What is the most disappointing feature of MLP to you?

[FearTheBelle 55]

For me, the answer is very easy. I was so excited when COTLM happened because I thought that, if the writers made the effort to reform my favorite pony, then surely there was more in store for her character. At least an episode or two showcasing she and Silver's new attitudes and relationship with the other schoolchildren. Instead they did . . . nothing. She's appeared in a few episodes, less than a handful, as a mute character and has yet to say a single word since what I thought was going to be a great moment for her. It has gotten to the point that I kind of wish that her change had never happened; at least if she were still an antagonist, I would still get to see her and enjoy her as I previously had. There is, of course, still half a season left to go, but I've less than zero hope that Diamond Tiara ever gets to do anything again.

What about you, are there any disappointing moments and/or decisions of the show for you?

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

As much as I love "A Canterlot Wedding" and enjoy "The Crystal Empire", I wish that we had seen the fallout from the rehearsal. Seen Twilight struggle to reconcile with the others and try to patch things up. They could have tied that into Season 3.

[BastementSparkle 20,312]

As much as I do like the School of Friendship and the Student Six, I think it's a real shame we didn't get more of the Pillars. They were all pretty cool, but outside of Rockhoof and Starswirl I don't feel like I can really care about any of them that much because they've barely appeared, hoping some of them get at least another good appearance or two in the second half of Season 9. If the show had continued beyond into Season 10, I would have liked it if they came up with something to give them more focus, like a Season arc involving them or something.

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

This might seem weird, but I don’t think the show is good at ending things. It’s great at changing up the status quo and justifying its continued existence with new characters and new big events, but there’s only been two, maybe three season finales that I would have been satisfied with the show ending. (2,7, maybe 4)

My biggest concern with season nine is that it’s not going to leave me satisfied. I think every good story should leave you wanting more when it ends, but there’s a difference between that and being dissatisfied.

Edited June 16, 2019 by ShootingStar159

[Mongo 45]

Kind of wish they had Muffins in more episodes with 1 lead role along with some of the Wonderbolts candidates like Vapor Trail, Sky Stinger and Angel Wings

[Megas 27,053]

The Wonderbolts, most of their appearances were really divisive. Then after 6 years of build up, RD finally joined the team in complete train wreck of an episode that turned her entire character arc into a huge joke. Then they’ve done fuck all with it since, which gives the impression that they never cared in the first place. It speaks volumes when even IDW has done a better job with them than the show has 

Edited June 16, 2019 by This Whomps

[MangoFoalix 24,898]

Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer. They are basically Twilight Sparkle but worse. Honestly, since Season 5 they have just been shoving her down our throat. Same thing with the Student Six, they honestly just feel like an after thought.

[Goat-kun 2,496]

How they've handled non-pone factions like dragons and griffins. That and Tartarus. It's a zoo. What the actual [Think of the chillens!] H-Bro!

[Sparklefan1234 161,693]

1 hour ago, TheTaZe said:

Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer. They are basically Twilight Sparkle but worse. Honestly, since Season 5 they have just been shoving her down our throat. Same thing with the Student Six, they honestly just feel like an after thought.

 

I feel like Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer both feel too similar in a couple of ways.

1. Two characters who feel let down by someone they look up to. 
2. Incredibly short tempers. 
3. Both characters were immediately accepted by the mane/humane 6's friend group after being reformed.* *Pretty much. 

Edited June 16, 2019 by Sparklefan1234

[Denim&Venöm 16,471]

Pacing. Stories are too rushed. They constrain themselves too much with format. The results are mixed on how well they can pace a story during an episode. There are many an episode that could've used a two part format. 

And a story that should be told all season long gets blown by in a pair of two parters, if that. And the few times there is development across a season, the payoff is lack luster. They can't decide if they want an over arching story or stand alone episodes. 

Also there's no continuity with the comics, which could provide a great wealth of creativity and arching stories across different media platforms. 

