"its just my worldview, that no one's bad"

[Lektra Bolt 2,337]

7 hours ago, Lambdadelta said:

So, Megahn is the culprit behind all the reformations of show 

"its just my worldview, that no one's bad"

Megahn is really optimistic  but I have disagree about this one. To me, there is no one born good, even good people can do bad things in some circumstance and people are easy to fall into the wrong path, it hard to raise a child to be a decent human being and it's too easy to make them despicable adult human even after so many years of teaching them being good. That why there are laws, there are morals, if humans are actually good and all, we dont even need rules and morals at all   That why i think Starlight struggle to become good is admirable.

There are redeemable and irredeemable, not everyone can be saved, i hope the show, while being optimism, still teach kids some real life lessons too...

Random: This video is a hints that Chrysalis will be reformed, oh boy...  People will not like it.

 

I'm probably opening a can of worms, but I seriously have to disagree with this. Ignorant sure, but everyone is born bad and has to be taught to be good? REALLY? Please tell me you're just saying the same as I'm about to say, cause it sound like you're saying everyone is born bad then has to be taught to be good.

I believe the opposite, as evidenced by terrorists. You can't apply it to them. You have to be taught to hate! These people are born ignorant and had to be taught to be bad.

People aren't born good NOR bad, they're born morally neutral, impressionable, and ignorant

[Jeric 46,837]

27 minutes ago, Lektra Bolt said:

but everyone is born bad and has to be taught to be good? REALLY? Please tell me you're just saying the same as I'm about to say, cause it sound like you're saying everyone is born bad then has to be taught to be good.

That isn't what he said at all. He said no one is born good. Meaning we all start as a blank slate. He actually did a good job at following up with a statement expressing that good and evil isn't a binary output, so suggesting otherwise with how your interpreted it  ... misses his entire point. 

We don't yet know how epigenetics can influence behavior and personality, so until that is fully explored, and even accounting for mental health biological risk factors, I believe we mostly start out as a blank slate.  

[Lektra Bolt 2,337]

13 minutes ago, Grand Admiral Thrawn said:

That isn't what he said at all. He said no one is born good. Meaning we all start as a blank slate. He actually did a good job at following up with a statement expressing that good and evil isn't a binary output, so suggesting otherwise with how your interpreted it  ... misses his entire point. 

We don't yet know how epigenetics can influence behavior and personality, so until that is fully explored, and even accounting for mental health biological risk factors, I believe we mostly start out as a blank slate.  

Ok then, it is the same as what I said after all

[Jeric 46,837]

43 minutes ago, Lektra Bolt said:

Ok then, it is the same as what I said after all

Sorry, not letting you off the hook completely here. He said no one is born good. You assumed he said people are therefore born bad. 

Absence of good =/= presence of bad. 

You and I agree on this conclusion, I'm just pointing out that you called out a person who also has the same conclusion. You did so with caps, so you obviously felt strongly about it. It's that attitude that specifically compelled me to defend it.

@Lambdadelta assertion that kids need  to be taught that some people can't be redeemed through the FiM platform is something I personally have contention with, so there is certainly something to debate, but you have to understand what the person is saying first. He wasn't saying people are all born bad. 

[Lektra Bolt 2,337]

28 minutes ago, Grand Admiral Thrawn said:

Sorry, not letting you off the hook completely here. He said no one is born good. You assumed he said people are therefore born bad. 

Absence of good =/= presence of bad. 

You and I agree on this conclusion, I'm just pointing out that you called out a person who also has the same conclusion. You did so with caps, so you obviously felt strongly about it. It's that attitude that specifically compelled me to defend it.

@Lambdadelta assertion that kids need  to be taught that some people can't be redeemed through the FiM platform is something I personally have contention with, so there is certainly something to debate, but you have to understand what the person is saying first. He wasn't saying people are all born bad. 

Well I got confused with the bold words, and yes I felt strongly about someone seemingly saying everyone is born bad. Sheesh

Edited November 21, 2017 by Lektra Bolt

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

The amount of people worried that Meghan will reform Chrysalis or whatever, is odd considering to my knowledge she isn't in charge of what happens in the show anymore.

[Widdershins 9,955]

No, Meghan.

 You don't write stories to fix others. You can't make a story where everything is always and forever and alright. That's not life.

