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The Starlight Problem (includes Season 7 spoilers)


Dark Qiviut

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Note: This contains spoilers for season 7's preview, found here. Read at your own risk.

 


 

Many users here know that Starlight's one of my favorite characters. To this day, I stand by her reasons for which she eventually became the way she was in Re-Mark, the need to have her become a student rather than be sent to jail, and The Crystalling for being a good start to her arc. However, after The Crystalling, Starlight just didn't have a very good season six. Lots of people were turned off by her and rightfully so.

 

There are three really big problems surrounding Starlight.

  1. After The Crystalling, DHX returned to its old habits of writing their season arc when it needed to. Ever since season one, DHX has had one successful season-long arc: Starlight's vie for revenge. Twilight's ascension was marred by a terrible premiere. Season four's key arc has two really bad episodes (Breezies, RF) and a finale marred by the Idiot Ball. You get the drill. But the show was able to get away with it at some capacity, because you didn't need to have half the season be confined to an arc.
     

    But season six was the WORST time to return to it. She wasn't merely a secondary character anymore. She became a Mane member. You're adding someone completely new to the wheel. Thus, it's DHX's job to present her as likable, approachable, and (because one of the show's primary demographics is children) a role model to the audience. After Tail, Starlight dropped off the map aside from six episodes, two of them cameos, two the finale. If you don't use her more, then how will you make people care?
  2. The last two episodes she starred in painted her in a really bad light. Every Little Thing She Does is clearly inspired by Lesson Zero, but like 28 Pranks Later, it doesn't understand why people loved it it. Most importantly, one piece of detail: how to make her sympathetic.
     

    LZ: Before Twilight cast "Want It, Need It" on the CMCs and everyone else in Ponyville, she spiraled out of her control and clearly wasn't in the right mind. She was at her lowest point in the episode (as well as the whole show) up to this point.
     
    ELTSD: Starlight was clearly in control of herself and decided to hypnotize her friends — who have no chemistry with SG whatsoever, yet we're supposed to assume they get along — at the first possible outcome. All with a smirk on her face. She performed a tactic usually by antagonists, but we're supposed to see her as the good guy. She didn't get to her lowest point until the end of Act 2. You're NOT going to get people to like her if she appears in episodes far apart AND have her perform villainous tactics in her return. Why? Because to the audience's minds, she comes across as slow to learn and too dangerous to be around with. If she's capable of casting nasty spells in the right mind, what would happen when she's not?
     
    And in To Where and Back Again, the audience is supposed to be convinced that she's changed. Unfortunately, the writers tried to convince us she changed through exposition. That won't do. TWaBA relies on the audience to follow season six from beginning to end and wants us to trust it that she redeemed herself. One: Show us that she changed from the very beginning of the episode and move forward. Two: Show us in many previous episodes where she not only evolved, but also where she used her personality strengths to her advantage. A two-part premiere and three self-contained episodes (with only one within a sixteen-episode stretch) won't cut it.
     
    Secondly, Starlight's motive to choosing Trixie was out of character. Remember, she chose Trixie because she believed Trixie was a better friend than Twilight. Why's that a problem? SG shares better chemistry with Twilight than Trixie, and despite Twilight being a really awful teacher, the season showed an evolution in their friendship over time. If instead SG chose Trixie because she felt she could get out of her comfort zone, then it would make sense. Why? Because it would show to the audience that Starlight has changed by believing she has the courage of her conviction to expand her horizons.
  3. @@Prince Sidon has this in his back pocket:
     

    sig-4833435.xccjDvw.png
     
    Because John Cena is turning 40 next month and may retire in the near-future, Vince McMahon has been pushing for a new, younger talent. Roman Reigns is who he believes will be that new face. Unfortunately, since The Shield disbanded, he's been marred by a wooden in-ring personality and horrendous booking (including being caught in an overrun heel!authority angle), leading the audience to boo him more than cheer. Since he a damn good wrestler, that's a damn shame.
     
    There's a Roman Reigns-like parallel to Starlight. DHX and Hasbro are pushing Starlight on the audience in hoping people will like her. But when you write her as a protagonist really poorly, you won't get people to like her. In contrast, you'll only make people grimace when her name appears. And during a time where she's still really green, that paints an awful first impression on her.
     
    And earlier today, a teaser of season seven was released with Twilight "graduating" Starlight. Twilight spent three seasons and then some before she "graduated" into princesshood, but SG may be "graduating" in as little as one season. Clearly, she has a long way to go before she truly understands the value of friendship, so it doesn't make a lick of sense to rush in such a momentous party. Whether season seven's premiere will really be like this or not I don't know, but I feel very hesitant at this point.


