just cut to the chase. So...
Ladies and gentlemen, after watching this episode last year, rewatching it two more times this year in preparation for reviewing it, and giving everything careful thought, I've come to the conclusion that "Growing Pains" is nothing more than another stinker. And with good reason too!
Once again, much of the blame for why I hated this episode goes to the story and direction. The plot in question was made by Julia Prescott, in case anyone would like to know.
The main thing I'll admit is that I thought Prescott made wiser usage of the Main 5 compared to Jim Martin's work with "Izzy Does It". All the members were present, but Prescott kept the focus on Hitch & Izzy while ensuring that Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp wouldn't suddenly drag the episode into more unnecessary narratives.
Other than that, though, Julia Prescott's writing for "Growing Pains" was hardly what I'd call an improvement over G.M. Berrow's work in "Chapter 1" or Jim Martin's writing for "Izzy Does It".
First off, the scenes featuring Opaline Arcana and Misty Brightdawn were completely needless! They only have two scenes in this entire episode, and in both moments, Opaline & Misty gave no meaningful contribution to the story.
Their first moment comes right when Sunny uses her new mirror to clean her face, and ends with Opaline telling Misty, "Well, now it's time for me to tell you to do something else". Afterwards, there's no follow-up for Misty. She isn't featured sneaking around Maretime Bay again or spying on the Main 5 from afar, just like in "Izzy Does It". Did Prescott originally plan on having Misty do exactly what I proposed before scrapping the subplot at the last minute or something?!
Meanwhile, Misty and Opaline's 2nd scene features the two of them just watching as Earth Pony magic got out of control again, before Opaline tells Misty that they'll wait until the magic becomes so powerful it'd be ripe for the plucking; and it ends with them doing an evil laugh. Afterwards, Misty and Opaline are never seen again, and it isn't shown how Opaline reacted to the Earth Ponies finally getting the hang of their powers. We don't see Opaline doing anything like yelling, "Curse those wretched ponies, and that simple-minded Sunny Starscout!". Or Misty cowering in fear as it happens.
Overall, Misty and Opaline were openly useless. They didn't do anything of remote importance throughout "Growing Pains", and if their scenes were excluded, they wouldn't be missed.
Similarly, Sprout Cloverleaf's inclusion wasn't needed at all!
Most people will try to justify Sprout's return by saying that the episode depicts what happened to him after the events of "My Little Pony: A New Generation", and that it's supposed to confirm that he was punished for his crimes & redeemed himself. However, that's not what I gathered from the episode in the slightest. The only noteworthy things that happened with Sprout were him accidentally using his magic to make fruits and vegetables enormous; and on two separate occasions, he unwittingly caused giant berries to roll down a hill & nearly crush whoever was in the way. Afterwards, he neither admits to his mistakes or genuinely apologizes for the trouble he caused.
Basically, Sprout's only purpose in "Growing Pains" was to serve as an idiotic menace who causes trouble no matter what he does. If another Earth Pony character was used instead of Sprout, and the berries got big before rolling down a hill for a reason that didn't involve idiocy, there wouldn't even be a difference. He's that unnecessary.
Outside of my complaints towards the inclusions of Sprout, Opaline, and Misty, there were a great many other things I found to be wrong with this episode.
From the start, I could tell that Prescott was trying to teach that you should never let your fears over something control you or influence your decisions. And, of course, Hitch was the right pony to helm the story considering his position of authority.
Here's the problem, though:
How Prescott and the rest of the people involved went about the story was terrible!!!
From my perspective, Hitch was in-the-right to pass the laws restricting the use of Earth Pony magic, and he stated his reasons for doing it. All he wanted was to keep the citizens of Maretime Bay safe, and his reasons were frequently justified by every incident that occurred because of the out-of-control magic and the incompetence of the various Earth Ponies (with each outcome being accompanied by juvenile humor). Granted, it definitely seemed like Hitch was going overboard by attempting to remove the Earth Pony Unity Crystal, but still...I found myself supporting Hitch more than opposing him.
With Sunny, on the other hand, it was the opposite. As the major pony who opposed Hitch's laws, it was clear that Sunny was intended to be both the voice of reason and the individual people were supposed to get behind, and she was the right character for the role. But, I found myself opposing Sunny and feeling annoyed by her actions instead.
