Author's Note: This review is a revision of my previous review. If you want to look at it, click here.

——

Season three has come and gone with Magical Mystery Cure. Initially, I said the episode was good, but its major pacing problems was why it was really weak. I rewatched it twice, and it's unfortunate to say that this episode is not only easily the weakest finale, but also the fourth out of five clunkers since Apple Family Reunion (even though it's easily the best of the four bad episodes).

Like I did with all of my other reviews, I'll display the strengths first.

1. The songs are incredible. Throughout the series, we've heard some amazing songs, and each one has yet to fail. The score is magnificent with various instruments and tones to create certain moods. Through each song, the plot progressed from one moment to another, creating a flow from one scene to another
   1. 
      
   2. Life in Ponyville/Equestria (Reprise) dictates the happiness Ponyville tends to have as well as Twilight's close relationship she has with not only her friends, but the entire town, too.
      
   3. What My Cutie Mark Is Telling Me has a conflicting, yet funny beat and score that hints to the audience that the mishap is hilarious.
      
   4. I've Got to Find a Way, however, changes the tone completely. What was a hilarious sequence previously suddenly turns darker than previously thought. The music and lyrics are sad and powerful. I'll be writing a more in-depth review for this later on.
      
   5. A True, True Friend returns the episode to optimism and hope, and the progression in the instrumental score — to triumphant and upbeat — in the background signals this.
      
   6. Celestia's Ballad is easily the biggest shock for me, and it creates hope and passion for Twilight's more advanced work. A more in-depth analysis is coming up.
      
   7. Behold, Princess Twilight Sparkle has a royal flavor in it with the grandiose style of the music.
      

[*]Even though the cutie marks are switched, the characters are in-character. Fluttershy's attempt for laughter is forced. Rainbow Dash is lost in her ability to discipline the animals and cracked under pressure. Pinkie Pie's cheerful exposition is lost. Rarity tries to control the weather, but does it while keeping an eye on composition and pattern. Applejack is struggling to sew. Each character has a different cutie mark, and they're in a vicious dilemma.

[*]A small, but very pleasant surprise.

[*]The two songs, beginning with I've Got to Find a Way.

1. It's only a minute long, but it's easily the best one in the entire episode (and maybe the whole season). It's an amazingly dark surprise to an accident that, indeed, caused so much heartache. When Twilight inadvertently caused the cutie-mark-switching spell, all that they've known for was reversed, and Ponyville descended into chaos far worse and more tragic than what Discord could dream of. Ponyville was in despair, and the sadness in the lyrics, atmosphere, and score enhance the quality of the song. It's in character of the canon, but also transcends into something more personal and sincere. It's the most realistic song in the episode, and it's so refreshing. Unfortunately, it's only a minute long. I hope Ingram uploads the longer version soon!
   
2. Celestia's Ballad does one thing that the other episodes didn't do: character-study Celestia. I'm a big Celestia fan, but one of her biggest downsides is her lack of character expansion. This song really explored her as not just a mentor, but a character, too. Warm, sincere, and proud. It gives her tremendous depth, something not seen in some time. (That said, a [hopefully good] Celestia-centered episode someday, please!)
   

[*]The pop culture references. The musical-esque episode reminds me of some of the musical-centered classics from the past. But given the title, it reminds me somewhat of Yellow Submarine (a cel-animated movie featuring the Beatles). "A True, True Friend's" handling of the cutie-mark-switching reminded me of the Beatles' song "All You Need Is Love" within that movie It's a nice touch. The meeting with Celestia and Twilight had "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" all over it, too, but never stuck out as bothersome.

[*]The transformation to the Twilicorn (and "alicorn" is now cemented in the canon besides being an amulet! *yay*) is handled a hell of a lot better than I thought it would be. It's a reward for something one of the greatest magicians of all-time couldn't do, and she was able to get things right again. There needed to be a great reason behind the Twilicorn, and this makes some sense. I'll be writing more about this in a bit.

But despite the many good things here, this episode is the best of the four bad episodes this season has (the other bad episodes being Games Ponies Play, Spike at Your Service, and Just for Sidekicks).

1. The pace was way too fast. Keep Calm and Flutter On's lone issue in the entire episode was exactly this, but the pace was even faster here. Despite the slower songs, the pace itself did nothing except speed up abnormally from the very beginning to the end. Season three's finale had no time to calm down and physically slow down the pace. There were two episodes that desperately needed to be a two-parter. This is one of them. Each main point of the plot progressed unrealistically quickly.
   
