spoiler Trixie's show was a little unsettling... I guess?

[TBlaze 158]

Of course nothing's wrong if you are in the original target group of the show. But, if you are anywhere above +-12 y.o., you probably felt some disturbing crap. Or maybe it's just me who's messed up.

 

We're talking about the scene after Trixie "lost" Starlight as her friend. She performs, just as she intended to. But what's the trick she carries out first?

 

The one that we already know is rather impossible given Trixie's skills. She was supposed to perform it with the help from Starlight.

 

So, what do we know for sure? Trixie lost her friend, felt guilty, during the opening of the show she was visibly depressed. And then she carries out this, um, suicide attempt?

 

I know I probably said something everyone knew and no one cares, but at least to me it seems a little dark.

Edited May 1, 2016 by TBlaze

[man dude man 555]

I was looking at that to, you saw how broken she felt leading up to it, but whenever Starlight looked down and see her get in the canon, you knew she was going to come to her rescue. That final 3 minutes of this episode made me cry. Their friendship really is something special, the connection wasnt forced, and they both learned a lot about friendship through the whole ordeal. You really could tell that it was this way when Twilight said "from what ive seen, shes the real deal". Looks down at her in canon.. with her saying "Starlight, if you are out there, lets be great and powerful together, please." That was Trixie offically putting faith in her best friend.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,298]

 

 

And then she carries out this, um, suicide attempt?

YES!  That's precisely what I was thinking, too. xD  Trixie was essentially going to feed herself to a friggin' manticore; probably not the most peaceful way to go out.

[Glike 487]

Yeah, I saw that as well.

 

It's safe to say Starlight was Trixie's only real friend, and once she lost that she obviously broke down. And her huge ego didn't allow her to talk to Twilight or tell anyone else how she felt. I mean, the only pony she could have vented to and be listened to by had just renounced her friendship.

 

Other people have said that we're just looking too much into it, and that while MLP has touched some dark themes before they wouldn't go this far. Alright, let's look at it from a non-grim standpoint.

 

Trixie was ready to perform a trick that she knows she's incapable of performing. There's no denying it definitely could have led to her death. I'm pretty sure she realized that too, especially given her final words, and her "please" just sounded so helpless.

 

If she wasn't doing this because she was do distraught, and was doing it because she felt the "show must go on".. that's just insane and moronic. And even though Trixie has never shown any extreme intelligence, she's definitely not a moron. We also know she's a coward. Why would someone as competent and afraid as Trixie do this? Heck, we've seen her flee rather than try and prove herself and her words on more than one occasion. Why would this be any different?

 

I really believe Trixie saw it like this:

 

Either Starlight would save her, and it would prove that they really were friends.. or that Starlight wouldn't save her and she would meet her demise. And if that happened, at least she wouldn't be around to reflect on her trust being shattered. I really felt for Trixie and Starlight this episode.

[ARagY 1,152]

Yeah, show went dark today. It's really horrifying to know what must've been going through poor Trixie's mind to drive her to killing herself with almost no break in resolve. We've been told that Starlight was her first friend. I can't even begin to imagine what it's been like to be alone for perhaps, 20 years? To be laughed at, especially after Twilight's ass-kicking, and thought of as nothing more than a joke. My friends, Trixie didn't just lose her friend that day, she lost her will to live. It was the final straw and Twilight ALMOST made a pony kill herself. Had Starlight not looked back, and this wasn't a kid's show, it stands to reason Trixie would've died; rather painfully. The poor thing just wanted to be given another chance and have someone around who would care about her, and Twilight took what she felt as the last chance away from her, seemingly for good. 

[Glike 487]

Yeah, show went dark today. It's really horrifying to know what must've been going through poor Trixie's mind to drive her to killing herself with almost no break in resolve. We've been told that Starlight was her first friend. I can't even begin to imagine what it's been like to be alone for perhaps, 20 years? To be laughed at, especially after Twilight's ass-kicking, and thought of as nothing more than a joke. My friends, Trixie didn't just lose her friend that day, she lost her will to live. It was the final straw and Twilight ALMOST made a pony kill herself. Had Starlight not looked back, and this wasn't a kid's show, it stands to reason Trixie would've died; rather painfully. The poor thing just wanted to be given another chance and have someone around who would care about her, and Twilight took what she felt as the last chance away from her, seemingly for good. 

