My Honest Final Thoughts On Starlight Glimmer

[YoungJustice12334 53]

The way MLP Redeemed villains at first with Discord & Sunset Shimmer was decent and I thought they were enjoyable characters to watch after their reformations, but when Starlight's "Redemption" happened...The trope just started to annoy me because The Season 5 finale started the annoying trope of undeserved villain reformations for scumbags hell-bent on harming people and destroying Equestria who then turn out to have a Terrible Excuse for their actions. Don't even get me started with Tempest Shadow from the 2017 movie...

I'm not saying sympathetic villains aren't good, but you have to know HOW TO MAKE THEM WORK! And Starlight's redemption never really worked for me for these 7 reasons of mine.

1.) Starlight was A Hypocrite

We already started to get this confident pony with this philosophy, and she supposedly believes in equality and holds on to the belief that she's actually doing good. I'm aware that some Starlight fans believe that her heart was in the right place, and that she represents justice but I 100% disagree.

Let me ask you all something, If some of you thought Starlight's heart was in the right place, then why would Starlight's house be separated from the rest of her citizens, why would she be seen smirking & smiling devilishly when she robs Twilight & her friends of their Cutie Marks? Why would she be enjoying every last second of the pain The Mane 6 had when their cutie marks were removed?

Why would she hell-bent on severing the friendships of Twilight and her friends if she's the so-called Element of justice? All these points I disagree with and Starlight to me were a deceptive, dastardly, wicked & egocentric pony who doesn't represent righteousness and fairness! I consider this yet another case in which a villain gets treated like they're the victim/good guy when they're not and should pay attention to how evil their actions were. Starlight started off As a cult leader and She took control of the main character's minds along with the ponies of an isolated Village. In my opinion, she was A darker villain than Tirek because of that fact. No other villain in the show was equal to her power. Where Discord and Tirek only took away strengths and one's right mind, she takes away a pony's entire purpose. A cutie mark is a special thing a pony earns once they've discovered who they truly are and what makes them themselves.

That talent is then weaved into their very DNA and exposed in the form of a cutie mark, literally becoming a part of who they are. This is why the Mane Six experienced such excruciating pain when their cutie marks were taken, it felt like someone ripping your very soul out. Now if that isn't dark for you despite it being A kids show, then I don't know what is. Some people think The character has leadership because she led a village, But she led it BADLY. She STOLE their cutie marks away and forced everyone to smile and do everything the same. That's NOT leadership at all.

2.) Her backstory was poorly written and & excuse was stupid.

When I saw Starlight's "backstory" for how she became so twisted...and it turned out to all be because of some old friend from her childhood getting his cutie mark first and moving away, It was one of the most stupid excuses for her becoming A villain.

Starlight's backstory reminded me of Moondancer in some way due to their experiences of losing friends, but at least Moondancer didn't decide to practice enslavement, strip other Ponies of their free will & deciding to destroy life itself just because one friend left, in fact, a person with that mentality has a serious mental illness!

Starlight did all these dishonorable and despicable acts all because a friend who got his cutie mark from SAVING her went off to magic school and seemingly forgot all about her. Moondancer had a similar problem and it was worse, but we don't see her pulling off the same crap Starlight tried a good reason why many people sympathize with her over Starlight.

This makes Starlight one of the most scornfully pitiable characters in the entire show, if not all of fiction history. Worst of all, when we see Starlight immediately become completely forgiven and accepted by everybody upon restoring the timeline, not just by The Mane 6, but also by the exact same Equality town villagers that she emotionally/mentally abused & controlled for who knows how long?

3.) Instant forgiveness and She didn't earn It

Every other antagonist got punished or had some bad karma thrown at them. I used antagonist and not villains because many fellow Starlight haters look mostly at the evildoers instead of the selfish jerks. Let's see, Gilda, lost Rainbow Dash as a friend, Diamond Tiara gets humiliated and ultimately loses Silver Spoon as a friend, Lightning Dust, gets evicted from the wonderbolts, etc. Although Starlight gets some karma in her first run as an antagonist, she ultimately gets a slap on the wrist in her second episode when she has done arguably, the most monstrous acts in all of the show.

She gets to be the Student of the princess of friendship! Yay!! Even the ponies from her old village suddenly forgive her without the slightest hint of suspicion when she returns, sure they aren't happy to see her but they suddenly forgive her?! Becoming the Student of a princess is like a really big honor/reward, how the hell does Starlight come to the closest to deserving that? Oh yeah because her magic is strong.

4.) She was the Creator's pet

They are really pushing her character to be liked and they really like her, they have her more powerful than Twilight and other unicorns (probably excluding Starswirl), they put her in everything even when she doesn't truly belong, they want her to be the next princess, they show her as easily befriending everyone, they have her constantly steal the spotlight, ugh. It's all like "Starlight Glimmer is the most amazing unicorn, she's very best pony, bow down to your future majesty. Honestly, many people responded by leaving the show.

5.) Her less than admirable flaws/personality/character

A character needs flaws to be interesting but Starlight's doesn't do her any justice. She constantly uses her magic to fix problems, even forcing it on Big Mac just because she can't befriend quiet ponies, the princesses just because they can't get along and the mane 5 (to dodge friendship lessons) (and wasn't she given a lesson on not using her magic for coercion and bad?)

Her anger is no good and she's obnoxious (of course not if she's going to destroy the planet because you ruined her philosophy) take all bottled up for example, is that healthy anger? Even in episodes in which she appears in, she's not interesting, like she has to be stapled to another character like Trixie just to look good and her personality is a worse version of Twilights. She has no real defining quality other than, kites, or just being there.

6.) Upstaging The other characters of the show

Starlight Glimmer is my least favorite character in the entire MLP Series because to me, she resembles a terrible character trope which Is being The Creator's Pet. The Role involves her stealing the spotlight from every single main character in the series while she continues to shine but Starlight really doesn't. In The episode "Every Little Thing She Does" When Starlight becomes overwhelmed with so many Friendship tasks to fulfill, she resorts to using a brainwashing spell over the other Mane 5 to get the job done quicker. A pretty controversial episode and I can't even disagree either. While I get that it'd be a bit hard for a reformed villain to get completely used to the life of good, so few slip-ups now and then are to be expected, the way that Starlight was literally brainwashing Twilight's own friends just to sneak out of some bonding activities made her look both hella lazy and super sketchy for someone who's supposed to be "redeemed".

Not to mention the way Twilight just didn't seem to give a crap that her own friends got mentally hurt like this and let Starlight go Scott-free just pissed me off too much. And it's especially damning when you consider what happened back in "What About Discord?" where Twilight was SO quick to think Discord was up to some dire brainwashing plot after he and the other Mane 5 simply had a good time hanging out together without her yet when Starlight here actually DID commit literal brainwashing against Twilight's friends she just brushes it off like it was no big deal and even laughs at the thought of her friends getting hangovers from the incident...and It was terrible characterization for Twilight to just brush it off.

Following her redemption, to me, she just slowly started to become less of a charming new-addition and turn into more of an annoying nuisance. From shoehorning her dark past all rushed and forced-like into nearly ALL of her episode appearances, to her never seem to stick to certain lessons like how to NOT use her magic to solve a problem, and just by personality-alone, she seems to have lost a lot of her so-called "edge" that made her so interesting & entertaining in her first appearance. Starlight's influence wasn't a good example at all, and it leads to the show to go into an unfortunate Seasonal Rot as of Season 6 and 7. Season 7 did have a Few great episodes like The Perfect Pear for instance, But during the Season 6 and 7 finales, she once again takes the center focus away.

As far as her "Redemption" and character development goes, It feels all over the place. she was kind of a spoiled brat and terrible friend and If she were a true friend to Sunburst, she'd have been happy for him when he went off to magic school. Her backstory felt like A poor excuse for a motive who committed terrible crimes and was given a very shallow Heel–Face Turn presented through an abrupt two-minute musical montage while other former villains like Princess Luna, Discord, and Sunset Shimmer took TV seasons/movies to earn redemption and were arguably less evil.

