S05:E01+02 - The Cutie Map

[mipster 19]

Hey guys, did you notices that she's the show version of sunset shimmers?

I mean:

Extream magic abilities - check

Twisted idea of friendship - check

Will for power - check

Cuzed misery to the main six - check

 

Its a long shot, but its funny to think about

 

[Wysteria 13]

Just curious...did anyone else have difficulty watching this on dailymotion? It seemed like every minute one of their ads EITHER interrupts the show and causes me to wait or it the audio plays overtop the show. Any other site people could recommend in HD? 

[EquestriaGuy 1,074]

At the end, when Twilight says, "I have a feeling it means our work here is done" I half expect Al to appear and the mane 6 Quantum Leap out.

[Gearbox10mm 794]

When Fluttershy was talking to the bird.

 

"Even tweets don't make sense anymore."

 

I see what you did there.

[Radiance64 7,053]

HOW HAVE NONE OF YOU POINTED THIS OUT YET

 

ITS A MOUNTAIN, WITH A FUCKING SKULL ON IT.

 

 

As for the episode itself, amazing 9/10

Totally would've pointed that out had I have noticed it...

YEAH THEY BETTER GO THERE

When Fluttershy was talking to the bird.

 

"Even tweets don't make sense anymore."

 

I see what you did there.

Haha yeah, that was really dumb lol

[Lagrangian 64]

This was a good opener, but it could have been better. I'm not going to talk about the conformist undertones, though, since those don't really interest me; I was surprised at how bold the episode was, but was neither upset nor pleased by its message.

While I didn't personally get the interpretation that the episode was not about anti-conformism but was about making friends with people who are different than you, I much prefer that to my own interpretation.

. . .

I'd like the show to address firmly and completely that sometimes there is no villain, but it's narrow-mindedness that causes chaos and discontent. I want something like this, not in a single episode on an individual scale, but something affecting lots of ponies, maybe even the whole of Equestria. Like... I dunno... gay rights or something (not in the show, just comparing to a real-life scenario). If you're pro-LGBT, there isn't really one select villain to fight against to legalize gay marriage. It's the traditional thought process that needs to be rethought. If you're anti-LGBT, compare it to slavery.

While there are leaders in issues such as conformism, LGBT rights, and slavery, it is generally the ideas and narrow mindsets that need to be changed. There is no villain behind it.

 

Well the point of the show is often to take real issues and present them and their resolutions through things that exist physically within the show. That's often the idea behind a lot of fiction--to hammer out an idea with analogues and metaphor, not with realistc actions.

Not just because that's easier to grasp, but also because tackling issues in such a realistic manner isn't easily done or done well in most story formats, cartoons especially.

If the whole show or season were dedicated to such a thing it's possible, but MLP has shown that it's more intersted in looking at a variety of friendship issues.

[Pastel 7,630]

HOW HAVE NONE OF YOU POINTED THIS OUT YET 

 

ITS A MOUNTAIN, WITH A FUCKING SKULL ON IT.

 

 

As for the episode itself, amazing 9/10

THEY HAVE TO GO THERE, maybe in the season finale...

EDIT: I hope it's not Tartarus....

Edited April 5, 2015 by Blobulle

[ScarfaceOne 263]

It was brilliant. Reminded me of Animal Farm, 1984 and Metal Gear conspiracy theories. When she is on the loudspeaker it reminds me of Big Brother from 1984. The Metal Gear element includes mind boggling conspiracy theories. Not sure if it was the best thing to show to kids though, mind. And another question is, what is the Arc? Cutie Marks? No hints at the end. What if they have to go to different locations depicted on the map? That is probably the arc. Perhaps they go to different places around the map and solve Friendship problems. What about Meadowbrook's 8 Artifacts? Will they have to collect the real 8 Artifacts? That's double the amount of Artifacts from Tomb Raider 3!!! Also, it was a brilliant birthday present for me. Grogar will probably be this season's villain.

