Make Your Mark: Chapter 2 - Overall Discussion

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

Welp; this time is now! The ponies of Generation Five have returned for chapter two of Make Your Mark! Will they make their mark this season? That's up for you to decide!

What did you think of this season? How does it compare to the MyM special? Does it compare to the movie, TyT, or the comics well?

Also, while this is a discussion for the overall season, each individual episode has its own dedicated thread. If you have spoilers please be sure to share them there with appropriate spoiler tag!

Chapter 2 Discussion Threads

E01 - Izzy Does It

E02 - Growing Pains

E03 - Portrait of a Princess

E04 - Ali-Conned

E05 - The Cutie Mark Mix-Up

E06 - The Traditional Unicorn Sleep-Over

E07 - Hoof Done It?

E08 - Have You Seen This Dragon

Enjoy and discuss away!

[Steve Piranha 28,778]

Posted this before, but I think it belongs here as well

[J.J 918]

(IT SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING SPOILERS SEEING THIS IS THE CHAPTER 2 GENERAL DISCUSSION)

Really put a lot of points in the Zipp column for me, although I don't like having to completely dumb down other ponies to really put emphasis on Zipps attention to detail... 

I liked Sunnys attempt at being influential, however I'm a little bit perturbed at the fact that everypony in Maretime Bay is extremely ungrateful that Sunny returned their magic and brought everypony back together, like the disrespect they show her unless shes in her Alicorn form is kind of ridiculous, also saw the hidden message there, yeah maybe if kids(fillies) grew fruits and veggies themselves, they would be more excited about eating them... 

I'm going to guess that Misty and Opaline live very close to Maretime Bay with how fast she is able to get back and forth, and like the movie(adds to my surprise that these ponies never have seen each other) they do show the castle along the coastline so it leaves you to assume it's in a relatively close location... Also, I wonder how Misty just happened to get that spot in the filly 4? Did she just ask, we see how awkward her interactions are with the Mane 5 what did she say to them to temporarily get that spot? 

Also, I'm wondering like, with the magic mouse like, if she could use her magic to spawn shadow incarnations, that seems a lot more useful than randomly hoping somepony uses a mirror, they don't explain the birdseye view that Opaline gets on Maretime Bay simply from Sunny having a mirror in her pocket? 

I didn't like that Twilight knew so much about EP magic, and I really don't like Twilights g.5 render... AT ALL, What she was saying suggests to me that Earth ponies had unlocked their magic at another point in time, how else would Twilight know? 

Small thing, Zipp and Pipp did not seem as thankful to the Pippsqueaks as they should have, I know they were short on time and it's a 21 minute episode, but Pippsqueaks are like "we literally just saved Pipp Petals life, I better be featured on her stream every day" in their minds .. lol 

And ultimately, I'm not entirely against Sparky's magic, there was obviously a magical component to how Spikes fire could teleport scrolls to Celestia, we don't know what changes happened to dragons, Opaline makes reference to how long it's been since she's seen dragon fire... I just keep thinking to myself though, like what if that dragon fire could transform an entire pony and not just cutie marks... Like I saw Sparky's dragon magic give life to a puzzle piece, maybe this is why Misty seemed like she was being so careful trying to capture him... 

Just SOME thoughts... Have many more that will probably roll out as I see other insights..

Yes they "reference" Tell Your Tale a lot but it's not shared continuity

Edited September 26, 2022 by Reform Conundrum

[HereComesTom 2,232]

I watched the first episode over lunch.  To keep it spoiler-free:  I was surprised at how little physical danger or adventure there was in it; it felt slice-of-lifey while still setting up some future plots about the villain, and dropping a little information about the history behind her and what she wants.

But what I was shocked about was how Netflix released all the episodes at once.  Is that normal for Netflix?  I'll be honest:  I haven't really used Netflix to watch new shows; I've mostly used it to watch older shows, so I don't know whether this is how Netflix generally releases content or not.  I'd been expecting Netflix to release a new episode every week, or something like that; when I saw that all eight episodes were all available, it made me wonder if someone accidentally pushed the wrong button and released too much content too fast!

[DivineMist1000 71,102]

This entire series was awesome and I’ve seen every episode now!

Without spoilers, it is a great continuation of the G5 story and it is so awesome seeing the villain get so built up and Misty is a great character too!

