In Retrospect #1 – Friendship is Magic, Parts 1 & 2 · 11:49am Dec 22nd, 2015
The episodes which introduced us to the world of My Little Pony, these probably did more than anything else to jumpstart the success of the show. But what is it, exactly, that intrigued us so?
This episode had one thing going for it really, really strongly – its story arc. Unlike many of the later episodes in this vein, this episode spent its whole length doing important things – little time was wasted here. Everything either advanced plot or characterization, and given that we were introduced to seven characters – the main six plus Spike – the story had to be quite tight to fit everything in. Twilight is clearly the protagonist, and by being the thread running through all the rest of the piece, she ties it all together. While there are six elements of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle clearly stands above the rest in terms of characterization.
The episode starts with the storybook opening, detailing bad stuff that happened in the past, and setting us up for the central conflict in the episode – the return of Nightmare Moon. Right off the bat, we’re shown that Twilight is studious and conscientious of her work, but she is much less so towards other ponies. Right from the get go, we see Twilight’s friends try to invite her to do something, but Twilight turns them down in favor of pursuing her latest lead because she thinks Equestria might be in danger. And indeed, while her friends see her as brushing them brusquely aside, as it turns out, Twilight is right – and here we actually see Twilight’s first real conflict as a character, and it serves as an establishing point for what kind of person Twilight is, something I think a lot of people take for granted without really thinking about it.
Twilight the Hero
Twilight has a very strong sense of duty, and believes that she needs to make things right. However, she also has a strong sense that it is she who must set things right, and she sees essentially everyone else – save Princess Celestia – as being unimportant in comparison to her duties. It isn’t just that Twilight studies all the time, though – Twilight is a practical pony, and throughout this episode, we see her doing important research. She believes she is on the path to protecting the kingdom, saving everypony – what does socializing and having friends have to do with that? It’s just a waste of time! Clearly she already knows everypony she might need to in order to help her – she has Princess Celestia, and Spike, and that’s her whole little world.
Twilight, then, sees herself as a hero of scholastic nature, and indeed, her heroism is intrinsic to her character from the start. Twilight is the sort of person who takes responsibility onto herself, who not only accepts burdens but who actively seeks them out. Throughout the episode, we see how she brushes people aside when they aren’t immediately important to what she’s doing. But the thing is, she isn’t callous – it isn’t that she doesn’t care about other people. It is that her care is mostly abstract, and the main reason she’d be concerned about someone is if they actively needed her help. Thus, we see Twilight be short with Spike, and drag him out all over town, but when later on in the episode, Spike is extremely tired, she puts him to bed and is quite sweet… for about 30 seconds, before she rushes off to save the day again.
This is actually something that underlies her character for much of the show, and while the episode is very blatant about some things, it actually does a very good job of showing why even heroes need friends, and that having friends allows you to achieve greater things. Twilight brushing other ponies aside dismisses their importance, but they prove critical to her throughout her adventure – Twilight needed their help. And indeed, it is only after Twilight accepts the help of other ponies that her quest can really proceed – up until Twilight accepts the other ponies as a part of her life, she is stalled at every turn as she tries to figure out how to beat Nightmare Moon and save Equestria. It is only after Rainbow Dash confronts Twilight in the library, and Pinkie Pie helps Twilight find the guidebook to the Elements of Harmony, that Twilight begins to make progress again, and from that point in the episode, we see Twilight and her friends meet with success.
Spike the Helper
Interestingly, the other main character of these episodes is Spike. Throughout the first half of the episode, Spike serves as the other constant – he encounters all the strange things alongside Twilight, and we learn about things not only from Twilight’s reaction to them, but Spike’s reaction as well. And indeed, Spike plays a crucial role in bonding with Twilight’s new friends – he laughs along with Rainbow Dash at Twilight’s ridiculous hair, crushes on Rarity, allows Twilight to break through Fluttershy’s shyness, and parties it up with Pinkie Pie. Indeed, the only one of Twilight’s friends that instantly takes to Twilight without Spike contributing in any way is, oddly, Applejack, which is tremendously ironic in the light of the fact that Spike later ended up having an episode that focused on him acting as Applejack’s assistant.
