My Problem with Sunny Starscout

[Props Valroa 26,051]

I am aware that I will have an unpopular opinion on this one. I have had some time to think over G5 as a whole, and watch the newest episodes in Chapter 4 to see for myself - but I have come to the conclusion that Sunny Starscout is my least favorite character in G5. Mainly for the reason being, that her will and desire to bring ponies together is seemingly mentioned every other 5 seconds to the point where it reaches the point of annoyance. All the other characters seem to have more interaction and development than she does. Sunny Starscout herself does not seem particularly intelligent. 

I will say this - Zipp would have made a far better leader than Sunny would have. Zipp deserved the Alicorn wings more than Sunny. She is the heir to the throne, and has the most pull in terms of relations with others due to that fact. Her being an alicorn would be far representative of the Unity of the three tribes, as she is already in a leadership position - unlike Sunny, who has seemingly no other personality trait than "Let's make friends and get along!". Zipp is nuanced, highly perceptive and intelligent. The perfect traits for a leader.

I am aware that this is my own personal bias speaking here, and it is unlikely for me to change my mind on this (after seeing all of G5 thusfar and coming to this conclusion). But I am wondering, does anyone else feel the same? 

[MovieLord101 140]

12 minutes ago, Props Valroa said:

I am aware that I will have an unpopular opinion on this one. I have had some time to think over G5 as a whole, and watch the newest episodes in Chapter 4 to see for myself - but I have come to the conclusion that Sunny Starscout is my least favorite character in G5. Mainly for the reason being, that her will and desire to bring ponies together is seemingly mentioned every other 5 seconds to the point where it reaches the point of annoyance. All the other characters seem to have more interaction and development than she does. Sunny Starscout herself does not seem particularly intelligent. 

I will say this - Zipp would have made a far better leader than Sunny would have. Zipp deserved the Alicorn wings more than Sunny. She is the heir to the throne, and has the most pull in terms of relations with others due to that fact. Her being an alicorn would be far representative of the Unity of the three tribes, as she is already in a leadership position - unlike Sunny, who has seemingly no other personality trait than "Let's make friends and get along!". Zipp is nuanced, highly perceptive and intelligent. The perfect traits for a leader.

I am aware that this is my own personal bias speaking here, and it is unlikely for me to change my mind on this (after seeing all of G5 thusfar and coming to this conclusion). But I am wondering, does anyone else feel the same? 

Given the pension for repeating character goals constantly, anyone else think they hired the idiots who wrote Norm of the North to write this? Cause it feels like it.

[Props Valroa 26,051]

Moments ago, MovieLord101 said:

Given the pension for repeating character goals constantly, anyone else think they hired the idiots who wrote Norm of the North to write this? Cause it feels like it.

Sunny Starscout is a very poor replacement for Twilight Sparkle. Zipp cares about the history of the world, whereas Sunny never took initiative.

[MovieLord101 140]

Moments ago, Props Valroa said:

Sunny Starscout is a very poor replacement for Twilight Sparkle. Zipp cares about the history of the world, whereas Sunny never took initiative.

I agree, but that doesn't answer my question.

[Props Valroa 26,051]

1 minute ago, MovieLord101 said:

I agree, but that doesn't answer my question.

I didn't answer your question because I am already in agreement with you.

[MovieLord101 140]

Moments ago, Props Valroa said:

I didn't answer your question because I am already in agreement with you.

I'm electing to ignore Gen 5 from here on out. I just wanted to get my say out. Canonically, none of this crap happened IMO.

[Props Valroa 26,051]

6 minutes ago, MovieLord101 said:

I'm electing to ignore Gen 5 from here on out. I just wanted to get my say out. Canonically, none of this crap happened IMO.

I like G5, as much as I may myself criticize it. Depending on how G5 goes, I may very well just ignore it's connection to G4 and treat it as a standalone universe. There is no possible way that it's connection to G4 is satisfactory to me. 

