Sunset Shimmer vs Starlight Glimmer redemption arc’s analysis. · 9:51am Jun 7th, 2021
A Reactception analysis:
Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer are 2 very different characters. Some may hate me for this but I say Sunset Shimmer is the more evil villain.
Starlight’s analysis:
Starlight’s redemption journey is about growing up and moving on. Because She never truly grew up she had her childhood mostly alone so she never moved on and she grew into an adult physically but never grew up mentally. And felt as though she was robbed of her younger year’s so using her child like logic she blamed her “lost childhood” on Sunburst her only friend/the happiest part of her life leaving and traced his departure to “the real problem” Cutie Marks because surely her only friend Starburst wasn’t to blame. And so after coming to that conclusion she started using her time to figure out how to fix the world by destroying that evil known as Cutie Marks
After “fixing” her town she was happy until Twilight and her friend’s showed up and challenged her beliefs making her doubt her own philosophy but deciding she needed to stay resolute and be “the savior of Equestria” by continue her quest against “the evil cutie marks.” once again acting like a child and strengthening her mental block of not wanting to accept the fact she has to grow up and act her age.
And once her town is stripped apart and she is left alone she decides to get even and let Twilight experience the pain of losing a friend because of Cutie Mark’s but deep down she is already doubting herself and begin to question her plan. She isn’t sure if she’s right and eventually in the end Twilight breaks through her walls and she begins to grow up after she breaks down into tears in the season 5 finale and accepts she was in the wrong the whole time and once she confronts Sunburst in the season 6 premier and finally growing into her own pony.
And by the end of the series Starlight is the headmaster of the school. Having her whole redemption journey come full circle and putting her in the position to make sure no one else loses their childhood or becomes a villain like she did.
(P.s. I have a head cannon where losing a friend in equestria means you lose mental stability because it’s so magically intwined in their world that it effects everyone. Starlight Glimmer, Moondancer, Tempest Shadow, and Sunset Shimmer being good examples of why I think so
Now for Sunset’s analysis:
Sunset Shimmer’s journey is also about growing up but in a different way. Her journey is about accepting not everything can go her way and learning how to adapt to this realization and become a better person. She went through life manipulating others and expecting others to do what she expects and wants. She knows what she’s doing is bad and outright accepts it. hence why I consider her more evil she knows she evil on the surface but is the opposite of Starlight who justifies everything she does by thinking she’s right and Sunset instead accepts that what she’s doing is necessary for her own benefit and goals as evident by her ruthless nature in the first EG film. Until Twilight shows up and gives her, her very own taste the rainbow motherf**er moment making her realize her ends didn’t justify her means and effected/hurt those around her. And showing her she needs to make amends for her actions prior to the rainbow. Initially she doesn’t accept the Rainboom’s as friends and wallows in self hate over her actions and thinks she deserves nothing but hate. Until she finds she can finally forgive herself in the song my past is not today. And then is annoyed by the fact that no one will let her live it down not even her friends but deep down she still thinks she deserves to be hated and after rainbow rocks when they do all truly forgive her. She accepts them and after some time herself and once she does that she gains a family and learns to be true to herself aging what she’s always wanted in her heart......Family. So I’d say her journey is about accepting and becoming who you are and figuring out you don’t have to be perfect.
The Comparison:
So if you compare my segments on the two reformed villains you’ll see that Sunset was driven by pride and a need to be perfect an get/have everything she could ever want. Whereas Starlight’s journey is the Peter Pan struggle of not being able to grow up and why sometimes people struggle to move on from the past.
The big difference being Starlight doesn’t feel like she can move on but learns she can and Sunset doesn’t feel like she can be anything less then perfect or she thinks she’ll be rejected.
Starlight and Sunset two sides of the same teenage coin. Starlight unable to let go of her regrets/childhood and grow up and Sunset already trying to be a perfect adult and achieve her dreams before she’s ready to even know what she really wants out of life in general.
Who do you identify more with. Striving for perfection or trying to correct the past/keep your childhood alive?
For me personally it’s both at different times in my life I’ve had both these issues from the ages ten up to 18 I strived for perfection and order but failed to do both and in my early 20’s I tried to bring back my childhood and hold on to the past I missed trying to be perfect.
If you or someone you love is going through one of these I urge you or the person you love to stop and find a way to go about your life happier.
Don’t hold on to yesterday, don’t strive for tomorrow, live for today! —Reactception
If you made it this far thank you for reading my long ass internet essay.
I always did think Sunset was more evil than Starlight.
Honestly, I feel like neither of them had much of a redemption.
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Honestly kinda true but with what little they had I threw my analysis skills into this comparison.
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Oh ok.