Equestria Girls Mirror Magic Review · 4:50pm Jul 8th, 2017
So, we've got the third and final Equestria Girls special this year, and the one that arguably was the one most people were looking forward to the most. Especially once the synopsis revealed Sunset was going to go back to Equestria. Dave Polsky was one of two writers for this special, along with a writer who I think is brand spanking new and I don't know anything about. Unlike most collaborations, both writers penned the episode and worked on the story together, but considering most of FiM's collaborations have been hit and miss, was this special able to deliver on its potential or did it single handedly prove Equestria Girls doesn't deserve a spin-off series after all? Well, let's find out.
We begin with Juniper Montage being the insufferable, petty antagonist that she is. Complaining about how she should've gotten the lead role in the Daring Do movie and whining about how The Rainbooms stole it from her (don't know what she doesn't get about the whole "no acting experience" bit, especially since she's probably either still in high school or a recent graduate, no one in their right mind is gonna gamble on that sort of person for a lead role in a movie). As she's whining about, a stray burst of Equestrian Magic hits a mirror on a table stand, and she buys it when she sees that it shows her as a movie star. Trust me, her face design isn't so bad but when we get to the actual villain design, well, here's my thoughts on it:
At the mall, Sunset is busy writing in her journal about her worries, and The Rainbooms start calling her by a radical nickname. Anyway, Sunset gets a message from pony Twilight inviting her to come back to Equestria, and she accepts, while The Rainbooms get ready to enjoy the premiere of the Daring Do movie. They are surprised to find Juniper Montage working as a popcorn vendor at the mall's movie theater (her uncle pulled a few strings to get her the job, a bit surprising as I don't think a mall would be picky about a job like that). Venting to The Rainbooms, she inadvertently wishes they'd all go away and ends up sucking them into the mirror. It's then that she discovers the mirror corresponds to her every wish. Guess it's better than the other kind of magic mirror.
Sunset arrives back in Equestria, proving that she's oh so adorable as a pony. Though is it just me, or does she look different somehow (I'm guessing it's the animation and the lighting)? Anyway, pony Twilight isn't available due to being called away on a friendship problem, so Starlight gives Sunset her new journal and pleads with Sunset to let her go to the human world. Sunset hesitates for a bit, but Starlight manages to sweet talk her into agreeing.
Starlight travels back to the human world, as The Rainbooms try to find out if there's a way for them to escape from the mirror world (after utilizing their magic powers to contain a few sugary snacks). Starlight has a hard time adapting to the human world at first, but with Sunset's help she soon adapts. When we next see the two, Starlight is enjoying ice cream with her hands, and she tells Sunset not to worry about the future and just live in the moment, not exactly the best piece of advice if you ask me. I get what she's trying to say, but the wording and execution make the moral fall flat (acting without thinking is a very bad mentally to have and for good reason). Still, things are going great for the special, as Sunset spots Juniper and uses her telepathy to read Juniper's mind and learn what she did to The Rainbooms. Hey, it's better than looking into Pinkie's mind.
However, Juniper easily sucks Sunset into the mirror, leaving it up to Starlight to save the day. And this is where the special starts to crack, like the mirror itself during the climax. Juniper transforms into her villain state in a very underwhelming transformation (run time likely prevented a more elaborate "magic girl" esque transformation) and we see that she seems to think everyone is adoring her and treating her like a movie star, but in reality for whatever reason they're absolutely terrified of her even when she doesn't do anything to them. She doesn't like scary, frightening, or intimidating, even Gaia Everfree at least seemed otherworldly enough to seem terrifying. It is interesting to see the humane seven utilize their magic, only for it to be turned against them, but not before we get a forced scene of Fluttershy trying to speak up only to be ignored because she's too quiet.
We get what I'm gonna say is a forced resolution, where Starlight is able to overpower Juniper and know just the right words to say to make her stop and turn everything back to normal. And while I appreciate the lampshade hanging and Juniper technically didn't do anything extremely antagonistic, she still whole heartedly embraced the magic and used it for her own selfish purposes, and the whole time this special she's been nothing but petty and whiny about a reality that she can't possibly achieve. So this just feels like another redemption that isn't needed, even the Crystal Prep students redemption felt more sincere.
