TheBrianJ Reviews - Crusaders of the Lost Mark · 5:52am Oct 14th, 2015
Well. That was quite an episode, wasn’t it?
Crusaders of the Lost Mark will go down as one of the most important episodes in MLP history, up there with Magical Mystery Cure, Slice of Life, and that episode from 1986 where the two babies get bored and imagine where a red ball could be (And no of course I didn’t just google “List of Original My Little Pony episodes” and pick the one with the most absurd synopsis.)
I’ll go ahead and say that I absolutely loved this episode, but I have an awful lot more to say about it than that, so head on below the Pipsqueak for the full review. I’m going to go ahead and put a big SPOILER WARNING here because if you have not watched the episode, seriously go watch it.
See that candy? It’s because he’s totally the adopted son of Lyra and Bon Bon.
To be honest… I kinda knew within the first few minutes that this was gonna be the episode. It’s the 5 year anniversary of My Little Pony, they had been strangely withholding clips and info on the episode, and within the first few minutes, it became clear this was a musical episode. The last time they did a musical, it ended with a janitor walking on screen and stapling wings to Twilight’s legs, I think. Something like that.
So when that first song started about them working to get their Cutie Marks, I just had a feeling that this episode would end with them finally having the destiny moment and getting the marks they had been working for for five seasons. But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s go through other stuff before we discuss that.
First off, musical episodes will always, always rank high for me, because as I’ve stated in the past, I consider Daniel Ingram to be a genius, one of the best minds to work on the show. It always amazes me the range that his music has had over the years, and this episode proved no different. “We’ll Make Our Mark” was a solid and uplifting song (and reprise, of course), but I really loved the overall sound of “The Vote.” I spent years working in stage crew during HIgh School (literally the only thing I enjoyed about those four goddamn years) and became quite a musical fan, and Daniel Ingram absolutely nailed it with The Vote. Light of your Cutie Mark was also a great song in the way that it focused on telling a story over anything.
But let’s get to the meat of the episode: Diamond Tiara.
Behold: One of the few things on MLP that got me legitimately choked up.
Diamond Tiara has always been one of my favorite characters. Yes, she was a horrible bully, but that’s why I liked the character: she was a perfect recurring antagonist and foil for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. That said, I’ve always had an interest in learning more about the character. Even in my first story I did a bit of exploration on where her bullying instincts come from (Fun Aside: I had a plan for a sequel to Smiling Flowers, this time centered around Diamond Tiara and Cheerilee becoming close, and Diamond realizing that she doesn’t like the pony she is. Nothing ever came of it, though.)
Crusaders of the Lost Remark was the redemption story that has been building for Diamond Tiara… and I think they absolutely 100% nailed it. Going the route of “rough family life creates a bully character” was a fairly safe path to take, but it was all in the presentation. One of the most emotional songs of the entire series (as I said earlier, I got genuinely choked up during it), seeing such a sad look at an antagonist in the series… man, it was just so superbly done.
Seeing Diamond Tiara finally start to come around, it just felt so good. Yeah, it was a pretty drastic change, but at the same time it felt really natural after seeing what the episode threw at her. I kinda expect her to remain in a bit of an antagonistic role, but less as the bully and more as her now trying to learn to to be a better pony.
I've been talking about DT for a while, so let's move onto the big thing: Cutie Marks.
It’s been five years coming.
You know the funny thing? After everything in this episode, all the emotions that went down, the CMC finally getting their Cutie Marks almost felt anti-climactic, but in a good way. Let me try to explain… let’s say that the CMC had always been based on one thing and one thing only, and that is getting their Cutie Marks. That other than episodes of “let’s try this!”, the three of them never appeared. Then yeah, this would be a giant, earth shattering moment, but it would also be the cap of their characters.