2. The songs are fantastic, but they made the story so condensed that the little details and "foreshadowing" got quickly lost. I've been to many Broadway musicals over the years, and the ones that tend to go bad are when characterization and plot progression are hidden or lost via a barrage of songs. (This is why Phantom of the Opera, Rain, and Chicago are bad musicals, and it's also one of the biggest reasons why the second act of the West Side Story revival sucked.) Good musicals offer a balance between character interaction and character/plot-driven songs, as they share a variation of pace and good characterization. Having a musical be almost entirely of songs makes the plot whiz by. For a twenty-minute episode, it makes the finale even more abnormally rushed. For a twenty-minute episode, at most three would've been best (Life in Ponyville, I've Got to Find a Way, and Life in Equestria are my choices). The seven songs are plain overkill.
   
3. The foreshadowing got shoved in very inorganically. As a storywriter and analyst myself, one important point in foreshadowing is to hint it, but have it not stick out. Star Swirl the Bearded's book was shoved in extremely quickly (one moment, it was the chaos; then Spike asking; and finally a flashback), and the inclusion of the Elements of Harmony within the protected glass (a callback from Keep Calm and Flutter On) stuck out.
   
4. The concept of the Twilicorn in the season finale. I said it before, and I'll say it again. This concept got shoved in by the marketing department of Hasbro as a means to sell toys to little girls (a very poor excuse at that; kids may eat some things up, but Hasbro has a pattern of taking kids' intellect for granted). This is an idea that had literally no momentum from The Crystal Empire, Part 2 onward. They were adventure/slice-of-life episodes, and then BAM! The concept drops in unannounced. This concept is factually stupid, and nothing will change that. I posted my anti-Twilicorn editorial several times already; but if you want to read it, head over here.
   
5. The in-canon reason for the Twilicorn was strong, but its path was shoddy, leading to a so-so first impression. Because of the episode's significant rush, it made the progress feel very inorganic. There was only one way for the Twilicorn execution to be entirely sold: The plot must be so well-done that it masks Hasbro's meddling immediately. Unlike A Canterlot Wedding with Cadance and Shining Armor, this was something that has the danger of altering a very close dynamic, even though the final minutes don't dictate this. There had to be NO gray areas or mishaps. The in-canon reasons were okay at best, but the plot mishaps were aplenty. That's not how to successfully sell a first impression to your audience. Instead of solving questions, it opened up to more confusion, and it felt more like a poorly done series finale instead of a season finale. Exploring it in season four's premiere isn't good enough: First impressions carry more weight than subsequent appearances. Twilight Sparkle is her own brand identity, and altering it is an extremely risky task unless executed perfectly. Twilicorn's first impression is extremely faulty, and you don't want that at all.
   
6. There is inconsistency in what a cutie mark truly is, and the "destiny" subplot is ill-advised. A cutie mark is defined as the pony's individual talent (or interest you pursue). Each cutie mark is like a person's fingerprint: No two are ever the same. Each pony's main interest depends on their cutie marks. Magical Mystery Cure, however, changes this to "destiny," or predetermined lives from here on out. Basically, MMC resorts to having their lives fixated on their cutie mark, a contradiction to the canon. Furthermore, it is hinted that Twilight's evolution to an alicorn is predetermined. As in, it was what her destiny is, whether she embraces it or not. Throughout the series, you notice that each character has a path, and then they set themselves onto another to better themselves. But in each episode, fate didn't determine the characters. The characters determined their own fate based off their actions and consequences. The concept of predestined circumstances reverses this trend and, in itself, is a major bothersome cliché in the storytelling business because it sacrifices organic plot progression for a cheap device. (This is why I hold very well-liked anime like Sailor Moon and Kannazuki no Miko with such low regards.) Destiny DOESN'T choose you! YOU choose your destiny! If Twilight chose to become an alicorn and princess, it would've made this problem moot. But Magical Mystery Cure nullifies this and forces Twilight to be into what is poor, inorganic "character development."
   

It would've been easily better if it were:

1. Two parts to not only calm the pace down, but also spread out the songs to balance out the characterization and genuine interaction.
   
