Make Your Mark: Chapter 1 - Overall Discussion

[AlbaTross 1,581]

Well...on the plus side, I was expecting this pilot to kill the last vestiges of interest I had in this series.  It didn't do that.  I was even entertained at times.  However, once again I feel as though the entertainment value is largely surface level.  This time around, it feels even more like it's depending on FiM for life support.  I hope I'm wrong, but it really doesn't seem like any of the writing staff wants this thing to stand on its own, which makes it really difficult for it to rest on its own merits. 

It probably helps that the pilot stars Zipp.  She and Pipp were my bottom two Mane Five ponies in the film due to how underdeveloped they were, but after TYT they shot up to my favourites, so I'm glad the film focuses on one of them.  Besides, it means less time spent with the underdeveloped "protagonist", because why would a pilot want to develop her?

Also...it appears the relic that contained the pony magic is a finicky sort of artifact that requires a constant flow of good vibes in order to allow said magic to stay.  Did the ponies of the past take note of how the Crystal Empire was almost brought to its knees by a common cold due to how finicky its Crystal Heart was and think "whoa, that's brilliant"?  Now we know that ponies in general depend on an artifact just to keep what ponies in FiM just had.  I guess it's on life support just like this series so...I suppose it's fitting.

Sequel baiting is fine and all, but G5 has had not one, but two pilots, along with a bunch of shorts, and I still don't know what a typical episode of MYM is going to look like.  How is it that FiM was able to set up its premise for season 1 in just two 22 minute episodes, and G5 still can't manage that?

6 hours ago, Fluttershutter said:

That's my fear as well. Most likely they won't be clear about if there is or isn't any .

 

Thank you for that.  I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like G5 is the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull of FiM...except with a new cast.  I have to admit I kind of like the Jurassic World films...even though they're objectively not as good as the original.  I suppose I just like the franchise enough to put up with a dip in quality.  It appeals to the dinosaur lover in me.  Wait...is that why people like G5?  They think "*squee* Ponies!" (please tell me that clip of Pipp is a meme), and are able to overlook an objective dip in quality? 

I also theorize that part of it is that people were wanting something new after FiM jumped the shark so many times it probably jumped a megalodon...completely ignoring that G5 seems to have jumped the shark a few times already, and it has barely even started.  Perhaps most of all though, it's the opportunity for a lot of us to be present for the start of a MLP generation, which might also be fueling the hype.  Well, that and I have noticed a trend in recent years where whatever is the latest, trending thing is held on a pedestal as a sort of antithesis to nostalgia (I don't know what colour of glasses to ascribe to that).  Still...regardless, I don't think G5 is as good as G4, and it's looking unlikely that it will ever be.  There is still hope that it will be eventually, but it may be a fool's hope.  

[Skylight Scintillate 1,850]

It was decent. However, I think that it did it's job of opening up the Gen 5 world. I'm interested in seeing where they go with this (And hoping they don't mess this up).

[AlbaTross 1,581]

Whoa!  I finally watched that vid, and it definitely rings true here.  The references to past Equestria, including literal dolls of the Mane Six, the convenient appearance of artifacts that link the new Equestria to the old one, and the complete rehash of the Hearth's Warming Tale, that banks on the original story not being fresh in our memory anymore to pick up on how little sense it makes are all symptoms of the soft reboot.  Well, no wonder I'm having difficulty getting as into this new series as I did with FiM.  

[Jedishy 3,542]

I loved the start. It opened up the world. Is starting to deepen the characters and it showed real potential with its songs. I am really excited to see where this goes. Now to read my G5 comic. 

[Sparklefan1234 161,827]

On 2022-05-26 at 8:40 PM, Jeric said:

Man this was bad for me. I don’t even want to spend much time talking about why. It’s just … boring and unfunny. I’ll watch NG or TYT any day. This … ew. 

 

I watched Make Your Mark again & I love these characters but I felt like this conflict was a slight repeat of "A New Generation"  

(One pony thinks another is bad because of their abilities.)

which, makes it seem like they already used their best idea for the movie and repeated it because they couldn't think of anything else. 

Edited May 31, 2022 by Sparklefan1234

[Jedishy 3,542]

1 hour ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

I watched Make Your Mark again & I love these characters but I felt like this conflict was a slight repeat of "A New Generation"  

(One pony thinks another is bad because of their abilities.)

which, makes it seem like they already used their best idea for the movie and repeated it because they couldn't think of anything else. 

