S01:E50 - Opaline Alone

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

Title: Opaline Alone
Release Date: April 20, 2023
Written By: Jessica Silcock & Naomi Smith
Synopsis: N/A

NOTE: Compilation following episode.

 

 

[Savy 5,075]

I love Opaline’s song!

 

also I feel like the animation is getting better.

not gonna lie I probably like tyt more than MYM at the moment…

[Moonlight 7,286]

this is the first tell your tale episode i've seen in a while since i'm super behind and god i love opaline so much, she's slowly becoming my fave g5 pony tbh

[DivineMist1000 71,353]

Such an awesome episode because it’s all about Opaline! I think she has the potential to be a great villain and she definitely seems intimidating too!

But with this episode, we see a sillier side of Opaline seeing as she has to stay cooped up inside all the time and I loved that song she did!

So glad to see TYT back on form with the last few episodes!

Edited April 20, 2023 by DivineZipp1000

[Rushing cash 836]

The best TYT episode in a while, finally we get to know Opaline a bit more. I'm not sure if this portrayal will hold in MYM in which she seems more serious, but as for MYM this episode does show her hammy side. She is really weak magically right now, perhaps she can't even leave the castle physically and she is stuck there until she gets the dragon fire or something...   even her control on Misty is slipping (she doesn't seem to be too bothered by it though?). The song is pretty mediocre in my opinion but overall the episode was pretty fun. 

 

[Steve Piranha 29,413]

Two great episodes in a row. Looks like TYT is starting gain steam . I hope MYM does the same, specially with having two episodes less this time around 

[Ganondorf8 11,259]

Now we know what Opaline does when she's on her own. She'll deny it every single time, but deep down, she is very lonely and yearns for some company. Hey, even a villain needs a softer side that contrasts with their serious and threatening nature.

[Misty Shadow 7,813]

We definitely got another good one here, really like how we got two really good Misty/Opaline episodes in a row to compensate for the two not-so-good Misty/Opaline episodes we got in a row a short while back. Opaline is such a cartoon villain, but this short shows that she doesn't need complexity to be entertaining at least. Finally getting to see what she does while Misty is off doing her dirty work is cool enough, but then we also get that rocking song, a glimpse of what her magic is like, and best of all, the knowledge that she watches hooficure tutorials from Jazz and amuses herself with fail montages of Sunny. Even better than that would be seeing Opaline get more background story but since it does concern me slightly how TYT is starting to feel more ahead on the plot than MYM, I think it's for the best this episode was focused on comedy. 

[Rising Dusk 27,443]

Another good episode!  TYT seems to be on a roll and I hope they can keep it up.  Interesting to see Misty moving further away from Opaline and into the friend group of the Mane cast.  Fun to see the added flair of what a villain who can't seem to leave their castle does in their free time.  The answer: bring back the classic campy cartoon villain and not be ashamed of it.  That and channel her inner Rarity to embrace all that fashion.  

And she's a fan of Jazz's tutorial videos, and TV dramas.  Good to know.

[Megas 27,550]

I'd honestly watch an entire season of Goofy Opaline, so this is right up my alley

[HereComesTom 2,262]

This leaves me wondering if Opaline will end up redeemed in the end like a lot of MLP villains---she could be as hilarious as Discord, albeit for totally different reasons, if that happened to her!

I agree that this was a terrific episode, but sometimes I wish we had some kind of a sense of progression with TYT---learning more about what happened after G-4, or learning more about Opaline's history and/or why she doesn't leave the castle, just what a "fire alicorn" is, etc.  G-5 doesn't seem keen on revealing any of its secrets.

[RDDash 19,151]

this feels like parenting 

[AlbaTross 1,586]

Wow, this episode is a huge improvement over previous ones, that's for sure.  The song is better written than anything from G5 since the movie, so even though it falls just short of the quality of FiM/EQG songs, it's about as close as this generation gets to that, even if it's interrupted, and on the shorter side.  Opaline's VA can sing quite well too.  It kind of felt at times as though the art and animation is better than the usual TYT standard as well, though maybe it just has to do with the aesthetic of Opaline's castle.  Opaline certainly got some subtle character development here.  Sure, it will take more to turn her into a complex villain, but I'll take what I can get.  In general, it seems as though TYT and maybe even G5 as a whole just experienced a temporary bump in quality.  

