Was Princess Cadence a Mary Sue?

[Jalaton 155]

I'm not sure, I don't think she was. She wasn't really powerful but she was liked by a lot of people although it did seem reasonable enough for me. I can see how she would seem like one, personally she never felt like one to me. I think we'll be able to tell more if we see her more in future episodes.

Edited August 26, 2012 by Jalaton

[Sararyman...man 41]

I personally don't like Cadance.

The though of a younger Alicorn that is not in a godlike position makes alicorns look weak in my opinion.

[pinkiefan1287 610]

I real like Cadence and I don't see her as a mary sue. She has power, but it's not like her powers are god like. Still maybe if we could see more of her in season 3 then we could get a better idea of her.

[Archangel 143]

All Alicorns are Mary Sues to me.

 

They have wings, and Horns, and each one seems to have sort of magical ability that trumps everything anypony else can do. With Cadence's being causing people to fall in love, and liberating an entire city in less than one minute.

 

Seriously, she out-powered the Element of Magic? Pfft. C'mon. What kinda BS is that?

[Heart's Desire 181]

I agree with the previous mention of the fact that her being imprisoned in the first place kinda negates the possibility of her technically being a Mary Sue.

 

Granted she's overly likable, but she's not perfect.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that the entirety of her back story that we've seen so far was through the eyes of Twilight Sparkle who was remembering her from her childhood. Twilight saw her as perfect so that's the only way we've seen her.

[Kalypso 69]

in no way did i think she was a Mary Sue she spent days in the dungeon she would have gotten out earlier if she was

[Modphase 1,271]

Well, I would have to say that any alicorn that isn't Celestia or Luna is a Marie Sue. Physically though. Mentally, nah.

[Dr Manehattan 17]

I think she was.

But not all Mary Sues are bad.

 

I only dislike Mary Sue's when they are the main character.

They can work very well as supporting characters (Celestia)

 

My problem with Cadence is that Shining Armor is also "perfect" and their wedding is also so royal and perfect and magical... and I just got a little bit sick from how girly and frilly everything was getting before Chrysallis came and things became bada** again.

[Midnight Seeker 302]

I think folks are reading a bit too much into things if the see Cadence as a Mary Sue. If she became the seventh element of harmony, then I could see it. I think it's because she was just meant to be one of the nicest ponies you could hope to meet. I think her power to make others fall in love was a bit daft (and a bit unsettling tae be honest), but I just saw that as a wee niggle.

 

I just think she was created to be somepony Twilight would admire (lets face it, if she existed, she'd be one of the best ponies you could hope tae meet).

[Hushabye 47]

I don't think that we saw enough of her to label her anything yet. On the other hand, what we did see of her does sort of put her into the Mary Sue camp, but we might get more development in the show or in the toy line.

[Magic Man 222]

Hmm, well, we did not get to see much of the real Cadance to make a full judgement either way, but from what we have so far, let's have a look see.

 

On one hand, she is made out (by Twilight) to be the nicest pony you could ever meet and the fact that she's a very powerful Alicorn when she easily just could have been a unicorn does sway her towards the Mary Sue pile. On the other hand, she is not shown to be infallable, by the fact she was successfully imprisoned by Chrysalis and only escaped with Twilight's aid. That and how it was both her AND Shining Armor that defeated Chrysalis, not JUST her.

 

So, right now, hard to fully determine, but by the looks of it, it's swinging mainly in the non-Mary Sue side. We'll just have to wait until she appears in Season 3 and see for ourselves to make more substantial arguments.

[My little pwny 1,392]

For all intents and purposes, yes, she is a Mary sue. The writers wanted contrast between the fake Cadence and the real 'perfect' Cadence so they could highlight how evil Queen Chrysalis was.

[Captain Marvelous 544]

I can't really tell... we really didn't get a chance to learn much of her character... aside from what past Twilight mentioned, the actual Cadance had very little screen time

[GreyScholar 1,584]

Consider it as one would a fanfiction. How would you react to a character that was the brother of Twilight, a brother never once mentioned in all of the two season and is extremely beloved by Twilight and said by her to be her best and only friend when young. A character that is the captain of the guard and was requested personally to guard Canterlot from a threat. Which also shows Celestia trusts this stallion greatly and is a guard of great skill.

Now lets consider Princess Cadance, she is a very colorful alicorn that is a princess and the niece of the Celestia. She is beloved by Twilight and was her personal foalsitter, despite being a princess and thus an odd thing for a royal to do no? She is shown to be nice, caring, beautiful and has the talent for spreading love. When we first meet her she is shown to be a horrible... well b**** but this Cadance is a fake and the real one being as wonderful as Twilight remembered. At the end she is shown getting along wonderfully with all the six.

Shining Armour and Princess Cadance then completely overshadow the Mane Six in the end and save the day... if the Canterlot Wedding was a fanfiction I think it is fair that most fans would consider both two extreme Mary Sues.
-------------------

Also, I actually greatly enjoyed the final and wouldn't want anything changed... apart from Cadance being an alicorn that is as she wasn't supposed to be (Hasbro changed it to make more money, she was originally made to be a unicorn). The story was well thought out, the music was wonderful, and the villain was beautifully made and introduced for the most part.