For instance, Sunny kept saying that all the Earth Ponies need to do is practice until they get better and not be put down by restrictions. And yet, she ignores the fact that ponies nearly got hurt and property was almost damaged; even when the magical mishaps happen right in front of her, she passes them off! Everything about that really grinded my gears, because it made Sunny seem like she cared more about magic & the wonders it provided more than the lives & well-beings of ponies.
And you know what really doesn't help the matter?
The episode ultimately began playing to Sunny's favor by having Earth Pony magic go crazy simply because it was being "bottled in". It was like Prescott wanted to paint Sunny as the right one without ever acknowledging the many things that'd prove her wrong, prohibiting her from actually learning anything herself and realizing her own faults. If I recall correctly, these things are also the clear qualifications of a Mary Sue!
Outside of what I said regarding Hitch and Sunny, there was something I realized revolving around the narrative:
If you really think about it more, the Earth Pony magic problems could've easily been resolved if Hitch had simply passed an order for the Earth Ponies themselves to practice using their magic outside of town. That way, no one would be at risk of getting hurt and properties wouldn't be destroyed. Had Sunny also brought up or encouraged this notion other than just saying they need to practice, she wouldn't have come across as so unreasonable and stupid with her assertions.
But no, Prescott had to have Sunny and Hitch make decisions that'd cause the narrative to be riddled with flaws.
And as for the subplot revolving around Izzy watching over Sparky...well, that part of the story had a boatload of problems as well.
As a whole, the subplot provided Izzy the perfect opportunity to show that she can be a responsible individual, perhaps even grow into one if she wasn't already. Instead, not only did Izzy completely disregard Hitch's instructions for taking care of Sparky, but she's shown to be a reckless pony thanks to encouraging Sparky to get rambunctious and endanger himself. I mean, I get it, the episode was intending to teach that you should never be too strict with your rules and guidelines, but even so..."Growing Pains" painted Izzy as the last pony I'd ever hire for a babysitter.
Not to mention, the subplot was dictated by this very problem:
In Friendship is Magic's "Baby Cakes", Pinkie Pie learned while watching the Cake twins that looking after babies doesn't mean you get to just play with them all day, but that you have to handle very serious responsibilities and requirements. And in "A Flurry of Emotions", Twilight Sparkle learned that being the "Best Aunt Ever" for Flurry Heart didn't just require being in her presence; it required actually spending time with Flurry and showing that she loved her niece. These lessons are ones that I myself learned from experience, having been an uncle since 2014.
With Izzy in "Growing Pains", though...none of the things I mentioned were the case with her. She never learned how to be a responsible caregiver for Sparky or realized the many important requirements that come with looking after a child. Her actions throughout have done nothing but show that she's really not very good with children, and she'd obviously be a toxic excuse of a mother if she had kids of her own.
Oh, and let's not forget the final nail in the coffin:
Unfortunately, yes. This is Twilight Sparkle. And frankly, I'm displeased with her cameo for a variety of reasons.
For one thing, when you look closely at Twilight's appearance in the Unity Crystal hologram, and compare it to how she looked in My Little Pony's 4th generation...
...you'll find that Twilight's 5th generation design literally doesn't match her 4th generation appearance!
Even the hoof design is different. If you simply zoom down to where Twilight's hooves are, you can see that they carry the exact same hoof all the ponies in G5 have. It's another reason for why I've had difficulty seeing how the 5th generation of My Little Pony is part of the same universe as the 4th, and considering the fact that the hologram seemed to show that was what Twilight looked like in G5 from the beginning, I'm pretty sure this confirms that the G4 ponies didn't "evolve" into their G5 looks over time (which is an absolutely stupid fan theory, if you ask me).
Another reason for why I'm overly criticial of Twilight Sparkle's cameo in "Growing Pains" is because it was completely out-of-place from the rest of the plot. It happens during the very time Earth Pony magic got out-of-control in Maretime Bay, right after Hitch realizes that he was starting to go overboard. Once the cameo came up, the entire story got distracted from its premise! It felt as though the plot took an unexpected pause just so that the cameo could happen, neglecting the fact that Maretime Bay was in danger again. After the hologram disappears, the Main 5 are momentarily diverted from the problems at hand due to contemplating what the message revealed; until for no explanation whatsoever, they focus on trying to save Maretime Bay again.
