Sympathy for Sprout?

[Toastypk 920]

Here's a topic I know has divided people on comments I've seen.

So... do you find Sprout to be awful, or do you feel bad for him?

I saw a picture recently where Sprout was the new host of the Pony of Shadows, and I was going to make a joking comment saying, "Don't do it, Sprout! You'll make me feel bad for you!" But I didn't, because some people really truly do sympathize with him.

See, with Stygian, I did feel bad for him because of the (wrongfully based) feeling he had of being spurned, and filled with spite from the despair, then succumbing to the temptation from darkness to be something more. But Sprout... well, he was just a bratty, childish ignoramus, all played for laughs, but nobody really treated him horribly during start of the movie, he just wanted to be at the top, though for me it just seemed a little more selfish than anything.  Not to mention his obvious  bigoted attitude toward other ponies doesn't help[.

It's reasons like this I wasn't too sympathetic toward Sprout, but a lot of people do feel that, it seems. A lot of art seems to want to play off this idea.

If you have sympathy for him, please do explain!

[Will Guide 21,325]

Well he can always be the token bad friend who improves his attitude with time. 

I much rather wait and see for myself

[HereComesTom 2,232]

Well...Sprout isn't just a product of his environment; he took the chance to grab power and ran with it.  He didn't simply become what his mother wanted him to be, since he turned her factory into his Optimus Prime knockoff workshop against her will---that was him, acting on his own initiative.  But at the same time, he was also molded by how his mother made him prejudicial and...well, earth pony supremacist, should we call him?

The funny thing is, the worse something is, the better it could've been.  I can't help but wonder if we'll get hints in the series about his potential to become a real force for good; if his initiative, ability to read ponies and lead, and if his inventiveness were put to good uses, he could be an amazing character.  I also can't help but wonder:  if he had been raised in an environment that taught him to view pegasi and unicorns as his equals and peers, what could he have become---and what would his initiative have gotten him to do then?

I kind of feel bad for him and figure he could've turned out differently, but I also recognize he's evil with few if any redeeming qualities.

[Props Valroa 26,024]

I don't like Sprout, personally. He doesn't have that much of a relatable quality to him, that would make me like him.

[Misty Shadow 7,080]

I've never really felt sympathetic or contemptuous towards Sprout, honestly. His mom did only encourage him up to the point before he went completely power-mad, but his mom's bad parenting is still to blame for why he'd eventually end up going over the edge in the first place. I don't think you're supposed to feel sorry for him though, I think that he's just one of those characters who's unlikable in a way you're supposed to enjoy. 

[Tom Gallagher 33,521]

I'll never feel any sympathy towards him. He's the weakest 'villain' ever. 

[Northern Star 1,023]

We'll see where he goes, I have a theory on him but won't say it here.

 

[Will Guide 21,325]

1 hour ago, TomDaBombMLP said:

I'll never feel any sympathy towards him. He's the weakest 'villain' ever. 

Never say Never. Because people might surprise you

Personally, I think you should wait for the entire show to be finished before you start calling him weakest villain.

[DubWolf 16,604]

He almost murdered a bunch of ponies and commit some serious vandalism  .

It is what it is. Just a wee power hungry, though he is a good music writer  .

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

He’s what’s called a “man-child” and I have no sympathy for man-children 

[cmarston1 5,951]

It's not that I necessarily have much sympathy for Sprout, it's rather that compared to the villains from FiM, if he were to get a redemption arc, he wouldn't really need to be punished all that much for me to buy it.  Like for all intents and purposes given the small scale of the movie, his villains actions really weren't all that big in the grand scale of things.  Like his reign of terror lasted what no longer a week, and the worst he was successful in was that of property damage.  If he were to get any real punishment, all I really need to see is him stripped of his title as deputy (as his actions proved he shouldn't be trusted with positions of power), and community service working to fix what he destroyed.

Edited March 6, 2022 by cmarston1

[Will Guide 21,325]

21 hours ago, ExplosionMare said:

He’s what’s called a “man-child” and I have no sympathy for man-children 

Hey I'm a bit of a man child in real life but I have responsibility that I take seriously. Does that mean you have no sympathy for me as a person?

[Goat-kun 2,497]

Would Sprout be able to do anything without the support of his fellow ponies? Luna, Sunset, Starlight, Stygian, out of all these ponies, I find Sprout to be the least troublesome. He's a product of his community; a community that should be condemned for its spinelessness and lack of rational thought that have been prevalent among ponies since the days of yore. An incidental yet divinely comical similarity this may be, but ponies in general do portray the NPCs of the entire human history and the present day as well.

[Skylight Scintillate 1,850]

Well, I think it really depends on what he does with the species united. We don't know that much about him or what caused the species to separate, but what he does after this on the other hand, I'll use to make my decision. (Or of more info comes out about how the species separated.)

