Has the show gotten darker?

[Pony Of The Month 534]

Season 3 seems a bit darker than the other two.

 

In The Crystal Empire, not only do we get to see both Celestia and Twilight using dark magic, but King Sombra's back story was pretty dark too. And Yes, Sombra is the G4 equivalent of The Smooze, (from the G1 My Little Pony Movie) but that doesn't mean he isn't a threat. The way he enslaved an entire community of ponies, and took EVERY measure to make sure they aren't free. Plus, his death was pretty brutal for a kids show.

 In Too Many Pinkie Pies, Pinkie was having an existential crisis, and practically lost her identity. Not only is it creepy and scary to see a bunch of clones of yourself chanting "FUN," but it would also break your heart knowing that your friends didn't know which one is the real you. When Rainbow Dash found the real Pinkie Pie and referred to her as "this one," it broke my heart. The threat of the real Pinkie Pie being trapped forever in the mirror pool, and the brutal way that Twilight eliminates the pinkies are both really dark, especially after I was expecting this to be more of a fun episode. And I wonder what happened to the orange bird and frog? Overall, this was a surprisingly dark episode.

 It might just be me, but in One Bad Apple it seemed like the CMC attempted to MURDER Babs. That revenge plot just seemed like a horrible "accident" just waiting to happen. 

 Magic Duel- 3 words: "Writhe In Agony." Oh, and I can't forget about the opening.

In Sleepless In Ponyville, not only do we see dark imagery, but we also find out that Luna can go into other ponies' dreams, which is a scary thought if you think about it.

In Wonderbolt Academy, most of the mane cast come close to falling to their deaths, and Lightning Dust expresses zero empathy.

 I didn't think that Apple Family Reunion was dark at all..... until I found out that the shooting stars are supposed to represent Applejack's dead parents.

 In Spike At Your Service, choking to death is cannon. And the fact that the timberwolves are able to reform after being brutally killed, is a scary thought.

 

I'm going to update this thread as more episodes premiere, because I don't doubt that the show will continue to be dark.

 

 

[Phaeston-e12 173]

Plenty of dark theme has been suggested from the previous seasons as well. Ponies or creatures close to getting killed is something that's been occurring fairly frequently.

[NavelColt 22,876]

The concept of the show having gotten a bit darker since S3 began, arguably since the finale of season two, has been brought up since the Crystal Empire, and has only been talked about more, since. I do think there's been some new themes popping up in several of the new episodes that aim to be just as much for adult comprehension as young kids. I'm fine with it; I think the show is evolving a bit, and since I personally have found S3 to be the best season so far, I approve.

 

In Sleepless In Ponyville, not only do we see dark imagery, but we also find out that Luna can go into other ponies' dreams, which is a scary thought if you think about it.

 

I'm afraid 'some dark imagery references' is all I can give you on that one. Luna invading dreams is not a dark concept unless you choose it to be. The way it was portrayed was actually intended to soothe and to reassure; she's the guardian of your dreams. She obliterated the Headless Horse for Scootaloo in her dream before appearing before her, for example. So yeah. That doesn't really count, in my opinion.

 

I also think some of your other examples are victims of 'purposefully trying to see darkness in something', too, but I don't have as big an issue with them as the quoted segment.

 

Overall, yes, the show has gotten a bit more of age/darker, whatever you want to call it. Shows evolve. It's expected.

Edited January 10, 2013 by ~Chaotic Discord~

[Obsidian_Winter 1,159]

The concept of the show having gotten a bit darker since S3 began, arguably since the finale of season two, has been brought up since the Crystal Empire, and has only been talked about more, since. I do think there's been some new themes popping up in several of the new episodes that aim to be just as much for adult comprehension as young kids. I'm fine with it; I think the show is evolving a bit, and since I personally have found S3 to be the best season so far, I approve.