Every episode gives the New 5 time to shine and there were plenty of awesome moments and funny moments!

MYM Chapter 2 all in all is a fantastic series and I can’t wait to see more

[Steve Piranha 28,778]

40 minutes ago, HereComesTom said:

 

But what I was shocked about was how Netflix released all the episodes at once.  Is that normal for Netflix?  I'll be honest:  I haven't really used Netflix to watch new shows; I've mostly used it to watch older shows, so I don't know whether this is how Netflix generally releases content or not.  I'd been expecting Netflix to release a new episode every week, or something like that; when I saw that all eight episodes were all available, it made me wonder if someone accidentally pushed the wrong button and released too much content too fast!

Read rumors Netflix will adopt the weekly episode releases as other streaming services, but yes, Netflix releases bundles of episodes at a time. Whole seasons more often than not

[Savygriffs 5,022]

I may or may not have stayed up until it released then watched all the episodes.... heh.

But seriously, every episode was awesome, enjoyed seeing more of the Mane 5 and how they're getting more time to shine.

And I can officially say that Portrait of a Princess is one of my fav episodes out of these 8!

Lots of new Pipp screencaps I've collected too...  

Also Misty is officially my second fav pony. Just saying.

[flutterJackdash 218]

Wow. Just. Wow. I'm not done yet, but wow. I'm really enjoying this. I can echo the dislike of Twi's render, because I think that that they would ought to have rendered her closer to a G4 pony appearance, as that is what actually suits her features, but I was glad to her Tara Strong taking the role again.

Curious that they don't reference weather magic at all, but perhaps that'll be found somewhere down the line. So, Floral magic, quite something.

Spoiler

I find it surprising that Twilight says that it's the first time in Equestria's history the magic has ever been activated. So this means Applejack, Big Mac, Apple Bloom and all of them other Earth ponies were largely just mundane? I mean, AJ and kin were farmers and working the land quite naturally, but it never occurred to me that they might be doing that without magic.

I'm not getting a good feel for this villain, and I don't like the feel of a retcon (Shining Armor, anypony?), but I can roll with it. So far, though, this is good stuff. I have hope for this to continue and a broader story to unfold among the smaller ones.

  

17 minutes ago, PrettyInPipp said:

I may or may not have stayed up until it released then watched all the episodes.... heh.

But seriously, every episode was awesome, enjoyed seeing more of the Mane 5 and how they're getting more time to shine.

And I can officially say that Portrait Day is one of my fav episodes out of these 8!

Lots of new Pipp screencaps I've collected too...  

Also Misty is officially my second fav pony. Just saying.

Misty is a peach, and I feel so bad for her. I'm hoping she has a redemption arc and fills out a second unicorn role so that Izzy is less alone in her tribe.

1 hour ago, DivineZipp1000 said:

This entire series was awesome and I’ve seen every episode now!

Without spoilers, it is a great continuation of the G5 story and it is so awesome seeing the villain get so built up and Misty is a great character too!

Every episode gives the New 5 time to shine and there were plenty of awesome moments and funny moments!

MYM Chapter 2 all in all is a fantastic series and I can’t wait to see more

Agree, hard agree. Although I think while it is a great continuation of the G5 story, it doesn't mesh all that well with G4.

2 hours ago, Reform Conundrum said:

(IT SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING SPOILERS SEEING THIS IS THE CHAPTER 2 GENERAL DISCUSSION)

Really put a lot of points in the Zipp column for me, although I don't like having to completely dumb down other ponies to really put emphasis on Zipps attention to detail... 

I liked Sunnys attempt at being influential, however I'm a little bit perturbed at the fact that everypony in Maretime Bay is extremely ungrateful that Sunny returned their magic and brought everypony back together, like the disrespect they show her unless shes in her Alicorn form is kind of ridiculous, also saw the hidden message there, yeah maybe if kids(fillies) grew fruits and veggies themselves, they would be more excited about eating them... 

I'm going to guess that Misty and Opaline live very close to Maretime Bay with how fast she is able to get back and forth, and like the movie(adds to my surprise that these ponies never have seen each other) they do show the castle along the coastline so it leaves you to assume it's in a relatively close location... Also, I wonder how Misty just happened to get that spot in the filly 4? Did she just ask, we see how awkward her interactions are with the Mane 5 what did she say to them to temporarily get that spot? 

