Ranking The Reformations of FiM, From Worst to Best (Version 4) · 4:41am Aug 6th, 2018
I'll probably have to make another one of these after "School Raze" considering what's likely to happen (I won't spoil it for those who still don't know about the synopsis or about the villain), plus an upcoming IDW comic series in a few months will be using some former antagonists. But for now, with "A Matter of Principals" having finally aired here in the U.S. I think it's worth looking back on all the reformations of the villains and see how they stack up. Besides there's a new one to consider and some more material for some other reformations. Here's the previous version, from just after my full review of the movie, like with that one I'm not covering the reformations of any comics exclusive villains and like all my lists this one is purely the result of my personal opinion so please respect it.
17. Vignette Valencia (Redemption Arc: Rollercoaster of Friendship)
Why it sucks: Vignette is basically a more whiny and intolerable Juniper Montage (who was already annoying to begin with) but mixed with the typical "Control Freak" villain. All she has going for her is social media talk and acronyms for outdated slang that'll only make her incredibly dated in a couple of years. And while she didn't transform into a monster, her redemption was completely undercut by the fact that she got what she wanted without having to make amends or do anything but say sorry. Heck she wasn't even really a threat, the Rainbooms just never realized she'd trapped them in a random room in the park and could've escaped at any time had they realized.
16. King Sombra (Redemption Arc: IDW Main Series #34-#37)
Why I still detest it: Just because a worse redemption in the official show canon media (at least for the spin-off series) exists doesn't mean I'm gonna let the absolute worst of the worst for the IDW comics slide. Maybe Sombra's reformation could have been interesting, if you know the writing for "Siege of the Crystal Empire" hadn't been so stupid and focused solely on Pity Sue Radiant Hope. Just because Sombra became more of a tragic figure after his Fiendship is Magic issue doesn't mean we necessarily wanted him to be reformed.
15. Juniper Montage (Redemption Arc: Movie Magic, Mirror Magic)
Why she stayed the same: Like with Sombra Juniper is not getting off the hook just because a worse redemption than her exists. Juniper Montage is the end result of trying to give EVERY villain a redemption regardless of what they were like prior! Juniper remained shallow and self-centered the whole time the spotlight was focused on her even after she got a second chance that she didn't deserve. Her fantasy about being an actress would never come to pass, because she has no acting experience and considering her age I'm not sure it would be possible for her to attend acting school. Acting is a lot more than just speaking words into a camera, it involves emoting, conveying things with actions and body language, and sometimes even doing stunts. And an actor's career can easily rise and fall with the rolls they're given and public perception, it's not as glamorous as you might think it is. Very few truly become the big stars talked about for years and years.
14. Discord (Redemption Arc: Keep Calm and Flutter On, Twilight's Kingdom Parts 1 and 2, Discord and the Ponyville Players Dramaarama, Make New Friends, But Keep Discord, What About Discord?, IDW Comics Friends Forever #2 and #20, To Where And Back Again Parts 1 and 2, Discordant Harmony, A Matter of Principals, Main Series #57)
Why he moved way down: Ouch! "A Matter of Principals" did NOT do Discord any favors! You thought Discord was bad in "Three's A Crowd", "Make New Friends, But Keep Discord" and "What About Discord?"? "A Matter of Principals" took all of that and made it even worse! Not only was Discord not really funny (aside from one or two instances) but he was petty, mean spirited, and downright psychopathic! He not only took out his anger on innocent students who never did anything all to him but also insulted Starlight to her face when he was the one preventing her from doing her job and putting student lives in danger because of his petty feud! Dare I say it, it's like Discord went right back to be his old villainous self here! Gleefully ruining others lives for the sake of his own amusement, their thoughts and wishes be damned! And the sad thing is, it seems this will be the last we'll see of Discord all season. I do hope that when Season 9 airs Discord gets a chance to redeem himself, because after the way he behaved in "A Matter of Principals" I say the Mane Six are perfectly entitled to turn him back to stone since he clearly isn't willing to make the effort to actually be reformed.
13. The Shadowbolts of Crystal Prep (Redemption Arc: Dance Magic)
Why they stayed the same: There's honestly not much to say about them, their redemption was a thing. Good or bad I can't really say. Maybe they wouldn't have pressured Sci-Twi without Cinch's corruptive influence, and maybe they're not all sweet and innocent without Cinch around. If we got to see more of them maybe I would have more to say. Chalk that up as another casulty of the half-hearted Equestria Girls spin-off series (if they don't want to make a proper spin-off series then don't bother teasing us with these two minute shorts that don't actually have time to do anything).
