S03:E13 - Magical Mystery Cure

[Batbrony 16,051]

My full review of the season finale, along with my full thoughts on Season 3, are finally up; you can check them out here: http://mlpforums.com/topic/49769-spoilers-season-3-review-thread/

 

Feel free to leave your own full thoughts on Season 3 in that thread as well; I'm interested to hear what everypony has to say about the season as a whole! 

Edited February 17, 2013 by Batbrony

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

I did a video about the episode. It's not a review, it's more of a reflection of what I thought about the episode and the future of the series

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyA2ngVA4_U

leave some comments I want to hear what you guys think

Edited February 17, 2013 by TheMarkz0ne

[TwilizzleFoShizzle 95]

You should consider he perhaps didn't have the qualities either.. As explained by Celestia; Charity, compasion, devotion, integrity, optimism and leadership are required aswell and yes, she gained some of these traits because of her friends.. but some people don't have them or can gain them at all.. he could be one of those people and may have been one of the reasons he didn't become a Alicorn.

 

(Despite from the fact they seem to be female exclusive.  )

 

 

You should consider he perhaps didn't have the qualities either.. As explained by Celestia; Charity, compasion, devotion, integrity, optimism and leadership are required aswell and yes, she gained some of these traits because of her friends.. but some people don't have them or can gain them at all.. he could be one of those people and may have been one of the reasons he didn't become a Alicorn.

 

(Despite from the fact they seem to be female exclusive.  )

I didn't realize rainbow text was also a prerequisite...  But seriously what I don't get is where is the proof he didn't become an alicorn? Theoretically he could have become an alicorn. If cadance is an alicorn and she can grow up, then alicorns can die of old age. Also, Starswirl was never said to be exclusively a unicorn and die as such. Or maybe he is still alive as an alicorn living in a cave somewhere to come back as a villain in season 4.

[GoldenShield 46]

I don't mind Twilight being an Alicorn but I think that for all of you guys who hated it, here is an ending you might like a little more,

[Titan Rising 2,156]

for real, the grand galloping gala had more build up than this and that was the most pointless event ive ever seen. this was something that actually matters lol

[Cowl 128]

Wow, what an episode!

 

The first half of the episode was amazing! One of the best episodes EVER!

 

Rarity and her checkered sky

Dash tied up in a cauldron

Applejack's fashion sense

Pinkies complete lack of coordination? (she must lose her powers when she isn't happy)
 

and all of the songs where great.
 

 

Then Twilight had to go and figure out how to fix that spell, and suddenly it was a complete sellout to hasbro...

(I know I know, they already belonged to hasbro...)
 

The coronation was just cringe-worthy. I couldn't bare to watch it. It took me 2 hours to get through 5~10 min of the show...

I'm not even that against twilight becoming an winged pegasus.

 

 

PS:

I can't believe that they actually made Alicorn (referring to a winged pegasus and not to a unicorn horn) definitively cannon.

 

Also, why would they name this episode after "Magical Mystery Tour" which is arguably the worst Beatles album only because it is too short to be an actual album.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Cowl

[Whofch 128]

Well that was certainly something. Only watched it just now so these thoughts aren't as thought out as they may be tomorrow or whatever.

 

I actually really enjoyed the first half. The whole cutie mark switching was a very cool idea and throwing it all into song was interesting. That so could have used an episode all by itself. It just seemed brushed away far too quickly.

 

Then they all zapped Twilight. We all knew what was coming then and I thought a blast from the elements was a good a way as any for it to happen. That's when it went down hill.

The moment Twi went into that other plane of existence or whatever it was and Celestia showed up, it all just felt awkward. Felt like it was saying 'this is the stuff you like, yes? Please say yes. Have a Celestia song..."

 

Then there's the whole ceremony, with the 3 princesses together making Cadence and Luna look like Celestia's lackies. Wasn't a fan of that.

 

And it all ends with Twilight being treated like a princess being driven around on her chariot which just gives her an air of superiority making me think about how the rest of the residents in ponyville now have to act around her. And it just ended there, giving no hints as to what to expect.

 

Finally, the black book. I was so looking forward to seeing how that played out. Major disappointment there.

 

Anyhow, thoughts might change on repeated viewings. As it stands at this moment though, I found it a 'meh' of an episodes leaning towards a 'cringe'.