Then with her newfound status as Twilight's pupil in Friendship, essentially making her a new addition to the Mane Six, It makes things for the show extra rough, And to top it off she's a blatant Sunset Shimmer copycat, with the exact same role Sunset Shimmer should've had. Starlight was starting to replace the current main characters and was a borderline Mary Sue.

She took away everything that makes every individual main character special by topping their magic capabilities, talent, knowledge, and just isn't unique. All she was is A OP fusion of the characters we love and she didn't really learn much. Unlike Sunset Shimmer, Starlight didn't really develop all that well. Starlight being shown to be very good at complex magic at the beginning and during "Every Little Thing She Does" was treated by some people first, as a good setup for her knowing how to combine several spells to achieve the effects of Mind Control.

Of course, the rift only got worse when the plot essentially involves the entire cast, that is all the royalty and the Mane Six, being thoroughly Worked without explanation. It validates complaints that the narrative is shilling Starlight Glimmer by weakening or making other characters look worse. Speaking of making another character's worse, Starlight Once again does this in the season 7 finale, where every single member of the main cast is given the l and absurdly powerful for seemingly no particular reason and her "Social Anxiety" isn't big enough of a character flaw to balance it all out.

To add more fuel to her being a Creator's Pet/Spotlight Stealing Squad during the Season 6 finale Starlight became even more of a base breaker when it was revealed she is taking center stage to rescue the mane six from "the return of Equestria's greatest threat" having a fourth premiere/finale centering around her is simply too much, especially considering the Season 5 Finale was focused entirely on her and Twilight Sparkle with the rest of the cast getting bit parts at best and how much prominence she has already been given in Season 6 and that her getting to take the main character slot for an entire two-part finale above the official main characters just reeks of favoritism. Of course, the rift only got worse when the plot essentially involves the entire cast, that is all the royalty and the Mane Six, being thoroughly Worfed without explanation. It validates complaints that the narrative is shilling Starlight Glimmer by weakening or making other characters look worse.

Speaking of making another character's worse. Starlight Once again does this in the season 7 finale, where every single member of the main cast is are treated like Complete Idiots to make Starlight the hero during the entire thing. The Mane Six, and Twilight, in particular, seem to be treated like Idiots through most of the episode. They were so preoccupied with rescuing the Pillars that they don't even stop to think about the possibility that they could unleash the Pony of Shadows in the process. Even Starlight, the only pony who objects to this plan, just has vague concerns about the dangers of space/time magic, rather than anything about the Pony of Shadows specifically.

It is implied that they thought that the sealing of the Pillars was a separate thing done to ensure the Pony of Shadows was sealed, and thus they thought they could free the Pillars without freeing the Pony of Shadows. So those are all the reasons why Starlight isn't one of my favorites In MLP, Starlight started off fine with her cunning, manipulative attitude playing well against Twilight in their struggle for power-up until the whole time travel arc...but after being offered unconditional friendship & forgiveness (following a lame backstory to explain all her "villainy", basically it just being that she was salty that her childhood friend got his cutie mark first and moved away) just went way off the rails for Starlight's development.

After that, Her character consisted being some OP goodie-two-shoes who pretty much stole Twilight's role now as the snarky nerd of the group, and has most of her past villainy being played off either as half-hearted jokes or just brushed off entirely without so much as a little comeuppance for evil acts. I still hate Starlight's redemption to this day because it was rushed, her backstory was poorly written, she was an annoying character when she became a good guy, & It started the annoying trope of MLP Having undeserved reformations for scumbags hell-bent on harming people & nearly destroying Equestria who have Terrible Excuse for being a Bad guy.

Sure, she may sometimes improve a little more depending on who she's interacting with mostly Trixie, Spike, and sometimes Sunburst but still, even that alone can't save her from being a badly-executed "redemptive villain" cliche that really overstayed her welcome in the MLP Show.

[Latecomer 439]

Most of these are genuine flaws in her writing (although you seem to be one short). In the end, it comes down to whether one considers her good points to balance these out or not, or in some cases ones subjective interpration.

[KH7672 1,604]

Oh boy, it's been some time since I've gotten an analysis like this time to see what we've got here:

2 hours ago, YoungJustice12334 said:

1.) Starlight was A Hypocrite

We already started to get this confident pony with this philosophy, and she supposedly believes in equality and holds on to the belief that she's actually doing good. I'm aware that some Starlight fans believe that her heart was in the right place, and that she represents justice but I 100% disagree.

Let me ask you all something, If some of you thought Starlight's heart was in the right place, then why would Starlight's house be separated from the rest of her citizens...

I've talked before about Starlight's roles in her village and a lot of it comes from the dialogue in the premiere by the others.  Referring to her as the founder of the village makes the most sense of why her village is arranged the way it is.  She founded it so obviously she would be the first to settle in.  And being the founder you make a home and then branch out an build around it to make a community.  Literally that is why town halls are in the center of town.  But okay maybe she could've just put her house at the end of of one side, but what purpose does that serve?  As the founder she wants to make the first impression of the village and by being at the end of the row of homes you'll inevitably get to meet them.  Having an almost cut through path is pointless for any gathering as it allows visitors to slide through without interaction.  Also on the topic on Starlight's house, it's not like she lives fancier than them either and uses some kind of power dynamic to lead the village either.  She has just an ordinarily looking house as we assume the rest of them have and she's not even taking advantage of her cutie mark either and speaking of which...

2 hours ago, YoungJustice12334 said:

That talent is then weaved into their very DNA and exposed in the form of a cutie mark, literally becoming a part of who they are. This is why the Mane Six experienced such excruciating pain when their cutie marks were taken, it felt like someone ripping your very soul out. Now if that isn't dark for you despite it being A kids show, then I don't know what is. Some people think The character has leadership because she led a village, But she led it BADLY. She STOLE their cutie marks away and forced everyone to smile and do everything the same. That's NOT leadership at all.

Um duh, that's not good leadership, that's literally the reason the Mane 6 were called there by the map.  If Starlight were a good leader then the Mane 6 would have no reason to free the villagers.  The villagers thought Starlight's version of friendship was an acceptable one in spite of the sacrifice because she did have the charisma to bring the community of together.  It felt real but it was based on deception as revealed by her cutie mark still being used.  Of course Starlight was a hypocrite, as is the theme for most flaws behind the philosophy of a cult, but the important distinction is that while she did this to please herself it was NOT to have power over others.  Starlight was a self centered leader, as in doing things in ways that she would have control of the situation in order to get the best outcome for not just her but for how others perceive her.  The village was made to make her happy and feel secure in her philosophy by making others feel secure in her philosophy.  There seems to be a warped consensus that Starlight is a one-pony show, and only uses others to get what she wants but doesn't really need them.  As if they are her playthings and she will toss them aside when they no longer become of use to her, that the world is meant for her to control that no pony should be above her and her philosophy when the exact opposite is true; she needs them and she knows it.  She needs them to reinforce her philosophy is good that it is the right way to friendship, that she is actually doing something right in her life.  It doesn't matter if she had to lie a little bit because in the end the friendships they made still felt real right?  That's how she sees her place in the village, in the world.  And lo and behold one of the best re-enforcers for her philosophy landed right in her village.  An alicorn, no a princess, with influence all over Equestria.  If she could be indoctrinated into the cult then others would surely follow her lead and prove to Starlight that her methods would work for Equestria and satisfy her fragile ego and where does this come from?

 

2 hours ago, YoungJustice12334 said:

2.) Her backstory was poorly written and & excuse was stupid.

When I saw Starlight's "backstory" for how she became so twisted...and it turned out to all be because of some old friend from her childhood getting his cutie mark first and moving away, It was one of the most stupid excuses for her becoming A villain.

Starlight's backstory reminded me of Moondancer in some way due to their experiences of losing friends, but at least Moondancer didn't decide to practice enslavement, strip other Ponies of their free will & deciding to destroy life itself just because one friend left, in fact, a person with that mentality has a serious mental illness!

Starlight did all these dishonorable and despicable acts all because a friend who got his cutie mark from SAVING her went off to magic school and seemingly forgot all about her. Moondancer had a similar problem and it was worse, but we don't see her pulling off the same crap Starlight tried a good reason why many people sympathize with her over Starlight.