Obviously, people will defend Twilight's cameo by saying that it was meant to help the heroes prepare for Opaline, provide some buildup and background for the character, and explain things regarding both magic & the Unity Crystals. The thing is, though, "Growing Pains" was the wrong episode for showcasing such a moment. If Prescott had simply saved this exact kind of scene for another episode entirely, specifically one containing a story made for world-building purposes, the cameo would've worked better. Instead, she incorporated the cameo in a time that was far from appropriate, whether story-wise or series-wise.
Other problems relating to Twilight's cameo appearance are the following:
- If the cameo wasn't included at all, especially in favor of a different plot device for the world-building and lore-delving intentions, the cameo wouldn't be missed.
- The cameo never exemplified whatever importance or impact Twilight was supposed to have for G5 in general, and it certainly didn't give any clarity for its identity as a series.
- If a completely original character was shown in the hologram instead of Twilight, things likely would've been more interesting and engaging.
- The entirety of Twilight's cameo was a clear instance of Hasbro incorporating G4 Easter eggs just to garner more interest and attention towards G5. Particularly to cover-up poor writing and direction.
- Tara Strong was underused in her reprisal of Twilight Sparkle. Her whole performance sounded like she was there to merely serve as a special effect, and it certainly wasn't entrancing.
In conclusion, "Growing Pains" is all-things another G5 bomb. The intentions behind it were clear, but they were terribly-done thanks to the lackluster writing and misguided direction. And don't ever get me started on how one-dimensional and infuriating the characters were.
So, I rate "Growing Pains" a solid one out of five stars.
And now, a video referencing how I feel about finally completing my review of this mess of a My Little Pony episode after two weeks before taking a little emotion-break:
Oh boy…where do I even begin with this one? No offense, but I found this review to be COMPLETELY off. This is my response. As for what I think, this is basically what I wrote in my video script. If people were complaining about “Izzy Does It” for being tame and lacking a resolution (which is still a stupid argument, by the way), then “Growing Pains” fixes that and then some by putting the earth pony magic subplot at the forefront. And I will say this. This episode handled earth pony magic much better than the first special did. It’s also a full on character study for Hitch Trailblazer and feels like in a lot of ways, a sequel to the movie.
A lot of people have complained in the special that Hitch has turned into this…joke character, if you will, that his hard-edge from the movie is gone and that makes him…dumb for the sake of being dumb, I guess? But I’d argue that is a pretty false statement if I do say so myself. I guess in the minds of G5 haters, character progression doesn’t exist. Of course Hitch would be more lighthearted nowadays since earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi are now friends and life isn’t as stressful as it used to be in Maretime Bay. Despite still having a lot of weight on his shoulders, I’d argue that Hitch now has a lot less. He can now be more carefree since Maretime Bay isn’t ruled by fear anymore. If you all remember from the movie, the town always lived in constant fear of what they didn’t understand, so any levity was particularly fleeting and hard to come by. You rarely saw any joy from the other ponies then, and that translated tenfold to Hitch as the pony in charge of protecting them. But now that the ponies all live together again, he can let loose more often and show off other sides of his personality than the straight man archetype.
But just because harmony has largely been restored does not mean that Hitch is completely immune to falling back into his old ways. That strict and irrational side of him can still come out and it definitely does here. When his town is threatened, you can bet that Hitch is going to step up and do whatever it takes to restore order. Earth pony magic is still an anomaly in Maretime Bay and most don’t understand it, so it does make sense here that Hitch would go so far as to outlaw it. He definitely still lets his paranoia drive him sometimes and we have to remember that this was the climate that he grew up in. Being scared and prepared is all he knows how to do, so he is prone to jumping to conclusions and making rash decisions in times of crises.