 

Little edit: Reading a few posts about how S4 openers is going to work off this episode gives me some hope. I like hope. Makes me feel somewhat safe for a while

Edited February 17, 2013 by Greenlitsky

[Anadu Kune 668]

You really believe that man?  Everything was a culmination up to this point?  Well there was next to nothing that actually demonstrated the culmination of past lessons learnt by twilight in this episode aside from the little flashbacks when she was walking with celestia in another dimension.  It definitely didn't feel like a culmination, it felt like "o heres starswil the beardeds unfinished spell, finish it and become an alicorn"

 

Plus I mean so all her friends that were learning their lessons by her side mean jack squat?  They should all be alicorns because they've all pretty much done everything together.  Comon man if they weren't singing every 2 seconds this episode would have been like 5 minutes long, there was hardly any substance to it at all

You missed the part where the spark of friendship from the first episode was the solution to the spell. Her understanding of friendship was what lead to the ponies returning to normal. So yes all the things she learned did lead to this, it was her cumulative knowledge of friendship that enabled her to solve the problem. Not a memory restoring spell, or love, or the crystal heart, or the elements of harmony alone, but her knowledge and understanding of friendship. The memories presented by Celestia were reinforcing the idea by reminding us of what she has done. 

 

Yes the episode suffered from pacing problems more so than most. However this has been the most consistent problem the show has faced pretty much every two parter and even some normal episodes suffer in this area.

 

As for the spell. Whilst switching destinies is impressive I would consider never ending magic to be more so. After all what good would screwing up the element do for Starswirl. In the end it would seem the fixed spell unifies the elements to a degree where together they literally have "magic without end".

[Music Chart Fan 819]

Overall, I didn't get too good a feeling from watching this episode. It was rushed, confusing, and left a mountain of unanswered questions, while leaving a sad and foreboding feeling that the show will be forever changed, possibly for the worse, although I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

 

Part of my dislike for the episode was the overabundance of singing. I have never really been a fan of the songs in the show; while the actual music and the instrumentation/production can be good, the lyrics and subject matter are lame and a painful reminder that I'm watching a show for little kids, and there was just too much of it here for my tastes. In particular, it didn't seem like such a good idea to record the song that Twilight sings while sadly staring out her window in a modern pop style; it makes the show less timeless and will peg it to the current sound of pop music, which will probably lead to a dated feeling if the episode is watched years in the future.

 

I'm confused as to what exactly was switched around by the spell from the book that Twilight cast. Obviously the cutie marks were switched, and the others somehow became convinced that their "destinies" were what their cutie marks said (despite not possessing natural talent for what their cutie marks show). It also appears their actual talents were retained. However, sometimes it appears that their personalities were switched (e.g. Rainbow Dash acting like Fluttershy when answering the door, Pinkie singing in a country accent) and sometimes it appears that their personalities were retained (e.g. Rarity asking if her cloud pattern was "too last season").

 

Have we seen any other spells in the show which are performed by saying them and not just thinking them? How did Twilight manage to perform a spell by just reading the words off a page if she didn't understand what the words meant? How is "performing a spell" differentiated from "reading words out loud"? I just don't understand how this form of spell is supposed to work, and why it did what it did, given what we've seen about ordinary spellcasting so far.

 

It seems implausible that Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres, the Carousel Boutique, and Fluttershy's cottage all go to hell within a day of the Mane Six not being their usual selves. Who knew that the Mane Six were SO important to the basic functioning of their respective places that just one day without them leads to chaos and destruction?

 

Why does Pinkie ride on Applejack's back when they go into town? Isn't Pinkie capable of walking?

 

After Twilight writes the counter-spell in the book, where does the quill go? It's levitated behind Twilight's back and just...disappears.

 

I'm so confused by what happens after Twilight writes down the counter-spell in the book. I don't even know where to begin; it's all just thrown at us so quickly and with so little explanation. From where did the words for the counter-spell pop into Twilight's brain? How and why are the spell and counter-spell related to the Elements of Harmony? Where is Twilight transported to, and why is Celestia there? There are so many unanswered questions about these spells.

 

And after all of that mysterious spell stuff, there's a whole other set of questions raised as Twilight becomes an alicorn princess. Why does Twilight become an alicorn princess, and why now? Is it because she just now technically fulfilled the requirements? What would those requirements be, anyway? What about the various indications that Twilight is NOT ready to be a princess? Why did the universe decide that three alicorn princesses wasn't enough, and we need a fourth one now? What will Princess Twilight's duties/responsibilities be? If she stays in Ponyville with her friends, then what royal duties can she fulfill at the same time? Once again, there are so many unanswered questions.

