Pick a Flaw: S3, E1 & 2 - The Crystal Empire

[Dark Qiviut 22,617]

Note: For the collection of other "Pick a Flaw" episode threads, head over to the "Pick a Flaw" blog portal (which'll be updated periodically) or check the list at the bottom of the OP (hidden under the "spoiler" tag).

 

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Well, it's back!

 

Of all four seasons, the one liked the least was the third. It's got its occasional successes (Wonderbolts Academy, Sleepless in Ponyville, Magic Duel), gigantic duds (One Bad Apple, Spike at Your Service, Games Ponies Play), and really controversial episodes (Magical Mystery Cure). This two-parter is the lone pair of episodes that outwardly connect to the season finale.

 

Many of you've participated in these threads before and understand how they work. But for those who are entering one of these threads for the first time, pick one of the flaws or weaknesses in the poll above and explain your reasons for them. If the one that bothers you the most isn't up there or if it's more than one/all of the above, click "other" and explain in your post.

 

One warning about the "other" option: It DOESN'T stand for "the episode is flawless."

 

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Back when I wrote my top-ten best and worst episodes, the one where it got the most attention was me placing The Crystal Empire as the fourth-worst. While King Sombra's execution was the most known flaw, it wasn't the biggest. This is where I went with the flaw that broke not just the plot of the two-parter, but the whole Twilicorn overarching plot, as well.

 

The premise is immoral!

To repeat the synopsis that I wrote: Princess Celestia assigns Twilight et al to go to The Crystal Empire to protect it in order for Twilight to pass her test.

Here is the biggest problem: “assigned” and “pass her test.” The Crystal Empire was put under siege by King Sombra, and he enslaved all of the crystal ponies with no conscience. When push came to shove, Luna and Celestia defeated Sombra and reduced him to a mere soul. But with the defeat comes a consequence: Sombra takes The Crystal Empire and its inhabitants with him.

Then, it inexplicably returned. What do you think would be the most viable option? Find out a way to protect The Crystal Empire from King Sombra. That’s what Cadance and Shining Armor did (although that plot point came out of thin air, too). The protection of the Empire was important, but that wasn’t the point of the episode or goals from Twilight, Luna, and Celestia.

The whole episode was about Twilight facing a test and passing it. Storywise, protecting and saving the Crystal Empire was secondary compared to Celestia’s and Luna’s true intention: prove Twilight’s worthy of ascension.

The Crystal Empire was a means to an end rather than an end in and of itself. Celestia and Luna intentionally put thousands of lives on the line to see if Twilight can help lead a kingdom. You DON’T play games with lives just to see if your protégé is capable of becoming an alicorn princess.

What if Twilight genuinely failed? Once the common folk find out that the Royal Sisters knew about how much danger the revived kingdom was in and did nothing to personally protect it, they can kiss their reputations goodbye. To make it worse, Celestia and Luna treat their tactics like it’s a noble deed, when it’s not. Through this episode and tyrannical approach to protecting the Empire, Celestia and Luna appear very unlikeable.

Also, the whole episode constantly hammers the test.

Twilight’s assignment? To successfully protect The Crystal Empire.

Twilight’s biggest fear? Failing her test and thus not continuing her studies.

Twilight’s biggest goal? Passing her test despite telling Spike to bring the Crystal Heart back to its holster.

What was Twilight most excited about? Passing her test.

From the characters and story, passing the test was the primary and more important conflict than protecting the Empire. Even when Twilight decided to sacrifice passing it to save it, that focus never wavered, which is a damn shame because FIM should’ve presented itself in a more moral way.

Someone is likely going to come by and claim that Celestia and Luna might not know Sombra returned.

• How come Luna wanted to assist Twilight, her friends, Cadance, and SA?

• When the guard told Celestia the Empire resurfaced, why did she tell another guard to find Wifehorse and Husbandhorse?

Simple. To protect it. Sombra was defeated, but not destroyed. His presence lingered, and the Royal Sisters knew Sombra was waiting. Shining Armor admitted this very point in Part 1.
 

Cadance has been able to use her magic to spread love and light. That seems to be what is protecting it. But she hasn't slept, barely eats. I want to help her, but my protection spell has been countered by King Sombra.

She’s not fine. She can’t go on like this forever, and if her magic were to fade... Well, you saw what's out there waiting for that to happen.

The only thing Celestia and Luna didn’t know directly is how he was going to be defeated.

