My thoughts on the pilot special for "Make Your Mark." · 6:01pm Jun 1st, 2022
So, I saw the G5 special the day it came out on Netflix. Overall, it wasn't exactly great, but I think it laid some good groundwork for what we can see in later episodes. I'm unsure of how exactly it could transition into the holiday-themed special that will serve as episode 2, but I look forward to it nonetheless. Now, once more, this review will contain spoilers, so go watch the special if you haven't yet before reading this!
-OVERVIEW-
So, the story is centered in Maretime Bay, where the three pony races have re-integrated into each other's societies. Magic has returned, but at some point, it starts to falter, as indicated by the three crystals, causing some magic malfunctions for unicorns and pegasi. Zipp soon takes notice of this, and tries to alert the rest of the Mane Five, but they simply brush off her concerns, claiming it's impossible for magic to fail again. Adding to her stress is the fact that Queen Haven is insistent on having her return to Zephyr Heights to start her formal training to become heir to the throne. Hitch happens upon a strange egg, which he secretly takes into the sheriff station, and cares for to hatch. Meanwhile, an earth pony mare, Posey, speaks out against the use of magic, feeling left out because earth ponies seemingly don't have any, while unicorns and pegasi are using it irresponsibly (due to the crystal malfunctions).
Soon, this mentality spreads among the other earth ponies, claiming that magic gives unicorns and pegasi an unfair advantage. This eventually culminates in a calamity that devastates Maretime Bay, where a dark void appears and begins to spread. A strange, dark aura appears on the wings of pegasi and the horns of unicorns, preventing them from using their magic, but earth ponies have it far worse, with said aura cementing their hooves to the ground and preventing them from fleeing, resulting in Posey being drawn in, along with another pony. Sunny uses her alicorn magic to rescue them, and soon the positivity among the ponies restores everything back to normal.
What's interesting is that it is discovered that earth ponies have a unique form of magic that allows them to grow (and possibly control) plant life, as well as understand non-sapient animal speech. Realizing she too has magic, Posey apologizes for her negative behavior earlier. Then the egg Hitch was caring for hatches, revealing a dragon, something not seen for generations. Meanwhile, Zipp has been appointed as the official Maretime Bay detective, having finally gotten her mother to agree to let her stay. With the newfound earth pony magic finally leveling the field for all ponies, everything seems all well and good... until we see a shadowy alicorn, who vows to lay waste to Maretime Bay.
So, now that we're up to speed, let's go over a few questions...
-WHAT WAS UP WITH THE WAY IN WHICH MAGIC WAS LOST?-
So, we saw in the special how the mistrust and contempt for the other races was devastating to Maretime Bay. But I have to wonder... why didn't this happen before, when the three races were originally divided? It's apparent there was no void that appeared in the past, or magic malfunctions back when the three went their separate ways. Were they always separated, or is this the first instance of such a calamity? It begs an explanation.
Also, how does the activity in one small earth pony town affect the entire world to such a degree? Did anypony in Bridlewood Forest or Zephyr Heights experience the unusual activity despite there presumably being nothing wrong? Let's hope this can be address by some future material.
-WHY IS ONLY ZIPP PROACTIVE?-
Throughout the special, Zipp did some thorough research and investigation, realizing something was amiss with the crystals. Of course, she did the right thing by approaching her friends to inform them, only for them to brush off her concerns, believing it was not possible for magic to be lost now that they had it. Regardless, she kept at it, documenting all anomalies. Meanwhile, when Hitch was called to resolve a dispute, he just backed down instead of actually doing his duty as the sheriff.
While I am glad to see that this led to Zipp becoming an official detective, working alongside Hitch, I hope the writers don't turn the latter into a proverbial punching bag for the show's plot, and just turn him into a completely incompetent sheriff. I doubt they would have the gall to replace him with Zipp, though, given how firmly they've established his role.
-WHERE DID THE DRAGON EGG COME FROM?-
So, we saw that there was a large egg sitting on the beach... yet nopony saw it? 
I'm sure if they weren't caught up in the whole magic dispute, they could've paid more attention to their surroundings. That being said, how did the egg get there in the first place? Did a dragon happen to visit the beach in the middle of the night? Or, perhaps, did the egg float across the ocean, setting onto the beach as the tide receded?
This could open up potential that the reasons dragons haven't been seen is because they've migrated to another continent. That could make for some good potential to expand the world of MLP even further than ever. It could entail Sunny and the Mane Five going on travels around the world, which could open up a plethora of different adventures. Hopefully, it can resolve the mystery of the unexpected dragon hatchling.
-WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF EARTH PONY MAGIC?-
So, we know that earth pony magic enables them to make plants grow and be restored back to health, as well as understand what animals are saying. I, however, feel that this could only be the tip of the iceberg for their abilities. For one thing, we saw how the baby dragon was the only creature Hitch couldn't understand verbally. Does that mean dragons have their own magic that counters that of earth ponies', or maybe the dragon is too young to actually speak?
