Top Twenty Worst Opening Sequences of FiM · 6:41pm Oct 24th, 2019
Season 9 gave us a few more opening sequences, but not all of them were winners. Some of them for one reason or another didn't work out and join the ranks of opening sequences from seasons prior that are also not very good. Of course the actual episodes involved could be good or bad, a bad opening doesn't necessarily mean your whole episode is going to bomb (though a poorly done opening sequence can kill a lot of hype and interest). I decided to round up to a top twenty even though there were really two or three that truly irked me in some way, shape, or form. Since I did worst opening sequences before best opening sequences last time, I decided to stick with that pattern and do it this time too. As always, feel free to disagree. And if you're curious, here's the top fifteen version, from a season ago.
20. The Map Expands (School Daze Part 1: Season 8, Episode 1)
Why it stayed on the bottom: When the decision was made by Hasbro to have Season 8 push a school setting and new characters, the writers obviously had to quickly come up with a justification and address whether the movie was indeed canon. I can't entirely fault them for what they did here, especially since they had to quickly crank it out. But just immediately canonizing the movie with a ton of exposition that feels like "Hey, did you see the movie? You should totally go see the movie!" even from someone who likes the movie in spite of its flaws, shoving it in my face won't make me like it anymore than I already do. The more you try to push it the more you're going to seem desperate, as if you're saying "No, the movie is good, we swear! Please, you've gotta see it!" whereas a good movie should be able to speak for itself. The justification for the school is pretty flimsy, the map expands so therefore they shouldn't go to the problems they should bring the problems to them. All that could've been fixed with just a little bit of justification on Twilight's part, even a line or two about how she'd thought about being a teacher and that the school was a dream project that she'd been thinking about for some time. Even a sort of "We can't go to every problem, so why not try to fix problems before they start?". It would make more sense and feel less like the kind of mentality that led to schools built to "educate" races and cultures that white settlers around the world deemed ignorant.
19. Rarity's Puppet Theater (Inspiration Manifestation: Season 4, Episode 23)
Why it stayed above the bottom: Contrivence in and of itself isn't a bad thing, you need to have something out of the ordinary or unexpected happen if you want there to be a plot (a story where everything goes just fine and there's no struggle is boring). The trick is how well you can mask it, make it feel natural. And this is the ultimate example of "Contrivence for the sake of the story". Rarity is designing a puppet theater for a fair that by all accounts doesn't seem particular important, but she intentionally makes it lavish and it is rejected because it doesn't travel and has no room for the puppets. But we never know one important question: Did Rarity know she was supposed to design a traveling theater? If so then Rarity comes across as an idiot for not designing the theater with those specifications in mind, if not then the puppet master has little room to complain because he never specified what he wanted. It's also never explained why he asked Rarity, a fashion designer, to build a puppet theater for him. Wouldn't a carpenter or somepony knowledgeable in wood working have been a better choice? Even then though, the theater could still function for its intended purpose as LittleShy explained in his Cinemare Sins video on this episode: Just remove the flower vases, take off the stilts, and it will work just fine. On top of all of that there's this really weird friendzoning going on with Spike, even as they clearly want "My favorite dragon" to be a part of his crush. Did Sparity all of a sudden become taboo even though it had been established since the beginning of the show?
18. Calling to the Student Six (Uprooted: Season 9, Episode 3)
Why it's in the bottom three: The biggest question is how the Tree of Harmony can call out to the Student Six in a dream even though its physical presence was destroyed in "The Beginning of the End"? They probably wisely decided it couldn't be Princess Luna who contacted them, but if the Tree of Harmony could call to them in their dreams why did it never do so before? Even then the dreams themselves are mostly just inexplicable rehashes of the tests from "What Lies Beneath". They give Silverstream and Ocellus different fears now (Silverstream fears performing as the first non-pegasus Wonderbolt and Ocellus fears graduating without knowing what she's going to do next), Sandbar's "fear" is a joke, but the rehashes are still confusing. And all of this is just to summon them to Equestria during summer vacation. Considering Season 9 ultimately ended up doing almost nothing with the Student Six all season, why did it make such a big deal out of bringing them back and did so in such a confusing way as was shown here?
17. The Photographer's Secret (The Mean 6: Season 8, Episode 13)
Why it moved up: It only really moved up on account of not being in the bottom three. Chrysalis would go on to use this photographer disguise a couple of times in Season 9, but I have to wonder why no one seems to ask who this random photographer pony is. If it were Photo Finish (who has an established reputation) that would make sense. And here it's just blatently obvious that it's Chrysalis in disguise. But if this is part of her big "revenge" plot against Starlight Glimmer, why does she treat Starlight like an afterthought rather than ask for her specifically? I suspect that because this was the first thing about Season 8 to be revealed, that this was meant to serve as the introduction to it and the school itself would get mentioned later on (or was a last minute addition when Hasbro ordered it to be created), with Chrysalis' revenge being the focus of the two parter season premiere. But like most of the rest of "The Mean 6" it feels like they just sort of forgot about this concept and then hastily came back to it without much reason or effort.
