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Cuddlepug — MLP FiM: S4 E1 - Princess Twilight Sparkle Review
Published: 2013-11-24 01:42:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 10977; Favourites: 107; Downloads: 218
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Review of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 4, Episode 1/2: 'Princess Twilight Sparkle'Final score: C -
Next review (Season 4, Episode 3):
These episodes are all rated in the context of the show - therefore, if I give an episode a score, it is in relation to how it compares to the standard set by the show itself and not external factors.
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Comments: 254
What channel for YouTube are you on for the reviews?
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But what's your channel's name?
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Too bad... I have to read the ol' fashioned way.
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So you are complaining about the God of Chaos being...Chaotic?
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Time to review a review: Okay then... Let me be the first to say, I watched this with dear friend of mine and our overall reactions were... Well, "Guh" at best. But it wasn't because of the points you were making, instead it was the little things I will give you credit for:
1. "when she is sent away by her friends, she returns a few minutes later, making their falling out utterly meaningless." Okay I'll give you that one, I felt the same way about that. To be frank, yeah... It was kinda bull that she immediately returned after not even a full ten minutes
2. "Elements of Harmony, which have become such a narrative MacGuffin at this point that they're essentially a parody of themselves." Heh, love the use of MacGuffin, and I agree with you there. The Elements are such plot devices now, but I'm GLAD they got rid of them this episode. Hopefully they'll have to be a bit smarter in terms of defeating evil unless that box is now going to be a MacGuffin.
3. Things you said about the animation, lighting, etc. Yeah, agreed, they all look WONDERFUL and it really shows how amazing you can do with a simple program as Flash.
Now for the things I completely disagree and I think are unfair points:
1. Your entire analyzation of Discord: "Once again the villain is revealed to be Discord" Okay, sort of. What I mean is that it wasn't a big reveal of him sitting on a throne and laughing like the season 2 opener, it was just a series of unfortunate events.
1a. "planted some seeds that only now decided to take root." Well since they're Discord's seeds, don't you think him being trapped in stone for thousands of years would prevent their growth? I mean from what I saw, it seemed as if they fed of his presence alone, it didn't come up due to timing (granted that probably is the case) but on a more magical level, I would think the seeds didn't grow because his power was suppressed and now that he's back and been back for a while, the seeds finally kicked into gear and started to grow.
1b. "the fact remains that after defeating Discord in Season 2 and dedicating an entire episode to 'reforming' him in Season 3, the character is still intent on destruction and messing with the main characters." This is where I drew the line, you're complaining that reforming him was worthless and that the whole idea of him existing now is to have, "a cameo appearance from John de Lancie." To be honest, no... That is just wrong, and I know it's an opinion, but I don't think it make sense. Because Discord is CHAOS, he's meant to cause it. So even with him reformed, of course he's going to mess and fool with the characters, it's who he is. What you're asking is now that he's reformed he should have a complete 180 of his character.
That, is bullshit, not going to lie.
He isn't 100% obedient (though when around Fluttershy it seems he's damn close) but he's become much more agreeable. Even though he tends to TEASE some of the characters, he hasn't done anything MAJOR since his reform.
And before you go off saying that he caused this on purpose, um... No. He didn't do this because he wanted to, it was aftermath of a time LONG AGO. I'm truthfully glad he's still in, and he adds a certain element of realism, yes I did just say that.
Think of it in terms of the real world, if some one is being a jerk, or teasing you; you can't have them arrested for that. It doesn't make any sense, so saying that Discord should be removed and placed back in stone is a little excessive he's simply teasing nothing more.
1c. To be honest, him being the villain in general is false, I'm adding on to the point I stated previously of aftermath. I feel that he was the silent hero of this episode, mainly because he's righting the wrongs he made in the past, don't believe me? Of course you don't. I believe that Discord knew that even he couldn't stop the growth, I mean if these seeds can stop two powerful alicorns who have defeated him I don't believe he could've stopped it either.
