Best-to-Worst Issues of The Return of Queen Chrysalis?

[The Second Opinion 270]

The general reaction seemed to be that they got better as they went, and when I started out reviewing them, I agreed. But while issue #4 was the epic payoff, I thought #3 was still the master of the off-the-wall (and slightly dark) humor, which makes it hard to decide. So my order from best to worst right now is

- #3 or #4

- #2

- #1

 

What are your thoughts and how do you rank them?

[Chigens and Kay 3,832]

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Hi there. I've moved your thread over to the "Comics and Books" section of Sugarcube Corner as this is the best fitting place to discuss the official comics.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

I thought they were all pretty awful, but most people I've seen rank the ending really poorly.

[The Second Opinion 270]

I thought they were all pretty awful, but most people I've seen rank the ending really poorly.

Interesting. For me, like I said, it's been more or less the opposite, with most of the people who watch my stuff (and a random review I happened to come across on this website: http://mlpforums.com/blog/2248/entry-14824-return-of-queen-chrysalis-comic-series-review/) saying that they liked the last issue the best. Who are the people you've seen rank it poorly?

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Interesting. For me, like I said, it's been more or less the opposite, with most of the people who watch my stuff (and a random review I happened to come across on this website: http://mlpforums.com/blog/2248/entry-14824-return-of-queen-chrysalis-comic-series-review/) saying that they liked the last issue the best. Who are the people you've seen rank it poorly?

Most of the discussion board on Ponychan, and mostly because the ending was such a cop-out Twilight rescues everything herself without any rhyme or reason behind it thing.

 

Not like I liked it either, but those guys get SUPER bothered every time Twilight gets to do anything without her friends. Missed the whole point of Crystal Empire doing that...

[The Second Opinion 270]

Most of the discussion board on Ponychan, and mostly because the ending was such a cop-out Twilight rescues everything herself without any rhyme or reason behind it thing.

 

Not like I liked it either, but those guys get SUPER bothered every time Twilight gets to do anything without her friends. Missed the whole point of Crystal Empire doing that...

Huh. Yeah, that does sound like kind of a strict requirement. I would've at least given them credit for the implication that the friends' cheering and such helps Twilight to resist the heart drain and up her passion, instead of proverbially letting it crumble.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Huh. Yeah, that does sound like kind of a strict requirement. I would've at least given them credit for the implication that the friends' cheering and such helps Twilight to resist the heart drain and up her passion, instead of proverbially letting it crumble.

Well... no, that's the sort of backseat pedestaling of Twilight and Twilight alone that gives them the impression that she's the only one the writers care about when the chips are down. And in that instance I can totally see what they mean.

[The Second Opinion 270]

Well... no, that's the sort of backseat pedestaling of Twilight and Twilight alone that gives them the impression that she's the only one the writers care about when the chips are down. And in that instance I can totally see what they mean.

Took me a second to realize what "backseat pedestaling" meant.   I guess I could see the point if I had more examples of the writers doing this, but as is, I wasn't really thinking in terms of whether the friends did "enough." It's definitely a Twilight main-character moment. I just meant that they used friendship as part of the solution.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Took me a second to realize what "backseat pedestaling" meant.   I guess I could see the point if I had more examples of the writers doing this, but as is, I wasn't really thinking in terms of whether the friends did "enough." It's definitely a Twilight main-character moment. I just meant that they used friendship as part of the solution.

I'm sure there's a real word I could have used instead of "pedestaling" but I couldn't think of one...

 

The problem most prominently comes from the fact that Twilight's friends were important and central characters throughout the entire arc, only to be relegated to hostages/cheerleaders for Twilight alone right at the climax. At least in A Canterlot Wedding, Crystal Empire, and Twilight's Kingdom, they weren't really doing anything important in the first place rather than being suddenly shoved into the background.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Dulset Tarn

[PoisonClaw 8,164]

It's been a while since I read the first four issues, but based on what I can remember I would rank them as:

 

Best - 3

1

4

Worst - 2

 

The second issue is the worst because it was stupid how easy the changelings were able to break them apart. Never mind that the six of them have been friends long enough (especially after A Canterlot Wedding, where not trusting someone almost lead to Canterlot being taken over) and that they know that the Changelings are their enemies, they should be suspicious when their supposed "friends" start obviously mocking them loud enough for anyone within earshot can hear. But nope!