16. Pinkie and Twilight's Exposition (Trade Ya!: Season 4, Episode 19)
Why it moved down: Silverquill has often termed this "The Exposition Express" because these kinds of "As you know" expositions seem to happen whenever characters are on a train, going somewhere. This time, actually, they're not on a train so much as getting off it. But the exposition still feels clunky, as if they're reading from cue cards and talking directly to the audience. Only at the very end does it at all feel natural when Twilight expresses her belief that the exchange being presided over by her won't be a big deal, only to be proven wrong. A good tip for exposition is that it should never feel like you're pausing the story to get it conveyed, and it should feel believable in universe. Exposition dumps can be a very big mood killer.
15. Mane Six Called by the Map (A Matter of Principals: Season 8, Episode 14)
Why it moved down: Not only did this opening predict GallusStream (and possibly SmoldCellus) but also YonaBar. Aside from the lazy ponyfication that is "spellvenger hunt" the opening proceeds nicely, even when Twilight is being called by the map. But it's when we see all the mane six have been called that things start to take a nosedive. We learn that there was no plan in place in case this ever were to happen. You know, one of the first things Neighsay asked Twilight about when she was proposing her school to the EEA. Just because Neighsay was a bigot doesn't mean his concerns weren't valid, anyone in his position would've asked the same question to Twilight, and Twilight should've taken that into consideration before setting up the school. Even if she didn't expect the map to become active again, it was irresponsible of her not to plan for that possibility.
14. A Kindness "Field Trip" (Sweet and Smoky: Season 9, Episode 9)
Why it's low: First off, why is Smolder coming to Twilight with concerns about her brother when Starlight is the guidance counselor? Isn't the guidance counselor supposed to be who the student talks to if they have concerns about something personal? Second, how come she's only now worried about her brother even though in "Molt Down" she seemed unconcerned what became of him? Third, why is she asking to just drop out of class to check on her brother in the middle of the semester, before she's even seen about getting in touch with Ember for help? And fourth and finally, why is Twilight okay with Smolder just skipping class over an unspecified concern she had out of the blue, simply because Fluttershy is willing to go and make it a "field trip"? I bring all of these questions up because it really takes me out of the mood and further indicates how the school setting is a plot killer and not a plot starter. Characters need "permission" to do things that they would otherwise not need. And what, is Fluttershy just shirking her teaching duties and Twilight is totally okay with that? That doesn't seem very "Teacher of the Month" worthy to me.
13. "It" Has Returned (The Crystal Empire Part 1: Season 3, Episode 1)
Why it moved down: Long story short, a royal guard decides to inexplicably play the pronoun game with Celestia. This is the prime example of why using that game is a bad idea. When you don't specify what you mean by "He", "She", "They", or "It" then no one's going to know who or what you're talking about. And yet without asking for clarification, Princess Celestia seems to know what the guard is trying to tell her. LittleShy points out in his Cineamare Sins video how this could easily result in confusion or misunderstanding.
12. Applejack and Rarity in the Park (Look Before You Sleep: Season 1, Episode 8)
Why it moved down: Rarity being in the park helping to prep for a storm makes no sense, the episode doesn't bother to give her a reason to be there and instead goes out of her way to show why she shouldn't be there! I also still don't understand how "We missed one scheduled drizzle, so we gotta make up for it with a huge storm" makes any sense. If they were behind schedule or had missed several previous showers then I could understand needing something big to make up for them all. And on top of all of that, Applejack and Rarity, by far the most emotionally mature (and perhaps physically depending on age) members of the mane six act like their younger siblings. There's a difference between acting childish and acting like a child.
11. Rarity's Advertising (Honest Apple: Season 7, Episode 9)
Why it moved down: There's an attempt to explain things here, it's just not a very good one. Rarity's decision to recruit Applejack as a judge for a fashion contest is poorly explained. Desiring an outsider's perspective could mean she goes for any of her friends, and in fact Applejack shouldn't be considered because she gets stubborn and defensive if her views are challenged which is not the hallmark of a good judge. There's also Spike's inclusion which is just out of nowhere, it sounds like he was passing by and just happened to get pressed into duty carrying the flyers and no one bats an eye at this. If not for Pinkie Pie busting a guitar and offering music lessons this whole opening sequence would have nothing.
