The Role of Expectation in in our views on episodes

[Anadu Kune 668]

It is common that our expectations play a role in ours views on an episode. You could even say it is undeniable. Many of us expect/want something to be in an episode and sometimes that expectation is what we focus on rather than what is actually in the episode. This is not surprising considering the amount of crazy creative stuff this fandom creates. Since we build on certain parts of the world sometimes we come to expect the show creators to fill in the exact same gaps we do. This does I think have the potential/tendency to cloud our perceptions on certain episodes. Below I shall list what I think are appropriate examples.

 

 

 

 

Crystal Empire: We have had three villains that have played a distinct role in their respective episodes. Many expected Sombra to play a role in a similar manner. When he didnt people focused on that, comparing him to previous villains  So much has this played into the view on the episode that its usually the first and sometimes only thing you hear about it. Some went as far to say the writing was technically inept because of it. If however we take a look at it for what it is we see this villain was written for a very specific purpose. A purpose that will seem all too familiar the more you look at it. Sombra is Sauron from LOTR, they serve the same purpose and share many similarities. 

 

Too Many Pinkie Pies: An expectation Ive heard for this quite a few is that people wanted it to be more crazy. Being a Pinkie centered episode with multiple Pinkies people wanted it to be absolute craziness. Ive heard many express their surprise at how focused the episode was, and as a result they were disappointed.  

 

One Bad Apple: This is one were my expectations weighed in heavily on first viewing. Every cartoon has the bullying episode and I went in with negative expectations latching on to any negative thing I could. As a result I really disliked the episode. However upon reviewing it twice I have been can say now that I like this episode and let my expectations guide me a bit too much.

 

Magical Duel: This is a case where it seems the audience got what it expected. As a result people speculated that the show runners were actively pandering to said expectations(this seems incredible sily to me and evidence seems to be against it).  

 

Sleepless in Ponyville: In this case people actively expected to see Scootaloos parents or back story. I have heard some express disappointment in the episode as whole because of this. On the flip side people actively expected Luna to play a bigger role in this episode and were surprised and pleased when those expectations were met. This did however bring some people back to the idea of pandering.

 

Wonderbolt Acadamy: Yet another episode where I let my expectations guide me. As with others I had a distinct expectation on how Spitfire would act. When that was different I focused on it and didn't enjoy the episode on first viewing. However on multiple re-viewings and based on the logical analyses by military bronies I managed to put that aside and view the episode without those expectations. I can now say I defiantly enjoy this one now.

 

In all cases I think there is a tendency to view an episode based off of these expectations. Its a double edged sword as when the expectations are not met disappointment occurs. When they are people think the producers are pandering. So what do you guys think? What episodes have you viewed with extreme expectations, and do you take them into account in your views on the episode?

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

I somewhat agree, I often have to watch myself to make sure I'm not forming preconceptions about episodes. The best examples this season for me are One Bad Apple and Wonderbolt Academy. For One Bad Apple since it was both a CMC episode and about bullying I wasn't expecting it to be any good. At one point I just sat down and told myself to judge the episode after I watched it. It turned out to be pretty good, not one of my absolute favorites but still good.

 

As for Wonderbolt Academy since I knew that it was my favorite character's time to shine I was nervous out of my mind when waiting for it. When the episode was leaked I watched it after one minute of internal struggle since I have no self control. Anyhow I never check who the writer is while watching MLP, mostly to avoid forming preconceptions but I happened to notice that this one was written by Merriwether Williams. Rainbow Dash's cockiness in the beginning, coupled with how Williams' last Rainbow Dash episode went over my momentary response was "Aaaah! It's happening again! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" But then I gave myself a internal pep talk, reminded myself that Williams has written good episodes in the past, and told myself to watch the stupid episode. And it was one of my favorites in the entire series. Take that me.

[Magic Man 222]

Well, then the writers are damned if they do, damned if they don't. Either they fail to fulfill fans' expectations and receive disappoint that overshadows the rest of the episode, or they manage to fulfill those expectations, only to be accused of pandering.