   I spent a good, hefty chunk of my life trying to understand a being that could just simply not be appeased. It's a nice idea to want others to be happy, but oftentimes those outside of you don't know themselves well enough to heal or even see outside their own... hole that they dug. Sometimes Life just doesn't turn out well.

 But by that same flip of the coin, neither is it a constant, mile-a-minute fight for survival in a dark, uncaring world. I've spend a good portion of my life only seeing the black & white. It's the Grey where you have to live though. You do as much damage teaching others to stay in situations to cling to their hopes & dreams as you do telling them to constantly fight for the sake of fighting. Life isn't conventional storytelling. There isn't constant strife or a lesson to learn or clear-cut things to oppose or carry a banner for.

 You know why I love Equestria? For the life of it. Where just dealing with others on a day to day basis is life-threatening & dramatic enough. Where sometimes the thing to combat occurred just because somebeing wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time. Life is about enjoying what you have. Accepting, that is. Accepting that maybe some just have lived through their own bad story. Maybe Tirek just led one long life of constant betrayal where he couldn't allow himself to see ponies as nothing more then hideous monsters that took the only thing he could still care about... namely power. But you don't often hear of sympathy for the devil.

 There is no Good or Evil, just learning to live life for what it hands you. If somebeing has only ever treated you with unkindness on numerous occasions, then perhaps it's best to just let them live their own story; let them stew in the own hatred they won't allow anybeing else to pull them out of. Life isn't about endings, whether sad or happy. It frequently never ends. It's about the journey; the acceptance. 

 

        I'm.... going to be... very, personally, deeply angry if Chrysalis ever gets reformed. There's a reason no one sticks up for abusers. Life is for growing. Pity those who don't.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

39 minutes ago, Widdershins said:

No, Meghan.

 You don't write stories to fix others. You can't make a story where everything is always and forever and alright. That's not life.

   I spent a good, hefty chunk of my life trying to understand a being that could just simply not be appeased. It's a nice idea to want others to be happy, but oftentimes those outside of you don't know themselves well enough to heal or even see outside their own... hole that they dug. Sometimes Life just doesn't turn out well.

 But by that same flip of the coin, neither is it a constant, mile-a-minute fight for survival in a dark, uncaring world. I've spend a good portion of my life only seeing the black & white. It's the Grey where you have to live though. You do as much damage teaching others to stay in situations to cling to their hopes & dreams as you do telling them to constantly fight for the sake of fighting. Life isn't conventional storytelling. There isn't constant strife or a lesson to learn or clear-cut things to oppose or carry a banner for.

 You know why I love Equestria? For the life of it. Where just dealing with others on a day to day basis is life-threatening & dramatic enough. Where sometimes the thing to combat occurred just because somebeing wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time. Life is about enjoying what you have. Accepting, that is. Accepting that maybe some just have lived through their own bad story. Maybe Tirek just led one long life of constant betrayal where he couldn't allow himself to see ponies as nothing more then hideous monsters that took the only thing he could still care about... namely power. But you don't often hear of sympathy for the devil.

 There is no Good or Evil, just learning to live life for what it hands you. If somebeing has only ever treated you with unkindness on numerous occasions, then perhaps it's best to just let them live their own story; let them stew in the own hatred they won't allow anybeing else to pull them out of. Life isn't about endings, whether sad or happy. It frequently never ends. It's about the journey; the acceptance. 

 

        I'm.... going to be... very, personally, deeply angry if Chrysalis ever gets reformed. There's a reason no one sticks up for abusers. Life is for growing. Pity those who don't.

You are so very right, that's not life.

At the same time, neither is MLP

MLP is supposed to be a show that proves friendship can conquer any evil, and can bind any of us together in harmony, is it realistic? No of course not, but it is heartwarming, and cute, and fun. I don't want Chrysalis to be killed or imprisoned, I don't want her reformed either. However, I will accept either of these paths because they both have a solid chance of happening and one can close a door and one can open new story possibilities.

Edited November 22, 2017 by Ryanmahaffe

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

2 hours ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

The amount of people worried that Meghan will reform Chrysalis or whatever, is odd considering to my knowledge she isn't in charge of what happens in the show anymore.

Villain reformations conspiracy theory! Megahn is the master mind. XD She will shape the world to match her vision, villains are no where to run now.

 

13 minutes ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

don't want Chrysalis to be killed or imprisoned, I don't want her reformed either.

I hope at least they keep her anti-hero or neutral evil. 