10. No Cider for Rainbow Dash (The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000: Season 2, Episode 15)
Why it moved down: Right off the bat the opening runs into problems when Rainbow Dash yanks off the covers and Fluttershy blushes, what's the joke? From there it just suddenly rushes into Rainbow Dash roping Fluttershy into her plan to get cider before Pinkie Pie does. But if Pinkie Pie is the problem why isn't Rainbow talking to her about it or even the Apple family? It instead tries to justify the cruelty she'll endure in this episode by making her enjoy the idea of drinking cider in front of Pinkie just to rub it in. And this is only the beginning of questionable business practices and questionable behavior on display throughout an episode that seems to require everyone to be an idiot for no good reason.
9. Rainbow Dash Scares Fluttershy (28 Pranks Later: Season 6, Episode 16)
Why it moved down: This isn't funny, picking on someone you know scares easily is just being sadistic. Yeah, they want this to serve as an indicator that Rainbow Dash is going too far in her pranking and needs to be taken down a peg or two. But was this really the way to accomplish it? I mean heck, she doesn't even apologize even though given the established childhood bond she and Fluttershy had, Rainbow should know better. I'd expect something like this from Discord or someone might not know better, not the only other pony besides Pinkie Pie who knows how sensitive Fluttershy is. If it were meant to be a quick, harmless prank like the attempted "Boo!" (which doesn't work if the one who says it is right in front of you the whole time, it's supposed to work only if you're not expecting them) then maybe it would've worked. But this isn't Rainbow Dash, this is a changeling that's replaced her and is doing a very poor job of imitating her.
8. Scaredy Cat Fluttershy Returns (Scare Master: Season 5, Episode 15)
Why it moved down: At least Season 9 Fluttershy didn't undergo yet another round of learning to stand up for herself. There is zero justification for how much Fluttershy regresses here. The same Fluttershy who had no trouble telling Rainbow Dash her winter would be petless is not the same Fluttershy who should be hiding under her bed like a scared little kid. Nightmare Night is something that comes every year and she can't just pretend it doesn't exist because she doesn't want to deal with it or partake in it. It's not cute or innocent, it's just pathetic, especially when the only reason she abandons her plan is because she is forced to go out to get something! It's one thing if you don't want to give out candy to trick or treaters, it's another thing entirely to ignore the holiday and try to hide from it!
7. Pinkie Pie's Invitation (And Doubts) (The Last Laugh: Season 9, Episode 14)
Why it's in the top ten: They missed the perfect opportunity to have it be a golden ticket as a reference to Willy Wonka, but that's the least of this opening's problems. The biggest problem is how Pinkie Pie just of the blue has doubts about her life's purpose and what she's been doing. It's never explained what brought this on or why she feels like she hasn't contributed the way her friends have (even though Applejack has stayed on her family farm and has at this point been robbed of anything that could make her stand out). Starlight is also inexplicably absent when Pinkie is talking to all of her friends, even though Pinkie is the only one besides Twilight or Spike to get one on one interaction with Starlight at all out of the mane seven. And considering the episode ultimately doesn't address these concerns and by episode's end Pinkie is right back where she started, why even bother bringing it up? When Cheese Sandwich first showed up and stole her thunder it made sense, Pinkie wondered if her entire life had been wasted on parties and now that that had been taken away from her there was nothing for her to do. Here though, at this point, Pinkie's got teaching, baking, party planning, and even friendship ambassador duties. You mean to tell me that despite all of these things to keep her busy she feels like her life has no purpose or meaning?
6. Sunburst Starts Glowing (The Parent Map: Season 8, Episode 8)
Why it moved down: When the map is able to call Sunburst even though he has no ties to Ponyville (aside from Starlight which is a stretch) then it ceases to become anything other than a cheap plot device, and that means future missions are tainted by the fact that we'll be wondering why the map can't call just anyone to whatever constitutes as a friendship problem. It's a shame because the letters Sunburst was getting from home were a perfect set up, and they decided not to use them. Heck, why does it have to be Sunburst who we see glow? Not why not Starlight who gets the call since she has an established tie to the map? It seems like one of those things they just thought up out of the blue without asking whether it made sense.
