ITT we talk about the S4 episodes we just watched and speculate on the rest of the season.

(Yes, I know we've got an old discussion thread here, but no way am I reviving that dusty old thread.)

So, the premiere is out. My thoughts:

* Hooray, the pacing isn't rushed like it was in every single episode last season.

* You could have this exact plot with regular-old-unicorn Twilight just by shifting around a few scenes, which makes the whole Twilicorn shitstorm even more ludicrous, IMO

* Princess flashbacks! Magic laser battles! Old-school Elements without necklaces! World-building!

* I love how reformed Discord turned out here. Basically, he's not evil, but neither is he nice. I mean, he set Twilight against her friends--because her friends decided it was best to leave her beind. He really is using his powers for good--most of the time. After all, he could have stopped the whole disaster, but he let it happen anyway. All so Twilight could learn her first princess-lesson. Trollestia has nothing on this guy.

* "Alicorn magic" has a rather close visual resemblance to dark magic.

* Gripe: the part where they gave up the Elements isn't as impressive as they seemed to be intending. I guess the idea is that they gave up the magic rainbow laser cannon and risked leaving Discord unchecked, but can't they just take them out of the Tree of Harmony if the need ever arises?

* I'm also disappointed that the scene where Rarity's magic goes haywire never actually mattered later on. But, hey, at least you know another way to disarm a unicorn now: just lick their horn.

Aw sheeeeeit, it's out. Up on youtube?

2226637

Check EqD; they've got a couple links.

2226617

* Hooray, the pacing isn't rushed like it was in every single episode last season.

Are you meaning to tell me the unexplained, completely out of blue, impossibly coincidental potion made by Zacora so INCREDEBLY useful in that situation (I mean, hear the description, isn't THAT ESPECIFIC?), Just appear because the plot demands a way for things to be revealed with no reason, was not a rushing of plot?

The elements would have been told to do so -them being in all the flashbacks- and I would understand, kynda, but no~ A potion so incredibly unreasonable in its existence appears out of the blue.

But yeah, many things were told and revealed. It was not perfect, but nothing is.

We still talk about ponies?

2226667
Apparently.

2226662

Well, that I'll give you, but I was talking about the overall velocity of the plot.

2226668

Weird.

2226617

But, hey, at least you know another way to disarm a unicorn now: just lick their horn.

This is sounds like something very dirty out of context. Probably in-context too.

2226672

In overall velocity many plots were fine. But you need to be specific that it was that of which you meant. Because season three episodes were just like this one, a moment of plot so rushed it wasn't even funny and everything else with the natural MLP FIM taste.

2226683

Yeah, I would say more. "Like a candle, flick it off like Sweetie Belle or turn them off like Rarity."

...

That was still not good.

2226683>>2226685

Wait, that's completely innocent! How can you possibly pervert that into...perverted...perversion?

imagine hornjob gifs here if you like

2226726>>2226683
Can't find links to the episodes on EQD. But fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck does their new layout look slick.

Too bad they're probably staffed by the same assholes they've always had.

2226755

I checked the site now because of what you said, and I gotta admit, it looks better then the generic plain blog style it was a year or two ago. Still looks very eh content-wise though, but it's improvement.

Also wow, Xyro's back uploading episodes? I thought he left the fandom because of the drama.

2226617

* I'm also disappointed that the scene where Rarity's magic goes haywire never actually mattered later on. But, hey, at least you know another way to disarm a unicorn now: just lick their horn.

Or water, I suppose. It seems the same things that put out the average match will shutdown spellcasting.

My weapon of choice against unicorns is now the Fire Extinguisher! Shuts down spellcasting and is still a big, blunt, heavy object.

2227026

And the cold carbon dioxide could actually cause harm. You know, without going against magical creatures.

2226755

Scroll down to "On Demand"

Or you can just use the SD link I used.

And yeah, EqD looks pretty good now. knighty can design a pretty good site layout.

Well, thus begins the latest season of the Twilight Sparkle Show.

Waterpear is correct when he says that there was no reason for Twilight to be a princess in this episode at all. In fact, it would have been better if she weren't. She would never have been separated from them in Canterlot in the first place, so she wouldn't have had to waste time flaunting to the audience the fact that she has pretty princess wings by flying all the way over to Ponyville.