3 hours ago, Lektra Bolt said:

Well I got confused with the bold words, and yes I felt strongly about someone seemingly saying everyone is born bad. Sheesh

Ok, ok, calm down, calm down XD I am not saying humans are production of hellspawn or anything (they are not the saint either). Sr if my words confused you. Lol

4 hours ago, Grand Admiral Thrawn said:

 It's that attitude that specifically compelled me to defend it.

Thank you.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

Going to be honest, I REALLY dislike this. A good show often thrives on having antagonists and opposing villains; Season 2 and S3 didn't just have Discord and sombra become good and reform just because they were asked nicely, they were all fought and defeated, and the group had to push hard to do so. This didn't go against the concept of friendship, it REQUIRED the group to reach to the depths of their bonds together to be able to push hard enough and overcome the problems in front of them. Additionally, faust herself had an episode in S1 (Griffon the brush off) seemingly AGAINST this as naive, with the lesson that there are some people you can't befriend even if you try your hardest-- you shouldn't let this get you down but its still something to accept.

 

I'm not against your occasional redemption; I was against discord's, but he's grown in a realistic way to be a non-villain, Sunset's redemption was handled well, and I even liked Sombra's in the comics, since they did a good job of presenting his backstory and reasons for redemption. On the other hand, I feel that CONSTANT redemptions cheapens them, is often unrealistic, and makes it so you CANNOT have a good villain because they can never be "Too evil" since you're going to just redeem them later (not to mention making the redemptions lack any feeling of impact since you KNEW it was coming).

I wasn't a fan of the changelings redemption (I feel a good comparison would be if you were to redeem the dark eldar of 40k and try and sweep them under the rug as innocent victims), and I'm not a fan of what this video seems to portend. The villains post S5, in BOTH the show and EQG have all been falling flat, and I feel that a big part of that is an obsession with redemption (Starlight was great in the S5 premier because she wasn't presented sympathetically, and was glorious in her role; the S5 finale? they slapped on a half baked sob attempt to make her redemption stick and borderline RUINED her as a villain, the changelings redemption got rid of one of the best races/villains in the show, and the last EQG villain, juniper, was basically a giant, stomping retard/autist, not entertaining like pure villains have been--Tirek, the sirens, or chrysalis)

 

13 hours ago, Lambdadelta said:

So, Megahn is the culprit behind all the reformations of show 

"its just my worldview, that no one's bad"

Megahn is really optimistic  but I have disagree about this one. To me, there is no one born good, even good people can do bad things in some circumstance and people are easy to fall into the wrong path, it hard to raise a child to be a decent human being and it's too easy to make them despicable adult human even after so many years of teaching them being good. That why there are laws, there are morals, if humans are actually good and all, we dont even need rules and morals at all   That why i think Starlight struggle to become good is admirable.

There are redeemable and irredeemable, not everyone can be saved, i hope the show, while being optimism, still teach kids some real life lessons too...

Random: This video is a hints that Chrysalis will be reformed, oh boy...  People will not like it.

 

Yeah, not really feeling very good about that redemption speech while chryssy and Starlight are on the screen...

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

15 minutes ago, Unlikeable Pony said:

Yeah, not really feeling very good about that redemption speech while chryssy and Starlight are on the screen...

Well, on bright side, in To Where, Chrysalis did 'F$&k your pony reformation speech', fly backward and get out of here. Dont tell me you were not screaming in joy when this happen XD If she did that again, that would be cool.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

3 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

Well, on bright side, in To Where, Chrysalis did 'F$&k your pony reformation speech', fly backward and get out of here. Dont tell me you were not screaming in joy when this happen XD If she did that again, that would be cool.

Keep in mind though, starlight did the EXACT same thing in the cutie mark map; hell, that was one reason I found her so good as a villain in her initial appearance, it was SO refreshing to have a villain just straight up tell the hero to SHUT UP when they tried to pull a friendship speech to get them to reform, since that's what the vast majority of villains/sociopaths would do.

So there's a precedent of villains blowing off redemption once and then doing a 180 later.

 

[Widdershins 9,955]

Yeah, I get it @Ryanmahaffe. Friendship isn't forever or some cure-all in real life, but I think the show certainly touches that too. Starlight Glimmer and Tempest were scorned once before and let it eat away at them, transforming them into a corrupted shell of the fillies they once were. And I think that goes into my own message of Acceptance.