5. Twilight Is "In The Zone" (A Trivial Pursuit: Season 9, Episode 16)
Why it's in the top five: At the least this set up allows the exposition to be dealt with quickly, but right out of the gate we lose any reason to care about Twilight's obsession since it's established that she's already won twice and is hoping for a threepeat. Exactly what would happen if she didn't get it? Nothing, that's what! And the episode makes it clear from the get go this is just an excuse to make meme faces (and possibly have Tara ham it up), which I could get out of much better episodes! Clever visuals and hammy performances can't make up for a plot that is so low stakes, and a character that already feels like a flanderized shadow of what she once was! Heck, this opening could've been used to justify Twilight doing what she does later on, showing some sign that she might already be losing it and getting desperate. But no, aside from her clearly frazzled state she is perfectly in control and as of yet isn't willing to restore to pulling rules out of her rear to win!
4. Fluttershy Says No (Dragon Quest: Season 2, Episode 21)
Why it moved down: The only good thing about this intro is that it offers an explanation as to why Fluttershy won't be around for "Dragon Quest" at all, that's really about it. But everything else is just downright mean and cruel, whether it be Fluttershy's friends dragging her to something she clearly wants no part of, or Fluttershy refusing to honor a debt with Rainbow Dash from a butterfly migration (instead she attacks Rainbow and runs away). Could they really not come up with a better explanation for Fluttershy's absence? Could they really not think of any way to do it besides this?
3. The Princesses' "Announcement" (The Beginning of the End Part 1: Season 9, Episode 1)
Why it's in the top three: Right from the get go we just have the standard, cliche introductions to each of the mane six: Twilight's freaking out about something, Pinkie Pie does something random, Rainbow Dash tries to be awesome, Applejack is trying to be a voice of reason, Fluttershy is worried, and Rarity is convinced it's something truly important that befits her high society desires. Then we learn that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna urgently called the mane six to Canterlot for no reason at all, everything is just fine. In fact, it's because everything is so fine that they decide out of the blue to retire. The first part of this is a case of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" and there's even a real historical example of the message: A Chinese ruler during the Zhu Dynasty had an army of warriors under the call of the nobles and when he lit fires they were to come to his aid at once. But too often he lit the fires when there was no invasion just to see if the nobles would come. As a result, when there was an invasion and he lit the fires the nobles thought it was a false alarm and sent no warriors, thus causing the leader to die in the attack and ultimately causing the Zhu dynasty to collapse. Then the second part is a bit jarring, Celestia and Luna think that it's okay to retire in spite of all the big threats that have popped up lately. And while they are probably right to give the reigns to Twilight, at no point do we know that they asked Cadence or Blueblood (who as the niece and nephew of Celestia respectively should be next in line for the throne) and both declined. Heck, Discord just shows up for no real reason, probably leftovers from the original draft for the final season where Discord and the princess would sense the Tree of Harmony was fading away and Equestria would soon be defenseless. Yet ultimately I can't get too mad at this intro, it does at least set up the plot for the final season and I can kind of see why Celestia and Luna are choosing to retire now. They've been unable to do much against a lot of the big threats, so it makes sense to pass the torch on to Twilight and her friends who have displayed leadership multiple times.
2. The "Art" of Pie Making (Secrets and Pies: Season 7, Episode 23)
Why it stayed the same: The top two didn't change, so if you saw the Top Fifteen version you can skip ahead to the end. What ultimately holds this back from the top is that it's filler, harmless filler at that. It does kind of show how Pinkie Pie takes pie making seriously, but it feels like they just made this whole scene because for whatever reason they seemed to think it was weird to have Pinkie just talk to herself even though she's done that in other opening sequences. If you skip over this sequence though you won't miss much, which just about sums up the episode it's a part of (skip over it, you won't miss anything).
1. Maud's Late Night Stand-Up (The Maud Couple: Season 8, Episode 3)
Why it stayed on the top: "The Maud Couple" is really padded out in a lot of places, especially the first act which is wasted building up to the revelation of Mudbriar even though that is where the episode should've started. All this opening sequence does is reestablish what is already known to us from earlier episodes, and even newcomers won't need this kind of reminder that Pinkie sees Maud with sisterly eyes, thinking she's funny even when no one else does. What is the point of this opening sequence other than to waste our time? Because of the fact that it accomplishes nothing, it remains on the top.
Whew, and there you have it, come back tonight when we'll look at the Top Twenty Best Opening Sequences of FiM (meaning there will be five new ones from Season 9).
I can agree, some where not really thought out. Like the zombie prank, they can be lucky it didn't backfire, if you get what I mean. And Rainbow, it's strange, given she respected Fluttershy at her first prank with Pinkie.
As a side note, I find the trains the most strange. At first, the are pulled by ponies, then later have engines? Guess a derp moments by the writers
5144916 That happened once, in "Over a Barrel" and I think that was before the show had truly nailed down the technology of the world as late nineteenth/early twentieth century esque.