[Sparklefan1234 161,906]

6 minutes ago, Props Valroa said:

Sunny Starscout is a very poor replacement for Twilight Sparkle. Zipp cares about the history of the world, whereas Sunny never took initiative.

 

To me, Sunny Starscout is a *very* bland "main" character.

Let's look at her friends: Pipp has her social media, Zipp has being a detective/curious about everything, Hitch is a sheriff and Izzy is creative.

Even FiM's "main" character Twilight Sparkle loved reading, what does Sunny Starscout do that makes her interesting?

[Props Valroa 26,051]

@Sparklefan1234

That's my thoughts on her exactly. All of the others are interesting to me, but Sunny fails to be.

[Sparklefan1234 161,906]

2 minutes ago, Props Valroa said:

@Sparklefan1234

That's my thoughts on her exactly. All of the others are interesting to me, but Sunny fails to be.

 

Sunny seems to love telling everyone else how to feel. I think it's ridiculous that the Crystal Brighthouse "forces" everyone to be friends or else chaos ensues. 

[Props Valroa 26,051]

1 minute ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

Sunny seems to love telling everyone else how to feel. I think it's ridiculous that the Crystal Brighthouse "forces" everyone to be friends or else chaos ensues. 

Reminds me a lot of Starlight Glimmer, as a villain. I also find the notion of all of Equestria's magic being contained inside of three gems to be a very poor concept, in general.

[Sparklefan1234 161,906]

 

1 minute ago, Props Valroa said:

I also find the notion of all of Equestria's magic being contained inside of three gems to be a very poor concept, in general.

 

Have they explained why that is? I feel like I missed this point. 

[Props Valroa 26,051]

1 minute ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

 

Have they explained why that is? I feel like I missed this point. 

I don't remember if they have, but they say that Twilight made the crystals to contain the magic of Equestria. 

[River wisp 90]

9 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

Sunny seems to love telling everyone else how to feel. I think it's ridiculous that the Crystal Brighthouse "forces" everyone to be friends or else chaos ensues. 

That’s not Sunny’s fault, she’s my least favourite character too but that’s just how the magic works

[Sparklefan1234 161,906]

Another problem I have with Sunny (That I remembered from the Hearth's Warming holiday special) is that she seems to really only be focused on her own issues. 

She wanted everyone to rush with their family traditions just so they could do her thing. That made me dislike her even more than I already did. 

 

1 minute ago, River wisp said:

That’s not Sunny’s fault, she’s my least favourite character too but that’s just how the magic works

 

I know it isn't but I just wanted to add that because I think it's ridiculous. 

Edited June 10, 2023 by Sparklefan1234

[River wisp 90]

I think Sunny is a good idea in concept. She was raised to love all races and is your typical happy-go-lucky protagonist with a sad backstory. But she was handled terribly and was ruined by poor writing. That said, I like g5 as a whole 

[Props Valroa 26,051]

28 minutes ago, River wisp said:

I think Sunny is a good idea in concept. She was raised to love all races and is your typical happy-go-lucky protagonist with a sad backstory. But she was handled terribly and was ruined by poor writing. That said, I like g5 as a whole 

I somehow feel as if Sunny wasn't a character in the show not much would actually change.

[Last Line of Defense 97]

Remember the purpose of my little pony animation is to sell merchandise. Zipp I would much rather young girls see as a role model figure, but these are going to be girls 9-12, not 6 and up. Sunny Starscout is supposed to be relatable and inspiring to young girls, that, having confidence and a good heart can help you achieve your dreams. She's seen as a little more of a rebel in "A New Generation" and I feel that is a part of her character they needed to keep around. That she is free spirited and is willing to break the rules for a good cause, but they haven't met her with such limitations to test these aspects of her character. Zipp is supposed to "humanize" Sunny as the leader, just because you're the smartest doesn't mean you are fit to lead based off of principles and morality. Zipp is pushy, paranoid, and angsty. Sunny is empathetic, and she is supposed to be able to empathize with all 3 races (as seen in the movie). It was her idea to bring them together, nopony else was chomping at the bit on that. I understand where you are coming from completely. But to little girls, Sunny is inspiring because she is pretty, and nice, and relatable, it's grounding expectations and saying that if you have a good heart you can accomplish what you want to accomplish. Zipp is highly intelligent, but very independent as most detectives are, she is less of a team leader and more of a lone wolf type, but made to be a protector and pragmatic advisor to a heart full leader like Sunny Starscout.

