I just started watching MLP! And finished it 0.0

[Pinkie-Guy 564]

In 3 weeks I finished out the entire show. All 4 seasons.

 

I have to say it was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

 

I want to do a review on here of each season from what im guessing is a unique perspective, considering I watched the show relatively raw, with no outside knowledge of bronys (except that they existed and that derpy hooves was a glitch that was made into a character *I think*)

 

But right now I want to give my 2 cents on the season 4 finale, because I hated it... WAY to many lazers, with HUGE plot holes, and no real lesson at the end. All twilight even did was give up her magic KNOWING she was going to open a box with a bigger better lazer inside.

 

I was honestly expecting Discord to team up with Tirek in an attempt to beat him, and that the episode was going to be about Fluttershy struggling to convince the group that Discord had not betrayed them. So you know, friendship saves the day. Not raw lazer power that only tacitly represents friendship. The entire episode felt so foriegn from the rest of the entire show, and I hope they don't do something like that again in season 5.

 

Other than that though, I loved the show!

 

Welcome!

 

I went straight through all 4 seasons and both Equestria Girls movies back in November.  I went into it raw too; I only knew that it had a large and devoted following.  I initially watched it as a skeptic trying to figure out what made the show so popular, but it's surprising how good the show turned out to be.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,336]

Badlands? What badlands? Since when are there "badlands" located right beside Twilight's library? No, the battle took place directly along or around the borders of Ponyville since Twilight didn't bother to move it somewhere else so as not to accidentally destroy any other homes with her own blasts, which, I point out, could have happened since she didn't have the slightest grasp on her new power and only managed to control it during the fight simply because the plot called for her to (Yeah, truly terrific writing there.... ).

Go back and watch the battle again. I just did. After Twilight looked back and saw that the library was destroyed, she teleported again. Twilight had ALL of the Alicorn magic. She could have teleported thousands of miles. Watch the scene carefully. It takes place well away from Ponyville. Once the fighting starts, no other buildings, structures, animals, or characters of any kind are visible. It's all rocks, trees, and mountains. AKA badlands.

[Judgement 445]

I'm glad you liked the show. I have to agree with your views on the season 4 finale. It could have been much better without a ridiculous Laser fight. I liked that Twilight's house got destroyed, but the way that it was almost instantly replaced with a castle took away from the shock value. The fight seemed too short, and the way that Twilight chose her friends over magic was not smart in my opinion. If there was nothing important in the chest, she would have screwed over all of Equestria. Heck, she didn't even know discord had anything to give her. I'm not trying to sound heartless, but if I understood my friends and my friends understood me, we'd both know it is best to not risk the lives of Millions of people just to save a few of them.

 

Also, I did something similar to watching the whole show in a short period of time. The first 18 over the course of a few months and then the rest of season 1 to the end of season 4 in two weeks. So you aren't the only one.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

I'm glad you liked the show. I have to agree with your views on the season 4 finale. It could have been much better without a ridiculous Laser fight. I liked that Twilight's house got destroyed, but the way that it was almost instantly replaced with a castle took away from the shock value. The fight seemed too short, and the way that Twilight chose her friends over magic was not smart in my opinion. If there was nothing important in the chest, she would have screwed over all of Equestria. Heck, she didn't even know discord had anything to give her. I'm not trying to sound heartless, but if I understood my friends and my friends understood me, we'd both know it is best to not risk the lives of Millions of people just to save a few of them.

 

Also, I did something similar to watching the whole show in a short period of time. The first 18 over the course of a few months and then the rest of season 1 to the end of season 4 in two weeks. So you aren't the only one.

Now that I think about it, was Tirek even threatening Twilight's friends? He had them all in the bubbles but like, he never says "Give me your magic or they die." Twilight gave up her magic not to like, save their lives, but just in return for their freedom. How much does that even amount to though when you just gave Tirek all the power in the country? Would leaving them in Tirek's captivity really be so unforgivable?

[Judgement 445]

Now that I think about it, was Tirek even threatening Twilight's friends? He had them all in the bubbles but like, he never says "Give me your magic or they die." Twilight gave up her magic not to like, save their lives, but just in return for their freedom. How much does that even amount to though when you just gave Tirek all the power in the country? Would leaving them in Tirek's captivity really be so unforgivable?

Exactly. I don't see why she didn't just say no and continue to defeat him. He was clearly getting worn down from the lasers she was shooting at him, which is why he made the offer in the first place. Personally, I would have just finished Tirek off. Twilight was risking way too much by releasing her friends.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Exactly. I don't see why she didn't just say no and continue to defeat him. He was clearly getting worn down from the lasers she was shooting at him, which is why he made the offer in the first place. Personally, I would have just finished Tirek off. Twilight was risking way too much by releasing her friends.

