From Scrappies to Woobies

[SaburoDaimando 1,196]

The Scrappy- A character with a Hatedom due to how their character is portrayed.  Sometimes this might have been unintentional.  Other times it is intentional.

The Woobie- A Character who the audience feels sorry for due to the situation he or she is in.

My Little Pony has had its fair share of Scrappies.   But every once in awhile, the characters are finally given their dues and are rescued from the Scrappy Heap.  However, some characters wind up being lumped into the Woobie status, and it's become fairly common for a Scrappy to end up as a Woobie: Going from being a hated character to a character you feel sorry for.  This seems to be a common theme for My Little Pony where characters who are no longer hated, now wind up where the audience actually does end up throwing in sympathy.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

Rarity: When first introduced, she had this I'm Rich attitude, making her the least favorite of the Mane 6.  When she finally got the recognition that she deserved, it came at a price in Suited for Success: Her first nervous breakdown, which apparently defined her characteristics.  Her worse case of Woobitius was in Fame in Misfortune, which poked fun at her status as the least popular Pony, unfortunately at her own emotional expense.

Pinkie Pie: Every once in awhile, Pinkie winds up being annoying to the audience like she were some Flanderized Spongebob.  But every once in awhile as well, she gets hit with the Woobie Stick.  Her best examples include Party of One, Baby Cakes, Pinkie Pride and Maud Pie.

Cutie Mark Crusaders: At first, they looked like to be a pair of kid-appeal characters in their quest to obtain their cutie marks.  Not the best example of unique characters.  But they each underwent their own Woobification 

Apple Bloom- Call of the Cutie, all for her quest to obtain a Cutie Mark, shown off even worse in Season 5.  Fast forward to Season 6, and it seems even after getting a Cutie Mark, she can't catch a break.

Sweetie Belle- Her own nightmare in For Whom the Sweetie Bell Tolls, and her fight with Rarity in Sisterhooves Social.  

Scootaloo- The fact that she can't fly, which nearly bit her in Season 4.

 

Princess Cadence: She was more of a base-breaking character before the Season 2 finale for being a 3rd Alicorn Princess.  But when she's truly introduced, she was a complete mess, she fears for missing her wedding, and the fact that Equestria nearly fell to the Changelings was more than enough to drive her to tears.  A Bad way to be redeemed in the eyes of viewers.

Princess Flurry Heart: More like got on the Ron the Death Eater wagon due to what she did in the Crystalling.  A Flurry of Emotions finally made her more likable, but at the cost of not being paid attention to by both Twilight and Spike, and considering that her parents needed some time away from her.  Poor kid.

Sunset Shimmer: She wasn't well-liked for her role as a villan in Equestria Girls.  But Rainbow Rocks put her in a more sympathetic position, where she was considered an outcast by the classmates due to her actions.  Even after she finally the apology acceptance from the school, she was still hit with this in The Friendship Games over fear that she couldn't control the magic

Flash Sentry: Was also hated in the first movie due to his more....Gary Stu-like attitude.  The hate was amplified on purpose in Rainbow Rocks, but that was because of the Dazzlings.  But Friendship Games and Legends of Everfree brought him down to the fact that Princess Twilight wasn't going to return, and this world's Twilight was different.  He was so depressed, the audience wound up feeling bad for him.

Diamond Tiara: The most despised character due to her bullying towards the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  It was done for five seasons till Crusaders of the Lost Mark, where she was brought down by defeat, and double crossed by her close friend Silver Spoon.  Even more so, Diamond was revealed to have been given emotional abuse by her own mother "Spoiled Rich."   Seriously, who raises their children like that?

Starlight Glimmer: Also a very controversial character, and many believed that she was more of a Mary Sue than any other character.  But her woobiness started in The Cutie Remark to why she was evil in the first place(She believed that Cutie Marks are evil, because she thought she lost a friend to one: Sunburst).  Her Woobiness got hit further in The Crystalling(Her own struggle to rekindle her friendship with Sunburst, who also got hit badly by the Woobie Stick), No Second Prances(Trying to befriend Trixie all while Twilight tries to prevent you from doing so), and A Royal Problem(Still having nightmares about being responsible for destroying the world.  And when you can't get two princesses together, it's enough to make you break down).  And the ironic thing is, I actually do like her when she has one of her emotional meltdowns.

 

 It appears very common for My Little Pony to turn its scrappy characters into Woobies.  What do you all think of this trope being used when it comes to a hated character being turned into a sympathetic character?  Maybe Juniper Montage will be hit with this in the future.

[Adderbane 120]

The only character I would really consider a Scrappy is Flash Sentry.

[SaburoDaimando 1,196]

19 hours ago, Adderbane said:

The only character I would really consider a Scrappy is Flash Sentry.

I think that honor goes to Prince Blueblood, though for more obvious.

[Ganondox 899]

You are really stretching the definition of scrappy and woobie. The only one that actually fits the description of scrappy-to-woobie is Diamond Tiara. 

[Adderbane 120]

4 hours ago, SaburoDaimando said:

I think that honor goes to Prince Blueblood, though for more obvious.

They're not a Scrappy if you're supposed to dislike them.  Scrappies are when they try to make a good character and fail horribly.

[SaburoDaimando 1,196]

22 minutes ago, Adderbane said:

They're not a Scrappy if you're supposed to dislike them.  Scrappies are when they try to make a good character and fail horribly.

That's too narrow a brush.  Scrappies come in a variety of forms.  They can be the most annoying thing ever(Ex: Jar Jar Binks, Scrappy Doo), a character who replaces a well-received character.  Sometimes a Scrappy exists to make another character look better, like Vernon from the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Other examples I can bring up includes....

Pepe Le Pew, for his over-obsession with girls

The Pulverizer on TMNT 2012 for being a totally obnoxious fanboy

Luvbi from Super Paper Mario due to her bratty attitude

Kaepora Gaebora from Ocarina of Time due to how much he got in your face.

Fluttershy's pet rabbit Angel, due to his jerkiness attitude towards Fluttershy.

If they are disliked, then they are a Scrappy.

[Aethylynn 45]

On 03/09/2017 at 5:30 AM, SaburoDaimando said:

If they are disliked, then they are a Scrappy.

Not necessarily so.

This is an extract from the TV Tropes web page for "The Scrappy"

Quote

Note that this is not the same as a Hate Sink, a character intentionally designed to be disliked for actual villainous actions, but who is not necessarily perceived to detract from the work itself — the audience just wants him to suffer and want a character to root against for a change. Thus, such characters as Joffrey Baratheon, Dolores Umbridge, Shou Tucker, and Huey Emmerich — as universally hated as they are — are not considered Scrappies.

 

[cmarston1 5,954]

Diamond Tiara was the only character here that I can went from Scrappy to Woobie.

Flash Sentry on the other hand at best went from Scrappy to being a character that no one really cares about very much anymore.

[Castle Bleck 19,209]

Zephyr Breeze is a Scrappy they tried to Woobify at the end.

 

Keyword being "tried."