I find that some people seem to really misconstrue the moral of this one. They try to use this and the Sparky subplot (which we’ll get into in just a second) as evidence to say that “the episode is trying to paint Hitch as in the wrong for wanting to regulate magic.” No, it isn’t. What the episode is warning against is too much control to the point of outright irrationality, and this is also hammered home with the subplot of Izzy babysitting Sparky.
What I find most compelling is that the episode isn’t trying to paint authority figures as in the wrong, but it’s asking them to strike a middle ground. Izzy being the polar opposite of Hitch would have a completely different perspective on what it means to parent a kid. But Izzy isn’t being irresponsible here. The reason why she lets Sparky run free and do what he wants is because sometimes, that’s what a growing child needs. You can’t always be strict with them as that robs them of their childhood. But you can’t be too hands off or…well, just look at a lot of our generation now. Izzy gives Sparky the right amount of doting, but she also knows how to get him to behave as demonstrated by this short little moment. Hitch learns from her is that he can’t be in control of everything. There are some things you can control, but there are other things you have to let people figure out on their own.
When Hitch attempts to take the earth pony Crystal out of the prisbeam, it is out of sheer desperation. Sunny tries to talk him out of jumping to conclusions earlier, but when he has something on his mind, you know that Hitch is going to do it. Only he doesn’t. And some have cited this as abrupt and a contrived resolution, but it really isn’t. Hear me out. Hitch may be stubborn, paranoid, and strong-willed, but one thing that he isn’t is irresponsible. As he reaches to do this, his senses come back to him. This works because first and foremost, Hitch Trailblazer is a sheriff. And he knows that if he does this, then he would be putting everyone at risk. That is what the episode calls out.
Earth pony magic is wild and untamed, but that doesn’t make it bad. For all of its pitfalls, it is a necessity and trying to take that away is absolute madness. Strange does not equal bad. Does this sound familiar to all of you yet? That’s because this episode is for all intents and purposes, an extension of A New Generation, a standalone sequel if you will. Many have complained about Make Your Mark being full of lost potential and wasting the setup that A New Generation gave for it, using the fact that it supposedly “doesn’t connect all that well,” but this is your connection right here. Here we have Hitch once again grappling with a prospect outside of his control and we see him have to learn a valuable lesson from it. Through this experience, Hitch learns to control his instincts and when to pull back. He needs to let the citizens figure out magic for themselves and harness it on their own. The point of the episode isn’t “you can do whatever you want and be fine.” No, the moral is: “You should learn when to step in and be strict, and when to pull back and let whoever you’re teaching figure out the answer for themselves.” I’d argue that the writing in this episode is more geared towards parents than children as they would get the moral so much more than kids would, and it reinforces that this generation is geared towards all ages just like FIM before it.
And of course you do have the Twilight Sparkle cameo, which outright broke the fandom. I’m not kidding. People were raging at this, calling it an example of G5 latching onto G4 to tell its entire story. As I established earlier, it’s literally only one scene to set up the Opaline plot line. How else do you think we should have gotten introduced to our main villain who is an alicorn?! Hello?! About 95% of Make Your Mark is its own original story with the G4 stuff existing as backstory and nothing else. You guys are acting like she appears in every episode to tell the Mane 5 something. She has to be there in order to set up the overarching mystery.
There’s also the supposed continuity error that supposedly occurs as Twilight isn’t in her “The Last Problem” form. Now putting aside the obvious fact that normal Twilight would be easier to render in the 3D machine than Purple Celestia and is generally more recognizable to longtime fans, The fact that Twilight was not in her “The Last Problem” form wasn’t even the fault of the creative team. Gillian Berrow wanted Twilight to still be in that form to maintain continuity, but the higher ups Hasbro wouldn’t let her. So the fact that she looks different here was not a creative oversight in the slightest. They actually thought about that, which shows that they care about the continuity of the generations. In a way, I can kinda understand the reasoning here as like I said, Twi’s normal look is a lot more recognizable to fans, plus there was a lot of backlash to her new design essentially being a Celestia recolor anyway. Yeah it was a nod to Lauren Faust’s original sketch design, but there is no way that alicorns can get that tall in just 10 years. Luna didn’t get that tall in like 1,000 years. Cadence never got that tall. For all the protectiveness that fans seem to get over this scene, they forget that Twilight’s entire look in “The Last Problem” is a continuity error that doesn’t work at all from an in-universe perspective. If anything, this is the Make Your Mark team fixing that error, and it kinda gets me mad that people were focusing more on the fact Twilight appears, rather than thinking about why she appeared.
