Fear is a dominant theme in season three

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

My number came up, so I figured I might as well write this thread. Here goes!

 

Thanks in part due to my fondness for The Dark Knight trilogy and never-ending discussions of it with @, I've come to realize how much they stack up with one another, more specifically this season. As time goes on, the show's become more catered towards bronies rather than its intended demographic (if there ever was one, anyway - Studio B works in mysterious ways) and so more mature themes start to shed light on the entire storyline. Advancing from the mere Educational/Informative tag that was slapped onto season one for the purpose of teaching kids what it meant to be a friend and how to handle yourself in a group of the sort, we now have more access to the characters themselves thanks to season two's bold (and very successful) attempt at dislodging itself from the norm and ditching all conventional methods of teaching people on how to handle yourself well and in a positive light. As a result, we've gotten a whole lot of drama, action, and adventure to go with it but nonetheless, it stayed true to its roots and we got very positive vibes from it. Let me show you what I mean.

 

Season two started the show's run of introducing a lot of themes which were relatable yet kept everything in check, also anchoring it down just enough so it doesn't delve into the fanon realm. This alone made its episodes so enjoyable - there was something for everyone. Examples include a dramatic, intense conflict between Sweetie Belle and her sister Rarity (drama speaks volumes), conflicted allegiance thanks in part to pursuing your career in contrast to staying true to your friends (Sweet and Elite), conflicts between what you think is right versus what's best for an entire place (Return of Harmony), and an epic finale which showcased how a legion of people can be influenced to blindly follow whatever they think is good (A Canterlot Wedding). This is a step up from the usual plotlines dealing with relatively general problems like creating compromises (Over A Barrel), getting along with folks and appreciating what they do instead of being bigoted (Look Before You Sleep), or even not judging someone by their appearance (Bridle Gossip). Season two introduced a lot of themes which took season one's idea of generating problems and meshed it perfectly together with what's found more in the real world, and thus we have real world scenarios in just about every episode. Thanks in part of the empathic factor, they're that much more enjoyable as we can see Fluttershy taking on her mean streak (Putting Your Hoof Down) or Twilight learning to not worry about the future and instead focusing on what's important right now (It's About Time).

 

But now we've got something that we'd all like to at least cut down on. Something that could very well haunt you for the rest of your life and eliminate your ability to do really anything as long as you breathe. Something we're all too familiar with... fear!

 

I've noticed it has taken a step back from how season two did - you know, the real world scenarios - but it doesn't disappoint. Season three is its own man, so to speak. It's taken one theme and made it the point of emphasis, it would appear - you know how it goes. Fear is a powerful feeling and it can either make or break you. Many instances, it breaks us - simply because we fear that we'll fail either way, instead of putting our heads down and fighting for what we believe in.

 

So, where to start? Simple, it's in every episode from season three that's aired. Let's start off with the Crystal Empire.

 

 

 

Gaze into the eyes of the tyrant who wished to conquer the Crystal Empire and have its inhabitants serve him against their will. Enter King Sombra, the very epitomization of fear who, with all his lustre and malice, struck fear into the hearts of Crystal Ponies even when Cadence had her protection spell up, ready to strike down Sombra. Judging by his appearance, he definitely doesn't seem like the kind of pony you would get along with on the school playground, and his historical actions speak for themselves. There's not a pony in the empire that go about their life pretending that it didn't happen at all - quite the opposite, in fact. Even without his immediate presence, Sombra was able to influence everypony enough to instil the very fear that drove the ponies to unhappiness all those centuries ago. It served Sombra great purpose, as his victory seemed inevitable, but the purpose is nothing. The will is everything.

 

 

 

Twilight and her friends successfully stopped Sombra from taking over the empire, just as the two regal sisters once did, but Sombra's presence in the end was too powerful to ever truly forget. Needless to say however, it was a glorious demonstration on how to conquer your fear the right way. Standing up to essentially a big bully and putting them in their place.

 

There was also another instance where fear was showcased quite beautifully - the fear of failure and the fear of losing someone you care about. Spike and Twilight share a very powerful bond which is almost reflective of the Elements of Harmony themselves, but this scenario showed us how fearful people are losing things that mean the most to them.

 

Let's take Twilight. Being the Princess' personal protege and ace student, she has undoubtedly set high expectations for herself and tries to make good on her objectives to the best of her ability. But what is to happen should she fail? None other than her worst nightmare.

 

 

 

It's not enough that she save the world yet again, but deep down, Twilight wants to impress her teacher just as much. Sure, it may not be first priority, but to see Celestia scorn her for failure is something she could never live down. Unfortunately for her, her nightmare would have surely become a reality had she been locked in that trance which, without Spike's assistance, would have never been broken.