12. Pony Trixie a.k.a The Great and Powerful Trixie (Redemption Arc: Magic Duel, No Second Prances, To Where and Back Again Parts 1 and 2, All Bottled Up, To Change a Changeling, Uncommon Bond, IDW Comics Main Series #21-#22, Friends Forever #6)
Why she (reluctantly) moved up: Probably jumping the gun on this one to be honest, it won't be until "On the Road to Friendship" that we'll have a chance to see whether Trixie can redeem herself after Season 7 seemed insistent on potraying her as a selfish, self-centered, ego-tistical jerk that takes Starlight's friendship for granted and is solely fixated on trying to be great and powerful. I'm not counting "A Matter of Principals" since she was only present for one scene and we don't know how or why Starlight contacted her to teach. Trixie did seem to at least understand the job she was tasked with but even then she was using the classroom to show off a magic trick, though Discord making her pull an Ursa Major out of her hat was just plain sadistic (imagine if he'd pulled that stunt on Tempest, a pony with a greater trauma associated with Ursas)!
11. Stygian (Redemption Arc: Shadow Play Part 2)
Why he moved up: Discord getting knocked down has moved him up, but aside from that there's not a lot to say on Stygian right now. That will change in a few months when that comic series I mentioned hits store shelves, because Stygian is one of four former villains who will be featured prominently in it (alongside Trixie, Capper, and one other ex-villain who appears on this list). It feels like an unconventional choice to say the least, but I suspect it is being done specifically so Stygian will have a chance to shine.
10. Tempest Shadow a.k.a Fizzlepop Berrytwist (Redemption Arc: School Daze Part 1, IDW Comics Main Series #67-#68)
Why she moved down: The comics apparently drew inspiration from the tie in novel "The Stormy Road to Canterlot", but what was added to Tempest's backstory as a result of that has sadly not helped her. It's only made her look worse. Basically Tempest losing her horn did NOT cause her to lose her friends, they were still perfectly willing to be around her and play with her but they couldn't do much because every time they tried Tempest's horn would blow up again and she would cry. Then her friends got accepted into Celestia's school and she decided to run away, thinking they had abandoned her! And does she ever admit she was wrong? Does she ever show any signs of regret for thinking so rashly? Does she even show signs that she regrets siding with the Storm King? No! In her two parter comic arc Tempest continues to remain grouchy and self centered, to the point where she insults Princess Cadence in the Crystal Empire for representing love, projecting all her perceived faults of Equestria (because peace is apparently a bad thing to have in Tempest's eyes) onto her! And she never says sorry or admits she was wrong even after she's dealt a slice of humble pie. Heck, even when her friend Glitter Drops saves her from an Ursa Minor (after Tempest freezes in fear) Tempest blows up at Glitter for daring to save her life and only stops shy of wishing her friend had been the one who got mauled or worse. Yet she never apologizes to Glitter for spitting in the face of her act of kindness. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but the comic writers just ended up making Tempest into a more edgy Starlight, and somehow managing to make Starlight look infinitely better by comparison just because she has expressed regret for the bad things she's done. Maybe in that upcoming series with Trixie, Stygian, and Capper Tempest will improve and finally stop being so self centered. Yes, I understand that she had a traumatic experience as a child and that probably messed with her mental state, but at some point her losing her horn stops being an excuse for her to keep saying and doing bad things.
9. Princess Luna (Redemption Arc: Friendship is Magic Part 2 (Mare In The Moon), Luna Eclipsed, Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?, IDW Comics Main Series #5-#8, Friends Forever #7)
Why she moved up: With Discord and Tempest moving down she is moving up. I would mention her chapter book, but all it really amounts to is basically a rehash of "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" that takes place after that episode (which doesn't make sense considering that episode was all about Luna learning to let go of her guilt over Nightmare Moon). And I have yet to read all of the "Ponyville Mysteries" books even though the fourth one provides some details on the origins of Nightmare Moon, so I can't mention them here yet. I'm not even sure if the upcoming comic series where she assembles the four former antagonists I mentioned will involve her past at all. The fact still remains that her redemption was never actually seen, it was hastily introduced and resolved in "Luna Eclipsed" and then hastily re-introduced in "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?".