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Yeah. I do love how they combine magic with technology but at times, thye messed up, like with the trains. Or that they have lightswitches but use candles instead
5144918 Well even nowadays people still use candles even when we have electrical lights. Sometimes candles are more atmospheric, especially for horror settings.
I still think the "it has returned" line was a cool way to hook the audience into the crystal empire. The great dramatic music that played as the opening sequence ended didn't turn either.
Since when do magical items require an explanation? If the map can call Spike or Starlight, surely the Tree of Harmony can possess otherworldly magic as well. After all, we were never privy to this tree's magical abilities.
Anytime you do exposition in a story it's going to cause said story to come to a screeching halt. That's why it's never a good idea to do it unless it's absolutely necessary. This worked in Harry Potter due to the main character serving as a tool through which we got introduced into the wizarding world.
Even in "School Daze", she said:
You just answered your own question.
Also from the episode itself:
They had presumably been only going to school for a couple of months before returning home for the holidays. She logically assumed that Ember would be able to keep an eye on hm, being the Dragon Lord and all.
Now how on Earth is she supposed to get in touch with Ember all the way from Ponyville?
Uh, no. It was clearly a family emergency. Most schools will excuse you for family emergencies. Besides which, as Twilight said, she could always make it up. Really, the only thing that doesn't make sense here is why she said she would need to take a week off.
What?
Most people I know would ask permission first to do something before doing it, especially if they have authority figures to contend with. I mean, if you were in the military you wouldn't just drop everything to go see your pregnant wife in the hospital. You would need to get permission to do so from your commanding officer. Even when I was in school, if i needed to go to the computer lab to finish an assignment, I needed to get permission first.
As was established in "Grannies Gone Wild" other teachers can substitute for others if need be.
This was a great opening to the episode. (I just wush the episode itself had been just as good.) It got us curious to see what would happen next. And it was specifically stated that there was news from northern Equestria, hence Celestia's surprised look when ahe hears that "it" has returned.
It was not only shown but explicitly stated that she was there to help take down the loose branches. Being a unicorn, she could easily get the job done.
It makes perfect sense. Rainbow Dash is captain of the weather team in Ponyville. Because of her laziness, they were behind schedule.
This is wby I and so many other people detest this episode.
It was stated quite clearly that Rarity valued Applehack's opinion and wanted her to be a judge due to her honestly. Really, the only problem with this episode was the fact that it took place in season seven rather than an earlier season like one or two.
Of course no one bats an eye at this. Why would they? I mean, we saw Spike taking out Rarity's garbage in "Party of One." How would
him help carrying flyers for her be out of the ordinary? Honestly, Rarity could probably get Spike to do anything for her. He is infatuated with her, after all. I mean, this is the guy who didn't want to tell her the truth in "Inspiration Manifestation" purely out of his love for her and due to him not wanting her to think less of him as a friend.
She's naked and as such, she's embarrassed. It's a joke that we the audience, as humans, would only get.
First off, Fluttershy is Rainbow Dash's best friend. These two have known each other since literally childhood, presumably since they were in diapers. Of course she's going to let her best friend in on her scam. Secondly, Pinkie Pie has a tendency to not listen to reason, so it would be pointless for Rainbow Dash to even attempt to talk to her. Even if she did, Pinkie Pie probably either wouldn't care or would just brush it off. And third, the Apples are attempting to run a business. Giving friends special privileges would make them look bad. Yes, they let Pinkie have multiple mugs of cider, but she paid for them first.
Considering the fact that Pinkie does this to Rainbow Dash in the episode itself (and, if the dialogue is any indication, every year), Rainbow Dash would be more than justified in doing this.
Not really since the Flim Flam Brothers made a deal to where they kept 75% of the profits if they were to partner up with the Apples. No wonder the Apples turned it down. Really, the only idiotic moments in this episode were from Flim and Flam near the end and Apple Bloom for challenging the brothers without consulting the rest of the family first.
Not really. This was season six. By this point Fluttershy had grown and matured a lot! Rainbow Dash likely figured that her friend could handle a prank like this. And even then, Fluttershy wasn't scared as much as she was annoyed and angry.
Uh, no, that wasn't until much later on in the episode.
Again, see my point about Fluttershy's personal character growth.
Oh, yeah, i'd totally expect Discord to pull a prank on the only pony to ever show him kindness and, as he said, "makes him want to be a better draconnequus." I'd expect this from Discord if this was "The Return of Harmony" or "Keep Calm and Flutter On", but not after episodes like "Make New Friends But Keep Discord" or "Discordant Harmony", both of which showcase how strong their bond is and how much they care for one anorher. It's funny that you bring up Pinkie Pie given her actions in "Filli Vanilli", which, may I remind you, almost resulted in Fluttershy bursting into tears.