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

I can at least understand the show slowly forgetting old characters or failing at portraying pre-established characters (Diamond Tiara, Mayor Mare, Cheerilee, Wonderbolts, the Mane Six, etc.) because they are constantly changing writers and directors to new ones, but it's hard not to be disappointed when they make half baked new original characters (and original new concepts) and doesn't even explore them enough to make the story work better. (Student Six, Pillars, Starlight, Cozy Glow, The Spirit of the Tree of Harmony, Chancellor Neighsay etc.) They had all the creative freedom to do whatever they want with the new characters (and for the expense of cutting down the old characters) and it's more disappointing when they do it halfway.

[MangoFoalix 24,898]

3 hours ago, Denim&Venom said:

Pacing. Stories are too rushed. They constrain themselves too much with format. The results are mixed on how well they can pace a story during an episode. There are many an episode that could've used a two part format. 

And a story that should be told all season long gets blown by in a pair of two parters, if that. And the few times there is development across a season, the payoff is lack luster. They can't decide if they want an over arching story or stand alone episodes. 

Also there's no continuity with the comics, which could provide a great wealth of creativity and arching stories across different media platforms. 

Guess that is what happens when an episode is compressed so tightly into 22 minutes.

[heavens-champion 1,893]

The Tree of Harmony getting destroyed before it could talk to Twilight, and Twilight having a telepathic link to it.

Ah, the road not taken.

Oh, well. Beggars can't be choosers.

 

Edited June 17, 2019 by heavens-champion

[Here No Longer 5,270]

I find it very disappointing that the show didn't make Discord more of an anti-hero type of character instead of either a hero or a villain really. He doesn't seem like a character who would really be on a side at all in anything. He seems like the kind of draconequus that would have been better written if he were just written, you know, as a character that just causes chaos for chaos' sake and not really for any particular cause.

[Twilight Luna 30,917]

8 hours ago, TheAnimationFanatic said:

As much as I love "A Canterlot Wedding" and enjoy "The Crystal Empire", I wish that we had seen the fallout from the rehearsal. Seen Twilight struggle to reconcile with the others and try to patch things up. They could have tied that into Season 3.

Especially when they abandoned her in the movie as well. It would have been nice if there had been some fallout from that. My headcannon has a better ending to the wedding. 

I wish the reforming villains was handled better. Not all villains need to become good to be interesting. Starlight’s reforming should have been handled better. It was way too easy. 

Edited June 17, 2019 by Twilight Luna

[Singe 2,109]

Friendships get repaired too fast in the show. The series could have formulated a season with a long drawn out rifts where them reconciling plays a major part in resolving a season finale problem.

The Wonderbolts was handled badly. One major problem is them being inconsistent with Wonderbolts academy being ran compared to later seasons with be by the rule book attitude.

Chancellor Neighsay was a character used wrongly. Rather than being a quick magnet for hate representing current events, he would have served better as a counter view to Twilight saying they can be friends with creatures. He could have been the opposing view to like we have this bad history with these creatures and all this bad stuff happened in the series because of them. How can ponies so easily trust them.

Twilight running a school was littered with mistakes never addressed.

 

 

Edited June 17, 2019 by Singe

[KH7672 1,604]

2 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

They had all the creative freedom to do whatever they want with the new characters (and for the expense of cutting down the old characters) and it's more disappointing when they do it halfway.

Do they?

If this was a syndicated cartoon coming entirely out of one studio, then yes I could see your point, but remember DHX does not have the final say in how an episode goes, Hasbro does, and Hasbro's number one priority is the marketability of their show and its merchandise.  They aren't going to easily throw more spotlight on characters that haven't hit the market yet like Starlight during Season 6 or the Pillars during Season 7 which only had the comics to stand on. Opposite with the Students  and school who had plenty of spotlight to market them but less appearances to grow as characters because that comes secondary avoid mixed reception.  Also remember most of the production runs a season behind the public reception.  Starlight was already slated to be in Season 6 before Season 5 even aired, the Pillars had they're episodes planned out before Season 7 which is why the comics could run simultaneously.  The school was planned after the Movie finished production which was before Season 7 ended, even going back to earlier, Season 4 was renewed before the public even got wind of Alicorn Twilight which explains why the princess status doesn't play the biggest role that Season because production was done before there was reception to Twilicorn and Hasbro played it safe by keeping her "normal" in most episodes.