And let’s briefly get into the why. A big complaint is the fact that Twilight stored the magic in the crystals as the staff apparently giving her the same motivations as the villains she fought. Okay, okay. Let’s unpack this for just a moment here. So…the first inclination of these fans is to say that Twilight would never do this. Oh really? Disregarding the backstory hints we get later on in the series, let’s just focus on the little breadcrumbs we receive from Twiggy herself here. it’s incredibly disingenuous for people to automatically assume the worst behind the writing here. Like I established, this scene exists to set up the overall mystery of the Opaline plotline and it’s meant to be followed up upon. So without any clues whatsoever, people jump to the conclusion that Twilight was in the wrong for storing the magic in the crystals because Opaline wanted to steal the magic. They’re effectively reducing Twilight’s difficult choice to bad writing. The main problem I have with people saying that the writers gave Twilight the same motivation as the villains she fought is because it’s demeaning the difficult choice that Twilight had to make. It’s like saying that Celestia was in the wrong for banishing Nightmare Moon, completely ignoring the context behind that decision when Luna as Nightmare Moon was going to subject the ponies to eternal night. She made that choice because there was no other option left, not because she was the villain, and the same goes with Twilight here. Look, I know the fandom had the whole “to the moon” in-joke whenever Celestia did anything, and my point is exactly that. It was treated with levity and lightheartedness. But imagine if Sunbutt was the main protagonist of G4, meaning we followed the adventures of she and Lulu, and then in G5, we meet Twilight and gang and find out Celestia did this. I don’t think we would be making jokes out of this, now would we? The whole reason why people are complaining about Twilight doing any of this isn’t down to bad writing as these people so desperately want you to believe. No, it all comes down to nostalgia-blindness. It’s incredibly hard for these people to see Twilight doing this because they only know Twilight the flawless protagonist and not Twilight the ruler. When you have the entire kingdom resting on your shoulders, you have to make decisions you wouldn’t normally make. Caring for others comes with greater responsibilities. You can’t just go out on a limb, fight, and expect to win that easily. I want to read a quote from James Cameron in the lead up to Avatar: The Way of Water, one of my now favorite films of all time in recent memory. He was comparing the character development of the heroes in MCU movies versus Jake and Neytiri’s development from the first Avatar to the sequel, quote Twilight had to put the safety of Equestria first and she can’t be out risking her life the way she used to simply due to the fact that she’s the ruler of an entire kingdom. She has no line of succession at this point and she has to make sure she’s alive to see peace restored to the land. In the minds of the G5 hatedom, we can’t have our heroes make difficult choices in times of crises because that goes against their characters! I don’t want Twilight to have to make crucial choices that would define the fate of Equestria because she must get out of every situation unscathed. Otherwise that would mean her character is ruined in my eyes! Let’s just conveniently ignore the fact that EVEN when the magic was in the crystals, ponies could still use it up until they were separated! So no, she’s not behaving like her villains AT ALL! ADD TO THAT, the fact that Twilight actually won against Opaline.
Also, one thing to mention before I forget is the ending. The resolution with the Mane 5 growing that tree to stop the rampaging berry was interesting, especially considering Sparky was shown to have a connection to it. Now we know that it is a Together Tree, having the knowledge that we do now from later episodes. This serves to setup the later Together Trees plotline and plant breadcrumbs for later lore drops to reveal more about it.
So yeah, sorry if this was long, but you’re completely off on this one. It’s actually a fantastic episode, Izzy was NOT being irresponsible, and Twilight’s cameo works. I’m glad you’re taking a break, but I think you seriously need to re-evaluate the episodes more fairly at a later date because this…this ain’t it, chief. Again, no offense, I just don’t agree at all. Peace.
5772754
Honestly, the only response that appears to be "off" is yours. You appear to have completely misunderstood my overall response to "Growing Pains", and it makes me think you've used this response on others numerous times before. I listed every example I noted to give people the idea of why I personally hated "Growing Pains", made sure to be as reasonable & distinct as possible, and you just shrugged them off!
