What do you think of Starlight's reformation?

[Moonstarleader10101 13]

I heard of how controversial it was and I wanna know your thoughts on it all

[Moonlight 7,286]

@Moonstarleader10101 Moving thread to Show Discussion. 

[RDDash 19,184]

I don't really care about it now, but back then it was more like this her childhood friend was moved away so that's why she is evil. What like that's it?

[Justin_Case001 4,891]

25 minutes ago, R.D.Dash said:

I don't really care about it now, but back then it was more like this her childhood friend was moved away so that's why she is evil. What like that's it?

I agree that her reason for being a villain was weak, but I thought her redemption arc was extremely well done.  It actually took a couple of seasons and a lot of struggle and emotional pain before she started to feel like she fit in.  That's really why I accepted her as member of the mane cast.

[Megas 27,656]

It sucked when it first happened and it took 2 seasons to finally get something out of it, mainly with S7 actually giving her the appropriate amount of screen time and episodes she should have gotten at S6.

I've liked her since but at the start things were really rough

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Her motivation was a bit disappointed but it wasnt a disaster like people made it out to be at that time. Her reformation is better than Sunset from a mile away. Right now, i dare to say post-redemption arc Starlight  character is more interesting than post-Friendship Games Sunset.

[BastementSparkle 20,326]

I liked it. Her backstory never really bothered me like it did others, it's certainly not the greatest backstory in the world, but I think most of the problem with it is more it's presentation than anything else. The entirety of "The Cutie Re-mark" is all about the Butterfly effect, and how small, seemingly insignificant little changes can have massive effects, like how each time the Rainboom was stopped, the minor differences led to drastically different futures. The event with Sunburst gaining his mark and leaving is just like that, a seemingly small, insignificant event, causing such a big effect. I don't think Starlight turned evil because of this event alone, I think it's more so that this small moment affected the entire rest of her life and eventually made her who she is, this is the beginning, the event that really sticks in her mind but it isn't the whole story. I think the writer's could have done better by showing a few more bits of her life and seeing just how this event rippled out and affected her. Stupid, small things mess people up all the time, sometimes one tiny little comment is all it takes to rip somebody apart.

 I also liked how she stood down willingly of her own accord, compared to previous villains like NM/Luna or Sunset who reformed after some Harmony blasts, Starlight could have won and got what she wanted but willingly stopped. Her arc afterwards has also been pretty great, she's had some of my favorite episodes in the show and I like how she spent so much time struggling with her issues and how to be a good person, rather than just suddenly being "Good" now.

Edited June 4, 2019 by BastementSparkle

[CypherHoof 26,483]

There are parallels with Moondancer too. Moondancer took the non-appearance of her senpai-pony so badly she became a hermit; Starlight blamed cutie marks for the loss of HER friend, when in fact in BOTH cases they could just have reached out to the other - but in each case, the pony became focussed inward, and her bitterness transformed her into a mare of... wait, sorry, that was Luna. where was I? oh yeah, glimglam. Both ponies tried to control their world to shut out the possibility of it happening again; for moondancer, that came down to avoiding having to trust another pony for friendship, for glimglam that came down to eliminating cutie marks from everypony she could, so that they couldn't be taken away from her...

[Goat-kun 2,527]

Back in Re-Mark, did Starlight choose to stop or was it self-preservation? There was more meaning in Tirek giving Chrysalis her magic back than in an ignorant and cognitively challenged little mare giving up after witnessing the world's devastation with her own eyes. You'd have to be dysfunctional beyond mere inability to send letters to a childhood friend not to stand down after such a revelation. On the other appendage, Tirek made a choice without knowing the outcome, and at least it seems he did it on behalf of another, not himself. Starlight did not choose to stop cause she was hurting Twilight. She stopped cause she didn't want to get hurt herself. That is why she has not been redeemed as a person in my eyes.

 

It's been more than three years since I started my one poster war yet my assessment remains the same: a pointless, sub-par addition to the bloated roster of similar characters that was only ever truly relevant within the confines of Twilight's botched and boring rise to the position of a headmistress/ruler of Equestria/whatever the buck she's supposed to be now. And that is why she has not been redeemed as a character in my eyes.

[Thrond 3,263]

I never had a problem with it; I always felt like whether or not Starlight’s decisions were reasonable had little impact on the meaning of the season 5 finale. Clearly we’re not supposed to think that she’s in the right about anything, and I’ve always found the concept of Twilight reaching out to such a dysfunctional person quite powerful. Starlight could never separate her ego from the greater good, and what she really needed was guidance.

I actually did take issue with her redemption arc, because it took years for her to establish a distinct role in the show, and to this day she makes such extreme mistakes so often that I don’t really believe in her alleged progress. I always felt that Twilight should trust her a lot less and place her under much closer supervision. She’s gotten better lately, though. 

[The Nth Doctor 662]

There's still the bitter taste of it being horribly rushed at the end of Season 5, but her episodes over the next two seasons helped make her into a character that's relatively enjoyable

Although the S6 finale was atrociously set up and was WAY too early to make her into a hero of equestria, especially given her enslavement of the main 5 a few episodes prior...

Swapping it with the S7 finale makes a lot more sense

[RulesofRarity 493]

Sloppy mess. Sunset’s was done better.