This episode does a great deal to establish Spike’s relationship with Twilight as well. We see that the two of them live together, and we see that Spike acts as Twilight’s assistant, right off the bat. But we also see a lot of other important things as well – Spike acts as Twilight’s first foil. Spike’s casual joking with Twilight, his generally jocular nature, serves to lighten up Twilight’s serious nature throughout the episode, and he is the first person we see on-screen who manages to make Twilight smile (though the first mentioned person to make Twilight smile is Princess Celestia – indeed, the mere thought of Princess Celestia is enough to make Twilight smile).
Figure 1: Why Princess Luna is teaching Twilight how to shield her dreams.
But there’s a lot that goes on between Spike and Twilight, and we see that, despite Twilight brushing Spike aside and giving him comedic injuries multiple times throughout the episode, we also see that Twilight is willing to put up with Spike’s little jabs at her, all the jokes and sarcastic remarks he makes, and we see both when she puts him to sleep in his basket and when he runs up and hugs her at the very end of the second part that they really do love each other – Twilight is just really bad at showing it.
And indeed, Twilight being bad at ordinary social interaction is not only a key part of her character, but also a key part of the show’s message – even if you don’t have friends now, if you genuinely are a good person and care about people, you can make friends. I suspect that a big part of Twilight’s appeal lies in this fundamental promise, the idea that even if you are socially awkward, as long as your intentions are good, you can learn how to socialize like an ordinary person. Well, mostly.
Spike, then, serves to show that even from the start, Twilight really does care – she’s just bad at expressing it.
Spike actually gets a pretty good amount of characterization, and his voicing is quite strong throughout the episode – it is a pity that he is written out of the second half of the piece, but I suspect in large part this was a means of reducing the character load, as the second half already involved six characters on screen at all times, and adding yet another would have further diluted everyone’s screen time. But it is kind of interesting to note that he had vast amounts of screen time in season 1, and indeed, had significantly more characterization than Twilight’s friends for much of the first season due to his position as Twilight’s assistant and foil.
Twilight’s Friends
Listening to the characters in this episode, it is evident that the actors were still working out the voicing on their characters. Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Celestia all have the same voices we have all come to know and love, but others have changed to varying degrees.
Applejack
Applejack’s voice sounds quite different, like she has an accent from a different region of the South. She also feels much more rustic here than she does later in the series – she feels much more self-aware of what she is later on in the series than she is here. Applejack clearly exhibits the importance of family to her, and also a strong sense of hospitality – she immediately invites Twilight to share a meal with her family, and says that they’re practically family already, proving that the Apple family does not have very high standards for such things.
But it seems that Applejack means it, and she acts as a level-headed second in command – she holds back Rainbow Dash from attacking Nightmare Moon, she cools Rainbow Dash’s jets when she accuses Twilight of being a spy, helps coordinate the manticore fight, and she orders everyone else to leave Twilight alone so she can concentrate.
Of all the characters, her moment with Twilight is by far the lamest and most forced – why didn’t Applejack just tell Twilight that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy would catch her? This was perhaps not the best exhibition of honesty or integrity, but I guess they weren’t feeling very creative.
One final, slightly odd note – Applejack’s family was introduced before almost all of the rest of the main cast, and they are by far the most important secondary cast members, and show up a great deal more than any of them. Interestingly, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Big Mac have all had focus episodes at this point, and Granny Smith has had two episodes that focused on her in a major way.
Rainbow Dash
Rainbow Dash’s voice sounds odd, too – while it has its characteristic raspy nature, but it sounds actually kind of girlier than it ends up in its final incarnation. She also is awfully giggly in her introduction, and the laughter sounds off. Still, her personality is largely intact – playful, competitive, and eager to prove herself, though she is pretty friendly with Twilight right off the bat.
Well, until she accuses her of being a spy later on.
Rainbow Dash clearly thinks of herself as the second in command, and she tries to impress Twilight by retelling the story of how she saved Twilight right after she fell off the cliff. She’s impulsive, combative, and confrontational, and all of these come off very well, and she also establishes herself as someone whose mouth makes big promises but who can keep them. She is clearly competent, but also clearly rash.
Her personal trial – the Shadowbolts – is a bit of an awkward fit, mostly because she’s eager to join a group she’s never heard of before. Still, given her rash and impulsive nature, this isn’t all that surprising. While not the worst of the confrontations, it isn’t the best, either, though it does clearly show her loyalty to her friends – even if the situation is obviously extremely contrived.
