S03:E13 - Magical Mystery Cure

[Titan Rising 2,156]

yeah it kinda is going to be a 3 parter carrying on to season 4.

Also am i the only pony thinking that everything was going a little too well? the main conflict was resolved with ease (and in song) and the change to Twilight was so sudden and unexplained. (yes its a kid show but still )

 

also massive plot hole- Twilight becomes an Alicorn because she created a new spell...... surly she isn't the first pony to, Starswell surly made plenty of them... but i guess he had no friends so not alicorn powers for him :/

 

sorry for the rant

 

overall i think its a dream and Twilight is rely trapped somewhere 

 

This is what I'm saying man.  Shes panicking and crying at the beginning and they have a whole little serenade to elaborate on how bad this situation is, then she takes fluttershy to her cottage and practically everythings solved

 

Also, how does doing all of that make her create a spell anyway??

 

And if the first spell changes people's destinys then why couldn't she just keeping using it until they all went back to normal??  I mean between the 5 of them theres only 25 combinations man comon

 

AND if the first spell changes a pony's destiny and the one she created brings it back to normal, am I the only one who was far more impressed at starswirl the beardeds spell?????  come. on. man.  So dumb...

 

 

yeah..... i think i'm going to hold onto my 'Its all in Twilight head and she is rely trapped somewhere' theory tho because there is not better prison then the perfect dream 

 

and as for why Twilight would dream of being an alicorn.... she wouldn't but she would dream of being Celestia's equal  

 

Well honestly even if this was the case, how stupid would that be lol?  This whole episode would basically be for nothing

Edited February 16, 2013 by Hollowshield

[The Original 571]

I REALLY disliked hated (yes, i MEAN that) this episode. For a few reasons.

 

It felt VERY rushed. Needed two episodes for a season finale instead of just one.

 

It honestly didn't make very much sense

 

Almost nothing was explained other than. "Ya did good. Have some wings and a title"

 

The whole fact that Twilight becomes an alicorn just feels completely wrong.

 

For all we know, this episode could have been a dream of Twilight's. (I REALLY hope it is)

 

Why are so many people liking this episode? This episode felt like it was ACTUALLY made for little girls. It doesn't make sense, and Twilight becomes a princess. Isn't that what little girls dream of? Becoming a princess without any sensible reason? 0 Stars. Screw you Hasbro.

 

*Edit*

Good to know some people understand why it was the worst episode out of all.

Edited February 16, 2013 by Quip es #1

[Inactive01 5,299]

There's just so many songs to analyze from! Plus, most of these songs I would love to arrange into a Rodgers-Hammerstein type production! There's so many good things I don't even care about Twilight being an alicorn; in fact, I think it made sense from the start!

[~/XC- BRONY\~ 310]

Which commerical was it. If you have a link, can you give me it so I can watch it. I woke up too late and couldn't watch the episode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBxuc5uE8UI here it is. oh and on the bottom when twilights talking, it says, "enjoy my little pony friendship is magic responsibly" HAHAHAHAHAHAH

Edited February 16, 2013 by ~/XC- BRONY\~

[RaptorART 258]

Ok, I did not like this one. First off, what was with all the songs? Like, 90% of the episode was pure singing. Second, the plot. Okay, I said I was neutral to the idea of alicorn princess Twilight, and would reserve judgement till I saw the episode. But now that I've seen it, I gotta say: what the actual fuck, Studio B, what the actual fuck? The issue Twilight's friends had began and was resolved WAY too fast, there's just nothing to say to that other than that it was rushed beyond what I would say is acceptable. It happened, then boom, it was over. Literally. What was the even the point? And then she becomes a princess, okay, I thought this could be done well, but they failed utterly to pull it off well. There was no logical reason given as to why she became princess, as it was never explained why they even needed a third princess (Celestia and Luna are still around), and she's not even royalty, the latter of which I could maybe overlook, but the former I certainly cannot.