 

 

 

Likewise, Spike had his own personal nightmare. He'd always been there for Twilight and to see her just be taken away from his young life would flat out leave him in the dust and devastate the poor soul. While it wasn't showcased as much as Twilight's own fear, it no doubt sent the message that we all would hate for something like this to happen to us.

 

 

 

As Twilight reassured herself and Spike, it was touching to know that even through your fears, there's always some good that you can cling onto.

 

 

 

 

Too Many Pinkie Pies showed us what else could happen if you're scared of something about to happen, if it happens at all. Wallowing in self-pity, Pinkie Pie was visibly upset that the idea of creating her own clones in an attempt to have fun completely backfired, but this wasn't the main reason why it happened in the first place. With so many friends to hang out with, how could you possibly know that spending time with one person can hurt another's feelings? For a fun-loving, gentle, and carefree mare like Pinkie Pie, she strives to make everypony happy and seeing one pony down in the dumps, especially because of her, would equally devastate her. In the end, what you end up with is another classic case of conflicted allegiance and you're fearful of what others may think of you.

 

 

 

Honestly, it's not every day that you see something like this. Fear can also induce several emotions as demonstrated by the picture above, which lead to self-doubt and low self-esteem. You can also make a case for Pinkie Pie being horrified of her own test when she recommended it to Twilight - that whichever Pinkie Pie fails gets sent back to the pond from whence they came. However, this wasn't featured as much as it could and it's moot at best. Regardless, even the happiest of spirits can be scared of things like these.

 

 

One Bad Apple was the most common and relatable episode to a real-world scenario as well as showcasing the fear factor effectively. It sparked long-lost memories of abuse, harassment, and mental anguish in those who've gone through the same thing, all stemming from one person's fear and the need to extinguish that very fear by ironically doing whatever it is that's making you afraid! In the case of Babs Seed, the CMC's new member and Apple Bloom's intriguing cousin, she ends up becoming a bully herself for the majority of the episode all due to some teasing by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, because she did not have her cutie mark. How far she was willing to go was demonstrated as she mercilessly harassed the CMC, but no matter she could not stop it as she was also bullied for her blank flank back home. In her case, it was just more of the same here; in order to protect herself, she "needed" to be the villain herself in order to gain respect. Or so she thought. Bullies don't ever get respect - real friends do. Although the episode wasn't necessarily a total reflection of what goes on in the mind of a bully, it did a great job in highlighting that fear drives you to mentally beat up others in a struggle for your own gratification. As a result, Babs went from striking fear into the innocent and instead used her "big city attitude" (coined by Diamond Tiara herself) to put bullies in their place.

 

 

 

As you can see, even though this is a still shot, you can tell that DT and SS are visibly shaking. Nothing is worse than being put in your place by the one you've been picking on all this time.

 

 

Magic Duel was one of the boldest episodes I've ever watched. Honestly, it had everything - drama, action, and a hero training to put a villain in their place. Because it was an M.A. Larson episode, it had lots of witty pop culture references like Trixie banishing Twilight and Twilight returning (Dark Knight Rises, anyone?), Twilight training under Zecora after her banishment (Star Wars: Episode V), and Twilight beating out Trixie at her own game - trickery and deception (Batman Begins with Bruce Wayne taking down Ra's al-Ghul once and for all). What caused Twilight's banishment in the first place, though?

 

Well, the problem mainly lies in Trixie's repeated failures thanks in part to Twilight putting her in her place during their first encounter. Rightfully so as one could say - Trixie was being pompous and boastful and although Twilight had good intentions, Trixie didn't realize it sooner and it ate her up. It drove her to jealousy, anger, and a result, fearful that this would keep happening until she bests Twilight somehow. Stooping so low as to prove her point, she acquires an amulet with untold powers that could corrupt the user with repeated use. But who cared? No one, and certainly not Trixie herself. She just wanted revenge but deep down, was scared that Twilight was above her, because after all... arrogant and boastful mares cannot "just" accept that. She only saw Twilight as an enemy who needed to be destroyed without even considering why she was constantly failing in the first place.

 

 

 

Luckily for her, she snapped out of her little funk and came to see that friendship - not power - is what makes you truly powerful. As cheesy as that mind sound, it's the perfect lesson to teach a mare like Trixie.