Rarity
Rarity’s voicing is very similar here to later appearances, though it does feel a little different at times, though that may be down to other causes. Her personality is very much intact, though, and Rarity’s attempt to shamelessly cozy up with Twilight in the hopes of impressing the important big-city girl is echoed by her attempts to shamelessly cozy up with a number of other ponies later on in the show.
Seriously, Rarity, you try too hard sometimes.
Still, Rarity is very much herself here, and we get a number of her character traits clearly established – her care for appearances and perfection, her tendency to try and impress others with gifts and her sort of self-centered generosity, but also the underlying truly generous nature she possesses, when she is willing to sacrifice her own appearance for Steven Magnet’s in what was clearly the silliest of the element sequences.
We also see the fact that she isn’t all silk, as she swiftly dodges the manticore when he shows up before giving him a kick to the face. It is rather ironic that the fashion character is such a martial artist, but throughout the series we see that Rarity is not afraid to resort to very physical hoof-to-hoof combat when necessary, and this episode established that aspect of her character as well – that when things get rough, she can drop the act and get quite serious.
She actually gets surprisingly few lines retrospectively – the second fewest other than Fluttershy. Still, she makes the most of them, and leaves us with enough of an impression for future episodes to build on.
Fluttershy
Fluttershy’s voice is far, far softer and meeker in this episode than it is in the future, and indeed, Fluttershy in general is vastly more soft-spoken and meek than she is later on – her opening is adorable, and clearly establishes just how shy she is, but it is interesting to note that she is never this shy again ever in the show. Clearly, hanging out with the girls pulled her out of her shell something fierce. She has the fewest lines of any character, reinforcing her wallflower nature, but she, too, makes a fair bit out of them.
A few character traits come through very clearly with her. First off, she is adorable – she has the cutest design of any of the characters, and it is used here to great effect to reinforce both her cuteness and her shyness.
Figure 2: Fluttershy, being shy.
The episode also establishes that when she is drawn out of her shell, though, she can be a bit of a chatterbox. She, like Twilight, is kind of a bit socially inept, as illustrated by her following Twilight the whole way through town, and she has trouble getting others to listen to her when she is trying to tell her things, as shown by the manticore fight. We also see her way with animals, her fundamental kindness, and her willingness to go along and do important things, even if it is scary. Her being a weaker flyer than Rainbow Dash, but more capable than she gives herself credit for, is all shown here, and indeed, overall, while she may not have had all that many lines, a lot of the groundwork for her characterization is laid down in just these two episodes.
The manticore fight is probably the best of the element challenges, incorporating the full team (like on the cliff), and here we see Fluttershy turn a fight into a noncombat encounter with a Diplomacy check thanks to her love of animals. We also see her fundamental trusting nature, with her not even knowing that the manticore was injured.
If there was one thing that was odd about Fluttershy in this episode, though, it is that she ends up getting drug along with the rest of them – her previously shy nature seemed to indicate that maybe she wouldn’t, but on the other hand, she DID follow Twilight all the way across town, suggesting that maybe she was a little bit lonely and is one of those people who, once they are hanging out with their friends, seems to have trouble saying goodbye.
Probably for the best for Equestria, but I’m sure it gets awkward at the end of parties.
Pinkie Pie
Of all the characters, Pinkie Pie is perhaps the most herself in this episode – she is as random and silly as ever, and we see her run away from Twilight for no apparent reason, then throw a random party. Interestingly, Pinkie Pie is the only one of the main characters NOT on Twilight’s list – she pretty much decided on her own that she wanted to hang out with Twilight, and invites herself along for the entire rest of the adventure.
If Celestia was the cunning planning type, I’m sure after getting back to Canterlot, her notes looked something like this:
Elements of Harmony bearers
Magic
Twilight SparkleLoyalty
Honesty/Laughter
Rainbow Dash
Honest to a fault, but has difficulty fitting in. Possibly leader-type material? Ambitious; leads weather team at young age, wants to join Wonderbolts. Only plausible sonic rainboom source, but unable to replicate feat – possibly Twilight-related? Strong sense of humor, but often likes to go alone. Seems like she wants to be a hero.
