Is the Season 5 finale less accessible to non-hardcore fans?

[SolyWack 482]

Oh how it's good to be back after being away for 3 months (thats like 2 1/2 years in dog years!). I hope you all are ready for the plethora of topics I have bottled up.

 

So here's the first: I've been thinking about how good the season 5 finale is to people who like the show, but aren't necessarily "hardcore" if you'll accept that terminology.

 

Here's why: I recently watched the season 5 finale, and thought it was GREAT. As with all the other 2-parters, it blew me away. I especially liked all the continuity with previous villians. But that is exactly the problem here. Maybe not "problem", but "unfortunate side-effect".

 

I re-watched this episode(s) with a friend who watches the show, but has a tendency to skip around. Not too different from anybody else who has only watched a few episodes, but turns to the channel every once in a while.

 

At the end I asked her how she liked it, and she said "It was okay".  There's nothing wrong with not liking it, but her reason was: "I just didn't understand a lot of it." Which is interesting if you consider...

 

Starlight Glimmer herself is confusing if you didn't see the s5 premiere, as both Twilight and Spike talk about her, but never directly state she is "the bad guy", you're just supposed to know it. And then there's all the other villains, where even though you might roll with the "they're just the bad guys", you don't know their motives or how they have the ability to cause so much destruction UNLESS you have seen the previous 2-parters.

 

Do you think it's difficult to properly enjoy this episode if you haven't seen previous episodes? Obviously to us Bronies, it doesn't matter much, but what about everybody else?

 

Edit: not saying it was wrong or should be changed. I thought it was great. 'Tis just a question.

Edited January 13, 2016 by AppleJack_Wack

[PiratePony 8,491]

I think that without the premiere episode, it would be lost, because it directly ties in. The rest of the show, even without seeing the Cute Mark Chronicles, my wife got the gist and the story was done well. I think the major key would be watching S5 premiere - the other villains, you could buck up to unknown villains and it'd be at least enjoyable.

 

Properly enjoy? Without S5, it might come across as way too confusing, but still enjoyable if you haven't seen those other two-parters. Of course it'd be better having seen the previous finales.

 

Did you friend see the season 5 premiere with Starlight Glimmer?

[Megas 28,139]

Probably, If they haven't been keeping up with the show they'll probably be very lost especially if they haven't watched the S5 premier

 

On top of that the finale is already really divisive

[Guest]

I will admit I felt it was strangely dark for the show that's for sure. Not that I minded that, but it definitely had some darker moments than I was used to seeing. From showing war in Equestria, to the entire land turned into a desolate wasteland and part of Dash's ear getting ripped off, it definitely was pushing the envelope a bit.

[SolyWack 482]

PiratePony, on 12 Jan 2016 - 10:40 PM, said:

I think that without the premiere episode, it would be lost, because it directly ties in. The rest of the show, even without seeing the Cute Mark Chronicles, my wife got the gist and the story was done well. I think the major key would be watching S5 premiere - the other villains, you could buck up to unknown villains and it'd be at least enjoyable.

 

Properly enjoy? Without S5, it might come across as way too confusing, but still enjoyable if you haven't seen those other two-parters. Of course it'd be better having seen the previous finales.

 

Did you friend see the season 5 premiere with Starlight Glimmer?

 

No, and that was part of the problem I'm sure. But also watching only some of the 2-parters made it difficult as well. Like she didn't watch a Canterlot Wedding, so she was lost the whole time they were talking about these "changelings" and "Queen Chrysalis", whom we know well, but others don't.

[Radiance64 7,059]

Yeah MLPFIM's become a lot more of a continuous narrative after season 2... if someone's missed important episodes and skips to the S5 finale they're definitely gonna be confused

[Sporemane 546]

I felt the finale was very self contained. The exposition at the beginning summarized cutie marks importance and Starlights actions in the premier episode. Although it was very short and quick. If you were not paying attention you could of gotten lost in the stories plot.

[KatonRyu 1,036]

It would be less accessible, yes, but I think the same goes for all the two-parters of Season 4 and 5, and even the series as a whole after Magical Mystery Cure. The season openers and closers are generally the ones focusing most on an overarching plot and world development, but the changes made in those episodes do persist to the rest of the show. For instance, watching a regular Season 5 episode without having seen the Season 4 final, you'd wonder why Twilight isn't living in the library anymore. Watching any episode of Season 4 or 5 without having seen the Season 3 final, you'd wonder why Twilight was suddenly an alicorn.

 

Overall, the show does remarkably well, in my opinion, with staying accessible to casual viewers by having episodic plots with some overarching elements. But it's natural that as the show progresses things will change, and I think it was a good decision to keep the truly big plot-related events contained to the opening and closing episodes of the seasons, as they tend to have more viewers.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 42,202]

I think this could apply to any character that has had a proper introduction, like the CMC's. If one sees one of their later episodes without seeing how they started, they might be wondering what and why are they doing what they are doing. They will get the gist eventually, which I think the same could be said for the S5 finale but to a lesser extent. IF one is not caught up in the show or if they are even new to it, then they will be rather confused on all of those characters, but that goes for a lot of stuff in the show honestly. 

[Steve Piranha 29,496]

I think the main element for it to being accessible is watching S5 premiere rather than the other premieres-finales. Yeah, this guy messes with Equestria but lets travel time again to fix it. They might not know who they are, nor their motives, but I don't think they take away the enjoyment of the episodes very much. Starlight Glimmer is different however. If you missed S5 premiere, she just shows up, and antagonizes Twi with no provocation, and the shows clearly assumes you've watched the premiere, so, that is a MUST, if you wanna understand the episode. The others, you might miss a bit, but I don't see them as mandatory 

[Gestum 2,493]

Why would they watch the last episodes if they haven't watched all the ones before?

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

The only continuity this episode makes heavy use of is the other premieres and finales. Because the show doesn't use an explicitly linear continuity, a non-fan would probably have to take guidance from someone more familiar with the show or take up some reading material like the MLP Wiki.

 

Maligned as it is, it's times like this that we're reminded why the writers/editors feel it necessary to include scenes of expository dialogue like in "Twilight's Kingdom".

Edited January 13, 2016 by Wind Chaser

[Aurora Storm 83]

I think it's enjoyable in it's own right, but much more so if you've seen the other seasons because they reference things from past episodes even in their humor and subtle character developments and interactions. Watching it from the beginning isn't needed,  but I'd highly recommend it to someone who wanted to give the show a real chance.