[Rainbow Dash 1,473]

Due to my preconeptions of the show i stopped watching after the seaso 3 premiere. I read the episode guide on Wkipedia and non of them look good to me at all. I did see Too Many Pinkies and Sleepless in ponyville and i have theorized i might be getting ahead of myself.

[Phoenix237 353]

I don't really make expectations when waiting for or watching an episode. If I do I know that I'll most likely be wrong and disappointed. I watch episodes as they come and enjoy them for what they are. If more people do that then we wouldn't have negative reactions for episodes. I read some negative comments on episodes, watch the episodes and find them decent and many times enjoyable. Ya some episodes are kinda miss episodes, but when I look back I still find them entertaining, plus every cartoon series has its weak episodes. This actually works to an advantage as they make the stronger episodes (as I call them) even more memorable.

But then againe everyone has their opinions. If you want your expectations to sway your decisions and emotions, then that's your thing, not mine.

[Zygen 6,066]

I try to just ignore any expectations I have for an upcoming episode, but sometimes for episodes like "Sleepless in ponyville" I can't contain the expectations I have for it, luckily it normally turns out good.

 

I ignore any bad expectations I can aswell. I don't try and judge the episodes until i watch them, and I haven't not watched an episode just by looking at it and saying naw since the first time I watched the show when I thought "Suited for success" would be to "girly" However the whole don't judge a book by its cover is something we should all be comfortable with considering we all watched MLP didn't we? I don't think there should be to many problems with people judging an episode by its cover. Thats why I just avoid that whole perception.

 

On a side note I think that all of S3 has been pretty awesome to me .

[Veylon 255]

I had fairly high expectations for the Crystal Empire. I wasn't really expecting there to be a villain (and was disappointed by what we got). He got too much screen time and explication to be a background menace and too little to be a character in his own right.

 

But the problem with the villain is only a part of the problem with the episode. It's very unclear what the episode is about. It's not about Twilight's test; that part is only mentioned at the very beginning and very end. And really, what kind of test risks the lives and well-being of thousands (or more) of innocent bystanders? Even beyond that, what was the point of the test? What quality was Celestia looking for in Twilight when she sent her out? It's clearly not an important mission; Celestia and Luna make absolutely no effort to see that things turn out well. No guards are sent, Cadance receives no support, the Elements are not packed, and Twilight gets useless instructions. It's not about the oppressed learning to stand up to their oppressor; the Crystal Ponies are kept in the dark about Sombra's return and the Mane Six do everything they can to distract them from him. Sombra is struck down by McGuffin delivery, not by the will of his former subjects. It's not about conquering one's fears; Twilight was saved from the fear door by Spike, not by her own ability to overcome her terror of disappointing Celestia. She only abandons the terms of her test when they become impossible to keep, not by choice. So I left this episode very confused as to what the point of it all was.

 

My expectation was that this episode was going to be about Cadance. That the Mane Six were essentially going to mentor her as she journeyed to the Crystal Empire to I-don't-know-what. But we'd get an opportunity to see how much the mains have grown together and become a well-oiled friendship machine. So it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth when all six of them reverted to type as though they had never learned anything at all.

 

[Edit]

 

Okay, I should say something about the rest of Season Three thus far. I didn't read about them ahead of time, so I had no idea what to expect. All of them, without exception, have been better than the Crystal Empire. None of them is truly outstanding, nor have any been truly awful. I had heard that Trixie would return at some point and I was not let down. I expect very much to be disappointed by the other returning character, however.

Edited January 6, 2013 by Veylon

[Harmonic Revelations 8,837]

When I watch the new episodes, I carry no expectations except that the show will continue the level of quality it always has. I just enjoy the content of the episodes as it happens, I don't premeditate on what I think it'll be like. That way I can avoid disappointment.

[Anadu Kune 668]

I had fairly high expectations for the Crystal Empire. I wasn't really expecting there to be a villain (and was disappointed by what we got). He got too much screen time and explication to be a background menace and too little to be a character in his own right.

