Too much Twilight?

[Cleverclover 1,525]

You know, over and over again I see people say "Twilight is the main character. Of course she gets the most focus." 

 

Well, you know what? The other five are main characters, too. I mean, they are, aren't they? Is that not what "mane six" means? At most, Twilight is simply the central character in the group of five mains, at least that's what I always saw her as. But honestly, I think we've probably reached the point where the mane five's status as "mane" characters is probably only debatable at best, if we can now actually have two-parters in which they're sidelined for nearly the entire thing. 

 

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever as to why the mane five should have been excluded from the finale they way they were. Starlight had absolutely no reason to focus her vengeance only on Twilight. This was simply a decision made so that the mane five would not inconvenience the focus on her. And Spike was probably only there because she needed someone to discuss these events with, and not much else. 

 

Overall, it just makes me feel as though the mane five really only possess a fraction of Twilight's importance to the show. Like, maybe a tenth, if that. I have absolutely no reason to believe that the reverse can ever happen---that there can ever be a two-parter in which most of the focus falls on the mane five while Twilight is sidelined. It seems incredibly unlikely and probably impossible. 

 

All I want to know is what is it going to take for the show stop glorifying Twilight so much? What's the ultimate endgame her? Becoming the sole ruler of Equestria? Just hurry up and get to it, damn it. 

[Marimo 555]

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever as to why the mane five should have been excluded from the finale they way they were. Starlight had absolutely no reason to focus her vengeance only on Twilight. This was simply a decision made so that the mane five would not inconvenience the focus on her. And Spike was probably only there because she needed someone to discuss these events with, and not much else. 

They couldn't show alternate Twilight because they felt that would make things too complicated. If all six were time traveling, then we wouldn't be able to see any alternate mane sixes from any of the timelines, which I'm pretty sure they wanted to do. I think that's at least a factor. 

Edited December 1, 2015 by Marimo

[Celli 4,332]

During the regular episodes? No.

During the two-parters? Absolutely. Not that I have a problem with that personally, but oh well.

[mrman 11]

I have to agree I'm getting tired of seeing twilight. I'm not saying she's a bad character, but I miss all of the other characters.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

Snipity-snip

I see no problem with this. The show is about Twilight and her growth towards her destiny as the Princess of Friendship, after all. 

[Celli 4,332]

I will say that I'd love another Best Night Ever type finale. That stil remains one of my favorite episodes and probably my personal favorite finale.

[Cleverclover 1,525]

They couldn't show alternate Twilight because they felt that would make things too complicated. If all six were time traveling, then we wouldn't be able to see any alternate mane sixes from any of the timelines, which I'm pretty sure they wanted to do. I think that's at least a factor. 

 

Maybe, but it's still a minor issue, and one that doesn't really justify their exclusion. 

 

Still, I have to admit, somehow their exclusion here was less annoying than their being reduced to helpless damsels in Twilight's Kingdom. Perhaps because having them not there is better than having them there only to make them utterly helpless. 

[ManaMinori 4,143]

First, I am surprised that everyone call AJ best backgroundpony although she has more episodes than Twilight. o.O

 

But the thing is, that Twilight is the main character of all mane 6. She was the pony who had to learn what friendship is and so she is the best for telling others how important friendship is. And on the other side, her major roles are usually in the opener and final episodes (except for S1 final, where every mane 6 had an role, and the S5 opener, where the most work came from Fluttershy). In the other episodes, she has more an minor part except for some episodes like Amending Fences. But the fact is, that she is the main character of all and that's why she has so many appearances.

without her friends, T tree ilight would be a big fat zero

So all 6 of the MANE 6 should be getting equal spotlight

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,329]

I never really understood this argument. I mean, the only time where I feel Twilight actually overshadows the mane six are in some of the 2 parters, which only make up a small percentage of the whole show. Also, the too much Twilight argument would actually be better suited for season 1, where she was shoved into every episode sometimes just to give the moral. Also, using stats of lines, words or sentences can get skewed very easily, especially when considering that the amount they say varies in each episode. Oh, and I'm pretty sure the rest of the mane six get more regular episodes than Twilight.

