The Cutie Re-mark Review · 5:24pm Nov 28th, 2015
Accordingly with the premiere being what it was - the finale doesn't have the action awesomeness we're used to. It goes for something deeper. But it may have dug too deep.
As the previews reaveled, the finale focuses on Starlight Glimmer using time travel magic to stop the Sonic Rainboom, resulting in Twi and her friends not getting their cutie marks. Off the bat, very fanfic-y. The episode makes the very wise decision to not focus on Twi's adventure in the other world, trying to get her friends back together. The episode focuses on what it should focus on - Twilight trying to stop Starlight from changing the past in the first place. However, Starlight has rigged the spell to ensure it pulls them both back every time she tries, and every attempt changes the future differently. Naturally, there's a future for each villain where they came to power, as well as a future where Flim and Flam are deforesting Ponyville. Sadly, no future where Trixie and Sunset Shimmer have overthrown the Two Sisters.
Then we come to the last 10 minutes. I was enjoying the finale but was wondering how they'd wrap it up. And the time came for The Talk. Twilight realized that every attempt to stop Starlight failed, and instead tried to reason with her. This leads us into Starlight's backstory. And... it's pathetic. Like, really, meta-wise it's terrible writing and in-universe it's a weak excuse for her. Short version, her best friend got her cutie mark and abandoned Starlight to go study at Canterlot, and that convinced Starlight that cutie marks suck and make people miserable. Yeah. That's it. That's her backstory and motivation.
The problem is that the episode should resolve itself. Twilight takes Starlight to one of the terrible futures she creates by stopping the Rainboom, but Starlight refuses to believe it because the plot says so. All Twilight has to do at this point is explain to Starlight why the Rainboom is so important, and all the dangerous villains she and her friends have stopped. At no point does she, however. Starlight seems totally ignorant of the role Twilight and her plays in Equestria, or that they're the Elements of Harmony. She doesn't realize the damage she's doing. Starlight isn't heartless, if she knew that their friendship is what stops Tirek/Discord/Sombra/Chrysalis/Nightmare Moon from conquering Equestria, she'd back off.
Instead, Twi talks her down and reasons with her by giving a friendship lecture after learning Starlight's backstory. It's a very weak ending to go with her weak backstory, but it works. The timestream is put back, the two return to the present.
Then... the last five minutes...
If you haven't seen the episode, I'll just spit it out here - Starlight is going to move to Ponyville to be Twilight's student due to her great magical potential. Mane 7 come next season.
The rest of this review will talk about that development, so if you want to avoid the spoilers, leave now.
The problem is not Starlight Glimmer being redeemed. The problem is also not adding another pony to the group to be the Mane 7. The problem is the choice they made to do so - Starlight Glimmer didn't earn it.
I don't know how the fandom feels about Starlight, but I'm apathetic to her. She was a good cerebral and thematic threat, but not really an interesting character. This episode did not change that. Her backstory was very weak, her power levels outstripping Starswirl the Bearded (both the cutie mark stuff and time travel) are implausible, and she's fitting the mold of "evil version of Twilight" the show has already cast characters from since Season 1, and in the process produced two much more suiting candidates for a seventh pony, might I add.
But, okay, we're gonna have Starlight move in with Twi to be a main character and work on redemption... actually, no, because in the ending song we see her hanging out with the group, being friendly, and come the end of the episode it's all smiles and hugs. Her redemption is reduced to a montage shoved in at the back end of the episode.
I want this to work out, I really do. I don't want the show to jump the shark, it's been a great five seasons. But this is not the way to introduce a Seventh pony. Starlight is not interesting enough to want us to see her more, her redemption at this stage is limited to a song sequence, and said song really wants us to buy into the premise of her joining the group. To do a Sunset Shimmer comparison, no one came out of Equestria Girls thinking "oh, Sunset should join the Mane Six." It took Rainbow Rocks to do that, when we got invested in her character development and liked her as a character. Starlight has not done that.
I dread next season now glossing over her redemption because this is considered to be it, and I also question how she's going to fit into the group dynamic without seeming forced. In that, there is hope. We've seen so little of Starlight that they can develop her into a multifaceted, interesting, likeable character that does belong in the main group. But it's going to be a tightrope walk. Introducing a new major character at this late point of the series is going to call down accusations of Mary Sue no matter how they go about it. And if they botch it, well, there's the ski ramp, and there's the shark fin...
I have mixed feelings about all this that cannot be sorted out until we see what they do with Starlight in Season 6. The showrunners went all-in before the flop, and either it's going to pay out in an awesome way, or it's going to be the show's death knell.
Complete agreement with you on the ending of finale situation. I am very not cool with how things ended. The rest of the finale was awesome, but it fell apart in the last five minutes.
Which...has kind of been a recurring theme this season.
3574091 What also bugs me is they wrote a better ending into the song - Starlight returns to her village and makes amends. That could have been the end of it right there. But no. They're trying something very risky that can easily blow up in their faces. On the flip side, I question what they stand to gain if it doesn't. Unless the show starts to focus more on Starlight, her addition won't really add much to the show with its format, and if they do do that, again, Mary Sue.
3574105 Yeah it's...not a good look.
You know, all this has me wondering what the plot of the eventual movie is going to be.
Also I have to agree slightly. I think the ep would be better if Starlight believed Twilight in apocalyptica-land. Explaining to Starlight that each and every threat Equestria has ever faced is being given the potential to take over from her actions alone should have been enough.
On a final note, the episode of choice to show people this isn't just a show for little girls has changed yet again; before, it was the Tirek duo. Points in favour of The Cutie Remark:
• explicit battle scenes with conventional weapons
• weaponised appendages
• laser death beams that slice shit in half, a la Krillin's Destructo Disc.