 

 

I'm afraid 'some dark imagery references' is all I can give you on that one. Luna invading dreams is not a dark concept unless you choose it to be. The way it was portrayed was actually intended to soothe and to reassure; she's the guardian of your dreams. She obliterated the Headless Horse for Scootaloo in her dream before appearing before her, for example. So yeah. That doesn't really count, in my opinion.

 

I also think some of your other examples are victims of 'purposefully trying to see darkness in something', too, but I don't have as big an issue with them as the quoted segment.

 

Overall, yes, the show has gotten a bit more of age/darker, whatever you want to call it. Shows evolve. It's expected.

Yeah, I agree with this. Most of the examples you mention above seem more like you're trying really hard to see dark imagery. Sombra wasn't killed, his physical body was just destroyed, much like how it was before. In One Bad Apple, they didn't try to kill Babs, they wanted to humiliate her. In Wonderbolts academy, that wasn't the first time ponies had to be saved. In Sonic Rainboom one could argue Rarity was allowed to fall to her death, but really that was just the tool used to get Rainbow Dash to do a Sonic Rainboom.

 

I could go through the list but really I think you are trying too hard to see darkness. I mean you can find darkness anywhere if you look for it in a certain perspective.

 

I love Season 3. The show has evolved into more complex story lines. I think thats really all there is to it

[Scootalove 10,684]

I wouldn't really say its a bad thing for a show to have dark scenes or scary events in episodes.

Princess Luna was trying to save Scootaloo from the Headless Horse and she did.

Of course, Lightning Dust didn't show any empathy she is like Rainbow Dash , who hates to lose but the difference is Lightning does not care about anyone getting hurt.

The Orange bird and frog probably don't want to come back.

I can say, that shows are suppose to develop from time to time, and well the dark thoughts of most these scenes, I can see how people think the show has gotten darker. It probably is, but for entertainment reasons.

[Veylon 255]

I've always thought the darker themes - or a least a setting that hints at them - was one of the key draws of the show, especially in conjunction with the absence of cynicism. We've been discussing the rather disturbing implications of Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Chrysalis as long as those characters have existed. Not to mention that there is an explicit Pony Hell within walking distance of Ponyville.

[PrymeStriker 408]

Maybe The Crystal Empire and Too Many Pinkie Pies to a certain degree, but all the others this season seemed pretty average to me. 

[Fender 1,283]

The fact that it presents darker themes is even more of a way to say that mature audiences can watch the show, and that's actually a really good thing, because if they made it more and more childish as the seasons go, then Bronies would have every reason to start being more disappointed in it, and the haters would have every reason to call is a little girl's show. It has its upsides, and it makes the show more entertaining in a sense, you can give serious features to a family show and it displays a more serious message. To a 6 year old, the Timberwolves reforming might just make them think "The monster has superpowers, cool!" whereas with people such as ourselves, we think "Oh, damn....uhm.......run AJ!"

 

Get my points?

[Jghx5 33]

I never thought this season was more darker then the others.  Maybe its all the COD and Mass Effect I've been playing to see the different or the fact the sun still out in a lot of episodes.  Aside from my bad jokes I agree.  The season is a lot more dark and its unknown if it be more dark or be lighten up a bit like this.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKFaqMzIoVo&list=FLfnDkd0TNFJOJo5H7YN-Tfg&index=6

 

Time will only tell.

[deltaNiNE 8]

For the most part, the themes have probably been getting a little bit heavier. I've got no complaints, since there's been some fantastic character development... The revelation of AJ's parents being dead was particularly strong for me.

I don't really see a problem with 'darker' themes... it is a kids' TV show first and foremost, and I for one would much rather the show have some substance to it, rather than be utter (excuse my language) shit like what seems to be the vast majority of kids' TV these days (in Australia at least. There's some absolute rubbish out there -_-).

[hawkflame 3,308]

You're also forgetting about the backstory in the pilot with Luna being corrupted by jealousy and turning into Nightmare Moon, as well asthe implications of what Nightmare Moon actually tried to do in her return. I believe Lauren Faust herself confirmed that if she was successful in creating everlasting night, all the vegetation would have died out and everyone would have starved to death. 