That is a pretty big over simplification of the situation and ignores the actual complaint. Posey was actually repeatedly inconvenience by abilities she did not have access to. She didn't hate them for their ability but for the fact that people were wrecking her day with them because they didn't know how to use them properly and that they were glitching ( though that was unknown to her. )
Further the first conflict is again being over simplified because they clearly fear attack not just the abilities the others have. They fear violence not just the differences. The differences are a scapegoat to the real fear. 
 

[Sparklefan1234 161,827]

3 minutes ago, Jedishy said:

That is a pretty big over simplification of the situation and ignores the actual complaint.

 

 I was mainly agreeing with the "boring" part. 

 

8 minutes ago, Jedishy said:

She didn't hate them for their ability but for the fact that people were wrecking her day with them because they didn't know how to use them properly and that they were glitching ( though that was unknown to her. )

 

I rush my thoughts sometimes and I'm sorry.

I was interpreting what I thought the plot of the A New Generation movie was and how I thought the Make Your Mark special story

felt similar from my perspective. 

 

6 minutes ago, Jedishy said:

Further the first conflict is again being over simplified because they clearly fear attack not just the abilities the others have. They fear violence not just the differences. The differences are a scapegoat to the real fear. 

 

Oh. My mistake. 

[Jedishy 3,542]

1 hour ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

 I was mainly agreeing with the "boring" part. 

 

 

I rush my thoughts sometimes and I'm sorry.

I was interpreting what I thought the plot of the A New Generation movie was and how I thought the Make Your Mark special story

felt similar from my perspective. 

 

 

Oh. My mistake. 

No need for apologies I was just pointing out that there was more to it then was being mentioned and that there was a difference between the move and special that was not being brought up. That's all. 

[Splashee 28,537]

Is this a pilot (test if it will become a regular series), a special (one time story), or a regular episode?

When is the next episode coming out?

[Sparklefan1234 161,827]

2 hours ago, Splashee said:

Is this a pilot (test if it will become a regular series)

 

I'm pretty sure this special was the pilot. 

[Jedishy 3,542]

2 hours ago, Splashee said:

Is this a pilot (test if it will become a regular series), a special (one time story), or a regular episode?

When is the next episode coming out?

It was a special to kick off the new series. The next 8 episodes are September in the US I believe 

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

Could G5 be as good or popular as G4? Was MLP: FiM's popularity and success one of those once in a lifetime things?

[Rosy Moonlight 367]

I enjoyed this special more than the MLP: ANG movie because the writing and animation seemed to match. It felt like an earnest step on the road to improvement.

In comparison, the animation in the movie was beautiful, but for me, the writing in the movie was terrible.

Thank hoofness if things really do get better.

 

Edited June 4, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

Brace yourselves for some shocking and offensive content, folks. 

Evidence shows that despite the shortcomings of this special, the general public views it in a positive light. Pardon my indiscretion, but I can't help that I am one naughty devil. 

[Toastypk 920]

9 hours ago, CloudMistDragon said:

Brace yourselves for some shocking and offensive content, folks. 

Evidence shows that despite the shortcomings of this special, the general public views it in a positive light. Pardon my indiscretion, but I can't help that I am one naughty devil. 

People enjoyed something?

Regardless of minor drawbacks? 

Edited June 4, 2022 by Toastypk

[Rosy Moonlight 367]

Spoiler

I realized that, other than Sparky being born with wings, he hatched without his egg being heated with lava or being shot with massive amounts of magic.

Did dragons evolve over time or is he from a special breed of dragon? Could it be both?

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[Ring Team 119]

Welp, I finally watched Make your Mark, or at least the first of many episodes. I have lots to say, but I want to get the bad out of the way before I praise it because I don’t blame some of this on the episode.

This episode has technical and composition issues depending on the shot you’re seeing. On the technical side of things, sometimes the rig on either the characters or the objects is a bit off. The first example that I have in mind is the pendant of Posey Bloom in the first scene. Sometimes it feels like it doesn’t have a clear sense of mass on Posey’s neck. In one frame it feels alright and in another frame it’s levitating around her neck. I don’t have a problem with the lack of “bloom effect” on some shots because of budget reasons, but sometimes it feels like the cutscene of an old videogame, especially the liquid effects.