And, her friends would never have thrown out that stupid argument about "Oh hey we should do this without you Twilight because Equestria needs you and if Celestia and Luna don't come back you're the only leader we have now blehbleh!", only to act completely hopeless without her literally ninety seconds later and wishing they hadn't let her go (why the hell did they let her go off without taking her Element, by the way? With or without her, they knew they'd still need all six physical elements to solve the problem). The only thing important about this otherwise fruitless conflict is that it further reinforces the notion that Twilight's friends are useless without her and she has become a total Sue.

So the story progresses and Twilight is reunited with her friends, who now believe the exact opposite of what they had told her two minutes earlier and now acknowledge that they are completely useless without her help. Their outlook remains flawed, however, as Twilight Sparkle ultimately deals with the tree and any resistance from it all on her own, thus proving to her friends that they are actually completely useless period, having contributed absolutely no help to aid her.

All of this time wasted on flashbacks and how special Princess Twilight is could have been used to focus on all six individual characters as a whole during their journey, while they discover what happened in the past and solve the problem together, as was the case in the original series premier. Instead, her friends do nothing useful with the exception of finding the cave, which Twilight already could have done on her own due to Spike’s aid and her consumption of Zecora's "alicorn-exclusive" elixir.

Which was another completely ridiculous idea. Who was the idiot who thought brewing up a problem-solving panacea exclusive to a species consisting of only two creatures on the entire planet was a practical idea? And how the hell could its original creator have found out that it was consumable only by alicorns in the first place? If, say, I were a magic alchemist in Equestria 1000 years prior to the events of MLP: FiM, and I already had tested my latest concoction on a Pegasus, an Earth Pony, and a Unicorn, who all suffered horribly and possibly died from the results as is a conclusion that can be inferred from Zecora’s words (“The results would be tragic! It only responds to alicorn magic!”), why the hell would I decide to try my luck with it again by testing it on one of only two of the most valuable political rulers in my entire country? Hell, I would have destroyed the liquid and any evidence of its existence after the first trial.

I was really, really hoping Celestia would die in this premier based on the image shown of Twilight crying at Celestia’s body. This was not because I don’t like Celestia, rather it was because I wanted to like her. As the series has progressed, and especially since the airing of Magical Mystery Cure, I’ve come to absolutely despise the character more and more for her suspicious and obnoxiously secretive nature. She never tells any of the six ponies anything about why they are doing what they are when she sends them out on quests, nor does she give Twilight any heads up about her ascension to princesshood. And none of her subjects ever question her about these things. But, had she died, it could potentially have shown us Celestia's reasoning for making Twilight a princess in the first place, provided it had been established that Celestia knew her death was coming soon and so needed Twilight around to take her place.

In this scenario, we would have then understood why she turned Twilight Sparkle into an alicorn and threw this entire fandom upside down. It would have been a totally understandable decision that was made to preserve Equestria after her foretold death occurred. It would have made sense, explained her actions, helped to fight against the idea that Twilight Sparkle is a Mary Sue by giving her a dose of true pain and sorrow for once in her spoiled-ass lifetime, and still dropped Hasbro a paycheck, especially if it had instead been decided (as much as I hate the notion regardless) to turn Twilight Sparkle into a princess through these episodes rather than through Magical Mystery Cure, which would have been a much better approach to the idea despite still being an awful move for the series anyway. But now here we are, the Season 4 premier is over, Celestia and Luna are found all fine and dandy, and the Sun Monarch is still a detestably secretive overlord whose motives we know nothing about. And, of course, Twilight Sparkle is still a pretty perfect alicorn princess for no other reason than to sell a few toys.

Oh, yes. Season 4 is truly off to a great start.

2227347
You know that Hasbro handled the Twilicorn Princess thing poorly when fanfiction of it makes more sense than canon.

But yeah, gripes I had:

Zecora's alicorn-exclusive Deus Ex Machina potion.

Celestia still being overly secret with Twilight despite the fact that if she had told Twilight about the Tree of Harmony thing it would've helped immensely, instead of resorting to a random potion from Zecora.

The Tree of Harmony in general. In principal, it's a Deus Ex Machina as well, but I was somewhat intrigued by the design of it. The way that it opened up to reveal/take in the Element of Magic made me think that it was a machine or not entirely organic. It might just be me reading too much into it (most likely am), but I find the idea of the Tree of Harmony being some sort of machine that keeps Equestria so, well, harmonious, intriguing. It's implied that it's older than either Luna or Celestia. What if it was built by an ancient species? That'd make for a good story. As is, doesn't really make much sense, comes out of nowhere.