 I agree with the @Unlikeable Pony. Discord & Starlight I get the reformations of, not so much Sombra. After all, that was comics and the show can do whatever still with him. With Discord & Starlight it was a matter of a perverted worldview that got them to the point of being such a threat. You can get beat up by a bully numerous times, but that still doesn't mean that you can't reach out to help them when they need it. That's something even Indiana Jones exemplifies quite well. You gotta give them enough slack.

 Just... not all the time. There's limits.

 In my honest opinion, Chrysalis and Sombra have always known full well that their actions hurt others, that it was the longer, more complicated way to live their lives, but they still prefered to revel in the pain of others. I hated To Whatever and Bleh Again. Made a blog about that, I'm pretty sure. Chrysalis was a leader, she knew very well what she was doing. She was given and even shown a more peaceful option and still only backed down when outnumbered. That's too much baggage to survive just living a hum-drum daily life in, say Ponyville like she does in the videos with Flufflepuff. That's why those're funny, because you'd have to completely overwrite her entire character in order to redeem her. I like reformation, I like giving more depth to a character, but...

...Ah like Stalin more!

 Wait, wait, no. Sorry, Knee-Jerk Memeing there. I meant that I liked coherent storytelling better!

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

2 minutes ago, Widdershins said:

Yeah, I get it @Ryanmahaffe. Friendship isn't forever or some cure-all in real life, but I think the show certainly touches that too. Starlight Glimmer and Tempest were scorned once before and let it eat away at them, transforming them into a corrupted shell of the fillies they once were. And I think that goes into my own message of Acceptance.

 I agree with the @Unlikeable Pony. Discord & Starlight I get the reformations of, not so much Sombra. After all, that was comics and the show can do whatever still with him. With Discord & Starlight it was a matter of a perverted worldview that got them to the point of being such a threat. You can get beat up by a bully numerous times, but that still doesn't mean that you can't reach out to help them when they need it. That's something even Indiana Jones exemplifies quite well. You gotta give them enough slack.

 Just... not all the time. There's limits.

 In my honest opinion, Chrysalis and Sombra have always known full well that their actions hurt others, that it was the longer, more complicated way to live their lives, but they still prefered to revel in the pain of others. I hated To Whatever and Bleh Again. Made a blog about that, I'm pretty sure. Chrysalis was a leader, she knew very well what she was doing. She was given and even shown a more peaceful option and still only backed down when outnumbered. That's too much baggage to survive just living a hum-drum daily life in, say Ponyville like she does in the videos with Flufflepuff. That's why those're funny, because you'd have to completely overwrite her entire character in order to redeem her. I like reformation, I like giving more depth to a character, but...

...Ah like Stalin more!

 Wait, wait, no. Sorry, Knee-Jerk Memeing there. I meant that I liked coherent storytelling better!

I agree that Chrysalis seems more evil than good, unlike Starlight who was more just misunderstood and then out for revenge. The difference with Chrysalis and Sombra though (screw the comics, Sombra is still dead) is that Sombra wasn't really much of a character, he was an ultimate bad evil thing that had a few evil lines, he could be killed without it meaning much.

Chrysalis is a character at this point, she has been given so much screen time that she feels like a person rather than a threat, and while if I HAD to choose death or reformation, I would rather she died, 100%. I would be okay with reformation though. They may not want to kill off someone who seems too real, if that makes any sense.

But the show has been getting more serious lately and being more and more melodrama and real rather than slapstick and morals. So they could very well kill her off.

[Jeric 46,837]

Ok. I'm tossing my hat into the ring on Crysallis. 

As much as I defend reformed characters on this show, they have a problem starting reformation arcs. Discord's was odd and took a finale to make you actually think he may be reformed. He finally won me over a bit later. Sunset won me over in Rainbow Rocks after a really meh reformation. Starlight's was a mixed bag, but since she is one of my favs now she too won me over. I'm fine with them being reformed because they each add something new. Be it a character dynamic or a new theme to explore. Stygian was actually well done for being introduced and redeemed in one two-parter. Trixie ... well ... that's a whole different can of worms. In the end I buy her redemption and again she adds something unique. 

Chrysalis adds some really bad baggage if reformed, and some that can make any theme they are going for muddled and confusing. Many people see her as a classic mother/villain character. So what? Redeem her and ... what next? Make her just a member of the hive? Under Thorax? Interesting theme but also odd because of her implied guardianship earlier. Have her lead again? Hell no! The hive has a better leader now. Her redemption will feel bizarre due to the very nature of her past relationship and status with the Changelings. 