Oh yes time to do some deep thinking into probably the most complex backstories in the show.  Oh I don't mean it's complex because it's really deep and sympathetic and stuff.  No far from it.  It's complex because there was a very intended way to interpret it but the execution left far to be desired in order to understand it right making it the easiest backstory to become frustrated with.  But anyway here's how I see it and in fact there's really only one part that gets me:

Quote

it turned out to all be because of some old friend from her childhood getting his cutie mark first and moving away,

Always the first conclusion to jump to and inevitably the incorrect one as she flat out says what the problem is:

Quote

Starlight Glimmer: And just like that, my friend was gone. His family recognized his magical talent and sent him off to Canterlot. I never saw him again.

Spike: Well, why not?

Starlight Glimmer: Because of his cutie mark! He got his, and I didn't! He moved on, and I didn't! I stayed here and never made another friend because I was too afraid another cutie mark would take them away, too!

Twilight Sparkle: That's ridiculous. A cutie mark can't take your friends away.

Starlight Glimmer: Not everypony's lucky enough to get her cutie mark at the same time as her friends!

There seems to be a disregard for the fact that Starlight's motivation in the premiere for being against cutie mark didn't come out of nowhere.  AS if her backstory is like that of a villain being like "Why did I want to blow up the capitol, oh because my friend moved away and I was lonely now and that just made me crazy enough to blow up the capitol." I'd agree if that was the logic, well there is no logic a friend moving away and mass homicide do not have a reasonable connection but Starlight's backstory has logic.  A friend get's his cutie mark and in turn receiving that cutie mark causes him to leave.  She cannot go with him because she doesn't have a cutie mark so she cannot leave. You said it yourself,

Quote

"A cutie mark is a special thing a pony earns once they've discovered who they truly are and what makes them themselves."

Sunburst therefore discovered what he truly is and can be himself out in the world but Starlight couldn't.  She had no cutie mark, she had no future, she had no connection anymore to her friend.  While a little over the top some of this can be attributed to a child's viewpoint on the world and cutie mark.  Still cutie marks were a built up as a big thing this season as not even those that receive it truly understand the importance of it sometimes, like Troubleshoes and Diamond Tiara, but even then they do have some future right?  What was Starlight's now?  Could she make another friend only to have their future be different than hers?  I said before Starlight is a self-centered individual with fear of the unknown.  The only way to be assured of the future of others is to control it or suppress it, and that's exactly what she does.  If she can prove to ponies that they don't need to listen to that mark that determines their future, they'll never have to face it, and they can stay where they are forever, and that's all she wanted.  The villagers would never leave her, they'd always be her friends if they didn't have a reason to feel different, walk a different path in life like Sunburst did all those years ago.

Now like I said, this is the logic behind the backstory and my defense to why Starlight's character makes sense.  What I cannot defend is the mishandling of correctly displaying that logic for the viewers to understand and not jump to the wrong conclusions like they do but that is less on Starlight's character herself and more on her execution which I won't lie and say has been flawless especially in the beginning of her reformation.

I will touch on the other points sometime later but for now, this is my defense for her time as a villain character.

Edited May 27, 2020 by KH7672

[Sepul-Coloratura 762]

Her nerve to show her face openly and be self righteous. That she thinks that trying to reform herself elevates her moral status. To be completely comfortable to be around and only be uncomfortable whenever she wants to see herself being so moral that she feels guilty about her past. Her nerve to consider herself to be forgiven or earned her place. Her reformation is nothing but just a schtick.

What the show wants me to think who she is and what I think she is are completely different. She didn't earn the place in the show, she didn't earn the place in Equestria, she didn't earn my acknowledgememt.

By the end of the day, she is just a poorly written character.

[TotallyNotNyx 15,566]

Honestly I like Starlight as a character but yeah I do agree that she was too poorly written.

Like sure, adding someone to the Mane 6 seemed like a good idea, but she was too much like Twilight so it wasn;t done properly. Her backstory also could have had more to it. For example, the whole thing about her parents being overbearing should have been written as a factor to why she turned out the way she is. 

Alos, she rarely appears in Season 8 and 9, after the introduction of the Young 6, so I feel like they just added way too many main characters to properly develop all the new characters. 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Princess of Bolts ⚡🔥⚡

[Rushing cash 836]

Starlight had some problems with her writing, and while I love her character, I get it why people have reservations about her, her backstory was not as interesting as many fans hoped(not to mention fans did not want her to be redeemed. The sequence after her redemption was badly executed in my opinion, and should not have happened. I also get it that many fans say she doesn't deserve the life she got after everything she did, why couldn't moon dancer become twilight's student? It seems like you get good things(living in a castle, being taught by the princess and having all these ponies as friends after she hurt them) for running a cult and changing the universe out of spite. 

Regarding her being the writers pet, this argument have some merit to it, I admit. Her powers(its powered by her emotions and thus the writers can do with her many things they can't with other characters) are not certain and she is unbelievably powerful for a unicorn to the degree that at some points she seems way overpowered(although later on the writers managed that aspect better), she overshadows many characters pretty often and the writers did "dumb" down other characters for starlight to shine(like in "shadow play", the easy captures of the main characters in season 6 finale and so on...) and that at some points bugged me, if someone doesn't like her personality, these things might really turn them off, thats also explains why some fans stopped following the show after starlight became a really important character.  

Edited May 27, 2020 by Rushing cash

[YoungJustice12334 53]

5 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Her nerve to show her face openly and be self righteous. That she thinks that trying to reform herself elevates her moral status. To be completely comfortable to be around and only be uncomfortable whenever she wants to see herself being so moral that she feels guilty about her past. Her nerve to consider herself to be forgiven or earned her place. Her reformation is nothing but just a schtick.

What the show wants me to think who she is and what I think she is are completely different. She didn't earn the place in the show, she didn't earn the place in Equestria, she didn't earn my acknowledgememt.

By the end of the day, she is just a poorly written character.

Very well said, Sepul. You just described why Starlight was the most poorly written character in MLP: FIM In a shorter than I did. 

[Latecomer 439]

5 hours ago, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Her nerve to show her face openly and be self righteous. That she thinks that trying to reform herself elevates her moral status. To be completely comfortable to be around and only be uncomfortable whenever she wants to see herself being so moral that she feels guilty about her past. Her nerve to consider herself to be forgiven or earned her place. Her reformation is nothing but just a schtick.

What the show wants me to think who she is and what I think she is are completely different. She didn't earn the place in the show, she didn't earn the place in Equestria, she didn't earn my acknowledgememt.

By the end of the day, she is just a poorly written character.

I, on the other hand, think uou're being a bit unkind..Her guilt and regret are genuine.

[Goat-kun 2,527]

I endorse this message. Now, we can still make her pay. The canon is ours now. No longer must we suffer shit writing, or her presence. Her entire existence is yours for the taking.

[YoungJustice12334 53]

On 5/27/2020 at 8:40 AM, Rushing cash said:

Starlight had some problems with her writing, and while I love her character, I get it why people have reservations about her, her backstory was not as interesting as many fans hoped(not to mention fans did not want her to be redeemed. The sequence after her redemption was badly executed in my opinion, and should not have happened. I also get it that many fans say she doesn't deserve the life she got after everything she did, why couldn't moon dancer become twilight's student? It seems like you get good things(living in a castle, being taught by the princess and having all these ponies as friends after she hurt them) for running a cult and changing the universe out of spite. 

Regarding her being the writers pet, this argument have some merit to it, I admit. Her powers(its powered by her emotions and thus the writers can do with her many things they can't with other characters) are not certain and she is unbelievably powerful for a unicorn to the degree that at some points she seems way overpowered(although later on the writers managed that aspect better), she overshadows many characters pretty often and the writers did "dumb" down other characters for starlight to shine(like in "shadow play", the easy captures of the main characters in season 6 finale and so on...) and that at some points bugged me, if someone doesn't like her personality, these things might really turn them off, thats also explains why some fans stopped following the show after starlight became a really important character.  

