Let's Talk Reasonable Expectations · 2:20pm Jul 18th, 2018
I've been noticing something of late. Certain high profile Equestria Girls fans on this site are complaining about the alleged lack of villainy from Vignette Valencia in "Rollercoaster of Friendship." They claim she was boring and the whole social media maven thing wasn't even worth the effort and she was a one-note villain.
Well, yeah. She was. That was kind of the point. The idea that being popular, whether it's in school or on the internet, doesn't necessarily mean that you have a lot of friends. And let's remember: friendship is the big theme in both MLP series. There's an obsession with internet fame, whether it's on Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, because it allows ordinary people who might not be able to break into more traditional areas of fame to gain an audience and adoration.
This can, of course, backfire horribly. One only needs to look at recent events with high profile YouTubers who started buying into their own hype and thinking that their high follower count meant that they could do anything they wanted with no consequences. That's the kind of thing Vignette represents. Mistaking followers for friends and buying into that adoration and thinking that staying on top is more important than anything.
Vignette had no idea what was actually happening with her phone. She just knew that it allowed her to alter and change whatever she didn't like about reality. Vignette isn't evil, just selfish and egotistical. She didn't transform in the way Sunset, Twilight, Gloriosa, and Juniper did because she never knew about the magic existing in the first place.1 She was using it, yes, but she never knew, or even cared why it was happening. This should have been a clue as to what the writers were trying to say. Vignette isn't overrun by magic, just ego.
Which leads to something that's been bothering me for a bit. Fan expectations for both FiM and EQG. There seems to be this ongoing belief that both series should constantly involve fantasy adventure and the girls in both worlds fighting the forces of evil. Exciting, yes, and we all enjoy it when they do, but that's not the focus of the show. The adventures are the outliers, not the norm.
These are both shows about friendship. One uses a fairy tale setting to talk about basic friendship concepts. The other applies those self same concepts to a world similar to our own, as well as adding other relevant topics like forgiveness and empathy. These kind of lessons are always going to be at the forefront of the shows. Yes, even the big events against the forces of evil.
Sunset rejected the magic of friendship originally. The Dazzlings gained power by tearing people's relationships apart. Twilight repressed her loneliness and anger with herself, her classmates, and her principal until it all exploded. Gloriosa thought she could do everything herself and sought out ways to do more until she was completely overwhelmed. Juniper operated on selfish desires which led to a need for revenge. Wallflower let her own insecurities get the better of her to the point that hardly anyone knew she existed. And Vignette confused fame for a meaningful connection with others.
The villains and their respective plans (or accidental rampages) are embodiments of what happens when you don't have friends by your side to help and support you, whether because you don't think friends are worth it, because you're too scared to try to make friends, or if you get so caught up in your own plans you start to push people away.
There's different levels of villainy, just like there's different levels of treating people you encounter. Not every villain on the show has to be a cosmic level threat. Not every villain needs to take over the world to be a menace to the heroes. And not every villain needs to be inherently evil to be a credible adversary.
I think, after 8 years of MLP, and 5 years of EQG, and innumerable fanfics which expand on various ideas presented in the show, we may have started to think that the show's villains are more than what they were ever intended to be. Villains, yes, but not really super-villains. We need to stop expecting that every villain we see will be on the same level as the Dazzlings or Tirek, and accept that fighting the forces of evil is a minor part of this franchise, not the focus.
1 And for who are still confused, Wallflower didn't transform because the magic she was using wasn't the Magic of Friendship, but a completely different form of magic contained in an artifact. I'm surprised some people didn't understand this.
I think the main problem with a lot of the recent "villains" is that they didn't need to be villains at all. They could have taught the same kinds of lessons without even giving Juniper or Viginette magic. (I'll give Wallflower a pass because the magic came to her in a unique way and her backstory tied into it).
But, they've done antagonistic characters before, without having to turn them into villains or give them mystic artifacts. Lightning Dust, Trixie the first time (and the third, to an extent), Flim and Flam, The Shadowbolts, even Filthy Rich in LoE.
I don't think people are saying they should fight big villaijs all the time. I think the problem is that the show is trying to make big villains out of characters that really shouldn't be. Admittedly I haven't watched RoF yet, but it sounds like Vig could have been just as effective, of not more so, without just straight up copying Juniper's already kind of mediocre schtick.
Very well thought out and said
4903176 Agreed. I agree with the author that lots of villains shouldn't be super-villains in a show mostly slice of life and about friendship. But the flipside is, then problems shouldn't be solved by blasting these non-supervillains with a rainbow laser, they should be solved by talking things out.
4903441
Oh yeah. Like with Wallflower, I was super happy she didn't transform. I was less happy when the girls did. Massive overkill, especially when they already have other super powers. Twilight or Rainbow could have disarmed her with no trouble.
4903452
Yes, but the rainbow laser, and Rarity's electro whip, didn't target the person, just the object containing the magic. Which implies the magic they had was strong enough that only the full magic of friendship could defeat it.
Now, admittedly, this seems to contradict Twilight and AJ being able to take out the watering can in My Little Shop of Horrors with the sprinklers I the greenhouse, but that could be chalked up to the writing team not having fully worked out the rules yet.
4903454
That's fair, yeah. I would have kind of liked if they had at least tried it though, instead of jumping to full power. But eh, constraints of the time slot I guess, haha.
You have a point. Looking at the character for what she is, they succeeded in what they set out to do. Am I gonna now hop on the hype train? No. I can't stand her. But I can acknowledge that she worked for the cautionary tale they were trying to tell through her. And it's a very applicable one to a lot of fandoms these days...
I mean, technically Juniper transformed with an artifact. It was just a recently created one utilizing rogue magic. Personally, I wouldn't really call the magic she used the Magic of Friendship, as she obtained it in a way totally unconnected with the Rainbooms, but it's possible that it's from a similar source.
I mean, we really don't know how the portal works or what fuels it, so it's possible?
4903501
The mirror was powered by rogue magic, but Juniper's transformation didn't happen until all seven girls were in the mirror and their geodes went crazy.
4903509
Yeah, that's true. I forgot about that until you mentioned it.