 

 

Sleepless In Ponyville was the latest episode in bringing out someone's worst fears. What is it that drives people to be fearful of something? Is it hard to identify? Chances are, it most likely is. Sometimes, things just appear to be something else in order to shroud you from whatever it is that's really frightening you. In Scootaloo's case, she wasn't afraid of the dark or the potential monsters that lurked within. Nope! In reality, she was fearful of telling Rainbow Dash that she was actually afraid because she thought Rainbow would outright reject her for being afraid of a little ghost story. As it turns out though, it's quite tough to just admit your fears like that - when Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were down right trembling because of Rainbow's horror stories, Scootaloo undoubtedly felt less confident about herself and doubted herself even more. That in turn amplified her fear and she ended up falling into a river, for Celestia's sake!

 

As we found out though, Rainbow Dash herself was scared of the exact stories she told everypony else about when she was a filly, perhaps in a dramatic twist of irony. In the end, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash became closer than ever before, all because Scootaloo finally had the nerve to admit her fears at last, and that's downright respectable in Rainbow Dash's book.

 

 

 

 

So folks, what's to come? We'll see, but I suspect that the fear theme will continue to play out no matter how subtle it may be. We've yet to really see how Applejack responds to these kinds of scenarios where her fear gets the best of her, and Rarity is another story as well. This should be good, but in the end, their fears shall be purged. The Mane 6 will be ready to lead these mares.

 

They will be ready to become members of the League of Shadows.

 

Edited December 10, 2012 by Alfonzo Dennard

[Blindsight 142]

Wow, I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner. It's pretty cool though, placing such a powerful emotion as fear in the spotlight for season three. All episodes were fantastic so far in my opinion, and if the theme continues to be fear, there are more good ones to come! 

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

Great topic. I generally agree with how fear has come in over these episodes. I think the biggest showcase of it that, like you said, applies to the real world is Babs Seed. Kids are always scared of bullies and also scared to tell authority so they don't seem like such "snitches" but (somebody said it before) there's a big difference between tattling and telling authority because someone is cruelly putting you in a situation where you can do nothing about it.

 

Fantastic points, though. But fear also was showcased as a major factor in many previous episodes in the season too. Though, more so in this season.

[Zygen 6,066]

I agree, fear has been in S3 alot so far. But i've actually quite liked all of the episodes so far, so I certainly can't say its a bad thing.

Its actually made the episodes quite interesting in alot of regards in my opinion.

 

So I have no reason to complain about it for sure, however I don't think it nessarily HAS to be in every episode from now on. But I can't say its a bad thing either.

 

Ps. your post is the longest post I've ever seen .

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

Wow, I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner. It's pretty cool though, placing such a powerful emotion as fear in the spotlight for season three. All episodes were fantastic so far in my opinion, and if the theme continues to be fear, there are more good ones to come! 

 

I'll need to rewatch them again for more value, as I don't generally pay attention when they're aired, but they should be better a second time around. Maybe I'll get some more ideas for a thread, too!

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

I must agree with you, as I was trying to relate the episodes this season to the ones in season 2, and honestly I just simply couldn't.  It used to be that the show wasn't connected almost at all, there wasn't a true prevailing theme in season 2, and I'm glad they did make fear a dominating theme. From what the rest of the season looks like, (of course judging only by whats been released) it seems its going to be a theme for the rest of the season.  The next episode (spoiler d for obvious reasons)

 

Rainbow Dash is afraid of not being good enough for everyone else

 

And so on for the AJ episode.  I honestly can't believe I didn't notice this before.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

Great thread, I agree completely with what you've said. I don't know how the rest of season 3 will play out but from what I've seen it's a good bet it will continue the way it's going. But one thing I've noticed is a lot of side character cameos and emphasises not before seen.

[NavelColt 22,880]

People whine about how he got no screen time or lines, but in the end, Sombra really was all about fear and presence. He didn't even have to be anywhere on screen, or anywhere nearby and the entire population of an empire was freaked out. Then when he actually got there, things got intense. My point being that yes, S3 has had a fear theme thus far in most of its episodes, but not only that, the actual main antagonist of this season's opening was a 'Fear' villain too, much more so than the previous three.

 

I like the episodes thus far this season, and it might just be that they're all new and on the brain, but I find them all a lot more memorable than many of the episodes in S1 or 2. Hasbro's apparent decision to cut their episode counts for seasons down, in order to improve quality and make them 're-watchable' and more memorable is working great, thus far.

Edited December 10, 2012 by ~Chaotic Discord~

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

 

And so on for the AJ episode.  I honestly can't believe I didn't notice this before.

 

 

 

Same goes for the Spike episode a few weeks later. The synopsis states that he'd help out AJ as much as he can, but he probably thinks that if he doesn't, AJ won't like him anymore. Basically, he's scared of letting her down. Possibly yet another thing to jot down.