S03:E01+02 - The Crystal Empire

[Starswirl the Trixie 975]

Wait, THAT EPISODE IS NEXT SATURDAY! Alright, Super happy now! Well if it 'that' episode with Trixie statues and filly Mane 6 and you said, Discord? I hope that EXACT EPISODE IS NEXT WEEKEND!

 

Actually, it's Episode 5, three weeks from now. The "Next Saturday" marker is from the cloned Pinkie episode.

 

Look, everyone will be elated to see the two back, but what if the new depictions of the two contradict their depictions in previous episodes? That may sound far fetched, but it is a very real possibility. Discord wasn't wanting to crush, kill, and destroy (swag); he just wanted a good time. Trixie's personality was shown in "Boast Busters" (in particular the Ursa scene; watch how her boasting changes as the environment changes and you'll notice that some of her arrogance is just an act) to be fascinating and multi-faceted. The implications of the canon contradicting itself could cause some issues...

[DrOphthalmos 497]

Those of you complaining about the Gak commercials clearly don't watch the Hub enough.

Anyway, the future episodes preview was awesome, can't wait to see what happens.

 

Very true. How many of you get that CuddleUppet song stuck in your head? Curse you blankets that are puppets! Curse you!

 

Seriously, if anypony out there owns some business with products we ACTUALLY want, please start advertising during MLP. Take my money and make Gak go away.

 

I need to rewatch this now, fast-forwarding the commercials, and look for Derpy. Was she present? (Other than the intro of course).

Edited November 10, 2012 by DrOphthalmos

[AmateurFish07 16]

Can someone post the episode here as soon as it is available on YT?

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

I'm pretty tired, so I think that will keep my remarks on the episode to a minimum. The first think I have to say is that the music was really good. When I say this, I mean both the background music and the actual songs. The background music was fantastic for carrying the mood of the episode forward. The songs were really quite catchy. My favorite song was the Crystal Ballad (I think that's what it's called).

 

I'm pretty tired, so I think that will keep my remarks on the episode to a minimum.

 

remarks on the episode to a minimum.

 

This is your idea of a small remark... Oh you Scoots :3 I do agree with you on a lot of the things you posted... Hopefully our orange chicken can get her own episode this season

[Creamy Arty 6,252]

THIS EPISODE CONTAINED DEATH. ib4 complaint letters.

 

This episode ruled and had its shortcomings. Maybe I'll elaborate after I've gotten some sleep. Mostly I just wanted to say thanks to everybody who hosted a stream and for those present during the episodes, adding to the atmosphere in the many channels carrying this. I'll catch you later.

 

 

Wait wasn't this the song from BronyCON?

SDCC.

 

Why is RD being such a bitch in this episode?

Business as usual.

 

The black smoke that Sombra resides in reminds me of the black demon smoke from Supernatural.

And the smoke surrounding the demon that Gandalf fought and the energy cloud surrounding V'Ger.

 

Those of you complaining about the Gak commercials clearly don't watch the Hub enough.

I'm more sick of the Dream Lite jingle.

[Xebec 74]

I was at a friends house and was unable to watch it :c now I can't find it anywhere and I realllllllly want to see this episode soon

[Wingnut 6,988]

Another thought...Twilight Sparkle passed the test because ultimately it was her decision to delegate the duty of crystal delivery to Spike. But did she score a 100? I don't think so, as she still didn't do it herself. Celestia is very proud of Twilight and is fully confident in her abilities but knows she needs a little more time before she is "ready," whatever the heck that means.

 

Too bad Twilight wasn't in the palace a few seconds sooner so she could ask "Ready for what?"

[Batbrony 16,052]

 

Well, what can I say. It's about time that the new season started! I was going pretty crazy without getting my fix having any new episodes. I think that my craziness was mostly due to the fact that I knew we had fresh episodes right around the corner, but I still had to wait for them. It was incredibly exasperating, but now my wait is over...