2. Not resort to the cheap "destiny" subplot.
   

A rough draft I have is as follows:

Part 1:

• Prologue: Celestia and Luna discuss Star Swirl the Bearded's book, and they flip through to seeing an incomplete last page. Celestia told Luna that, if Twilight can complete it, she'll be rewarded to the next level of her studies. Luna asks her about what happens if Twilight writes the spell wrong, but Celestia reassures her that she'll be fine.
  
• Act 1: Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six discuss the adventures they had together and how much they grown since being conjoined by the Elements of Harmony. Following a quip about how happy Ponyville looks and is, "Life in Ponyville" commences (only without an interruption of Rarity accidentally dumping rainwater on top of her). When they're done, the Mane Six laugh. Suddenly, Spike burps, and a letter plus Star Swirl's book appear before her. Everyone oohs, especially Twilight, who was responsible for finishing the spell. Everyone wonders how to finish it, but one asks who Star Swirl the Beared is. Twilight Sparkle explains who he is and his legend. Some of the spells (like the aging spell Trixie cast on Snips and Snails from their duels, the teleportation spell, and gravity) came from him. He was one of her idols when she was a filly, and it was his greatness as to why she yearns to be the best magician alive today. If she could finish the spell, she evolves to a new level of her studies, and she is interested in what comes next.
  
• Act 2: Twilight returns home and begins researching Star Swirled and reads his book of spells, starting from the small ones to the aging spell. Then she came across the incomplete spell again. Forgetting that the Elements of Harmony were behind her, she began to chant the spell, but nothing happened. So she changed it by completing it, not knowing that the Elements of Harmony altered in color (all but her). Next morning, she hums Life in Ponyville again, only to have water dumped on her. Rarity's cutie mark was Rainbow Dash's lightning bolt. Twilight asked what happened, but Rarity doesn't remember anything prior. Cue "What My Cutie Mark Is Telling Me" (but withOUT the "destiny" copout).
  
• Act 3: Twilight panics and tries to convince her friends to remember what they did, but they couldn't. They didn't even remember what happened yesterday. Twilight races back home and looks at the book again and Star Swirl's past history again. Then she looked at the Elements of Harmony. All of the colors altered. And Twilight realized that what she did resulted in her friends' livelihoods being altered, and harmony quickly turned to despair. And she explored in Ponyville, the results immediately became grim. Carousel Boutique was being boarded. Sweet Apple Acres became desolate and arid. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy felt hopeless. Rarity slunk into a corner crying for what she did, her hair soaked from rainwater. Twilight's mood saddened and felt even more hopeless. Cue "I've Got to Find a Way." End Part 1.
  

Part 2:

• Prologue: Recap Part 1.
  
• Act 1: Twilight researches her books and kept looking at the spell she enacted. She tried to white it out and rewrite it, but each time she attempted, it got blocked. Frustrated, Twilight throws her book down hard on the ground, frustrated. For the first time since her discordance, she felt hopeless. A tear sheds, landing on the book. Celestia appears and consoles Twilight. They disappear into Canterlot, where Celestia brings her into a room where all of Twilight's memories and accomplishments are kept. An altered version of Celestia's Ballad commences, reminding Twilight of all the hardships and triumphs she underwent. She reassures Twilight that she can and will fix the spell and not quit. It's still not too late to make things right. Follow your dream and your heart and put it out in Ponyville. Twilight was inspired and realized that, if she can't rewrite the spell, she can fix it by reminding them of their true skills.
  
• Act 2: With the Elements of Harmony gathered, Twilight finds Fluttershy and tells her that only she can help Rainbow Dash and make things right again. So they visit the cottage, where the animals held a mutiny against her. Fluttershy was able to successfully communicate with them and, with help from her Element, got her true talent back. Commence "A True, True Friend." The Mane Six group-hugged and was very happy to see them back to themselves again. And here, she was able to think of a way to fix the spell. They looked at Star Swirl's book one final time and noticed a pattern of attempting to live a life and evolve further, but the spells felt negative and cold. Twilight was able to connect the idea of maybe evolving into something more important and greater. And the spell was a method to conclude it. Instead of rewriting the spell from the paper, Twilight rewrote it from scratch, but changed the final lines. Suddenly, the Elements of Harmony charged, engulfing Twilight's crown. When it disappears, Celestia appears before them.
  