8. Gilda (Redemption Arc: The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone, The Hearth's Warming Club, Friends Forever #24)
Why she moved up: She's only really moving up because Discord and Tempest are moving down, but "The Hearth's Warming Club" suggests that she and Gabby may be related as they were seen in the same house as Grandpa Gruff, and we know from Gallus that Gilda knows about him (he mentions her in "School Daze" when first speaking to Rainbow Dash). It's possible that Gilda played a role in convincing Grandpa Gruff to let Gallus attend the school, though it seems that despite her and Gabby's best efforts Griffonstone has not improved in overall mood or quality of life.
7. Babs Seed (Redemption Arc: One Bad Apple, Apple Family Reunion, Bloom and Gloom, IDW Comics Main Series #21-#22, Friends Forever #13, Friends Forever #36)
Why she moved up: Yet again she's moving up because others are moving down (and a new redemption is being added). There's still nothing from her to consider since Friends Forever #36 last year, and even then she was only briefly in the issue. Poor Babs Seed has been forgotten and discarded, just like a certain other CMC-oriented antagonist we'll soon see.
6. Wallflower Blush (Redemption Arc: Forgotten Friendship)
Why she moved up: Same as with Babs and GIlda, moving up because others are moving down. But Wallflower's appeal still holds up well after "Rollercoaster of Friendship" gave us another poorly handled and poorly written antagonist that ended up getting redeemed. She was the first Equestria Girls villain to not turn into a monster during the climax. Even with the extended material of "Forgotten Friendship" though her initial motive falls flat as it's never explained just why she thinks Sunset Shimmer hasn't changed despite all evidence to the contrary. I very much like the secondary motive she gets late into the special, where she's jealous of Sunset for having friends and used the memory stone at first only to erase awkward greetings or other bad first impressions.
5. Equestria Girls Trixie (Redemption Arc: Forgotten Friendship)
Why she moved up: It's likely that human Trixie will still top pony Trixie even if pony Trixie improves later on this season, simply because human Trixie was willing to drop the facade and show us what lies behind that mask of bravado. Ego-tistical characters can be tough to write, the key is usually to give them at the least a reason to feel so confident, or to show us what they're like behind the mask. Plus unlike Juniper Montage or Wallflower Blush it makes sense that she wouldn't be added to the group for the main cast, as while Sunset may have befriended her the other Rainbooms likely don't have the same exclusive knowledge (and Trixie may insist that Sunset not tell anyone else).
4. Starlight Glimmer (Redemption Arc: The Cutie Re-Mark Part 2, The Crystalling Parts 1 and 2, No Second Prances, Every Little Thing She Does, To Where And Back Again Parts 1 and 2, Celestial Advice, Rock Solid Friendship, Shadow Play Parts 1 and 2, School Daze Parts 1 and 2, Marks for Effort, A Matter of Principals)
Why she moved down: I'm getting sick of episodes where Starlight is the only one allowed to have a brain, particularly in comparison to Twilight who is supposed to be smart. And I despise the very idea of making Starlight look better solely at the expense of making other villains look even worse. That's a very cheap writing trick that just implies the writers don't know how to use her properly. I also don't get what the fixation is with giving her abusive friendships, last season it was Trixie and this season it was Discord. Not only is it not funny to watch poor Starlight get put through the wringer for no good reason, but the resolutions tend to be some of the worst in the entire show. Give "The Parent Map" and "The Maud Couple" credit, they were able to strike the right balance between having Starlight be a voice of reason and having her still have something to learn or confess. It didn't feel like she was the only one with a brain in those episodes.
3. Diamond Tiara (Redemption Arc: Crusaders of the Lost Mark, Ponyville Mysteries: Schoolhouse of Secrets and Tale of the Timberwolf, IDW Ponyville Mysteries #3)
Why she moved up: Diamond Tiara is moving up specifically because Starlight is moving down. As far as I know her appearance in the first two "Ponyville Mysteries" books were simply flukes and she has not appeared in any meaningful way since those two. But she did get an appearance in the recent third issue of the "Ponyville Mysteries" comics (which also gave us more or less show canon designs for Scootaloo's aunts), albeit a very brief one. She gets mad when the Cutie Mark Crusaders accuse her father of a crime without proof and claims that despite her family's reputation they would never resort to criminal behavior (though I have to wonder if she's simply projecting onto her father and would think differently if say her mother was the one accused. It actually could make for an interesting story if Spoiled Rich ended up in trouble for something she didn't do and Diamond Tiara still stood up for her). There's talk in the fandom of redeeming Spoiled Rich, and at this point if it meant Diamond Tiara got more screen time I'd be willing to put up with that concept.