 

I'm pretty tired, so I think that will keep my remarks on the episode to a minimum. The first think I have to say is that the music was really good. When I say this, I mean both the background music and the actual songs. The background music was fantastic for carrying the mood of the episode forward. The songs were really quite catchy. My favorite song was the Crystal Ballad (I think that's what it's called).

 

Outside of the music, I found that the mass amnesia that affected the crystal ponies was suitably disturbing. That scene with the librarian was especially weird. When she asked them to let her know if they had found anything, my thoughts were "I don't think so". I was beginning to think that the crystal ponies were actually going to be, at least to some degree, antagonists. That was a nice touch.

 

Actually, a lot of things were nice touches. I liked the dialog between characters. The interactions between all of the mane 6 really seemed to be quite polished. I think that it's fair to say that the writers are beginning to show a high degree of mastery over their material. I really can't wait to see how things work out as the season goes forward.

 

Really, the little interactions counted for a lot. AJ sending RD to do something else when RD was scaring off crystal ponies. RD actually listening (with the classic reference to her own awesomeness, of course). Pinkie behaving uniformly crazily and the other mane 6 reacting. Shining Armor being protective of Cadance. And... That jousting.... None of these things were really critical to the plot, but I find that these touches add much-needed flavor to the characters.

 

Speaking of character interactions... You know, there have been a few threads lately in which folks discussed the possibility that Celestia is grooming Twilight to be her successor. I reserved my opinion on that because I want to see how things played out in S3. Well, I think it goes without saying that there is more evidence of that.

 

The lesson that was learned in this episode really does seem like the kind of lesson that you would teach someone destined for leadership. Basically, it all boiled down to a quick lesson in Delegation 101. If you can't do it yourself, don't mess over the entire project by trying to do it yourself anyway. Take advantage of the talents and resources of those in your team. The perfect lesson for the future ruler of an empire?

 

I appreciate the fact that we continue to see the progression from a sort of dorky, uncertain Twilight towards a character that is more assured of herself and, uniformly, more capable. I hope that we see a similar level of development for the other mane 6 characters (Rainbow Dash could really use another Sonic Rainboom episode to add some depth to her character and I would really love to see her take on the role of playing big sister to Scootaloo).

 

Now for something completely different... This episode was really quite dark. Crystal pony slavery? Dark magic? A door that reveals your worst fear? Frankly, I was really quite impressed. It looks as though some of the darkness that we saw in season two is definitely going to be carrying over into season three. I think that's a good thing.

 

With that said, I was quite disappointed with how quickly Sombra was dispatched. Given his excellent VA and his remarkably malevolent presence (slavery, really? wut??) I kind of expected to see something more from him then maniacal laughter and some hovering mist. Instead, I was remarkably underwhelmed. Then he was nuked in the end. It just seems like a waste of a perfectly good villain.

 

Seriously, every time Sombra appeared on screen, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for something, anything to happen. I really did want to see some type of awesome villain smack down. I kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting... And then the show was over. With that said, I'm really not particularly disappointed by this because I see that the production values of the show remained intact between seasons. The future looks incredibly bright...

 

You know, a lot of folks have been talking about how the community is shrinking, the bad things are outweighing the good things, and other negative stuff like that. Frankly, I don't believe it. If this episode is indicative of where we're heading, then I think now is a dang good time to be a brony.

 

I can't wait until the next episode...

 

 

Yes, yes, more yes, completely agree with everything you said, and then some! The little character interactions were incredibly polished and great to see; honestly, I think it was a lot more balanced than the Canterlot Wedding episodes, which focused so much on Twilight, whereas this time we got a nice balance of Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6, and even, as you said, a bunch of shots of Cadence and Shining Armor together, which were really sweet (although my favorite of the latter had to be Shining Armor chucking Cadence ).

 

The songs, as you said, were once again fantastic; the biggest surprise for me was probably how delightful the reprisal at the end of episode 2 was, since reprisals can sometimes feel unnecessary or tacked on. But no, that was a wonderful reprisal at the end! So glad to see that Daniel Ingram continues to do wonderful work for the show!!!