Excellent choice in mane color.
Showed team spirit – can’t win them all. Maybe put in a good word with Spitfire?Honesty/Loyalty
Applejack
Member of founding family of Ponyville. Long-term plan to get here there. Possible that her brother might be chosen one instead, but she appears more likely – takes responsibility for farm, little sister (though brother might as well? Keep eye on Big Mac). Might help lead group if Twilight does not step up.
Old name for honesty was integrity; probably should have seen this coming.Kindness
Fluttershy
Kind pony, takes care of animals. Very shy, but may open up to Spike. Might take some convincing to go along, but was childhood friend of Rainbow Dash. Rabbit does not appreciate spying on his mistress.Generosity
Rarity
Ambitious wanna-be fashionista. Very generous with agent who visited boutique, almost to the point of bribery. Might want to keep an eye on her attempting to use Twilight for personal gain, but seems kind and good-hearted. Fairly well-off, despite humble family.Honesty/Loyalty/Laughter
SpikeRaised from birth by Twilight, he is her better half in some ways, and is always trying to get her to lighten up. Nearly inseparable from Twilight, he is her closest family member, even though they are not related by blood. Which element will bond with him? He has a good sense of humor, but he is also loyal to a fault and honest with Twilight.
Pinkie Pie?
Unknown pony who appeared when Twilight went to Ponyville. Appears to be apprentice baker? Threw Twilight a party and tagged along with group; overcame Waking Nightmare fear spell in forest with laughter and spontaneous singing. Shows signs of extremely magical nature; how was she overlooked? Spies report they were confronted by her upon arriving in Ponyville and thrown “Welcome to Ponyville” parties, complete with cake.
Addendum: Cake delicious. Must arrange visit to Ponyville as soon as Luna has settled in.
Pinkie Pie shows off a large number of her character traits here. We see her somewhat cartoonish nature pretty early on, see her odd taste in food with the hot sauce (given we later find out she eats and enjoys rocks, and also seems to enjoy the baked bads, I’m not sure how she became such a good baker), see her randomness, her eccentricity, her motor mouth (she has the most lines of any character other than Twilight in the second half, and is beaten only by Spike and Twilight in the first half)… but we also very quickly see evidence of her possessing hidden depths. She immediately finds the guidebook for the Elements of Harmony by finding the guidebook right off the bat, and she resists the fear spell with the power of laughter and song and not realizing it was supposed to be scary.
She also shows her love of singing in-character, which sort of shows a bit of drift over the course of the show – early on, Pinkie Pie bursting into song was not only entirely in-character, but everyone noticed it being strange. Now, no one thinks twice when folks burst into song in the streets of Ponyville, though whether or not the songs are actually happening in all cases is… questionable.
Sadly, this last trait of Pinkie’s has sort of gone away, though, as she hasn’t randomly burst into a little miniature song in the middle of an episode for ages.
Figure 3: Pinkie Pie bursting into song and everyone finding it strange.
Princess Celestia
Princess Celestia’s character groundwork got laid down in this episode as well – despite only appearing on-screen for a very short period of time, we got a surprising amount of mileage out of her. We know that she is aware of things that she doesn’t share with everyone (something which is repeated again and again, season after season), she’s immortal, she’s very close to Twilight, she’s a bit playful and tricky, and she is forgiving. All of these traits come up time and again, and it is too bad we haven’t seen the same amount of expansion on her character as we have on the others – indeed, Celestia has appeared less and less frequently over time, if anything.
I have to admit, though, after I saw this episode for the very first time, I had assumed that Luna and Celestia were going to be major characters in the series, and was somewhat surprised the first time I watched the show that Luna didn’t show up again at all in the episodes afterwards. Indeed, in retrospect, leaving Luna to learn about friendship in Ponyville seems like it would have been an entirely plausible plotline… that just didn’t happen.
Fortunately, we got a cool character out of her eventually.
There is one other important thing to note about this episode.
The Introduction to My Little Pony
As the very first thing that anyone sees while watching most shows, the very first episode tends to be of vital importance. And this episode did something very important at the start of it – it starts out with the non-standard storybook animation, goes to Twilight by the river, and then goes to the intro theme song.
