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Dark Qiviut

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Author's Note: This was initially uploaded in early 2015, but decided to take it down to revise it. It's done and finally back up. More will be added when I come up with them.

 



Did you ever get any ideas in your head and want to post them? That's what's going on from me lately. Over the past few days, I posted a couple of blogs analyzing specific aspects of FIM. Quite a few here have already seen them, but for those who haven't, here they are, and I'm going to describe why I wrote them.
  1. Flash Sentry: A Critique of His Character
     

    Flash has been very divisive in this fandom. Many like them, but plenty more absolutely dislike him. I'm among those on the heavily dislike side, and I now consider him my least-favorite character outside of the stereotypical bully dragons from Dragon Quest. However, far too many people on the negative haven't really posted such a thorough negative essay of why he sucks as a character. Even I'm at fault with that. This is a response to get down to the nitty gritty.
     
    I actually had an idea of slamming the "Flash stole you waifu" strawman before offering some suggestions to mend him, but I felt it would undercut the entire analysis. Instead, I left it out, and I think it's for the better. Let my analysis breaking down why he's so disliked kill the inane "joke" for me.
  2. Discord's Morality in The Return of Harmony
     

    Discord remains to be the greatest villain in Friendship Is Magic because his three-dimensionality and wit help him feel and act even more evil than the others. But his more unique character origin is he abides by specific morals despite being evil and never strays away from them. Those morals are introduced in one line of dialogue and affect not only his character, but entire arc.
  3. "The Cutie Map" Analysis
     

    After the season five premiere aired, there were so many details and themes to discuss about it. You had Starlight Glimmer's propaganda and three-dimensional characterization, authentic representations of real-life cults, the inspiration of "In Our Town" (plus the notorious meter), and the name of name for the village. This analysis combines as a first impression.
  4. "Slice of Life" Analysis
     

    Friendship Is Magic aired its 100th episode, Slice of Life. Rather than the Mane Six, the background characters are predominantly focused. Even with the fanservice, this semi-polished story is not as shallow as perceived. It's a "thank you" letter with plenty of strengths.
  5. Tanks for the Follies
     

    Tanks for the Memories is a pretty divisive episode. A lot of bronies love it for the emotional connection and ability to weave in the concept of grief without using death. Others really despise it for the lack of stakes and justification of Dash's actions. This analysis slams TftM.
  6. Princess Murphy, Meet Prince Brokenwriting!
     

    Princess Spike is my most hated and worst episode in season five. This explains all that went wrong with it.
  7. Two Little Things: A Small "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" Analysis
     

    CotM is season five's best episode. But it wouldn't be great without two crucial points. Both of them look small quantitatively, but really bring the episode together and increase its quality.
  8. Starlight's Redemption Is Better and More Satisfying Than Sunset's
     

    My boldest proclamation in the entire show. Starlight's redemption is Sunset's, but done way better and in a much more satisfying, fulfilling way.


A lot of longtime users here know how deep I really get into my reviews. They're not quickies like MrEnter (with some exceptions), Voice of Reason, Josh Scorcher, etc. I'm extremely meticulous with my work and not afraid to narrow onto small points, good or bad, to get my point across. My reviews for the IDW Holiday Special and Rainbow Rocks demonstrate how my review style has evolved. On the upside, it gives you an insight over the product's possible quality.

 


Downside, overall reviews offer little focus on specific content. They combine all points into one blob. Because my points aren't presented chronologically, they're spliced. Disorganized. This is one reason why I stuck with Wind Chaser's method to provide a subhead and then explain the strengths or flaws within them, sometimes carrying them later. It makes my reviews more presentable than my famous list format and allows me to focus more deeply into a subject. But it's not enough.

 

Rather than focusing on multiple points to present an overall conclusion of quality, I focus on one or two subjects at a time in the Analysis Series. Take what I want to explain and really go in-depth. In both of my EQG reviews, my negative comments about Flash are very small. To present a more focused essay title and topic allowed me to really get into why Flash wasn't a good character. I wouldn't have been able to do that if my topic was so loose. My analysis of Discord's morale is exactly the same. It's less than half the size of my FS analysis, but I still presented a really focused subject. Instead of writing only a couple of pages of Discord's overall character, I got down perhaps five to eight pages of one important subtext of him.