 

 

In short, the issue of the episode was wrapped up way too fast, and there was absolutely no logical reason given as to why Twilight became princess, all she has done in ponyville does not justify it. So no, I did not like this episode, I'll even go so far as to say this is hands down the single worst episode of this entire show.

the songs were ALL really really good

and YES it was totally rushed, but hey, you only get 22 minutes

and you probably don't realize that this is a 3 parter btw

and yes, Twilight became a Alicorn BECAUSE she was able to figure out a spell that Starswirl could not (and yes its kinda corny)

I guess if your an Alicorn than your Royalty from what it seems

[Jamie 302]

Fingers crossed for derpy to return in season 4! That wink could mean something, or it could just be a nod to the fans

[Booksmith 87]

And why does Twi get to be a princess just because she's a unicorn? Both Molestia and Princess Luna keep stables of alicorn guards. She couldn't become a princess without becoming a Marry Sue uber-powered freak? 

 

[Emerald Flame 381]

Tried watching it another time, and I'm liking the episode even less now. Mainly because of the songs. MLP's songs are usually good, but they need moderation. Throwing a ton of songs in an episode like this made it a trainwreck. A musical episode about something less important might work, but when it's going to change the show completely? NO. This episode needed another part, and more actual dialogue for it to even stand a chance of being good.

[Dr. Eggnog 203]

I loved the idea from the start.  I thought of Twilight becoming an alicorn princess before it was announced, when I rewatched the season 3 premiere and Celestia said something about preparing Twilight for something.  I think the season 3 finale was wonderful, in many ways it was a lot like what I had in my head.  One of the best of the season and the series as a whole, and in a way it would've made a great series finale.  I can only imagine what season 4 will be like.  In the meantime it was another great season.  Not as good as the first two seasons, but that has a lot to do with it being half length.

[Gemstone 0]

I am going downstairs with my laptop to watch it right now!

[Coco Pommel 669]

Well, I've watched through parts of the episode a couple times now, And yes, this episode was fantastic, the best they could have done in twenty-two minutes. I almost wonder if the creators had problems which caused this season to be cut in half with the number of episodes. I feel that, if this season had twenty-six episodes like the former two, it could have been even better. Like I have said, this season was pretty good, not as great as before, but still pretty good. We had a lot of good episodes, like Too Many Pinkie Pies and Magical Duel, and I liked the experimentation they did with the two epsiodes, Just for Sidekicks and Games Ponies Play. While they could have done things better, this season still had plenty of strong points. It's great to know that the following season will have twenty-six episodes again and Amy Keating Rogers is going to return to write more episodes. I liked season two the most because it felt like they were really at their prime with the quality of their episodes, and I believe that they can make the next season better than this one, even if Twilight Princess may give them a few challenges.

So yeah, at first, I was really cautious to see Twilight Sparkle as an alicorn princess. It just felt like the creators were taking a jab a favorite character of mine, a character who I have really related to, especially in episodes like Lesson Zero, where Twilight got all paranoid and worried. After seeing this episode, I felt quite the opposite. Seeing Twilight grow and evolve because of all of the lessons she has learned and the friendship she has had caused me to feel really happy for her, like all of this made sense. It would have made even more sense if this was a two-part episode, so they could have had more time to explain things. I really liked the format of season two, where both the premiere and the finale were two-part episodes. Hopefully, some time in the future, they could make a three-part episode to wrap up the whole series. I still think they should end this series with a fourth season and possibly a three-part finale. It would feel like they would end the show at a good place, rather than forcing it to go on and on, causing it to feel stale and gain the whole Spongebob effect. Ending the show while it's still good would be the best idea for the fans, but who knows? Hasbro could probably force it to go on.

The songs. Oh my god, the songs. They were all great. I really like how this show actually got me into listening to music, believe it or not. Before watching this show, I never really listened to music in my leisure time and while doing homework and such. I also never liked musicals before watching this show. It's hard for me to decide which song was my favorite, but I really liked the song where Twilight was in her bed and all sad and I actually teared slightly. ;-;

This episode gave me a lot of feels, almost as much as I did after I finished A Canterlot Wedding for the first time. It made me happy, sad, and other things, even if this is "just a silly pony cartoon for little girls."