 

 

Also I do not see Princess Celestia as a Mary Sue at all myself, the big reason is because she has never had the spotlight and why ponies like her is well justified. That and I also see her as a Mare Wearing the Queenly Mask, a nicer example though. She seems 'perfect' because her subjects want her to be, she cannot show weakness and must play the part of a High Queen (look the emphasized terms up on TV Tropes).

Edited January 19, 2013 by EquestrianScholar

[Scootalove 10,689]

I think Princess Cadance's debut was pretty flawless especially having a villain like Princess Chrysalis impersonate Princess Cadance, and be a very great villain at best. Plus, having Shining Armor a character we never seen before but, he is known as Twilight's brother and the only friend that Twilight accepted in Canterlot. Pretty decent

[Phaeston-e12 173]

I don't think it's an appropriate thing to tag a character from this show with a negativity by associating with a popular definition like 'mary sue'. However I believe it is a reasonable thing to try analyze the character from the literature's perspective to judge whether the way a certain character was introduced into a storyline and how that character is handled within it is causing the storyline to become weaker or stronger.

 

I have little reason to believe that the introduction of Princess Cadence was negative to the show's quality in any significant way. Her personality may be cartoon-ish, but this is a cartoon animation, the way alicorn is being handled in the show is still very much vague so I don't feel the foundation is there to make any judgment about her physical appearance.

 

I do see why significant number of people have a problem with Princess Celestia however. For a character that has such a major influence in the series, her personality is far from fleshed out and her interaction with the main cast is minimal at best, yet any interaction that occur has an overwhelming influence in the story-line's direction. Furthermore, her background story is still very sketchy as well.

 

There are actually many legitimate reasons for why the story-writers are handling her in such way, the way she's being portrayed in MLP:FiM is very similar to how children generally perceives their parents, shifting focus of the show to her is going to be very inappropriate considering the target audience as well because she's considered an 'adult' (this definition is a very funny one however) in the show etc.

 

PS: Tired, going to stop here.

[Captain Marvelous 544]

Its hard to say... Cadance was in only 4 episodes, but 1 of them she wasn't really in, another she was didn't have much to shine because of twist... her other two episodes she was at a point of exhaustion

 

she hadn't really had much development to decided about her character, perhaps in the episode she is in later will help

[kingfan 4]

All Alicorns are Mary Sues to me. They have wings, and Horns, and each one seems to have sort of magical ability that trumps everything anypony else can do. With Cadence's being causing people to fall in love, and liberating an entire city in less than one minute. Seriously, she out-powered the Element of Magic? Pfft. C'mon. What kinda BS is that?

does this mean princess luna is a mary sue

[PegasusGuard1337 21]

I don't think you see her enough to be able to call her a Sue. She's less powerful, if not at least on the same level as the other princesses, and since love is kind of her thing, I don't think she was OP when she and Shining Armor defeated Chrysalis together. If anything, I thought it was awesome that someone other than Twilight Sparkle got to save the day for once.

[Archangel 143]

does this mean princess luna is a mary sue

 

 

First off, I'd like to point out that I made that post in 2012. Four years ago.  I must've been barely into my second or third year of high school by that point. A lot has changed since then. Both in my understanding of well-written characters and Mary Sues, as well as in the show itself.

 

I don't think I'd call Cadence a Mary Sue, or Luna for that matter. Was the ending a little Deus Ex Alicorn? Yes, yes it was. But that tends to happen a lot on a show that only has 22 minutes of run-time so I can forgive it that flaw. Honestly the thing that still bugs me about that episode today is how was Cadence able to defeat the Changelings with a big bubble of Love? Y'know, the very thing the Changelings were after in the first place? Shouldn't they have just been able to absorb that as their own power?

 

If any character, Twilight is now probably the one closest to a Mary Sue. I still don't think I'd call her one though. Close, but no cigar. 

 

Also, wow, holy thread-necro Batman! Not that I'm really helping by posting here and keeping it alive, but still.

[cmarston1 5,959]

When we have gotten to the point where members of the fanbase are calling Discord of all characters a mary sue, I can't say that I treat the term as if it has an actual meaning anymore.

And because of that I don't consider Cadence to be a mary sue.

[Steve Piranha 29,440]

Personality wise, she kinda exhibits mary suich elements to this point , kind, friendly, never reacts with anger, self sacrificing..... . Power wise she doesn't seem to be that powerful compared to her fellow alicorns princesses (including  her kid ). I think the reason about her near perfect personality has a pass is because she's a secondary character  

[Luminance 2,186]

Are Alicorns in general not allowed to have flaws? In what difference in flaws does Celestia, Luna and Twilight have that Cadence lacks? Sure, loves conquers all but sometimes that doesn't make her a perfect character and even that she's still susceptible to flaws. Cadence depends on trusting Shining Armor to help her when she's in need, Twilight to rescue lead her to destroy Chrysalis and the Changelings and even her own baby keeps her from retaining her supposed perfect status as Crystal Empire's adorning princess. Cadence depends on her friends and family help her in times where she would have simply needed help just like anypony and in that doesn't make her perfect.