S05:E25+26 - The Cutie Re-Mark

[OceanSapphire 227]

Cool episode but how did this not effect the human world? Without the sonic rainboom Twilight never would've become a princess. If Twilight was never a princess there would be no crown for Sunset to steal, no way for Sunset to become a raging she-demon, and no way for her to be reformed into the nice Sunset that we had in The Friendship Games. Considering that movie runs parallel to this special there should've been changes going on throughout the whole film.

[Princess Book Horse 352]

Wait so did they just a seventh character to the series?

 

I hope so. We probably won't know for sure until Season 6.

[Reading Heart 167]

Your completely allowed to not like this episode folks, but for some us (like me), the concept of redemption, mercy and forgiveness never gets old. There are already one or two reviewer's who agree with you, but I think your all selling this concept short..  mercy is never a bad thing to teach, since only by mercy can you show folks a better way...mercy triumphs over judgement.   I know some of you wanted to see Starlight Glimmer stay a villian but I prefer this path by far... besides, I suspected strongly that it was going to happen because of how much like a regular pony she was.. the more irredemable villians in this show tend to be less pony like in appearance.  

 

Besides, folks, this has been the season of redemption, more then any other season, redeeming old friends hurt by past actions, redeeming friends whose managers have taken them down the wrong path, redeeming old grudges that have become warring families, redeeming old homes, redeeming bullies, redeeming new homes by bringing in some part of the old home, redeeming guilt of past actions... I mean seriously folks.. let's see: Moondance, Gilda, Diamond Tiara, RaRa, Trouble Shoes, Luna (in regards to her guilt)... how could you not see this coming, Starlight Glimmer was almost certain to be redeemed if she could be shown the error of her chosen path.

Edited November 28, 2015 by Reading Heart

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

These two episodes were a little bit too messy and not because they were going through different timelines but because there was multiple lesson, concept, point being made that it just felt really convoluted and unorganized. Like the writers were writing this as they went and their ideas kept changing on what the main theme of the episode was going to be about.

I would have preferred a 3 parter finale, where Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek and the Dazzlings go to war with the ponies. Just use a simple premise. That's the achilles heel of time travel episodes, you need to rush through things, and there's no breathing room for enjoying character development. 

[takai 1,060]

Oh boy, it's sad to see season 5 end. It was such an excellent season.

 

I thought this was a pretty clever season finale. I like the time travel idea going back to the original Sonic Rainboom. That was a pivotal point for the mane 6, a point where most kind of forgot about it. I've never really been a huge fan of the time travel/butterfly effect trope, but I enjoyed it here. Seeing the different futures that would've happened if it weren't for the mane 6 really puts things in perspective.

 

At first I don't think I really liked Starlight's excuse to be evil, but the more I think about it the more it kind of makes sense.

 

I'm actually surprised how much they showed in this episode. They showed slavery and a lot of war. Pretty serious stuff for a children's cartoon. Not to say that's bad in anyway, I enjoyed it a lot.

 

I actually liked how there really wasn't a giant battle to defeat the villain, rather talking her down and talking to her about friendship. It was a little cheesy, but still nice to see.

 

I'll have to listen to the ending song again on a video with better quality, but I liked it.

 

As for Starlight herself, I'm kind of glad she was redeemed. But for most of the episode I was wishing Twilight would beat her ass instead. Maybe she'll go back to that town she started and they'll actually make it something similar to Ponyville? Something other than a line of houses.

 

Overall I enjoyed the finale. I like where it went and how Twilight handled things.

 

Season 5 itself was an extremely excellent. Makes me proud to be a Brony and a fan of this show!

Edited November 29, 2015 by takai

[thewookie5 11]

I was watching the finale with a friend from my local brony group and he brought up TwiGlimmer shipping. My immediate thought was, "that has to be a thing already!"

 

So a couple hours later, I googled "twilight and starlight mlp" and found a group on fimfiction devoted to it. No biggie. But then I noticed that the ONLY story under this group was THIS.

 

This story, was started in July, 4 months before the episode even aired. How did this writer get so close to the plot of the actual season finale?! I'm scared!

 

That is downright terrifying. 

 

FlimFlamFuture.png

 

I knew it! Next to all the finale villains, the Flim Flam Brothers are the most heinous to ever grace the screen. Their elegance, their diction, their trickery. If it weren't for the Mane 6, Equestria would be forced to bow to their machinations! Truly the most villainous reoccurring villain. Only they could cause a terrible future with their wacky shenanigans. This is what happens when you underestimate the Super Cider Squeezy Eazy 3000.