So yeah, this was, in my opinion, the best episode of the season, and one I'll definitely go back to, and one of the best episodes of the series, despite how unbelievably rushed it felt. Like the creators have done before, when it seems like an upcoming episode will turn out crappy, it actually becomes awesome. There are apparently some fans who really didn't like this episode, and I understand, but I still really liked this episode. It was sort of funny how Twilight Sparkle was saying, "Everything is going to be just fine." Definitely seems like the creators are telling us something. But, like I said, I wonder if that's also telling us that something may go horribly wrong in the fourth season.

I gotta do homework now.

[RetroDash 42]

Here goes my thoughts...(as posted earlier on my facebook):

 

FINALLY!!! I have been dying for this season finale not so much for the content, but because I hoped it would make certain more panicky members of the fandom SHUT UP ALREADY! Seriously, bronies, chill. The show’s raison d’etre from day one has to been TO SELL TOYS. Fortunately they made a better show than they had to, hence the phenomenon. (You played into Hasbro’s hands by the way, but I’m saving that for a planned essay on types of fandom drama on my blog.) With that, to the review!

 

Recap: In between songs, Celestia sends Twi a broken spell. Twi grabs the idiot ball, casts the spell, and Fubars the Mane 6’s destinies. Twilight undoes the magic and earns wings. Shining Armor cries Manly Tears Liquid Pride. Derpy shows up. The end.

 

 

Strengths: The Songs were incredible, ditto the (too brief) depictions of each pony acting out the wrong destiny. I thought they handled the transformation itself as well as possible in 22 minutes.

 

 

Weaknesses: Major pacing issues (which y'all have discussed) aside, So many questions! Did Cadence ascend too? Is Twi immortal? Are there new duties? Most of all, what about the Mane 6? The biggest issue on every Brony’s mind was only given lip

service. OK, they’re still friends, but…

 

Where they go from here: I saw somebody on Tumblr suggest that Celestia seems to be amassing an army. First she put Twi in position to free Luna. Then, the marital and magical union of Cadence and Shining Armor, followed with the reformation of Discord (a loose cannon if ever there was one), and finally dangling some nice shiny bait that she knew Twilight would promptly chomp on,

decode, and thereby earn a power-up. I also wonder if Celestia doesn’t see some sort of big threat on the horizon, and isn’t setting up the chessboard to her advantage a la Gandalf or Dumbledore.

 

Final thoughts: Twilight is now Princess of/Jedi master in Friendship. Heck, her awesome powers are essentially DUE to her connection with the Mane 6. Immediately growing apart from them just because she gained wings and a mediocre dress (seriously, Rarity could have done better) would undercut the whole point of the show, and might well lead to her LOSING her powers. That

said, there are serious logistical and relationship concerns bubbling under the surface of the season finale. If the show is true to form, those repercussions (and the need to resolve them to defeat a Big Bad) will be explored very soon. I think the final song might have lampshaded this: Unlike the season opener, the reprise’s lyrics weren’t changed. Despite a huge paradigm shift, Twilight assumes everything is once again hunky-dory and statically perfect. I smell a subtle setup for the other shoe dropping next season, and can’t wait to see how the Mane 6 adjusts to their first major change since befriending Twilight. I’ll be a tad nervous until we see the full implications of today’s events play out, but I for one (cautiously) welcome our new Alicorn Overlord.

 

 

 

I for one don't welcome her! I cannot believe she can fly without lessons or a manual. UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!

[The Original 571]

yeah it kinda is going to be a 3 parter carrying on to season 4.

Also am i the only pony thinking that everything was going a little too well? the main conflict was resolved with ease (and in song) and the change to Twilight was so sudden and unexplained. (yes its a kid show but still )

 

also massive plot hole- Twilight becomes an Alicorn because she created a new spell...... surly she isn't the first pony to, Starswell surly made plenty of them... but i guess he had no friends so not alicorn powers for him :/

 

sorry for the rant

 

overall i think its a dream and Twilight is rely trapped somewhere 

They act like making a new spell is a GIANT achievement. Before the season finale came out, i had made my own OC. Arcane. And guess what? When he was just barely older than a colt, he writ TONS of spells on his own.

He barely read anything magically related other than his own spellbook. But now i see that's totally wrong and i need to change it... Well, there goes my OC. Down the pooch mafooning drain.

 

If i keep it this way, people will say its a Mary Sue. If i change it, it will completely ruin my character.

 

About the Twilight dream part and nothing of it is real; I thought that as well.