[reesespuffed 27]

i can sympathize with him because he was only evil because of his enviroment but he does need time to grown and redeem himself. i saw art of him in peacemakers suit and both characters fit each other well. both want to be good people at the core (sprout wants to protect people/ peacemaker wants to maintane peace) but both simply dont have good ways of taking that mission out (sprout tries to cause chaos to the other pony species, pm kills rick flag) but peacemaker makes up for this by stopping the butterflies and killing his father, and sticking with his team. sprout still needs to be redeemed, maybe with a apology and helping the m5 with a bigger threat

[reesespuffed 27]

 

13 hours ago, Will Guide said:

Hey I'm a bit of a man child in real life but I have responsibility that I take seriously. Does that mean you have no sympathy for me as a person?

I can tolerate most man children as long as they do what they need to do, besides they can be fun to be around. I wouldnt call you a manchild if you do your responsibilites tho

[Will Guide 21,325]

9 minutes ago, reesespuffed said:

 

I can tolerate most man children as long as they do what they need to do, besides they can be fun to be around. I wouldnt call you a manchild if you do your responsibilites tho

In a sense Pinkie Pie herself is kind of a man-child always thinking and having the attitude of that of a 6-year-old girl who's excited about parties. And she can be obnoxious and annoying to some people just for being herself. However as part of her maturity she learned there are times when she needs to be serious or sympathetic to others. After all in the infamous Fame and Misfortune all of Pinky's "fans" kept taking everything she said as if she was trying to make a joke or be hilarious when she's genuinely trying to be sincere or take somebody else's feelings serious

[Star_Quake 28]

I like Sprout as a character (he's one of my favs), but I don't feel sympathy for him. It's not like he lost anything, but I understand why he is the way he is.

On 2022-03-05 at 4:11 AM, TomDaBombMLP said:

I'll never feel any sympathy towards him. He's the weakest 'villain' ever. 

He's an antagonist...

[Will Guide 21,325]

3 hours ago, Star_Quake said:

I like Sprout as a character (he's one of my favs), but I don't feel sympathy for him. It's not like he lost anything, but I understand why he is the way he is.

He's an antagonist...

I'm kind of confused. They say there's a difference between sympathy and empathy. You say you can understand why he is the way he is but you don't feel sympathy for him. I suppose I'm the same in that I do understand why he is the way he is but I'm not sure of what I'm going for him is sympathy or not. Could you elaborate?

[EpicEnergy 22,072]

He did show guilt for his actions after he destroyed Sunny's lighthouse and his rise to power over Maretime Bay and the earth ponies was a result of him twisting fear into anger rather than selfish or unethical reasons. While that doesn't excuse his actions, it doesn't necessarily make him a villain either. So, I do have some sympathy for Sprout, although I also think that he should be punished.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

I'm conflicted when it comes down to Sprout. He is partly a product of the town, but he's also jealous with Napoleon syndrome. In a sense it cancels itself out in a big bucket of meh.

That said writers can perform miracles and Sprout can surely be turned around.

As for the question itself....no.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

See here's the issue, Sprout caved into all of the pressure. The pressure was coming from every direction. For starters, he was right below Hitch in terms of the ranks and wanted to impress him so bad. Furthermore, his mom was the CEO of that company that literally operated on fear. That's already a double-whammy. The opportunity came when Hitch set off with Sunny and Izzy, leaving the door wide open for Sprout to come right in and do his work. Sadly, as I said, he was driven by two negative sources, Hitch and his mother. This is why he turned that fear into anger. So yes, I have sympathy and compassion for Sprout. He was sucked into all of that prejudice created by his own mother. Sprout is immature and without someone there for him to guide him in the right path, we witnessed what happened as a result. 

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

A combination of factors resulted in Sprout causing the trouble that he created. What factors? Well, he was under a lot of pressure from his own mother in order to become much better than he currently was. Said mother also didn't help that she had some moral problems of her own and while she did overcome them, Sprout was still influenced by what she said. His desire for power was also a factor and he showed no signs of wanting to give up on it once he had acquired it. Granted, he's not really a villain in the traditional sense. He's more like a troublemaker who caved in to all those factors and now he has been given a chance to fix things.

Will he though? Time will tell. It usually does. Am I willing to give him a chance? Maybe but again, time will tell. I need to see him make some effort.

[Star_Quake 28]

7 hours ago, Will Guide said:

I'm kind of confused. They say there's a difference between sympathy and empathy. You say you can understand why he is the way he is but you don't feel sympathy for him. I suppose I'm the same in that I do understand why he is the way he is but I'm not sure of what I'm going for him is sympathy or not. Could you elaborate?

Okay so the definition of sympathy is when you feel pity or sorrow for someone, empathy the ability to understand someones situation. Usually sympathy has to do with an emotional understanding, and empathy is with a logical understanding. 

[Will Guide 21,325]

43 minutes ago, Star_Quake said:

Okay so the definition of sympathy is when you feel pity or sorrow for someone, empathy the ability to understand someones situation. Usually sympathy has to do with an emotional understanding, and empathy is with a logical understanding. 

Just as I thought.

I know a lot of people won't sympathize with Sprout for example because what he did seem unforgivable but I can actually be willing to forgive him if he's willing to let bygone be bygone and change for the better over time. Besides it's not just Sprouts who had the wrong impression; everyone stuck to their own race thinking that the other two races were dangerous. 

Time will tell if it can fully redeem himself