S05:E18 - Crusaders of the Lost Mark

[bigbertha 414]

The biggest problem with this episode is how rushed everything is. Diamond Tiara completely changes by the end of this episode and there is very little progression. If there were other episodes starting a sense of progression, this wouldn't feel as bad, but no. The most we got is having a sense of desperation to dig deeper for insults from Diamond Tiara in Flight to the Finish, but not only is that not mentioned here, but it was barely there in Flight to the Finish. Diamond Tiara was just a plot device. And the same applies to how Diamond Tiara treats Silver Spoon. Nothing in any previous episode gave any indication that there was animosity between them. When Diamond Tiara yells at Silver Spoon for talking, it comes off as jarring since Diamond Tiara has never been that aggressive towards Silver Spoon before.

This lack of progression in previous episodes means this episode needs to speed past everything to get to the big climax. It's a similar problem that people had with Magical Mystery Cure. You can't have such a big change in 22 minutes and not have it be really rushed. There isn't enough time to give nuance to Diamond Tiara's family situation so Spoiled Rich is a stereotypical rich snob with no redeemable traits. There isn't enough time for Diamond Tiara to slowly warm up to the CMC so she immediately starts to open up to them when she gets to the treehouse. And Diamond Tiara goes against her mother very quickly at the end. If there was a heart to heart with the CMC and Diamond Tiara in the treehouse where she told them about her situation and they gave her advice, Diamond Tiara's outburst at her mother wouldn't be as bad, but nope. No time.

And the songs are mostly pretty meh. Diamond Tiara has a nice singing voice and I like how sinister her verse of the The Vote is, but that's about it. 

And of course there's the CMC getting their Cutie Mark. It's a bit of a cop out that they all get the same marks at the same time, but I get it. This is a kids show. But the thing is that most of the CMC episodes before this have building up them getting different Cutie Marks. Appleoosa's Most Wanted was the only episode before to suggest that the CMC can help others understand their Cutie Marks. And the song at the end comes off as desperate. Mentioning AJ's parents, emulating the opening credits, and generally being really cheesy. I'd be more open to this if the episode was better, but as is, it doesn't work for me.

Something I should mention is that the first act isn't that bad. It's not great, but it gets into the conflict quickly, The Vote is probably the best song of the episode, and there are even a couple decent jokes. Really, aside from the stuff between Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the first act is pretty decent. The issue with that is that it's just set up. If the pay off to the set up fails, it makes the set up look bad. Especially if the set up isn't that good to begin with.

Also it's funny that the show has done nothing with Diamond Tiara since this point. Honestly, I think they could've used her more often if they kept her as an antagonist, but season 9 hasn't happened yet so who knows.

Score: 1/10

Edited May 31, 2019 by bigbertha

[Rikifive 24,126]

I loved this episode, it was really interesting to watch.

I can somewhat relate to this episode - back when I was going to school, one of my classmates was a complete jerk towards me, I was new so I was a good target. He was bullying me both, mentally (classic) and even physically to relatively small degree. I was ignoring that, but it still was making the days worse and it is not a mystery, that it made me not like him. It lasted about a year, because after that time something changed. We have accidentally discovered, that we were playing the same MMO game and it was only two of us, as no one else was playing it. And boom - "maybe we can play together" (or something along these lines) was thrown and things automatically started to work well. Everything flipped upside down - we became friends in the end. I instantly forgot about all the bad things he did to me, as I was too happy with the changes. Oh I remember how much I hated the new class in general and how much I loved it by the end. People do have different sides and they aren't always the ones they normally are or would like to be; Something tends to encourage or force to being someone else.

So from my own experience, I'm willing to give Diamond Tiara a chance. Sure I was never able to fully trust that friend, but I was looking forward to the future, rather than poking the past, so if Diamond Tiara is willing to change, I'm looking forward to liking her, regardless of her actions in the past.

So yeah.. some flashbacks from the past...

Was it all cliche, silly, rushed and meh in the episode? I don't care, in my opinion it was handled well. For me that one thing, that one day was also enough to change everything. I'm really looking forward to see Diamond Tiara being a better pony and I already started to like her.