And the theme song of this series – and indeed, the introduction itself – sort of presages what the episode and entire series is like. That is to say, the start of the introduction starts out very cute and fluffy, soft and musical, and then we get Rainbow Dash zooming in with action as the song’s tempo picks up and the electric guitars come in. The show is light and fluffy and cute, but the electric guitars and more modern music indicates that this show has modern sensibilities to the audience – it tells the audience that this is a modern girl’s show, not a girls’ show for their grandparents. And I suspect that this modernity helped create the male fandom – the subversion of expectations, along with the first episode being heavily adventure-oriented, allowed them to make excuses about why they were watching a show about cute ponies. The show had tons of slice of life episodes, but just enough episodes for the male audience to pretend they weren’t watching a show meant for little girls… until it was either too late for them to turn away, or they just continued to live in denial about it, some to this very day. The whole meme of “ponies kick ass” is somewhat disingenuous – they do on occasion, but it really isn’t the focus of the show at all – but the excuse allowed people to keep watching.
And for the little girls, they got a show that didn’t speak down to them, and the very nature of the premier showed that.
The Show Marches On
One thing that is very obvious, looking back at this episode, is that the people who made it were not used to producing high-quality works, and it shows a little bit. This is not to say that the animation was bad – though it is not as good as it is later on – but that there were little oddities that niggled throughout. In particular, the timing throughout this episode was off; a lot of the dialogue feels oddly timed, like there’s just a little bit too long between one character talking and another, and there’s a few points at which it is obvious that the dialogue has been stitched together. The episode doesn’t flow quite as naturally from moment to moment as later episodes do, and there are a number of unintentionally awkward pauses, particularly in the first scene with Rainbow Dash.
There is also something about the ponies’ eyes in this episode from time to time – in particular, Rarity’s eyes – which feels a little off. The episode feels like it is still transitioning away from the original promotional imagery, which has the ponies inhabiting a slightly uncanny valley.
Figure 4: Original, slightly-off style of the ponies. Notice the eyes and the shape of their snouts.
Figure 5: Final style.
Ultimately, this is a fairly middle-of-the-road episode in some respects, but I think that looking at it from the standpoint of what it did for the series, it was very valuable. Most people start with the start of the show, and it made it clear that ponies might be put in peril, and not just sing happy songs about friendship all the time. It put at the center a protagonist who appeals to lonely nerds with the promise that they, too, can make friends, if only they stop trying to be a protagonist so hard and let other people into their life. And it laid down a ton of important groundwork that future episodes could build on in terms of the characters and characterization.
Ooh, you're doing episode analyses? This should be very fun and insightful.
It's not really surprising that Celestia's role has shrunk over time. She's the maternal mentor figure, and Twilight has been growing up and becoming more independent over the course of the show. Celestia's original role is now nearly surplus to requirement. I just wish the writers would give her a new one.
I hate to say it, but I think TwiJack shippers have been on to something all the time. Even nowadays, especially in season four, AJ was the one who sang Twilight's praises as a princess first and loudest.
3635951
Yeah, they should do something fun with Celestia. It is a pity they haven't.
And yes. It is part of my greater project of looking back across the show and seeing whether or not my ratings from season 5 are well-calibrated with seasons 1-3 (which were all done at the same time during a long-ago complete rewatch of the series from start to finish). I'm re-rating every episode and seeing where they fall without referencing my old rating list.
3636005
I need to post my TwiJack story from a long-ago writeoff. Though I guess it is as much about Rainbow Dash as those two.
TwiJack is an acceptable ship :V And there are some good TwiJack stories. Though I'm not sure if Applejack argues often enough with Twilight.
This image is an acceptable set of tail bites:
derpiboo.ru/741449?scope=scpe233e1551936f72239d21f4a1d92112591e1a2a56
I should draw a new personal shipping chart of stuff I ship and to what level. And possibly of stories I have written.
Organization is important!
Admittedly, I still want to write at least one story for every main 6 ship.
I think I've only published:
RariJack (I've lost count)
FlutterDash (twice, oddly)
PinkieDash (Someone described it as my only clopfic, which feels weird to me, though I suppose it isn't inaccurate and I always think of myself as never having written one. Still haven't written a serious one of these, though)
RariDash
Flarity
Plus Twilestia and SpikeBelle. And I guess CookieClover, sort of.