It was really interesting to see a cult like group in MLP....its kinda scary how close it is to real life ones. Seems they  did thier research to be sure the experence was genuen :S

 

 

Cults have been explored before in Children's Media. Remember Mr. Carpainter and the Happy Happy Cult from Earthbound? They were obsessed with painting the whole town blue!!! In fact they are actually based on the KKK and the Aum Supreme Truth Cult, who you will probably know for causing gas attacks on subway trains in tokyo. And then there was that weird Spongebob episode where Squidward goes to a Stonemasons like cult. It really is creepy. I'm not sure if Kids should learn about disturbing cults such as these. I hate the KKK because they are racist and kill black people and burn their churches. And the Aum Supreme because they were wierd. Occultism and related stuff really is creepy. Do you think Kids should really learn this stuff?

Edited April 5, 2015 by ScarfaceOne

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

Another thing when Twilight goes to just fucking shoot Starlight she makes the exact same pose as when she fired at Tirek. 

(also, when her cutie Mark is being taken away, its the same exact noise as when Tirek is stealing her magic )

[guest243535531ty43 219]

I started watching MLP this January so I'm excited to be along for the ride with the rest of the fandom as we gallop on into Season 5.

 

This two-parter was exceptionally done. I can't say it's the best since Twilight's Kingdom actually led me to tears, but I have a great appreciation for this episode.

 

The pacing was one of the best and it lulled me into a sense of false security as the townspeople did the ponies. Sure, both the ponies and I realized something was off--I mean if anypony knows what a real smile is, it's Pinkie--but the slower, calmer pacing of the episode made me forget the direness of the situation.

 

Starlight Glimmer is a great foil for Twilight (strengthened by the similarity of their names) and I love how they juxtapose their two philosophies in this episode. It maybe a minority opinion, but I believe she truly is sincere with her ideology and sees herself as the only one who can uphold it. Of course it's hypocritical but this would make her a more nuanced, better-developed villain. 

 

I wonder if Starlight Glimmer actually had the ability to use the cutie marks, however. She seemed exuberant at gaining the Mane 6's marks and especially Twilight's but it wasn't established whether she could give another pony a cutie mark not meant for them. And if she gave herself Twilight's cutie mark, I imagine she would lose her ability to remove cutie marks as well, but that's just speculation. Perhaps she wanted to create an army of blank flank soldiers intensely devoted to her cause?

 

I am glad she escaped and hopefully the creators will depict her as biding her time to reestablish herself as a direct challenge to Equestrian leadership. She has Tirek-like abilities, but the sincerity she has in her beliefs and her pleasant comportment makes her an even more dangerous character than the sinister conqueror Tirek.

 

I'm glad non-Mane 6 members got the spotlight and that the episode allowed Fluttershy (and Pinkie to a lesser but hilarious extent) to shine. It was unfortunate that the end of the episode had to reiterate that all of the Mane 6 would work in conjunction, but it reassures me that this season hopefully won't turn Twilight into an infallible character who solves Equestria's problems.

 

It was also unfortunate that the townspeople quickly rebuked their creed once they saw Starlight's hypocrisy because in real life, it is very difficult for most people to change their outlook even if they realize the problem in it. Perhaps a short speech by Double Diamond would've fixed that but I understand that the creators likely didn't have the time to do something like that. At least they preserved the slow pacing in the majority of the two-parter!

 

There are a lot of lessons to be learned in this episode and they are all very mature, which is great considering that it seems MLP's morals have been becoming more profound (and the stories less explicitly didactic) as the show has gone on--especially with the Season 4 episodes where the Mane 6 got their keys. I hope they continue this trend.

 

Can't wait for the rest of Season 5! 

Edited April 8, 2015 by estoc

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

THEY HAVE TO GO THERE, maybe in the season finale...

EDIT: I hope it's not Tartarus....

Honestly, So do I, I would rather it be something completely eerie and unexpected rather than just the entry to hell (which wouldnt even be a new experience for TWI

[Not_A_Brony 29]

Honestly, I can't believe more people aren't talking about Starlight's powers. Prince Firemane and "Cute Ski Horse" seem to be the only ones really interested.

I notice many people calling Starlight an "average" pony as part of the villain's appeal. I partially agree - compared to the numerous non-pony villains such as Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, and the Dazzlings, her abilities (save one) aren't spectacular (exceptional, yes, but hardly the large-scale reality-altering abilities of the former).

