S06:E01+02 - The Crystalling

[heavens-champion 1,893]

Yeah, next time, Chrysalis will think twice before she ends up facing the yaks, griffons, and dragons. Former Dragon Lord Torch would easily charbroil her for daring to attack his daughter, Ember's, new friends and allies in the ponies.

Oh, the look on her face when she sees the dragons.

[Sonic5421 423]

Oh, the look on her face when she sees the dragons.

 

Yeah, a major "Oh Crap" look would be the icing on the cake to see her finally reach a point of finally throwing up the white flag.

[Truffles 2,033]

Oh, the look on her face when she sees the dragons.

I wonder if that is why she decided against capturing Ember along with the princesses? Maybe changelings fear the dragons and that's why they've focused on Equestria instead of the surrounding kingdoms? Bugs and fire don't mix, after all!

 

EDIT: Also the lack of love in the Dragonlands doesn't make it a very high-value target. XD

 

It may also be she figured Equestria was enough to feed her brood and she needn't worry about the dragons and griffons, figuring they wouldn't give a hoot about what happens to ponies - not knowing of the new alliances that had been forged between them.

 

If she had known they were both pony allies, she might have risked capturing Ember and whoever was most in charge in Griffonstone to make sure they didn't launch a counterattack.

Edited October 11, 2016 by Truffles

[Sonic5421 423]

I wonder if that is why she decided against capturing Ember along with the princesses? Maybe changelings fear the dragons and that's why they've focused on Equestria instead of the surrounding kingdoms? Bugs and fire don't mix, after all!

 

EDIT: Also the lack of love in the Dragonlands doesn't make it a very high-value target. XD

 

It may also be she figured Equestria was enough to feed her brood and she needn't worry about the dragons and griffons, figuring they wouldn't give a hoot about what happens to ponies - not knowing of the new alliances that had been forged between them.

 

If she had known they were both pony allies, she might have risked capturing Ember and whoever was most in charge in Griffonstone to make sure they didn't launch a counterattack.

 

That may be true, but Chrysalis was probably too consumed by her revenge for the Royal Wedding defeat to care about the new allies Equestria had. All she wanted was revenge on the Royal Family and Elements of Harmony, and by kidnapping them during the night while they were asleep and the Royal Guard was at it's minimum, she essentially had already won with Equestria's government and primary defenses severely crippled. Ignoring Starlight and Thorax proved to be the fatal flaw that inevitably saved Equestria in the end.

[Thrond 3,257]

Maybe this is my favourite two-parter. The main complaint people have seems to be that it's mostly a slice-of-life episode rather than a grand adventure, but as far as I'm concerned, that's exactly why it's so great. Unlike nearly every two-parter before, this one doesn't take itself overly seriously, and it focuses a lot more on theme and characterization than on story or intensity. We get to see Starlight grow and act way more charming than before, we meet Sunburst, who is fantastic, and we get insecurity not only from those two but also from Shining and Cadance, who are given just a tiny bit more depth through their mundane struggles with a not-so-mundane baby. I still wish these two were fleshed out a bit more in the show, given how great they are in the comics, but this will do for now, and stressed out Shining is a lot of fun to watch. More stressed out Cadance would be even better. Also a shame that the princess sisters don't wind up showing much personality either, but I don't think the episode is as dismissive towards them as many claim. 

Twilight has more personality as a character on the sidelines than she has in most of her recent focus episodes, and the theme here is great as well. Sunburst finds that even though he failed at one thing, that doesn't mean he can't succeed at something else. Combined with Starlight's continuing journey to improve herself as a pony, that's some really good character stuff. Otherwise, I stick by everything I said in my original review, and think that if this episode could be improved in any way, it'd actually be by having even more time spent on the slice-of-life elements. This episode takes up to the end of part one to even introduce the main conflict, and it's all the better for it. I could watch five consecutive episodes of these characters in slice-of-life situations, and I hope the show has even more slice-of-life episodes in the future. 