 

Don't forget Pinkie Pie veering near Cupcakes territory in Party of One and Twilight's sanity slippage in Lesson Zero, or Discord's mind games. 

 

So no, I wouldn't say it has gotten particularly darker.

[Steve 290]

wow, ive never realised this until now, ok, so yes the show has gotten darker, maybe too dark for kids, but i think you might be over thinking it, oh well, i dont care, i like it either way

[CrystalRose 636]

There are, and always have been, elements of peril or terror, but then again if you need a villain, what are they supposed to do? Give the ponies mildly bland cupcakes?

 

No, they have to do bad things. When you're a child you don't think about the literal implications of someone being enslaved for the rest of their lives, or what happens to blood vessels and internal organs if a frog is turned into fruit.

 

It's because we're the older audience we're overthinking everything. Which works for us, because it makes the show more interesting for an audience our generation.

[dad george 105]

Yeah it has. Quite a lot actually. And I actually think that's for the worse, not because of the show getting too dark (maybe a bit) but because it distracts from the actual story

[Hook Echo 10]

I honestly think a lot of it us us overthinking things, what with being older and all.  Some of it has been confirmed or was obvious (i.e. if Nightmare Moon succeeded, Pinkie in Party of One and Too Many Pinkie Pies), but I honestly don't think it's really gotten that much darker

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

It has gotten darker, I never actually thought that Sombra would actually get killed, I mean that was rather dark.  Then again it's been dark since the pilot episode.  NMM wants revenge on her own sister, and wants to plunge the world in eternal night.

[~Vallo~ 409]

Kind of, but I think that's good. It makes the show more entertaining sometimes. But since it's a kid show, I don't dark is a strong word.

Edited July 20, 2013 by ~Vallo~

[TwilightSparkle42 37]

I have to agree that "The Crystal Empire, part 2" is darker than most of the previous two seasons combined, due to my worst fear being obvious.  However, it began to get dark much, MUCH earlier.  When the "Great and Powerful Trixie" first came into Ponyville, she humiliated my friends, and that's the first time the show began getting dark.  In "The Return of Harmony, part 2," my friends ditched me for a while, so that's another example of the show getting dark before season 3.

[Viscra Maelstrom 3,718]

i think the show always have had an edge of darkness to it.

 

remember Boast Busters? a season 1 episode with a giant Ursa Minor rampaging through the town, which Twilight had to defeat by lulling it to sleep so it wouldn't destroy Ponyville and its inhabitants.

 

Swarm of the Century? another S1 episode, with a hoard of Parasprites taking over the town and eating all of their food, as well as eating other material things later on such as buildings and tools.

 

Lesson Zero from season 2 has Twilight Sparkle going OCD and becoming partially insane because she's spiraling out of control of her life.

 

Secret of my Excess features a Spike whose greed makes him grow the size of a skyscraper, and control of himself gets blinded by his own greed as he rampages through Ponyville to steal more stuff.

 

and so on, and so forth.

 

i'd say the show is popular partly because it IS dark. it doesn't sugar-coat everything that most stereotypical girls' shows do; it teaches moral lessons in general slice-of-life style episodes, and shows general dark themes like in those episodes i mentioned, among the other more well-known facts (the writing, the art-style, voice-acting, music etc.).

 

so yeah, i don't think it's that much darker than it used to be.

[TwilightSparkle42 37]

Thank you for proving my point, as well as helping prove that Parasprites are basically immune to magic and get the reverse effects of some spells cast at them.  ^{(Although I was able to summon a parasprite for a few seconds before sending it back, as shown in "Magic Duel,")} but I digress, and in a nutshell, don't feed the parasprites.  But enough talk about the creatures, I know that the show had begun gradually getting darker and darker since I had moved to Ponyville.

