Is MLP:FiM running out of lessons for the Mane Six?

[Zerbu 72]

MLP:FiM is the kind of show where characters develop over time, but will there ever be a time where the Mane Six have been developed to the point of having no flaws left to address?

 

Take Fluttershy for example, who's already starting to show signs of this problem. She's been shown learning to be more assertive, have more confidence, and not let herself be taken advantage of, while still keeping her kind personality. But what happens once she's fully learned those lessons, where does it go from there? I'm actually nervous about how the rest of season 5 will handle her, because unless they have her keep forgetting lessons from previous episodes, eventually they won't be able to develop her further. Make New Friends But Keep Discord, as funny as it was, was by and large a Discord episode. Fluttershy was largely a plot device to Discord's story.

 

It could take years, but eventually there will come a point where the Mane Six will have learned so many lessons that there's just nothing left to learn, and the series will have to either end, focus on new characters, or repeat lessons that were already taught.

[Standard User 2,127]

Repeating lessons isn't a necessarily a bad thing. The key to perfecting any task is repetition, so drumming in a lesson over multiple episodes would be fine by me as long as the stories are still interesting.

 

In addition, it's silly to think that any character will always remember every lesson they've learned. In an extreme example, take the season two opener. The Mane 6 end up going in the complete opposite direction of their talents/personalities, and that's after 26 episodes of lessons and friendship-making.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

"Because there's always more to learn, the paper is never full"

 

Lessons will keep coming no matter what. As @Kolth stated, lessons may be repeated, but illustrated in a different way than before. 

[Zerbu 72]

Repeating lessons isn't a necessarily a bad thing. The key to perfecting any task is repetition, so drumming in a lesson over multiple episodes would be fine by me as long as the stories are still interesting.

 

In addition, it's silly to think that any character will always remember every lesson they've learned. In an extreme example, take the season two opener. The Mane 6 end up going in the complete opposite direction of their talents/personalities, and that's after 26 episodes of lessons and friendship-making.

It's true that a lot of lessons get repeated (and as you said, that's not necessarily a bad thing) but there are also lessons that stick through the rest of the series. I've noticed that recently, especially in season 5, Fluttershy has been showing much less of her trademark shyness. I might be in the minority here, but personally, I think this is making her increasingly more one-dimensional. I wouldn't mind if they had her forget lessons from previous episodes. The same could be said about any character who's becoming too flawless.

Edited July 31, 2015 by Zerbu

[Standard User 2,127]

 

 

I might be in the minority here, but personally, I think this is making her increasingly more one-dimensional. I wouldn't mind if they had her forget lessons from previous episodes. The same could be said about any character who's becoming too flawless.

 

 I see what you're saying, but it's also silly to expect all characters in a show like FiM to be exactly the same from beginning to end. Shyness is Fluttershy's trademark trait, sure, but that's also something that she needs to grow out of to progress as a character.

[Zerbu 72]

 I see what you're saying, but it's also silly to expect all characters in a show like FiM to be exactly the same from beginning to end. Shyness is Fluttershy's trademark trait, sure, but that's also something that she needs to grow out of to progress as a character.

That's what I mean when I say the show will eventually run out lessons to develop a character. Eventually, there won't be many stories to tell with that character and they'll be competing with Applejack for the title of "best background pony".

 

(Sorry if that joke upset anyone, but it's how a lot of the fandom sees Applejack, and could very well see other ponies like Fluttershy the same way in the future)

Edited July 31, 2015 by Zerbu

[Jangocoolguy 433]

I'd say they kind of already have.

 

Please note there's barely been any lessons in S5 at all...

[Meagre Mumbling 72]

I don't think it's anything for anyone to worry about. MLP's gonna end and there's nothing we can do about it. Every other show either has or will, it's just what happens.  

 

Whether they give it a solid finale or drive into the ground though is up for question. But we should just focus on enjoying it before that happens. Well, if it hasn't happened already anyway. 

