Thrond

Both overreacted to something insignificant, but Starlight went a lot further than Moondancer did. As people said, her actions were more than a little ethically questionable. Of course, I think "The Cutie Re-Mark" understood that Starlight overreacted - I don't recall it ever presenting her ideology as correct or her actions as acceptable. Meanwhile, "Amending Fences" never once questions that Moondancer based so much of her self-esteem on someone who we have no reason to believe expressed any interest in friendship, and I kinda have the opposite opinion of most people's on this comparison. They'd probably get along as long as Starlight doesn't do anything bad, but the deeper meaning of their stories is entirely different. Starlight did the wrong thing for the wrong reasons, but she's getting better. Moondancer came out of her shell because her overreaction was validated. It's not the same.

Personally, I'm most curious about Rapp and Burke/Wyatt. I'm apparently one of Dave Rapp's biggest fans, because I think all three of his episodes have at least some interesting qualities. Someone teach him how to write good humour, or maybe give him an excuse to write a villain (would like to see him pull out his Zephyr Breeze tricks on that), and we'd have something really great. Burke/Wyatt, on the other hand, are pretty consistently entertaining, even if the writing quality has a direct downwards slope across their episodes. Even "P.P.O.V.," which has some particularly poor writing in some areas, is at least pretty funny. Would've also said Confalone, but he's only got one, and I guess I wouldn't mind Lewis/Songco back, as long as they're in "Top Bolt" mode and not "Legend of Everfree" mode. At this point, I don't trust them with the main characters, even with as good as "Rarity Investigates!" and "The Hooffields & McColts" are. They're the biggest source of blandly heroic stagnation. 

As far as the "I watch it for the plot", it actually originates from anime.

I had understood it to originate from Playboy Magazine, i.e. "I read it for the articles." 

I refuse to believe that Sunset can't be properly developed if put into FiM. You know why? Because a relatively obscure background pony character in the show has received a decent and respectable amount of character development, (going from nothing, to becoming a FRIKIN WONDERBOLT!!!) across very brief on-screen appearances in both the fore- and background!!!!!

Take a look at this, and tell me something similar can't be done with Sunset, if put into FiM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NzvnnNRERk

YES, the movie SHOULD be taking time to develop her proper, but they're NOT. As proven by all the dropped subplots, and the reasons that you also pointed out. But FiM- who can spare A BACKGROUND CHARACTER enough time to set up a LEGIT story through 5 second clips and flashbacks that you have to hone in on ONE character, specifically, in a crowd of dozens, to take notice of, then it's no doubt that Sunset will be better treated and developed as a character, in FiM

I dunno, that seems rather doubtful to me, given the show's recent struggles with Starlight Glimmer, and with such a huge cast and the burden of intriducing a character who many viewers would be unfamiliar with, there could be problems. Again, the thing is that: 1. She will never be in FiM, and 2. There's no reason the films can't develop her on their own.

These really don't bother me in most of the movies. There's definitely confusing stuff, like the age differences, and the first movie in particular is incredibly shaky, but I was never bothered by characters' milquetoast reactions to all the magic, for instance, and aside from stuff the films inherited from the original movie, I haven't picked up on much which I'd call "inconsistencies." I don't like Legend of Everfree, but that's not because of any incoherence in its story so much as its tepid humour, timid themes, and cardboard characterization. It's just not something which I'm picking up on while watching the latter three movies, at least most of the time - Friendship Games got away with constantly pulling stuff out of nowhere because I found it entertaining. 

I don't even want to talk about the weird things like the same characters existing in both worlds because even though I dislike it, I understand it would be too much to give deep explanations for that, but I think it was unnecessary to start that way to begin with instead of creating all new characters anyway. It just doesn't seem to make much sense how the mirrowed characters are almost the same when their experiencies in their own worlds are completely different.

It's a mirror world. These exist in fiction all the time. Their experiences aren't exactly the same, but it's not so hard to imagine different lives leading to similar personalities. 

Also: is it just me, or does the Equestria Girls forum tend to fill up with people who don't really like Equestria Girls? Why even check this forum if that's the case? 