 

But in all seriousness, of all the terrible futures they showed, that was my favorite just out of the sheer randomness of them being the catalysts. I had to pause just laugh about it.

 

Flim&Flam are fans of the Empire of Japan's flag designer.

 

Cool episode but how did this not effect the human world? Without the sonic rainboom Twilight never would've become a princess. If Twilight was never a princess there would be no crown for Sunset to steal, no way for Sunset to become a raging she-demon, and no way for her to be reformed into the nice Sunset that we had in The Friendship Games. Considering that movie runs parallel to this special there should've been changes going on throughout the whole film.

 

It likely did but if you remove the fact Sunset likely wouldn't have the slightest idea how to get her hands on the Element. Thus if she still left Equestria she'd of just continued her reign of pseudo dictator through high school. I don't think there's a direct influence between the worlds its more "similar" but not directly tied.

 

 

As for Starlight being redeemed, I think the ending song was more or less a time skip of some amount thus making it more believable. Her backstory was understandable to some extent, we did see how Apple Bloom became isolated briefly after Twist got her mark. Now make Twist "vanish" and give Apple Bloom potent magical ability, the idea that she'd become obsessed with Cutie Marks isn't ridiculous and unlike the CMC, she despised them due to her past.

 

 

The Alternate Timelines were really cool. I'd imagine in the Sombra War timeline, Celestia had to either kill or re-imprison Luna, and Discord may not of broken out. With Twilight never being brought into Celestia's school, Shining and Cadence likely never meet, thus Chrysalis doesn't launch her attack.

 

The Chrysalis one was awesome too, Resistance Zecora!!

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

That was... damn. I need a drink.

 

Best finale yet, and tied with Return of Harmony and Cutie Map for best two-parter. That is all.

 

[Guest]

What an impressive end to an impressive season!

 

I was delighted to see Starlight return...and redeem herself! Seriously, she is one incredible pony. She bested Twily for most of that episode, seemingly as strong in terms of attack magic and perhaps just as savvy with correcting/modifying spells. However, what I liked most was that she was willing to let go of her anger, not by force but by opening up and allowing herself to be vulnerable to the magic of friendship. When MLP redeems a villain, my goodness do they do it well! I can't wait to see her more in Season 6, hopefully as a Mane 7 character. She's fulfilling a similar role to Sunny Delight in EqG and I eagerly await her adventures with the others (and hopefully some accurate merchandise )

 

I also loved that the episode showed that not every conflict requires violence to solve.

[SBaby 660]

I will admit, it didn't end exactly the way I thought it would (and I think it would have been more effective if it did, and audiences would have been utterly blindsided by the twist I thought they were going to throw at us), but it was still pretty cool. 

 

It still hints at the possibility that she might show up in future episodes, and even the possibility that she might permanently join the Mane 6 (I guess Knights of Friendship would be a better term for them at this point).  I don't know if I would recommend the latter, but I could see Hasbro doing it to sell more toys, because Starlight Glimmer seems to be a popular character since her introduction, and audiences might tune in just in the hopes of seeing her again.

 

As for the time travel stuff, I was getting a real 'Days of Future Past' vibe from it.  Going back and forth through time to see what changes each time was interesting.  However I would say that much like MMC or Canterlot Wedding, this finale could have benefitted greatly from having a third part.  There were enough ideas introduced here for at least three or four parts.

 

But for what it was, it worked out pretty well, even if the Captain Planet-esque 'let me show you what you're going to cause' ending felt a bit cliché.  It'll definitely be interesting to see if they expand on the ending of this in Season 6.

Edited November 28, 2015 by SBaby

[Silver Letter 1,832]

That was quite the finale. A wonderful two episodes to finish off season 5. I love Starlight as a villain. She is just that sort of motivated character that I like to see. I didn't think she would even reform in the end but I guess she was convinced of the error of her ways. I loved the character cameos, especially the villains. The story pacing was also excellent and made me want to see more as the story progressed.

 

Josh Haber did a great job and I'll be sure to tell him personally in the coming months.

 

 

However I would say that much like MMC or Canterlot Wedding, this finale could have benefitted greatly from having a third part.

That's almost as much as a whole movie. I doubt that Hasbro would ever break that much new ground.

[Pop-Tart 33]

This was my first reaction at the end: Twiglimmer Twiglimmer...