Edited July 31, 2015 by Meagre Mumbling

[Guest]

I think there are plenty more lessons they could be teaching kids, but they are now at the point where most of the other lessons are stuff that a lot of parents for whatever reason don't want their kids to know. Like we could have an episode focusing around an "alternative" character and teach kids not to treat them poorly. However we live in a world where parents teach kids not to make fun of people, and then turn around and do it themselves. It's pretty sad that my parents even would tell me not to make fun of other kids, but they'd see someone with a lot of piercings and tattoos and go on about how they must have had bad parents, etc. We could have an episode like that which would be teaching kids that you shouldn't make fun of those people.

 

We also could do an episode about how it's not weird for someone to have two moms or two dads. Considering gay marriage is legal now, and this is a show to teach lessons to kids. We are at a point where homosexuality should not instantly dictate an M rating. On top of that, kids being exposed to it at a young age will help them grow more tolerant of the idea.

[Prince Firemane 309]

That's a problem I've had with slice of life episodes for a while. A lot of them are old rehashes of the same conflict and it gets tiring after a while. Applejack is bull-headed. Rainbow Dash is competitive. Pinkie Pie is hyperactive. Twilight Sparkle is a neurotic mess. Rarity is an overzealous drama queen. Fluttershy is... well, shy. These are facts, these are things we know. We get it, push on to something else. That's what made late season 1 and season 2 great, that the writers weren't afraid then to explore some of the darker sides to these characters. In Party of One, Pinkie Pie drives herself into bipolar depression over the idea of losing her friends. In Lesson Zero, Twilight was driven to a complete psychological breakdown over the idea of losing Celestia's favor. We saw the darker, more fragile and more vulnerable sides to them. I'd like to see a return to those ideas.

[cybershocker455 324]

While do think there are a few more lessons that the Mane 6 (and Spike) could still learn, I think the later seasons should focus more on the side characters since that's what some of the Season 5 episodes have been focusing on. I think it would be a really good idea for the show to focus on how the Mane 6 interacts with the rest of the characters in the show (and based on the leaked episode list, this is a very likely possibility).

 

Overall, I think the show should focus on developing on the side characters of the show while still giving interesting situations the Mane 6 can do.

[Tao 8,344]

I think them bring in side or background ponies is a good idea and expands the show in a nice way.  Also the Mane Six can and will grow as "ponies"  as they live their lives and have to deal with things.  I mean we do this in every day life so this can be used on the Mane Six.  In also expanding the world a bit by use of the Cutie Map and and sending the em off with different friends (just not twilight all the time) it makes interact differently with out the others around.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,700]

DEFINITELY not. I think there's TONS of episodes that could be done!

As an example, look at the mayor mare/AJ comic, which focused on AJ's possible leadership abilities and learning to be patient with others. I think that there's tons of untapped potential in putting her in a positiion where she has to run something and step up in that field, as I could see her easily being impatient with others screwing around or whatnot, or learning to accept that others might have different ways of doing things that she needs to work with.


Similiarly, episodes like Hurricane fluttershy give us a nice view of dash as a team leader, when most episodes depict her being solo: you cold get some definite mileage out of showing her learning lessons on how to act as a captain to others or whatnot.

[GuyNamedEarl 1,332]

As long as they aren't forced or just plain dumb I think lessons will still be a good part of the show

[cider float 2,539]

I actually have lots of ideas for new lessons not sure why they're not getting to them.

[They call me Loyalty 1,951]

Take years? It might end even sooner than that. But this learning process might not end as fast as you expected. There is plenty to be learned, even beyond your current perception.

Besides, it's not like the show can't focus in anything but lessons.

[Truffles 2,033]

I think there are plenty of lessons for the Mane 6 that would make compelling stories to tell. The real problem is they are more complex issues than we've seen in the past so it's more difficult for them to fit the lesson into 22 minutes.