5772763
I read over your review many times and the points that I felt significant, I made sure to include in my reply. This script has been used for my video before and the fact that there were unintentional parallels between the points I brought up and the ones you did meant that I didn’t have to write much of anything new, with the exception of adjusting some of the wording to make it fit better in a comment response. I understood your post perfectly, and this is my official response. I’ll be doing this for every episode you hate on, so better get used to it. The one consolation I will give you is that my responses are meant to be constructive first and foremost and point out what you got wrong so that you can perhaps re-evaluate it with a better mindset. It’s not meant to hate on you personally, so please don’t get butthurt over it. Nobody is misunderstanding anything here.
5772765
If any of what you said is the case, then I suggest you work harder in understanding where I’m coming from. Hardly any of what you said matched my statements in this review or what I was expressing.
For instance, I didn’t complain about Hitch being too much of a wimp in this episode compared to his appearance in MLP: ANG. My complaint is that the episode’s writing was making Hitch’s fears too justifiable and reasonable to oppose, and it only made me approve of his actions instead.
And, my complaint about Twilight’s cameo isn’t just that it felt like another unnecessary G4 Easter egg. It’s that “Growing Pains” was the wrong episode to incorporate it in, and it completely distracted from the story.
5772770
Like I said, this is my own counter-review, my own thoughts that just happen to address some of the points you made. It was a coincidence first and foremost that we addressed the same topics as I already established. A lot of the points you brought up matched mine, but I’m not obligated to JUST stick to the points you brought up as my primary intent is to state my opinion in detail, while debunking some of the hate arguments you made in the process.
5772771
I think, in the end, this is unfortunately another example of how different our perspectives genuinely are. As my review stated, I watched the episode three times to be certain of how I felt about it and what my thoughts were, and for me…that was enough. If I watched it anymore, my brain would likely melt.
5772784
5772754
Okay you both major good points about some positive and negative of the show and basically G5 as a whole but everybody has their different opinions if they don't go overboard and go crazy and that's what's been happening lately people getting harassed and the people who worked on G5 are receiving death threats and this is one of the most out of hand toxic Behavior I ever seen my entire life ever since back in 2020 when they drop the summary for the new generation everybody went crazy about that and it's really sad to see this that the fandom goes down like that
5772771
I know this is a little late to say this, but…
When I was pointing out the design differences Twilight had in G5, I never said anything about her appearance not matching how she looked in the depicted future of “The Last Problem”. I was commenting that it was different from her present form, which is also the reason for why I shared a picture of her as depicted in the present time.
How did you miss that, exactly?
5772853
I didn’t miss anything. I was simply commenting on the general discourse around Twilight’s design in this episode, which included the appearance discrepancy between generations. That point exactly wasn’t meant to be a comment on what you thought. I was just stating my own thoughts on the episode and Twi’s cameo, and like I said for the billionth time, some of my points just happened to cross over with yours, which is why I felt comfortable repurposing the script. Plus, you yourself did say in your review that this was the wrong episode to put Twilight’s cameo in, AND you said that her design here doesn’t match her G4 appearance, in which to that I say, it seems like you think adapting Twilight’s FIM design to fit the MYM artstyle is a bad thing, which it isn’t. Her design is actually very faithful to her normal appearance in G4 while also modernizing it for this generation’s CGI animation in the process. Since you gave your thoughts, I felt content to give mine.
5772861
That wasn’t what I said, though. What I said was that her design notably carried too many differences from her FiM appearance, and if they wanted it to be faithful, then they should’ve ensured that it wouldn’t carry similarities to the G5 characters.
5772863
No, it did not. If you really look at her here, the general design and look of Twilight is the exact same as how she was in FIM. Same body type, same mane, same eyes, same everything. This is just what she would look like in a 3D CGI form with the MYM art style. It works better this way as it makes her cameo feel more organic to the scene. If the episode were to just copy and paste her regular 2D design into the episode, it would’ve contrasted greatly with the 3D surroundings and given the moment an uncanny valley feel. I’m not saying having a 2D and CGI hybrid scene doesn’t work. Plenty of movies have proven that to be the case. But when you’re trying to make a crossover look organic and like it’s a part of the new show’s world, it’s better to have her adapted into the new art style, so that she fits in with the scene around her. They actually kept her design very faithful to how she looked in G4, while adapting her look to fit the new show, and it works far more that way. Heck, the difference’s aren’t even that noticeable, which is just a testament as to how much they used her original design as a template to great effect here.