[Spartan 433]

I'm thinking with all the new Princessess popping up, Cadance and now Twilight.. that Celestia's time might be coming to an end. Shes pretty much dividing her kingdom up between Cadance, Twilight, and Luna.. Thats just a thought though, in a way i hopes its true, and another i hope not :/

[Vengeance 84]

And why does Twi get to be a princess just because she's a unicorn? Both Molestia and Princess Luna keep stables of alicorn guards. She couldn't become a princess without becoming a Marry Sue uber-powered freak? 

 

 

Well, because Twilight is different. She will chose friendship over being one of the power loving royalty. And that is why Princess Celestia chose her to be a princess. The princess of friendship, being able to watch over her people as their friends. Or at least that's how I would put it.

[RaptorART 258]

Tried watching it another time, and I'm liking the episode even less now. Mainly because of the songs. MLP's songs are usually good, but they need moderation. Throwing a ton of songs in an episode like this made it a trainwreck. A musical episode about something less important might work, but when it's going to change the show completely? NO. This episode needed another part, and more actual dialogue for it to even stand a chance of being good.

this episode has 2 OTHER PARTS to it

and this is "offical"

parts 2 and 3 will be the first 2 episodes of season 4 (probably October)

here is my proof

[Floris 287]

God will smite me for this.

 

Great episode, I love the musical style.

 

 

 

WARNING

 

You may feel very, very, very, very, very, very ,very ,very ,very ,very ,very ,very sad if you watch this video.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KCW7N2NGiM

 

 

For better heart aching play the video with the Dead island Trailer music.

Edited February 16, 2013 by Floris

[Emerald Glow 40]

I for one don't welcome her! I cannot believe she can fly without lessons or a manual. UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!

That did bug me a bit. I'm sort of hoping S4 opens at that moment, the camera continuing to follow her graceful swoop as she flies smack into the side of the castle. That would be lovely transition to an opener where she has to learn how to fulfill her duties...from her friends, who have to learn that she can be a princess AND Adorkable Twilight..

[Emerald Flame 381]

this episode has 2 OTHER PARTS to it

and this is "offical"

parts 2 and 3 will be the first 2 episodes of season 4 (probably October)

here is my proof

 

So? That doesn't change the fact that this part was rushed beyond redemption. This part needed to be longer, adding more onto it isn't going to make up for that.

[Coco Pommel 669]

You "guys" are a bunch of cry babies. You all need to get a life and move out of your parents basement. There's more to life than beating it to animated ponies.

 

The episode was made to entertain 6 year olds, not you bunch of dweebs.

I completely agree. Excuse me while I drink beer, save the world, and do manly man things. Because why would I ever watch a show like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? Obviously, no one other than little girls and sad lonely men could ever like it.

[The Original 571]

You "guys" are a bunch of cry babies. You all need to get a life and move out of your parents basement. There's more to life than beating it to animated ponies.

 

The episode was made to entertain 6 year olds, not you bunch of dweebs.

I'm sure we all know what to do...... well, there is one part i agree with.

 

The episode felt like it was INDEED made for little girls. Becoming a princess without any sensible reason; What every 6 year old girl wants.

[PonyEcho 1,610]

The show is made to entertain 6 year olds. You dweebs are analyzing things on a forum that are meant for discussion on Monday morning preschool classes.

welcome to the forum, you are obviously new here.

 

of course we do stuff like this, its kind the point of being a fan or more so a nerd, were is the fun in just thinking of everything so blandly

[applebaby 10]

I have a mixed opinion on this episode.

 

I enjoyed the songs particularly "true, true friends" and Pinkie was hillarious. (ALICORN PARTY!) 

 

I dislike the idea of Alicorn Twilight because the other characters might not be as important in season 4. Don't get me wrong,I will watch season 4 but I am hoping that all of the characters have a share of importance and I am a bit worried about the writing as this season had quite a few episodes I did not like.