Also, I think sometimes the episode has composition issues that it’s related either to hue/saturation visuals or lack of occlusion. I love the idea of having a lighthouse where the magical stones shoots a splendid rainbow to the sky. However, I think the rainbow colors are too saturated and it looks ugly or amateur. It’s like Cruis’n Blast on the Switch (where there are too many saturated colors). Other times, the occlusion doesn’t look good in some shots like when Sunny rescues Posey Bloom and her friend. For a climatic sequence, I think a dark color of occlusion would make the scene more visually impactful. I’m assuming it has lots to do with the budget. To me, the saturated colors can be an issue because some HD TVs right now have a very high saturation by default unless you configure it. And also because usually saturated colors don’t work when it's overused. And it’s a pity, because when a shot looks very appealing (like some shots on the last scene with Zipp preparing her room), it can be beautiful.

And honestly that’s about it with the flaws and I think it’s a bit irritating because the first episode is very decent.

I love the direction it’s going with the characters and the story. Since A New Generation talked about how a group of ponies wanted everypony to be friends again and considering how it ended, it would make sense that Make your Mark would talk about how to confront the little or major issues in order to maintaining the new friendship goal you’ve fought for. I love how Posey Bloom was written in this episode because she has a lot of logical points that weren’t adressed in G4, in the same way that A New Generation adressed some issues that weren’t questioned in G4 by either the writers or the fandom. A pony that questions the use of magic seems reasonable in an era post-Friendship is Magic. One of the main issues I had with the show (and why I finished it last year instead of, say, 2019) is that it has a very focused status-quo nature. What I mean by this is that, once a character learns something at the end of one episode, that character would forget it in her next episode. This is why some characters like Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and especially Starlight Glimmer were written the way they were. If Make your Mark is gonna have very few episodes, I’m assuming it’s because the writers wouldn’t depend on the status-quo thing, since it’s a very dated narrative tool to build up a TV show.

I also like that some characters have little issues or nice features that make them relatable for different reasons. The scene where Zipp talks with her mother on phone was great because she wants her daughter to be a queen, but Zipp doesn’t seem to fit in a royal place. The fact that Zipp doesn’t want to talk about it to her mother during the entire episode implies to me that there were some family issues where Zipp is not comfortable and she feels like she doesn’t have a voice. I think it’s a believable conflict that will be relatable for some people. It kinda reminds me of Nina’s mother on Black Swan.

I like that some of the main characters have very normal jobs. Sunny sells food or ice-cream, Pipp is a hairdresser… the only job that requires some level of responsibility is Hitch’s, since he’s a sheriff. The episode doesn’t have quite a lot at stake until the last minutes, but I think that’s a plus. In Friendship is Magic, Twilight had to deal with Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis and Tirek. Here, the main motivation of Sunny is to make everypony feel welcomed. Yeah, that lead to a climatic third act, but I think it’s related to that early motivation. The idea of making everyone feeling welcomed and respected just because a pony seems to be really worried about the use of magic is great and doesn’t feel off. It kinda reminds me of Luca a little bit because that film doesn’t end with an ambitious goal, like beating the bad guy and saving the day as you would expect in some modern blockbuster films. No, the main characters from that film just wanted a Vespa.

The background music is great, but, while I like the lyrics of the two songs, I don’t like that the songs are just pop songs. I had the same problem with A New Generation, I had the same issue with Tell your Tale and I still have that problem here. And, yeah, pop songs can be sometimes great, but I think it depends on the art direction of either a film or a TV show, and I’m more like when the 2017 MLP film had some orchestra songs like Open up your Eyes.

Also, I didn’t expect the writers to give us a glimpse of a potential antagonist. I like the fact that she’s an alicorn because, you know, magic. But, if I have to guess, I don’t think she’s gonna be the one who separated the magical stones many many many moons ago. Whoever did that, I think it’s gonna be an earth pony.

Oh, by the way! I didn’t expect the earth ponies getting magic this way! Understanding animals and making plants grow. I think it’s a very unique idea. Speaking of magic, I love the fact that the more antagonistic the characters are with each other, the more glitchy the magic gets and the less funtional it will get. From a dramatic point of view, I think this will prevent characters that will use powerful magic for selfish reasons, because once you do it, it will get glitchy. Hopefully we won’t get any of that, especially main characters.

I’m very interested in what Make your Mark will offer in the future. Because, even though the first episode has some issues, it’s still pretty good.

TLDR version: I really like Make your Mark.

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

5 hours ago, Ring Team said:

Welp, I finally watched Make your Mark, or at least the first of many episodes. I have lots to say, but I want to get the bad out of the way before I praise it because I don’t blame some of this on the episode.