5772866
Actually, they are. Hoof designs that are just like the present G5 ponies, eyebrows over her eyes instead of eyelashes, the pink of her mane being more prominent and going over her horn rather than be a small line on the left with a line of purple, etc.
So, her design wasn’t faithful to her G4 looks to begin with, and the look certainly didn’t work for her and help her fit with the scenery. If anything, it’s merely another instance of G5 being too visually inconsistent to classify as a “legacy-sequel” to G4.
5772869
Dude, while part of “while adapting it to the MYM art style” do you not understand? I already established that yes, they made alterations to her design to adapt it to the G5 style. HOWEVER, when you look at the general design of Twilight here, you’d see that she’s very faithful to her G4 incarnation WHILE also having these changes, which includes the hooves and the eyelashes. Not once did I say that they 100% didn’t change her design at all. They did modernize her design to make her fit in with the present G5 ponies, while also keeping the core of the design from G4 intact, which is something that I’ve stated MULTIPLE times. I don’t know how you can look at the shot you yourself pasted into the review and say that it’s not at all faithful. It definitely is, while making small alterations to have her fit with the MYM art style.
You’re not even paying attention to what I’m trying to say, and yet I’M supposed to be the one misunderstanding you here. Make this make sense, please.
5772876
I'm afraid you and I have different opinions on what makes a design "faithful" to the original or not.
5772886
I think you're too harsh on the design mismatch. It could be forgiven if not for everything else.
Speaking of "everything else". The cameo doesn't do a good job in preparing the main characters for Opaline either. Twilight explains that a villain is the reason she made the crystals, which is very unexpected of her (being established by G5 itself as a paragon of friendhip from an utopia where ponies would never use their magic against each other), and by this time in the show it's obvious that this villain is Opaline. Yet Opaline didn't do anything to prove that Twilight's decision is warranted. In the few scenes she has she looks like a complete joke, an obviously evil villain who has an obviously not-evil minion. This could be saved by Opaline (and maybe Misty too) becoming dangerously competent shortly after and thus subverting the expectations from their introduction, but it doesn't happen.
I also think that the characters didn't react to the message properly, specifically Sunny, who is the one to believe in Equestria's perfection, but I'm not sure if I remember everything in the scene right.
5772971
How well do you think I did in addressing the other problems I noted?
5773036
You were certainly less emotional than in your previous reviews. Which helps if you actually want to convince someone: people who disagree with you won't be as likely to label you "evil hater" and stop trying to understand what you actually say.
On the more factual matter, from my standpoint there is almost nothing wrong. The needlessness of Sprout isn't a big problem exactly because his presence changes nothing both for his character and for the episode's plot. He is already a moron, and such people are one of the reasons why magic is dangerous. Sunny's position about magic, I think, comes all the way from "A New Generation", where she demonstrates similar approach: she tried to convince the earth ponies that magic is good while their actual concern was about magic-wielders being inherently evil. MYM here is faithful to Sunny's character, but the problem is that this character had this flaw from the start of G5 and didn't grow neither then, nor now. And another point about Twilight's cameo is that it makes no sense also in-universe. Why did the message about earth pony magic activation trigger now instead of at the end of Chapter 1? Why did the crystals need "cutie mark magic" to play it? Why did the return of magic, of all things, broke Twilight's defence? How did Twilight know all of this is going to happen? Why did Hitch change his mind so suddenly upon touching the crytals?
Also, I hate to use the word "narrative", but I think that a lot of moral flaws come from the writers preaching about "being yourself" and, apparently, honestly believing in this. Why it doesn't matter for whom you create art? Because inspiration comes from being yourself alone. Why does earth pony magic go crazy if it's "bottled in" and why does it begin to work just like that without any training? Because this magic works on being yourself. Why does Sparky need to be let free? Because that's being yourself!