Score:

Entertainment: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Themes: 10/10

Story: 8/10

Overall: 93/100

[Larrydog 320]

honestly, the only thing I like about this episode is Sunburst and that is literally it  

[Nye 1,652]

I enjoyed this 2 part season premiere. This episode you meet the baby Shining Armor and Candance are have. And it has an unexpected turn of events at the end of part one!

Edited January 24, 2018 by Nye

[Prospekt 10,984]

This one wasn't really memorable enough to be a pair of episodes that I regularly re-watch. I do watch it occasionally, just nowhere near as often as some of the other two-parters.

But I don't really dislike it, just because:

1. It's our first real taste of reformed Starlight. We get an introduction to the general uncertainty and lack of confidence that comes with being a newly reformed villain. And unlike Discord after he was reformed, I think Starlight's demeanor is believable from the very beginning.

2. Sunburst is probably my favorite male character in the series. Another studious unicorn, except this one is less of a mage and more of a scholar because practical magic has never really been one of his strengths.

3. Spike is written very well. His chemistry with Starlight is adorable. I want more episodes that pair them together. No, I'm not shipping them! I just think they work well together.

[Ruddboy Olaf 10,627]

It was okay. I hate toddlers, so Flurry Heart wasn't my cup of tea, although I did enjoy how much destruction she caused.
The best part was Sunburst, a character I went in expecting to hate, but ended up liking.

 

This episode does make me question why Starlight never stole Sunburst's cutie mark, though. I mean, he did ditch her over a cutie mark.

[TransitPony 219]

Let me just say I dedicated time to watching this episode, and let me just say it's one of my favorites. I loved Flurry Heart. She looked like one crazy but enjoyable baby to be with, especially being naturally born as an alicorn. Glimmer and Sunburst meeting again reminds me of the time meeting people I've seen in a long time. Plus the moment the Crystal Heart was revived and all the characters in the room became crystallized was awesome. Sucks it was only for a short time though. 

[Sonic5421 423]

On 6/24/2018 at 7:32 PM, TransitPony said:

Let me just say I dedicated time to watching this episode, and let me just say it's one of my favorites. I loved Flurry Heart. She looked like one crazy but enjoyable baby to be with, especially being naturally born as an alicorn. Glimmer and Sunburst meeting again reminds me of the time meeting people I've seen in a long time. Plus the moment the Crystal Heart was revived and all the characters in the room became crystallized was awesome. Sucks it was only for a short time though. 

Yeah, I agree about the part with the Mane Six and the Royal Family getting the Crystal Pony makeover again, including Celestia and Luna this time, and Cadence and Shining Armor getting different Crystal Pony designs this time around as well. Shame it is only temporary for non-Crystal Ponies and they revert back to normal after some time has passed, including the makeovers to their manes and tails.

[bigbertha 410]

I liked this episode. The Crystalling story may not have been that interesting, but there was some decent comedy and I was never bored.

Starlight's story was a great start to her arc. Seeing her reuniting with Sunburst was nice and I like that Starlight actually tried to get out of it. It makes her seem more realistic and differentiates herself from Sunset. Too bad there are only three more episodes (not including the finale) that actually develop her arc this season.

Also, the crystal ponies were really stupid here. It's kinda funny, but also annoying.

Score: 7/10

 

Edited July 26, 2018 by bigbertha

[qwerE 95]

I liked this episode. I think this episode shows that you don't necessarily need epic battles to make a good 2-parter. This gave us more details into the backstory of Starlight Glimmer that was lacking in the season 5 finale, and made Starlight feel much more complete as a character. Sunburst and Starlight were fun to watch, and the story was quite heartwarming. This episode's story kind of felt as if it came from season 1 or 2- less powerful abilities involved, and focusing more on what ordinary ponies can do.

[bigbertha 410]

This one is okay. I really like how Starlight's conflict is handled. She's trying to get better, but she still has a bit of that old Starlight there. It's a lot better than most of the other redemptions where the character completely changes after their redemption. And Sunburst is great too. Just this story alone is more mature than most of season 5. Starlight and Sunburst's interactions are awkward, but not to a point of being annoying. And I like that they don't immediately make up. It's not until their insecurities and secrets are revealed that they can start getting better. 