 

By contrast, issue 3 is the best because not only does it have a lot of funny moments as well as a look into the fauna of Equestria, but it immediately fixes the previous issue by having them all realize not long after that they w ere probably tricked and once they do meet up again, pretty much the first thing they do is apologize. Also, this issue is easily the darkest of the arc, both because we see Chrysalis drain and then enslave an entire race, but this is also the issue Chrysalis straight-up murders one of the kitties off-panel, to the traumatizing horror of the CMC. 

 

The first issue takes second because for a first issue it was really good, regardless of the hype surrounding it. I was laughing almost the entire time and I had to go back constantly to catch all the little things snuck in here and there.

 

Finally, the last issue feels like it was trying way too hard to have an epic conclusion. The beginning was okay, but then we have this confusing sequence were Chrysalis threatens to kill Twilight's friends if she doesn't join her, followed by an implication that Chrysalis can apparently drain a pony until they're a mindless husk that would willingly attack her friends (which I guess is similar to what she did to Shining Armor but is still never fully explained), ending off with the obvious macguffin of the comet to boost Twilight's magic enough that she poofs Chrysalis and the Changelings to...somewhere. Oh, and Spike and Celestia were apparently fighting kaiju sized cockatrices that were attacking Canterlot the entire time, because why not?

Edited January 29, 2015 by PoisonClaw

[The Second Opinion 270]

I'm sure there's a real word I could have used instead of "pedestaling" but I couldn't think of one...

 

The problem most prominently comes from the fact that Twilight's friends were important and central characters throughout the entire arc, only to be relegated to hostages/cheerleaders for Twilight alone right at the climax. At least in A Canterlot Wedding, Crystal Empire, and Twilight's Kingdom, they weren't really doing anything important in the first place rather than being suddenly shoved into the background.

Wallace Shawn voice: "So, it is down to you, and it is down to me."   

 

It was a little bit odd that neither the changelings nor the friends were able to make much of a difference (at least, until the comet boost happened), but I do think I prefer the structure of all of them playing important roles at different times on the way there, then giving the climactic moment to the main character, over the main character just doing all the work the whole time.

 

As a stylistic choice, I suppose it has its pros and cons. Spreading the battle out between more characters would have allowed for a wider variety of potential "favorite moments," but the approach they chose allowed them to put all their chips on making the main one as weighty as possible, with everyone we like contributing something to it in unison. 

 

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Wallace Shawn voice: "So, it is down to you, and it is down to me."   

 

It was a little bit odd that neither the changelings nor the friends were able to make much of a difference (at least, until the comet boost happened), but I do think I prefer the structure of all of them playing important roles at different times on the way there, then giving the climactic moment to the main character, over the main character just doing all the work the whole time.

 

As a stylistic choice, I suppose it has its pros and cons. Spreading the battle out between more characters would have allowed for a wider variety of potential "favorite moments," but the approach they chose allowed them to put all their chips on making the main one as weighty as possible, with everyone we like contributing something to it in unison. 

 

I'll admit I don't quite remember exactly how it ended, but from what I remember it was basically just Twilight going "Magic BOOOOOOOOM!" and she won. What you described is doable, but can be done well, or badly. To do it well, there would need to be some reason why Twilight was the one pony able to participate in the fight. And I don't mean just being powered up by the comet, that's just an excuse. What I mean is something that actually happens. Something that requires magic or ingenuity, like Twilight casting spells or cleverly coming up with a plan or something only she could do from a storytelling perspective. Just having it all fall upon her, only to have it end with lasers vs. lasers, is the wrong way to do what you described.