2. Sci-Twi (Redemption Arc: Legend of Everfree, Forgotten Friendship, Equestria Girls Series)
Why she stayed the same: The top two spots haven't changed and there's really not much to discuss considering "Rollercoaster of Friendship" was focused on Rarity and Applejack. About all that Twilight and Sunset did was get a subplot that made even them look bad, and then had them both get captured. Sci-Twi's redemption was easily the best thing about "Legend of Everfree" even if that meant having to shunt Sunset Shimmer into the supporting protagonist role (she has since reclaimed her spot as the leading protagonist).
1. Sunset Shimmer (Redemption Arc: Rainbow Rocks, Friendship Games, Legend of Everfree, Forgotten Friendship, Equestria Girls Series)
Why she stayed the same: Despite the mess of a subplot she got stuck with in "Rollercoaster of Friendship" Sunset managed to stay on top without any major challengers. It seems she is destined to remain the gold standard of redemption and reformation for the enterity of FiM. And to think that after the first "Equestria Girls" she was one of the least popular villains of the entire franchise. It's amazing how much can change in the span of a movie.
And there you have it.
Mine hasn't really changed.
DT's and Starlight's are at the top, Discord's and Gilda's at the bottom, and the rest sort of mingle in the middle.
Though there IS one reformation that I was hoping would've happened by now that didn't.
I won't say who to avoid spoiling things (since even spoiler tagging doesn't hold up to curiosity), but you'll see who I'm talking about on Saturday.
4915283 Are you talking about Neighsay?
4915293
No.
He'll probably be one of the few antagonists NOT reformed, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does.
Tempest is kinda similar to Starkiller ( Galen Marek ) from the Force Unleashed. She's a powerful and emotional character that has a lot of doubt about herself and struggles with how she fits into the world as the character that she is. 😃
4915305 Something tells me that Starkiller doesn't have a tragic backstory that's supposed to elicit sympathy for her even when she doesn't make any effort to change and instead lashes out at everyone and everything else.
4915418
And what does Marek do? Lash out on Darth Vader for using him. He almost kills him. And sacrifices himself to save his friends. Granted, he dies, but just like Tempest in the MLP movie, Marek sacrifices himself for his friends. Tempest may be lost in her own mind, unlike Marek, but they're both used by their bosses/masters, they have a ton of enraged emotional appeal, and they're very powerful characters, despite Tempest's true power not fully shown. But that's where the similarities lie between the two characters in my opinion. 😃😊
"I'm getting sick of episodes where Starlight is the only one allowed to have a brain, particularly in comparison to Twilight who is supposed to be smart. And I despise the very idea of making Starlight look better solely at the expense of making other villains look even worse. That's a very cheap writing trick that just implies the writers don't know how to use her properly."
I know I've said this multiple times in your other blogs, but it really is the biggest problem with Starlight Glimmer as a whole. The writers are trying way too hard to make fans think she's the best thing to ever come out of this series as a means of overcompensating not having Sunset Shimmer in the main series. It's the same problem Linkara had with Jayden from Power Rangers (Super) Samurai. There's a term for this kind of writing on TV Tropes known as Character Shilling. In fact, Starlight herself is the very first example of that page's Western Animation section.
4915674 Starlight's shilling isn't nearly as bad as Jayden's, Jayden was treated like this natural leader that the other rangers were to bow down before and never once did Jayden try to correct them even knowing that he was merely a decoy meant to keep the Nilocks from targetting the real leader, who was in training to perfect the sealing symbol. At least when Starlight is put into a position of power it feels natural most of the time. The shilling wasn't so bad in Season 6, in fact she had the opposite problem of being almost entirely absent if an episode wasn't focused on her, but Season 7 seemed to find the right mix for her in supporting roles (even if her focus episodes were uneven). But now Season 8 appears to be almost exlcusively shilling Starlight, and at least a few fans are complaining that the writers don't seem to want to write anyone well except Starlight and the student six.
4915295 I see you were referring to Flim and Flam. But honestly, why would they be reformed now? They've had multiple opportunities to learn their lesson and each time they've chosen to just go right back to their lying, cheating, and stealing ways. Heck, that was what they did to Applejack and Fluttershy's faces at the end of "Viva Las Pegasus", emphasizing quite clearly that putting their talents to use for the greater good was a one time thing.
4918415
I'm sure the writers would have found a way to make it work.
Though them not reforming at the end of Viva Las Pegasus is part of why that episode is more in the middle of season 6 than closer to the top.