 

As Cute Ski Horse stated, though, even Star Swirl, implied to be one of the most powerful unicorns in the history of Equestria, had the modification of cutie marks as part of his penultimate spell (which was unfinished to boot!). Discord, quite possibly the most powerful magic user in Equestria (save a powered-up Tirek) did not remove the mane 6's cutie marks given the chance. Though admittedly it is unknown whether he possessed this ability, he did go through the trouble of removing their horns and wings (and presumably AJ and PP's passive Earth pony magic as well), and when visibly annoyed by FS's resistance, only went as far as corrupting her as much as her friends. In addition, even his theft of RD and FS's wings, given that it affected their state of "winged-ness" is not particularly notable for someone of his power, as Twilight had previously demonstrated an ability to give a pony wings in Sonic Rainboom, even if only temporarily. Tirek, one of the few to possess such an ability, had this as his primary and defining ability, the difference being his obviously demonically-inspired species (which, if Equestria Girls is to be considered Canon, represents a very powerful form) and his origin from a "distant land" - he is clearly meant to be shown as being far beyond the average pony's magic. Twilight Sparkle, about the only pony with which one could make a fair comparison here, was unable to give Apple Bloom a cutie mark, even cosmetically. She even states that "...not even magic can make a cutie mark appear before it's time." Being a well-studied pony, I'd expect her to know what she was talking about there.

 

That's why, for me, the largest twist concerning Starlight Glimmer was not that her equal cutie mark was fake (honestly, I found that part to be a bit predictable), but that the "Staff of Sameness" was fake. It just completely throws what notion I have of a non-alicorn pony's power out the window. Magical artifacts have, by contrast, been shown to frequently have extremely powerful, sometimes reality-altering effects (e.g. the Mirror Pond, the Alicorn Amulet, the Crystal Mirror, the Tree/Elements of Harmony). Starlight's ability to actually rival many of the main villains' defining powers without the use of one of these artifacts seems to me a bit extreme as far as a character goes, but it will certainly provide the potential for an interesting future appearance.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Not_A_Brony

[DragonAria 314]

Well, didn't find it the best episode ever, but it was good... And I think my theory was confirmed: it was a parody of dystopic novels; the fake-happiness from Brave New World, the voice in your house you can't turn down from 1984...

[BreezeRunner 13]

I feel like the balloon pony is actually just the shows version of one of the lego movie master builders.. With balloons..

 

Just me. OK

Anyway I liked the episode and I'm expecting Starlight to return for the finale!

[The Taxman 274]

Loved the episode! Starlight Glimmer is an very interesting villian. Not going to lie, I thought it was quite mature for a chilren's show to handle. Not that children won't be able to understand the moral, but there are some pretty deep messages here. My brother is going to have a fun time rewatching this in the future O.O

 

Pinkie Pie was also highly enternatining in this episode. Much less annoying than some episodes in the past two seasons. I have high hopes for her and the others in S5 Looks like this is going to be a great season!

[SomeRetroGeek 110]

Hey guys, you want to watch a show about forced brainwashing and indoctrination into a communist cult? Oh, did I mention it's a My Little Pony cartoon?

I did notice the communist vibes from it, and it wasn't very subtle, but I enjoyed it. And I think Hasbro knows this episode would be very controversial, and if so, they could bring back the controversial Derpy Hooves in a speaking role!

[Pastel 7,630]

I enjoyed the premiere.

 

Is it just me though, or did these episodes get renamed after they aired? I could have sworn it was called Cutie Markless.

I believe it's the first time it happened. It was renamed just before it aired. Edited April 5, 2015 by Blobulle

[simba86 1,541]

Loved this episode!, I would not call it communism even though there are some elements in it like the blasting of their message over and over again over the speakers while they locked them in a room to try and brain wash them, It was more like a crazy cult with all the creepy smiles and the way they acted brainwashed. song was very communist though LOL loved pinkie in this episode, taking one for the team eating those nasty muffins, thought it was funny to when the mare was like "what can I get you? we have muffins ......"  pretty well put together and thought out episode! man those ponies was creepy LOL

[Chaton 3,765]

Hey guys, I have some plans to show the premiere again.

 

 

 

I'm going to stream it twice, once at 1:30pm and again at 6pm GMT+0. Check the time zone conversion int he spoiler below, but make sure you look at where the green line is:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll most likely just be on to turn on the stream at the 1:30pm showing, but I'll try and stay for the 6pm showing.