[Sidral Mundet 1,666]

Now I don't consider Twilight THE main character, yes she is one but not the only one. However she is the focal character as well as being the audience surrogate most of the time, so her getting the most screen time does make some sense. That being said what I don't like is when they make her the only active participant in event, the only one ever trying to stop the problem especially in the two-parters. Doing this only diminished the rest of the cast, and this is why Return of Harmony is the best two-parter in my eyes, because while Twilight is still the lead, all the characters contribute over the course of the events. 

Edited December 1, 2015 by Sidral Mundet

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

You know, over and over again I see people say "Twilight is the main character. Of course she gets the most focus." 

 

Well, you know what? The other five are main characters, too. I mean, they are, aren't they? Is that not what "mane six" means? At most, Twilight is simply the central character in the group of five mains, at least that's what I always saw her as. But honestly, I think we've probably reached the point where the mane five's status as "mane" characters is probably only debatable at best, if we can now actually have two-parters in which they're sidelined for nearly the entire thing. 

 

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever as to why the mane five should have been excluded from the finale they way they were. Starlight had absolutely no reason to focus her vengeance only on Twilight. This was simply a decision made so that the mane five would not inconvenience the focus on her. And Spike was probably only there because she needed someone to discuss these events with, and not much else. 

 

Overall, it just makes me feel as though the mane five really only possess a fraction of Twilight's importance to the show. Like, maybe a tenth, if that. I have absolutely no reason to believe that the reverse can ever happen---that there can ever be a two-parter in which most of the focus falls on the mane five while Twilight is sidelined. It seems incredibly unlikely and probably impossible. 

 

All I want to know is what is it going to take for the show stop glorifying Twilight so much? What's the ultimate endgame her? Becoming the sole ruler of Equestria? Just hurry up and get to it, damn it. 

 

 

 

agreed so freaking much. I absolutely HATE it when people basically say "Twilights the mane character, its okay for her to get all the attention!"

No, there are SIX mane characters in the show; the art of equestria book even stated that. Twilight is the CENTRAL character. There is a very large difference here. While I don't begrudge twilight a little extra focus and time, there's a difference between that and shoving all the others off to be background ponies for finales and premiers.

The others are not just the CMC or secondary ponies to be brought out occasionally for slice of life and then forgotten to give twilight large solo arcs for herself for the two parters; they are just as important to the show as twilight. As such, it would be nice if the show staff remembered that like they did in Season 1 and Return of harmony.

 

I mean, look at Best night ever. That is the BEST finale we have had yet simply for the fact that it REMEMBERS that there are six mane characters, and focuses on all of the six evenly. Good god, could we get something on par with that again? Instead of Twilight having the finale be her key episode, or worse having her go off on a solo mission without the others doing anything but cameoing like this one?

Sheesh. Its not that I think twilight should get zero focus or anything, but the importance of the other 5 for two parters has been basically a straight downward line since CW.

[碇 シンジン 27,427]

I honestly haven't really cared about how much we see the other Mane Six. I'm also positive that I've read on several websites that AJ has been in more episodes than Twilight has, so if there's anypony that needs to get out of the spotlight, it's her.

Aj has more episodes because of the CMC arcs  and because CMC mainly focuses on her little sister apple bloom 

 

 

I never really understood this argument. I mean, the only time where I feel Twilight actually overshadows the mane six are in some of the 2 parters, which only make up a small percentage of the whole show. Also, the too much Twilight argument would actually be better suited for season 1, where she was shoved into every episode sometimes just to give the moral. Also, using stats of lines, words or sentences can get skewed very easily, especially when considering that the amount they say varies in each episode. Oh, and I'm pretty sure the rest of the mane six get more regular episodes than Twilight.

Lines words and sentences are pretty important you can see how much they speak in the episode and speaking roles in episodes put the spotlight on that character so if you speak the most you have the most spotlight

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

Aj has more episodes because of the CMC arcs  and because CMC mainly focuses on her little sister apple bloom 

 

 

Lines words and sentences are pretty important you can see how much they speak in the episode and speaking roles in episodes put the spotlight on that character so if you speak the most you have the most spotlight

 

adding onto this in response to C.B., the finales and premiers are generally the most important episodes that set the tone for a season, change how the world runs and acts, and overall have the most importance. Additionally, they tend to be the only times to get a good adventure going on, which alot of fans really like to see.