Those criticisms are very well said, Rushing cash. Another thing I didn't like when Starlight got redeemed was her friendship with Trixie. I'm sorry, but Trixie to me is nothing more than an obnoxious show-off who's too damn smug for her own good. She's also a cheater and a bragger! The only thing Trixie was Great and Powerful at was being Arrogant and Unbearable and I couldn't stand an egomaniac like her.

The Boast Busters episode, which was her first appearance, never had me like her as A character either. To me, the only thing the character was great and powerful at was bothering me and just being a pain in the ass. Even though she was the focus of only two episodes recently, she really left a bad mark on me. In Boast Busters, she exaggerated her fantasies that led to trouble and in Magic Duel, she became corrupted for the purpose of getting revenge on Twilight from BB. (And she used Snips and Snails as they were her slaves)

It's already bad enough we had to have that egomaniac shoved down our throats, but once she came back and befriended Starlight, Trixie to me was the same old annoying pain in the ass who never seemed to learn her lesson. I was never a fan of the episode "All Bottled Up" but it makes me wonder why characters like Starlight & Twilight would see the good in her.

Rainbow Dash may be a show off at times, but at least she's honest about herself. And even after I saw "No Second Prances", I just couldn't bring myself to even like or relate to Trixie.

I still didn't like the "All Bottled Up" episode, & while I'm not a huge fan of Starlight, Even I was getting tired of Trixie's awful attitude like She was.

And her behavior in "A Horse Shoe-In" didn't make her any better in my opinion, Trixie was incredibly obnoxious throughout the whole thing...

[Latecomer 439]

She can be fun to watch if you don't have vo actuallu live with her. Of those who do, only Starlight can really put up with her and she's done worse. But being friends has been good for both of them as well as producing some of mi favourite episodes - a duo so much more screwed up then the Mane 6 are allowed to be.

[Rushing cash 836]

On 6/11/2020 at 3:36 PM, YoungJustice12334 said:

Those criticisms are very well said, Rushing cash. Another thing I didn't like when Starlight got redeemed was her friendship with Trixie. I'm sorry, but Trixie to me is nothing more than an obnoxious show-off who's too damn smug for her own good. She's also a cheater and a bragger! The only thing Trixie was Great and Powerful at was being Arrogant and Unbearable and I couldn't stand an egomaniac like her.

The Boast Busters episode, which was her first appearance, never had me like her as A character either. To me, the only thing the character was great and powerful at was bothering me and just being a pain in the ass. Even though she was the focus of only two episodes recently, she really left a bad mark on me. In Boast Busters, she exaggerated her fantasies that led to trouble and in Magic Duel, she became corrupted for the purpose of getting revenge on Twilight from BB. (And she used Snips and Snails as they were her slaves)

It's already bad enough we had to have that egomaniac shoved down our throats, but once she came back and befriended Starlight, Trixie to me was the same old annoying pain in the ass who never seemed to learn her lesson. I was never a fan of the episode "All Bottled Up" but it makes me wonder why characters like Starlight & Twilight would see the good in her.

Rainbow Dash may be a show off at times, but at least she's honest about herself. And even after I saw "No Second Prances", I just couldn't bring myself to even like or relate to Trixie.

I still didn't like the "All Bottled Up" episode, & while I'm not a huge fan of Starlight, Even I was getting tired of Trixie's awful attitude like She was.

And her behavior in "A Horse Shoe-In" didn't make her any better in my opinion, Trixie was incredibly obnoxious throughout the whole thing...

I didn't like trixie at first too, she was shallow and her show was pretty offensive and really annoying. Many said that she did nothing wrong in her first episode, and honestly its true but as a stage magician I think she failed, other than brag and annoy the others she barely did anything(her show really dragged out, it should have been shorter or actually showing her skills because to me it felt like a really long argument), and while the main 6 were not in the right either, I really felt she deserved what she got.

I started liking her a bit after her second appearance as she actually entertained me instead of annoyed. I started to actually love her only when she met starlight, she became in my opinion a real characters with more layers. Her friendship with starlight was her best aspect overall, their dynamic is just so fun to watch, they really do compliment each other. Trixie is an annoying character, but since meeting starlight her antics were entertaining and she was a more dynamic character. 

[YoungJustice12334 53]

On 5/27/2020 at 4:03 AM, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Her nerve to show her face openly and be self righteous. That she thinks that trying to reform herself elevates her moral status. To be completely comfortable to be around and only be uncomfortable whenever she wants to see herself being so moral that she feels guilty about her past. Her nerve to consider herself to be forgiven or earned her place. Her reformation is nothing but just a schtick.

What the show wants me to think who she is and what I think she is are completely different. She didn't earn the place in the show, she didn't earn the place in Equestria, she didn't earn my acknowledgememt.

By the end of the day, she is just a poorly written character.

Very well said, Sepul. You just described why Starlight was the most poorly written character in MLP: FIM In a shorter way than I did.

BTW, I managed to finish writing my take On Starlight Glimmer, I Hope you'll like the way I did it better than the show did:

To Start off, I would have Starlight's backstory & motivation be Completely different for The Season 5 Finale. So Instead of Starlight Glimmer using one of Starswirl's spells to travel back in time to stop the Sonic Rainboom, she breaks into the Castle of Friendship where she holds Twilight's friends hostage before she threatens Twilight Sparkle that if she doesn't give her her Cutie Mark, then she will destroy her friends.

(In fact, I always thought that Starlight's goal was not to rid the world of Cutie Marks, but rather try to claim Twilight Sparkle's Cutie Mark for herself so that she can become an Alicorn.)

Twilight surrenders her Cutie Mark to save her friends and Starlight Glimmer uses her magic to make her original Cutie Mark disappear before replacing it with Twilight's Cutie Mark after ripping it off her flank of course. This resulted in some dark magical transformation that turned Starlight Glimmer into a demonic Alicorn entity.

(I know this sounds like a rip-off to Sunset Shimmer transforming into a she-demon after putting on Twilight's crown which contained the Element of Magic. But I thought that it'd be more exciting than to see Starlight's poorly written backstory and forced redemption.)

And Starlight's motivation for purging the world of Cutie Marks won't be because her childhood friend got his Cutie Mark and moved away to study at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but because she was bullied for being a blank flank her whole life and she really didn't like other people being better than her, this resulted in Starlight studying dark magic and learning how to use her magic to remove Cutie Marks and replacing them with a different mark. Starlight chose an equal sign as a replacement for all Cutie Marks because she couldn't find an original symbol and was lacking original ideas. Plus, she never understood equality and friendship because she never had any friends. Starlight Glimmer would then learn that if she claimed the Cutie Mark of an Alicorn Princess, then she would become an Alicorn so that she can be better than everyone else and gain ultimate power and enslave the world.

Without her Cutie Mark, Twilight Sparkle became weak. Starlight wreaks havoc among the ponies of Equestria and uses her newfound dark powers to brainwash every pony into becoming her aggressive slaves. Twilight Sparkle and her friends try to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat Starlight, but the tyrannical she-demon destroys them. Discord would then appear to use his magic to teleport the Mane 6 and Spike to safety before telling our heroes that they don't need the Elements of Harmony to save the day because the Magic of Friendship has always been inside them the whole time. With their hope restored, the Mane 6 and Spike hold hooves until they unleashed the Ultimate Power of Friendship, which resulted in Twilight's Cutie Mark freeing itself from Starlight's flank returning to its rightful owner and thus, Starlight Glimmer is defeated and her reign of terror is over.

In the end, Princess Celestia has Starlight Glimmer arrested for her crimes against Equestria as well as Cutie Mark Magic before she decides to remove Starlight's magic and Cutie Mark and have her locked up in Tartarus with Lord Tirek for an eternity. Twilight Sparkle and her friends rejoice in saving the world of Equestria and Discord and Pinkie Pie throw a party & The Season 5 finale would end with The Mane 6 living happily after...At Least that's what We think at first.

Starlight Glimmer goes to Tarturus and is welcomed by a Familiar Centaur

???: I hear Twilight and her Friends put you in here...

Starlight: You know Twilight Sparkle?

???: If I didn't, Why would I be working with someone who Has it out for them?

Starlight: (Sinister Chuckle) Tell me more. If I wasn't in here, You'd have no idea the things I'd do to them.

