You've Been Marked! My Review of "The Cutie Map, Parts 1 and 2"

Spoiler Alert! Do not continue on unless you’ve seen the episode/s! If you wish to continue, read at your own risk. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

There! *Ahem* Now that that’s settled, I would like to share my thoughts with you on the Season 5 premiere of “My Little Pony”! After almost a year without any new ponysodes (no, seriously, it’s been too long), we’re finally going to see the return of our favorite group of ponies as they travel across Equestria to solve a friendship problem in…

“THE CUTIE MAP, PARTS 1 AND 2”!

Heh, heh. Sorry, was that a bit much? I thought it was.
Before we continue, I would like to set the standards for my reviews:
• How in-depth I will go into the episode will vary on the impression it made.
• I may refer to stuff almost related to the show. It depends on what I’m reminded of in the episode.
• Some of the references may be unknown to you guys, so I apologize in advance if anything confuses you. I will do my best to clarify what I mean.
• I will list the pros and cons of each episode and then sum it up.
• The last thing I will do is give the episode one or a mix of the following:
o A letter grade
o A percentage
o A number on a scale of one to ten
• I may skip over select episodes due to a low impression or personal reasons. My apologies in advance to anyone I might offend by skipping over an episode they like.
I hope this clarifies what I intend to do for my future reviews. Now, on with my review of the premiere!
*****
Aaaaaaaand there we have it! The end of a long, dry road, the break in this prolonged boredom, the sunrise after a seemingly endless night (sorry, Princess Luna)! More importantly, April 4th marked the beginning of a new era, or rather a new season. Yes, readers, My Little Pony has returned at last, with new adventures and new characters we’re going to see. But enough about that. I suppose you want to hear about the premiere. We’ll get right to it.
There’s been a lot of jazz surrounding this two-parter, but personally, the premiere kind of underwhelmed me. If my views differ from yours, please forgive me. However, the episodes did pull some surprises and firsts. For example, this was the first premiere without Celestia or Canterlot involved. From this change in routine, I can already surmise that we’re going to be delving into something big and new this season. I think the crew is trying to spice things up a bit.
One of the other surprises is the sudden change in the title. It was originally stated as “Cutie Markless”, but when I saw that it was “The Cutie Map”, I didn’t believe it at first. I had to check several websites to make sure it was the official name of the premiere. I was confused by this, so it doesn’t help with my rating. Someone must’ve neglected to tell SHOUT! Factory about the actual name or someone at the DVD company must’ve decided to take matters in their own hands.
I love the introductory music. It wasn’t until later that I realized it sounded close to the music from Don Bluth’s Anastasia. It sounded so ethereal and beautiful that it perfectly matched Twilight’s new castle. What do you think of that as a fashion statement, Rarity? Bet you’ve never tried using music as a form of fashion.
The map scene when animated differs quite a bit from the animatic. Some of the scenes were altered, switched around, or added completely. I guess I should’ve learned my lesson with the “Nightmare Moon Transformation” animatic. Both weren’t the final products and therefore shouldn’t have been anticipated as such. However, the map scene doesn’t seem to be too bad in its final form.
When the Mane Six arrive at the town, Pinkie uses covert moves and ducks under rocks, especially the big ones. It’s a good thing she’s a Pie to use those rock skills like that. When the ponies get their first look at the village and its inhabitants, it seems utopian to them…until they notice equal sign cutie marks on everypony. Though it is a quaint little community, Pinkie feels that something isn’t right. Thanks to her knowledge of smiles, she gives us reason to be wary of the inhabitants, especially Starlight Glimmer.
When I first listened to Glimmer’s voice, I assumed it was Nicole Oliver. I later looked on Glimmer’s wiki page and found the voice belonged to…Kelly Sheridan! Many of you might not know her well, but thanks to the movies we watched during childhood, my sister and I knew Kelly voiced Barbie! Huh, I guess Barbie has a dark side after all. Another striking fact about Starlight Glimmer is that her name is eerily similar to Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer. Please don’t let Glimmer become an alicorn and rule Equestria with an iron hoof! I’m praying that it won’t be so.
Another familiar voice that I first heard in the first teaser is a fellow Ed Edd n’ Eddy alumni. Some of you may catch a hint of Double D in Party Favor, albeit a bit mature. When Party Favor’s special talent is revealed, I noticed that he shares some traits with Pinkie. Show of hands: does anyone smell trouble for the CheesePie shipping? I wonder what it’s going to be like with three fun-loving ponies in the same room…
