Let's Discuss Forgotten Friendship (SPOILER WARNING)

As a quick introduction, I am hoping to post a blog on this site every time a new episode or special airs for any of my followers to discuss. I will essentially be giving a quick review of the episode, mostly pertaining to standout moments within the episode, good or bad. Also, it needs to be said that I am not a professional reviewer, nor do I expect to be regarded as such. With that said, let's dive into the special.

I'll start with the good, since unfortunately there is less to cover in that regard. Sunset and Princess Twilight are the highlights of the special. Ever since Rainbow Rocks, Sunset has managed to be one of the best characters the series has seen. Princess Twilight's immediate concern for Sunset and her fangirling over the restricted section of the Canterlot Library were welcome bits of levity. My favorite part, though, has to be the reconciliation of Sunset and Celestia. It was sweet and treated both characters with the respect they deserved for the exchange. I always wondered why Sunset was so afraid to return, seeing as how she was never technically banished, and Celestia was likely to have heard of her exploits through Twilight. Either way, the scene did an excellent job of reintroducing the characters to each other. Most importantly, it was short; it didn't overstay its welcome, and did everything it needed to do.

Unfortunately, that's all the praise I can give to the special. Its ultimate downfall was in the conflict, villain and moral. The base conflict is a good idea on paper. Sunset's friends forgetting who she is, and Sunset desperately trying to find the cause and solution? I was so excited to hear this premise, but I was already worried about what exactly was to be forgotten. My fears came true, as all of her friends forgot every good deed she did, and only remembered her as the evil witch she was from the first movie. This, unfortunately, causes a lot of plot holes, but for the sake of convenience, I'll stick with the most glaring one. SciTwi mentioned that the only thing she could recall of Sunset was their exchange after the motocross in the Friendship Games, in which Sunset is defending the rest of her friends. If SciTwi could remember that, how come her other friends couldn't remember that she was sticking up for them? Surely some questions should've arisen if all they could remember was Sunset being their one minute, then disappearing the next.

The villain is honestly the worst the series has ever produced. Wallflower Blush (subtle) is portrayed as a recluse whom nobody can seem to remember. She stumbled upon the Memory Stone early on in the continuity, and decides to erase memories of Sunset... why? We'll get more into this in a moment, but it couldn't be because Sunset didn't remember who she was, otherwise she would've done this much earlier on, and to more people.

Then there is the lesson to Sunset, which is that while she has stopped being mean, she hasn't started being nice. Did they just forget what she did for SciTwi, both in the Friendship Games and Camp Everfree? Also, you're telling me that Sunset shouldn't be angry with the person who is effectively ruining her entire life? I don't buy it. It's the same kind of terrible morality that has gone into Rainbow Dash's latest episodes. Sunset was in the right the entire episode, and to suggest otherwise is absolutely ridiculous.

And at the very end, what is revealed about Wallflower? She's been making herself invisible on purpose. Based on what she says, she erases any interaction she has with anybody, removing any sense of sympathy for her character one might have had, if they had any. Frankly, I was waiting for them to blast her face into the ground and back throughout the latter half of the special. And they had the gaul to try and redeem this monster? No. Just no.

What was the point of all this? To see Sunset suffer so much (especially when her memories were stolen at the end, that looked perhaps a bit too painful), and come out of it with practically nothing? It would've been much better if the Memory Stone placed a curse on Wallflower, forcing her to be forgotten by everybody she ever met rather than her doing it of her own volition. As it stands, it just serves as a 45-minute waste of time.