However, they did address some issues that I had with the previous season finale. Twilight is actually expected to take charge as a princess. She also has trouble with her wings (which kinda goes against how she flew so flawlessly at the end of MMC, but I digress), and in some respect, she realizes that being princess means that she'll not be able to be with her friends as often.

So overall, meh.

2227347

Even though I find this beginning a lot less awful than what I've anticipated. It is still a very discouraging opening that shows everything that's been going wrong witht the series since the ending of season 2.

That is:
Twilight being the center of the universe.
The princesses being useless as hell.
Poorly written plot filled up with plot holes.
The plot is solved with the use of a Mcguffin that the writers pull right out of their asses. And they don't even try to hide it.
Celestis is still nothing but a living Plot Device with no personality, motivations or backstory what so ever.
The relentless efforts to turn the show into some kind of Epic fairy tail. Only to fail miserably by solving all the 'Serious problems' in the most cheesy way possible.

And now it seems the series is going to turn into a "Quest" like adventure, thanks to the Maigc box crap they come up at the end of the episodes.

Does anyone else see something a little bit strange with the "alicorn magic" that Zecora said Twilight had to use on the potion to turn it white is evidently the hate and fear magic used by Sombra?

When that's supposed to be their species magic, are fanboys quite sure that they're goddesses and not, you know, the other thing?

The Alicorn Amulet may not just get its name from its power level.

I never thought of them as gods personally.

2228139
I did, and I am curious as to why they showed it. Must be dark magic, like Sombra's. I've been dying to see it return after seeing it since that episode, so while I'm glad to see it, I have no idea why it's there. Is it because Twilight being an alicorn is actually... unnatural, and a sort of dark magic? That's great if that's the case!

But, knowing Hasbro's writing after Season 2... that's asking for too much.

2226617

But, hey, at least you know another way to disarm a unicorn now: just lick their horn.

Should I be disturbed that this effect was, in a sense, predicted in more than a few clopfics?

It had no songs so I loved it.

The porn begins

I was a bit worried that Discord would be to soft now that he’s one of the “good guys” and not as funny as before, but thankfully I was wrong. Although a part of me still wished “Keep Calm and Flutter one” would’ve never happened.

Zecora’s potion really was a cheap McGuffin but thanks to it we finally saw the fight between Celestia and Nightmare Moon (even if it played no role in the plot of the episodes), Discords banishment and the origin of the EoHs. Sadly we aren’t any wiser than before. Sure we know where the elements came from but the Tree of Harmony is an even bigger mystery. Did someone create it or was it always there? One thing is for sure, however, there will be plenty of fics about this.

Also we may have a new, on-going story arc. I was pretty sure the big arc of Season 4 would be the Equestrian Games but now we have that mysterious box which looks very promising.

The scene in which the Mane Six ditches Twilight came a bit out of nowhere and felt rushed. Not to mention that it was kinda stupid. Did none of them realize that they might need the power of the Elements – and thus all bearers, including Twilight - to deal with the evil plants?

Overall it was a very enjoyable two-parter for me. And no villain is still a better villain than King Sombra.

Has Twilight gained weight? It really seems like she has... I mean, Spike could just jog up to her when she ran to the opposite direction. And Spike's legs are maybe 30cm long. HOW?!

While Discord planting seeds is definitely quite a trivial matter - no matter what it caused - I kinda liked Discord in this episode, its best part, even.

Oh no, it's the exact same thing as in the 4th season of Prison Break! They made it into a Legend of Zelda game!

Discord is the best thing that this two-parter had to offer. Seeing the birth of Nightmare Moon and the first Discord stuff was nice, but the way Twilight gets to see such thing is lame. The writer are to much a fan of this Deus Ex Bullcrap machina to fix the problems. The speech of the mane 5 to Twilight was forced and used just to protracting the episode and make no sense, why ask Twilight to go back to Ponyville with the elements that they are supposed to use? And how have they any idea of how to fix this? And Twilight getting saved twice by her friends, despite showing that the Mane 5 are not worthless, it makes she look like a useless Mary Sue. But, again, i could forgive this by the fact that they are at least trying to not make of TS an all-powerful Mary Sue. But then the ending comes forth and it just scream Mary Sue at full power.
And then there is the three, and the freaking box. What is the point of that thing?