• Act 3: Everyone bows in respect. Celestia instructs Twilight to rise and congratulates her for doing something no one has done before: solve Star Swirl's spell. She explains Star Swirl's past about being a powerful unicorn. However, he always worked alone and concentrated on his magic solo, not stopping to make any friends, except Celestia herself. He was always a powerful unicorn, but his genius was only discovered once he passed away. He trusted Celestia with his book and promised to only tell about his magic after he died. He instructed her to find the pony who can complete his spell, because he couldn't figure it out. Whoever does will officially succeed him as That's why she mailed Twilight his book, because she knows Twilight is the only one who is capable of completing his spell. Throughout her time in Ponyville, she has seen her grow into one who was responsible, compassionate, integritous, optimistic, charitable, devoted, and conductible. She has looked for someone who has the ability to rule someday. She invites Twilight to become a princess. Everyone gasps; Twilight worries about the duties, royalty, the ability to communicate diplomatically…and the possibility to separate herself from her friends, but Celestia tells her she doesn't need to. She can be a princess, but she'll always be an Element of Harmony and connected to her friends. But she also doesn't have to accept her invitation. This is completely up to her. Twilight looks at her friends. They said whatever she chooses, they'll support her. Twilight cries and says she loves them, and they said they love her back. Twilight looks at Celestia and said she's ready. The Elements of Harmony charge, engulfing Twilight in a ball of white light.
   
  In Canterlot, cue "Behold, Princess Twilight Sparkle" and her coronation. Twilight enters the balcony with her crown as an alicorn. In her speech, she thanked all of her friends for helping her grow into the pony she is today. After a group hug, "Life in Equestria" commences. At the end, Twilight asks Celestia if everything will be fine, and Celestia happily winked, and Twilight smiled hopefully. End Part 2 (with Twilight NOT flying towards the screen).
  

(This idea is only a draft. If I were to write a script or story for it, I'll definitely be refining the idea more so it genuinely flows and makes it plausible.)

Magical Mystery Cure brought us an array of one really good idea and one horrid one. This episode is an extremely risky one because of all the dangers and paths they carry. M. A. Larson did what he could to execute the Twilicorn concept well into one twenty-minute episode, but it didn't successfully deliver as it should. Liking the episode is fine, but calling MMC good is hyperbole. This episode tried its hardest to get things right, but it ended in a strikeout (yet didn't whimper like a lamb like the previous three bad episodes this season).

And this concludes season three's analyses. To copy-and-paste from my review for season three:

Overall, season three's episode quality is a mixed bag. There were so many great episodes in the first half, but of the last five episodes, only Keep Calm and Flutter On can be called good, and even that was greatly flawed. To put it bluntly, the biggest flaw in season three was its brevity. Seasons one and two progressed in several baby steps, but season three, due to its order of sixty-five episodes, attempted to perform bigger and more grandiose. Some episodes did a fantastic job (Wonderbolts Academy, Magic Duel), but it failed in others (Magical Mystery Cure). It felt like a final season in a series rather than a continuation for several seasons. So the team attempted to put forth more radical ideas that would make much more sense if given more time to foreshadow everything, especially the horrid Twilicorn concept that Hasbro forced onto them. Season three forced itself to go bold on such short notice, and it's evident by the really wavering quality of the episodes and subsequent ideas.

 

Nonetheless, I still have a lot of faith in the team. With season four having twenty-six episodes, there are many possibilities for the series to progress into deeper, more whimsical, and more thoughtful territories. I trust the writers and storyboard artists in getting the job done for season four. Who I have no faith in, however, is Hasbro: They're notorious for inserting some very stupid, series-altering ideas in the canon for no other reason than to sell toys. The results have been mixed, so I patiently wait for the subsequent quality of the upcoming episodes in season four.

 

———

 

So, with that, here's my list of season three episodes (from most favorite to least favorite regardless of quality):

1. Magic Duel
   
2. Sleepless in Ponyville
   
3. Wonderbolts Academy
   
4. Apple Family Reunion
   
5. The Crystal Empire, Part 1
   
6. Keep Calm and Flutter On
   
7. Magical Mystery Cure
   
8. Too Many Pinkie Pies
   
9. One Bad Apple
   
10. The Crystal Empire, Part 2
    
11. Spike at Your Service
    
12. Just for Sidekicks
    

(I'm not putting in Games Ponies Play because I haven't watched it, but that only determines whether I'll like it or not. But I read the transcript; the characterization is bullshit.)