[Lucky Bolt 35,063]

I personally don’t think the show coulda done any better. Her reformation was pretty well played out I’d say. I’m probably the only person in the brony fandom who thinks that though. 

[Thrond 3,263]

6 hours ago, The Nth Doctor said:

Swapping it with the S7 finale makes a lot more sense

Disagree; the season 7 finale, where she is the sole voice of reason and her moral judgment is proven right, would be way harder to swallow just a few episodes after the mind control incident. 

[KH7672 1,604]

19 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

Disagree; the season 7 finale, where she is the sole voice of reason and her moral judgment is proven right, would be way harder to swallow just a few episodes after the mind control incident. 

And I agree with you and to add onto that, her role works better in Shadow Play's finale because it culminates all her other appearances in Season 7, learning to listen to the other side, and being a mediator successfully for Celestia and Luna, and unsuccessfully for the Changelings and Pharynx because she didn't follow moral judgement.

[Will Guide 21,360]

3 hours ago, Lucky Bolt said:

I personally don’t think the show coulda done any better. Her reformation was pretty well played out I’d say. I’m probably the only person in the brony fandom who thinks that though. 

You're not the only one. I thought her reformation was just fine.

[Thrond 3,263]

16 minutes ago, KH7672 said:

her role works better in Shadow Play's finale because it culminates all her other appearances in Season 7, learning to listen to the other side, and being a mediator successfully for Celestia and Luna, and unsuccessfully for the Changelings and Pharynx because she didn't follow moral judgement.

I actually kinda don't like her role in "Shadow Play" even after all of that, to be honest. 

[Dawn-Sunlight 1,228]

I think the thing that bugs me the most about Starlight is that she get's to be the hero in not only the season 6's finale, a few episodes after she tried to get her friendship lessons done so fast she brainwashed the Main 6 - Twilight, but season 7's as well.  And she's the one who is the voice of reason in the season 8 premier, and Fame and Misfortune.  I can't actually think of a defining character trait for her, and that is what the redemption arc failed, as well as being really long.  Starlight doesn't really have any defining character traits that make her especially stand out, and now she is still making rash decisions even after being "reformed".  I just think in terms of storytelling, Starlight was handled especially poorly.

[ShootingStar159 2,156]

Hardly what I’d call perfect, but still leagues better than any other redemption the show has tried to do.

[Kadeda 178]

It was done pretty well. I don't get how people wanted her to change right away after being evil for years. Most likely... people are going to have to tell them that something is wrong... like the mind control thing. It took to long for her to turn good? Huh? The huge problem with other redemption arcs is that they change into perfect being right away. I don't get it.

[Sepul-Coloratura 762]

Three things needed to be done.

1. A detailed depiction and weight to her apologizing towards the town ponies. (fixing the past)
2. The motivation behind the choice she made in Cutie Re-Mark being clear and making sense. (present)
3. Her fixing her flaws, being a decent moral figure, being a better pony. (for the future)

The first one was done in a very weak unimpactful way, just a short montage of it during a song. But I can almost live with that because the show at least confirmed that happened. (but only for the brain to understand, not to feel for her)

The second one is the essential part of the reformation. It is about the exact moment she turns into good. But we don't know she didn't rip the scroll just because it was good for her own interest. It could be that she wanted friends, so she accepted the offer. She wanted power, but she didn't wanted a wasteland to rule. She never displayed selflessness by defying her own well-being.

The third part is a tricky one. The show had to win us over by making someone who almost ended the world and a despicable sick character an acceptable, likable, sympathetic, interesting one. Starlight caused Armageddon and enslavement just for her self interest and insecurities. Her flaws are that she is willing to sacrifice everything including the safety and dignity of her friends just because of her own insecurities. She always goes to 11 on magic to fix things. And I don't think that was dealt so well. She always does an extra crazy magic spell that she causes extra trouble, and that shows her inconsideration. She constantly showed this aspect during the show, and sometimes she is just being plainly rude. Even the show tried to make her character interesting and sympathetic, this aspect mixed with it and didn't go near as much as they wanted. It was always an uncomfortable mixed feeling to see a half-redeemed sympathetic but immoral protagonist in the show. It wasn't resolved clear enough for us to enjoy her as a heroine. The most important part of this is that she has to be one of the Mane Seven now. Trixie can't be one because of this. They are heroines, examples of morals, protectors of Equestria, a role model for the viewers. Starlight simply isn't a good pony enough. Yes, she saved Equestria, but she isn't a good pony enough. (it was also for her own safety too, so it dilutes the selfless aspect of it). For an example, Steve Jobs did great things, but he isn't a moral figure.  What would the Mane Six do? This question almost always brings you to the right choice. What would Starlight do? This would lead you to a disaster.

The former villain aspect and showing sympathy towards villains and persuading them to redeem themselves is a good part of her. But of course there are lots of former villains in this show and some are done better.

After the third part I mentioned, the show just stopped bothering with her and they were suddenly done with her. Right now, she is not that much to the show. If the show only met those three conditions, she could have been my favorite character, maybe one of the best character ever. But they didn't.

[WaterPulse 5]

I really wish they had an episode dedicated to her making amends with Our Town instead of making it part of the montage at the end of the Season 5 finale. A shame; it could have been a potentially good setup for character development in Season 6.

[Moonstarleader10101 13]

I actually enjoyed her reformation but thats just me