This episode has technical and composition issues depending on the shot you’re seeing. On the technical side of things, sometimes the rig on either the characters or the objects is a bit off. The first example that I have in mind is the pendant of Posey Bloom in the first scene. Sometimes it feels like it doesn’t have a clear sense of mass on Posey’s neck. In one frame it feels alright and in another frame it’s levitating around her neck. I don’t have a problem with the lack of “bloom effect” on some shots because of budget reasons, but sometimes it feels like the cutscene of an old videogame, especially the liquid effects.

Also, I think sometimes the episode has composition issues that it’s related either to hue/saturation visuals or lack of occlusion. I love the idea of having a lighthouse where the magical stones shoots a splendid rainbow to the sky. However, I think the rainbow colors are too saturated and it looks ugly or amateur. It’s like Cruis’n Blast on the Switch (where there are too many saturated colors). Other times, the occlusion doesn’t look good in some shots like when Sunny rescues Posey Bloom and her friend. For a climatic sequence, I think a dark color of occlusion would make the scene more visually impactful. I’m assuming it has lots to do with the budget. To me, the saturated colors can be an issue because some HD TVs right now have a very high saturation by default unless you configure it. And also because usually saturated colors don’t work when it's overused. And it’s a pity, because when a shot looks very appealing (like some shots on the last scene with Zipp preparing her room), it can be beautiful.

And honestly that’s about it with the flaws and I think it’s a bit irritating because the first episode is very decent.

I love the direction it’s going with the characters and the story. Since A New Generation talked about how a group of ponies wanted everypony to be friends again and considering how it ended, it would make sense that Make your Mark would talk about how to confront the little or major issues in order to maintaining the new friendship goal you’ve fought for. I love how Posey Bloom was written in this episode because she has a lot of logical points that weren’t adressed in G4, in the same way that A New Generation adressed some issues that weren’t questioned in G4 by either the writers or the fandom. A pony that questions the use of magic seems reasonable in an era post-Friendship is Magic. One of the main issues I had with the show (and why I finished it last year instead of, say, 2019) is that it has a very focused status-quo nature. What I mean by this is that, once a character learns something at the end of one episode, that character would forget it in her next episode. This is why some characters like Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and especially Starlight Glimmer were written the way they were. If Make your Mark is gonna have very few episodes, I’m assuming it’s because the writers wouldn’t depend on the status-quo thing, since it’s a very dated narrative tool to build up a TV show.

I also like that some characters have little issues or nice features that make them relatable for different reasons. The scene where Zipp talks with her mother on phone was great because she wants her daughter to be a queen, but Zipp doesn’t seem to fit in a royal place. The fact that Zipp doesn’t want to talk about it to her mother during the entire episode implies to me that there were some family issues where Zipp is not comfortable and she feels like she doesn’t have a voice. I think it’s a believable conflict that will be relatable for some people. It kinda reminds me of Nina’s mother on Black Swan.

I like that some of the main characters have very normal jobs. Sunny sells food or ice-cream, Pipp is a hairdresser… the only job that requires some level of responsibility is Hitch’s, since he’s a sheriff. The episode doesn’t have quite a lot at stake until the last minutes, but I think that’s a plus. In Friendship is Magic, Twilight had to deal with Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis and Tirek. Here, the main motivation of Sunny is to make everypony feel welcomed. Yeah, that lead to a climatic third act, but I think it’s related to that early motivation. The idea of making everyone feeling welcomed and respected just because a pony seems to be really worried about the use of magic is great and doesn’t feel off. It kinda reminds me of Luca a little bit because that film doesn’t end with an ambitious goal, like beating the bad guy and saving the day as you would expect in some modern blockbuster films. No, the main characters from that film just wanted a Vespa.

The background music is great, but, while I like the lyrics of the two songs, I don’t like that the songs are just pop songs. I had the same problem with A New Generation, I had the same issue with Tell your Tale and I still have that problem here. And, yeah, pop songs can be sometimes great, but I think it depends on the art direction of either a film or a TV show, and I’m more like when the 2017 MLP film had some orchestra songs like Open up your Eyes.

Also, I didn’t expect the writers to give us a glimpse of a potential antagonist. I like the fact that she’s an alicorn because, you know, magic. But, if I have to guess, I don’t think she’s gonna be the one who separated the magical stones many many many moons ago. Whoever did that, I think it’s gonna be an earth pony.

