Flap Them Crazy Wings · 9:36pm Feb 17th, 2013
So, Twilicorn happened. I should probably speak up or be further buried in the lower layers of the Ponisphere.
I enjoyed the episode - The songs were catchy and fun, everypony was in top form, and there was lots of creative imagery, but the whole thing just made me sad. It felt really elegiac, like it was an official final episode, which in a way I suppose it was - Bidding farewell to that "arc" of the show and moving into a new one.
Once Twilight was in that dreamworld with Celestia, though, and Celestia started singing, I was pretty much sold on the whole endeavor. It was clear that the spell in the beginning was the final test, and the scenes from Twilight's past were convincingly presented as the antecedents for the current consummation of her story. The spell was sorta like a friendly version of the Hellraiser puzzle box - Celestia knew her solving it would vaporize/propel Twilight to Alicorn Space, from which she'd return as her new self. They seem like disparate elements on the surface, but together it reads as a pretty tight unfolding of one of Celestia's plans. Plus she got to seem all awesome and omnipotent again, and actually got to sing, which was really nice for me as a Celestia fan.
I think it worked because it was a musical, and the whole thing felt more like a montage you could fill in with whatever you needed to imagine happening, instead of a literal narration where they tried to show the audience the actual sequence of events. They likely knew that no matter what they did it was going to disappoint a lot of people, so they just stayed hands-off and let the audience read into it what they themselves knew would satisfy them, and then season 4 can start off with fresh adventures by this leveled-up crew. Megan McCarthy apparently tweeted that the opener is a two-parter following on the heels of this one, and she's been consistently awesome, so I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt.
I don't know how Twi's friends aren't burning with envy, though. They're obviously ecstatic for her, but those two things aren't mutually exclusive.
Finally, Rainbow Dash about to be cooked into a stew and eaten by woodland creatures? Thumbs up, DHX. Thumbs up. Dug that they actually said "alicorn," too - I know they did in "Magic Duel" as well, but now it was in reference to the actual being, and not just the name of an artifact. Pretty sure that term to refer to a winged unicorn originated with the fandom, dinnit?
OH, there's also Equestria Girls. My reaction is a resounding "huh?" I'm not against the idea, if it even goes through, but it just seems entirely superfluous.
People love the characters, yeah, but its their relation to their world and their sorta "foreignness" that makes them who they are and is part of their appeal. What's human Rainbow Dash going to dream of joining? A jet aerobatics team? Something else entirely? Are they all going to be played by the same voice actors?
It just seems backwards. Like, the original Star Trek, right? After they realized that had become a megahit that wouldn't be forgotten, they made "Star Trek: The Next Generation," which is arguably even more beloved today. They didn't make a show where Kirk and McCoy now shared a Manhattan apartment and Spock was their wacky neighbor. Because that would be completely bonkers.
The most natural thing would be to explore more of Equestria, following a different gang with a different overriding theme, and if I'm not mistaken that was an idea they were bouncing around sometime last year. I think everyone would prefer that, but if the suits are demanding humans get in on the action, it's still way better to keep them segregated in their own show - Muddying the notion that the ponies built their whole world themselves would kill half the charm and wonder of it
The way I could see Equestria Girls working, though, is as shorts: Append minute-long segments to either the main show or other shows, with just one or two gags, or a short continuation of a single story. That way it doesn't distract from anything and feels more like a funhouse mirror for the show than a counterpart or competitor.
Personally, I think it'll fall through or was just a rumor to begin with, but still, what a weird choice.
I'm also jealous of Twilight. I wish I weren't, but because I'm not a pure "Twilight is best pony" fan, I want to see everypony else advance and grow.
But I'm looking forward to Equestria Girls. I think there are a lot of openings for storylines just based on the picture. What if Rainbow Dash has to humble herself by not being such a good athlete with no wings? What if the school they're at is one with an actual horse-riding team? What if Twilight and Rarity have to deal with no magic, or what if they *do* have magic, and no one else does?
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Yeah, it would be great to see all her friends get something of their own so that they can keep up, or at least have them each achieve what they individually dream about. I think the show's going to change a lot, but I don't have a problem with that as long as it stays interesting. I doubt it could go completely off the deep end, but it might just lose steam until the fun goes out of it. I have confidence it won't, and when they wrap it up it'll be with a big, worthy finale, but I do think it was about time to shake things up in the meantime.
Equestria Girls could certainly be a good show, but it seems like they might as well just cut ties and start fresh at that point. Maybe I don't know enough about it yet, but it seems like it's a total reimagining - These Mane 6 are actually different individuals with different histories in a different world, and so would naturally take for granted anything about themselves that diverged from their pony counterparts. But maybe not. We'll wait and see.
But part of what got me into the original show was all the creative little things about that world that are different, like raising the sun and moon, controlling the weather and seasons, with nature only operating in the familiar sense in dangerous Forbidden Zones. Will all that kinda stuff still be happening, or will it just be ordinary Earth?
Again, I think it'll probably come to nothing, but it bums me out a little to think of them willing to go to the lengths of creating a second show, but using it to start over instead of build.
Equestria Girls will suck chrome off of a bumper.