The hilarious part is that the princesses gave her all that power specifically to keep it hidden away from Tirek. Twilight had ONE JOB and instead she literally hurls the power right at him.

[Justin_Case001 4,933]

@@Cleverclover, I already offered my defense of Twilight vs. Tirek to you in another thread, but since you didn't reply to that, I'm just going to quote myself here.

 

 

@@Cleverclover, Ok, I'll stipulate that that fight was outside the normal themes of FIM, but what choice did she have, extactly?  I mean, what, in your opinion, would have been the right thing for her to do?  She probably figured that if she didn't stand and fight, Tirek would probably destroy Equestria.  Some collateral damage is unfortunate but inevitable.  This reminds me of the folks who say Man of Steel was garbage purely because Kal caused a crapton of property damage and endangered some lives.  Nevermind that he saved the world.  Cause, y'know, if he were really Superman, he would have done it without knocking one brick out of place.  Perhaps Twi's blasts did kill some animals.  Would that have been worse than letting Tirek win, which probably would have meant the death of everything in the world?  (Should I quote Spock's dying words?)  I realize it wasn't Twi's magic that ultimately stopped him, but again, I don't think she felt like she had much of a choice at the time.  And I don't believe it was meant to be brony-pandering.  I've heard a lot of testimony that young girls enjoyed that fight.

 

The episode was by no means perfect, but I really don't think it utterly destroyed her character.  You certainly don't have to like it.  That's fine.  But I just felt that I couldn't walk away without defending it again.  It wasn't a paragon of celestial perfection, but I certainly don't think it's the loathsome abomination you make it out to be, either.  It's not a worthless, vile concoction of putrid garbage, the most heinously anus thing ever conceived by mankind, an insult to humanity and a plague upon this world that must suffer the tortures of the damned.

 

Anyway, OP, I'm glad you liked the rest of the show.

[newfrickinshow 100]

Thing is though Twilight didn't know that giving up her magic would lead to her key nor did she know that what was in the box would be able to stop Tirek.  Twilight gave up power in favor of friendship while forgiving Discord and still counting him as a friend.

 

Every time I watch that moment Discord says, "Thank you Twilight," I have Donkey yelling at Shrek in my head.  "That's what friends do, they forgive each other!"  I think that was a decent enough message and moral to be going on with.

[Po-Nonimous 583]

Oh, great! Now I'm going to have to go back and watch all four seasons again and this time take notes just so I can find some interesting stuff to post about. Oh, like I'd actually mind doing that? Heh. Hey, it's okay. It took me only bout a week to watch four seasons the first time. I'm willing to give up another week for this.

 

Uh, shouldn't we include the movies EqG movies in this, too?

[Cleverclover 1,526]

Go back and watch the battle again. I just did. After Twilight looked back and saw that the library was destroyed, she teleported again. Twilight had ALL of the Alicorn magic. She could have teleported thousands of miles. Watch the scene carefully. It takes place well away from Ponyville. Once the fighting starts, no other buildings, structures, animals, or characters of any kind are visible. It's all rocks, trees, and mountains. AKA badlands.

 

After checking it again, I kinda see what you're getting at. Tirek was actually a pretty fair distance away from Ponyville when he destroyed the library, not too far considering how quickly his blast actually caught up, but a good several meters at least. Still not far enough away where it wasn't possible that it would have been caught up in the battle, though. And it still wasn't anyplace that could be considered "badlands." It only became badlands after their fight laid waste to the grass and the trees that made up that place, and ironically enough, Twilight actually contributed more to that than Tirek did. So I guess because her own home was destroyed, that gave her the right to destroy the homes (as well as inadvertently cause the deaths) of numerous animals out of her lust for revenge? 

 

 

 

I mean, what, in your opinion, would have been the right thing for her to do? 

 

I'm not going to deny that she was placed in a sticky situation, and it was mostly Celestia's fault since it was her brilliant plan to transfer power to Twilight in the first place. But in any case, I honestly think her best bet was to flee and grant herself more time to gain control. Granted, she did try this initially, but I didn't really think she gave it much of an effort. I honestly doubt that Tirek could really move as fast as she could, and if she had actually made a legitimate attempt to get the hell out of dodge, it would have been quite some time before he found her again. 

 

And even if I could accept that Twilight had absolutely no other choice but to engage him in battle, I would have certainly expected her to show more rationality and smarts that she is so well known for rather than just mindlessly firing off death blasts without the slightest bit of regard for anything around her. 