Oh, by the way! I didn’t expect the earth ponies getting magic this way! Understanding animals and making plants grow. I think it’s a very unique idea. Speaking of magic, I love the fact that the more antagonistic the characters are with each other, the more glitchy the magic gets and the less funtional it will get. From a dramatic point of view, I think this will prevent characters that will use powerful magic for selfish reasons, because once you do it, it will get glitchy. Hopefully we won’t get any of that, especially main characters.

I’m very interested in what Make your Mark will offer in the future. Because, even though the first episode has some issues, it’s still pretty good.

TLDR version: I really like Make your Mark.

Did you just address negativities maturely while also focusing on the positives in a leveled, calm, rational manner because you prefer to focus on the positive? Judging things objectively rather than judging them based on the standards of your nostalgia for FiM and the fanfics you like? Wow, rebel without a cause. I feel personally attacked. I'm calling my nerf gun defense squad. 

Kidding aside, excellent review, wish more reviews were like this. All this series needs is better animation (that I personally still find to be mostly decent) and a cutting down on exposition and it will be great. 

[Ring Team 119]

44 minutes ago, CloudMistDragon said:

Did you just address negativities maturely while also focusing on the positives in a leveled, calm, rational manner because you prefer to focus on the positive? Judging things objectively rather than judging them based on the standards of your nostalgia for FiM and the fanfics you like? Wow, rebel without a cause. I feel personally attacked. I'm calling my nerf gun defense squad. 

Kidding aside, excellent review, wish more reviews were like this. All this series needs is better animation (that I personally still find to be mostly decent) and a cutting down on exposition and it will be great. 

Yeah, I also don't like reviews that are based on "how good MLP:FiM was back in the day". xD

To be honest, for what it is, the animation is decent (we're talking about the first episode of a fully produced animated TV show). I think it could have been much much worse, like that Action Man animated TV show from the early 2000s. That's why I'm happy with the overall result.

[Stardust Balance 7,716]

Simple, straight and heartwarming. As entirely expected. 

 

Looking forward to whatever they pull next. 

 

Spoiler

FELLOW EARTH PONY REPRESENTS! 

 

[Clawdeen 12,109]

Finally got around to watching this lol. Overall I liked it. Zipp is my favorite so I liked what they did with her. 

[Splashee 28,537]

It was quite good. Just wished it was the first episode instead of being a special made months before the show.

[Props Valroa 26,027]

I loved the special. Initially I was skeptical, and while the visual style is a bit of a downgrade from the movie it is something I quickly got used to it. I was worried the writers would intend on pushing certain narratives in the special, but I didn't see any of that. First off, I love the songs, I love Posey Bloom and Queen Haven.

Now the major thing that called out to me? I relate with Zipp a lot. She is so much like me I didn't even realize. I love all the G5 cast really, I couldn't help but feel that Pipp didn't have enough screentime but I liked her appearances. I was thinking that the mechanic to make ponies work together was a bit poor - but then I realized we don't know all the answers yet, I would like to know more about the crystals before coming to a conclusion to that.

The main issue is the obvious visual downgrade. At times it feels like I was seeing something out of a low quality video game, at other times it was really good - the visual effects felt rather inconsistent but nothing that gets in the way of my enjoyment of the show.

Posey's POV was completely understandable. When everyone has something and you don't, you can't help but feel jealous, can you? And the dragon was interesting too, I am really curious about the dragons and the other races. 

The alicorn at the end gives me the impression that she was the one who created the crystals. I look forward to seeing more of the special, I am fully onboard the G5 train now. 

Unique Opinion - Zipp should lead the G5 instead of Sunny. She notices things before others do, and wants to figure things out. A Pegasus becoming an alicorn is not something we have seen, and her being an alicorn like Sunny can be at times would make sense for her to succeed Queen Haven even more, wouldn't it? She's born a royal, it's only natural, unlike Twilight.

Edited July 14, 2022 by -Solstice-

[Rosy Moonlight 367]

1 hour ago, -Solstice- said:

A Pegasus becoming an alicorn is not something we have seen

Wasn't Princess Cadence born a Pegasus before she ascended to Alicornhood?

 

[Props Valroa 26,027]

1 minute ago, Rosy Moonlight said:

Wasn't Princess Cadence born a Pegasus before she ascended to Alicornhood?

 

That was in the comics. I treat the Comics and Show as separate universes.