 

And yes, as you said, the episode was incredibly dark. Usually we just hear about how bad things were for ponies under a villain (Discord, Nightmare Moon) or how bad they will be (Chrysalis), but this time, we actually saw ponies in slavery?!?! Dark, so dark! That's what I think Sombra ultimately added the most to the episode, and I've said this in a couple of other posts. As a villain himself, he was quite a let down, not gonna argue that, the guy simply didn't do that much or say that much. But, he added such a constant sense of suspense and foreboding to both episodes, that really did a lot to add to both episodes' atmosphere, that I did appreciate a lot what he added to both episodes' execution. So overall, I'm not really disappointed in the results, even if he himself was lackluster as a villain.

 

Overall, Season 3 is off to a fantastic start, and I greatly anticipate the rest of the episodes this season. Prepare your flanks, everypony, for the madness and terror next week that will be PINKIE CLONES!!!!!!!!!!!! May Celestia have mercy on our souls and sanity!!!

 

And I can almost taste a Scootaloo episode in the future... mmmmmm... it tastes like chicken!

Edited November 10, 2012 by Batbrony

[Starswirl the Trixie 975]

Equestria Daily has posted higher resolution versions of the Trixie episode screenshots.

 

No Discord after all, or at least not on the banners.

Spoilers below:

http://fc00.devianta...sto-d5knmm3.jpg

 

Now I truly am worried about this. I mean, I guess it's possible that Hasbro could characterize Trixie such that this picture of her taking over Ponyville would make sense, but my gut tells me that they won't. Hasbro will say "We already made Trixie the antagonist for an episode, so everyone will automatically assume that she's evil incarnate and we don't need to go around explaining why."

 

On a lighter note, if anyone wanted more Gak: http://www.gak-is-back.com/

Edited November 10, 2012 by Starswirl the Trixied

[pinkiefan1287 610]

Man what a great episode. There were so many things that were good about it. The story was good, the design of the Crystal ponies were pretty cool, King Somber was a great villain, and Pinkie Pie counties to be Pinkie Pie. Now that this episode is done, I can't wait for the rest. Pinkie Pie clones, Wounderbolt school, Discord and Trixe coming back, and so much more.

 

SEASON 3 BEGINS!!!!

[Steel Matt 250]

ZOMG it was so amazing!

 

Like everyone has stated so far, it's about time season 3 had started. We had our own little brony/pegasister meet up with 5 people to watch the season premier live.

 

I am going on the assumption that some amazing reviews have already been written, so I will spare that part!

 

But overall, I thought it was very well done. Better than I really expected. The only thing was that a lot of future happenings/foreshadowing was very predictable, but it was pretty awesome anyway!

 

I think each and every pony had a good part to play. I love Rainbow Dash, but she was a little harsh on Fluttershy with that jousting! But it was to save the empire, right?

 

And the absolute BEST part of both the episodes that caught us completely off guard:

 

SPOILER! = Pinkie Pie Paraphrase = "A spy!? How did they know!" *a few frames later*Pinkie Pie in a full realistic Fluttershy costume.That was one of those moments I wished we had a DVR...we couldn't stop laughing.

 

SEASON 3 shout out!

[Apple Bloom 2,933]

All I have to say about this episode is...

 

 

 

 

Seriously though, that was awesome! It's great to finally have some fresh poni to watch again. I'll have to re-watch it to fully comprehend everything because I was primarily focused on the chat and making sure everything went well, but from what I saw, it was amazing. How many new songs did we get? Like three? Sorry, this isn't really a proper review but this has got me totally hyped for season three. With Mandopony on staff, I can't wait to see what they have in store for us. I think it's only getting better from here!

[Dr. Vojislav Seselj 691]

I was at a friends house and was unable to watch it :c now I can't find it anywhere and I realllllllly want to see this episode soon

 

GAHHH me too brah. I ate and immediately ran to watch MLP, and then my friend told me to GTFO the computer

I wish they post it to YT soon.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

Did you guys realize that Spike himself passed a test, given on the fly by Twilight?