 

I enjoyed the episode and the songs are amazing. The amount of them made me suspect, that there will be something important at the end and yep! There was!  

I already watched it multiple times and most likely will watch it more in the future.

It kinda made me feel like a kid again. . . 

So from me,
    

Would watch again.

[Kion 7,407]

On 2/9/2019 at 9:20 AM, bigbertha said:

The biggest problem with this episode is how rushed everything is. Diamond Tiara completely changes by the end of this episode and there is very little progression. If there were other episodes starting a sense of progression, this wouldn't feel as bad, but no. The most we got is having a sense of desperation to dig deeper for insults from Diamond Tiara in Flight to the Finish, but not only is that not mentioned here, but it was barely there in Flight to the Finish. Diamond Tiara was just a plot device. And the same applies to how Diamond Tiara treats Silver Spoon. Nothing in any previous episode gave any indication that there was animosity between them. When Diamond Tiara yells at Silver Spoon for talking, it comes off as jarring since Diamond Tiara has never been that aggressive towards Silver Spoon before.

This lack of progression in previous episodes means this episode needs to speed past everything to get to the big climax. It's a similar problem that people had with Magical Mystery Cure. You can't have such a big change in 22 minutes and not have it be really rushed. There isn't enough time to give nuance to Diamond Tiara's family situation so Spoiled Rich is a stereotypical rich snob with no redeemable traits. There isn't enough time for Diamond Tiara to slowly warm up to the CMC so she immediately starts to open up to them when she gets to the treehouse. And Diamond Tiara goes against her mother very quickly at the end. If there was a heart to heart with the CMC and Diamond Tiara in the treehouse where she told them about her situation and they gave her advice, Diamond Tiara's outburst at her mother wouldn't be as bad, but nope. No time.

And the songs are mostly pretty meh. Diamond Tiara has a nice singing voice and I like how sinister her verse of the The Vote is, but that's about it. 

And of course there's the CMC getting their Cutie Mark. It's a bit of a cop out that they all get the same marks at the same time, but I get it. This is a kids show. But the thing is that most of the CMC episodes before this have building up them getting different Cutie Marks. Appleoosa's Most Wanted was the only episode before to suggest that the CMC can help others understand their Cutie Marks. And the song at the end comes off as desperate. Mentioning AJ's parents, emulating the opening credits, and generally being really cheesy. I'd be more open to this if the episode was better, but as is, it doesn't work for me.

Something I should mention is that the first act isn't that bad. It's not great, but it gets into the conflict quickly, The Vote is probably the best song of the episode, and there are even a couple decent jokes. Really, aside from the stuff between Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the first act is pretty decent. The issue with that is that it's just set up. If the pay off to the set up fails, it makes the set up look bad. Especially if the set up isn't that good to begin with.

Also it's funny that the show has done nothing with Diamond Tiara since this point. Honestly, I think they could've used her more often if they kept her as an antagonist, but season 9 hasn't happened yet so who knows.

Score: 0/10

What how dare you give crusaders of the lost marks 0/10. That’s one of the best episodes of the entire series.

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,594]

6 hours ago, Easter Dash said:

What how dare you give crusaders of the lost marks 0/10. That’s one of the best episodes of the entire series.

Ignore him. He's just a purist.

[bigbertha 414]

22 minutes ago, TheAnimationFanatic said:

Ignore him. He's just a purist.

Have you even read my reviews? I give every episode a fair chance and try to give fair criticism.

[Rushing cash 836]

One of my favorite episodes in the show. This episode finaly provided character growth to diamond tiara who was a one dimensional bully without giving her any background or reason to be the way she is. I always thought DT and SS had potential as being more engaging if given more background, as bullies they were more interesting then most bullies I have seen portrait in shows, and I kind of liked them, so it was nice to learn more about them. 

The moment the cmc got their cutiemarks was great, and the song that followed was emotional(aj saying their parents would be proud especially). It took over 100 episodes to get there but they did it. It was a clever way to let them stay as a group, they are still cmc, but with cutie marks.

The songs in this episode were great, my favorite is the light of your cutiemark, but the others were great too. 

