The Cutie Re-Mark Thoughts (Spoilers) · 9:56pm Nov 28th, 2015
Well, I have to say that this finale has to be one of my favorite, if not my favorite episode of this season. Along with that, it's definitely up there in the rankings of best finale as well. There wasn't much at all to dislike about this episode. For once, almost everything I have to say about this one is good. I loved it, everything about it. The only issue that I did really have throughout the whole episode was that whenever Twilight returned to the alternate presents, she was still an alicorn. Considering these alternate timelines, Twilight would never have become the princess of friendship in any of them. So why was she still an alicorn? It's not as if this Twilight was a separate entity and there was another Twilight in each of these timelines. She was the only Twilight. The only time we saw another Twilight was when she was a filly, but that was past Twilight, not present, so that made sense. The fact that present Twilight wasn't affected by any of this was the part that didn't make sense. That's seriously about my only complaint for this entire episode. Onto the good stuff.
First of all, I was honestly glad that this episode was focused on Twilight and Spike, rather than the mane six. Considering the finales have been like this since season 3, it's definitely starting to become a pattern. It's become a way to not only test what Twilight has learned throughout the entire season and show that in action, but also to show how much farther she herself has developed as a character while also portraying how much she still has to learn.
Onto all these alternate timelines, I loved them, every single one. Throughout the years this show has been on, I've seen plenty of speculation on exactly what would happen if the mane six never defeated so and so, whether it be through art, fanfiction, or just discussions in general. It's pretty amazing to finally see the canon versions of Equestria where something did or didn't happen. My favorite one though, was the first that we saw. Equestria at war is something I think this fanbase has dreamed of for a very, very long time, but I honestly thought we would never see this happen in the show due to the intended audience. Yes, it was very toned down, and yes we didn't see much of it, but hey, we finally got it, and honestly, I think they did a great job of portraying it. We not only just got to see the fighting side of it with a badass Rainbow Dash with a robotic wing and amazing mane cut along with equally badass Pie sisters, but also the domestic side as well which seemed to have a very WWII vibe. I loved everything about this timeline, even if it was dark. Honestly, I'd love to write a story in it, I'm just not sure what it should be about yet. This leads me to my next love of this episode. With all of these variable timelines which were just barely touched upon and explored, it leaves a ton of white space, and simply just sets up a stage. This is a goldmine for the fandom. Just think of all the art, stories, even songs and much more that this episode is going to create. I'm excited for it, and I hope that these new timelines will spark some ideas in my head too.
Onto Starlight Glimmer, we finally got to see her motivation behind the whole no cutie marks, all equal ideal of hers. It was honestly not what I was expecting, but hey, it worked. Even the smallest event in someone's life, somepony's in this case can lead to something like that if they cannot control it and dwell on it for too long. If that's the cas,e it simply morphs into something much more as it did for Starlight Glimmer. As per usual, the villain was reformed, and we got to see the good side of Starlight Glimmer, and well, I think I like her, a lot. She seems like a good character, and with all this development that took place in this episode, she's even better. I'm curious to see what her role will be in future seasons. From an ending like that, I feel like this will definitely not be the last time we'll see her, and even Twilight said they needed her help. I'm excited to see more of this pony, and I hope we have at least a little bit of focus on her next season. Along with that, she seems to be one of the, if not the most powerful magic user in Equestria. Being able to take away cutie marks, I figured she was a powerful unicorn since the opener, but I never knew she was going to be something like this. Considering that Twilight is not only one of the best in magic but also an alicorn with alicorn magic, friendship magic, and all the likes, it's pretty amazing to see just a unicorn be so much more powerful than she is. Even Twilight admitted that she was nothing compared to Starlight in the realm of magic. Actually, I loved the fact that Twilight admitted this. We always see Twilight focusing on her magical skills, but now we're finally starting to see her not only shifting towards her true destiny of friendship, but also realizing that just magic in itself isn't the only thing that gives her power.
I probably have more, but that's all of the main stuff I wanted to talk about. All in all, I was very impressed with this finale, and I mean very impressed. I'm definitely going to be watching it again, possibly even more than that, which has honestly rarely happened with the episodes we've seen this season. This one is different. Josh Haber, the writer for this finale, started off on the show last season. He's episodes seemed to be more comedic in focus (Castle-Mane-ia for example, which I believe was his first episode) and I never really enjoyed them. Then all of the sudden, he's writing Friendship Games and this finale, and I'm impressed. If he keeps writing the way he is, he's definitely going to be up there as one of my favorite writers for the show. As I said, let's see, exactly four times in this paragraph counting this one, I'm impressed.
Dream
The only problem I had was with Starlight's past, that's it.
Two notable things I saw were Rainbow Dash's batpony transformation and her (probably) prosthetic wing. She's shown with a normal wing and a metal one.
3577569
In what timeline was she a batpony?
3579897
I was a bit hasty in that declaration.
Taking a second look, it's probably a costume as there's no tufted ear, she has different eyes with the helmet on, and wing covers are now a possibility after "Scare Master." The only thing pointing otherwise is her being the only normal pony among batponies.
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At least magic armor is canon.
3579938
Hmm, it's interesting how she has the eyes with the helmet on, and then when it's off, they're normal.