Further thoughts on why I bailed on Shadow Play · 2:50am Oct 30th, 2017
So in my last blog, I said that I bailed on the season finale about five minutes or so into the episode -- something I've never done before. I thought that perhaps I should share why, exactly, I did this.
Quite simply, I refuse to believe that Twilight is as stupid as she came across with her harebrained scheme to bring the pillars back. She saw what happened at the base of Foal Mountain. She saw the entry in the journal about the pillars making their "last stand." She heard Starswirl say, "We came to contain you" before the pillars sacrificed themselves to seal the Pony of Shadows in Limbo.
And yet, despite all of that, all the gravitas, all the seriousness... she never seemed to stop and think that maybe, just maybe, the pillars' presence in Limbo was kind of essential for keeping the PoS sealed away. I picked up on that straight away. Why the hell didn't Twilight? From what I can tell, she just decided, "Nyehh, whatever. I want to bring Starswirl back, dammit."
And that was ultimately what drove me away. I stopped watching just as Twilight did... whatever she was doing with the map. I couldn't stomach the idea of 44 minutes of watching everyone clean up Twilight's mess -- a mess she should never have been stupid enough to make -- while Twilight most likely gets congratulated at the end while never facing any repercussions beyond a brief scolding.
Actually, she helped clean up the mess and discovered what caused the Pony of Shadows in the first place.
She was also essentially blinded by her idolization. "It's been a thousand years! They've probably kicked his ass in Limbo by NOW." Was probably her endgame thought process.
4712584 Being blinded by her idolisation makes it worse, not better.
4712002 What is there to understand about the Pony of Shadows? It was a pony which was corrupted and turned evil. Sounds simple to me.
4712596
And the poor dude gets better. PoS is essentially the Venom symbiote.
4712627
"Aww, all the poor evil entity hell-bent on destroying us all needed was a friend!" Give me a break.
4712642
The entity itself? Oh hell no, kill it with fire! The dude INSIDE it however.
4712661
So, still the same "kill it with kindness" BS. Never mind the fact that it would never have escaped in the first place if Twilight hadn't been such an idiot.
4712596
The Pony of Shadows was corrupted because the Pillars were so quick to judge him before he could explain his intentions.
4712665
The Pony of Shadows wouldn't have been an issue if the Pillars were more sensitive.
4712665
the true blame doesn't lay on Twilight (though there are times when a lesson must be BEATEN into one's skull). It lies in the pride of the Pillars.
4712822
Exactly.
4712822
The blame doesn't lay on Twilight? Even though she brought the Pony of Shadows back?
4712811
What intentions? He got jealous and turned evil, right? Like they said at the start of the episode? Didn't sound very sympathetic to me.
4712920
There's more to it than that. Before he turned evil, he was the strategist for the Pillars. He didn't have very strong magic or strength of his own, so nobody noticed him. He wanted the Pillars' respect. He wanted to make copies of their artifacts so he could help them in battle. The Pillars pushed him away before giving him a chance to explain it.
4712919
She didn't cause the Pony of Shadows in the first place. The cause of the Pony of Shadows was a big misunderstanding.
4712983
So, generic jealousy story. Forgive me if I don't feel any sympathy for him if that led him to come back as the PoS and most likely wreak havoc across the land after Twilight stupidly set him free.
4712986
She still set it free to wreak havoc across the land when she could have left well enough alone and simply left it sealed in Limbo along with the pillars.
4713000
Modern Equestria didn't have much to wreak havoc on. There was more light than darkness, so, the Pony of Shadows didn't have many places to regain his powers.
4713004
And what if it had been able to regain its powers? What then? It was still irresponsible of Twilight to set it free after she knew how much of a threat the pillars considered it to be.
4713008
She didn't know there was another side to the story. Star Swirl only told his side of the story.
4713009
She was still responsible for letting the monster loose. And don't try telling me she had no way of knowing that would happen. She read the journal talking about a "last stand". She heard Starswirl saying "We came to contain you". She saw them seal themselves in Limbo with the Pony of Shadows. And most of all, there was literally no reason for the pillars to seal themselves in Limbo with the Pony of Shadows unless it was necessary to keep it sealed away. Someone as smart as Twilight should have picked up on all of that in a second, and either a) planned for the monster returning, or b) left them the hell alone in Limbo where everything was safely contained.