Let's see who wrote this...Jessica Silcock and Naomi Smith.  I'm not at all familiar with them due to not following any of the writers of G5, but I hope these two write more of the episodes if we can expect quality like this from them.  Sure, I maintain that it's unlikely the problems with G5 are due to the writers, so much as meddling at a corporate level, but clearly there are some decent moments to be had within the limitations of G5, and if we always had episodes as entertaining as this one...I'd still prefer FiM/EQG, but would certainly have an easier time appreciating the current generation.  

[ExplosionMare 18,060]

This was a cute episode and it's funny that Opaline just sits around and does normal life stuff while Misty is gone. Sounds like she's too lazy to do the work herself and would rather have Misty do all the hard stuff. 

[ExplosionMare 18,060]

22 minutes ago, Props Valroa said:

Opaline is the best alicorn! I hope she gets reformed!

Me too!

[Solar Power 291]

I liked this one a lot. I never thought we'd get a episode focused on Opaline, but this was great. And we finally got to hear that song in the series after it was released early online.  And nice to see Misty hanging around with the others. 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Solar Power

[Fluttershutter 2,388]

Seems like this one is well liked but I really wish they wouldn't turn Opaline into a silly villain. In MYM I thought she could be a real, interesting threat.

[Old Accnt. 3,149]

i didn't expect a episode like this but i love it and oh my god she is lazy lol she doesn't seem like a real villain to me 

[BornAgainBrony 2,397]

Easily one of my favorite episodes in the series. This was a riot!

[HereComesTom 2,262]

On 2023-04-22 at 9:09 PM, Fluttershutter said:

Seems like this one is well liked but I really wish they wouldn't turn Opaline into a silly villain. In MYM I thought she could be a real, interesting threat.

Even if she is silly, she can still pose a threat.  I can think of a lot of villains who were silly and still posed a threat:  Discord comes to mind from the MLP franchise itself, but outside of MLP, there's Fawful from the Mario and Luigi RPG series, the hyenas from Lion King, Fandaniel from Final Fantasy 14, Joker from Batman to an extent---the list goes on.  Personally, I feel like Opaline having a silly side makes her a more complex villain, and I've found that usually, the more complex a villain is, the better---as long as the characterization and motivations remain consist, at least.

[HedonismBot 239]

On 2023-04-22 at 9:09 PM, Fluttershutter said:

Seems like this one is well liked but I really wish they wouldn't turn Opaline into a silly villain. In MYM I thought she could be a real, interesting threat.

This wouldn't necessarily compromise anything there - "Tell Your Tale" was always intended as a lighthearted series to keep kids entertained in between "Make Your Mark" releases.

[The Nth Doctor 661]

"Don't worry guys TYT gets good about 49 episodes in" is such a weird thing to say - then you realize they're 5 minutes a pop and we're only about ten episodes into what would be considered a normal season of 22-minute episodes

Wonder where we'd be now if the previous 48 episodes were also of this quality (maybe less since there are a few good episodes throughout the series, but they're few and far between...)

[Guest]

I thought this was a good and silly episode with Opaline to make her more marketable, I mean likeable, to everyone. In my opinion, Hasbro never had a plan for this series, other than marketing, so I did not expect episodes like this to keep on coming out.  TYT has had some really good episodes release recently! I thought this was a good way to present another side of Opaline. I wonder if the next specials or next possible movie will present more of this side of Opaline.

[HereComesTom 2,262]

30 minutes ago, Starlightnyars said:

In my opinion, Hasbro never had a plan for this series, other than marketing, so I did not expect episodes like this to keep on coming out.

I have to agree; I think we'd have a more cohesive story about what happened between G-4 and G-5 that would be dribbled to us piece-by-piece as part of compelling and ongoing stories if Hasbro or the writers had a real plan for where G-5 is going.

That said, revealing this about Opaline's character is definitely a good watch and a good story, and if this is part of a new trend where the writers have wised up and decided to give G-5 some direction and decided to start giving us gradual revelations about the characters, setting, and conflict, then more power to them, I say!

[Solar Power 291]

On 2023-04-23 at 2:09 AM, Fluttershutter said:

Seems like this one is well liked but I really wish they wouldn't turn Opaline into a silly villain. In MYM I thought she could be a real, interesting threat.

I think (and hope) she'll be a mixture of both silly and threatening like Queen Chrysalis.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Solar Power