My main issue with the episode is that the Starlight story isn't the only thing here. There's also a story of Flurry Heart's Crystalling and it's not as interesting. I still feel nothing from the threat of the Crystal Empire being destroyed. Some of the baby antics are fun, but not enough to justify how much of the episode is taken up by this story. Without any tension, the story is flat. 

Score: 6/10

[SunburstRainbow2019 3]

BEHOLD THE MOST POWERFUL BABY ALICORN IN ALL OF EQUESTRIA!

 

Derpy Hooves

 

Just Kidding, I LOVE baby Flurry Heart. She just looked SO ADORABLE! I wanted too reach into the TV and hug her ^^

[Kadae 655]

These episodes weren't really my cup of tea exactly, but they had a lot of nice moments. It was fun seeing Shining Armor's and Cadence's god-baby wreak havoc though!

Edited December 29, 2019 by Kadae

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

I always thought it was a bit of a jip that we didn't get see a pregnant Cadance nor a Flurry Heart birth scene.  After announcing the "big news" in The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows, they deliberately avoided showing Cadance again until they all walk into the room and Flurry's already born.  I thought that was kinda lame.  Now, I know what you're thinking, but just hold your horses for a sec.

When I was a kid, I quite liked Hey Arnold!.  I watched it in reruns after school.  I didn't watch every episode in order when they aired, so I missed a few over the years.  They show it all the time now on my cable package, and I watch a little once in awhile for nostalgia.  Yesterday I saw an episode that I had never seen before, and it kind of blew my mind.  It was a flashback story depicting Arnold's birth.  They showed a pregnant Arnold's mom and a birth scene.  Of course it's not like they showed anything graphic, but y'know, it was a thing.  It happened.  It was about the same as the various flashback episodes of The Simpsons depicting Marge giving birth.  But Hey Arnold! is a Nickelodeon show specifically made for kids, and they apparently saw no problem with doing that scene, and neither do I.  I see no reason why they couldn't have done the same on Pony.  They could get away with it in the 90s, but apparently the powers that be don't feel like they could get away with it now.  I feel like we've made a lot of progress in some ways, and moved backwards in others.  It's like... I feel like in some ways we're becoming more mature and open-minded as a species, but we're also becoming more strict and uptight about what we can show kids, even when it's completely tasteful and appropriate.  Kids don't need to be shielded from everything.  There was nothing at all wrong with the Hey Arnold! scene, and it would have been fine to do that in Pony, and I think it would have added an element of depth and realism to the characters.

[Astralshy 23,537]

In my humble opinion one of the weaker premiers, but certainly still a good episode.

I certainly like how Starlight's character was build up and her past was brought into this episode. Many people tend only to have one certain point of view to events and are not able to think about other point of views. This lead always to very one sided views and opinions. This is of course something which could be explored for a whole season but I appreciate what was in this episode.

I still haven't figured out what the deal with Flurryheart being born as an Alicorn means. I guess there are at least theories behind it.

If I'm not mistaking I saw Thorax in this episode shortly before the second episode closes.

[North Star 4,540]

spike being a master troll with the list and Sunburst being a shade lord by doing down his friendship with Starlight are great moments of this ep that I totally forgot. This ep is definitely better on the rewatch

[Rosy Moonlight 367]

Can you imagine Flurry with a broken horn like Fizzlepop Berrytwist's?

An alicorn with a broken horn. Huh.

 

 

[Iforgotmybrain 3,492]

I love Sunburst and honestly seeing how well they did him makes me wish they would’ve included more prominent male characters earlier in the show. Him and Starlight reuniting was also very relatable, they did that dynamic pretty well.

Flurry Heart is cute, that’s about all I have to say about her. The overall story with the crystal heart and all is a bit too similar to the season 3 premiere for my liking. So most of my enjoyment from this comes from Sunburst and Starlight. Still a pretty decent two parter.