Sunset Shimmer lived all her life in Equestria, but for some reason after EG1 she decides to live in this parallel world for no apparent reason with people she doesn't know (she never states a reason).

Wanted to clean up her mess? Was afraid to face Celestia? Wanted a fresh start, which the alternate mane six offered a jump start on? I kinda think those seem like weaker reasons in retrospect given that this was possibly her last opportunity to return home for who knows how long, and she couldn't have known Twilight would figure out how to open the gate later, but they are reasons. 

I don't think she'd necessarily be better in FiM, because by all means these movies ought to be taking the time to develop their most interesting character, but as of Legend of Everfree, it just doesn't seem like there's much to her. I continue to insist that Friendship Games seemed like it was setting up genuine characterization for her, but Everfree ditches all of that groundwork entirely. Starlight Glimmer in the show doesn't really have so much more in the way of unique and compelling interests, but she has flaws and goals which Sunset at this point just seems to lack. What Everfree suggests is that what's next for her is just to fight off magical monsters, and... that just doesn't sound terribly exciting, and doesn't give her any memorable or distinguishing traits. She was most exciting when she was dealing with questions of identity in the first two sequels, and without that (or at least as Legend of Everfree presents it) there's just nothing to her. 

Would have hoped for more from Confalone, given that his comedic writing is some of my favourite in the show's recent seasons, but it'll be interesting to see what he does regardless. The Fox bros. I'm less excited about, although I have hope that they can again write something as phenomenal as "The Gift of the Maud Pie," and G.M. Berrow... well, I haven't read those chapter books, so maybe her one episode was just a bad representation. Certainly wouldn't want anything else quite like that. 

This movie's taking a lot of people to work on, huh? Always kind of a miracle that films even get made when you think about it. Throws what I expected about him running season 7 in the can, though.

Anyway... Sunset has had quite a bit of development and she is a fairly complex character, in many ways more "realistic" of a personality than the Mane 6. Think of it this way... can you think of a single word that describes Sunset Shimmer's entire personality, as you can with the Mane 6? Probably not as easily.

...yeah, no, I like Sunset, but that's definitely because the movies haven't properly developed her. I could name what I presume to be her flaws or interests, but those interpretations are contentious, because the movies have spent little time fleshing them out, and as a result, whenever she doesn't have some sort of personal insecurity to deal with, she's as interesting as a slab of cardboard. 

They could go on from there, but I feel it would become entirely slice of life at that point, because I think Sunset would take the magic with her when she leaves because the barrier would be restored.

I feel like there's at least potential for a short miniseries in a slice-of-life Equestria Girls , if they focus on the right things (the details of the main six's lives, human Sunset Shimmer, absurdity like high school motocross), but unless they lean hard on differentiating the world - and thus move really far away from the movies' original idea - it'd run out eventually. 

Jeez... a lot of people hating on Rainbow Falls. I agree that it's the show's worst written episode, but it's not the worst in my opinion.

I find that episode confusing and increasingly have a hard time defending it, but honestly I find it far more watchable than a good number of other episodes in this show. 

Well I guess this means that pretty much everyone who had worked with the show from the very beginning is gone now.

With this and how all of the 6 have completed their character arcs, it looks like it is time for the show to start wrapping things up.

Or at least to change things up a fair bit; I think some recent stuff like Rarity's fashion chain, Dash's Wonderbolt career, and Starlight Glimmer in general still have potential. The show could retain some freshness and momentum if it changes the status quo a bit more, which it should, because I don't see much sign of the show stopping.

Where did you see that Haber left? I can't find any flat out confirmation.

He didn't confirm it, but the way he worded it suggests that he doesn't expect to return. 

Endure the first movie and the next two (though not the fourth) are quite a bit better. Don't bother continuing if Rainbow Rocks doesn't do anything for you, though. 

