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Are the Mane 6 not allowed to save the day anymore?


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After Shadow Play and the movie (and, technically, School Daze) had the Mane 6 save the day, I thought things went back to normal. But with School Raze having the underdogs saving the day again, I wonder if the Mane 6 aren't allowed to save the day anymore.

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Maybe it's because the writers are getting bored of the Mane 6 saving the day. Also, the student 6 are new characters, and I guess they wanted them to be in the spotlight of a season finale so it doesn't look like they are just background characters.

Edited by Midnight Solace
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I'm glad they aren't saving the day all the time. The show would have gotten rather repetitive if they were always the heroes.

2 hours ago, Metemponychosis said:

Gotta sell those new toys.

On the other hoof, the Student Six really aren't at the forefront of the new toys Hasbro is putting out. And, as @Nightmare Muffin often points out, variations on the Mane Six still dominate.

Edited by OptimisticNeighsayer
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If the Mane Six kept on saving the day all the time, it would make things redundant, predictable, and all around boring. By having others step up and relegating the principle cast to the sidelines, it keeps younger viewers invested though this comes at a cost if done too often. There is a fine line that shouldn't be crossed otherwise the problems I listed could still end up happening.

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1 hour ago, OptimisticNeighsayer said:

On the other hoof, the Student Six really aren't at the forefront of the new toys Hasbro is putting out. And, as @Nightmare Muffin often points out, variations on the Mane Six still dominate.

Gonna trust you on that. Interesting. In my country it's the movie and EqG toys. Since it's what the cartoon was 'doing', I assumed that in the US they'd be capitalizing on the toys.

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For one: seasons 6 and 8 both introduced new main characters to the show, so it follows that they'd get the spotlight in the finales. In the former case it was because the crew was doing something weird with Starlight, and in the latter it was because it suited the new school gimmick. It's really hard to say what the next season will be like until we hear more about it, but between the season 7 finale, the season 8 premiere, and the movie, I'd argue the mane six have saved the day just as often as not lately. 

For another: it's weird to hear that the mane six saving the day would "get old," because I've thought that the latest finale in particular wasn't especially different from those of prior years. 

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13 hours ago, Midnight Solace said:

Maybe it's because the animators are getting bored of the Mane 6 saving the day. Also, the student 6 are new characters, and maybe they wanted them to be in the spotlight of a season finale so it doesn't look like they are just background characters.

It's not the animators' job to say who saves the days- it's the writers.

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Who said the Mane 6 aren't allowed to save the day anymore? They've still been saving the day since the very beginning, and last time they did that was in the movie, and also Shadow Play!  They just had a season off to let the Student 6 take over!

Even though I really want Spike to be one of the main hero in season 9 finale, MAIN is the magic word. If it's final season then of course the Mane 6 will be there too and be the main heroes right along side him! He's not getting ALL the glory, and he's not outshining the Mane 6 cause they're right there too as the main answer, it's just Spike figures it out and is along side them! Like Shadow Play, but he's taking Starlight's place! I would consider that fair! And I would think the Student 6 and Starlight would be secondary heroes in their own ways! This a fair way of concluding the season!

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Well, I think they are still allowed to save the day in 22 min. episodes, as well as the 44 min. EG specials. As for the two parters, I think we should wait to see about that, but I believe it depends on the writer. 

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On 1/9/2019 at 12:07 PM, FlareGun45 said:

Who said the Mane 6 aren't allowed to save the day anymore? They've still been saving the day since the very beginning, and last time they did that was in the movie, and also Shadow Play!

I already mentioned the movie and Shadow Play.

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No, it only has to do with the fact that this last season was about introducing the School of Friendship and the Student Six. Imagine how lame that would be if the Student Six, the next generation of friends to inherit the Mane 6's teachings, needed their teachers to save the day after everything surrounding them that was building up to the finale. I understand if you just want more spotlight for the main characters, even as they got all the screen time they needed in this last season's finale, but you need to understand how that would undermine the entire point of last season. 

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I certainly hope they are since they are the main reason I watch the show. I'm glad they had something to do in the S8 finale even if it was the students who got to do the specific action to restore magic. At least "Professor Dash" was referenced in a key scene to show her teaching mattered.

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On 1/8/2019 at 10:42 PM, AlexanderThrond said:

For one: seasons 6 and 8 both introduced new main characters to the show, so it follows that they'd get the spotlight in the finales. In the former case it was because the crew was doing something weird with Starlight, and in the latter it was because it suited the new school gimmick. It's really hard to say what the next season will be like until we hear more about it, but between the season 7 finale, the season 8 premiere, and the movie, I'd argue the mane six have saved the day just as often as not lately. 

For another: it's weird to hear that the mane six saving the day would "get old," because I've thought that the latest finale in particular wasn't especially different from those of prior years. 

In fact, I've found the FiM villains more and more interchangeable with each premiere, finale, and movie.

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Oh, you know how it works--the only ones that are allowed to save the day are whichever cast members are currently in the spotlight for that episode.  I.e. if this is a Mane 6 spotlight, then the Sisters must be inept and just watch from the sidelines.  If this is a Spike spotlight, then Twilight and Starlight's magic must only serve to tickle or mildly annoy enemies.  If this is a student 6 spotlight, then the mane 6 have to conveniently forget that they know how to do anything.  That's how it works, bub.  I'm kinda just kidding around.  I actually think they do a decent job with balance... most of the time.

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Just now, Justin_Case001 said:

Oh, you know how it works--the only ones that are allowed to save the day are whichever cast members are currently in the spotlight for that episode.  I.e. if this is a Mane 6 spotlight, then the Sisters must be inept and just watch from the sidelines.  If this is a Spike spotlight, then Twilight and Starlight's magic must only serve to tickle or mildly annoy enemies.  If this is a student 6 spotlight, then the mane 6 have to conveniently forget that they know how to do anything.  That's how it works, bub.  I'm kinda just kidding around.  I actually think they do a decent job with balance... most of the time.

Sure, and I am sure the initial plotline has "group xxx saves the say" as an actual line.
I think the habit of nerfing otherwise powerful characters (particularly the royal sisters, but...) in order to justify why this other group have to save the day is lazy and looks bad though; they HAVE gotten better at that. S6 wasn't terrible; the (to quote discord) "collection of secondary characters" escaped chrysalis' capture BECAUSE they weren't important figures, S7 it was reasonable that the Mane 6 and the Pillars would have to use the Elements, and in S8 it wasn't unreasonable that the royal sisters and royal guard were en-route, although we see Celestia fly from the palace in minutes before now, and pegasus ponies weren't affected so... eh.

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The times where the Mane Six didn't save the day or play an important role in saving the day, at least off the top of my head, are The Crystalling, To Where and Back Again, and School Raze (not sure if Cutie Re-Mark counts, since that's just Twilight without the rest). Probably a lot more I'm missing, but I think it's good enough to achieve the balance between "The Mane Six are always saving the day, this is getting boring!" and "The Mane Six have been second banana for too long and keep getting 1-upped by other characters".

So I wouldn't say they're "not allowed to save the day anymore", but given that one of the major themes of the show is about appreciating others and their gifts and talents, it makes total sense for them to have a few episodes where other characters get the spotlight.

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