Instead, as time has gone on, their pursuit of Cutie Marks has become, well, kinda a background thing. Sure, they mention it and have the occasional episode about it, but five seasons have built up strong enough characters for them that really, the search for Cutie Marks didn’t need to define them anymore. This didn’t feel like the end of the CMC, it just felt like a logical next step, as it should be. But at the same time, it felt like a really heartwarming moment, that these characters we’ve seen develop finally get something that has been eluding them for five long years (or however long it’s been in show time, it could be anywhere from a month to 539 years)
The actual designs of their Cutie Marks are fine. I’ve heard complaints that they stand out too much or go against their color schemes, but all the major Cutie Marks in the series stand out, and it makes them really feel unique. I love the shield motif and the subtle signifiers of their talents within (Sweetie Belle’s musical note, Apple Bloom’s apple, Scootaloo’s lightning bolt). That said, seeing them with Cutie Marks is going to be an odd thing to get used to.
CHARLIE UNIFORM TANGO INDIA ECHO MIKE ALFA ROMEO KILO
Oh my god there is a lot to talk about in this episode so let’s just hit on a few quick points.
-Derpy was in a mailmare outfit! Derpy is the perfect character they can project minor fanon onto because she has basically no relevance on the plot, so they can do whatever they want with her.
-Applejack mentioned “If mom and dad were here…” If MLP ever does an episode dealing with death, it would stun me, but given what they covered this season, it feels more likely than ever. That said, it could also be a “they just aren’t around anymore” thing, which I also want to see for sheer fandom-meltdown potential.
-New animation for Luna and Celestia! Man, that Luna is awesome. Someone should write a story about her.
So yeah, overall, one of the strongest episodes of the series. I do wish it had been a 42 minute thing to give the whole story time to breathe, but they did an amazing job fitting everything that needed to be there into 21 minutes. When I do my end-of-season wrap up and list the episodes from worst to best, it’s gonna be kinda tough to decide between this and Amending Fences for #1 (unless another episode comes along and blows my mind, like if they all need to think about where a red ball could be.)
Amazing work by the cast and crew, congratulations on five years of MLP, and congratulations on another absolutely phenomenal episode.
-Brian J
No funny caption here... this was just adorable.
Why's everyone so ooh and aah about this episode? I just don't get it.
I mean, I hate musicals in general, but this one is just not good.
It's a lot more saccharine than usual. I mean, to the point where I had to look away to avoid throwing up.
It's also 100% predictable.
And the "Hey kids! Democracy is real and it really works, honest!" thing. Fuck this in particular.
It's always fun to find someone as passionate about the music in this show as I am. I loved this episode, and the fact that it came in musical format made it that much better. I've listened to The Pony I Want To Be and Light Of Your Cutie Mark so many times already since the weekend. I completely agree about Daniel Ingram.
No, that was the first time they did a musical. The last time was the story of how Cheese Sandwich got Senpie to notice him.
In any case, I really liked how the main focus of the episode was Diamond Tiara rather than the Crusaders themselves. It reflects their talents—it's the pony in need who matters most; they just facilitate the epiphany—and the episode needed as much time as it could to introduce Spoiled Rich and establish Tiara's deeper characterization.
Plus, the full reprise of "We'll Make Our Mark" genuinely brought tears to my eyes, so there's that. And yes, Best Pony in an postal uniform pleased me.
Oh fuck don't remind me D:
I approve of your Pipsqueak headcanon. :V
Actually, while I've said that the colours of their marks felt a big glaring, I think I've finally identified what really annoys me about them.
derpicdn.net/img/2015/10/10/998719/large.png
That thing is tiny. Look at it compared to Big Mac's mark.
3469657 I'm sure it'll get better as Apple Bloom grows up and gets bigger.
Yesss, the music in this episode was incredible! And man, I was simply blown away by how well-paced it was. I've always thought of "Magical Mystery Cure" as being far too rushed, but this episode made the necessarily fast pace of a 22-minute musical work! Everything did feel natural—and man, it's so good to be able to say that about an antagonist's redemption! So happy to see Diamond Tiara achieve such great character progression along with the Crusaders.
hnnnnnnggg I've waited to hear those words out of a Crusader's mouth for so. long. To say out loud what what's become beautifully apparent in the last couple seasons: that, your words, their pursuit of their Cutie Marks has indeed become a background thing. (And the line was even spoken by best filly!
)
'Ey, they already did, though! Remember "Tanks for the Memories"?