So, he turned to Twilight who was going to abandon her friends for her own safety, though not prompted by her own choice. The taunting he did was almost the sole reason she turned around and headed back! If he hadn't been there, Twilight probably would've taken the choice her friends had made since she's one for listening to her friends on just about everything. So put 2 and 2 together, if Discord hadn't been there, Twilight wouldn't have gone back, therefore the Elements wouldn't have been reunited for the final time and her friends would've failed...
Enough about Discord, now onto the rest.
2. "The flashbacks that dig into these events are worryingly abstract and disjointed..." Alright yeah, they are abstract and disjointed, but does that really matter when we're given more exposition? Okay... That didn't sound right, but let me ask you this. I know flow is very important, but I feel as if the disjointedness was required in order to explain some major plot elements established earlier.
3. "Twilight Sparkle is the only one who can see them because she is an alicorn now" Uh... No? I thought they gave it to her because she was the holder of the main element of harmony? Plus she's delt with both Nightmare Moon and Discord much more than her friends have?
4. "the show has instead opted to play it safe, making her almost no different to how she was before the transformation. The episode merely reiterates that Twilight Sparkle will be staying with her friends, and that nothing, really, is going to change. It's a dull reminder that the magic in Friendship is Magic is slowly, but surely, losing its lustre." Uh... I think that was a GREAT idea to play it safe this time! After what they did in season 3? They needed to remind us that it's going to be Friendship is Magic, not Twilight and the Mane Five.
5. Cut on the Buzzwords... Please? I mean, this is more of a nitpick, but do you really need words like "truncated, juxtaposed, and aggrandizement?" There's probably even more that I missed. But even if they're in your vocabulary, it makes you look like such a... Well... Smartass, I don't think anyone would ever say those words in modern day speech so why type it?
Don't act like I hate you, because I don't... When I see something is rather... Unfair in my opinion, I feel that I must state it. Thanks for reading, have a good day.
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"Cough cough...ahem...I...um...Mr. F. C. Pug, wish to say that no matter what that heathen Cuddlepug does, you can always count on me to save the day --stay on, you darned moustache!-- ahem! Ah, mmmyess...good day to you, sir!"
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... Well alright then, that's downright immature of you. For someone who clearly puts a lot of time and effort into their reviews, they certainly won't back them up when questioned. But instead resort to childish means of spamming a message to anyone who disagrees with you.
Downright pathetic.
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Oh, that's just my default message that I post to people to cut down the deluge of messages sitting in my inbox. Sorry if I offended you, sport. You expressed your opinion and I'm sure you feel all the better for it!
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Okay that was really rude man. I understand you have to see counter reviews and arguments like this all the time, but the least you could do is show him some respect. You're making him sound like some braindead fan who's opinions don't matter, and at the same time, making yours sound like they're divine and blessed by Lauren Faust herself!
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On the contrary, he's welcome to express his opinion - I didn't hide it or anything. His comment is right there, available for the world to see and agree/disagree with at their own behest.
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I was actually kind of disappointed with the first episode. I'm not that big a fan, but I have watched a good chunk of episodes. My main problem with it was that it reveals Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon (my favorite villain of the show).
I was always under the impression that Nightmare Moon had caused a huge war in Equestria, and that Celestia has only decided on banishing her sister as a last resort, that's why things such as Nightmare Night and such are celebrated. I was a little disappointed that they showed her being banished the night she transformed. I don't know, but I was expecting a bit more from such a big revelation like that. :\
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"Cough cough...ahem...I...um...Mr. F. C. Pug, wish to say that no matter what that heathen Cuddlepug does, you can always count on me to save the day --stay on, you darned moustache!-- ahem! Ah, mmmyess...good day to you, sir!"
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I thought is was a strong opening to S4 it was better than crystal empire and elements of Harmony I would give it a solid B if it wasn't for zecora's potion thing and twilight leaving the forest just to come back in I would give it an A
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Why does everyone forget that if Discord hadn't ridiculed her for leaving her friends she wouldn't have gone back in?!