After the “formal” musical number, which covers the standards of the town, the Mane Six, sans Fluttershy, are starting to get a little leery about the ponies, especially when the villagers start watching them. A phrase from the wiki sums this up perfectly as “Big Brony is watching you”. This time, though, it’s quite literally. Sugar Belle, a pony who serves them horrible muffins (seriously, not even Derpy would eat them), begins to doubt her way of life, so she invites the six friends to meet her inside. I noticed that her name is similar to Sweetie Belle’s. Is this a hint about a certain accomplishment Sweetie will make?
When the Mane Six go down to Sugar Belle’s basement, they find themselves surrounded. This scene fooled me into thinking that the girls were facing danger, but I was relieved (and surprised) that the group of villagers was interested in the girls’ cutie marks. I have a feeling that since the theme of Season 5 is “Cutie Mark Magic”, there’s bound to be unwanted rear touching (and shots-what a sight!). The dissenters then tell them about the cutie mark vault. The Mane Six decide to investigate this and find quite a surprise. When I first saw a clip for this, I immediately thought it looked like a Smartphone with cutie mark apps. Funny, aren’t I?
Starlight Glimmer then shows the Staff of Sameness, which was presumably made by the mage Meadowbrook. Twilight, however, thought that the mage made only eight magical items, not nine. A reviewer from Equestria Daily brought up a very good point that Meadowbrook might make an appearance soon. My theory is that he/she’s somehow tied to Star Swirl the Bearded. I had another idea that Discord’s one of the items he/she made. I originally theorized Star Swirl had sculpted him from stone or clay and brought him to life. However, the mage might also be a good reason that Discord exists.
When the trap is sprung, Twilight cries that famous line from Star Wars. Yes, I admit that I’m a geek for the franchise and am awaiting the new film The Force Awakens. Starlight then “uses” the staff to take the girls’ cutie marks from them and replace them with equal signs. From the girls’ expressions, it looked pretty painful for them. Ouch!
When I first saw Rainbow Dash’s recap a few months earlier, I was surprised that she had an equal sign cutie mark. My reaction was, “Dude, you’ve been marked!” This phrase is where I got the title for my review. Since I saw the clip of Rainbow having that particular cutie mark, I feared it would happen to the others. It turned out that my fears were confirmed when I saw Rarity’s recap. I wasn’t sure whether or not Twilight was going to be affected, but a clip I had seen prior to the episode pretty much revealed she was.
The equal sign cutie mark takes its toll on the Mane Six by making them seem less like themselves. Jayson Thiessen had an excellent point by referring to online tweets, not just bird ones, when Fluttershy sighed, “Not even tweets make sense anymore.” I’m surprised that Pinkie didn’t automatically turn into Pinkamena when she got marked. Yes, she turned out…let’s just say like her sisters, but thankfully, she still had her signature hairstyle and didn’t go all loopy. At first, I didn’t understand what Rarity was fussing about until I read the summary on the FiM wiki. Her breakdown was quite amusing, though slightly unsettling, to see.
After Starlight invites the supposedly-converted Fluttershy to stay with her for a while, the kind Pegasus decides to venture to the vault and bring back her and her friends’ cutie marks. However, she happens to see Double Diamond bringing the Mane Six’s cutie marks to Starlight. When I saw this scene, I wasn’t sure whether or not Double Diamond was going to turn over to the good guys. Starlight Glimmer surprised me when she dried herself off and revealed her cutie mark! Up until that point, I wasn’t sure how she would regain her real cutie mark, but this scene explains a lot.
Party Favor, who took the blame for his friends about mentioning the vault, gets in on Twilight’s plan and acts as if he wants to return to society. After Twilight supposedly converts, Fluttershy attempts to throw water on Starlight. The unicorn ducks, but not before a drop of water trickles down her makeup cutie mark. I thought the drop of water looked like a tear. I want to think of that as foreshadowing in regards to a future episode. I’m not really talking about Starlight in general, though she might be a good candidate, but I’m really thinking about *cough* Discord *cough*.
When faced with no other choice, Starlight reveals her true colors: cruel, mean, and harsh. A truly villainous type, if you ask me. However, she doesn’t strike me as a formidable foe and I don’t believe she’s that dangerous. She may be a grown-up Diamond Tiara, but I don’t really see any threat in her. I think that she’s merely past the point of no return. Honestly, do you see Barbie shouting like Starlight did? Sorry, I had to say that.
After Starlight escapes with the Mane Six’s cutie marks, Double Diamond frees the villagers’ cutie marks from the vault. He and the others regain their former appearances when they regain their cutie marks. I think Double Diamond looks like a hunk this way *wolf whistle*. The girls and their four new friends give chase to Starlight in the mountains. However, the Mane Six are stuck being slow on account of their equal sign cutie marks. Twilight makes a point by saying that it’s their new friends’ turn to help the girls, just as the Mane Six helped them.