 

 

 

She probably figured that if she didn't stand and fight, Tirek would probably destroy Equestria.

 

 

I don't think that was a factor in her mind at all. Because she didn't engage him for the sake of Equestria. She engaged him for the sake of herself. I bet it felt damn good to her that she was throwing everything she had at him. 

 

 

 

You certainly don't have to like it.  That's fine.  But I just felt that I couldn't walk away without defending it again. 

 

 

Well, I'm not trying to get people to stop liking what I don't like. My original intention was to point out that the battle had no actual relevance to the episode whatsoever, and that its only purpose was to appease the bronies. 

Edited February 3, 2015 by Cleverclover

[Rainboom Dash 1,056]

Congrats on completing the whole show in such a short period of time! If I remember correctly it took me about a month to watch all of Seasons 1 and 2.

[John Locke N7 52]

You guys are AWESOME! Thanks for all the replies

 

I didn't expect it to evolve into a season 4 finale discussion, but I'm glad it did.

 

My only other 2 cents on the endings besides what I've already stated is how bad Celests plans really was.

I mean she gave Twilight her alicorn magic to keep is secret under the impression that Tirek didn't know Twilight was an alicorn. But she KNEW Discord had betrayed them and that he knows. Not only that but she left a giant glass window of Twilight up right next to her throne. Tirek used BOTH of these things to find Twilight out. Also she failed to give Twilight any real instruction on how best to hide from Tirek, so eventually Twilight bumps into Tirek by pretty much accident anyway, making 90% of the plot irrelevant.

 

I think by that point I was already skeptical at how they were approaching the episode, and so the DBZ lazer showdown didn't wow me. It kind of just aggravated me considering a back and forth exchange of lazers with no real sense of strategy doesn't advance the plot.

(Also I guess Discords betrayed the mane 6 pretty quickly. Which kind of only looks bad on Celest considering she really didn't even have a back up plan.)

Well, frankly I do not agree with you in the least. Would you think more of Twilight if she just sat there and said "Woe is me?" and then was destroyed? Oh, and didn't you notice that the battle took place out in some kind of badlands, and there were no buildings, structures or living beings involved other than the two combatants?

IDK if you can really say Twilights alternative was bad considering it's really the writers fault for putting her in an uncharacteristically situation.

 

Usually the conflicts in MLP are internal between the characters. Which is why I think Discord worked so well as a villain, because he separated the characters from who they were, so defeating him wasn't about "having a higher power level" but overcoming personal obstacles as a team. Tirek and the changelings pretty much devolved into brawls, which is why I take so much issue with those episodes. Almost every other episode is about personal issues with the character and LOTR style plights against the land, so to speak.

 

Again, it's not that I don't like those, or even think they wouldn't work in MLP. It's just that MLP doesn't do them well.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Usually the conflicts in MLP are internal between the characters. Which is why I think Discord worked so well as a villain, because he separated the characters from who they were, so defeating him wasn't about "having a higher power level" but overcoming personal obstacles as a team. Tirek and the changelings pretty much devolved into brawls, which is why I take so much issue with those episodes. Almost every other episode is about personal issues with the character and LOTR style plights against the land, so to speak.

 

Again, it's not that I don't like those, or even think they wouldn't work in MLP. It's just that MLP doesn't do them well.

Also note what else happens whenever violence is an option. They tried fighting the manticore, but that was the wrong way to go about it. Dash kicked the dragon in the face, but only Fluttershy's assertiveness placated it. Twilight presumably could have shot lasers at the hydra, but they decided to simply flee. I can literally name a dozen more instances of fighting being possible but not the route taken, so it's times like this and the laser fight with the giant worm that show me how far the series has drifted from its original path.

[John Locke N7 52]

Oh, great! Now I'm going to have to go back and watch all four seasons again and this time take notes just so I can find some interesting stuff to post about. Oh, like I'd actually mind doing that? Heh. Hey, it's okay. It took me only bout a week to watch four seasons the first time. I'm willing to give up another week for this.

 

Uh, shouldn't we include the movies EqG movies in this, too?

Rainbow Rocks was actually what got me into the show. Or rather the Dazzelings singing did.

[Foliha 395]

I for one loved the little action moments... I know the elements of threat, peril and a bad guys are out of place for MLP... But it really shook things up and I can imagine people tuned in to see more of Discord... What's wrong with a little mild peril now and then?