So why even do it at all then?  Well like I said, Hasbro's not opposed to change but they're always going to play it safe with it.  DHX wants to put in a new character, fine but she can only appear in episodes relevant to her and not take away from the Mane 6's episodes and we'll give her the premiere and finale to round out the season, A finale arc alongside our comic production is in the works, well we know the comics aren't the most well merchandised, so we'll just throw some references here and there, and episode or two as not to alienate those who don't read the comics.  A school with new students to add a nice helping of diversity to the cast, brilliant, but we need to make sure they are very likable and don't cause any problems like Starlight did, but she still has fans so giving them the premiere and finale to round out the Season should work again.

M.A. Larson said it best when talking about "Fame and Misfortune" that the episode notes were getting longer and longer than back in the day that soon it didn't feel like his episode anymore, and I wouldn't doubt he was the only one who had this kind of experience.

 

[Steve Piranha 28,752]

6 hours ago, Singe said:

 

Chancellor Neighsay was a character used wrongly. Rather than being a quick magnet for hate representing current events, he would have served better as a counter view to Twilight saying they can be friends with creatures. He could have been the opposing view to like we have this bad history with these creatures and all this bad stuff happened in the series because of them. How can ponies so easily trust them.

 

 

Specially since he has a point regarding his old racism, as three (four if you count the comics) out of the five non-pony Young Six, belong to species who threatened Equestria before, giving way to an Aesop of past transgressions shouldn’t get in the way of friendship or something. I get they wanted him to be a red herring, but can’t help but get character-centered morality vibes

 

also, aside from forsaking old characters, make way for new ones only for them suffering the same fate, I kind of resent the lack of world building 

more than the Young Six, I think the pillars are the greatest wasted opportunity 

 

also, we got divine dragon horses, and no bats 

[The MegaBrony 218]

Villains being defeated far too easily and quickly to be taken seriously.

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

I also think Hasbro seems to forget that their strongest asset are the characters. There are so much potential in the characters they have, but usually the essence and the best parts of the characters don't actualize.

[Dawn-Sunlight 1,228]

@TheTaZe: First off, there is a reason why Sunset's arc is regarded as one of the best redemption arcs in the series.  Hasbro took a character that almost no one liked and made an effort to fix her, and boy did they succeed. 

Second off, MLP's biggest problem is their snapshot redemptions, with Twilight handing them out like candy with no consequences for their actions and almost everyone trusting them immediately.  Yet apparently, she will do that to the most awful people on the planet, yet she'll be suspicious and super hostile towards the miner antagonists(Trixie, Flim and Flam).

[MangoFoalix 24,898]

51 minutes ago, Dawn-Sunlight said:

First off, there is a reason why Sunset's arc is regarded as one of the best redemption arcs in the series

Honestly, not really. It was kind of the same as Starlight's redemption arc. Predictable from the beginning.

51 minutes ago, Dawn-Sunlight said:

Second off, MLP's biggest problem is their snapshot redemptions, with Twilight handing them out like candy with no consequences for their actions and almost everyone trusting them immediately.

And you wouldn't say Sunset's redemption is a "snapshot redemption"? I honestly feel Discord's redemption had more meaning than Sunset's.

[Dawn-Sunlight 1,228]

@TheTaZe: Sunset's actual reformation was a snapshot redemption, I'm sorry that I was not clear in that I was referring to her arc in Rainbow Rocks, and I'm sorry I missed the fact that you were talking about the actual reformation at the end of Equestria Girls.  Personally for me, I find being blasted with a huge friendship cannon and reforming to be a little bit more convincing than just talking and then reforming, but who am I to be talking about realistic things in a show about pastel talking magical ponies.