Also, I'm wondering like, with the magic mouse like, if she could use her magic to spawn shadow incarnations, that seems a lot more useful than randomly hoping somepony uses a mirror, they don't explain the birdseye view that Opaline gets on Maretime Bay simply from Sunny having a mirror in her pocket? 

I didn't like that Twilight knew so much about EP magic, and I really don't like Twilights g.5 render... AT ALL, What she was saying suggests to me that Earth ponies had unlocked their magic at another point in time, how else would Twilight know? 

Small thing, Zipp and Pipp did not seem as thankful to the Pippsqueaks as they should have, I know they were short on time and it's a 21 minute episode, but Pippsqueaks are like "we literally just saved Pipp Petals life, I better be featured on her stream every day" in their minds .. lol 

And ultimately, I'm not entirely against Sparky's magic, there was obviously a magical component to how Spikes fire could teleport scrolls to Celestia, we don't know what changes happened to dragons, Opaline makes reference to how long it's been since she's seen dragon fire... I just keep thinking to myself though, like what if that dragon fire could transform an entire pony and not just cutie marks... Like I saw Sparky's dragon magic give life to a puzzle piece, maybe this is why Misty seemed like she was being so careful trying to capture him... 

Just SOME thoughts... Have many more that will probably roll out as I see other insights..

Yes they "reference" Tell Your Tale a lot but it's not shared continuity

I do agree on all points.

There's a lot of areas where more grace would have been called for, certainly.

I agree on Twi's G5 render, see above. I'm just not so bothered about her knowing so much about EP magic... She's one of the best researchers Equestria ever had, and then her time for reading and doing so got extended indefinitely, and then there was probably cause for her to research further... It just makes sense to me that she'd learn all that she could, especially in hopes of preserving the knowledge moving forward.

Edited September 26, 2022 by flutterJackdash
Added responses to other posts

[J.J 918]

1 minute ago, flutterJackdash said:

 

Curious that they don't reference weather magic at all, but perhaps that'll be found somewhere down the line. So, Floral magic, quite something.

  Hide contents

 

 

I made a reference RECENTLY to Pegasi "potentially having magic" in a topic I made but nobody really reads my topics lol, it was the one about Sunnys Magic..

Which on a happier brighter note was subtly answered for me as Sunny ran past that plant and stood it up and then you saw the Earth Pony magic make it glow, like they answered me "yes, we are going to acknowledge the fact that Sunny should have and will have EP magic" lol...

[ZiggWheelsManning 7,364]

Sunny brought that plant back to life  

[flutterJackdash 218]

7 minutes ago, Reform Conundrum said:

I made a reference RECENTLY to Pegasi "potentially having magic" in a topic I made but nobody really reads my topics lol, it was the one about Sunnys Magic..

Which on a happier brighter note was subtly answered for me as Sunny ran past that plant and stood it up and then you saw the Earth Pony magic make it glow, like they answered me "yes, we are going to acknowledge the fact that Sunny should have and will have EP magic" lol...

Oh, I'm sorry I missed that. I'll have to pay closer attention, you have a lot of interesting and compelling things to say.

Glad you got a satisfactory answer, too!

[Sparklefan1234 161,861]

1 hour ago, PrettyInPipp said:

Lots of new Pipp screencaps I've collected too...  

 

CALLED IT! 

 

Anyway, I think my favorites were "Izzy Does It" "Portrait of a Princess" "The Traditional Unicorn Sleep-Over" and "Hoof Done It!".

 

SPOILERS and random thoughts:

 

Spoiler

1. Pipp and Izzy always being super-supportive of each other's creativity  adorably awesome & I LOVE their friendship! My Best Ponies! 

2. Twilight Sparkle!  YAY! 

3. A tree with "elements", huh? 

4. Sunny's power is linked to her passion. I LOVE this! It reminded me of Rarity and Pinkie Pie's magic bursts from  EQG: Friendship Games. 

5. While it wasn't the best plan, I thought it was sweet that Pipp could have given the lantern back to Sunny but Pipp saw how happy Zipp was

so Pipp held off so Zipp could solve her case. 