 

But the problem with the villain is only a part of the problem with the episode. It's very unclear what the episode is about. It's not about Twilight's test; that part is only mentioned at the very beginning and very end. And really, what kind of test risks the lives and well-being of thousands (or more) of innocent bystanders? Even beyond that, what was the point of the test? What quality was Celestia looking for in Twilight when she sent her out? It's clearly not an important mission; Celestia and Luna make absolutely no effort to see that things turn out well. No guards are sent, Cadance receives no support, the Elements are not packed, and Twilight gets useless instructions. It's not about the oppressed learning to stand up to their oppressor; the Crystal Ponies are kept in the dark about Sombra's return and the Mane Six do everything they can to distract them from him. Sombra is struck down by McGuffin delivery, not by the will of his former subjects. It's not about conquering one's fears; Twilight was saved from the fear door by Spike, not by her own ability to overcome her terror of disappointing Celestia. She only abandons the terms of her test when they become impossible to keep, not by choice. So I left this episode very confused as to what the point of it all was.

 

My expectation was that this episode was going to be about Cadance. That the Mane Six were essentially going to mentor her as she journeyed to the Crystal Empire to I-don't-know-what. But we'd get an opportunity to see how much the mains have grown together and become a well-oiled friendship machine. So it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth when all six of them reverted to type as though they had never learned anything at all.

 

[Edit]

 

Okay, I should say something about the rest of Season Three thus far. I didn't read about them ahead of time, so I had no idea what to expect. All of them, without exception, have been better than the Crystal Empire. None of them is truly outstanding, nor have any been truly awful. I had heard that Trixie would return at some point and I was not let down. I expect very much to be disappointed by the other returning character, however.

Im not going to go into super detail here but I will address points. The first Thing I would like to address is that the crystal heart is a macguffin in the same way the elements are. They are magical objects that need an emotional or elemental input from ponies in order to work. The crystal heart needs the energy of the crystal pony's love and joy in order to do anything and it was that energy that struck him down. So in effect Sombra was stopped by the crystal ponies in the same way Nightmare Moon was stopped by the the mane six.

 

What kind of test risks the lives and well being of others: People seem to assume the word test implies less importance. This is untrue as the saying goes the true test of ones abilities is in the field. The true test of ones acquired knowledge is through application in the field weather it is surgery, driving, or an actual battlefield(all of which risk the lives of others). Its all about applying your text book and practiced knowledge into an actual scenario. The episode actually focuses on putting all of Twilight's main skills to the test. Her research and reading skills,her organization skills, and her magic. All of these are pitted against a force of darkness and fear, not just the fear of the approaching darkness but of failure. There is also doubt, whilst Canterlot Wedding pitted Twilight against the doubt of others this episode pitted her against her own doubt of herself.

 

The mission clearly isnt important: Well this isnt true as an entire scene is used to establish the importance of this mission. Fail and Equestria could be potentially morphed by the very evil Sombra has embraced.

 

Why didnt they bring guards: What possible use would the guards be in the crystal empire? They cant possibly stand against Sombra, They cant help in the protection spell as Cadence is the only one who can cast it. They would probably just get in the way and cause more unrest and fear in crystal ponies.

 

Why not pack the Elements: Even if they brought the elements and defeated Sombra that would not have solved the problem at large. That being the protection of the crystal empire and the permanent reversal of Sombra's spell over the crystal ponies. In fact it would seem part of Sombra's spell was either unknown or untouchable by Celestia and Luna or they wouldn't have allowed it. Celestia probably saw defeating Sombra using the elements as being a bad move as when she defeated him before it resulted in an entire kingdom being banished from reaility for 1000 years. This time she focused on trying to find permanant solution to his magic, that it seems she didn't know of.

 

Celestia and Luna make no effort to see things turn out ok: Luna clearly wants to go but Celestia had other plans. They are seen at the end waiting by a window presumably ready to leave if Twilight had failed. Also she sent Twilight the mare who has been at the head of no less than three successful ventures to save the whole of equestria. She had clearly been planing for this event for over 1000 years. Whilst no physical involvement Celestia had clearly put thought into what was happening. Though the lack of involvement is not exclusive to this episode it is in fact present in all of the two parters. In all of them it has an explanation or a nod of self awareness(luna at the end of Canterlot wedding)

 

Cadence recieves no support: What support would they give her? She is the only one who can perform the spell(at

least that is very heavily suggested). Essentially Shining Armors presence is the best support she could have given.

