spoiler CMC - Are the Creators Just Tired of Them?

[Guest]

Minor spoiler tag for those who have not ventured far into season 5. So as we all know, the CMC finally get their cutie marks in season 5. However I kind of felt like the episode didn't feel "big" enough for such a character changing event. On top of that, their cutie marks kind of don't feel like they look right. Like they stand out a bit too much from other cutie marks we've seen, don't you think? Not to mention their special talent of helping others find their special talent to me just kind of defies what we were originally told which was that you had to find your own special talent.

 

It just felt like to me that the writers made this decision because they were getting tired of the CMC joke of trying to find their cutie marks and not because this is how they actually planned it. What do you guys think? Do you think this was the original plan for the CMC or they just kind of settled?

[Tao 8,036]

I think it was just time for them to grow up after five seasons of looking for their cutie mark for so long and just not getting it.   Given also most of their exploring was just bound in the Ponyville,  well only so much you can do in small town.  (This is know from Real life).  And now its going to be fun to watch them explore a new path in who they are and how they will grow. 

[cmarston1 5,959]

I'm just glad that they finally got them.

The joke was getting way too old.

Plus episodes like Flight to the Finish and Sisterhooves Social prove that the CMC are at their best as characters when they aren't involved in the joke of failing to get their cutie marks.

[JonasDarkmane 19,788]

@@Key Sharkz

Hey there  

 

Your topic has more to do with Show Discussion rather than the Sugarcube Corner as it discusses characters from the show, Friendship is Magic . Therefore the topic has been moved to the appropriate section  

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

I think it was more of a plan change halfway through. Show Stoppers showed what their talents might be so you would think it was that. I think plans were just changed halfway through. Also, I feel that it was foreshadowed in Applelooza's Most Wanted where they helped Troubleshoes find his true talent so I wouldn't say it was compeltely out of nowhere. Plus, with their cuite marks this can just lead to new stories with them.

[Megas 27,787]

It's possible that the writers felt it was time for them to finally get their Cutie Marks(especially since it's something I can't see them keeping up forever), plus, their cutie marks kind of go in line with how they helped Troubleshoes and Diamond Tiara realize what their real potential works. Like @@C.B said, their CMs were foreshadowed early on in the season.And I think with their CMs more story possibilities open up

 

And besides, they can still do more with the CMC than just crusading, especially Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle

Edited December 18, 2015 by Santa Megas

[Aurora Storm 83]

I'm so glad they ventured away from what Showstoppers strongly hinted at. This is much more interesting, it keeps them able to retain t heir Cutie Mark Crusader title (it's not about getting Cutie Marks now it's about helping others understand the true meaning behind theirs) and even though they're all the same shape it does have individual pictures that represents each of them. I thought the episode was great, if not perfect. I have no real complaints with it and it was my favorite of the season.

 

I have to wonder though, are we going to explore any more of Sweetie Bell's singing talents. She sang Hush Now Quiet Now and that showcased her as the best singer but really all of them are equally good singers when they sing together. Scootaloo sang badly in Show Stoppers but Sweetie Bell sounded terrible singing 99 Barrels of Oats on the Wall or whatever it was in Sleepless in Ponyville. I know she was just screaming it, same as Scootaloo was in her song but really Sweetie Bell hasn't really stood out as being much of a singer above the rest.

[Marimo 555]

I don't think changing exactly what their cutie marks were is a sign of them being tired of them, because if they were, why not just give them the cutie marks that are only connected to the talents shown in Show Stoppers? And why make the extra effort to come up with new ideas and also make AMW to help build up to the cutie marks they ended up getting?

 

Besides, cutie marks can be open to interpretation and can offer different meanings (like Cheerilee's flower cutie mark). They may have the shield that connect the three being cutie marks, but they also have individual designs within those shields, with Sweetie's specifically having a music note.

[chirox the pony 1,336]

I think it's possible the writers are trying to wrap the show up as their cutie marks were essentially the setup for future episodes and not intended the get rid of the characters altogether. 