???: ... Well, Have I got good news for you.

The Centaur's eyes soon glow yellow & It's revealed to be Tirek Himself.

When Starlight Glimmer got locked away in Tartarus, she became Tirek's Best Cellmate, and both of them start vowing revenge on Twilight and her friends for her downfall. Starlight Glimmer had been locked up with no Cutie Mark, no unicorn magic, no food, no water and no way to survive before something magically teleported her, Tirek, and the other villains of Equestria to the City of Tambelon where they meet the evil boss himself, Emperor Grogar.

Emperor Grogar gives Starlight Glimmer A new Cutie Mark to replace her real Cutie Mark as well as the equal sign she adopted a long time ago which Is Grogar's Mark before promising Starlight Glimmer that she will gain her revenge on The Mane 6 if she agrees to join his league of villains. Starlight Glimmer was intrigued by Grogar's plan and decides to agree to join Grogar’s League of Villainy before becoming an honorary member with Emperor Grogar as the cult leader and Tirek as Grogar’s second-in-command, which sets Tirek, Chrysalis, and Starlight as the main villains for the Final Season.

What do you think of my Interpretation of Starlight Glimmer? I Would've Had Her team up with Tirek & Chrysalis at one point in the show but Tirek & Chrysalis wouldn't like Starlight & would want to eventually betray her.

[YoungJustice12334 53]

On 5/27/2020 at 5:45 AM, Prince of Yays 🖤 said:

Honestly I like Starlight as a character but yeah I do agree that she was too poorly written.

Like sure, adding someone to the Mane 6 seemed like a good idea, but she was too much like Twilight so it wasn;t done properly. Her backstory also could have had more to it. For example, the whole thing about her parents being overbearing should have been written as a factor to why she turned out the way she is. 

Alos, she rarely appears in Season 8 and 9, after the introduction of the Young 6, so I feel like they just added way too many main characters to properly develop all the new characters. 

The episode "Every Little Thing She Does"  Is A good example of why I consider Starlight to be the worst character for these reasons:

 

When Starlight becomes overwhelmed with so many Friendship tasks to fulfill, she resorts to using a brainwashing spell over the other Mane 5 to get the job done quicker. It was a terrible episode and I can't agree with You on Starlight being a good character. 

While I get that it'd be a bit hard for a reformed villain to get completely used to the life of good, so few slip-ups now and then are to be expected, the way that Starlight was literally brainwashing Twilight's own friends just to sneak out of some bonding activities made her look both hella lazy and super sketchy for someone who's supposed to be "redeemed".

Not to mention the way Twilight just didn't seem to give a crap that her own friends got mentally hurt like this and let Starlight go Scott-free just pissed me off too much.
 

It was especially damning when you consider what happened back in "What About Discord?" where Twilight was SO quick to think Discord was up to some dire brainwashing plot after he and the other Mane 5 simply had a good time hanging out together without her yet when Starlight here actually DID commit literal brainwashing against Twilight's friends she just brushes it off like it was no big deal and even laughs at the thought of her friends getting hangovers from the incident...and It was terrible characterization for Twilight to just brush it off.

In my opinion, Starlight Glimmer could've been a good counterpoint to Twilight in terms of ideals As A Villain. I did love the idea Of Two mares with opposing views on leadership and friendship would've been an interesting concept for the series but her terrible redemption ruined it.

Wouldn’t You Agree?

[Latecomer 439]

It was a pretty poor choice for a plot - especially given the lack of more important ones,, like Starlight facing the ponies of her former village.

[ChimeNotesworth 2]

Hello!

Wow, I don't know why I haven't read about this sooner! Actually, I had a strong aversion of the character in question as well. But almost unbelievably, I found myself seeing Starlight Glimmer in a completely new light after some realization, so much so that she's now undoubtably my favorite throughout the show! I would rewatch just her episodes many times in a row, still picking up something new about her. I'm really thankful to Josh Haber and the others who were responsible for this absolutely controversal character's emergence.

One thing I have always knew about Starlight Glimmer is that she is a very, very hard one to relate to. No empathy can be spent on her easily and little real-life experience can be ever so alike to the piont you'd connect her with yourself. Therewithal, her "turning good" seemed brash and her "redemption" wasn't explicit. With some of her future actions you might wonder how come she got what she didn't deserve. You have all the reason to say she wasn't "changed" at all, in contrast to what she's been told. The writers did nothing to correct that. Well, almost nothing. She's shown to be "manipulative," "brash," and awkward that way. But that's the thing--I relate to that on a personal level.

I want to start with my opinion on life choices--not too off our common ground.
Sometimes it's easy to realize how much of a sh*tty person you are, given that you believe in logic. Sometimes, to say that "reformation" or even "redemption" of a non-headcase is "hard" is not as appropriate as to say that the person lacks just a "trigger." Your logic can do the rest, gradually or swiftly, if triggered to think in reason. On the other hand, a trigger can just as well make you fall into an irredeemable pit of delusion or false belief, the trigger being trauma or whatever else. Easy like in a "supervillain" character arch. (Life is but deluted cartoons anyway.)
It's embarrassing but it has happened to me. "I can't believe I was so blind!" easily marks a change in character, in one way or another.
For me, in the past, I'd latch on to what we call "falsehood" firmly and dearly because it and only it could account for, for example, my experience, and I'd build an indestructible fort of world view and values, thinking I'm doing the right thing, and that I, "unlike most people," are on the right path of truth. It serves as a belief all the same. I needed it to survive. 
The way I see it, this misbelief, given some exceptional aptness, bares a Starlight Glimmer. That's why I don't think her "transformation" was hasty at all--oh, no, no, no. You just don't understand.

Oh, I think I should confirm my stance...

On 2020-05-27 at 8:35 AM, YoungJustice12334 said:

Becoming the Student of a princess is like a really big honor/reward, how the hell does Starlight come to the closest to deserving that? Oh yeah because her magic is strong.

I generally agree. Her (magic) abilities could actually be a decisive factor of how she was treated. You can't deny: she's still a very dangerous character around all the powers. But I like to think that in turn fuels her self-doubt more, too.

On 2020-05-27 at 8:35 AM, YoungJustice12334 said:

Starlight did all these dishonorable and despicable acts all because a friend who got his cutie mark from SAVING her went off to magic school and seemingly forgot all about her. Moondancer had a similar problem and it was worse, but we don't see her pulling off the same crap Starlight tried a good reason why many people sympathize with her over Starlight.

This makes Starlight one of the most scornfully pitiable characters in the entire show, if not all of fiction history.

Agreed.

On 2020-05-27 at 8:35 AM, YoungJustice12334 said:

Not to mention the way Twilight just didn't seem to give a crap that her own friends got mentally hurt like this and let Starlight go Scott-free just pissed me off too much. And it's especially damning when you consider what happened back in "What About Discord?" where Twilight was SO quick to think Discord was up to some dire brainwashing plot after he and the other Mane 5 simply had a good time hanging out together without her yet when Starlight here actually DID commit literal brainwashing against Twilight's friends she just brushes it off like it was no big deal and even laughs at the thought of her friends getting hangovers from the incident...and It was terrible characterization for Twilight to just brush it off.

I disagree. Unlike to Discord, I think Twilight matured along the way and could actually see Starlight's state of mind which could account for her wrongdoing. Twilight was being a patient mentor. "Starlight, I'm not mad at you. But I am disappointed." (She was mad though--her meme face don't lie.)

On 2020-05-27 at 8:35 AM, YoungJustice12334 said:

Starlight's backstory reminded me of Moondancer in some way due to their experiences of losing friends, but at least Moondancer didn't decide to practice enslavement, strip other Ponies of their free will & deciding to destroy life itself just because one friend left, in fact, a person with that mentality has a serious mental illness!

I have nothing to disagree here--them's the facts! That is how mental illness can be found, at least to me--when your personality is still integrating into one when you are a kid.