• explicit threats on one's life
• implications of the possible end of all life
• (this isn't really a new one but) child abuse
Eakin and Visiden Visidane must be wetting themselves with joy.
3574091 I think it's too early to say for certain that Starlight's redemption will be glossed over. Season 6 will be the deciding factor. If it were up to me, the Season 6 premiere would focus on Starlight's struggle to fit in. Maybe even have her as a reverse Spike, she is clearly needed by the map, but she refuses to go because she thinks she'll just get in the way. And have her slowly come to realize that she can choose to change, if that's really what she wants.
I really can’t see Starlight Glimmer resulting in a Jumping the Shark moment for this series. I mean as long as the writers have more world to establish, and more obstacles for the Mane 6 and the plethora of side characters to over come, there are always going to be stories to tell. I mean she could very well become a Scrappy, but then again Scrappy Doo didn’t cause the downfall of Scooby Doo not matter how much some fans disliked him.
I knew this was never going to happen, but I would have loved it if we had seen Celestia and Sunset Shimmer fighting Sombra or something like that. But then Sunset left before that sonic rainboom probably, and anyway, this finale was about how Equestria is doomed without Twilight (and the rest of the mane 6) to save the day more than anything else. That and Starlight's temper tantrum (her friend's cutie mark ruined their friendship) and quick redemption/forgiveness and promotion. Rainbow Rocks is what really elevated Sunset Shimmer, but... not sure the show can pull something like that off again. That and four episodes of obnoxious mwa-ha-ha Starlight makes it really hard to tolerate her, and her instantly joining in on the song sequence. Too bad no Trixie cameo either, maybe seeing her ruling with the Alicorn Amulet.
I think the main reason that Starlight couldn't believe that Twilight and her friends were important is because she assumes that someone else would take their place. It's another (less used, I find) take on time travel. One being that every little thing can change the future and the other being that everything is bound to happen even if something is different. I believe that's what Twilight alludes to with the 'friendship magic is weaker if one friendship dies'. Kinda dumb, but I can live with it.
I also have to agree with the last 5 mins being weird, I thought that the best redemption would be for starlight try out for a mage/teacher at Celestia's school. I mean we see her work well with kids, she even convinces the bullies to help Fluttershy. Additionally she's shown more magic potential then even Twilight. I still think they could do this if they wanted to, give her the Sunset treatment, where she learns from Twilight while not being with Twilight. Though I suppose that isn't technically show cannon.
One thing I did like is that Twilight couldn't beat Starlight. One of the biggest disappointments of this season was the cutie map episodes. Both AJ and Twi's episodes felt like they could've put some major character development. In this case, Twilight (friendship is op). So it was nice to see that she couldn't do something, and the resolution makes her reason with Starlight on friendship, which is her expertise, instead of trying to fight her when she can't.
Overall I felt like it was a solid 8/10. Great episode, last 5 minutes left me weary, but they have plenty of ways to make it good. On the other hand, if she doesn't end up being a new member of the mane 6(7), it kind of makes you wonder where they could take it. The last 2 season have been world building, and have a overlying story arc. Season 3: journey to ascension, season 4:reason of ascension, season 5:cutie marks/magic.
In any case, we'll just have to wait and see. Honestly, if they made this a 3 parter with the last part being Starlight's redemption, I'd probably be fine with it being a series finale. Idk, I find the idea of Starlight being Twi's apprentice a good way to close Twilight's story, which is probably why it's really scary going into the new season.
I think this part does make sense from Starlight Glimmer's perspective. Remember from the season premiere that Starlight's philosophy is built around a denial of individualism and exceptionalism. From her point of view, messing with the fates of just six ponies should not have a huge effect on the fate of the world. For example, many people think that if they go back in history and kill Hitler, they could avoid World War II. Others would argue, however, that the historical forces that lead to the rise of Hitler would still be present, and would probably have led to the rise of some other leader who would take the world down the same path. Isn't it reasonable to believe that, in the absence of Twilight and her friends, some other ponies would have stepped up to meet the challenges facing Equestria? (This was my biggest issue with the episode).
So, it makes perfect sense that Starlight would think that Twilight somehow showed her a false vision of the future to trick her. It's only after Twilight convinces Starlight that the fate of Equestria really does rely on the exceptional abilities of the Mane Six—and perhaps more importantly, Starlight remembering the power a broken friendship had over her own fate—that Starlight realizes the error of her ways and gives up on her plot for revenge. Yes, it's rushed and could definitely have been executed better, but it does a great job at getting across an important message:
Friendships can change the world.
This statement both serves as a nice antithesis to the philosophy Starlight advances in the premiere as well as a good way of summarizing the message of the season as a whole.
I agree with you about the ending being rushed. I still liked it, but they could have done much better here than they actually did.
I disagree. I consider Starlight to be the most interesting new character of the season.
As for Starlight's backstory, I don't mind it since:
1. It's just a piece of it. There's still too much we don't know, and we couldn't find out everything necessary in even a 44 minute two-parter.
2. Starlight was a child when it happened. Children tend to get overly emotional about things.
Also, someone else in a comment somewhere (I forget where) put best why the song was done the way it is:
The creators want to end each season off on a high note, in case the series ends up getting cancelled before the next season airs. Now, us fans know this isn't likely to happen, but the producers and people behind the show don't know. And networks do sometimes have a tendency to cancel great shows before they can reach a proper conclusion.
That also explains why Twilight was able to fly perfectly at the end of season 3, but that was retconned into her still having trouble flying in the first EQG film and the season 4 premiere.
As for Starlight herself, she's become my favorite villain, simply for how smart and how powerful she turned out to be.