It's been established as far back as season one that Rainbow Dash is a prankster. In the same episode, ir was established that Pinkie Pie also has a love for pulling pranks, as was also showcased in this episode as well.
As someone who's autistic, I can tell you from personal experience that some people don't like being firghtened or scared. It's as simple as that. As Fluttershy said in this very episode, she dislikes seeing her friends in danger even when they're really not. Besides which, it was previously established in "Luna Eclipsed" that Fluttershy doesn't like Nightmare Night for obvious reasons.
This is why I hated this episode, because it completely flies in the face of continuity, particularly what was established about her character back in "A Friend in Deed."
No, we saw Starlight interacting with all of them one on one back in episodes like "No Second Prances" and "Every Little Thing She Does."
Bwvauzs the writers needed a convenient way to bring back Cheese Sandwich.
Hence, why this episode was so stupid and why I consider it to be one of the worst of the ninth season, if not the whole series.
Uh, that's exactly what the map has been ever since season five. And, like the Tree of Harmony, we were never made privy to the map's abilities. And considering the fact that it's been able to call Spike and Starlight, it makes sense that it can reach out to others too.
That's exactly what's happening here. It happened in "A Royal Problem", "A Trple Threat", and again in "Surf and/or Turf."
It was established early on that Sunburst does not read letters from home.
They had already done so with "A Royal Problem." For them to do so again here would come off as them repeating themselves.
So what? Episode like "It's About Time" and "May the Best Pet Win" have used this same exact setup.
This is wby so many people hate seasons 5-9, but it's not like the earlier seasons weren't guilty of this too. It really started to become a problem with season six, though.
Twilight has done this before, like in episodes such as "It's About Time" and "Lesson Zero."
This is why I hated episodes like "Lesson Zero." Had thw writers done this it would've improved that episode so, so much.
The burterfly migration was why Rainbow Dash was trying to get Fluttershy to take part in the dragon migration. When she kept pushing Fluttershy's patience, the latter finally snapped, resulting in Fluttershy using force.
In what other episode is this true? This was the first episode that used this kind of introduction.
How is them retiring not an urgent matter? Of course they would want the Mane Six to be prepared for this. Besides which, this was also part of Lauren Faust's original plan for Twilight all along, for her to succeed Celestia.
Not like they were of any use whenever a threat did rear its ugly head anyway, as was pointed out in the episode itself.
Cadence has her own kingdom to run, plus is a wife and mother. What time does she have to run all of Equestria? Aa for Blueblood, he was a reviled character. The writers probably knew this and very wisely decided not to bring him back. Besides which, having him do the job would've been stupid in-universe. Celestia is probably well aware of what an ass her nephew is and therefore decided to not even bother asking him.
If it involves Twilight, Discord is involved. I mean, the guy was at all over Twilight during episodes like "Celestial Advice" and "Three's a Crowd."
Why they didn't do that much earlier, I have no idea.
So what? Olther openings such as the opening to "It's About Time" or "A Friend in Deed" had that distinction too.
Uh, no. This opening not only showcases Maid's personality really well, but it leads up to the reveal that she has a boyfriend. Had the episode just started with Pinkie meeting Mudbriar or had it just started with Pinkie and Maud leaving the comedy club, it would leave the audience confused, especially since neither had any build-up prior.
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Yes. Its just the obvious at times
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It's still out of the blue even if it's calling to the Student Six. How can it do that when its physical form was destroyed?
That's not what the episode showed, it showed that she had never planned for this and had to hastily put Starlight in charge.
Surely Ember has ways of keeping tabs on Smolder when she sent her to Twilight.
I'm talking about it from a narrative perspective, characters can no longer just "do" things they need to have permission to do them. And every single it happened it was because of the school and classes.
Except who's going to cover for Fluttershy indefinitely? It can't be any other mane six member because they all have their own classes to teach.
LittleshyFiM explains how this would not actually work. It's just a poor attempt to be cryptic, like there's some kind of curse where if you say Sombra's name three times he pops up ala Beetlejuice style.
Except she was shown prettying up the branches instead of taking them down.
Applejack mentioned the local pegasi, not Rainbow Dash specifically. At this point I don't think they even had established that Rainbow Dash was on the Ponyville weather team, let alone its captain. Even if it was that's a case of "Show, don't tell".
I despise that argument, Pinkie Pie values her friends' happiness above all else. If Rainbow Dash told her how she didn't like Pinkie hogging all the cider, Pinkie would understand. I hate how this gets used to justify withholding information from her that she has a right to know! It's just like Maud pretending to like Pinkie's parties for her instead of telling the truth, you're only making the inevitable discovery worse.