[Mr. Jaguar 1,403]

the songs were ALL really really good

and YES it was totally rushed, but hey, you only get 22 minutes

and you probably don't realize that this is a 3 parter btw

and yes, Twilight became a Alicorn BECAUSE she was able to figure out a spell that Starswirl could not (and yes its kinda corny)

I guess if your an Alicorn than your Royalty from what it seems

 

 

Ya I really don't think the rest of this 3 parter will justify the amount of pure bullshit in this episode. They gave a justification for her becoming a leader, it was a terrible one tho, so it's not like it's something we get to find out the "why" to later on, we got the why, but it's bovine fecal matter. Tho there's also still the explanation as to why they even needed another princess in the first place, I have a strong feeling that it won't get explained, there was nothing in this episode that hinted that anything more about why she became princess will be explained, I think this is one big shit stain that ain't going away I'm afraid.

 

And the end of the day, it's obvious Hasbro forced them to do this for the sake of selling new toys, and as a result they've left one big piece of crap on the show's storyline.

Edited February 16, 2013 by Mr. Jaguar

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

So, my thoughts on this episode. Let's go through all of the things it did and why I feel as a whole this episode was above average, though not stellar.

 

First, this episode had two principle ideas that arguably could have benefited from being fleshed out into a two parter. The first idea is that of cutie marks being rewritten. The second was Twilight Sparkle's coronation.

Because both of these ideas could have fit whole episodes easily, the pacing was a sprint. The episode needed to cover everything as quickly as it could, and it didn't really have a chance to. Thus, musical.

 

From the beginning with this episode we see it's going to be a musical. Twilight sings about how everything's going to be a perfect day(which is just begging for disaster) and then it turns out it's not. How she failed to notice Rarity's patchwork clouds before she ran into Rarity on the bridge, I'm not sure, but eh, failing to notice things not in camera view is hardly unique to Friendship is Magic. Once she did notice the problem though she was lightning quick trying to find out what caused it.

It turned out to be a half finished spell, which I think was a phenomenal idea because it gives us new insight into Starswirl the Bearded. How? Well let's consider what the spell did. The spell was intended to rewrite the cutie marks of who knows how many ponies. I suspect it wouldn't have worked without access to the Elements of Harmony, and that it only affected the Elements of Harmony(and thus, the Mane Six) because it was Twilight casting it.

But notice what this means. It rewrites destiny. That means it changes things... just like things could be changed through time travel. Starswirl is the only one we've seen experimenting with time travel, and his lone time travel spell only succeeded in creating a stable time loop. Thus it seems like Starswirl was constantly trying to change things. Why? There could be any number of reasons, and my personal speculation is that it involved a tragic backstory where Starswirl, ever the loner, wanted to make friends, but couldn't. He'd lost the chance, or he had friends and lost them, and was doing everything he could to get them back; that's why the time travel. (Alternatively, it could be the time travel was created after this spell when the spell malfunctioned and did horrible things to a number of ponies.)

What's interesting too is the way the spell affected the minds of the Mane Six selectively. Their memories seemed to change only in certain ways to make them believe that they're supposed to be doing different things, but at the same time we heard from Fluttershy that she was going to move back to Cloudsdale. If it had been a complete memory swap she would have talked about moving "back to the rock farm" instead. Because of the nature of the spell I am hesitant to argue that this episode indicates how cutie marks and destinies are supposed to actually work. Things became screwed up too much; it was likely the spell that made them think they had to follow their new "talent" as far as they could.

So the whole of that plot was wrapped up in musical format within the first ten or so minutes of the episode. Once Twilight rewrote the spell, she was immediately torn away to a cosmic realm of something or other.

This is the one place where I'm going to fault the episode a little harshly because this cosmic realm presents a few too many questions. What exactly is it supposed to be? Is it supposed to be some dimension that Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and now Twilight can enter and stay separate from the rest of reality? Is it what gives them their princess powers? Is it something that grants them immortality? Is it the godly realm from which they rule over? I have no clue.

I did enjoy Celestia singing though.

Once Twilight became an alicorn, the episode couldn't slow down. She needed a coronation event, which again could have covered a whole episode. But it didn't; we were left with her giving a speech on how friendship and her friends were the most important to her, and were left with one final song.

All in all the episode was definitely rushed. So what makes it above average rather than below average like other episodes?