Actually, to say I like her just because I heavily relate to herself isn't as fitting as to say I like her because I was deeply attracted by her story. Starlight and I might not have the same experience--or namely the past, but strangely, our insecurity and inner conflicts seem to be quite alike.
Even in real life--seeing the way many people think of her hits home dearly. At first, I found her really interesting to watch, but then some "realizations" made me lose faith on her. Her fate were way too out of phase of her perpetration, which seemed really suspicious, and her absurdity of her frivolous "reformation" and suspicious "original intentions" into the bargain. 
That was not a long while ago either. But I realized, to Starlight, I was just being one of "them" who just do what we do--judging others based on what we see. (They are not to blame either.) I don't mind saying I cried a bit ... when I found myself in the same situation--when things just began to jell in my mind. It was empathy, with everything happened to her while she stayed around, that finally got me. You can't deny she's suffered. I didn't want to hate her anymore, for I didn't want to hate myself anymore. What if she's innocent like me, or am I innocent? I can't give you any answers, because I don't know. However, there's one thing I know--I want to be a better person, better enough to be good.
Finally, I hoped people can say they hated me, so I'd ask more about why. I needed some time to heal... or to just set things right. I needed to abandon the values and morals that sustained my life for too long, and you know your core values are painful to ever change--that's why we'd risk it all to defend them. It was hard, and--one would say--altimately impossible. And, desperately grasping at straws, I actually managed to see that struggle in Starlight, too.

With the help of "Starlight Glimmer" I've been getting better! 
I started to care about others! To forwardly make friends! To think I'm not that bright and humbly correct myself from time to time. But I kept my habit of using logic. And my passion to know about this miraculous world. I saw all of this in Starlight. It may be me intentionally misreading, but ... I looked really close, and I can't belie myself. Actually, in my opinion, every little thing she does is just perfect for her character and need not to be changed beyond the show's discription. It was as if the writers knew about me all along and hid these little sweet secrets about Starlight for me to ruminate day and night. And we actually have many other things in common. Finally I just resolved that she's my favorite character. Oh, you know, she's never the "Element of Justice." That would be crazy talk. I have to agree with content creator "DWK" (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT1tAbK9XgoSxAi2xUIqY4w) on this one: if she has to have an element assigned to her, she would be the "Element of Empathy." Just look at who she's friends with--Trixie, Disocrd, Maud Pie! I bet you can't stand Trixie one day; that's saying something.

You know what? I just realized something. What made her my favorite is that I can seemingly understand her most. And it feels good to understand something others don't, especially when that "something" is a literary image. It's the pride at work. That is to say, I am pretty proud!

Thank you for reading my harangue. Feel free to contact me if you want more discussions, or just to make friends. I'm open to questions too.

(I actually wrote most part of this a long time ago in another occasion. I guess I'm a little late to post it here now. If my English is cheesy... it's the language barrier. Sorry about that.)

[ChimeNotesworth 2]

Hello!

Wow, I don't know why I haven't read about this sooner! Actually, I had a strong aversion of the character in question as well. But almost unbelievably, I found myself seeing Starlight Glimmer in a completely new light after some realization, so much so that she's now undoubtably my favorite throughout the show! I would rewatch just her episodes many times in a row, still picking up something new about her. I'm really thankful to Josh Haber and the others who were responsible for this absolutely controversal character's emergence.

One thing I have always knew about Starlight Glimmer is that she is a very, very hard one to relate to. No empathy can be spent on her easily and little real-life experience can be ever so alike to the piont you'd connect her with yourself. Therewithal, her "turning good" seemed brash and her "redemption" wasn't explicit. With some of her future actions you might wonder how come she got what she didn't deserve. You have all the reason to say she wasn't "changed" at all, in contrast to what she's been told. The writers did nothing to correct that. Well, almost nothing. She's shown to be "manipulative," "brash," and awkward that way. But that's the thing--I relate to that on a personal level.

I want to start with my opinion on life choices--not too off our common ground.
Sometimes it's easy to realize how much of a sh*tty person you are, given that you believe in logic. Sometimes, to say that "reformation" or even "redemption" of a non-headcase is "hard" is not as appropriate as to say that the person lacks just a "trigger." Your logic can do the rest, gradually or swiftly, if triggered to think in reason. On the other hand, a trigger can just as well make you fall into an irredeemable pit of delusion or false belief, the trigger being trauma or whatever else. Easy like in a "supervillain" character arch. (Life is but deluted cartoons anyway.)
It's embarrassing but it has happened to me. "I can't believe I was so blind!" easily marks a change in character, in one way or another.
For me, in the past, I'd latch on to what we call "falsehood" firmly and dearly because it and only it could account for, for example, my experience, and I'd build an indestructible fort of world view and values, thinking I'm doing the right thing, and that I, "unlike most people," are on the right path of truth. It serves as a belief all the same. I needed it to survive. 
The way I see it, this misbelief, given some exceptional aptness, bares a Starlight Glimmer. That's why I don't think her "transformation" was hasty at all--oh, no, no, no. You just don't understand.

Oh, I think I should confirm my stance...

On 2020-05-27 at 8:35 AM, YoungJustice12334 said:

Becoming the Student of a princess is like a really big honor/reward, how the hell does Starlight come to the closest to deserving that? Oh yeah because her magic is strong.

I generally agree. Her (magic) abilities could actually be a decisive factor of how she was treated. You can't deny: she's still a very dangerous character around all the powers. But I like to think that in turn fuels her self-doubt more, too.

On 2020-05-27 at 8:35 AM, YoungJustice12334 said:

Starlight did all these dishonorable and despicable acts all because a friend who got his cutie mark from SAVING her went off to magic school and seemingly forgot all about her. Moondancer had a similar problem and it was worse, but we don't see her pulling off the same crap Starlight tried a good reason why many people sympathize with her over Starlight.

This makes Starlight one of the most scornfully pitiable characters in the entire show, if not all of fiction history.

Agreed.

On 2020-05-27 at 8:35 AM, YoungJustice12334 said:

Not to mention the way Twilight just didn't seem to give a crap that her own friends got mentally hurt like this and let Starlight go Scott-free just pissed me off too much. And it's especially damning when you consider what happened back in "What About Discord?" where Twilight was SO quick to think Discord was up to some dire brainwashing plot after he and the other Mane 5 simply had a good time hanging out together without her yet when Starlight here actually DID commit literal brainwashing against Twilight's friends she just brushes it off like it was no big deal and even laughs at the thought of her friends getting hangovers from the incident...and It was terrible characterization for Twilight to just brush it off.

I disagree. Unlike to Discord, I think Twilight matured along the way and could actually see Starlight's state of mind which could account for her wrongdoing. Twilight was being a patient mentor. "Starlight, I'm not mad at you. But I am disappointed." (She was mad though--her meme face don't lie.)

On 2020-05-27 at 8:35 AM, YoungJustice12334 said:

Starlight's backstory reminded me of Moondancer in some way due to their experiences of losing friends, but at least Moondancer didn't decide to practice enslavement, strip other Ponies of their free will & deciding to destroy life itself just because one friend left, in fact, a person with that mentality has a serious mental illness!

I have nothing to disagree here--them's the facts! That is how mental illness can be found, at least to me--when your personality is still integrating into one when you are a kid.

Actually, to say I like her just because I heavily relate to herself isn't as fitting as to say I like her because I was deeply attracted by her story. Starlight and I might not have the same experience--or namely the past, but strangely, our insecurity and inner conflicts seem to be quite alike.
Even in real life--seeing the way many people think of her hits home dearly. At first, I found her really interesting to watch, but then some "realizations" made me lose faith on her. Her fate were way too out of phase of her perpetration, which seemed really suspicious, and her absurdity of her frivolous "reformation" and suspicious "original intentions" into the bargain. 
That was not a long while ago either. But I realized, to Starlight, I was just being one of "them" who just do what we do--judging others based on what we see. (They are not to blame either.) I don't mind saying I cried a bit ... when I found myself in the same situation--when things just began to jell in my mind. It was empathy, with everything happened to her while she stayed around, that finally got me. You can't deny she's suffered. I didn't want to hate her anymore, for I didn't want to hate myself anymore. What if she's innocent like me, or am I innocent? I can't give you any answers, because I don't know. However, there's one thing I know--I want to be a better person, better enough to be good.
Finally, I hoped people can say they hated me, so I'd ask more about why. I needed some time to heal... or to just set things right. I needed to abandon the values and morals that sustained my life for too long, and you know your core values are painful to ever change--that's why we'd risk it all to defend them. It was hard, and--one would say--altimately impossible. And, desperately grasping at straws, I actually managed to see that struggle in Starlight, too.