Then... Starpie?

Then... Mane 7??????

And finally, when it ended: BLU-RAY NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

 

I'm sooooo sad season 5 is over and we have to wait for season 6...

Edited November 28, 2015 by Pop-Tart

[Goat-kun 2,527]

So a unicorn that had to run away from a small mob of ordinary ponies takes a level in badass, becomes an all-powerful super villain with an eye-rolling story about one broken childhood friendship, gets redeemed by a little chat on a cloud, becomes Twilight Light Edition, and the best parts of these two episodes were those that had nothing to do with her. Kek.

 

Was this two-parter good or bad? The history will tell it better than me.

 

P.S: Brace yourselves. Starlight Glimmer best waifu threads are coming.

Edited November 28, 2015 by Goat-kun

[BlackWater627 700]

What an impressive end to an impressive season!

 

I was delighted to see Starlight return...and redeem herself! Seriously, she is one incredible pony. She bested Twily for most of that episode, seemingly as strong in terms of attack magic and perhaps just as savvy with correcting/modifying spells. However, what I liked most was that she was willing to let go of her anger, not by force but by opening up and allowing herself to be vulnerable to the magic of friendship. When MLP redeems a villain, my goodness do they do it well! I can't wait to see her more in Season 6, hopefully as a Mane 7 character. She's fulfilling a similar role to Sunny Delight in EqG and I eagerly await her adventures with the others (and hopefully some accurate merchandise )

 

I also loved that the episode showed that not every conflict requires violence to solve.

 

To have a character that can match or even beat Twilight with magic is a big deal and I believe a welcome one. Like you said, it's nice to have a resolution that doesn't require violence or coercion. Starlight Glimmer is actually a very strong pony for deciding to stop on her own. And it's a great lesson that we can always choose to change ourselves without outside influence. She needs more hugs though. I was waiting for Twi to give her more horse huggles. 

[Mr. Blue Sky 28]

Wow...my predictions were all wrong. Well, I did get to see Twilight's old friends again, even though it wasn't in the way I expected. In fact, none of this was like I expected it. Except Starlight getting reformed because I could see that coming a mile away. But...wow, just wow. I was actually left somewhat speechless. 

 

In the end, Starlight kinda reforms herself. Sure, it's Twilight who triggers the change but it was Starlight's own choice. Starlight being reformed itself? I've never been bothered by any redemption yet except Diamond Tiara and this was no exception. Starlight probably won't become a main mane character but maybe a secondary character like Spike. 

 

This episode and its plot/concept (which was executed wonderfully) was amazing which I always believed since every season finale has been great so far. Only Magical Mystery Cure was slightly iffy at first but I eventually got used to it.

 

Now...what's in it for season six? I'm honestly very interested to find out. Here's to another great season!

[galaxysquid 2,122]

Okay, what. WHAT? So this season finale was interesting. 

 

It wrapped itself up really quick at the end, like a lot of the episodes do in my opinion, which annoys me. But meh, whatever. I thought this was a good season finale. The plot was pretty old and common though. Trying to fix the future/present because someone messed it up nonsense. :V

I'll give it a 7.5/10

 

My questions/concerns/likes:

• Is Twilight kind of like a mentor now, like Princess Celestia was to her? 
• Mane 7 confirm?
• How the hell did Starlight Glimmer find the spell and how was she even able to do the spell if Starswirl the Bearded could only even go back a week?
• Applejack said Flutterdash~ owo
• I really like the styles of the mane 6's manes they gave them in the future parts. Rainbow Dash was looking pretty badass. 
• They all like broke the fourth wall at the end.
• I predict many memes in the future.
• Twilight needs to learn how to lock doors.
• Twilight needs to remember that Spike does not have wings.
• Starlight Glimmer stole my OC's name and I'm still bothered. D:<

 

I hope that S6 will spark my interest in the show again, because honestly I got bored by the end of S5. 

Edited November 28, 2015 by PrincessWubsy

[KatonRyu 1,033]

Okay, I loved these two episodes. I loved the dystopian versions of the present, and I liked the time travel plot more than I thought I would. There is one thing that bugs me, however: how the hell is Starlight so powerful? Twilight is literally magic incarnate, her talent is magic. How, then, is it possible for Starlight to outshine her so much?

 

I hope the Season 6 opening episodes will explain Starlight's insane talent a bit more, because this is just begging for some kind of explanation.