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"Cough cough...ahem...I...um...Mr. F. C. Pug, wish to say that no matter what that heathen Cuddlepug does, you can always count on me to save the day --stay on, you darned moustache!-- ahem! Ah, mmmyess...good day to you, sir!"
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As a whole, this deviation just seemed very unfair. The thought of the show getting worse & worse after a mere first season is excruciatingly early to start disbelieving in it's ability to entertain.
The Discord arguments I'm seeing are a little biased. He's not entirely reformed & people should know that so of course he's still acting sneaky & obsessed with chaos. If he suddenly 'just' turned good, it would have been a completely rushed shift of his personality & it would have felt too awkward.
We're talking about a show centering around jelly bean colored horses with a civilization exactly similar to ours so I don't think it's a good idea to bring up realism or logic into this review.
Why should there not be a purpose for The Elements Of Harmony: THE MOST POWERFUL SOURCE OF MAGIC KNOWN TO THE PLANET!?
I can only agree with Twilight leaving the group only to come back a few minutes later as pointless, as well as the inconsistency of her knowing how to use her wings.
The thought of a season long plot point (if they take advantage of it) can make the series more interesting than it ever has before & yet your calling it 'a get out of jail free card'?
You know your reviews can be a LO"T more optimistic right?
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"Cough cough...ahem...I...um...Mr. F. C. Pug, wish to say that no matter what that heathen Cuddlepug does, you can always count on me to save the day --stay on, you darned moustache!-- ahem! Ah, mmmyess...good day to you, sir!"
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I agree withe Pikachu, overall its a quality episode, but it still has its issues, though... you don't exactly NEED to point out every single issue so harshly.
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Thanks for the feedback!
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Sorry about that. I'm doing a special in March dedicated to the show, which will include reviews of all S4 episodes. Maybe we can clear some air then?
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I disagree with the notion that because the show is a cartoon targeting a certain (younger) audience, it should be somehow forgiven for sloppy writing. Realism has nothing to do with it - if the show is leaving plot holes and making tenuous narrative links to quickly resolve a story, it should be called out on it. Other episodes have demonstrated a knack for good writing; as a result, it seems irresponsible not to identify episodes that aren't up-to-par with the standard often set by the show itself.
I'm not sure what your final line is attempting to argue. Of course the reviews could be more optimistic, but then they wouldn't be honest. I see no reason to praise the show and say nice things about it when there are numerous flaws. I'll be more optimistic as and when better episodes are released.
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I just caught it on YouTube. Not bad. Always fun to see Discord. Hope he shows up some more.
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I HATE that everybody thinks the EoH are overpowered and that getting rid of them was a good idea. I mean, sure they're a bit of a Deus Ex Machina, and they make battle scenes REALLY short, and I think that they would be better if at least they were used as a sort of "finishing move".
Still, I'm hoping that, in the Season 4 finale, they're either replaced by some new and improved "Super Elements of Harmony" or something, or the Elements themselves are revealed to be something much akin to the scroll in Kung Fu Panda: that is, the Elements themselves were, actually only a means for the Mane Six to realize the power that lies within themselves(in Kung Fu Panda, everyone thought the scroll was important as it would grant whoever read it legendary power, but when it was opened, it was actually blank; however, it turned out that the blankness actually served as a mirror that reflected the scroll's holder, showing them that the "legendary power" lied within them all this time).
The "The only purpose the Elements of Harmony actually had was to let the Mane Six discover the power that lies within them" seems more likely, given these three points:
#1: Way back in S1E1, Twilight told Nightmare Moon of how the Mane Six EMBODIED the Elements of Harmony
#2: In Equestria Girls, Twilight and the EQG universe's counterparts of the rest of the Mane Six managed to use the Elements of Harmony's power when the ONLY one of the Elements they ACTUALLY HAD was the Element of Magic.
#3: The magic streams that flow from the Elements themselves to the Tree of Harmony are the EXACT SAME COLOR as the Mane Six's body colors.