6. I still don't like or understand the point of Hitch's baby dragon, "Sparky". 

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Sparklefan1234

[J.J 918]

29 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

 

SPOILERS and random thoughts:

 

  Hide contents

 

6. I still don't like or understand the point of Hitch's baby dragon, "Sparky". 

 

I myself don't think he's cute AT ALL, and at first when he used his magic fire before reasoning with myself was like "wut", HOWEVER the ending with Opaline shows you the direction they are going with Sparky in the story, and I think that Opaline harnessing "actual magic" I.E Sparky's magic makes a little more sense to me than her being able to steal magic that needs unity for it's base... Like how could you steal the magic of unity/friendship and then use magic that takes LITERAL harmony to use... Unless she can corrupt their magic to...? So they are using Sparky as a literal "magic prop".

They may write a better plotline involving Sparky but for now he's just a prop to me.. and no I'm not crazy about him, he isn't cute, but he could make for some cute pony interactions/plots and he is kind of playing a HUGE role in MyM, had you told me this a month ago, I probably would have been disgusted and cringed, but after watching 8 episodes, he's something I can deal with ...

Also didn't mean to erase your sentiment about Sunny, I also really loved that to, that her talents/purpose are connected to her emotions almost completely, haha there is no cutie mark of a smoothie on her flank, this is something she has done to occupy her time and keep employed, ponies will start taking her causes more seriously in the future, I sure hope Opaline brings the fight to Maretime Bay, just more interesting dynamics that way, I'm not interested in her empty castle lol ..

Edit: MY BIGGEST SURPRISE when it comes to Sparky, goes with what Opaline said... I mean Sparky should be revered and closely studied by the ponies of Maretime Bay, if it TRULY has been as long as Opaline says it has been since anypony has seen a dragon... But most ponies seem entirely indifferent to him, maybe in the future there will be a pony that has a rational fear of dragons or something lol seeing what they can do, but idk we will see what he can do/what they do with him in time 

Double Edit : They arent all "indifferent" I suppose, at least they think he's cute on clip trot lol

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Reform Conundrum

[ProjectRKA 2,840]

Overall this first part was really good. It sets up a potential conflict with Opaline and I'm really hoping for a redemption arc for Misty. She seems to understand what she's doing is wrong. However, I'm really disappointed that we didn't get to see more of Equestria, both old and new. 

[NavelColt 22,876]

Portrait of a Princess was easily the highlight of Chapter 2 for me. Zipp and Pipp's relationship has had a stark contrast between Tell Your Tale and Make Your Mark up until this episode, with Zipp being overall more distant and unsympathetic towards her sister in MYM, while being a little more noticing and interactive in TYT. Seeing them positively interact in the 3D side of G5 media was really nice. I still think the theory holds true that, when magic is gone or in danger of vanishing, Zipp becomes laser focused on solving it, and it can make her seem cold and uncaring towards things that aren't a priority for her at that point in time. When magic isn't in danger, like in TYT and these parts of MYM, she acts a bit warmer. Zipp clearly sees flight as a form of self expression and freedom that means a great deal to her, so this fixation makes sense.

Pipp confirmed that she loved spooky stories in this ep too, so I now have even more canon evidence for a story I've just finished.

My major gripe with basically every facet of G5 is the bland setting, and C2 hasn't changed that. Maretime Bay is, quite frankly the most boring of the three primary cities/towns/villages, and it has been the sole setting for almost all of MYM. I can enjoy slice of life just fine, but if the setting doesn't change things teeter off to bland very quickly. I really hope we leave Maretime Bay soon, and for more than one scene in a batch of episodes.

[thegreenpony 82]

I was wrong Misty is shadow tempest not startlighr

[thegreenpony 82]

to save misty they would have to make here trust again

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

I only saw the first four episodes so far, but already, there are a ton of highlights. Just to go over a few of them:

Spoiler

1. Misty is a blank flank! For the first time, a non-foal doesn't have one!
    
2. Opaline is extremely conniving. She knows how to perfectly target other ponies' emotions for her own selfish gain. She wants power and knows where she can gets others at their most vulnerable.
    
3. Twilight's hologram and Opaline's acknowledgement of Twilight Sparkle STILL interfering in her plans eons later is the biggest detail.  Think about this. Opaline may be the last living presence of ancient Equestria; she likely saw Twilight WHEN SHE WAS ALIVE! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!
    