 

On the slightly less positive side of things, I did think Starlight's excuse for being the way she was was a bit weak. Losing a friend as a filly is sad, but it shouldn't consume your entire life in the way this did. They could have at least given her more cutie mark related friendship woes, if this is the route they wanted to take.

 

To end on a cheerful note, though: the song. I love that song, and I'm quite sure I'll be listening to it a lot while waiting for Season 6.

[Steve Piranha 29,419]

OH MAI GAWD, I LOVED THAT EPISODE, IT WAS GREAT SEASON FINALE. It was kinda of a constant mood whiplash seeing Twi fighting of Starlight in what looked like something mundane and petty, but later showed it has dark consequences per failing, and man, those were dark moments in the show.

 

Well, now we got to explore mere of Starlight, and:

welcome her as the seventh ranger in the pony group (Sunny belongs to the human one). Though, while I think it's great to welcome an extremely powerful unicorn (fuck, she always had the upper hand on Twi, TWILIGHT FOR GOD'S SAKE . Thought, I think her reason for her hate on cutie marks is WAY lamer than I expected.

 

Oh, one more thing:

BAT PONIES   

 

 

[The Coffee Pony 1,390]

Well that was pretty good. Though I have to say, this felt more like a series finale than a season finale. I would have been satisfied if they had ended it here as this season really had a sense of finality to it. The Cutie Mark Crusaders have their marks, the Mane 6 have accomplished their goals, Luna, Discord and Starlight Glimmer have been fully reformed. I'm not opposed to more Seasons of FiM but it really makes me wonder what they'll do for Season 6. Really, the only loose end the series has left is Equestria Girls. Everything will be wrapped up once Sunset Shimmer goes home. Where can they go from here?

Edited November 28, 2015 by The Coffee Pony

[Shanks 10,816]

Okay, I loved these two episodes. I loved the dystopian versions of the present, and I liked the time travel plot more than I thought I would. There is one thing that bugs me, however: how the hell is Starlight so powerful? Twilight is literally magic incarnate, her talent is magic. How, then, is it possible for Starlight to outshine her so much?

Actually they were at an impasse, as Twilight herself said they could have fought each other for all eternity and it is unlikely either of them would have gained enough of an advantage for victory. If Starlight Glimmer was really so much more powerful than Twilight, this would not have been the case Starlight clearly would have been the victor in that case. In other words they were both even, so much so that they may as well have been fighting themselves. How Starlight became so powerful is likely a combination of natural talent and years of training, sure most unicorns wouldn't get anywhere near as powerful yet as we saw with Sunset Shimmer in the Equestria Girls movie it is in fact possible to become that powerful without being an alicorn but probably more difficult without the power boost from it.

[Glaive9Gko 82]

I liked it!
++ Love me some returned villains! I always said Sombra needed an army!
++ Dat slowclap!
++ Damn dat bitch can spit some venom!
+ Not to mention enough little jokes for some good chuckles!
+ Cute ending song!
+ Dat final future! Chilling!
+ Yay Glimmer backstory
- ... which made her look like a whiny little filly. Stretched believability with me a bit.
- They forgot Chrysalis's voice effect!
- They made a timetravel episode! These NEVER go over well, no matter what. Ever. EVER! If you have a nit to pick with the plot, just let it go.

So yeah, pretty damn good overall! Good faces, absolutely loved villain Glimmer! Still, a part of me wanted Twi to just take her back to the CMC so Applebloom could just tell her to grow up!

So, I'm giving it a ItsMagicTheyDon'tHaveToEplainShit / 10

[Cwanky 17,570]

 

Get your Delorean fired up! Because this finale was one big blast from the past!

[KatonRyu 1,033]

Actually they were at an impasse, as Twilight herself said they could have fought each other for all eternity and it is unlikely either of them would have gained enough of an advantage for victory. If Starlight Glimmer was really so much more powerful than Twilight, this would not have been the case Starlight clearly would have been the victor in that case. In other words they were both even, so much so that they may as well have been fighting themselves. How Starlight became so powerful is likely a combination of natural talent and years of training, sure most unicorns wouldn't get anywhere near as powerful yet as we saw with Sunset Shimmer in the Equestria Girls movie it is in fact possible to become that powerful without being an alicorn but probably more difficult without the power boost from it.