Me too.  I'm also a big fan of Harry Potter, and I heard all the complaints as the franchise progressed about how it was getting so dark and violent.  But here's the thing - not only were the Harry, Hermione and Ron getting older as the franchise progressed, but so were their audience.  More mature themes were not only acceptable to the fan base/audience, but they were desireable and expected.  (And not just because the audience had read the books.)  The core values of the main characters remained consistent, even as their personalities needs evolved, and it's why we rooted for them, wept for them and sighed with relief each time they triumphed.

 

Look at Miazaki's films.  Even the ones for very young audiences have the protagonists facing peril, and enemies who don't play by the rules.  Princess Mononoke was a bloodbath in many ways, but none of the kids I know who saw it were scarred (or even scared) for life.

 

I think the target age demographic has changed during the four seasons of MLP FIM, and the newer demographic has more money in their hands to buy merchandise.  So why should Hasbro not include a wider range of feelings and action to the ponies (and the villians)?  (As long as they aren't giving younger viewers bad dreams and a foul vocabulary.)

 

The core themes of the show, on the other hand, have not changed - and that's a good thing.  Because the qualities of the elements of harmony are qualities that should not lose their relevance, regardless of the age of the viewers. 

 

I think that one of the reasons there are so many male Bronies is that it gives them a positive context to think about those values.  For all the he-man protestations, when teased about watching the show, that there's macho stuff in the show, I think that if you scratch a (male) Brony, you'll find underneath a man who has an instinctive wish to absorb and express those values in a non-judgemental setting.  In other words, you have a more balanced human being.  That he may be uncomfortable about expressing his thoughts about this is understandable.  Men have been brainwashed just as much as women, and one of the biggest taboos among "manly men"  is to speak and act frankly about the values mentioned above.   Boys get told, "Don't pet and play with the dog - train him and make him obey!"  Girls get told, "Don't be mean to the dog!  Look, you hurt his feelings!"  But it is a balanced combination of kindness and firmness that make for a happy, well-balanced dog.  It's no different with people, and I think that MLP FIM gets that message across nicely - with explosions, with cupcakes and all the rest...

 

Heck, I like a good fire-fight from time to time!  And I'm an old lady...

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Me too.  I'm also a big fan of Harry Potter, and I heard all the complaints as the franchise progressed about how it was getting so dark and violent.  But here's the thing - not only were the Harry, Hermione and Ron getting older as the franchise progressed, but so were their audience.  More mature themes were not only acceptable to the fan base/audience, but they were desireable and expected.  (And not just because the audience had read the books.)  The core values of the main characters remained consistent, even as their personalities needs evolved, and it's why we rooted for them, wept for them and sighed with relief each time they triumphed.

Question, did you read the books AND watch the movies?

[Foliha 395]

Question, did you read the books AND watch the movies?

Yup.  Read all the books three times and have seen the movies many more times.  Didn't everybody? 

Edited February 4, 2015 by Foliha

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Were you as disappointed as I was when all the cool spellcasting between the Death Eaters and the Order in the books was replaced with pew pew lasers and flying around in the movies?

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,164]

Yup.  Read all the books three times and have seen the movies many more times.  Didn't everybody? 

 

A little OT, but no...never read either book nor have I seen any of the movies.

[Tom Snyder 4,113]

Now while i appreciate a good fight, the last season fight seemed a bit stolen. Making TS OP was a little much.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Were you as disappointed as I was when all the cool spellcasting between the Death Eaters and the Order in the books was replaced with pew pew lasers and flying around in the movies?

I should have mentioned, this isn't totally off topic. I brought it up becausethat was exactly the same disappointment I felt when instead of Twilight using spells and cleverness (from Boast Busters to Magic Duel and pretty much everything in between) we instead got completely stupid laser fights. Turning spells into lasers has got the be the most obvious sign of undeniable laziness I've seen as the series progressed.

[KatonRyu 1,036]

I should have mentioned, this isn't totally off topic. I brought it up becausethat was exactly the same disappointment I felt when instead of Twilight using spells and cleverness (from Boast Busters to Magic Duel and pretty much everything in between) we instead got completely stupid laser fights. Turning spells into lasers has got the be the most obvious sign of undeniable laziness I've seen as the series progressed.

 

I wish I could disagree with that, but the comparison to Harry Potter drives the point home even more. I won't lie, I liked the battle scene, but reflecting on it now you're absolutely right saying it was very much unlike Twilight.

[Alan Crytex 165]

I started watching MLP about 2 months ago, finished all 4 seasons in 2 weeks, I got a lot of time back then because it's a holiday, morning until night, watching it

 

Seriously, this is the best show ever!