3636025
The tagline of TwiJack shipping.
Anyway, sounds about right to me. I tend to be really impressed by how much they do with each character's personality in the tiny amount of time they have (though I've noted that it's pretty easy to characterize a pony-- name, occupation, coloring, and cutie mark give you a huge head start.)
One thing I'm not sure we agree on, I'm not sure Rainbow Dash sees herself as second in command. I'm getting headcanon-y here, but I've always thought that Rainbow (and Rarity to a lesser extent) tend to see themselves as co-heroes (or the heroes themselves, as we see with Rainbow's outbursts vs. Nightmare Moon and Twi.) AJ actually becomes Twi's second in command because she's the most outgoing one to recognize that there is a command here, then trying to herd the
catsrest of her friends.(You can see this dynamic even more clearly in Princess Twilight Sparkle.)
Edit: I'm also glad you noticed the seeds of the Apple family as another "cast" within the show. I've been curious whether Faust intended it, since we don't get any Apple family-focused episodes in the first season, but over time they've clearly been added as a tertiary focal point after the Mane Six and the CMC. Applejack's key episode in S4 doesn't even have her friends in it, just the Apple family for support.
I'm fairly certain that it was intended originally to be a Rarity episode and the authors thought she was acting too mean to poor Spikey so they decided not to destroy that ship and dump him on AJ.
3635951 I'm also fairly certain that Zecora was supposed to take Celestia's place as a mentor as well... of course that was original intent vs what actually happened. Team probably couldn't be bothered with rhymes 24/7
3636059
I think Rainbow Dash and Rarity's views of themselves varies by the situation. They see themselves as the protagonist most of the time, but I think that there are definitely times when Twilight is around where that's not the case; when Twilight takes charge, I think Rainbow Dash tends to think of herself as her lancer. She tries to impress Twilight in the premiere, and there are other times (like It's About Time, when Twilight is off ordering people around, or Winter Wrap-Up) where she seems to see herself as being the "second". She's very vocal in Dragonshy as well. She does, I think, see herself as a co-hero a lot, but at the same time doesn't really challenge Twilight's supremacy.
I actually think the clearest example of the behavior you're looking at is in The Crystal Empire, where Rainbow Dash acts as a secondary flashy hero while Applejack is running around organizing things and playing leader. In Princess Twilight Sparkle, the argument was more or less "who is in charge when Twilight isn't here".
Applejack naturally falls into the second-in-command role because that's the kind of pony she is. Rainbow Dash does not naturally fall into the second-in-command role, but sort of ends up there because she is a hero but is not the hero.
Rarity, on the other hand, tends to fade more into the background of teamwork when Twilight is around, though there have been a few times (like in Dragon Quest) when she took up the role of a full co-hero.
3636089
The key distinction I'm seeing is that Rainbow never seems to try to "command" or directly influence the rest of the mane six, other than Twilight (and occasionally Fluttershy.) She may or may not listen to Twilight or AJ, depending on her mood, but I can't think of a situation where she gives AJ, Pinkie, or Rarity orders or stops them from doing anything.
That's the thing with the fight in Princess Twilight Sparkle (or, actually, there's a cute smaller version of it in Castle Sweet Castle, which I'm watching now): AJ's attitude seems to be "I'm in charge when Twilight's not here" and Dash and Rarity's seems to be "We're all free agents when Twilight's not here." (Which AJ can sometimes subtly control, as you pointed out in The Crystal Empire.)
Very nice analysis TD. I particularly enjoyed Celestia's list.
Excellent analysis.
Really good point about Pinkie more or less just inviting herself along.
I'd add that, while the fandom at large overwrote it with a year of Woona, Luna's later characterization isn't all that different from Nightmare Moon as seen here. Theatrical, imperious, and a touch sarcastic.
One of the surprising things about this two-parter is how low-key it feels for an adventure story. Quite apart from the huge focus on character introductions, there's also Nightmare Moon. In theory, she's right up there with the worst threats of later seasons - Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Lord Tirek, even the Chaos Plants - and she certainly carries herself like a supreme villain.