 

Therefore, I choose "Other" (choices four through six; credit to Nuke's review for uncovering the issue with the lesson, too), as they all go hand-in-hand.

 

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Season 1:

• Friendship Is Magic, Parts 1 & 2
• The Ticket Master
• Applebuck Season
• Griffon the Brush Off
• Boast Busters
• Dragonshy
• Look Before You Sleep
• Bridle Gossip
• Swarm of the Century
• Winter Wrap Up
• Owl's Well that Ends Well

Season 2:

• The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000
• Putting Your Hoof Down
• Hurricane Fluttershy
• Dragon Quest

Season 3:

1. The Crystal Empire
2. Spike at Your Service

Season 4:

• Rainbow Falls
• Simple Ways
• Filli Vanilli
• Twilight Time
• It Ain't Easy Bein' Breezies
• Somepony to Watch Over Me
• Maud Pie
• For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils
• Leap of Faith
• Testing Testing 1, 2, 3
• Trade Ya!
• Inspiration Manifestation
• Equestria Games
• Twilight's Kingdom

Other:

1. The Micro-Series, Part 1 - Mane Six
2. The Micro-Series, Part 2 - The Other Cast & Overall Series

 

 

Edited December 26, 2014 by Dark Qiviut

[Castle Bleck 19,482]

Nothing in the episode itself, but rather what was alongside it:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mAgbCowYI8

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

Nothing in the episode itself, but rather what was alongside it:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mAgbCowYI8

This post right here and everywhere.

 

Nothing was particularly wrong with the episode (besides a slightly underwhelming climax). But the Gak jokes the fandom made after the episode aired were funny the first time, but got tiring really fast.

[Wind Chaser 4,769]

I voted for the Empire's citizens being treated as a means to an end, but it also ties into the moral and Celestia screwing around with ponies lives. IMO, that should all be combined into that most dreaded of forced plot elements -- the TEST! :O

 

However, I voted for that one choice over the others because it was the one most directly affected by that forced plot element. I don't really have much else to say that hasn't already been touched on in this blog: http://mlpforums.com/blog/1581/entry-13160-an-empirical-matter-the-crystal-empire-review/

 

I wouldn't really count Luna as being tyrannical with Celestia. She's pretty much a non-entity and a missed opportunity in the episode, only speaking to go along with Celestia's plan and never really speaking enough against it. That would have provided some additional depth to her and it shows why Luna is one of the most underutilized characters in the show in need of further development.

 

Pushing the ReMane 5 to the background is another thing I'll strike against the episode, and again caused by the "test" as a forced plot element. Twilight is the focus for much of the second part, and the seriousness of Twilight's quest is haphazardly jump-cut in between the other 5 serving comic relief with the rest of the Crystal Ponies. Both subplots hinder each other; Twilight's for stealing the spotlight away from the other characters and the ReMane 5 for creating tonal inconsistency.

 

I like Spike, but crediting him alone with saving the Empire is a factual stretch, as Shining Armor and Cadance both fought through their near-incapacitation to save the Crystal Heart, as did the entirety of the Crystal Empire delivering the final death blow. The mural should have equally depicted Cadance, Shining Armor, Spike, and the Crystal Ponies getting rid of King Sombra. This is a point I don't think I touched on in my review.

 

And then, of course, the moral, which is again hampered by the "test" as a forced plot element. Never mind that Twilight risked her standing as a student by this contrivance. The moral should have recognized Twilight for risking her life to save the Empire.

 

The plot of the episode was a mess, it's haphazardly edited, the songs were very mediocre IMO, and the Crystal Empire seems to be bad luck for morals (see also "Games Ponies Play" and "Equestria Games", also episodes with potentially good morals hampered by their execution and coincidentally set in the Empire). However, I find it entertaining to watch because of Twilight's progression in her magic, and King Sombra. Despite his lack of a compelling backstory or a good screen presence, King Sombra is a great service to the plot, bringing a looming and credible threat throughout, setting clever traps, being the villain who actually came the closest to breaking Twilight, and going down fighting rather than standing around and relishing their newfound victory.

[Cleverclover 1,526]

This two-parter was a continuation of the trend of Celestia being portrayed as laughably incompetent (to the point where you have to wonder why she's still even permitted to rule the country) which pretty much began in A Canterlot Wedding and has since become standard in the majority of her appearances. 