[EVBP 94]

However I kind of felt like the episode didn't feel "big" enough for such a character changing event.

 

Personally, I thought it was just right. While getting their Cutie Marks was a big deal to them, it didn't change WHO they are in the strictest sense. They are still the same characters, they have just discovered their unique talents.

 

 

On top of that, their cutie marks kind of don't feel like they look right. Like they stand out a bit too much from other cutie marks we've seen, don't you think?

 

Yeah, I kind of agree here. I like the idea of them all having 3 unifying Cutie Marks because of their shared talent, but I'm not nuts about the designs. Swing and a miss.

 

Not to mention their special talent of helping others find their special talent to me just kind of defies what we were originally told which was that you had to find your own special talent.

 

The writers may have had other intentions originally, but I am happy with direction they chose. Besides, finding your special talent doesn't mean you have to do it alone. Whom among us who have found our calling in life or special talent got there all on our own? Besides, DT and TS already had their marks, they just didn't understand them. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to shed some light on things.

[Dark Qiviut 22,447]

 

 

However I kind of felt like the episode didn't feel "big" enough for such a character changing event.

It's one of the best decisions made during season five. Its comparison, MMC, tried to play off as a really pivotal change from start to finish. Something grandiose was about to happen, but too much went on for the audience to follow and believe. Crusaders of the Lost Mark does the exact opposite by keeping the plot and overall tone more grounded, and the cutie marks they earn become a plot twist that resolved their arc right here and right now.

 

 

 

On top of that, their cutie marks kind of don't feel like they look right. Like they stand out a bit too much from other cutie marks we've seen, don't you think?

The mark's only true problem is their size, but that's nitpicking. Design-wise, they're really good. The colors that make the background for the shield represent who each of them are, and their symbols in front are their individual talents. They've been a unit since the middle of season one, and to share similar marks highlights their tight bond.

 

 

 

Not to mention their special talent of helping others find their special talent to me just kind of defies what we were originally told which was that you had to find your own special talent.

The fact that they changed it shows why The Show Stoppers is so awful. Right from the start, you knew their individual talents, but they don't recognize it and act like obnoxious child stereotypes. Their pursuit became a lame, tired gag before it ended. Half an episode later, DHX dropped the ball on that entire arc. If their marks were exactly the way TSS suggested, then you tell the audience two things.

1. Them being a unit is completely superficial. Their talents from TSS are in the marks, but they're encompassed by something grander and selfless: the ability to show others their true selves.
2. The foreshadowing in Appleoosa's Most Wanted — as bad that one is, too — is suddenly wasted. Rather than become a satisfying conclusion to a five-year arc, it becomes extremely anticlimactic. To change it to a multi-layered mark (their secondary talent on top of their primary) fixes TSS's flaw.

To answer your question, if the creators were tired of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, then they wouldn't try to make their achievement so meaningful nor would they state that their crusading together was merely beginning. Amy Keating Rogers penned the script to confirm a point dating back to Sisterhooves Social: The CMCs are beyond looking for their own marks. AMW was the catalyst to conclude what was originally her run as episode writer for the show. (On Twitter, she thought Lost Mark was her last FIM episode till she was picked to write The Mane Attraction.)

 

More likely than not, it was a change halfway through. Diamond Tiara's bullying was the catalyst for their unity. It makes so much sense for Diamond Tiara's redemption to be the catalyst for the next stage in their lives.

[Comic Sans 401]

Personally I'm glad they finally got them. I found them quite annoying due to this and now I find them a lot more bearable since they're not endlessly complaining about their cutie marks anymore.

[Guest]

 

 

It's one of the best decisions made during season five.

 

Eh, I disagree, but that's personal opinions.

[ChefSandy 22]

I don't think they had gotten tired of the CMC as characters, but I do think they had tread most of the ground possible with them remaining blank flanks. The fact of the matter is that all 3 of their VAs are now in high school or college and it was time to close out the 'CMC as the little kids' arc in the show. I would be pleasantly surprised if they aged up the characters a bit, though that's a bit of a long shot. I will be interested to see what the use the characters for going forward.