Isn't that what they're doing by letting Pinkie Pie buy multiple mugs of cider before everyone gets some even when customers complain about it?
The Apples didn't try to negotiate a better deal, no told Flim and Flam why the Apples needed the profits from cider season more than Flim and Flam, Granny Smith let Flim and Flam use part of the orchard free of charge for their product, and Flim and Flam didn't dispose of the bad quality barrels after the contest or serve the good quality ones to customers instead.
It doesn't mean what Rainbow did was right, especially when she is laughing about it and says Fluttershy scares so easily. It's sadistic because she's clearly taking pleasure in her friend's misery.
Except in that case Rainbow Dash knew that pranks were supposed to be harmless, it's only fun if everyone's in on the joke and is laughing. She had to know that this "prank" doesn't qualify for that criteria.
And that's fine, but it doesn't mean you have to hide under your bed like a little kid whenever you get scared. You can't always run away from your fears. I used to hate the fire alarms at school and would have to go outside before they went off. But as I grew up I had to learn how to tough them out even though I was scared. And you can participate in Halloween without getting scared, there are plenty of sensory friendly Halloween activities to participate in. You wanna see this moral done right, see "Boo to You: Winnie the Pooh" and focus on Piglett who undergoes a similar dilemma to Fluttershy.
I'm talking meaningful interaction, not little snippets or them basically being brainwashed.
I think that's a little harsh, there are worse contenders out there.
Spike and Starlight felt like stretches and so did the CMC, but at least up to that point it felt like there was some kind of rule tying them all together: All of them lived in Ponyville. Sunburst's inclusion destroyed that rule.
Because the writers didn't want to use the set up they'd written.
It wouldn't have if she was going back to her childhood home and was reluctant to do so because of her dad and how he treated her.
Which means this episode is worse for reusing them and doing it worse. Though "May the Best Pet Win" was touched off by Rainbow Dash wanting a pet because all her friends had one and sort of unintentionally made her feel excluded for not having one.
"It's About Time" was weak, mostly because of its ending and how it tried to do a "Self fulfilling prophecy"/"time paradox" kind of thing. But back then it wasn't as frequent as it became to the point where Season 9 was lampshading it. Heck, Twilight's freaking out was only the tip of the iceberg for how bad "A Trivial Pursuit" got for her character.
I think it was pretty clear in that episode that Twilight was slowly losing her mind, the whole episode of "Lesson Zero" was about her slowly descending into madness when she'd previously been the most calm, rational minded character of the show. The one who seemed above all the madness. And considering it came right after "The Return of Harmony" I speculate that it was at least partially the result of what Discord did to her. Even then, when she crossed a line with the "Want It, Need It" spell she soon realized her mistake, regretted it, and tried to fix it.
Rainbow Dash did something she didn't want to do for Fluttershy's sake, she's well within her rights to demand Fluttershy do the same. She pulled that out only after she'd been pulling Fluttershy along and yet that was somehow what Fluttershy drew the line at? It just robbed her of any sympathy.
It's showing off their default personalities, like we get in many other two parters at the beginning (Twilight is over analyitic, Rainbow Dash is blunt, Applejack is rational, Rarity is focused on style, Pinkie Pie is a bit ditzy, and Fluttershy is kind and reserved).
It's not so urgent that they would summon the mane six to Canterlot with no explanation and make them think something was wrong. That's just mean.
Maybe that's true but unless they specifically designated Twilight as next in line they still would've had to ask Cadence and Blueblood first, and we get no indication that they did. It'd be like if Queen Elizabeth II said that her son, Prince Charles would not inherit the throne and instead Prince William or Prince Harry would inherit it instead. You can't just do that.
But how could he have known Twilight was going to be in Canterlot and that Celestia and Luna would drop the bombshell on her? He's not psychic, he can't foresee things even in the way Professor Charles Xavier does.
You could cut the entire first act up until Maud shows up and tells Pinkie she has a boyfriend and we would not lose anything of importance. Pinkie's meeting with Mudbriar could've very easily been moved to a flashback detailing how they met. We know Maud's personality already, she's dry but with subtle emotional influxes. Her stand up comedy doesn't convey that.
Again, it runs on magic. Magic typically doesn't operate on logic. You might as well be asking, "How can the Elements of Harmony work when their physical forms were destroyed?"
Once again, here is the actual dialogue from the episode:
Putting Starlight in charge of the school was part of her plan, and Starlight was doing a hang-up job. She wouldn't have had any problems if it weren't for Discord. Really, the only problem here is that this is a case of "tell, don't show."