 

Thats just my perspective though I dont want to derail the thread and I am sorry to bombard viewers with a wall of text but I felt compelled to bring my points up.

Edited January 6, 2013 by Anadu Kune

[Veylon 255]

Why didnt they bring guards: What possible use would the guards be in the crystal empire? They cant possibly stand against Sombra, They cant help in the protection spell as Cadence is the only one who can cast it. They would probably just get in the way and cause more unrest and fear in crystal ponies.

The single guard who was there managed to beat off Sombra entirely by himself and lived to tell the tale. So unicorn guards, not useless. For that matter, Celestia or Luna could've gone far enough to make sure Twilight & co. didn't get ganked by Sombra getting off the train (which they almost were) even if they couldn't enter the Empire proper.

 

Secondly guards (or really, servants of any kind) could've helped with the grunt work, like searching the library, setting up the fair, and questioning the Crystal Ponies. I mean, if we're sending Rainbow Dash to do questioning...

 

What kind of test risks the lives and well being of others: People seem to assume the word test implies less importance. This is untrue as the saying goes the true test of ones abilities is in the field. The true test of ones acquired knowledge is through application in the field weather it is surgery, driving, or an actual battlefield(all of which risk the lives of others). Its all about applying your text book and practiced knowledge into an actual scenario. The episode actually focuses on putting all of Twilight's main skills to the test. Her research and reading skills,her organization skills, and her magic. All of these are pitted against a force of darkness and fear, not just the fear of the approaching darkness but of failure. There is also doubt, whilst Canterlot Wedding pitted Twilight against the doubt of others this episode pitted her against her own doubt of herself.

Yes, but what was the purpose of telling Twilight that "you alone must do this"? It makes Twilight's job harder and nearly leads to ruin. If the Crystal Empire mission must be a success for the sake of Equestria, why make it harder by adding an entirely unnecessary and counterproductive instruction? 

[Dusty Soul 2,614]

I have to agree, I never try to expect something, because 80% of the time I'll be wrong.  I think people are having too high of expectations.  They should just focus on the fact that it's an episode, not your (the persons) episode.  

[Anadu Kune 668]

The single guard who was there managed to beat off Sombra entirely by himself and lived to tell the tale. So unicorn guards, not useless. For that matter, Celestia or Luna could've gone far enough to make sure Twilight & co. didn't get ganked by Sombra getting off the train (which they almost were) even if they couldn't enter the Empire proper.   Secondly guards (or really, servants of any kind) could've helped with the grunt work, like searching the library, setting up the fair, and questioning the Crystal Ponies. I mean, if we're sending Rainbow Dash to do questioning...

 

 

 

One thing we must remember is that it was heavily indicated the Shining Armor was the most powerful of the royal guard as his talent lies in both protection magic(only he could cast shield of that magnitude) and his protective nature as indicated by his cutie mark. True he managed to distract Sombra, but even his power was negated by Sombra. Essentially having a bunch of guards there would only accomplish the same thing but resulting in more unicorns unable to use magic. 

 

Guards being in the crystal empire would only cause more unrest in the crystal ponies. The last thing you want to do is send in a bunch of guards to occupy a city which was previously enslaved. Celestia knew love and light were involved in the solution to the problem, but she knew not of the crystal heart(if we later find out she did know of it that is a huge potential plot hole). As such she knew that causing unrest in the

crystal ponies wouldn't be wise. Oh and I highly doubt the guards would be that much better than rainbow dash at extracting info. Their stern appearance and authoritative approach to speech would again just be more likely to unsettle the crystal ponies.

 

"Yes, but what was the purpose of telling Twilight that "you alone must do this"? It makes Twilight's job harder and nearly leads to ruin. If the Crystal Empire mission must be a success for the sake of Equestria, why make it harder by adding an entirely unnecessary and counterproductive instruction?"