I mean, I can think of a few ways in which it could, but removing Sunset would require the movies to find something else to replace her; my issue with Legend of Everfree was that it didn't have any of the stuff which made Sunset in the previous two movies, but it didn't bring in anything else meaningful to replace that. Bringing in human Sunset and delving further into how the mane six live differently without magic would both be pretty interesting, but I'm not as sure that the Sirens, the Shadowbolts, or Gloriosa and Timber have all that much left to hold the series together. And this whole thing where the mane seven become pseudo-superheroes certainly isn't enough, as to me it honestly feels significantly blander than the high school nonsense we all feared these movies would be. Like, the show's best two-parters work because their main conflicts are grounded in something, but there's nothing particularly fresh or meaningful in EqG's current direction. 

That all said, Sunset has no personality without her insecurities, and now that those are mostly gone, I'm not entirely convinced that the movies would be that much less interesting for her absence. Could force SciTwi to actually muster up some personal strength and act like her counterpart, at least. Still, my preference would be for the movies to focus on Sunset's own concerns and insecurities again and give her some actual interests and flaws so she's not a slab of wood. 

The usual thought seems to be that making the Girls pastel colours was to avoid controversy, but maybe it was also to make identification a little easier. This might not have been an issue as much with EqG, but I find the way some fan artists draw the mane six as humans is nearly unrecognizable. 

And yeah, the rest is definitely just to sell toys, although who the hell knows why everyone's wearing boots. Not like this is the most realistic world, I guess; could just be the usual fashion in EqG's humanland. That said, the movies do seem to have been moving away from the skirts, which I appreciate greatly. 

I am also kinda annoyed with all the people saying that Rainbow Dash and Applejack shouldn't wear skirts.

Even if they are the most tomboyish of the mane 6, they have willing wore dresses multiple times in the show itself, and even agreed to the fashion show in Suited for Success.

Well, for one, I don't think skirts would be particularly convenient for what they're doing a lot of the time (sports and farm work, respectively), and the dresses argument doesn't really hold up, because the skirts most girls in the movies wear are clearly casual. I dunno if the States or Vancouver (where MLP is animated) are different, but nobody where I went to high school wore a skirt. 

Depends largely on the story and what role each character serves in any given episode, but I think they've all had their time as comic relief. Pinkie is certainly the most proficient at it, though. 

Probably was inevitable once the show got to this point that all of the original writers would leave. Can't keep them on one thing forever. Even compared to some of the shaky later writers, Polsky was probably one of the most uneven the show's ever had, so I won't miss him as much as Larson or Haber, but he still did a lot of great work on this show, especially in season 4. Just hoping we can get a stable collection of new writers in place now. 

teens can get into a lot of crazy stuff without magic. If they're allowed to ride motorcross in school, why not street racing? Why not a cruise and shipwreck on an uninhabited island? Why not blasting off into space?

That "Friendship Games" broke so much with reality with the whole motorcross thing brings up a whole lot of potential for non-magical absurdity which I think focusing on the "magic" element would cause to not be explored. I kinda think that's a lot more interesting than the frankly generic magical girl route the movies seem to be going down. I just wanna see how these characters live without magic! 

Very carefully, of course.

My issues with the map come mostly from the facts that:

1. It is never questioned or explained, and

2. It doesn't fit into a greater story.

Because of this, it feels like really lazy sotorytelling whenever it appears, and this is frankly largely down to the fact it only exists for stories to occur which rationally couldn't. The show rightly doesn't commit to a mission-of-the-week style, but without that it a greater story arc, the fact that the mane six just immediately accept the map's missions feels very lazy to me. Sure, it helps pacing, but would it kill this show to explain what the hell the map actually is?

The repeated locations and mundane issues don't bother me all that much. I'm not clamouring for MLP to dive deep into its lore, and it seems to me that these episodes would typically be fun fluff (similar to "Gauntlet of Fire") regardless of world building which, based on prior examples, I doubt would be terribly exciting anyway.

I confess that I *would* watch a whole show in Manehattan, though.

Here's a better question: why do people care about certain particular BG ponies, but don't care for others? It's always Derpy, Doctor, Lyra, Bonnie, Octy, Vinyl, and Minuette. Never the other ones. I bet most of you don't even know who Merry May is!

I think the popular background ponies simply look more distinctive. Merry May just isn't as memorable.