Friendless, poor, pretty much homeless, a laughingstock, inferior to other magic users, and a failure in your own special talent (as a result of circumstance, as Trixie's performances are pretty darn spectacular)...

 

It's no wonder why she was so quick to break.

[Radiance64 7,051]

Knew I wouldn't be the only one who noticed how that felt... damn Trixie, did not expect that kind of tone

[ponylaces 1,869]

I am so glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. I thought I was having suicidal thoughts or something lmao

 

Really though, I'm not even sure if it was intentional or not. She insulted herself and knew she messed up badly, and watching her blow out of the cannon was kinda sad. It didn't seem like she cared about anything anymore because of how uninterested she sounded when opening up the show. She didn't know Starlight would help her, and she knew the consequences of doing the trick. I honestly don't blame her though. She had kind of a shitty past filled with mostly failure, so it's not that surprising when you think about it.

 

Man this got dark.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,314]

Noticed this immediately once that scene started and I just had this expression o_o the whole time. It wasn't a situation of 'the show must go on', she could have easily canceled the show itself and everything, but who knew what was going through her mind. It is kinda hardcore that the writers did it that way, as it seems like a pretty close metaphor to it. 

[That Guy with the CMB 5,872]

I don't know, I think back to it and feel like...it wasn't really that dark. It seemed to me like she might have been trying to impress Starlight (and everyone else) by doing something foolish, and maybe trying to prove she could do her favorite trick after all. I could be wrong, though. And another thing...why is the trick so difficult? All she really has to do is teleport...fast, at least before the manticore's jaws started moving.

[Glike 487]

I don't know, I think back to it and feel like...it wasn't really that dark. It seemed to me like she might have been trying to impress Starlight (and everyone else) by doing something foolish, and maybe trying to prove she could do her favorite trick after all. I could be wrong, though. And another thing...why is the trick so difficult? All she really has to do is teleport...fast, at least before the manticore's jaws started moving.

I don't think Trixie can teleport.

 

I mean, we've never seen her do so. And whenever she makes an escape, she sends out a poof of smoke and runs away. Teleporting would be a lot more practical, and especially cooler looking.

 

Not to mention performing magic under extreme stress and fear is probably difficult for the average unicorn. Heck, we've seen Twilight fail to use her magic in certain cases.

[That Guy with the CMB 5,872]

I don't think Trixie can teleport.

 

I mean, we've never seen her do so. And whenever she makes an escape, she sends out a poof of smoke and runs away. Teleporting would be a lot more practical, and especially cooler looking.

 

Not to mention performing magic under extreme stress and fear is probably difficult for the average unicorn. Heck, we've seen Twilight fail to use her magic in certain cases.

Darn...that changes everything. :/

Edited May 1, 2016 by Eazyfries

[Luna 831 465]

Well form the show she was very depressed because of Twilight ,but I'm glad it all worked out.

[Glike 487]

Darn...that changes everything. :/

Yeah, that's the biggest factor in this whole scene for me.

 

She (most likely) can't teleport. What was her plan after entering the Manticore's mouth? There's no doubt about it, she wouldn't have survived unless somepony interfered. She was really counting on Starlight to help her out.

 

I mean, otherwise how could have that turned out alright at all?

[Trixie Heartstrings 433]

I did see what Trixie did as kinda a suicide attempt. Although it was more of suicide, unless she gets saved by the only friend she made.

[cider float 2,536]

Maybe there was a certain trick behind it though since Hoovevini or whatever did it without real magic and maybe she attempted to pull that trick.

[Luminance 2,181]

A first onscreen suicidal attempt by an character and we've realized that how MLP has changed. It wasn't handle like a metaphorical death in Tank's hibernation, where it was vague and subtle enough to flow with the story. Trixie's actions clearly actually depicted an attempted suicide and it surprised me that the writers were to show it on-screen. Maybe it's just me who's feels this way because of how MLP carried it in the last second.

[Truffles 2,033]

 

 

I don't think Trixie can teleport.

 

She was able to teleport flowers for her show in "Boast Busters." That's probably not as difficult as teleporting herself, however; I do recall Twilight had trouble doing just that in S1. It wasn't until later seasons Twilight got good enough to do mass teleports of not only herself but the entire Mane 6.

[Glike 487]

She was able to teleport flowers for her show in "Boast Busters." That's probably not as difficult as teleporting herself, however; I do recall Twilight had trouble doing just that in S1. It wasn't until later seasons Twilight got good enough to do mass teleports of not only herself but the entire Mane 6.

