The Pillars shouldn've returned and stayed

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

7 hours ago, Latecomer said:

But... they don't. How does them existing beyond Season 7 weaken the show in any way?

 

Because time is limited and using them for building up the characters that goes evenvtually nowhere is a waste. Same as the student six. Thorax went somewhere, Ember got somewhere. They made good episodes and their existence and the time the show spent introducing them was justified by the episodes. The pillars were introduced as some big figures that could be helpful for big situations. They were the overarching story of season 7. Their individual episides were kinda weak and like how I said, season 9 finale showed them being completely useless.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Sepul-Coloratura

[gingerninja666 487]

5 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Because time is limited and using them for building up the characters that goes evenvtually nowhere is a waste. Same as the student six. Thorax went somewhere, Ember got somewhere. They made good episodes and their existence and the time the show spent introducing them was justified by the episodes. The pillars were introduced as some big figures that could be helpful for big situations. They were the overarching story of season 7. Their individual episides were kinda weak and like how I said, season 9 finale showed them being completely useless.

Rockhoof and a Hard Place was weak?

 

Huh, that was one of my favourite episodes in season 8.

Edited November 10, 2019 by gingerninja666

[Latecomer 438]

7 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Because time is limited and using them for building up the characters that goes evenvtually nowhere is a waste. Same as the student six. Thorax went somewhere, Ember got somewhere. They made good episodes and their existence and the time the show spent introducing them was justified by the episodes. The pillars were introduced as some big figures that could be helpful for big situations. They were the overarching story of season 7. Their individual episides were kinda weak and like how I said, season 9 finale showed them being completely useless.

For starters, this is a mostly episodic show, s a character who just fills a role in their debut ep is fine - reusablity is a bonus, If you didn't believe that, why would you suggest them dying in thier debut?

Likewise with the students - if we hadn't seen them aftter Season 8 it would be crying shame, butt they'd have still played ttheir role. I was hoping for more out of them in Season 8, butt they still at least managed a critical part in the finale.

And even if a chractter isn't followed up on by the show, there's always fanfic or the comics.

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

1 hour ago, gingerninja666 said:

Rockhoof and a Hard Place was weak?

 

Huh, that was one of my favourite episodes in season 8.

I'd say it was pretty weak, weaker than Mistmane's story told by Rarity.

[Latecomer 438]

1 minute ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

I'd say it was pretty weak, weaker than Mistmane's story told by Rarity.

Well then of course you'll considered the Pillars wasted beyond Season 7. But I wouldn't give up a good episodes like that for... what, exactly? What do we gain by the Pillars NOT remaining?

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

12 minutes ago, Latecomer said:

For starters, this is a mostly episodic show, s a character who just fills a role in their debut ep is fine - reusablity is a bonus, If you didn't believe that, why would you suggest them dying in thier debut?

Likewise with the students - if we hadn't seen them aftter Season 8 it would be crying shame, butt they'd have still played ttheir role. I was hoping for more out of them in Season 8, butt they still at least managed a critical part in the finale.

And even if a chractter isn't followed up on by the show, there's always fanfic or the comics.

If they had to die at the season 7 finale, of course they had to die in an epic impactful way that concludes the buildup. If they were going to live and stay, they should have had some presence that ifluences the season premiers and finales, or make some good enough episodes. And I'd say they weren't a critical part of the finale of season 8 and 9.

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

5 minutes ago, Latecomer said:

Well then of course you'll considered the Pillars wasted beyond Season 7. But I wouldn't give up a good episodes like that for... what, exactly? What do we gain by the Pillars NOT remaining?

Either them remaining or not, they should have made more significant impact. Their presence is ANOTHER alliance that Twilight has, and whenever a big villain shows up, they can't just not show up. Writers had to think about what Discord, Celestia, Luna, Canence, Starlight etc. would do in the premiere/finale, and the pillars adds up to that.

Considering how the pillars were completely uselessly wasted in S9 finale, I think they shouldn't have had to be in a position of being impossible to ignore world ending scenarios, which is dying or being in limbo with the Pony of Shadows.