I already went over this in this other thread on the topic, so I'll just briefly re-list them here.

Anything incestuous or pedophilic

TwiLestia

RariJack

FlashLight

Cadance/Shining infidelity ships

FlutterCord

TwiDash

SoarinDash

Plus, Zephyr Breeze x Rainbow Dash, because apparently some people actually take that seriously and why. how. what. 

Finally, I don't have as much against it, but FlutterMac seems awfully random and superficial to me. 

And I'll also second this:

Sunset x Flash Sentry because SunLight is my OTP.

Because Rarity and Rainbow are two sides of the same coin when you really think about them, their ambitious, kinda egotistical, very driven and passionate mares... It's just one is girly and the other is a tomboy. But there's actually a lot in common there, so you have both the appeal of opposites attract and the theoretical compatablity of ships like say TwiJack without the sheer level of compatablity that makes those ships kinda hard to make fun. It's no surprise it's picked up steam. It's popular for the same reason Rarijack is, just less so since they have way less screen time together. Once they FINALLY got an episode together in S5 it's appeal became more clear to people. 

Furthermore, for someone like myself who just doesn't like all the conflict in "opposites attract" ships, there's also the fact that the most prominent example of shared screen time between the two ("Rarity Investigates!") has them getting along surprisingly well.

What I really like about this one is how Sweetie Belle's resentment of Rarity seems to come from ignorance of her own failures. In both instances where we see Rarity "upstaging" her, it's because she's overconfident and lacks self-awareness, and for a child like her, this feels realistic and appropriate. She doesn't grasp the whole picture, but she's still young. And she's a sweet kid, so once she really comes to get it, she immediately desires to set it right. Not sure any CMC episode writes its lead character better than Sweetie here; Scootaloo has a few episodes which are perhaps more sympathetic on a surface level, but I just don't connect to her quite as much. All of these CMC/Luna episodes are deep and truthful, though, so which one is the "best" hardly matters.

Speaking of which, Luna's role here is the most significant out of the three: Sweetie Belle's closed-minded attitude is causing her to lash out at her sister, and this is something Luna can relate to a whole lot. This is the episode where her appearance feels the most significant, as while Sweetie's misdeeds might not be as bad, it makes the most sense that Luna shows up as a guiding figure. Plus, as with all of these episodes, the nightmare imagery is fantastic, in this case not just being atmospheric but frequently being genuinely creepy. Sweetie Belle's hooves stuck to the ground, stretching like glue as she pulls them up? Rarity's complete mental implosion? The rising horror which accompanies even the more innocuous imagery? It's all very memorable, and it makes the episode all the more exciting for its inclusion. 

Quite possibly my very favourite of season 4; only the finale really stands out as competition. 

Score:

Entertainment: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Themes: 10/10

Story: 10/10

Overall: 100/100

This is excessively silly, but it's so joyous as to be totally irresistible. The sheer scale of the musical numbers, and of the stuff Pinkie and Cheese pull off, is delightful, and add in such absurdity as live-action segments of Boneless and Gummy and you have something which is just so goofy and ludicrous that I can't imagine anyone completely resisting its pull. Plus the songs are all energetic and catchy, although there's too many of them to remember a single one right now, and it's all grounded in one of season 4's rare moments of genuine character exploration. We know that abandonment is one of Pinkie's greatest fear, so even the prospect that she could  have been replaced fills her with the need to prove herself. 

Early scenes show us all the ponies who she's brought joy to, and a later scene has her look back on all the parties she's planned, and what makes these so essential is that they demonstrate the pride which leads her to challenge Cheese face-on. I figure she associates her status of "Equestria's premiere party pony" with her friends' approval of her, but she forgets that the reason she wants her friends to like her is because she wants to make them happy. Rainbow Dash gets in the most trouble for her ego, but it's no coincidence that none of them are the Element of Humility. In the end, Pinkie is able to get back to what's truly important, and while I'm not entirely convinced that this is a truly meaningful development for her as a character, it is a really strong moral. Just a delightful episode all around.

Score:

Entertainment: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Themes: 10/10

Story: 10/10

Overall: 98/100