With the help of "Starlight Glimmer" I've been getting better! 
I started to care about others! To forwardly make friends! To think I'm not that bright and humbly correct myself from time to time. But I kept my habit of using logic. And my passion to know about this miraculous world. I saw all of this in Starlight. It may be me intentionally misreading, but ... I looked really close, and I can't belie myself. Actually, in my opinion, every little thing she does is just perfect for her character and need not to be changed beyond the show's discription. It was as if the writers knew about me all along and hid these little sweet secrets about Starlight for me to ruminate day and night. And we actually have many other things in common. Finally I just resolved that she's my favorite character. Oh, you know, she's never the "Element of Justice." That would be crazy talk. I have to agree with content creator "DWK" (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT1tAbK9XgoSxAi2xUIqY4w) on this one: if she has to have an element assigned to her, she would be the "Element of Empathy." Just look at who she's friends with--Trixie, Disocrd, Maud Pie! I bet you can't stand Trixie one day; that's saying something.

You know what? I just realized something. What made her my favorite is that I can seemingly understand her most. And it feels good to understand something others don't, especially when that "something" is a literary image. It's the pride at work. That is to say, I am pretty proud!

Thank you for reading my harangue. Feel free to contact me if you want more discussions, or just to make friends. I'm open to questions too.

(I actually wrote most part of this a long time ago in another occasion. I guess I'm a little late to post it here now. If my English is cheesy... it's the language barrier. Sorry about that.)

[Ring Team 123]

"Element of empathy".

Yeah, empathy. Because nothing says empathy like Starlight manipulating other ponies after being reformed.

I'm gonna leave my thoughts about her later, but all I'm gonna say is this: At the end of the day, and with the exception of The ending of the end, I have a hard time believing that the Starlight we've seen from season 5 to 9 is the same unicorn who wanted to redeem herself and learn from her mistakes as it was suggested at the end of Cutie Remark.

I’m not saying Starlight should never show any weaknesses or emotions, because that would be silly. A character without human flaws is a bad character. But the specific weaknesses she’s given here and their place in the show don’t sync up with the rest of her character.

That’s reason enough to complain, but, why do people still discuss about this issue with arguments from both sides when, as an industry, we get animated films and animated TV shows with bad scripts more often than not? Well, because people love MLP for the likeable characters, not for manipulative ponies.

With the release of A new Generation and the TV shows Make your Mark and Tell your Tale, the generation 5 will have the world of My Little Pony completely re-engineered and a new whole bunch of people would like to give it a try. One of the details I like the most about the film is that it has shown how earth ponies have tools to prevent the unicorns and their brainwash spells, showing some self-awareness considering what happened in the last seasons of Friendship is Magic. And also they are more vulnerable than ever with the lack of magic and flying skills that are only dependable on some magical stones. To me, this prevents overpowered characters in the future of G5, like Starlight. That type of creative decisions, including having an earth pony as a main character instead of a unicorn, gives me hopes for the future of the franchise, a franchise that’s gonna focus on the actions of a character rather than the intentions of the writers.

[They call me Loyalty 1,948]

You sound a little jealous, to be honest. But many of your points can still be considered reasonable. Only if you didn't center your text like trying to make your opinion appear unbiased or balanced. Because that is a very "starlight" thing to do. And that is fine. Maybe she reminds you a little bit of yourself, which is why you don't like her that much. Because your prejudice against her can be seen from a mile away.
But I think this could be a teaching moment calling for some introspection.
Ask yourself. "What is Starlight reflecting about myself that I dislike?" Because that is the disowned aspect of your own personality that is causing your negative reaction. Because that is the source of your negativity towards her. Yourself.

Also, who is the arbiter of what can be considered overpowered or not? What if she is just powerful? What if she is freaking powerful, and that is it? Do you have a problem with that? Or are you afraid of power? Perhaps, envious? It is fine. Tell it like it is.

Repeat after myself. User who probably does not visit this site anymore. "Starlight is powerful and she is not afraid to exercise her power".
Do you think this is something negative about her character? Because I do love that about her.
Or do you want to fit her into the same mold as everyone else. Because that sounds an awful lot like something Starlight would do. So... maybe you two are not that different after all. And that is the real reason behind your negative bias.

What is the problem with her being scornful, or vindictive, or abusive? Don't you think that adds to her complexity, when compared to some of the more simplistic characters present in this show?
What? Don't you like that she can get away just like that? Because powerful people in this world get away all the time. My family has bought the police force in the area.
So, what is the problem with power? Or have you been taught to fear power? "Because power corrupts?" No, no, no, my sweet summer child. If anything, power brings out your real self.

Remember. Always instrospect. And be honest with yourself. It is always easier to judge our betters, than to criticize ourselves.

Edited April 13, 2022 by They call me Loyalty

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

I like how starlight is.... She reacts the way most of us do....

And honestly she is more believable as a character.

[ChimeNotesworth 2]

Thank you for your reply! 
My opinion stays the same. I don't think there is "bad writing" with respect to the character Starlight Glimmer--quite the opposite. One man's trash is another man's treasure. If a character resonates with me in every little thing about her, which is the case of Starlight Glimmer, I consider the character a success. I won't reiterate my previous points about how applicable and potentially realistic the character arch was to me. 

I also stand by my opinion concerning the non-standard title of "the Element of Empathy."  The following is my reason why.

On 2022-04-14 at 12:04 AM, Ring Team said:

"Element of empathy".

Yeah, empathy. Because nothing says empathy like Starlight manipulating other ponies after being reformed.

I can see this is sarcasm, and I accept the fact that, as shown in S6E21: Every Little Thing She Does (by which point the friendship lessons hadn’t really begun), Starlight Glimmer started off lacking empathy. However, I have well-grounded arguments that Starlight Glimmer is worthy the title “the Element of Empathy.” Bet this’ll win you over hands down.

The dialectics of “empathy” in this case is typical. Viewers would hate being “manipulated,” therefore sympathize with the ones being “manipulated.” We, especially the younger audiences, don’t want anyone being above us, ordering us around, especially not for the wrong reasons. I can understand this state of mind.

However, if you were Starlight Glimmer’s acquaintance, by resolving that she’s “manipulative” and withdraw empathy towards her stifles the chance of her personal growth. No one “reforms” over night. Twilight held the friendship lessons off because she needed to know Starlight Glimmer better by doing things she enjoys—magic, but she was too confident in Starlight Glimmer, as Starlight Glimmer clearly still wasn’t ready for a friendship lesson. Later on, Starlight Glimmer received a chance to explain herself and even apologize; I believe it once again convinced Twilight Sparkle that Starlight Glimmer “is not a bad pony.” What she showed in Every Little Thing She Does was an impatient and emulative disposition, inherently. While this wouldn’t justify her means, it opens possibility of empathy, forgiveness and growth. Also to say the least, “reformation” is a myth; it doesn’t matter whether a person was “manipulative” before or after the “reformation.” What matters is whether a person is trying to be better. We should all learn from Twilight, and see that ourselves.

But this isn’t enough for a title as weighty as “the Element of Empathy,” is it?

To start with, the title itself should be dialectical.

Applejack, Element of Honesty, lied profusely when she was a teenager (S6E23). Moreover, she avoided the truth that she didn’t perform well in a contest, and let shame and escapism take over (S2E14).

Rarity, Element of Generosity, forced her friends work hours because she felt unbalanced when her generosity only benefited an ungrateful so-and-so (S4E8).

Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, chose escapism over either sides she cared about, when she had to, to a degree, choose between personal success and her friends as well as hometown (S4E10).

Fluttershy, Element of Kindness, dumped trash onto others’ heads because they got in her way, and dug at her friends so viciously that both her friends broke down crying (S2E19).

Even in season 8, the Element of Laughter herself played the role of a killjoy, giving way to utter sadness because of something as “trivial” as “my friends don’t let me play music because it bothered them” (S8E18).