I'm going with the latter, for my guess. We saw how in G4, when Spike was a newborn, he didn't talk. So, I imagine that as the new dragon matures, he (or she) will gain the ability to talk. But I still have to wonder... do dragons also possess magic of their own? If so, what could it entail?
Also, we saw how earth ponies can make plants grow. But I have to wonder... what else can they do with plants? Could they possibly control plants, using them to spawn and control tendrils, akin to the swamp waterbender who could control vines by bending the water inside of them, from Avatar: The Last Airbender? Also, I wonder if there exists a certain type of plant whose wood could be used as a channel for direct earth pony magic, which they could fashion into wings for flight, and maybe an artificial horn to use unicorn-style magic? That could be interesting, seeing an earth pony using a special plant to give themselves the flight capacity of a pegasus, and magic abilities of a unicorn, though likely only as powerful as the former two, and not genuine alicorn-tier power. Guess we may just have to wait and find out.
-WHERE IS SPROUT?-
In the movie, it's been firmly established that Sprout Cloverleaf was the main antagonist, planning to lead the earth ponies of Maretime Bay into a war with the unicorns and pegasi. However, he is noticeably absent from the special, not even showing up at the sheriff station. We can reasonably assume that Hitch fired him for his actions while the latter was off on the journey with Sunny and her new friends, but did Hitch arrest him as well? We've never seen the Maretime Bay jail, so it's possible he could be there.
If not arrested, then it's possible Sprout was shamed by the denizens of Maretime Bay to a point he just couldn't take anymore, and ran away from the town. Could he return? Would he be open to accepting Sunny's ideology and reintegrate into his former home? Or, will he be vindictive against the Mane Five for ruining his plan and reputation? Quite a few directions his absence could go from here.
-WHAT HAPPENED TO CANTERLOGIC?-
In the movie, we saw how CanterLogic was the corporation that manufactured devices intended to be protective against unicorns and pegasi as their flagship models, but the devices themselves turned out to be borderline-useless gimmicks. Given that the headquarters building could be seen in the special, and how it's been established that CanterLogic seemingly provides the biggest source of income and employment for the coastal town, does that mean they're still around? Did they branch out into other technology? Are they, perhaps learning how to combine magic with electronics? That would be neat to see.
As for Phyllis Cloverleaf, I imagine she could still be running the company, given how we didn't actually see it in action in the special. But I could be grasping at straws here, so just take it with a grain of salt.
-WHO IS THE SHADOW ALICORN?-
This is perhaps the biggest question all of us have about the special, with the scene at the end showing a very sinister-looking character. She is sitting in an extravagant chamber, viewing Maretime Bay through a mystical device, and claiming she's "going to take back what's rightfully [hers]." So, like... what was that all about? We know that alicorns haven't been seen in many generations, so who is she? What is her name? Where has she been in hiding all of these years?
Could she be a G5 incarnation of one of the alicorn characters from G4, or is she a new character altogether? If it's the latter, where did she come from? Why does she claim she's going to conquer Maretime Bay, and possibly all of Equestria? What happened to her in the past that caused her to lose her status? Was she a benevolent ruler, or a tyrant? Exactly how dangerous is she? Is she by herself, or does she have an army under her wing (no pun intended)? Could she possibly take Sprout under her wing if he wanted to get revenge? There's way too much to unpack with this character, so I should probably quit while I'm ahead.
-THE VERDICT-
So, the special wasn't exactly the best I've ever seen. It suffers a bit from the movie's flaws of being too rushed and condensed. But also, the premise was very predictable, so you knew what was going to happen once certain clues popped up. That being said, I enjoyed it. It had some interesting twists around the end, and in particular, I like how an earth pony character spoke up about having no apparent access to magic of their own; this is something I wanted to see in MLP for a while now, where earth ponies voice their grievances over feeling left out from flight and magic, only to discover they have magic that the other two don't. And maybe we'll see just how far it can go in the later parts of the series.
There's quite a lot of potential with G5. I know people are complaining that it's not as good as G4, but c'mon people... it's only just started! G4 didn't really pick up in the first season, either. So, I'm positive that there's more good things to come. And of course, the special didn't have as big of a budget as the film, resulting in some choppy animations at times, but I was willing to look past that. And another plus, in my opinion, was that it was good that it didn't rely too much on music numbers, and felt a little more grounded in the plot than filler (hell, I even appreciated Zipp's "Singing doesn't make our problems go away!" line).
Overall, an interesting first episode, and it leaves some good hooks and questions the have more than compelled me to see the rest when it finally releases. What did you all think of the special? Let me know down below with a comment!
i couldnn't agree more, many things are left out
5661437
You're right. I kinda wonder what sort of arcs each season will take as well.
5661439
agreed, we can only wait and see
Well, there are moments that I like in Make You Mark. But I agree what you just said
5661454
Yeah, and there are moments that I liked, too. I hope the upcoming series can live up to the hype.
Here's my crazy theory in regards to that Shadowy Alicorn: She is Twilight Sparkle after having become corrupted. :3
5663068
Possibly. Guess we won't know until the rest of the episode are released.
5664492
Yah.