 

As her number one assistant, Spike had the luxury of tending to her daily routines and also being her friend, but in times of great need, he wasn't really there except as a messenger of sorts in every case. NMM he wasn't very prevalent. With Discord, he was critical in being the medium for Celestia's spells that helped Twilight turn things around, and with Chrysalis, well... I got nothing on that. He wasn't prevalent in that one either.

 

This time, however, his role as Twi's assistant just took a serious turn. He was entrusted in taking the Crystal Heart to Cadence, but we are talking about a guy who has never really done muc in these kinds of episodes. It fits well with the thematic in general because now, he had to truly solidify his position on being Twi's assistant by doing what he did - basically saving the entire kingdom from harm!

[HomuraBL 851]

Everything you said in this thread

I think Trixe just wants revenge. For basically being considered a loser and a fraud by this point. We have no idea what has been going on with Trixe. She could very well be the laughing stock of the entire Equestria. Of course she wants revenge. What better revenge then towards the place where it started it all.

[Bright Honor 2,655]

The season 3 premiere was AWESOME. Good writing and twists! It was great to see Luna again. And I loved how Spike turned out to be the hero this time

[DrOphthalmos 497]

fits well with the thematic in general because now, he had to truly solidify his position on being Twi's assistant by doing what he did - basically saving the entire kingdom from harm!

 

You just aren't a main character unless you've been immortalized in stained glass saving the day. Guess now Spike is officially one of the Mane... 7?

[Party Cannon 876]

Right now I am watching it on 4.5in. x 2.5in. screen. Damn sleep messing me up. 7 minutes in. Anywhere else I can watch it with better quality? haha.

[AmateurFish07 16]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpCcAXyWTH8

 

YOU'RE WELCOME!

[Kenny 232]

My favorite part of these episodes would have to be Spike being the hero. I'm glad he finally got an important role for once.

 

There were also a lot of little things that made the episodes enjoyable (songs, Twilight and Rarity spazzing out, Pinkie Spy, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash Jousting, etc.).

 

Like others have said, King Sombra felt pretty weak as a villain. It didn't decrease the quality of the episodes by much for me, though.

 

Overall, it was a good start to the season. And I'm looking forward to the rest of season 3!

[Fluttermena 1,223]

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpCcAXyWTH8

 

YOU'RE WELCOME!

 

 

Time to finally see what all the talk was about, this thread is full of spoilers...and I loved every second of it.

[Doctor 22]

It was Awesome!!! It was worth waking up 7 in the morning to watch new episode. Watched twice. Can't wait for the other new episode after seeing this!?!

 

 

I fell off my bed when I saw Pinkie Pie made that face.

[LightRaider 148]

So guys, what do you think is in the book? I think we all know it has to do with twilight.

And dat spoiler in the commercial, who were they?

One of them looked alot like twilight, but i didn't really get a good look. Anyboy have screenshots?

[Half-Note 273]

I loved this episode, the only problem for me was the fact that they didn't flesh out King Sombra. On a side note, I wonder how many STD jokes will be made about the Crystals on Shining's horn?

[Party Cannon 876]

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpCcAXyWTH8

 

YOU'RE WELCOME!

 

Right when I finish. Dah!!! MAJOR THANK YOU THOUGH! Really apreciate it. A re-watch is in order.

 

So personally, I would say it was a strong start. Not as good as the Canterlot Wedding episodes but still a worthy 2-parter.

 

Lots of cool stuff. King Sombra's roar and entrance reminded me of the film Silent Hill. Twilight's use of black magic was surprising and cool to see. (future applications abound) King Sombra overall was a pretty weak villain, though due to time constraints I can understand the lack of character development.

 

Empire Strikes Back Shining Armor was cool. Don't know if that was Luna's Book of the Dead from The Mummy at the very en.

 

Mane Six were their amazing selves. Why no Derpy though? Oh well, I hope this season she gets descent screen time, AND A SPEAKING ROLE FOR OCTAVIA!