5773086
Once again, you’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head. The things you said were exactly the kind of points I was trying to make in the long run.
After watching the episode myself, I’m afraid that I respectfully disagree with everything you said. This episode was definitely interesting when it comes to earth pony magic and how it can be handled properly.
And no, Hitch was being irrational and paranoid as he feared what he could not yet control. Remember, Hitch has a tendency in being strict by the book and often lets his emotions cloud his judgment. He had to realize that by making all these unnecessary rules, it would never solve the issues.
Twilight’s cameo was…okay. I wish it didn’t happen only because I HATE Twilight. Other than that, it was used in good moderation.
Izzy wasn’t that bad as a temporary babysitter, and at least she didn’t let Sparky cause any serious damage. She knew what she was doing.
Wow, these episodes are getting better and better the more I watch them!!
5777618
To each his own, I suppose.
However, I still think that the episode’s story was completely flawed and the characters were too infuriating, and everything had honestly translated differently in my head.
5777618
Let me ask you this:
If Hitch wasn’t in the right, and if what you say is the case, then why were Hitch’s fear constantly justified throughout the story? Why was he frequently given the grounds and reasons to create the new rules? And what makes you think Sunny was the one in the right?
How was it used in good moderation?
If her intention was to prove herself as a bad influence for children, Izzy Moonbow definitely accomplished that.
5777640
Because all the things the earth pony magic created were purely harmless—and by harmless, I mean, stuff that won’t KILL ponies. You make it seem like they were a deadly threat to the town which was clearly not the case. All the measly mistakes the earth ponies made were simply a result of not knowing how they could control it…which is the ENTIRE POINT OF THE EPISODE.
So no, it wasn’t incompetence, they had no idea what powers they were capable of. Remember, they are just discovering they can perform magical tricks which is WHY Sunny kept suggesting Hitch that they take the time to learn how to control it.
Hitch was rashly jumping to conclusions, and by telling people to not use their magic at all, the problem wouldn’t go away. That’s why he was in the wrong.
Uh, hello??? It was used to let our heroes know who they’re up against. Also, they could’ve made a WHOLE episode just based on making G4 references, but they only used ONE brief scene to showcase a popular character from G4 as an Easter egg and to establish Opaline as the threat they have to deal with. Did you not understand the whole point of that cameo???
5777643
Kill ponies, probably not. But actually hurt ponies and cause property damage, yes.
Also, the main reason for why I felt that the Earth ponies’ mistakes are the result of incompetence more than lack of knowledge is because they honestly weren’t being smart over where to actually “practice”. If they had simply practiced getting the hang of their powers outside of town, that probably would’ve made a huge difference. And if Sunny had simply brought up the notion, she wouldn’t have seemed like an idiot with her insistence.
The point behind the cameo was very clear and understandable to me. However, my problem with the cameo was that the timing of it wasn’t right. It happens right when Maretime Bay is in danger again, and straight after Hitch realizes he was going too far, which made the whole thing feel too forced and caused the plot to get distracted.
If the cameo came while things were in a much calmer state, it probably would’ve worked better.
5777646
….None of what you said makes any sense whatsoever. Yeah, this is a clear example of you finding any reasons to hate on these episodes because, as you previously stated, you are trying to make a stand against it no matter what.
There’s no point in this discussion then.
5777668
Well, technically, I’m making these reviews because it just seems inevitable. I’m going in with as much of an open mind as possible, hoping to be impressed, but so far…I haven’t.
5777676
That isn't keeping an open mind, AMU. Don't lie to me. I'm serious. If you were open-minded, you wouldn't make that statement in the Insane Creators' Guild group.
5777681
I was referring to my belief that reviews are really a form of personal expression, nothing more.
5777682
Yes, but in your case, I find it very hard to believe.
5777683
Yay.
Looking back, I’m not even sure I know what I mean by the thing I said in the “Insane Creators Guild” group anymore. Or why I said it, for that matter.
My only guess is that I was just happy to be talking to someone who wasn’t making me feel backed in a corner anymore in the “I’ve Made the Count” thread, but even then…I don’t know.