When Twilight and Spike were running for the train, Spike reminded her that there was another way to get to Ponyville.
Me: Teleport?
Spike: "You can fly!"
Me: Oh.
...
I had that as well as a couple other nitpicks, but I was pleasantly entertained by the pilot. Storywise... meh. I don't really watch for the story anymore. I guess that's why I don't have much to say as far as critical analysis/review topics are concerned.

2234424 Ha! I thought the same thing at that part!

look like a useless Mary Sue.

2234190, Do you not see the oxymoron that you've stated here? Mary Sue, at her core, is a character that is too perfect to be challenged by the narrative. As bad as that persona is for any character to take, Mary Sue is not "useless". On the contrary, Mary Sue is often the fix-it in whatever story she happens to take the spotlight. Poorly written or not, that is a "use".

But then the ending comes forth and it just scream Mary Sue at full power.

So because Twilight Sparkle accomplished the finishing touch on a ceremony that the show implies she's been practicing for, it screams "perfect character that will never be challenged by the narrative". Do you... really not see how little sense that makes? Help me understand, Azrael. She's still struggling with flight to some degree, she's still obsessive about double-checking checklists, and she's legitimately concerned about her role as a leader. The end is a presentation of three powers, not just Twilight's. I'm just not seeing a Mary Sue character here.
More powerful? Sure. Understanding of something that she wasn't before? Absolutely. Has room for a potential season-long arc with adventurous potential? Definitely. A perfect character that can't be challenged by narrative direction AKA Mary Sue? ... I don't see it. *shrug*
Edit: It's fine if you don't like her. I just don't understand how Mary Sue fits into the argument.

A lot of people seem to think that every Character is a Mary Sue as soon as he or she is super powerful, ignoring the fact that there are a whole lot of super powerful characters that aren't Mary Sues. A Mary Sue is not only incredible powerful, she's almost never in any real danger (Twilight lost to some plants) , flawless (Twilight had a smaller freak out in the first episode), and the only one accomplish anything (Twilight got saved by her friends twice & the six keys implying that her friends will play a large part in the solving of the box mystery).

If you want to see a real Mary Sue look no furter than the Resident Evil movies.

2234424
Can Twilight even blink over such long distances? The longest teleport she ever did was in the Dragon Quest, where she teleported herself, RD, Rarity and Spike to the edge of the forest. I believe the distances between Ponyville and Canterlot is a bit greater than to.

2234573 I was referring to what Rylasasin use to say about Twilight in EQG.
And yes i know that she still needs time to learn her full potential. But she could at least try to, i dunno, teleport she far from danger, just like she has done other times?
The main problem now is that the Mane 5 does not have the elements with them but Twilight still remains an alicorn, that's some divary of power now. And im worried about it.
And no, that wasn't a little touch, it was a big touch.
And i like Twilight, i just hope that the writers just don't screw with her character.

Just saw it. Posted a blog post with my thoughts. The only thing I really didn't like was Zecora's potion. Other than that... I actually liked it a lot. Fixed a lot of problems concerning MMC and Keep Calm for me.

2234424
In your infinite wisdom, could you explain us exactly how far Twilight can teleport and what's the distance between Canterlot and Ponyville?

That aside the distance did feel a bit trivial. Though there could've been a time skip of some hours.

2234829, Yes, I agree that she could have tried to teleport.
Why are you so concerned about the difference of power? As has been taught in previous instances, the friendship of the main cast isn't bound by physical artifacts. In fact, the emotions are arguably stronger than the physical jewels considering how often magic is dependent on their concentration and determination, not just having the jewelry.
Yes, it was a big touch. I never stated the contrary.
The writers aren't going to screw with her character. They may stumble with mistakes from time to time, but you can bet that they'll try their darn hardest to make sure that she's still Twilight Sparkle at her core.

2234918, I didn't know what the alternate method was that they were going to try in case the train failed. I was just making a guess when I watched the episode.

2234977
Oh, I must've overthought the discontent Trixie there.

It's a decent episode. Look too deep (which isn't really even deep) into the serious stuff and you find oddities, but after the previous blunder (two previous blunders if we count EQG) I'm happy with what came out.

2235001

I'm happy with what came out.

Me too.

2235001>>2235020

That makes three of us

2234190>>2234573>>2234814

I just thought this was relevant.