 

First off, she wastes absolutely no time in forcing Twilight to take care of the problem. She didn't even take a moment to find out what she would be up against. It was simply, "Oh the Crystal Empire is back? Better call Twilight." And of course, she takes the opportunity to make this a "test" for her to see how close she is to being "ready" for ascension. So this pretty much reveals to us that Twilight ascending was something that she had planned. 

 

Anyway, the thing that really cranks up Celestia's incompetence level several notches and nearly ends up dooming the entire Empire is the bull**** restriction that Celestia places on her: that she alone is the one who must save the Empire in the end.

 

This ends up becoming a major issue because Celestia does NOT establish how much her friends can and cannot help her. Why the hell did she even force Twilight's friends to come with her if the whole thing was supposed to come down to her alone? Exactly what was she expecting them to do? Cheer her on? And why the hell did she see fit to put so much pressure on Twilight's shoulders in the first place? This was a matter that concerned the freedom of an entire civilization. She should have allowed Twilight's friends to help her in any possible way that they could, and it should not have come down to Twilight just because Celestia was all hyped and excited about the concept of making her an alicorn that much sooner. Bottom line, the "you and you alone" requirement was complete and utter bull****, and I'll explain why: 

 

So when Spike asks Twilight if he can come with her, she initially declines because of Celestia's bull**** requirement. Fortunately, she ends up letting him come on the condition that he doesn't lift a claw to help her. And it's a damn good thing she did, considering that she would have gotten stuck in THREE different areas had Spike not come with her: 

 

1. The door of fears. Spike was the one who snapped her out of it. Though it's debatable whether or not Twilight could have eventually come back to her senses on her own, even if she had, it might have ended up being much later, causing her to lose precious time. 

 

2. The never-ending staircase. Spike was the one who indirectly gave her the idea to use a gravity spell. However, like with the door of fears, it's also debatable whether or not she would have eventually thought to do so on her own. But even if she had, it might have ended up being much later, and she would have once again lost time (on top of the time she had already lost breaking free from the door of fears). 

 

3. The Crystal Heart trap. Here is where it's completely, 100% certain that Twilight would have failed the test and doomed the empire had Spike not come with her. There was no way out of the trap, and Twilight clearly would have been stuck there until Sombra eventually broke through and taken control. 

 

So that's three different areas where Twilight would have certainly failed the test had Spike not come with her. And the only reason she didn't want him to come with her was because of the bull**** "you and you alone" requirement that Celestia forced on her. So essentially, had Twilight failed, it would have been Celestia's fault far more than it would have been anyone else's. 

 

Honestly, The Crystal Empire is my second least favorite of the two-parters, surpassed only by Twilight's Kingdom. 

[Odyssey 5,719]

I voted for Other, and to me, I find the characters to be a little too unlikeable. With the exception of Spike, everybody else are either non-entities or that they're portrayed as dicks. Especially Celestia! The way she put many lives into danger just to see how well Twilight could protect an entire Empire is immoral. I can't say I was fond of Twilight either. She was too focused on her little test to the point where she seems a bit of an empty shell.

 

I also am not fond of the moral. It's a good moral, that's true, but with the whole test thing, it makes it look broken and a little hypocritical. It's definitely my least favourite two-parter and my least favourite Meghan McCarthy episode.

[Pastel 7,630]

Oh, one of my favorite episodes.

I thought the whole "test" thing was the biggest flaw. Twilight was thinking about her test during the episode, and not about The Crystal Empire, how to save it etc.

[sweetolebob18 728]

Dark Qiviot  

I hadn't really thought of it that way until your post crystalized it for me.  Where we part company is I DON'T think Celestia's actions were the least bit incompetent or out of character.  I think they were merely a bit more open than usual.  IMO, since before Episode 1, Celestia has been testing Twilight & grooming her to become an alicorn.  I think C knew Nightmare Moon was due to escape & the moment she saw T's cutie mark, she had her eye on T to become an alicorn.

 

C is NOT incompetent.  She is making T handle things to force T to increase her power & to test her.  She might have been surprised by the Changelings at the wedding, but she wasn't overpowered, she took a dive.  She did this to force T to handle things.

 

The Crystal Empire is merely one more thread in her tapestry, one more string for the puppet master.  I have my suspicions as to why she is doing this, but "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".  She risked the Crystal Ponies because, in her mind, the kingdom needed T to become an alicorn & setting up challenges is the only way T will learn & grow.

 

She is not doing this because she is mean or incompetent, just desperate.  She has been trying for an alicorn since the days of Starswirl & T was her last, best hope. 

Edited December 27, 2014 by sweetolebob18