 

So the fact that twilight has begun to hog these is a severe issue for those who enjoy more epic episodes and the other 5.

[Arrowstormen 62]

adding onto this in response to C.B., the finales and premiers are generally the most important episodes that set the tone for a season, change how the world runs and acts, and overall have the most importance. Additionally, they tend to be the only times to get a good adventure going on, which alot of fans really like to see.

So the fact that twilight has begun to hog these is a severe issue for those who enjoy more epic episodes and the other 5.

Twilight has "hogged" two parters since forever. The only two-parter where she isn't the obvious main-mane character is The Cutie Map, which balanced out the fact that we mostly only saw alternate reality versions of the rest of the mane six in The Cutie Re-Mark (and honestly, the story would have suffered if the rest of the mane six original timeline versions where tacked on). 

Edited December 1, 2015 by Arrowstormen

[SBaby 660]

I did go into this awhile back when I posted my 'The Problem With Twilight' article on the old site I used to visit.  Since I can't find the exact article I posted, I'll summarize a key point that I made back then.

 

The biggest problem with Twilight (also known as the 'Twilight Effect'), is the fact that prominently featuring her in two-part episodes is pretty much unavoidable, because her character causes the most change in the series.  Change happens in season premiers and season finales on this show, on an almost regular basis.  Few times are they able to avoid using her as the feature character, and every time they avoided it, the premiere or finale didn't cause any real changes to the status quo (the Crystal Empire came close, but nothing with the main characters really changed beyond things we had already learned, and Twilight was directly involved pretty heavily in that anyway).  And when it comes to a show like FiM, where one of the purposes of the cartoon is to sell toys, changes in the status quo are pretty much mandatory.  Hence the reason they use her so often.

 

They can't use the other characters in these finales, because the other characters can't cause that degree of change due to their own situations.  It would be interesting if Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie DID discover an upgraded version of the Rainbow Powers after going on a vision quest.  But it would make no sense in the context of the show.  Why would they use THEM instead of Twilight who IS the Princess of Friendship to discover a new power that Friendship is the basis for anyway?  Well, the simple answer to that is, they wouldn't.  They'd just use Twilight, because it's the most logical choice.  And when your series centers entirely around the concept of Friendship, and you have a character who is the literal Princess of Friendship, you can start to see where the writers are trapped.

 

Twilight causes the most change in the series because she is the Princess of Friendship.  This is the biggest catch 22 in the show, and the way the world has been built, there isn't an easy way around it.  It can be done, but not easily.

 

And this unfortunately carries over to most fanfics because of the 'Supers Effect'.  I actually had a problem with this in two of my fanfics.  I solved the first problem (in my Super Stars fic) by making the mane six characters mentor figures for the human characters who were the main characters in the fic.  But the second fic I did, I ran into the same issue, and there was really no way around it, because I didn't have non-pony main characters to fall back on.

Edited December 2, 2015 by SBaby

[Number62 1,247]

Twilight glorification ad nauseam is an understatement. Putting a certain character as the main one of a story is one thing, but exaggerating her importance to unreasonable levels especially at the expense of other important characters has been a persistent weakness of the 2-parters. And since those stories are the ones with the largest scope and highest stakes, as in the most important, what does that say?

 

Yeah, there was too much of her in season 1 for obvious reasons, and things got a bit better in season 2. Recently though, Twilight being EVERYTHING has become ridiculous. Instead of being the main character of the show, she's become the main character of the universe (or at least Equestria even in-universe). To quote Starlight in the recent finale, "Spare me your overblown ego! No group of friends, not even Princess Twilight's, is that important!" I know how you feel, Starlight, at least for that moment.

 

Some say that the lack of Twilight outside of the 2-parters makes up for too much Twilight in the season openings and finales, and I disagree because there are now two problems instead of one, and I'm sure they are obvious.

 

There's definitely a way to keep Twilight at the center of the show while still giving importance to the other characters, especially the other alicorns. I wonder if the producers/writers/etc. can't figure it out.

 

EDIT: Just to be clear, I do not hate Twilight. I hate the decisions being made with her, though.