Then, what I can only assume is a scene to give the writers of FiM an excuse not to have Starlight in upcoming episodes takes place, where Starlight not only isn't punished for sneaking off to another world behind her teacher's back, but also is allowed to stay and be taught by The Rainbooms, even though she apparently taught Sunset Shimmer a lesson. Yeah, it's a mess.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the special? Well, at first it was actually pretty good, it had so much potential and despite being kind of rushed it was able to mostly deliver on what it promised. Seeing Juniper Montage in the previous special helped to make her more investing (though not compelling or sympathetic), and Starlight's human design is pretty good, dare I say it it's better than pony Twilight's human design which even without the wings looked incredibly awkward and off putting (maybe that was the intention). Starlight and Sunset hanging out was fine, though I wish we could've gotten to see more of that, even just a brief montage of Sunset helping Starlight adapt to the human world would've been good. But once Sunset got sucked into the mirror, everything just fell apart at the seams! Juniper's villain design was ugly, there were no real stakes or anything, and Starlight was just horribly shilled here, making this feel like an attempt at a poor man's "To Where and Back Again"! But you know why it worked there and not here, because in addition to a longer run time, Starlight was allowed to screw up and be failiable! She caused Discord and Trixie to be captured, and even ended up having her initial planned thwarted by Chrysalis! Sure, the set up and resolution were clunky and needed work, but at least the main story actually handled Starlight well in spite of the criticisms people bring up! Here though, she's absolutely perfect! She never doubts herself, knows just what to say and when to say it, and she faces no consequences for any of her actions, the entire universe just seems to bend morality to her will! This is exactly what makes Starlight look so bad in the eyes of fans! I'm willing to bet the new writer is the one who screwed it all up, because Polsky was around for Season 6 and even though he didn't pen "To Where and Back Again", I'm sure he at least understood why that two parter worked and how you're supposed to use Starlight in that kind of story! At least one person even pointed out that it feels like Starlight replaced Pony Twilight for whatever reason, and I can kind of see why. All of this probably could've been corrected though, if this special had been extended to a two parter and gone through a rewrite! At the least if you had Starlight be captured and Sunset be the one to set everyone free, maybe this special could've been salvaged! As it is, I give it a flat out C! Still, in spite of all this, I think the Equestria Girls series has proven it can work as a spin-off series. Just, you know, don't do stuff like this and don't try to copy what pony already did!
Now, apparently Discovery Family won't start airing new episodes again until August. But chances are at least a couple of episodes will start airing in Canada before then. Whenever new episodes do pop up, expect to see reviews on them, and before you ask yes, I do plan to see the pony movie this October and have seen the trailer. But unless I say otherwise, my policy for movie information is:
Honestly, i think this is the best EQG thing ever as-is.
And it's entirely bec of how Starlight was written.
So for me, Dance Magic is a C-, Movie Magic is a B+, and Mirror Magic is an A++
Yeah, while I'm glad to see Starlight and Sunset finally meet, that whole ending scene did seem just an excuse to push Sunset to the side and show off how cool Starlight is. Not a good way to make us like her any better writers.
4595700
Agreed.
4595744
The entire ending really comes off as one of those really bad Mary Sue fanfics, and this is coming from a Starlight fan so when even I hate it, you know it's bad writing.
These criticisms don't make any sense.
I think I'm going to skip this special and think of it as non-canon.
4595821
I believe the point SPB12 was making in regards to Starlight is that, ever since she became a good guy, a lot of the stories involving her feel like they are trying way too hard to get us to like her and think she's awesome. It almost feels like overcompensation on the writers' part for not having Sunset in the main series.
4600174
Maud Pie is the character they're doing that to, not Starlight. IMO.
4600385 What do you mean? Maud Pie barely appears in any episodes and is never treated the same way as Starlight, if anything most of her episodes post her debut have played up her stoticness and forgotten that she has other traits as well, which thankfully "Rock Solid Friendship" remembered.
4600392
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wd_jpXmt6k&feature=youtu.be I'm better at speaking than writing, so here's a vid.
4600396 You're looking way too deeply into that.
4600400
No, these things leaped out at me on my first viewing. Whenever people are accused of "looking too deeply" into something, that's almost always what's actually going on. Why do so many not understand that different people are taken out of a story by different things?
4600604 Your perceptions and interpretations in that instance were based on observations that the episode itself contradicts. It wasn't about Pinkie saving Maud from a problem she created, there wasn't any indication that Maud was actually in danger, she didn't even seem aware she was inside the Quarry Eel. And a mary sue is not someone who is saved from a problem someone else created after having saved someone from problems they created (and keep in mind that Rarity was the one who revealed Pinkie traded her party cannon). Plus, those are only two out of Maud's five appearances so far, and to top it off the focus of the episodes you mentioned was not on Maud saving Pinkie.
4600639
How can an opinion on something that's subjective be wrong?
If Maud wasn't in any danger living in a place even Rainbow Dash was afraid to spend a single night at, then that just supports my position.
You know, I was feeling really productive this week. Do you have any idea how much courage and work it took me to make that video? All that effort for a video with more dislikes than likes. And people wonder why I have no faith in humanity.