Yet, the focus of her actions are confined to Ponyville and the Mane Six through the Everfree Forest, making the problem seem more localized than it really is; even Discord got to run around the capital of Canterlot first, and Sombra's takeover was explicitly linked to the fate of Equestria. Her obstacles are surprisingly weak considering the power she presumably wields and the immorality she presumably indulges in (she starts with a rockslide and ends with an off-the-cuff group application).
Even her master plan sounds less directly threatening: compare "eternal night" with "eternal chaos", "magic-parasite as lord of all", and "changeling invasion". We don't even see or hear about the implications of eternal night; compare that with the stated consequences should Sombra, Discord, or Tirek take over. We're left to imagine the horrifying implications later, when we go get a snack from the fridge.
I'm not saying that's a bad thing by any means. It might even be a result of the show being reined in early on, considering how intense later villains were allowed to be onscreen. It's one of those "early installment weirdness" moments.
I find it surprising how much of Twilight's early "save the world" impatience was informed by any kind of caring side. From my vague impressions of her early scenes, it seemed like she was, at best, simply polite and possibly a bit full of herself, being close to Celestia (the "Princess trusts me completely line" and her casual cartoon neglect of Spike are the obvious examples). I could've sworn - albeit impressionistically - she was more unsociable than you make her out to be, at least before the friendship quest began in earnest.
To me, I vaguely remember that "convenient 'kickass ponies'" aspect standing out the moment the Manticore appeared. Night-time eternal, evil pony mages, and even dangerous rockslides don't scream "ass-kicking action" like a giant roaring murder-beast trespassing on a show about pony friends.
While we're on the subject, I do agree to some extent that this angle helped, though I doubt it's the most salient aspect, especially considering action adventure is a genre with many more and much better offerings elsewhere. I think more to the point is that the show demonstrated that "feminine" things, you guys out there, are enjoyable in their own right.
Yes, we love the kaiju monsters and the epic questing and the Blazing Saddles references and the badass stuff Rainbow Dash does. Yes, we invoke those things when we think a curious onlooker is going to get the wrong idea. But I think this says less about the males who were watching the show than it says about the people who weren't.
The main attraction, I think, is the girly elements themselves. We can equally be enthralled by a dressmaker's creative dilemma, a young girl's worries about a symbol of maturity not showing up on time, old schoolfriends having a spat with new friends, an annual winter event and the newcomer's place in what is effectively natural decorating, and - my god - episodes heavily involving fashion and "prettifying" that are entertaining in and of themselves. The climax of this season is a comedy episode at a gala, of all things. I think that shook so many expectations and fossilized prejudices about girly entertainment that the dragons, Looney Tunes slapstick, and Trouble with Tribbles plot homages are simply a bonus.
Interesting analysis and a good read, but I can't resist pointing this out:
That's a very ingenious method for immediately finding a guidebook. Next time I have to immediately find a guidebook, I'll have to remember to try finding the guidebook right off the bat first.
...Right. Sorry. Oh yeah I also wanted to mention that the creepiness in the original artstyle comes from the eyes basically having no whites, which by the way also makes them more animalistic and less expressive - as you probably know, there's a very good reason humans have highly pronounced whites.
3637035
I don't think you and TD are actually in disagreement. Twilight cares about Equestria and all the ponies in it, but she doesn't care about any individual pony. Her caring is only for the abstraction. At first.
This is really the most interesting part of Celestia to me: she obviously not only cares about the whole nation - she also cares about each and every subject personally - all without going crazy. Somehow. Maybe.
And now I'm excited to read all the episode analysis to come! I pretty much agree with everything you presented here. My only thoughts that could really add to anything is that the characters with some voice issues are the ones that are done by one voice actor working on multiple voices. AJ and RD are likely off imo simply because Ball continued to work to fine tune their differences. Libman may have started out overdoing the differences in Pinkie and Shy to ensure she didn't accidentally overlap the voices (which actually does happen when Shy sings in "May the Best Pet Win"). Well, that, and Shy growing to be more functionally social is something that can be shown with voice progression (which is even used for an episode literally wayyyy later).
On another note. What do you mean RD isn't the hero? Clearly we didn't see the same S5 finale! Or even watched the same show all these years! But yeah, she's very much her own hero and has plenty of those leadership qualities and is fairly good at being one. She just isn't the hero for this show. I also think the way her interactions with Twilight develops over time from distrust and denial to one of trust over the course of multiple seasons.