Edited December 1, 2015 by Number107

[Justin_Case001 4,857]

Twilight has always been sort of the main character.  That was established since S1E1.  Given that, I really don't understand why people often complain that there is too much of her.  I mean, I understand wanting more of the others, but I don't really understand the apparent shock that she gets a little more screen time.  I realize it's an ensemble cast, and I realize this isn't really the same thing, but sometimes when people complain about Twilight, it feels sort of like complaining about too much Batman being shoehorned into to every episode of Batman: The Animated Series or something.  I know, I know, really not the same.  I get it.  But really, I think they do a great job of balancing them.  In fact, to me it felt like S5 was a little Sparkle sparse, if anything.  Which is fine.  Giving others more of a turn is great.  I do think it would great and unexpected to have a two-parter centering around a somepony else.  The Cutie Map wasn't bad in that regard.  It wasn't really Twilight-central.  They all had equal time, and Fluttershy got to play a big part.  But an actual finale or premiere spotlight on a different character would be very welcome.  It does get predictable when it's always Twilight saving the day.

[Silver Stream. 708]

All I will say, is that I believe all of the Mane 6 have been giv n equal screentime and importance. It is your own mindset that forces you to believe there is too much twilight because you perceive her journey to be the most important. It all depends in how you look at it. True, she was the key to introduce the others and she is leader...but she isn't the soul focus of the show nor is she executed to be put above the rest. One would argue that she was put above the others because she became an alicorn. And my response would be "Aaaand?"

 

We've repeatedly seen just how powerful alicorns are...and we've seen how imperfect each princess including Twilight can be. Half the fandom see them as useless anyway. You cannot blame Twilight nor can you blame the show for "too much Twilight". You can only blame the attention and focus given to her by the fans. focus a few times, it's been stressed how Twilight wouldn't be who she was had it not been for her friends. Wasn't that said in the Season 4 finale? "What is the princess of friendship without her friends". It isn't just twilight...it's the mane 6. The only reason why mist feel as though Twilight gets the most attention is because it's possible you put her on that level yourselves and naturally see her journey more important the the others

 

So....no. If anything, I think there's has been TOO MANY PINKIE PIES!

 

D-did....Did you see what I did there?

 

 

ANYONE? Yeah okay I'll go sit in a corner and think about what I've done.

Edited December 1, 2015 by Silver Stream.

[碇 シンジン 27,427]

Mane 6 have been giv n equal screentime

 

 

but they arent for example twilight has been having more than twice as much lines  of speaking than the mane 6 pony who had the least in almost every season

Edited December 1, 2015 by ooBrony

[Phill 1,285]

What's funny is that during season 4 I remember some people complaining that there wasn't enough Twilight. 

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

I think this topic is incredibly confusing.

 

This is not really about Twilight being too often the focus of the series in general, this is more Twilight being the focus of the premiere and the finale, because the slice of life episodes inbetween are very equally managed.

[Arrowstormen 62]

but they arent for example twilight has been having more than twice as much lines  of speaking than the mane 6 pony who had the least in almost every season

Twilight is a very talkative horse though. 

[Hazy Skies 1,010]

"Twilight Sparkle: Friendship is Magic"

[碇 シンジン 27,427]

Twilight is a very talkative horse though. 

The show lives on Visual animation and Sound  provided by voice actors   When character is talking the focus is mainly on them and it is Rare that they talk offscreen so basically the one who talks most gets most screentime.

I think this topic is incredibly confusing.

 

This is not really about Twilight being too often the focus of the series in general, this is more Twilight being the focus of the premiere and the finale, because the slice of life episodes inbetween are very equally managed.

yeah though they could cut her time in Slice of life episodes too i mean Rarity barely has any episodes on her   and twilight appears in most episodes that arent even focusing on her and is stealing the spotlight

 

What im saying is that the situation these days is that The show is pretty much cirlcing around twilight when you look at the series in general and in season premieres and finales she basically steals the show entirely from other ponies  I hoped the mane 6 would solve these bigger issues and missions together

 

I mean in this season too twilight got into some Episodes just because the cutiemap is in her castle and  they had to  spend an entire act on the castle so Twilight would have some lines

[Steve Piranha 28,782]

Well, she's the central character in the FiM, so, that's to be expected. Though, this finale she was the one she did all alone, while others, the rest of the Mane6 helped somewhat, but not this time. Thoug, I don't mind it, It would be refreshing and interesting if Twi is the damsel in distress, and the other Mane6 have to save her