 

http://equestria.tv/r/CountToAMillionFM

 

 

 

The 1:30pm one is about to start, but I'm holding for 5 minutes if anyone else wants to join.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Vinyl Scratchy DJ

[Oblivion 20,266]

LOVED IT! Now I'm Kind of curious what plans may be in store for Starlight Glimmer, maybe she might NOT be the main antagonist and could be another bad pony to join the mane 6 to defeat the main evil, but who knows. Anyway, loved the whole thing and cannot WAIT until episode 3.   

[NavelColt 22,880]

She has very powerful magic just like Twilight, I don't think it's that hard for unicorns if they study for a long time. Starswirl was a "random unicorn" too before he reached his level.

I'm guessing it took Starlight a lot of time to learn that spell.

The fact the brand new villain with no history, and no obvious differences between her and every other unicorn in the world has this wicked intense magical ability that no one else has, looks a lot more like a convenient plot device than a well-woven part of the story, that's all I'm trying to get across, as this was the only issue I had with the premiere.

 

Its no different than Keep Calm and Flutter On. At the time, the sudden plot device of, 'Lol, Discord is reformed now guys!' didn't sit well with many people, because it too was sudden and felt kinda forced. Later on, most of those people were fine with it as Discord's nature proved similar, up until his 'true' reformation in the S4 finale, which felt far more genuine and realistic than what the ponies tried in KCaFO.

 

Similarly, I imagine Starlight will return, and her crazy-ass unique magic will be explained in a manner that seems fitting enough to be believable. All I'm saying is that for now, the writer's have chosen to leave it completely vague and unexplained, which will no doubt make some people cock their heads. :3

[yeet 2,027]

Gotta say, I was really disappointed with Applejack's speech in this episode, particularly when she said, "You can't force nopony to be friends. It don't work like that." 

 

...Seriously? She has used the words "doesn't" and "anypony" before. 

 

I mean, come on.  She was making significant progress climbing out of the hole that this "background pony" stigma has dug for her, and now they have her talking like a country bumpkin again, further deepening the hole? 

 

 

Also, I seriously never want to hear the word "countryisms" again. EVER.  :okiedokielokie:

It's her accent. It also makes more sense say nopony than anypony. "you cant force anyone to be friends" would suggest that you can't force absolutely everyone, but some people you can. but "you cant force no one to be friends" suggests that you cant, doesn't matter who it is.

And just because she says two words doesn't make her more of a background pony, if they wanted her to be a background character they'd not make her speak at all, but they are using different dialogue for her than they would most other characters, which in turn makes her seem more primary. 

[Ice Fox 1,145]

Excellent opening to season 5! I liked Glimmer as a villain for a few reasons:

 

1, she was an ordinary unicorn, not a special species like all the other villains ( I count Nightmare Moon as being a special species, since she was alicorn. )

Though I enjoy the unique species villains, but it's cool to see an ordinary pony possess enough power to prove a threat, as long as she uses her wit.

 

2, she was so certain that she was doing the right thing. Even at the end, I got the feeling she was NEVER going to change. The glare she gave them before running away seemed so determined and angry. I like certainty in villains.

 

Also, I'd like to know where she learned the spell to remove Cutie Marks. I assume to remove the Marks is part of her talent, but she stated she had 'studied that spell for years.' The magic reminded me of Sombra and Discord-Discord for the obvious 'discording,' Sombra for the door in the Crystal Empire that instilled illusions in ponies' minds.

 

Glimmer has room to show up again, and also to have backstory. I also find it very likely she had emotional trauma and/or friendship problems in the past. I just don't think you're likely to grow up developing the idea that having unique talents is disruptive, all of your own accord( especially when all of Equestria is so deeply set in the idea of having unique talents. )

Edited April 5, 2015 by Frozen Fallen

[Montag 3]

The premise of the episode was really interesting, though I didn't care for the execution.

 

I know this is a kids show, but I felt that this premise needed a bit more substance to really work, especially since I got no real impression as to why anypony would want to join Starlight's cult town outside of just pure brainwashing, which doesn't feel correct.

 

Without that the episode felt rather dull actually, with weak characterization and slow plodding to what was a pretty predictable conclusion to the whole conflict. 

 

Not sure how feel about the worldbuilding, and Starlight's apparent cutie mark based magical talent. Seems like a rather dangerous and particularly overpowered. . .power I guess.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

FYI here's a vlog on the episode.