I suppose one could look at any demotion as a sort of accountability for her past actions ... but ... see above redemptions. These are good writers, but man I just don't trust that they can pull it off. They don't hit homeruns on the first swing when it comes to this. No. Chrysalis should remain evil or be destroyed/imprisoned. Find a different antagonist to reform ... like Angel Bunny.

Or, maybe even a sacrificial redemption ala Vader. That works well for sidestepping the whole business of awkward redemptions. 

 

 

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

5 minutes ago, Grand Admiral Thrawn said:

Chrysalis adds some really bad baggage if reformed, and some that can make any theme they are going for muddled and confusing. Many people see her as a classic mother/villain character. So what? Redeem her and ... what next? Make her just a member of the hive? Under Thorax? Interesting theme but also odd because of her implied guardianship earlier. Have her lead again? Hell no! The hive has a better leader now. Her redemption will feel bizarre due to the very nature of her past relationship and status with the Changelings. 

This is probably the biggest thing standing in the way of a Chrysalis redemption, at least one where she sticks around afterwards. It doesn’t mean they won’t reform her, but it does mean any reformation will be... awkward to say the least.

You know what I want from Chrysalis? I want them to give her a great backstory to explain why she is how she is. I want them to make us feel bad for her, and once more give her the opportunity to change and be a better person. And then I want her to reject the offer of friendship again and stick to her own way of thinking. I think she’s has what it takes to be a tragic villain, someone who has good reason to believe what they do, but refuses to try any method other than her own.

[findingbuglantis 20]

I’m actually all for Chrysalis reforming. Though maybe that’s just because I’m not as into her as a villain as most fans seem to be. 

Tirek on the other hand, was an amazing villain. I really enjoyed seeing him be evil and I’m a bit hesitant about reforming him. But then again, I said the same thing about Starlight in Season 5 and now she’s one of my favourite characters so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[cmarston1 5,954]

The more I think about it, the more I realize that this actually sends a dangerous message to children.

Hey kids if someone continues to bully and harass you day after day, than you just aren't trying hard enough to be their friend. Try harder!

That's pretty much what having literally every single villain in the show being reformed no matter how undeniably evil they are would say.

[n1029 224]

1 hour ago, cmarston1 said:

The more I think about it, the more I realize that this actually sends a dangerous message to children.

Hey kids if someone continues to bully and harass you day after day, than you just aren't trying hard enough to be their friend. Try harder!

That's pretty much what having literally every single villain in the show being reformed no matter how undeniably evil they are would say.

 

I'm sure that's not what she meant. If someone's harassing you, you do what you need to do. But that doesn't mean they're innately bad people and can't be set straight somehow. Indeed, the show promotes being honest with your feelings and sometimes a well-timed fit of rage is the best way to get your message across.

 

I think we should just take a wait-and-see approach with Chrysalis. I'm sure the writers are well aware of all the complaints the fandom might have with her reformation (as they certainly did with Discord at one point), and have ideas in mind to make it believable.

Edited November 22, 2017 by n1029

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

12 hours ago, cmarston1 said:

The more I think about it, the more I realize that this actually sends a dangerous message to children.

Hey kids if someone continues to bully and harass you day after day, than you just aren't trying hard enough to be their friend. Try harder!

That's pretty much what having literally every single villain in the show being reformed no matter how undeniably evil they are would say.

Humorously enough, that's the idea faust wanted to refute with Gilda the brush off; that when someone's bullying and being a jerk to you, there's just some people you CAN'T befriend because they don't want you to, and not to let it get to you.

[Adamgreen 1,129]

I always have an odd side for redemption. I don't care if it's repetitive as long as it's handled well. It worked for Diamond Tiara, Stygian and Tempest and not that much for others like Starlight and Sunset.

MLP's theme is always selflessness and forgiveness and I have nothing against it. Though it's more that I want it to be done well and not felt like it was rush and it has to be believable. So if they do decide to reformed one of the most evil villains in MLP (Tirek), It might leave a sour taste on my mouth since all the things he have done that there's no way you can make it believable.