The four villagers make use of their newly-regained talents and block Starlight off at the mouth of the cave. The jars break and the six cutie marks are returned to their rightful owners. When the Mane Six confront Starlight, she reveals no motive or any sign of redemption. As one commenter said on Equestria Daily, this is quite different than in any of the other premieres. Starlight Glimmer just vanishes into the deep cave before Twilight could teach her about friendship. This has led me to think that she will return in the future. Jim Miller has confirmed this, so don’t think we’ve seen the last of her. *shivers* I just hate for Diamond Tiara and her to join forces. That wouldn’t be good.
My sister, however, has a theory on the contrary. She thinks that Diamond Tiara would stand up to Starlight and stubbornly refuse to give up her cutie mark. I, on the other hand, have something that could counter that. I will back up my theory by adding that Starlight would help Diamond Tiara by stopping the CMC either from receiving their cutie marks or by putting her equal one on them to prevent them from having special talents. Once that would be complete, Starlight would turn on DT and steal her cutie mark (ala Tirek and Discord). Which theory would you support?
All in all, I said less about the premiere than I intended because primarily, I wasn’t all that excited about it. It seemed kind of dull and, well, not like the previous action-packed premieres. Maybe this premiere is reminiscent to “Friendship is Magic” (Season 1 premiere) because the first one is not as thrilling as the others. It also adds elements from “The Return of Harmony” on account of the Mane Six turning gray and not being themselves anymore. I guess the premiere feels more realistic than the others. I’m not exactly one for realism, but if it involves magic, I’m drawn in.
The Book of Life has been stated as a “magic-realist” film set in the 1920’s. It, like MLP, didn’t entice me at all until I decided to try it. I was entirely entranced with the film after seeing it, and the same thing happened after I saw “Keep Calm and Flutter On”. When I watched the teaser for the Season 4 premiere, I saw that Discord was returning. I was confused, so my sister showed me the episode in which he made his comeback in Season 3. Before watching that episode, I wasn’t particularly interested in MLP and added the characters to my works just for the heck of side characters. The hook, line, and sinker that reeled me in? My sister told me that Discord cried.
Well, in my opinion, he nearly cried. Not actually, but nearly.
“Keep Calm and Flutter On” was the episode that fully immersed me in the pony fandom. While there were some episodes that disinterested me, it was mainly Discord who kept me entranced (ba-dum-psss). I must admit that there are some episodes I do like even without Discord in them. From the moment I watched “Keep Calm and Flutter On”, I became a Pegasister.
Forgive me for pointlessly rambling. I suppose I should get on with the pros and cons before wrapping it up.
Pros: This premiere offers some surprises and changes in routine. For example, this is the first premiere in which, my sister has pointed out, the Mane Six make an enemy instead of fighting one. Sorry, Discord. No beasty to blast at. Starlight has potential to return and possibly cause more trouble for our heroes. I like how Samuel Vincent is voicing a character here.
Cons: This all seems predictable and a bit too realistic (says my sister). It really didn’t get me as excited as I hoped. I don’t think much of Starlight as a threat as with Tirek and Chrysalis. She doesn’t seem to be like Trixie, but she’s as malicious and cold-hearted as Diamond Tiara. The animated map scene confused me because it differed from the animatic. Also, I had seen it before, so I wasn’t very thrilled by the discovery.
In Summary: Though others may seem wound up over it, it didn’t appeal to me as much. The hype about “The Cutie Map” may stem from the anxious waiting most fans had to put up with for almost a year. I am, however, interested in what this season has in store. If it can change routine and pull some surprises like that, I look forward to what the future episodes will do.
My rating: 7.5/10; B
See you till the next episode!
<3 KidatHeart5
P.S. This is my first written review for MLP, so please take it easy on me. However, constructive criticism is welcome.

Comments

[misskoifishpony]

Great job KidatHeart, for your solid review of "The Cutie Map" You brought up so many new and fascinating ideas to explore like how Star Swirl and Meadow Brooks and Discord could be all related through the 8 magical items, and a possible dilemma/journey Discord might have to go through to discover his destiny. I loved how "Keep Calm and Flutter On" was the episode that made you a pegasister because it's one of my favorite episodes You know what's funny, I gave this episode at 7.5 too on my review too.
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/465366/miss-koi-reviews-the-season-5-premieror-it-is-premiere-haha-lol
Here's a link to my review.
I LOLed so hard at the part when you called Double Diamond hot Bwhaha! I can tell who's your new favorite character of Season 5
My only critique of your review is maybe not go over every single part of the episode. Just uses specific scenes of the episode to emphasize or prove your point.

[KidatHeart5]

Thank you for commenting on my review! I agree with you about going over every detail of the episode. It was my biggest gripe, but I thought I had to do it. I like your idea about Discord possibly going on a journey. That will certainly be something new.
My first review was a video one about "Twilight's Kingdom".
Stay tuned for my next review!