 

We really dont know for certain. Im sure convincing theories could and have been made in either direction. It should also be taken into account that this season seems to have an ongoing subplot. So we may indeed find out more in upcoming episodes. 

 

In any case this is a conversation I think that should be carried out in a separate topic I would defiantly enjoy writing one. To get back on topic I wrote of the villain as an extreme source of expectation clouding judgement of an episode because I myself was subject to it. On my first viewing of Crystal Empire I focused on it, but in subsequent viewings I recognized Sombra as being very similar to Sauron though at the time I didnt realize he actually was based of Sauron. The point is that Im am subject to this to the point where I often lament not being able to enjoy my first viewing of an episode. That was my motivation for writing this post, perhaps I should have made it more apparent, though it is a part of me I wish would go away.

Edited January 6, 2013 by Anadu Kune

[Toastypk 927]

The episodes do get have this feeling that they should be real awesome, like with the Crystal Empire, I know Sombra got shown prior to the episode airing, but I didn't look at him. Seeing the episode, I saw him, I saw him to be real cool and awesome. Very threatening, even if he's mostly in the background or with the stuff like the door and crystal heart hiding, or the one crystal pony being horrified at the reminder of him, making him real threatening. But a lot of fans don't like him because he seemed to be underwhelming. I didn't go in with any ideas, though I do get a lot of guessing or what-ifs or how-would-this-go. It would be neat if he were even more threatening, but I liked Crystal Empire anyway.

 

Also with Wonderbolt Academy: I had some ideas and stuff how the episode could happen, but I would just see the episode anyway to see it, trying not to feel how something should or shouldn't happen.

The other issue with me though, Spitfire is probably my most loved side character, because I like her personality as calm, cool, confident, nice, she's cute, she's awesome, I really adore her. But near the episode being aired, I saw comments saying that now she's really different, a hardass drillpony, and the thought that she'd be so different and potentially unlikeable almost broke my heart a bit. I couldn't bear to see the episode for some time because of what potential

 

With a good mix of procrastination, trepidation, and general wanting to be in the right mood, I hadn't seen the episode until last night, three weeks after it aired. I liked the episode. But I did get offput by Spitfire's different personality at first. I guess I'm just trying to rationalize it, cause it's so different than how she is in the other episodes, I don't want to feel like she's unlikeable or something. I still have a bit of residual discomfort about it, I feel uncertain. I might start a thread about it just to talk about her and stuff, see if it feels better.

 

But yeah, the preconceived feelings can occasionally be a bit in the way with some.

 

Now I'm gonna see Apple Family Reunion.

Edited January 7, 2013 by Toastypk

[JH24 385]

This is a very good thread, and one I can definitely relate with. There were several episodes in the past I couldn't even bring myself to watch as I was worried it would be so different from what I was expecting/hoping for. I guess in a way I was worried to be disappointed if I watched the episode.

 

I remember I delayed watching "The last roundup" for at least six weeks before finally watching it. (I didn't like Applejack as much back then and I was worried my view would become more negative because I felt she was too arrogant/unlikeable in some episode before) Afterwards it became one of my favorite episodes of the series and Applejack definitely one of my favorite characters.

 

 

I also have to be careful not letting my expectations for the next episode getting the best off me. Luckily there are many MLP episodes I could watch in the weekends to ease the wait, but I have to say waiting for the episode of January 19th is pretty hard at times.

Edited January 7, 2013 by JH24

[immblueversion 331]

I think I'm one who thinks that expectations are, or can be, further influenced by time. The longer we wait, the more we risk becoming lost in our own imaginations. No doubt a good number of us expected King Sombra to be this big, bombastic villain when he ended up being more underplayed, which let a lot of people down. He also had an image of himself leaked at least four months before his debut. If we never had that single image, at least so far ahead of the airing, and we were instead introduced to him through the episode itself when it aired, would things have been different?

 

I'm bringing this up because, while nowhere near as long a wait as the season premiere, the next episode is just under two weeks away, and we have no new episodes to tide us over until then. And as one of the most heavily anticipated episodes in the series' run, we may or may not be setting ourselves up for major disappointment, which I myself am trying to avoid.

Edited January 7, 2013 by immblueversion