 

 

[Misty Shadow 7,090]

8 hours ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

Even FiM's "main" character Twilight Sparkle loved reading, what does Sunny Starscout do that makes her interesting?

Rollerblading, making smoothies, cooking, studying Equestria's past, and trying to help the ponies of a town that always rejected her. 

[Sparklefan1234 161,906]

4 minutes ago, CloudMistDragon said:

Rollerblading, making smoothies, cooking, studying Equestria's past, and trying to help the ponies of a town that always rejected her. 

Sorry, I blank on Sunny’s hobbies compared to the other ponies. 

[Props Valroa 26,051]

7 minutes ago, CloudMistDragon said:

Rollerblading, making smoothies, cooking, studying Equestria's past, and trying to help the ponies of a town that always rejected her. 

The studying of the past would have came in real handy, but Sunny didn't seem to at all care about the threat of the Alicorn, while Zipp was the only one that did.

[RDDash 18,867]

Sorry, I think that Sunny is a good candidate for the status of alicorn if we drop the whole idea of royalty and ruling a country. I think she is supposed to be an alicorn of unity between different types of ponies 

[Props Valroa 26,051]

7 minutes ago, RDDash said:

Sorry, I think that Sunny is a good candidate for the status of alicorn if we drop the whole idea of royalty and ruling a country. I think she is supposed to be an alicorn of unity between different types of ponies 

How does she represent that, other than saying her character motivations frequently?

[Last Line of Defense 97]

5 minutes ago, Props Valroa said:

How does she represent that, other than saying her character motivations frequently?

The fact that unity was her idea, the fact that she is the one responsible for their unity and the one that  ultimately gave them back their magic. The fact that she believed in unity when nobody else did. She is just a character more adjacent to the entire philosophy of coexistence than any of the other characters, there was only one unicorn, the other earth pony was a male, and both the others were pegasi, not saying a male couldn't be an alicorn (but we've never seen it), and the only Canon of a pegasi becoming alicorn was with chaos magic syphoned from grogars bell into Cozy Glow... You mentioned Zipp deserving the "alicorn wings" when it would rather just be a magical alicorn horn, which would look kind of weird in comparison... Then you get to Izzy who just really isn't characteristic of an alicorn at all. Things you like about these other ponies ESPECIALLY Zipp would disappear if they were given different roles that didn't allow them to stand apart independently from Sunny. Sunny's whole thing is, we need to use our magic and work together, and her ability to also use Earth Pony magic is going to tie deeply into this as well... They gave Earth ponies magic, now are unicorns gonna just start using it out of nowhere? It would make even less sense for pegasi to... There's a large list of reasons why Zipp isn't the mane character, but I think giving her the freedom to act as she is independently helps who she is, what she stands for, and the actual nature of her occupation, Zipp adamantly DOESNT WANT to be a princess? Remember?

 

 

[Misty Shadow 7,090]

45 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

Sorry, I blank on Sunny’s hobbies compared to the other ponies. 

That's fine, I'm not going to knock you for forgetting things. However, even as Sunny's my second least favorite main character, I don't jive with some of this criticism. As it's already been pointed out, Zipp becoming the alicorn leader would just not work. Not only is she the rebel of the group who really doesn't want to be the next in line to rule Zephyr Heights, her exposed inner evil side is literally an evil queen.