[CypherHoof 26,479]

20 minutes ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

If they had to die at the season 7 finale, of course they had to die in an epic impactful way that concludes the buildup. If they were going to live and stay, they should have had some presence that ifluences the season premiers and finales, or make some good enough episodes. And I'd say they weren't a critical part of the finale of season 8 and 9.

nobody dies in Pony - not even the bad guys, although the fate of the Storm King is yet to be revealed, given he went all to pieces....

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

16 minutes ago, CypherHoof said:

nobody dies in Pony - not even the bad guys, although the fate of the Storm King is yet to be revealed, given he went all to pieces....

Either in limbo and never be found and be unconscious and not interacting with anybody else or death. Reviving them was an exciting idea, but didn't live uo to the hype eventually.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Sepul-Coloratura

[CypherHoof 26,479]

5 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Either in limbo and never be found and be unconscious and not interacting with anybody else or death. Reviving them was an exciting idea, but didn't live uo to the hype eventually.

About the only benefit from the revival of Sombra was that it showed that he hadn't been killed (however convincing his expoding from the revenge of the Crystal Heart might have been) but thrown into limbo; I had genuinely thought until that point that he was the only character actually to die onscreen in a Pony episode.  We know from Discord that being cast into stone is not only not fatal, but can be escaped in time (and rather disturbingly, that he was aware of his surroundings the whole time. Pony punishments seem pretty drastic, with both Nightmare Moon and Discord forced to endure a thousand years of what amounts to physical immobilization while concious and aware. Personally I think I would rather die than suffer that.)

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by CypherHoof

[Latecomer 438]

10 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

If they were going to live and stay, they should have had some presence that ifluences the season premiers and finales, or make some good enough episodes. And I'd say they weren't a critical part of the finale of season 8 and 9.

I consider Rockhoof and a Hard Place a good enough episode. And I don't think they really needed to be accounted for in the finales, or at least 8's.

10 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Either them remaining or not, they should have made more significant impact. Their presence is ANOTHER alliance that Twilight has, and whenever a big villain shows up, they can't just not show up. Writers had to think about what Discord, Celestia, Luna, Canence, Starlight etc. would do in the premiere/finale, and the pillars adds up to that.

Considering how the pillars were completely uselessly wasted in S9 finale, I think they shouldn't have had to be in a position of being impossible to ignore world ending scenarios, which is dying or being in limbo with the Pony of Shadows.

Erm, major characters oftten don't show up in premieres/finales. Sometimes with a reason, sometimes without.

Compared to,say, DIscord and the Princesses, the Pillars don't really need mentioning at all. And yet they did all make the S9 finale, and Starswirl the premiere.

[Rushing cash 824]

They were much weaker then the legends suggested. Tirek beat them easily, and what disappointed me most about that fight wasn't the defeat, but that they did not try anything special, no banishing spells no team work... if the main reason they lost is because their tactician, stygion, was not there than starswirl took a lot of credit to himself back in the old days.

Or maybe the pony of shadows and the rest of the villains the pillars defeated back then were pretty weak.

[nightshroud96 116]

1 hour ago, Rushing cash said:

They were much weaker then the legends suggested. Tirek beat them easily, and what disappointed me most about that fight wasn't the defeat, but that they did not try anything special, no banishing spells no team work... if the main reason they lost is because their tactician, stygion, was not there than starswirl took a lot of credit to himself back in the old days.

Or maybe the pony of shadows and the rest of the villains the pillars defeated back then were pretty weak.

Iirc, they needed that stonehedge-like place in order for their magic to be strong enough to banish the Pony of Shadows to Limbo(unfortunately along with themselves).

Speaking of Stygian, I don't think we saw him in the finale, did we? Haven't been able to see him among the characters that came to the Mane 6's and Spike's aid yet.

[RulesofRarity 489]

Personally, I think that the Pillars(aside from Starswirl) didn't need to be introduced at all. They are ultimately inconsequential and only existed to explain the origins of the EOH which didn't need to be explained. 

[Latecomer 438]

6 hours ago, RulesofRarity said:

Personally, I think that the Pillars(aside from Starswirl) didn't need to be introduced at all. They are ultimately inconsequential and only existed to explain the origins of the EOH which didn't need to be explained. 

Rather, them being the origins of the Elements is an add-on - their main purpose, which they fulfilled, is to be legendary heroes of ancient Equestria. Kind of like the Justice Society, but more ancient.