 

Now, the Analysis Series isn't an end to reviews. Instead, the Analysis Series allows me the ability to focus better on specific subjects and get down to the point. Think of the Analysis Series as a semi-evolution to my reviews.

 

Another part of the inspiration, albeit tiny, came from the rash of insightful topics I posted in Show Discussion in the past. Unfortunate implications in various episodes. The evolution of the morals from simple and absolute in seasons one and two to the grayer and mature in S4. Simple or grand: how would you like the S5 finale? They gave me a little idea over what to deliver.

 

So what ideas do I have in my back pocket? Well, I always have a few.

  1. Celestia: Unfortunate Tyranny
     

    Princess Celestia is a divisive character. Plenty love her for being a kind and caring ruler over Equestria while simultaneously teaching Twilight the lessons of friendship. Plenty dislike her over how her poor decision-making makes her untrustworthy. I used to really like her, but her poor execution is too loud to ignore. Her poor execution dates back to early season one. Tyrantlestia doesn't still exist in the fandom for no reason; several examples will detail her terrible decision-making and the following implications.
  2. Toiling Rage
     

    Sweetie Belle caused some controversy by acting really enraged over how her play was overshadowed by Rarity's amazing dresses. There are times in this show where a character can really make a terrible, cruel mistake. Even when the character is in the wrong, you can understand it. Sweetie's actions were wrong, but understandable. I plan to break down the long buildup and why it never made Sweetie Belle out of character or unlikeable.
  3. The One Scene
     

    Some of you have already seen it. Some posters, including myself, have been critiquing the three finales post-RoH lately. One of them is how too often they tend to focus on the One Scene. Instead of focusing on natural progression, many concentrate on one very boisterous scene. Instead of a filling salad, viewers eat crappy fast food from the factory instead.
     
    What I plan for this is to take to specific finales — ACW, Twilight's Kingdom — and what makes the One Scene ineffective. Fun visually, yet quickly dated. Plus, there will be suggestions to improve the finales while keeping the One Scene.
  4. Rarity Takes Manehattan's Moral
     

    The main moral of Rarity Takes Manehattan is how even though someone took advantage of her generous spirit, she shouldn't give it up. It's a very great moral, but it's arguably a surface moral. What I have in mind is how the secondary, yet most important, moral is to not let someone's vindictiveness stop you from changing your best personality quality. Rarity's biggest personality quality is being generous to a fault, but all of us have specific ones. My goal for this analysis is how this moral can apply to everyone beyond the generosity.
  5. The Broken Elements
     

    For the first three seasons, the Elements of Harmony were used as a blunt weapon to control and defeat evil. When evil disrupted harmony, harmony fought back. In Equestria Girls, Twilight's Element of Magic was accidentally transported to Pedestria. What permanently damaged the reputation of the EoH occurred during the battle outside Canterlot High. This is an analysis of the climax and the implications surrounding the Elements changing Sunset's character.
  6. Scootalove in Scootaloo's House
     

    Flight to the Finish incorporated many powerful scenes, all having to do with Scootaloo's gradual realization over her inability to fly. Throughout the series, Scootaloo expressed her want to emulate Dash for physically and emotionally. A Dash Lite. The most powerful of them all occurs as she cleans up her room, realizing her dreams were crushed.
     
    This is an analysis of the scene itself. Its planning stages are how Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle saw Scoots' inability to fly, Scoots' history of admiring Dash and wanting to be her, breaking down the scene itself, and then the growth of Dash's relationship with Scootaloo.
  7. The Exposition Express
     

    One of FIM's biggest sins in season four was revived from season one: the inability to set up a conflict without having to dump everything to its audience. It isn't just once, either. Plenty of episodes tell you the conflict before it starts. One common dumping ground is while riding inside the train from Over a Barrel and later The Friendship Express.
     