Twilight Sparkle never believed in Friendship to begin with, and when things got dire, she doubted friendship once again (S9E25).

The Mane 6 represents the Elements of Harmony not by being perfect in respective traits—not by a long shot. Instead, I think we should agree that, in the case of the main MLP protagonists, each of these characters has a history of doubting or even betraying those qualities they assert. This is no “bad writing.” Making mistakes and correcting them is something that every one of them has to experience. It is these experiences, I think, that signal the character's growth and make it truly "emblematic" of a quality.

Starlight Glimmer decidedly showed traits of empathy later on. Such examples abound in the original show. Only she could think of exchanging the princesses' cutie marks to put them in each other's shoes (S7E10). Only she can oppose Star Swirl and Twilight Sparkle and do the right thing (in the show’s logic), and rekindle Stygian’s belief in friendship. Only she can befriend Trixie and Discord, while those are the ones even the main cast glowered at, and only she befriended ponies as eccentric as Maud Pie.

Quote

“They're beautiful and strong, but they don't judge you or make you feel less than in any way. I think I'm starting to like rocks, too.”

—Starlight Glimmer, S7E4

Perhaps “the Element of Empathy” (or Sunset Shimmer's "forgiveness," for that matter) doesn’t mesh well with the other Elements, since empathy is such essential trait that can hardly be drawn parallel with the rest. However, if there is an Element of Empathy, it has to be Starlight Glimmer and none other. Her unique experience always puts her in a different, empathetic perspective. Namely, having gone through childhood (feelings of) betrayal, lunacy, hatred, self-denial and all the hard times she needed to do the wrong things, and as a (heavily) flawed character herself, Starlight Glimmer could easily empathize with others who have the similar hardships and beyond. What’s more, unlike an unrepentant ingrate, she could help them along, while helping herself whereby. That, my friend, is empathy.

In my opinion, some viewers “hate” Starlight Glimmer and believe she “never changed” because these viewers hate, for example, being “manipulated” so much that they’re willing to deny Starlight Glimmer’s whole character for it, not even allowing the cartoon’s exaggeration that is likewise applied to, say, other Elements of Harmony. While I can understand the mindset, to put it bluntly, this denial is a lack of empathy, and it helps nobody.

Thanks for reading! What do you think? I look forward to future conversations!

Edited July 24, 2022 by ChimeNotesworth

[Ring Team 123]

About Starlight saying this: “They're beautiful and strong, but they don't judge you or make you feel less than in any way. I think I'm starting to like rocks, too". She has NO reason to say this after doing this...

and this.

It's not being aware of what other ponies say and trying to get better, it's not liking to be judged while trying as hard as she can to have nothing to do with actually getting better.

The list of justifications to defend Starlight are endless: "Her actions were incidental", "she got her redemption arc in the season 6 finale", "the Mane 6 were Mary Sues", "The Mane 6 weren't that interesting to being with". But, in the end, if she's still manipulating and tricking other characters after all that, it renders all the arguments meaningless.

And about Celestia and Luna and the cutie mark swap, you can talk about empathy without using magic. You don't need magic to talk about major themes. That wasn't a problem with most of the Cutie Mark Crusaders episodes, especially in the first 3 seasons. It's not an impossible concept without magic.

The biggest problem of Starlight is that her presence in Friendhip is Magic creates a very complicated motivator for the people who maybe don’t find her relatable or interesting and don’t want to see her because she’s a very conflicting character with situations where the story being told in dialogue conflicts with the story being told during actions.

Edited July 5, 2022 by Ring Team

[They call me Loyalty 1,948]

She can be a b*tch. But I like that. In the end, you gotta keep it real. I think she looks so bad in your perception, because she is being paired with completely unrealistic stereotypes, like twilight for example. Especially with how denaturalized "the princess of friendship" became by the end of the show. "Acting!".
And because I believe Starlight is reflecting certain aspects of your psyche that may be suppressed. She is kinda "devilish". Don't you agree? And everybody likes a saint, but nobody likes to be a saint.

So, most of the reasons why people dislike Starlight so much, are exactly the reasons why I like her character to begin with. She is a tiny bit more... realistic or humane in her representation than the rest of the cast. At least in my benign understanding. Which is the opposite of your maligning interpretation. But that is because those behaviours that people call "power abuse", or you call "evil acts", I simply call human nature.
So, I feel represented in her character. Especially when it comes to apply her traits to a more realistic setting, such as our own reality.
And considering I always make a conscious effort to not hide or suppress any aspect of my own nature from others. I can look at her behaviour and smile without complicity, rather than frown and be all touchy and sad about it. "How dare she be more real than me?!".

So, yeah. I like her character, to be real honest. And I think twlight became a manufactured caricature of herself during the end of the show. Boring and unrealisic - the further she turned from her flawed/real self, to her unreal/princess persona, within which there was little space for self-reflection. So, I have no issues with Starlight stealing some of the spotlight. Especially when the main character doubled down into fiction land.

[J.J 923]

The fact that she can be seen making mistakes after her reformation makes her more relatable than characters like Twilight or Applejack or any regular cult favorite that becomes more redundant to watch over the course of the show, she is "socially disconnected", almost literally, I mean the origin of her character is about breaking away from a society of ponies who wrongly believe in the "lie of cutie marks", the MAIN thing I don't like about Starlight was the weak motivation they gave her about "losing a close friend" that ultimately leads her down an authoritarian path that's unforgiving and impressionable. We all "lose friends", it would be weird if I started a cult bc one of my friends had talents and was called to do something with their life. However, Starlight is in my opinion still best pony. I think she's the most "formidable villain" Twilight has ever faced, she's very talented, secretive, meticulous, obsessive and these qualities like Trixie says makes her a really good leader. She is a critical thinker, as shown with her resolving a problem between bullies, and Twilight being at a loss for words seeing that Starlight has looked at things from every angle. She ultimately is the voice of reason time and time again where we see Twilight distracted by her idol, Starlight has to basically be the forgiveness that she received, reminding Twilight basically who the hell she is. She's emotional, impulsive, insecure and this gives her space to be herself, someone that's "learning how to be a friend" not someone who is allegedly teaching how to be. To Where and Back cements her critical thinking and really showcases the fact that even without magic, Starlight's mind is a labrinth, and shes never had "the elements of harmony" to just blast her problems away, she's needed her talent, critical thinking, extensive planning and effort, I loved her as a bad guy and even more as a reformed pony. She doesn't give up, Twilight had to strike a deal, that wasn't an L, that was a W for everyone in Equestria. She's my favorite pony, I love her dynamic with Trixie, I loved the cutie map episodes, I loved the fact that we have a pony who is abundantly flawed, that proves to be to much for Twilight. There is always someone that can match minds with you, no matter how perfect you "think" you are, and that's just something Starlight brings to the table. She corrects Twilight time and time again as Twilight is either starstruck, stuck in self righteous delusion, or is otherwise distracted by her own ego, while at the SAME TIME is taught lessons from others about how to be a good friend, what not to do to your friends, and ultimately that as powerful as magic truly is, friendship/teamwork is MORE powerful.

Edited July 5, 2022 by KingCorvus

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Honestly, the biggest flaw of Starlight for me was her huge excuse of a backstory. I was like:

"So you brainwash a small town of ponies, steal their cutie marks, have zero compassion when you witness just how upset the Mane 6 were without cutie marks and then attempt to alter Equestria's timeline all because a friend of yours got his cutie mark before you did and it made you think that cutie marks tear friendships apart? Seriously???" 

This was the weakest link, which caused Starlight's character to fall apart. I didn't mind Twilight redeeming/forgiving Starlight, but Starlight did need a punishment for what she did. The sad thing is that Starlight really didn't truly learn her lesson. I mean, just look at all the episodes like Every Little Thing She Does and that other episode where she nearly erases Discord. If Starlight truly learned her lesson, tears would've been shed and there would've been insecurity still, but it would diminish over time, like Sunset as others have mentioned. Right after her defeat, Sunset was crying her eyes out and even at the beginning of Rainbow Rocks, other characters aside from the EQG Mane 6 were weary around Sunset.