Just a Thought: S4 Episode 1 and 2

When season 3 ended, I was not in the best of moods, as I imagine most bronies were. There's only so much drama you can stuff into a two month time period before the whole fandom erupts into an inferno of legendary proportions and, I'm not going to lie, I was ready to remove myself from the community all together. Discord's reformation, the C&D of Fighting is Magic, Twilight's ascension to Alicornhood, and the announcement of Equestria Girls, had all individually created a large amount of backlash, but together had made a situation that I thought we could never possibly recover from. This wasn't just Derpy Gate all over again, this was Chaos in its purest form. And it left a VERY bitter taste in my mouth.

However, like all fires, it eventually burned itself out. It took a while, and some would argue that there's still some smoldering debris, but in my opinion we've successfully survived the great Shitstorm of 2013. Now I look back on that time and wonder with a sense of humorous regret, "What the hell were we so worried about?" Season 4 has been a blast from start to finish (literally in some instances), and despite some hiccups in the road, it ended up being my favourite season of the entire show. But before all that, we had to deal with a lot of apprehension and wild mass guessing whenever one of the show runners would tease us with what was to come (Not cool guys). Up until the Season 4 opener I was only cautiously optimistic that the series wouldn't just implode on itself like so many people seemed to think it would.

But Equestria Girls came and, to me at least, it was a nice reassurance that the writers were aware of what they were doing and that maybe everything WOULD be just fine. And then the premier hit, and whatever worries or fears I had prior just seemed to evaporate.

Baring any nitpicks I could make, "Princess Twilight Sparkle" is a near perfect two parter in every conceivable way, including in a meta sort of sense as it was exactly what the Brony Fandom needed at the time. We needed a slap in the face to remind ourselves that a pair of wings and a crown are only changes in design, not character. Twilight is still the lovable dork she's always been, it's just now she's been given a bit more responsibility, which was a great step in character for her. Aside from studying, taking care of the library and hanging out with friends, what exactly was Twilight's purpose in life prior to her Alicornification? Some speculate her becoming some sort of arch mage for Celestia but we never really see her wanting for that or any other sort of life goals. Her life was rather directionless, and when that happens, you need something big to get the character back in the metaphorical saddle. Twilight had her life shook up at the beginning of the series just so that she'd stop being a loner and realize that there were other ponies outside of her book that she could have fun being with. Becoming Princess served the same purpose only this time she learns that life isn't just about the day to day things, life is about living and looking to the future and for the first time she's thinking about the questions of what she's meant to do with herself. Granted she won't get any sort of meaningful answer until the Season finale, but this sort of development is just the thing Twilight needed to remain an interesting character without destroying what made people fall in love with her in the first place.

Her friends on the other hand are still trying to figure out how to handle this rather abrupt change, as we see in the beginning when Applejack calls Twilight "Princess" and Rarity comments on the fact that Twilight isn't wearing her crown. I can't say I relate to that sort of thing as I've never really had a friend or family member get a title or honorific that everyone is expected to acknowledge, but I do understand how uncomfortable that might be for them and how much this change means to THEM. I think it's hilarious that it wasn't just the Brony fandom who expected Twilight to change, but even her five closest friends seemed to expect that Twilight might not be Twilight anymore. Their change in attitude becomes one of the big plot points of the episode when they enter the Everfree Forest in part 2. To them, Twilight isn't just important to them, she's important to all of Equestria now, and I feel that some part of them must have thought that being with her might be a slight detriment to the country. It's an unfounded fear of course, but an understandable one none the less.

I would be lying though if I said that Twilight's sudden heel turn on whether or not to go with her friends or stay in Ponyville at that point wasn't jarring. Her friends DO make a valid point about her being the only ruler left if they fail, and her safety should come first... forgetting completely that the elements don't work unless they're all together, so splitting up was kind of sort of really stupid to begin with. But then when Twilight get's back to Ponyville, she almost immediately runs back into Everfree to regroup with her friends only after a little persuasion from Discord. It might be the start Discord's arc with Twilight for this season, but this scene is the one black spot on the whole two parter. It's rushed, it's jarring, and it's only there to get Twilight away from the others, which could have been done any number of other ways.

That being said, one dark spot does not a rotten apple make. This is still a great season opener, in fact I dare say it's probably the best so far, though I still feel that "Crystal Empire" is a better jumping on point for the curious potential bronies. Props to the writers for sticking to their guns when it came to Twilicorn and Reformed Discord, and double props for starting the first major season long arc.