Firstly, this episode was written under some serious constraints. Season three, as far as the production staff knew, could have been the last season when they were writing it and putting it together. Additionally, there were other executive requirements: Twilight had to become a Princess. So they needed to create what was probably going to be the end of the series, without the ability to give things two parters like they needed. They were consistently forced to write forty-four or longer minute episode ideas into twenty-two minute episodes.

That alone isn't enough though. What really makes this episode stronger is that they did it in a musical format. A musical is something this show has needed from the beginning, ever since it started having songs, because it's practically built for it. It was about the only way they could fit both ideas into twenty-two minutes without the episode completely crashing down on itself. I am willing to give the episode serious bonus points for that alone.

Additionally, while the first part of the episode could have easily fit a full episode or even an episode and a half by itself, the latter half of the episode probably couldn't have. Sure, it could have been expanded, with some questions answered, but I'm finding it hard to believe you could fit Twilight's coronation into an entire episode without the pacing slowing down significantly. Plus, it would have been same sort of episode formula we've been seeing throughout the whole show. The musical format changes things up and makes it fresher.
 

This episode had a lot of little fun moments too. I listened to "True True Friend" when it was leaked/uploaded a few days before the episode, without the animation, and it didn't seem all that great until we saw it in the episode, where the lyrics made far more sense in context. The way the crowd was so happy to see Pinkie Pie was, as a result, rather spectacular. Then there was Pinkie's taking a drink of water in order to spit it out; having done similar things many times myself(only with a dramatic pen drop instead of water because it doesn't make a mess) I really laughed hard and appreciated that.

So on the whole, yes, the episode was rushed. Yes, it could have benefited from spreading out. But I feel like it was a strong episode even with that issue. The time constraints and the fact that it was so fast paced is why I don't feel it was a stellar episode, and the unanswered questions continue to gnaw at me. We don't know exactly what Twilight is a Princess of, though it could be Magic or Friendship. We also don't know where she's going to be living after this. Will she move to Canterlot? Will her friends move with her?

But we do know that she values her friends highly. She said it as much herself. She wouldn't be a Princess without her friends. So I'm not worried about her losing her friends in season four. Quite the opposite: they'll stick around. The question is just in what form.

If Season Three as a whole has taught us anything, it's that the show was becoming far too stale. Within the formula they had for the first two seasons, there was only so many new ideas they could do. And the new ideas they did have, the ideas they wanted to use to innovate with, were always too big. Too huge. Practically every episode of season three, with only one or two exceptions, such as Sleepless in Ponyville and Games Ponies Play, could have benefited from being two parters or longer. Every episode idea was so grand and so high, yet because they were stuck with the twenty-two minute formula and only thirteen episodes, they couldn't do much. If the show had just kept being about the Mane Six learning about friendship, we'd have been stuck with things becoming boring. How often can we watch the Elements whip out a rainbow to smack enemies in the face? How often could we watch the Mane Six beat down yet another threat to Equestria? How often could we watch them learn some of the same friendship lessons over and over again?

We needed a change up, and that's exactly what Princess Twilight offers. This episode could have been the last one of the series, which would have ended things on a high note. Because it's not, and because we know season four will have twenty-six episodes, we're left with a brand new start for things to go in who knows what sort of direction. This is hardly the first show to do this sort of thing; lots of shows have innovated in this way.

For example, one of my favorites, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, did so through the introduction of the U.S.S. Defiant at the start of its third season. Prior to that point, the show was limited to the space station(the titular Deep Space Nine) and as a result there was only so much the writers could do with it. The Defiant allowed them to leave the station and travel the rest of the Alpha Quadrant, dramatically changing the formula.

Princess Twilight does the same thing. Her new situation means the show can handle new ideas. Picture, for example, Twilight having to deal with ambassadors from the Gryphon Kingdom, or maybe even her and her friends traveling the world as ambassadors, giving us chances for high action and world-building drama. That's just the tip of the potential iceburg we have here.

The finale wasn't the best episode, but neither was it terrible. Because of its musical format, and because of how it changes the series, I am willing to give it a 7/10. (A reminder that my one to ten scale has five as average.) It is above average, but neither is it stellar. It doesn't need to be though.

I, for one, welcome our new Princess Twilight. She deserves to be an Alicorn. She deserves to be a Princess.

Let's see what happens in season four.