4. Pipp has a really strong impact. Compared to ANG, she has a ton of character, and she develops alongside the rest of the cast. Her friendships with the rest of the mane cast are really strong. While TYT really demonstrates a fantastic bond between herself and Zipp, Portrait of a Princess demonstrates friction and a need to bond better.
    
5. Queen Haven really is a queen, but she's a mom also. Her friendship with Sunny is fantastically written. Oh, yea, and the woman who voices her sings really well.
    
6. Sparky has a distinct presence. In TYT, he's missing. But in MYM, he's front and center with Hitch and the others. This baby dragon is the glue that holds them together in his own cute, dragon-y ways. And, yes, he possesses his own magic.
    
7. The animation and lighting are much better. None of the highlights burn the eyes, and each of the characters' movements don't feel anywhere nearly as stilted.
    
8. And, yes, the storytelling is also much tighter in comparison to Chapter 1.

In all, really promising. I'll watch the rest of Ch. 2 later.

P.S.: If you haven't seen Episode 3, you're missing out! Watch it. Now.

Edited September 26, 2022 by Dark Qiviut

[Codelyy 1,281]

I'll be honest, the main thing I'm interested in is what direction they'll take Opaline because they've clearly made her out to be some super big villain who's been around since forever.

Spoiler

I may have misunderstood but doesn't Twilight say she stored all the magic away to protect it from (who I assume is) Opaline? Still feels a bit off that Twilight would make that choice. Its like if she got rid of all the magic completely to stop Tirek. Maybe there is more to it. 

 

 

[thegreenpony 82]

1 minute ago, Codelyy said:

I'll be honest, the main thing I'm interested in is what direction they'll take Opaline because they've clearly made her out to be some super big villain who's been around since forever.

  Hide contents

I may have misunderstood but doesn't Twilight say she stored all the magic away to protect it from (who I assume is) Opaline? Still feels a bit off that Twilight would make that choice. Its like if she got rid of all the magic completely to stop Tirek. Maybe there is more to it. 

she created the pony divide in the comics

 

 

[mlploverlizzy 289]

I watched it and i thought it was better than the first released episode! 

I see a general improvement in animation and the new character Misty! she's so cute

[Sparklefan1234 161,861]

@Dark Qiviut 

Spoiler

 

2. Misty is being Mother Gothel/Rapunzel level manipulated by Opaline. 

3. I get the feeling there was a a bad meet and greet experience at a "Twi-Con" convention in her past that keeps Opaline up at night. 

4. I feel like Pipp is the writer's favorite & I'm thankful to them for helping to move her to my number 1 best pony spot over the past few months.

5. I thought Queen's were meant to be "evil" in gen 4, I wonder what changed their minds in gen 5? 

7. I still don't feel like their mouths were very expressive, TBH. 

8. I agree. I also like how one episode transitions to the other and that previous events and other things mentioned in each episode. 

9. Zipp has a saying that they really seemed to be pushing. Worry not, Spike! Zipp Storm is the new Rainbow Dash. 

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Sparklefan1234

[thegreenpony 82]

opaline is chryalis

she feels like that mother that wants corrupt her child into her evil image for some reason

but chryalis was trying to feed her kids opaline doesnt havea f

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

I think I'll post my thoughts here in this one thread as opposed to doing so in each episode thread. To be honest, I was expecting a bit more in the adventure department. I like slice-of-life stories, but I had hoped for at least one serious situation where everything hung in the balance. Oh well. Maybe that will happen in the next batch of episodes. Oh, speaking of which. Netflix releasing episodes in batches like what we had here is something they've been doing quite often. I guess this is going to be how we get them.

We did get one confirmation regarding a certain character and who voiced them.

Spoiler

Tara Strong is confirmed as providing the voice of Twilight Sparkle though she isn't credited as such. Gillian Berrow confirmed it on Twitter.

Each episode does manage to stand out on their own though I will admit that there were cringe-inducing moments which made me want to skip some parts. This was mainly in episode six and nowhere else so maybe that episode just didn't do well in my eyes. I think the show runners are testing the waters as it were before raising the stakes later.

[thegreenpony 82]

1 hour ago, thegreenpony said:

opaline is chryalis

she feels like that mother that wants corrupt her child into her evil image for some reason

but chryalis was trying to feed her kids opaline doesnt havea f

i wish they went more on opalines origins