Obviously, most of us bronies want Starlight to be a really good character. And she can be. The Crystalling was really good at presenting Starlight as sympathetic. But if DHX keeps making very big mistakes with Starlight, then bronies will collectively sneer and cringe at her name or presence, and, in turn, many will skip it.

 


DHX's decision to write Newbie Dash a Rainbow Dash torture porn with an intellectually offensive hazing moral is FIM's biggest stain. If DHX doesn't rebound with Starlight, it'll have another.

  • Brohoof 7

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Since we don't know the resolution or moral, I am still optimistic. I can see how they can play this off masterfully, and I hope they do!

  • Brohoof 1
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Couldn't agree more. We get like, 3 episodes of her in season 6, with only the finale showing her in a good light and she already is moving up the ranks? It seems very wonky to me.

  • Brohoof 1
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I tend to view Starlight as a missed opportunity. She has all the traits of a villain turned antihero, but her redemption is botched in poor development and chemistry. Plus, she gets a pretty big pass compared to Discord, who pretty much did more to redeem himself than Starlight has and still has terrible chemistry outside of Fluttershy.

 

Either the writers botched Starlight badly or they're being big time hypocrites.

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The only thing bother me the most is the whole trying to shove her into the mane 6 group, i hope the staff drop that shit already because she is better with the reformed 4 and i hope she can spend less time in the castle. Just get graduated and get out that cold castle.

 

I enjoy her appearance in S6, beside the first two acts of Every Little Things so i have no worry about S7 premiere ;3

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Hey, guess what?

 

https://www.equestriadaily.com/2017/03/another-giant-season-7-teaser-has.html

 

Here's your explanation. In the background you can see Twilight and Celestia as "ghosts". I think that Celestia is showing Twilight the consequences of her promoting Starlight too soon.

 

I.... have an half idea of where this episode is going. I won't party until I see it, but if my theory is true, then I think we are going to love this episode (most us at least).

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Hey, guess what? https://www.equestriadaily.com/2017/03/another-giant-season-7-teaser-has.html Here's your explanation. In the background you can see Twilight and Celestia as "ghosts". I think that Celestia is showing Twilight the consequences of her promoting Starlight too soon. I.... have an half idea of where this episode is going. I won't party until I see it, but if my theory is true, then I think we are going to love this episode (most us at least).

That trailer's far more appetizing than the one that appeared. That said, I'm still hesitant and stand by what I wrote.

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The question will reside as if her mistake is magic related, or friendship related. People hate Starlight to be nit picky because reform characters are a return theme, and to many hers seemed rushed.. a lot of this has to do with who she has always been as a character, not just who she has become. She has altered her perspective, but she truly did believe before that cutie marks were a bad thing. Her obsession with control and power is what made her a bad pony. Her perspective being changed on friendship is genuine, it isnt all that rushed to me... I mean if risking her life to save Equestria wasnt enough... I mean you see more of characters that need to learn about friendship because our Mane cast should be very developed at the point of a sixth season? She creates more and new plot dynamics because she has anxiety about friendship and is socially estranged.. She is powerful with magic(arguably more so than Twilight) She befriended Trixie because Trixie and her have a common ground, being senselessly hated when trying to better themselves. In s6 she was a student, becoming of her protagonist role. Hipster bronies do not like Starlight because they see a return element, and they must subconsciously have a want for a pony to remain with the same character dynamics in a show that is about bettering and developing your character.. Starlight is this pony, and she will and has already inspired change among other secondary characters. She embraces leadership roles, and is a very skilled and smart pony. Yes her character flaws reside in believing magic can solve every problem, and this leaves her socially indifferent, and people do not like the idea of Starlight as a whole.. they think she is like, stepping on the hooves of their favorite ponies, because she has more character developing to do, and in end this gives her added screen time.

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Hipster bronies do not like Starlight because they see a return element, and they must subconsciously have a want for a pony to remain with the same character dynamics in a show that is about bettering and developing your character..

You're factually wrong. They do not like her because she hasn't been written well since becoming a protagonist. When some were warming up to her, ELTSD sets all progress back. A really bad performance can really ruin a character's reputation to a lot of people's eyes, and it's happened a few times before.

 

"They don't like it because they don't like change" is a really lazy strawman. It's not change itself that upsets them, but how the change was executed. If it was because there's a change to the status quo, then why do many embrace the changes brought out from episodes like Lesson Zero, Canterlot Boutique, or Lost Mark? They love it because it was good. Starlight has been hindered by a lot of really bad writing. Write her well and be more consistent, and more will begin to warm up to her.

  • Brohoof 1
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To be honest. I LIKE starlight... But..

Its more that she's a good character with a REALLY week backstory.

Everytime I think about her back story I just think "Wow really? That's it?"

But I like most the stuff she's been in.

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