[The Second Opinion 270]

It's been a while since I read the first four issues, but based on what I can remember I would rank them as:

 

Best - 3

1

4

Worst - 2

 

The second issue is the worst because it was stupid how easy the changelings were able to break them apart. Never mind that the six of them have been friends long enough (especially after A Canterlot Wedding, where not trusting someone almost lead to Canterlot being taken over) and that they know that the Changelings are their enemies, they should be suspicious when their supposed "friends" start obviously mocking them loud enough for anyone within earshot can hear. But nope!

 

By contrast, issue 3 is the best because not only does it have a lot of funny moments as well as a look into the fauna of Equestria, but it immediately fixes the previous issue by having them all realize not long after that they w ere probably tricked and once they do meet up again, pretty much the first thing they do is apologize. Also, this issue is easily the darkest of the arc, both because we see Chrysalis drain and then enslave an entire race, but this is also the issue Chrysalis straight-up murders one of the kitties off-panel, to the traumatizing horror of the CMC. 

 

The first issue takes second because for a first issue it was really good, regardless of the hype surrounding it. I was laughing almost the entire time and I had to go back constantly to catch all the little things snuck in here and there.

 

Finally, the last issue feels like it was trying way too hard to have an epic conclusion. The beginning was okay, but then we have this confusing sequence were Chrysalis threatens to kill Twilight's friends if she doesn't join her, followed by an implication that Chrysalis can apparently drain a pony until they're a mindless husk that would willingly attack her friends (which I guess is similar to what she did to Shining Armor but is still never fully explained), ending off with the obvious macguffin of the comet to boost Twilight's magic enough that she poofs Chrysalis and the Changelings to...somewhere. Oh, and Spike and Celestia were apparently fighting kaiju sized cockatrices that were attacking Canterlot the entire time, because why not?

Totally agree on #3 and mostly agree on #2, although I hardly thought that was the most contrived thing in this story. (The queen's entire plan doesn't really make any sense, if you think about it. She wants Twilight to come to the Changeling Kingdom herself so she and her friends will go through trials, but then she leaves Changelings behind in Ponyville to take over a town for no beneficial reason and attempt to capture Twilight. Then, instead of preparing for Twilight's arrival, she spends all her time messing with the 6 friends, doing just the opposite of "binding them together" and seeming happy whenever something is about to stop them from reaching her kingdom. And why she doesn't just move the cutie mark crusaders to another room is beyond me.) 

 

Issue #1 I thought had a LOT of forced comedy, like it was going for "breezy" and "fun-loving" but ended up just plain sloppy half the time. But not so much that I didn't think it was passable.

 

And as a "because why not?" moment, I thought it was more entertaining and satisfying to hear that Spike and Celestia had been fighting invading monsters than it would have been to learn that Celestia was just "away for a few days" or some excuse that's really just code for "come on, nobody wants her to be in the story!"

I'll admit I don't quite remember exactly how it ended, but from what I remember it was basically just Twilight going "Magic BOOOOOOOOM!" and she won. What you described is doable, but can be done well, or badly. To do it well, there would need to be some reason why Twilight was the one pony able to participate in the fight. And I don't mean just being powered up by the comet, that's just an excuse. What I mean is something that actually happens. Something that requires magic or ingenuity, like Twilight casting spells or cleverly coming up with a plan or something only she could do from a storytelling perspective. Just having it all fall upon her, only to have it end with lasers vs. lasers, is the wrong way to do what you described.

Well, granted, you would have to be careful about legitimately underselling the others that way, making it sound like they're just "not good enough" to figure that out, but it's been done well before. The comet does dodge that bullet by making it a simple case of putting the queen and Twilight in their element (and Rarity, but we've seen with Trixie how that works out), although as a plot device, it does itself no favors by seeming like sort of a rushed Avatar knockoff.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Well, granted, you would have to be careful about legitimately underselling the others that way, making it sound like they're just "not good enough" to figure that out, but it's been done well before. The comet does dodge that bullet by making it a simple case of putting the queen and Twilight in their element (and Rarity, but we've seen with Trixie how that works out), although as a plot device, it does itself no favors by seeming like sort of a rushed Avatar knockoff.

There's a very thin line between "dodging that bullet" and "contrived plot BS".