    Exposition can be handy when done right, but this will be a critique of why mandatory exposition hurts the story. Also, instead of using TFE as strictly filler to tell the audience, three examples will be used — A Canterlot Wedding, Rainbow Falls, FIM #25-6 — of how we can fix this filler into scenes that are more active, useful, and showing. If there's exposition, it will be ancillary, and I'll be using some examples of how exposition was used correctly.
  8. Pinkie Pride's Theme
     

    Season four is chock-full of some really mature themes, including ones that should've occurred a long time ago. Pinkie Pride has one of the most mature themes in not just FIM, but all of family television. What if there's someone who can not only the same talents as you, but are actually better and more renown than you? Friendship Is Magic breaks down the cutie mark into what their individual talents are, but carry some unfortunate implications over how one pony can carry that talent and not anyone else. Pinkie Pride calls out that commentary, and it partially affects the conflict.
  9. Fluttershy, the Indentured Servant
     

    Trade Ya's most controversial scene occurred near the end where Rainbow Dash trades Fluttershy for the one-of-a-kind Daring Do book. Plenty of bronies accused both Dash and the DD fan of treating Fluttershy as a slave. Is it accurate? Not quite. But they're on the right track, and it doesn't make the rash decision any more justifiable. In fact, this is one of the five worst scenes in season four. Currently, my plans are to incorporate some history of indentured servitude (which means making it more of a scholarly analysis) and then tie in why this scene is so disgusting with its history and Equestrian lore.
  10. Wheat Grass & Flax Seed
     

    Rarity's Micro is the third-best out of the ten in the series. Two key reasons why it's one of the creams of the crop is easily Rarity's relationship with two hippies: Wheat Grass and Flax Seed. These very likeable characters play off very well with Rarity's desire for the high life and her eventual decision to improve their wellness center. Wheat Grass and Flax Seed will be analyzed (from their personalities to their clothing and cutie marks), along with headcanon tandems with the rest of the Mane Six.
  11. Slaying the Dragon Lore
     

    Dragon Quest is easily described in two words: sexist, xenophobic. Even if you discount the sexist first half of Act 1, the two labels never dissipate. If it's possible, they stay persistent and accentuate thanks to the dragons. These dragons are everything any brony should be horrified by: stereotypical male bullies. The lead red dragon in particular is the stereotypical alpha male bully. This episode killed the lore of the dragons, and the purpose of this analysis's purpose is to break down the horrific implications the stereotypes have on not just the show, but the base demographics, too.
     
    What implications?
     
    The perception that all teen males behave like these dragons: stupid, careless, stereotypical, treating femininity as vile, and a complete disregard for human life.
     
    The blatant xenophobic message of how ponies are godsends compared to dragons even though their horrid attitude was partially responsible for Spike for choosing to migrate in the first place.
     
    What makes this moral itself so broken.

  • Brohoof 7

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I like your metacommentary. The clarification on how you approach justification of actions and your point about the One Scene are both good.  I'm looking forward reading your entries on Sweetie Belle and moral analyses.  I thought Toils had good character development.
 
~Meta-MetaCommentary~

  • Brohoof 1
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For starters, I think this is a really good idea and your somebody who I really respect, possibly the most on this forum. I think it should go positive/negative. So next, maybe you should do Sunset Shimmer in EQG 1.

  • Brohoof 1
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Normally I would say Unfortunate Tyranny, but it's reached the point where even I am tired of pointing out Celestia's nonexistent teaching, lack of preparation and poor judgment. I've given up on the possibility of her making sense.

 

An idea just came to me that's related to #10 but not exactly it. I really would like to see your analysis of Fluttershy and her lack of development. She's one of the characters who cries out the most for a more specific backstory and I think the closest we ever got to that was Hurricane Fluttershy--not coincidentally my favorite episode of the series. It's not that Shy is my favorite character, but I relate to her and want to see her explored and developed more. But she's just kind of there and being put in embarrassing positions for awkward laughs, like the one you point out where Dash traded her for a book. (Even Filli Vanilli felt hollow.)

  • Brohoof 1
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Hopefully the YouTube guys can take some hints from these.

If many of them don't, then chances are I'll have to do it by myself. ;)

  • Brohoof 1
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