(Magic = Purple (Twilight), Generosity = White (Rarity), Laughter = Pink (Pinkie Pie), Honesty = Orange (Applejack), Kindness = Yellow (Fluttershy), Loyalty = Cyan (Rainbow Dash).)
Also, this connects with my belief that "The Elements of Harmony should only be used as a 'finishing move' of sorts", and it would also end the finale with a lesson as epic as that of the Season 2 finale's. (The message of the Season 2 finale was "love conquers all", and if my theory is true, the message of the Season 4 finale will be "to discover that you have the potential to do great things, you must look within yourself".)
But still, Meghan should learn to make better plotlines or else we'll forcibly kick her out and bring back Faust.
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I like how they appeared to fix pinkie pie... Making her a little less crazy than season 3; wich was, (In my opinion) the worst pinkie pie at the moment.
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I'm interested to hear some examples of episodes you think deserve an A.
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It has been a while since I've seen the older episodes, but off the top of my head I'd rate episodes such as 'Dragonshy', 'Suited for Success', 'Sweet and Elite', 'A Dog and Pony Show', 'The Best Night Ever', 'Over a Barrel' and 'Sisterhooves Social' highly.
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What would the declining quality of those shows - in your own words - have anything to do with this show? This show doesn't automatically get a free pass just because it's arguably better than another show.
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How about giving us a reason why you think it only deserves a C -?
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How about you read the review?
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Looks like the show has suffered similar to how Season 2 of Korra has. Though not technically bad, its slip-ups really stand out because we've seen the show do better than this before and we all know that the oversights and sloppy writing didn't need to happen. It's the sort of dip in quality that makes you wonder if the original production staff was either asleep at the wheel or entirely uninvolved, and it signals that the show may only have a season or two left in it. It had a good run though; Avatar has lasted 5 seasons now if you count the original series and Friendship is Magic is going to have lasted at least 4.
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I think that's the point that is worth hammering home here: 'because we've seen the show do better than this before and we all know that the oversights and sloppy writing didn't need to happen'.
You're right - if a show itself has done better, then it's hard to overlook when it slips up.
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yeah i'm a little worried about s4. s3 was STILL pretty good, and there are actually quite a few episodes from s3 that I absolutely adored. Too Many Pinkie Pies and Keep Calm and Flutter On to name a few... but maybe s4 still has some good ones. give it time, then judge once you've seen them all
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A lot of effort went into that. I felt the vigor.
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Oh, people like you~. Others are allowed to freely express an opinion, you know.
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I haven't watched anything in Season 4 yet, but I'm guessing from what I'm hearing, the show has gone down the path of "My Little Alicorn: Shark Jumping is Magic"?
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I haven't watched anything in Season 4 yet, either, but the general consensus seems to be that most people liked the two-parter. Not all, obviously - because not everyone can like the same thing - but I highly doubt the whole "jumping the shark"-argument holds water anymore.
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I wouldn't personally say so. It just wasn't a particularly good episode to me - Twilight Sparkle being an alicorn has nothing to do with that.
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I enjoyed the season opening, and I was shocked to see actual issues of princess-dom acknowledged, such as Twilight having to stay apart from her friends during the Summer Sun Celebration and (in particular) being sent away to act as the surviving leader should the other five Elements of Harmony get defeated searching for the tree.
As for the Elements being a MacGuffin, wouldn't giving them up address that problem? That was also surprising to me, but wow, with those out of the way there's good potential to work off of that.
For the purposes of fan works, I'm glad the backstory was so weak. I'm not sure why the writers decided to be vague, and I was hoping we were really going to get good justification for Nightmare Moon's existence. Oh well. The weak exposition doesn't bother me - admittedly, I don't think FiM has been very good at it beyond the introduction to Season 1 that sets up the world of Equestria. All of the other episodes are like one-shot fanfictions.
Overarching plot has been missing from the previous three seasons. Is this box just going to disappear until it comes up again at the season finale, or is there going to be linear storytelling of some kind?
Anyway, I'm having fun, and I still like ponies. Dang. I was hoping I wouldn't anymore so I could go on to new things.
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