4713018
The Pillars were no better than the villain their strategist became. The final battle with the Pony of Shadows turned out to be a friendship problem.
4713044
And what if it hadn't? Twilight had no way of knowing that when she set them loose. For all she knew, it could have turned out to be capable of overpowering them all, as the urgency in the journal would seem to suggest.
4713068
But, Twilight and her friends spreading friendship across Equestria gave them all a major advantage. Sure, there was still one place the Pony of Shadows could regain strength, but, there was more light in Equestria at the time, which prevented him from regaining strength so quickly.
4713080
That doesn't mean it isn't capable of causing some serious damage. Again, Twilight had no way of knowing how powerful it was when she decided to open up Limbo. All she had to go on was the journal, which gave every impression that this thing was a very serious threat.
4713082
With all the light in Equestria, the Pony of Shadows didn't stand much of a chance.
4713095
Except for a little oversight like... I dunno, nighttime?
4713097
But, in modern Equestria, there were lights even at nighttime.
4713102 Again, Twilight had no way of knowing any of this. All she had to go on were the descriptions in the journal, which again gave the impression that this thing is dangerous. Why would anyone even consider messing with an entity built up to be so dangerous that it required five other ponies sealing themselves away with it just to keep it contained?
4713106
Twilight and her friends have dealt with serious threats before. Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changelings, Sombra, Plunder seeds, Tirek, Starlight, the Tantabus, Starlight again, and more recently, the Pony of Shadows. Every time, they succeeded.
4713112
And what if they hadn't? Discord and Tirek both came very close to defeating them, so she should know they aren't invincible. Brushing it off with "eh, we can take 'em" is seriously irresponsible.
4713364
The Pillars weren't very responsible, either. It's their fault the Pony of Shadows came to be in the first place.
4713391
It's still Twilight's fault that it got let loose again. I don't care how it came to be, I care about how it was set loose again.
4713392
The Pony of Shadows was also weakened from his imprisonment. He was too weakened to cause any immediate harm, anyway. Besides, the Pillars most likely resorted to imprisoning him before he could even demonstrate his powers.
4713402
Of course they did -- it's a monster. You don't stand around and wait to see what a monster can do. You stop it there and then.
Again, Twilight had no way of knowing that. For all she knew, she could be releasing the most powerful evil entity of all time. You know, as the entries in the journal suggested.
4713406
The journals only told one side of the story. There was another side to it.
4713411
Forgive me if I wouldn't be very eager to sit down and hear the "other side" of a monster trying to destroy the land.
4713417
The Pillars are the real monsters. They turned their backs on someone who needed help. The Pony of Shadows was a result of that mistreatment.
4713420
And then they took the steps needed to contain it. Come on, if a monster was coming for you, would your first instinct really be to stop and hug it out?
4713425
Violence/banishment isn't always the answer. The Pillars didn't know that yet. They lived in a more primative time. Before peaceful solutions were embraced.
4713436
Chrysalis, Sombra and Tirek all say hi.
4713452
Those were different.
4713455
And again, what about Twilight letting the PoS loose in the first place? She's a smart pony -- I'm sure that if she just gave herself a couple of days or so she could figure out a way to keep the PoS sealed while bringing the others back. It's not like there was any real urgency in the matter.
4713471
I suppose YOU could do better?
4713476
I don't need to be a chef to know when a dish is cooked badly.
4713480
The problem is ultimately fixed in the end.
4713488
And does Twilight face any punishment or repercussions? At all? Or is she just briefly scolded and let off after that?
4713493
She has her idea disregarded by Star Swirl for a moment. She also briefly lost the faith of her own student. After learning the truth, Star Swirl admits he was wrong as well, because he accused her of something he did himself: unwittingly dooming Equestria.
4713495
But... Twilight was the one who set the PoS loose in the first place. She was the one who (nearly) unwittingly doomed Equestria. Even if the pillars did create the PoS, they had it safely contained.
4713526
Still, the Pony of Shadows wouldn't have been an issue if the Pillars were better friends.
4713537
So... what? They didn't listen to him, he threw a tantrum and became evil? How is that sympathetic?