Cleverclover

Grimdark for the sake of being grimdark does not generally translate to good writing. This is especially true for a series that did not start out that way, such as FiM. And besides, it certainly doesn't help that the show's dark moments have consistently shafted Twilight's friends and had her being the one doing anything noteworthy. No particular reason to believe that a dark film would not simply be another Twilight glorification fest.

And here goes yet another worthless, time-wasting escapade in a world where almost nothing matters to anyone. So...this one's about saving a summer camp from going under? Well, that definitely sounds like an endeavor worthy of another pointless film.

I think these two sequences are hands down the most beautiful in the show.

1. Too Much Twilight --- The mane five are collectively not given nearly enough moments to shine in comparison, especially when it comes to two-parters. And things like Twilight having entire two-parters almost all to herself such as in The Cutie Re-mark should definitely not happen at this point. 2. Rushed reformations --- Only a few of them have been done well. Overall, however, reforming villains gives the implication that everyone can change or be turned around, which simply isn't true in real life. 3. Spike abuse --- Stop. Just stop. 4. Episodes that are pretty much devoted to Spike abuse --- Looking at you, Princess Spike. 5. The villains --- The whole "ancient evil rising up to conquer Equestria" thing has been done to death at this point and is beyond redundant.

This looks like a downright awful direction to take the show. A more action-oriented show just for the sake of appealing to boys? Casting the themes of friendship aside to have more out-of-place and blatantly unnecessary grimdark moments? Even more tropes of "Twilight: Warrior Princess" so that she can continue to have epic battles while her friends remain borderline useless? Uhhh, yeah, no thanks. :okiedokielokie: And if this is what the movie will be about, then I have officially lost all interest in it.

Actually, it's lime green that symbolizes evil. Sweetie Belle's magic isn't lime green.

*raises hand* Easily the most overrated character in anything FiM related. As a villain, she was the most braindead and poorly-written. Her characterization since has boiled down to non-stop angst with a bit of Mary Sue-ness on the side, given how she can easily pull expert skills out of thin air (So I'm expected to believe that one of the dumbest villains in the series actually had near genius-level intellect the whole time? Give me a break. ) Furthermore, at the end of the day, the humane five may as well be replaced with a bunch of random one-time characters, considering how little they matter in comparison to her. They get no development to speak of---and any development in these films go directly to Sunset and Twilight. Actually, she was completely justified in snapping at SciTwi. The movie wouldn't have you believe that, but she was.

This is what worries me the most. Given how the show has used the "overpowered baby" trope before (Pumpkin Cake), I can just imagine that this will likely be an issue for an alicorn baby.

Honestly, Applejack hasn't been referred as a background pony since about 2013. If you Google "Applejack is a background pony", you will now get more hits showing people defending her from this mantra, rather than spreading it. But I will admit that her episodes really aren't the best, and she does get sidelined occasionally. Nevertheless, she has still grown a lot since season 1. Next to Twilight, Applejack is easily the least replaceable of the mane six. She is a primary source of support for Twilight, and the official "second-in-command" of the mane six, as she always takes charge whenever Twilight is away. There is absolutely no conceivable way the mane six could function without her. Of course, this isn't to say that anyone else in the mane six is replaceable, but Applejack in particular is crucial to the show.

The Cutie Map. Starlight's showcase as a villain in this episode is far superior to that of The Cutie Re-Mark. She's manipulative and legitimately threatening, whereas in the latter episode, she's more or less just a chicken with its head cut off. And you gotta love that song. Also, I love how this is finally the two-parter that actually doesn't put an overabundance of focus on Twilight.

Best: Diamond Tiara Her actions could be traced back to negative influences during her upbringing. Her reformation still seemed a bit rushed, but still felt more natural. Worst: Starlight Glimmer She has displayed psychopathic tendencies, severe anger issues, and a mental instability which cannot simply be undone after a couple of quick friendship speeches. Give her a couple hundred hours of therapy in a mental institution and only then will I accept her reformation.

So much for Starlight as the mane seventh. This definitely gives us some notion of her status now.

Does anyone see Starlight in the new clip? Because I sure don't. I do believe the question of whether she'll be the mane seventh or not has just been answered. If Starlight was indeed a main character, there would be no reason whatsoever for her not to be present at such event where Twilight meets her new niece.

I think I'll just leave these here: Spike stays with Twilight because she fulfills his hierarchy of needs. Because he'd be lost without her. Because she gives him the love and sense of belonging that he longs for. Because being useful to her is the only thing he desires from his life, and no one can take that away from him.

All the focus in these films seem to go to Sunset Shimmer and Twilight, while the humane five collectively do almost nothing of note. They just don't really stand out. They're all lumped together at the bottom of the hierarchy of importance. They certainly don't come up with solutions to problems, and their involvement in the solutions can at best be described as serving as batteries to power up friendship magic. Another thing that really strikes me is that in three films, they've received almost no development at all. Meanwhile, there's PLENTY of development to go around for Sunset and Twilight. In Rainbow Rocks, they each spat with each other and eventually fall under the Sirens' influence, while Sunset Shimmer and Twilight unsurprisingly remain immune. Meanwhile, Friendship Games literally treats them as batteries, as they hardly do a thing in the climax but have their magic taken by Sunset to power her up. Though admittedly, they do more to stand out in this film, as evident by Rainbow Dash's motivational song and Applejack's assisting Twilight with archery. At least they're far more useful to these films than the mane five, but that's all they really have going for them.

I like the intro, but I feel it needs to be updated entirely. I don't mind if they use the same song, but they definitely need some new images to go along with it. For starters, at this point, isn't it a little weird seeing the unicorn Twilight at the beginning of it? They should probably do away with the whole hot air balloon portion.

Oh, I absolutely abhor this. :okiedokielokie: In fact, I would consider Roald Dahl to be one of my least favorite authors because of how much children suffer in his works, even if most of them do end up with a (fairly) happy ending. I also think child abusers are the absolute scum of the Earth.

This...so much.

I think it's fine, but honestly, I really hope they don't just start randomly adding cities and/or more additional kingdoms out of nowhere, rendering the current map worthless yet again. Also, it would be nice if we actually got some information on locations outside of Equestria.

I somehow feel Celestia is to blame. It's not as though her poor decision-making hasn't doomed Equestria before...