 

I'm trying to figure out if that's the reason the S1/S2 episodes don't seem rushed at the end compared to a number of S4/S5 episodes, because I was watching some of the S1 episodes and it seemed like there was lots of time to get the point across compared to episodes like Inspiration Manifestation and Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?

[Buck Testa 5,505]

There is still PLENTY of room for growth and lessons, especially for fluttershy, and I do hope they don't resort to forgetting lessons, because that kind of plot contrivance is annoying enough in Spike episodes.

 

Growing and maturing is a life long process for characters, there won't be a time where they are just perfect, especially if the writers know what they are doing. 

[GenderIsAnIllusion 2,177]

Naw... They still haven't done the obligatory anti-drug-alcohol episode....... Plus there's tons of characters that only have 1 episode worth of screen time...... And there's lots of potential plot points with those characters. They set it up just right so they have enough material for episodes for seasons bby.

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

They still have quite a few lessons they can do with them, but it's definitely not as easy now as it was before. The Mane 6 have grown quickly in 5 seasons. They are now officially role models with much more responsibilities than they used to have. On top of building better lives for themselves, the Mane 6 are now tasked with bigger jobs that come with much more weight and importance as Princess Twilight's co-rulers. Thus, the lessons have to become more mature to reflect the fact that what the Mane 6 do has more impact now. They have to be more about leadership, humility, and setting a good example, without relying on Flanderized, extrapolated character traits to portray the message (as in "Tanks for the Memories", "Somepony to Watch Over Me", among others). They are still growing characters, but they have to be portrayed as growing mentors, learning alongside their "students".

 

There is nothing wrong with repeating one moral here or there, as it offers many possibilities to improve on a previous episode. The only problems with repeating morals and/or episodes is if one or a few negative traits become the defining points of the characters (Spike lately, and arguably Fluttershy and Applejack for a while), if the moral has to be told rather than learned, or if the episode does nothing new and repeats all of the misgivings of the last incident (the latter two being why Spike episodes are so contentious). If the characters don't show enough signs of having learned and improved from the incident, there's not much point in showing it as-is.

Edited August 1, 2015 by Wind Chaser

[gamecubeguy214 2,512]

I guess so, but I don't think MLP really needs it.

[PacificGreen 1,163]

What I've noticed is that more recent episodes have friendship lessons that are VERY similar to prebios episodes, but the execution and premise is usually very different. Cases in point:

 

- "Twilight Time", "Princess Spike" and "The Mane Attraction" involve a lesson along the lines of "you shouldn't be friends with someone just for selfish perks".

- "Amending Fences" and the Season 5 finale both involve not letting a past failed friendship affect your ability to make new friends.

-"Leap of Faith" and "Inspiration Manifestation" are about being honest even when it's hard.

There are probably other episodes with such similar lessons, but I can't name any off the top of my head right now. I think what's important to remember is that the quality of the execution and the originality of the premise are probably just as important as the actual moral at the end of the episode- that's what keeps us fans hooked on this show.

 

So to answer the original question, yeah, it seems they are running out, but that doesn't mean the episodes won't be interesting anymore.

[Megas 27,920]

We haven't had an episode with Rainbow Dash dealing with a serious betrayal in some way, so no

[cmarston1 5,960]

Well currently we are at season 6 and there has been over 100 episodes.

There is only so much you can do with the characters, and seeing as they type of show this is, I am pretty sure there are lessons that are never going to appear at all.

So I have to say yes.

[weesh 690]

If they wanted to, they could do friendship lessons forever, and maintain a high level of quality in them.  The more you grow, the deeper and deeper lessons you could create.  

 

However, it is natural for shows to evolve, and it is possible that they don't put as high a priority on it as they used to.
Lots of the episodes in the 5th season are more about relationships in general then about a specific lesson.

The core of the show is the relationships, so the stories are not worsened if they move away from lessons, so long as they continue to follow the relationships.