[Libra 11,690]

Lets drop the real life comparisons for five minutes and focus purly on MLP.

what is mlp's prime target audience? Young girls.

what is mlp's primary goal? Friendship.

lets think about this for a minute: A animated cartoon aimed towards young girls about the magic of friendship. Of course there is going to be reformations. This is the selling point of mlps tagline "friendship is magic." It shows anyone can be redeemed. It doesnt have to be exactly like real life. Like i said, realism is not the approach here, friendship for young girls.

i mean, yeah the fanbase can argue about realism day and night, but at the end of the day, mlp is still an animated show primarilly targeted for elementary school females, and realism, no matter how bad people want it, its not somthing hasbro is concerned with.

[n1029 224]

MLP is idealistic, not realistic. It shows us that we can do better than what is "realistic" if we want to.

[Mirage 24,150]

4 hours ago, Ninetales said:

Lets drop the real life comparisons for five minutes and focus purly on MLP.

what is mlp's prime target audience? Young girls.

what is mlp's primary goal? Friendship.

lets think about this for a minute: A animated cartoon aimed towards young girls about the magic of friendship. Of course there is going to be reformations. This is the selling point of mlps tagline "friendship is magic." It shows anyone can be redeemed. It doesnt have to be exactly like real life. Like i said, realism is not the approach here, friendship for young girls.

i mean, yeah the fanbase can argue about realism day and night, but at the end of the day, mlp is still an animated show primarilly targeted for elementary school females, and realism, no matter how bad people want it, its not somthing hasbro is concerned with.

All very good points, and great for the discussion. But, the interesting thing about MLP FiM is that it really ins't that cut and dried. It just doesn't stop there IMO.

It's target is young girls, but it is appealing to all ages and genders - and easily so. I just discovered yesterday my brother-in-law loves the show, and he's as masculine as a man can get (beard, bald, Jeep, gym rat, sells med weed, etc).

It's primary goal is friendship, but it is also a well developed fantasy world that leaves limitless room for investigation.

The reformation psychology of the show I think is the most appealing 'inner force' of the stories. Anything that can believably cause one to self-examine their behavior is a good thing - it's this kind of authenticity that is widely appealing - so much so we can talk about all the various perspectives on the show here in this forum for years to come.

And so maybe Hasbro is not that concerned with it, but good writing necessarily involves a solid understanding of psychology, and after seeing episodes like Army of One and Lesson Zero, it's apparent that the writers do indeed have a universal message that stretches beyond what very young (girls) could ever possibly comprehend on their own.

Therefore, Megan's worldview, although idealistic, is also well rooted in healthy psychology, which is by its nature, practical and realistic.

52 minutes ago, n1029 said:

MLP is idealistic, not realistic. It shows us that we can do better than what is "realistic" if we want to.

Excellent distillation of the overall theme of the show. Most of the time people don't change their mind...but at the very least we should always believe that we can.

[Libra 11,690]

15 minutes ago, Mirage said:

All very good points, and great for the discussion. But, the interesting thing about MLP FiM is that it really ins't that cut and dried. It just doesn't stop there IMO.

It's target is young girls, but it is appealing to all ages and genders - and easily so. I just discovered yesterday my brother-in-law loves the show, and he's as masculine as a man can get (beard, bald, Jeep, gym rat, sells med weed, etc).

It's primary goal is friendship, but it is also a well developed fantasy world that leaves limitless room for investigation.

The reformation psychology of the show I think is the most appealing 'inner force' of the stories. Anything that can believably cause one to self-examine their behavior is a good thing - it's this kind of authenticity that is widely appealing - so much so we can talk about all the various perspectives on the show here in this forum for years to come.

And so maybe Hasbro is not that concerned with it, but good writing necessarily involves a solid understanding of psychology, and after seeing episodes like Army of One and Lesson Zero, it's apparent that the writers do indeed have a universal message that stretches beyond what very young (girls) could ever possibly comprehend on their own.

Therefore, Megan's worldview, although idealistic, is also well rooted in healthy psychology, which is by its nature, practical and realistic.

Excellent distillation of the overall theme of the show. Most of the time people don't change their mind...but at the very least we should always believe that we can.

Exactly. I mean, mlp can no where reach the realistic approach real life has. In equestria (or mlp) bad things happen every now and then, and are usually rare.

however, in real life, bad things happen on a daily basis. Of course, comparing a show to real life is going to wield some unfair results. But like i said, mlp is a show about ponies with magic, and fantasy. Realism would just not fit with that theme.