2236027, So in other words, your earlier use of the term Mary Sue was nothing but white noise.
I suspected as much.

2238468

I wasn't trying to rustle your jimmies, bro. You all seemed to have different definitions of what a Mary Sue was, so I just thought I'd place that link to show that there are multiple different kinds of Sues, as well as accepted interpretations of them, that could be getting addressed here (seriously, check it out. There are at least fourteen). Don't get aggressive because I was trying to provide some clarity for the discussion.

And no, it wasn't "white noise". See "Possession/Canon Sue", "Black Hole Sue", or "Mary Sue as Idealized Character". These are all just a few variations/interpretations that possess several qualifications similar to traits held by Princess Twilight Sparkle.

That was a ridiculously cliche castle. New writer guy still made it fun, especially Rarity and Fluttershy. Also, bees.

The diary bit at the end strikes me as unnecessary, though.

It's not bad at all. Wouldn't call it the best of MLP, but it was enjoyable.

2280128
I'd say this is the stuff you'd expect from a children's cartoon. The stock plot 'n' all that. Though the final freakout was funny, even if it was the "wtf?!" kind of funny.

And in any real world terms we'd consider Pinkie mentally challenged, but in cartoon pony land she's just the funny one.

Castle-Mania has a cliched idea, but unlike "Spike At Your Service" it actually manages to give many funny moments. I would say that this episode goes right into my favorites of this show .
The diary stuff is a good, no, a great idea. Not only it keeps the lessons, but it also innovate the letter things.
And i hope that the Shadow Pony will show up again and is not a throw away character, that would be such a waste of potential .

Pinkie u crazy.

Overall, not bad. Liked it for what it was. Still had some issues such as Twilight staying inside of a structurally unsound castle that she admitted that it was falling apart because, lol books.

I liked the design of the Alicorn statue, kinda makes me think...

Were ponies more horse like in ancient times? The statue makes me think so, but while it could be an artistic interpretation, it does make me wonder if they were alike to the equines that we're more familiar with. That with the idea that I proposed about the tree being non-organic in origin might again, point to an ancient species that predates ponies.

...humans?

Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings references abound. Plus Aztec-style Earth pony tribe. Yay.

Really don't have much to say about it. It's par of the course of the cliché story of the near-fanatical fan invading a writer's private space in the hope of getting a sneak peek of the next story.

Also, the writer's name is A.K. Yearling.

I'm done. These horse puns will be the end of me.

Eh. Not sure I like Daring Do actually existing in pony world, but that's personal preference.

Overall, it's your average Polsky episode: lots of really good gags, lots of stuff that makes no sense if you think critically about it at all, and idiot balls everywhere. Not bad, though, despite all that.

Loved the spoof of the birds-around-the-head cliche, as well as the GIANT NERD FIGHT halfway through.

Daring Don't is a mixbag of an episode for me.
From one side we have a nice adventure and it improves the character of Daring Do (and also her villain), turning her in a cool character that is more than just a book.
From other side the fact that Daring Do IS the writer of it's own books it gives me some problems. If the villains (who i don't remember the name) are so dangerous why Celestia don't know anything about it? And why Daring dosen't even try to talk to her?
Also, writing a book about your adventures is fine, but if you have villains then such thing become quite a problem, cause you will write down what they did wrong and they will become even more dangerous in the near future (And that happens already without you writing a book about it). And there are some inconsistency that i can't get trough.
Still, is not a horrible episode, but i would have preferd one where the writer of Daring Do was just a writer, that's it, not some Indiana Jones pony.

Episode 3: Got a nostalgia trip for Scooby Doo. I was one of the idiots that didn't realize it was Pinkie Pie until the hood was pulled off.

Episode 4: My only nitpick against this particular episode was how long Rainbow Dash's fangirling dragged out. I wouldn't call it "out of character". I just found it annoying.
Other than that, I say it was enjoyable for a Polsky episode. It's hard not to laugh at his more chuckleworthy written moments like the real birds flying over a dizzy Rainbow Dash, the accurate portrayal of the over-obsessed fan that fails to realize that there are real people with real lives behind the work, and Daring's great one-liner.

The only possible way for this episode (Daring Don't, I'm a bit behind, yes) to exist is if RD got high on shrooms or whatever they have in Equestria.

They absolutely should've dropped a hint of irony in there to prove that someone actually wrote something instead of just throwing some storyboards together and topping them out later with gags.