11 replies to this topic

[ThePlantsOfDistraction]

Just something I was thinking about while in the shower.

None of the Villains were out to destroy/kill anypony or do anything really bad and none of them are evil just because their evil.

Like Nightmare Moon she was tired of playing second fiddle and having everypony ignore her night so she wanted to make the night last forever. Chrysalis and the Changelings feed off of love so she took her kind and tried to feed them. The most evil thing she did was try to ruin a wedding. Discord was probably the most innocent one considering all he did was pull a few pranks and break up the Mane 6. I just love the way they approach villains in the show.

Does anypony else know about any other shows that take the same approach towards villains?

[Swordfishtrombone]

Dude, its a kids show, they can only imply and do so much.

[Vicke]

If the show was meant for teenagers>older they would probably kill the Mane 6. All of them.
Well atleas their goal...

[Alkryn]

I like their motives more than what their motives would've been if the show was aimed at teens+.

[Skullbuster]

well when you think about it,

if night lasted forever, that wouldnt be very good, while certain areas of the earth are in darkness for 6 months, the wildlife has adapted to those conditions, if it were to happen suddenly everywhere results would not be good, not only would the planet cool down, most plants would die after awhile, as plants can only keep the calvin cycle(that thing plants do to get energy at night(if im wrong correct me)) going for so long, and once those go then the entire ecosystem goes down hill from there

[Swordfishtrombone]

True, but I think its one of those things were... you're not really meant to think about it. Its just... night.

[NASCARFAN <3 Twi]

The antagonists of a show or series franchise's motives, personality, and purpose can change instantly, and sometimes the result is shocking.

For instance, up till Ocarina of Time (1998), the antagonists of the Legend of Zelda were your typical villain, with the simple purpose of doing whatever they want without having the protagonist(s) getting in the way.

But, in Majora's Mask (2000), the antagonist, the semi-titular Majora, takes control of an innocent spirit who's been emotionally depressed and abandoned from his friends for playing tricks on them. Majora uses the innocent spirit and the power within the mask (Majora's Mask) to gravitationally force the moon (THE moon. And it has a freaky scary face on it that can be hard to keep a straight look at it.) to violently crash onto an innocent town if the protagonist doesn't stop it within 3 days. Majora is insane enough to kill everyone on the planet including himself.

Now, compare THAT with merely just wanting to take over the land and rule it with evil.

Edited by NASCARFAN160, 26 April 2012 - 05:35 AM.

[Slendermane]

I know I love these villains. I had a discussion with my cousin about this yesterday (I haven't gotten him to watch the show yet, but he is interested in the fandom).

Nightmare Moon doesn't want to harm anypony. She was ignored and abandoned for so long, she finally snapped. If ponies didn't love her, she would make them love her. She spend her entire existence making a beautiful night, only to have it completely ignored. She is an artist who never got any recognition for her art.

Trixie is just a stage magician. She has an ego, but she never actually did anything wrong besides stretch the truth. The Ursa Minor incident was just a terrible accident.

Diamond Dogs are thieves who look down on ponies. They are also bumbling idiots.

Flim and Flam are snake oil salesmen.

Discord is a god of chaos. Chaos is his very nature. He doesn't want to harm anyone, just to be what he is. My cousin described him as the Joker. Just a force of anarchy.

Queen Chrysalis is the first villain who actually seems like a villain to me. Like the others, she was just being who she is, living out her true nature. The problem is that it is in her nature to feed on ponies. She actually went to war with Equestria, wanting to feed its citizens to her children. I think she is MLP FiM's first true villain. And I love it.

[The Tainted One]

I wouldn't be suprised if in the third season, Celestia's had to release Discord to help her with some great evil.

[Derpy Mooves (Proc)]

The villains are indeed real peices of work, not the same cliche villain. Each one has a motive and a history. One more reason I love MLP is there attention to detail.

[SBB64]

Just something I was thinking about while in the shower. None of the Villains were out to destroy/kill anypony or do anything really bad and none of them are evil just because their evil. Like Nightmare Moon she was tired of playing second fiddle and having everypony ignore her night so she wanted to make the night last forever. Chrysalis and the Changelings feed off of love so she took her kind and tried to feed them. The most evil thing she did was try to ruin a wedding. Discord was probably the most innocent one considering all he did was pull a few pranks and break up the Mane 6. I just love the way they approach villains in the show. Does anypony else know about any other shows that take the same approach towards villains?

You forget that the Changelings were causing destruction in Canterlot- and she was singing about it. That was all in fact rather evil.

[Scootalonathan]

I kind of disagree, I think the villains (well, except for Nightmare Moon) are legitimately evil.

Discord was not just pulling some pranks on the mane 6, he was changing their personalities, destroying their home, making everything go upside down, and was planning on keeping it that way. I think he really didn't think the mane 6 were going to be able to defeat him, I mean look at when they were getting ready to beat the crap out of him, he was all chillin'.

Chrysalis was trapping innocent ponies (Cadence and Twilight) in a crystal cage, and pretty much tormenting them. She and her kind were feeding off of all of the ponies' love, and completely taking over the mind of Shining Armor. Also, the changelings looked like they were ready to actually kill the mane 6 in my opinion.

But yeah I don't think any of the villains except for Nightmare Moon are innocent/misunderstood.