 

True, but what Twilight said at the end was that 'Starlight had more talent than almost any other unicorn she knew'. She didn't include herself in that, but considering Twilight has been studying magic for all her life and her talent literally is magic, Starlight has to be ridiculously talented and powerful to fight on an even footing with Twilight. Sunset brought Twilight to the human world, where the magic is much weaker, but Starlight was in Equestria and Twilight should have more raw power.

 

Aside from this, Starlight altered one of Star Swirl the Bearded's spells. When Twilight did that, she ascended to becoming an alicorn. Why was that different for Starlight, and how was she able to do this in the first place? How could she possibly know so much about Twilight's map, when even Twilight doesn't know some of these things? There is something about Starlight that worries me, and I wonder how it will be resolved.

[Princess Book Horse 352]

It is time everypony. Time for yet another season of this truly magical show to come to a close. It's been a fun season, so let's send it off with a bang.

 

-Twilight giving a speech on magic and OMG! MOONDANCER RETURNS!!

- Spike just humiliated himself in front of everypony.

- Hey, who do we have here? Starlight? #NopeChuckTesta #SorryNotSorry

- I Sense a Shrek 4 type of story coming on.

- A race between fillies when all of a sudden, A WILD STARLIGHT GLIMMER APPEARS!! #StrangerDanger

- Ponyville in the first alternate timeline kinda reminds me of a little of how Halloween town from Nightmare Before Christmas looks in the daytime.

- I love the Applejack in this timeline, she's just so blunt and direct in the way she talks.

- Holy Celestia, it's King Sombra!!

- What is this? War? Real, actual war with Ponies legitimately trying to kill each other in a family show? Number of times Season 5 has gotten dark: 675.

- I swear, Spike falls to his death at least 4 times in this finale. Then again, so does Twilight, but she has wings.

- Twilight's next plan is to tell a child that she's from the future and bug her for a race to have her perform a rainboom... #StrangerDanger #INeedAnAdult

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

- Now we have a war against the Changelings.

- I have to say, Zecora is on point in this episode.

- This whole forest scene reminds me of Star Wars, but it also reminds me a bit of the Tia Dalma scenes in Pirates of Caribbean.

- Holy Celestia, it's Queen Chrysalis!

- This is the first time we've heard her name in the show.

- After using so much magic during this finale, Twilight is too tired to even fend off Timberwolves. It kind of works in the same way chakra does in Naruto.

- Holy Celestia, it's - okay, this is getting old.

- I think Nightmare Moon looks even cooler each time we see her.

- Twilight: I never give up, that's my shinobi w- (No? We're not using that one?)

- Next, we get another scene fight scene with Twilight being a badass, that's 2 finales in a row!

- Now, we get a short glimpse of alternative timelines for Discord, Tirek and even FLIM and FLAM! (That's hilarious.)

- Twlight takes Starlight to this creepy wasteland timeline and we FINALLY hear Starlight's backstory!

- Sunburst is cute.

- When Twlight finally gets tired of fighting, she does what she does best: A LECTURE!

- When they finally get back, Starlight is redeemed and we get to close another beautiful season with a song.

 

Overall, this was a perfect way to end off Season 5 and we're left with one burning question: Will Starlight actually become the newest member of the group? Or will we only see her about 3 times next season like Discord? Either way, we won't know until Season 6 airs next year. Now, it's time for the fandom to take over for about a year while we wait.

Edited November 28, 2015 by Princess Book Horse

[Shanks 10,816]

Aside from this, Starlight altered one of Star Swirl the Bearded's spells. When Twilight did that, she ascended to becoming an alicorn. Why was that different for Starlight, and how was she able to do this in the first place? How could she possibly know so much about Twilight's map, when even Twilight doesn't know some of these things? There is something about Starlight that worries me, and I wonder how it will be resolved.

There are multiple scenes throughout season 5 where Starlight Glimmer can be seen in the background and we saw her in the audience during Twilights speech. She has been spying on Twilight and the mane 6, probably for quite some time. The reason why Twilight ascended to alicorn was either because celestia put an additional spell on it which result in Twilights transformation or Starswirls spell was deliberately designed to ascend unicorns to alicorns. How Starlight Glimmer was able to use Starswirls time travel spell to such an extent is a very good question though, I suspect that Starlight Glimmer may have snuck into the Canterlot Archives somehow. The fact that she was so patient and intelligent is what made her so dangerous.

[shy0wl 484]

I just got done watching it, WHY IS A SHOW FOR LITTLE GIRLS MAKING ME CRY SO MUCH???

 

10/10