[The Weapon 168]

Nightmare Moon attempted to kill the Mane 6 outright by destroying the cliff they were standing on so they'd plunge to their deaths. It might not be visible in the episode unless you pay close attention, but webcomics people who take single-frame shots did notice it.

 

There's attempted murder in the show premiere. It hasn't gotten much darker. Revealing a slightly darker backstory and the Party-of-One -esque breakdown episodes, as well as the season premieres and ends, might be the entire source of it.

 

Let's come up with something slightly minor yet scary altogether with each season endpoint.

 

Let's see... NMM was exorcised out of Luna by the Elements of Harmony, and it looked as if NMM was scared of that, not angry, but scared. Nothing but implications there, nothing substantial.

 

Celestia looks as if she anticipated and was OK with the mass damages that occured at the Gala that she might have avoided if she could just keep herself in check and reintroduce her sister to the rich upper-class nobility and society. Trollish and self-destructive to her house, but not necessarily too bad.

 

Discord... Well, he does horrific things that the Elements possibly did not completely reverse (Remember the orangey frogs and subsequent character breaks down episodes?), lots of mind raep, and lots of unpleasant things that probably would have destroyed all semblance of sanity, physics, and logic had he been allowed to continue. Horrifying. Analyze at all and he becomes scary.

 

Chrysalis wasn't trying to do anything more than obtain food. Her methods were scary, but her motives weren't outright evil. She could have gone in in her true form and tried to win over the hearts of the people post-the-wedding while everyone was still happiness on witnessing such displays of love, but still. She outright attacked the city, and there's plenty of space to assume that they killed those ponies they were lasering into alleyways. And seriously, the Mane 6 were at least marginally violent when trying to get to the Elements. Pinkie outright used Twilight like a magic machine gun.

 

Sombra... Well, he enslaved everyone in the Crystal Empire city, attempted to broadcast bad things over the empathy crystals and spread all sorts of unwanted negative emotion everywhere by extent, and gave the Crystal Ponies amnesia. The Elements only sealed him and the city the first time and Cadence was strained until Twilight and Spike could recover the Crystal Heart. Ok, there's some seriously darkyness going on over here.

 

In order from most to least assumed darkness... S2 premiere, S2 end, S3 premiere, S1 premiere, S1 end.

 

 

 

If the writers are trying to make the show lighter, just make the WMG that whenever a sonic rainboom happens it makes the entire world sugarbowl canon, then have an episode where Rainbow Dash rainboomspams. Excused!

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,694]

No, the show has not gotten darker. If you look hard enough for something you're bound to find it, but there have always been ominous moments on the show. Believe me, it will never get bad enough to justify grimdark.

[TwilightSparkle42 37]

You know, the show has gradually gotten darker after I moved to Ponyville, as I have said earlier.  You're just trying to compare the darkness of the first and second episodes, which were actually trying to kick-start the new generation.

[kirbyboi 587]

Well, considering MLP standards, I guess you could say it's been a bit more 'darker', at least in MLP's terms. But I like the way it is, because it proves that this show isn't like previous gens of MLP. The Royal Wedding was awesome, and I like how the plots are actually  thought-out, instead it all being about tea parties and sharing. 

 

I like the show the way it is, and it can only get better. I like that it has some dark edges to it, but I don't want it to become TOO dark. I think the dark scenes it has (maybe a little more) is fine with me. Makes the show more interesting.

[Stary Dreams 87]

I've never really noticed the dark themes in Seasons 1 & 2 but Season 3 I've truly noticed. Maybe it's the fact that I myself am I violent writer that likes to usually add in bloody gore to my stories, but it's obvious. I mean the Timberwolves in Spike At You Service scared me and the fact that the CMC tried to kill Babs in a way that might not show to kids since they covered it with a song and stuff. But that's the good thing... (I know, sounds weird) it shows that MLP has the guts to actually show some violence that most kid shows today wouldn't dare to do. And that's what makes MLP awesome.