None of which we were ever shown. At least in Harry Potter Harry had a means of getting into contact with Sirius.
Yeah, that's what happens in the real world. Even in Harry Potter the kids got in trouble for doing things they weren't supposed to without permission. Even Dumbledore points out that Harry is like his father in that he has a certain disregard for breaking the rules, especially when it comes to wondering the halls at night.
Given that this is Twilight's school, she likely prepared for this and has each class scheduled to where classes don't overlap with each other, thus not inconveniencing her teachers.
The show has done things like this before.
Yes, and Applejack was quick to call her out on it and even suggested just doing it herself.
I don't think that was established until "Winter Wrap Up."
Yes, but Pinkie Pie was deliberately rubbing it in Rainbow Dash's face throughout the whole episode. This is the same pony who almost brought Fluttershy to tears. And Maud specifically said that she attended said parties because she knew it made Pinkie happy. She was more concerned with seeing her sister happy than her own happiness. Even then, Pinkie is understanding and doesn't make a big deal out of it. Now if we were talking about "Secrets and Pies", it'd be a different story.
No, because she paid for them. Really, this more the fault of the Apples than it is Pinkie Pie.
Given that this is Flim and Flam we're talking about, it's highly unlikely that they would be willing to negotiate.
And the episode itself never treats this as a good thing. The others call her out on this almost immediately. The only sour point is that Applejack says that scaring Fluttershy is "lazy." Thus, Rainbow Dash took her friends' words as a personal challenge.
Yet she had no problems pranking her best friend despite the fact that Gilda was visibly getting irritated. Rainbow Dash didn't care. And a majority of the prabks that Dash pulled in this episode were relatively harmless.
Fluttershy was hiding under her bed not out of fear but out of a need for privacy. Had she had her lights on in her cottage, this would've likely attracted visitors, which is the last thing that she wants.
You don't call them trying to help her with her friendship problem in "No Second Prances" "meaningful interactions?"
What "rule?" There were never any rules in place whem it came to the cutie map. Again, like the Tree of Harmony, it operates on magic. Sunburst and Starlight have a special connection. The cutie map was likely drawing on that to reach out to him.
No, because his mother is constantly bothering him. Anyone else would get fed up with her as well.
Several people actually enjoyed this episode due to it being a callback to "Lesson Zero", an episode that a majority of people liked.
"It's About Time" is yet another episode that a majority of people liked.
I took them lampshading it as a comedic bit.
As Celestia once said, "Anypony can get swept up in the excitement of competition." Personally, I blame Twilight's childhood rivalry with Shining Armor for how she acted in this episode.
This is why so many people hated Twilight becoming a princess. Before then, she was snarky, sarcastic, funny, and witty. After she became a princess, the writers slowly but surely started changing her character drastically, to the point where she hardly felt like the same Twilight anymore. This in spite of the fact that they promised the fans that she would stay the same. Just another promise they went and broke.
This is a common theory among fans behind the actions of Tiwlight in this episode.
This is why I hated this episode. The fact that Twilight gets away with this scot-free and doesn't even bother to apologize does not help.
Yes, but not if Fluttershy is clearly uncomfortable with it. Rainbow Dash knows from prior experience that Fluttershy has an extreme fear of dragons. What on Earth made her think that Fluttershy would want to take part in watching the dragon migration? Rainbow Dash herself got singed, coming very close to getting her hair caught on fire. Sure, Rainbow Dash hsd every right to ask that Fluttershy return the favor, but first, she shouldn't be demanding that Fluttershy do so and two, it should be doing something that both of them would enjoy, particularly Fluttershy.
I don't see how that's a problem. For one thing, that's what makes them so lovable. Secondly, that's their strengths, as we've seen in previous two-parters. It's why they work so well together.
It's not like Celestia hasn't done something like that before, such as in "The Ticket Master", "The Best Night Ever", "The Crystal Empire", "Castle Mane-ia", etc.
Celestia and Luna think very highly of Twilight. Of course they're going to choose her as next in line to rule Equestria. This was Celestia's plan all along, after all. We never see them interacting at all with Cadence. Again, they probably figured that Cadence had enough on her plate and didn't bother asking her.
It's not unreasonable to assume that Discord can turn invisible or camouflage himself into the background. Besides which, episode like "Dungeons and Discords", "The Beginning of the End", "Keep Calm and Flutter On", and "Twilight's Kingdom" have all shown that he is perfectly capable of hearing what's going on around him even if he's not physically in the room.
But then we'd miss out on Mudbriar's antics in the baking supply shop.
That would've just been bad writing.
Even so, it's nice seeing her try out new things.