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

@TheTaZe There are huge differences between Sunset and Starlight. They are seemingly similar, but fundamentally different as an end result. The reason why Starlight is similar to Sunset is because she is designed to be the FiM version of Sunset. A bypassing method to bring Sunset to the show. But you can't just copy what worked before and expect it to work the same if it's not how the original got popular in the first place.

If Sunset's character only existed throughout the first EQG movie, she would be a terrible character, it would be a terrible redemption story, honestly she was as bad as Flash Sentry and the whole movie in general. I don't like Rainbow Rocks that much, but at least they got one thing right. That is Sunset.

First, unlike Starlight, most everyone in school doesn't trust Sunset right after she turns good. That's a right place to put her. Only the Mane Six humans support her, but literally everyone else doesn't. Also, that support was because they were someone who defeated Sunset and they were the right people to be in charge of her rehab. On the other hand, Starlight is immediately forgiven by the town ponies. Also, Twilight couldn't stop Starlight, yet asks everyone to trust Starlight. How can somebody forgive soneone else, or even worse, represent the rest of everyone who suffered to forgive somebody, when it isn't even capable of stopping the one? If the forgiving side has no power to stop the other, it's just submission.

Second, Sunset immediately faces an opportunity to prove herself and become a heroine after the first movie. She goes through a hero's journey to redeem herself and wins everyone over, including the audience. Starlight just hangs out in a castle for a long time awkwardly, and she is in the best position in Equestria. In season 6 finale, she saves Equestria, but that was too late.

Third, Sunset proved she is worthy of being one of the Mane Seven and replacing the protagonist. She is a moral being. She bonds the Mane Six together when they were falling apart. She understands the magic of friendship and she probably has the strongest empathy in the show. She is now completely a stable character and a good leader figure. Starlight is not a stable character. She could literally blow up every moment, she is very insecure. What made her a broken character is still not fixed. She is not a good moral figure, even she tries all the time and feels guilty and even when it makes her "Relatable".

I think both motivations of them being a villain were told poorly. But Sunset not only redeems herself, but also the people behind the show redeemed themselves. Now she is leading the show and she is the future of the show because she is good enough to handle it, quality wise. Starlight as a villain was more enjoyable, but she isn't a lasting character. She had several marks missed along the way, and she isn't good enough to evolve into something central to the show. I thought and hoped that they would go there any time soon, but eventually they didn't. Now FiM doesn't know what to do with the character.

Finally, Starlight tries to replace Twilight and fails, Sunset doesn't and shows dynamics and chmnistry between Twilight. Also partially because the difference between Twilight in Fim and Twilight in EQG.

I both love Starlight and Sunset. But one is for what she could have been, and the other is for what she actually is in the show.

I Agree with you about the Student Six.

[KH7672 1,604]

@Sepul-Coloratura I usually have no issues with your analyses because they are grounded on a specific topic but you are falling into the same trap with every Sunset/Starlight debate and the generalizations you made are not helping.

Before I even begin, let me lay out exactly why Sunset/Starlight debates fail from the get go. They are not and never were meant to be the same character. The closest thing that could be assumed was DHX saw Equestria girls add a seventh character that Hasbro denied to be put into the show, so they decided they want to do the same to mix up the cast they had, and not even on the reason of public reception of Sunset, as Season 5 already had finished writing production before Rainbow Rocks even aired. You cannot point to Sunset's execution and say "look how this character was handled, this character is exactly how things should be done." No, that is not how dynamic story telling works because the characters are the product of the world they inhabit and the characterization they are given. Sunset redemption works because they did all the things right that you would do for her character or any character in her place. Starlight was not in her place, she has her own place in the world and as such, needs to be written accordingly, and I will admit the execution was not the best for her unique situation.

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Also, Twilight couldn't stop Starlight, yet asks everyone to trust Starlight. How can somebody forgive soneone else, or even worse, represent the rest of everyone who suffered to forgive somebody, when it isn't even capable of stopping the one? If the forgiving side has no power to stop the other, it's just submission.