   

On 2/9/2019 at 6:20 PM, bigbertha said:

The biggest problem with this episode is how rushed everything is. Diamond Tiara completely changes by the end of this episode and there is very little progression. If there were other episodes starting a sense of progression, this wouldn't feel as bad, but no. The most we got is having a sense of desperation to dig deeper for insults from Diamond Tiara in Flight to the Finish, but not only is that not mentioned here, but it was barely there in Flight to the Finish. Diamond Tiara was just a plot device. And the same applies to how Diamond Tiara treats Silver Spoon. Nothing in any previous episode gave any indication that there was animosity between them. When Diamond Tiara yells at Silver Spoon for talking, it comes off as jarring since Diamond Tiara has never been that aggressive towards Silver Spoon before.

I actually always felt DT was the one who leads in the due and from time to time we seen that tiara treated ss more as pawn then an actual friend, maybe it was exaggerated here, but the situation was more complex and tiara had more on the line then the other episodes, maybe with time it got worse, we don't see their usual interactions anyway outside of using others. 

Some parts were rushed, like how quickly she turned on her mother, however its not bothering me that much because it was still entartaining but I understand why it irritates some people. 

10/10, its not perfect but it was really really good. I wish they will bring tiara and ss again, a shame to just throw them away like they did.

   

[doomie-22 19]

So, this episode was basically the writers giving a middle finger to continuity. 

[Astralshy 26,435]

Well, ..

I love the CMC, I love musical episodes and I certainly love this episode

The songs in this episode are just amazing. The plot is really great. I was not surprised that finding their Cutie Mark were involved with a redemption of DT, I expected that, but they did it almost perfectly. On the other hand it was sad seeing this arch ending, but they did it almost  perfectly and in a way to allow the CMC to keep doing what they have always done. I think stories need a great ending. There are so many examples for shows which never come to any kind of ending and get worse and and worse with time. I think this episode closes this one arch perfectly and gives one a lot of emotions, which is a good thing. If one wouldn't feel any emotion with an ending then it would not mean anything.

So for me, there is nothing negative here for me. I just see this wonderful episode and love everything they did.

I'd wished DT and Silver Spoon would speak in later episode. But DT got at least character grows here, still sad that she completely stays in the background after this episode. I was also fascinated how good the VA of DT can sing. Sadly it's all contained in one episode.

I think this was the first time the creators came really really close by stating the fate of AJ's parents. Before that they never have been mentioned?

Edited May 4, 2021 by Astral Soul

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

I liked this episode, though Diamond Tiara's previous flat and ruthless characterization made it feel quite contrived.

I feel like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's journey would've felt more complete if the higher-ups had let there be an episode/s about the aftermath.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[Gale Wind 82]

On 2020-08-29 at 9:16 PM, doomie-22 said:

So, this episode was basically the writers giving a middle finger to continuity. 

How exactly?

[doomie-22 19]

On 2022-12-04 at 4:03 PM, Gale Wind said:

How exactly?

We were explicitly told in "Call of the Cutie" that a cutie mark appears when  a pony discovers their special talent. The Cutie Mark Crusaders did not do that here. We were shown in "The Show Stoppers" exactly what their special talents were. However, in this episode, them getting their cutie marks had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with their individual special talents. It doesn't help that not only do their cutie marks all look the exact same, but episodes like "Appleloosa's Most Wanted" also screwed with the continuity. 

[Gale Wind 82]

2 hours ago, doomie-22 said:

We were explicitly told in "Call of the Cutie" that a cutie mark appears when  a pony discovers their special talent. The Cutie Mark Crusaders did not do that here. We were shown in "The Show Stoppers" exactly what their special talents were. However, in this episode, them getting their cutie marks had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with their individual special talents. It doesn't help that not only do their cutie marks all look the exact same, but episodes like "Appleloosa's Most Wanted" also screwed with the continuity. 

I think it did have something to do with their talents but I think I get what you’re saying…they had individual talents too but the writers wanted a group talent thing. And agree on “Appaloosa’s Most Wanted”

[Antiyonder 1,102]

The episode is present on this compilation at the 1:26:15 mark:

A solo video will be posted when uploaded.