Yeah, teleporting oneself seems to be just a bit more difficult. We never really see many other unicorns with the ability to teleport either. Actually, the only Unicorns I recall having seen teleport is Twilight, Starlight, and Sunset Shimmer (I think? Did she teleport during her first encounter with Twilight in the Crystal Empire? I can't really recall.)

 

Rarity, a Unicorn we've known since the start, has never been seen to teleport. I think teleporting is a higher level skill than simple spells such as levitation and illumination.

[SpikedFruitPunch 5]

It's very dark when you get around to understanding the implications behind her actions leading up to it.

 

When I was first watching the episode, she seemed quite seemingly random with her personality until I started to catch onto what was going on. She was having a severe lack of self-esteem to where she masks her true feelings behind her boisterous self to try and feel as good as she can with it being as low as she reveals it to be to Starlight. Having the capability to open herself up and have a person who showed genuine friendship was helping to heal the wounds that have been upon her since her last two fiascos, and losing Starlight after her boisterous side was trying to hold onto its old way of gaining self-esteem (By grasping on being better than Twilight) pushed her well over the edge into straight-up depression.

 

I  never thought to see it go to where it went, but it then became as it is. For most people, dark subjects as suicide can be unsettling, but I found it quite strong and suiting for a character like Trixie considering everything that she went through prior to this episode.

[pony.colin 156]

I'll admit on first go, I didn't notice any possible connections to suicide that that scene might have possibly accidentally implied.

 

Why? Because my thoughts already jumped to the end. There was no way they were actually going to have her eaten by the manticore. That was just not a possibility that I foresaw happening at the end of this episode. There was no way that was going to fly by the censors at all. So that's why, I didn't really notice the implication at all until post-comments.
 

From an in-universe perspective, yeah the danger is real and potential. From an out-universe perspective, yeah that's just not going to happen at all on this show, period. (someone would definitely get fired if that had occurred and there would be an endless stream of justifiable outrage from various groups if it had happened).

 

But it didn't, so I felt, all good.

 

Though, suicidal comparisons I feel might not be all that far off from the final scene, but its implications might also be accidental as well I feel. Like, it does feel that it wasn't made clear about what exactly Trixie's back-up plan was going to be Starlight hadn't helped out at the last minute.  I don't think Trixie is capable of teleportation magic (I think that's actually a high level spell for unicorns to pull off).  So it is uncertain what exactly Trixie was going to try to do instead without Starlight's help.  At best, the only way I can imagine one writing themselves out of that hole was to have the Manticore spit Trixie back out because it felt that the taste was foul (assuming Starlight didn't help).

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

Yeah, that's the biggest factor in this whole scene for me.

 

She (most likely) can't teleport. What was her plan after entering the Manticore's mouth? There's no doubt about it, she wouldn't have survived unless somepony interfered. She was really counting on Starlight to help her out.

 

I mean, otherwise how could have that turned out alright at all?

I think the more interesting question is, would Starlight have helped her if Twilight hadn't said anything? 

[Midnight Seashell 206]

I know that attempted suicide was dark

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

That's a very, very interesting way of looking at it. The show only portrayed it as an incredibly risky and dangerous stunt not unlike what you'd see on the pony equivalent of Jackass, but the context is just too perfect.

 

This theory reminds me of the classic play Death of a Salesman, where

the main character offs himself after angsting over not having social status. Sound familiar?

 

 

This may actually get me to feel for Trixie, and I didn't think that was possible.

 

A first onscreen suicidal attempt by an character and we've realized that how MLP has changed. It wasn't handle like a metaphorical death in Tank's hibernation, where it was vague and subtle enough to flow with the story. Trixie's actions clearly actually depicted an attempted suicide and it surprised me that the writers were to show it on-screen. Maybe it's just me who's feels this way because of how MLP carried it in the last second.

I highly doubt that it was intentional. It's easy for us to make the connection as fans usually do. The writers probably put this in without even considering that it would be seen that way. The best way to get away with something is to not even know you're doing it. Edited May 1, 2016 by Wind Chaser

[cider float 2,536]

I guess with the way cartoons are made nobody would ever die in such a gruesome way and sets aside any fear of such a death occurring. Just like how this cartoon effect plays out.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJa1qMVfWCc

Edited May 1, 2016 by cider float