Twilight did stop her. She just changed her tactic. Instead of combatting Starlight physically or mentally, she attacked emotionally, offering an outcome Starlight wants (friends she can be assured won't leave her this time without the indoctrination). You're referring to this like Dr. Strange and Dormammu with one getting tired of the constant cycle, and giving up. In fact Starlight would be the one who submitted as she was prepared to stop the cycle herself by tearing the spell. Twilight proved her strength as the Princess of Friendship and one could say that alone has staying power to accept forgiveness in the pony world.

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Sunset immediately faces an opportunity to prove herself and become a heroine after the first movie. She goes through a hero's journey to redeem herself and wins everyone over, including the audience. Starlight just hangs out in a castle for a long time awkwardly, and she is in the best position in Equestria. In season 6 finale, she saves Equestria, but that was too late.

Exactly, the hero's journey. She went through a guaranteed to work story telling device annd had an easier time because she was not the primary focus of the movie, the Sirens were. Starlight could not grow through the same device because the show creates stories focused around a character, and technically she does prove her worth in the premiere's conflict but it's paired along with a more personal one that is not as secondary and might have not been the best choice. Her character was characterized to not feel reformed and instead grow through self acceptance, rather than the hero's journey. Did it work? No, not entirely but a lot of that falls on the restrictions put on the show, the restrictions put on her character, restrictions that are not comparable to Sunset.

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Sunset proved she is worthy of being one of the Mane Seven and replacing the protagonist. She is a moral being. She bonds the Mane Six together when they were falling apart. She understands the magic of friendship and she probably has the strongest empathy in the show.

Because that is the way the franchise built around her. Notice how it took until specials and shorts to actually dive into Sunset's faults or even give her real conflict and not just be the solution to it. These were deliberate choice made to establish her staying power as a main character, because that's what she is that's what she is meant to be.

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Starlight is not a stable character. She could literally blow up every moment, she is very insecure. What made her a broken character is still not fixed. She is not a good moral figure, even she tries all the time and feels guilty and even when it makes her "Relatable".

This is incredibly vague and I'm having a hard time to even counter this. I was expecting this to say how Starlight fails as a main character contrary to Sunset but that comes down to the fact that she's not a main character, she's not and never will be the Sunset of the Mane 6. She has her own group of friends for a reason, she has established distance from the main cast for a reason. Was it well executed? Absolutely not, I will agree on that from the meaning of the Season 5 montage to her purposes in premieres and finales in correspondence to the main group, the execution needed more work but it is not comparable to Sunset.

This comparison in particular really gets to me like, say Sunset did actually get Starlight's spot in FiM, do you really think she would be the same as in Equestria Girls. Of course not! One she would not be the leader because here Twilight has some characterization of a princess and not just a down to earth character with some quirks (and that's not a knock on Sci-Twi). She doesn't have the same relationship with the pony Mane 6. The reason the Hu-Mane 5 work is because they know her, they know her past her mistakes, her good side, her bad she not only broke up but repaired their friendship. That doesn't work for the ponies, they know even less than Starlight, because at least they interacted with her as a villain, and know what sets her off. They are friendly but you're right they're not best friends, and that relationship needed to be established better.

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Finally, Starlight tries to replace Twilight and fails, Sunset doesn't and shows dynamics and chmnistry between Twilight. Also partially because the difference between Twilight in Fim and Twilight in EQG.

This is what I mean. Where does Starlight even begin to replace Twilight? If you mean become the Twilight of her own friend circle then you may have a point except her friends aren't all replacements for the Mane 5. And yes you are right Sunset and Sci-Twi do have a fantastic friendship dynamic but it is not comparable to Twilight and Starlight as theirs changed from a student teacher dynamic to a almost pseudo-sibling one.

Sunset's execution as a character is not comparable to Starlight's.

Edited June 18, 2019 by KH7672