 

Finally, it is shocking and disappointing that Twilight already knows how to fly, as shown just before the credits. If it's that easy, what's the point of pegasi going to flight school? And as mentioned by others, this puts a damper on (if not completely eliminating) a potentially great episode idea with Rainbow Dash teaching Twilight how to fly.

 

Finally, I agree with others that said that this episode felt like a "last-episode-EVER" with the sudden alicorn princess development, montage of scenes from previous episodes, reminders of the main theme of the show, etc. Now we're just left speculating what the implications of Princess Twilight will be for the perhaps-not-originally-planned future episodes.

[Mr. Jaguar 1,403]

All in all, after watching this episode, season 4 is looking pretty grim to me. Maybe it'll be good, but I dunno.....after this episode, I just don't know.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Mr. Jaguar

[Beth Sycamore 28]

 I'm going to ask questions here.

 

1. Are Celestria and Luna planning to step down as Canterlot rulers,so that Candance and Twilight Sparkle could take over for them?

2. Is the Alicorn Amulet returning in a future episode,and be used by TS?

3. Will AppleJack and Fluttershy also change their forms?

4. Will Discord make another appearance?

5. Will Zecora join the now main 5,to make it 6 again?

[NavelColt 22,879]

 

Reactions to a specific episode belong in the official discussion thread, and aren't needed as their own topics. I've merged your topic 'Well that escalated quickly' with the official 'Magical Mystery Cure' topic.

[Silverhoof 2,844]

OK. I liked it. I loved all the dropped hints that were building up to this. I didn't mind the musical nature of the show - it just added to the magical nature of the transformation at the end.

 

I disagree where others said it felt rushed. This episode just set up a really nice Season 4 opener.

[windy_prance 114]

I like the episode in concept but the pacing was so rushed, I didn't have time to truly enjoy it.

 

If it was me, this would have been a hour long two part finale. First half hour could have used to briefly review the status quo of the Mane Six then seeing the chaos created after Twilight switching the cutie marks. The first half would have ended with Twilight confronting Discord as a suspect and Discord informing that she caused this mess not him. "Silly Twilight. This is what happens when you're too eager to cast spells and sate your own desire without thinking about consequences."

 

Second half hour would make Twilight remember the spell she cast and feel distraught when there's no counter spell in the book. Twilight used her solution, become a princess, and then end with the coronation.

Edited February 17, 2013 by windy_prance

[dreaper 136]

I think it was an ok episode, not the best, but definitely not the worst.

 

My major problem with this episode is that everything was so freaking fast, there were a lot of shit going on in this episode and it was so rushed to the point I didn't feel that invested in the characters at all. Like for example, Twilight's guilt for messing up the spell and ruining her friends destinies, I honestly didn't feel Twilight's sadness because the episode didn't show her mistake as a consequence of a particular character flaw, like her OCD, lack of foresight or something like that, instead it was just "Oh look! An incomplete Starswirl spell, time to finish it! Uh... I don't get it, time to sleep!", and that's it.

 

Other annoyance is that this episode was overloaded with songs, but I never really liked the songs in this series, so this is just me.

 

Now the big thing! Alicorn Twilight... personally I'm not against the idea, like Kyronea said, this will probably mean a change in the series, now the series could explore new territory and new stories could be told. The only thing that should be noted is that Twilight becoming an alicorn and achieving her destiny basically tells that her character arc is over (or really close to be over) so there is the possibility of a less centered Twilight Sparkle season 4, and this probably is a good thing because the show will have more room to explore and develop the other characters.

 

Awaiting season 4

[Espeon 338]

I've got no idea if it's been mentioned here already and I don't feel like reading through over 400 posts, but it was basically Red Bull and Lou Gehrig.  I can't help but feel that something will go terribly wrong because of the latter comparison.  The ep was pretty k I thought, considering I saw somewhere that it's basically part 1 of a 3-part episode and we won't get to see the other parts for a while.  I think I heard that from a reputable source?

Also it's like they took a standard two-parter, kept all the songs, and cut down on the non-song stuff to fit it into 22 min.  Not necessarily a bad thing I guess

[GenderIsAnIllusion 2,177]

Is it just me or did Twilight get a new Voice Actor?

 

I may have missed it if she did.

 

I think , after listening to her singing , that she did. Her normal talking voice seems to be a little tweaked, and she gained an AMAZING singing voice. I will do more research on the topic and get back to you.

[Anadu Kune 668]

I think that episode gave me brain cancer. Seriously, her friends got sick and all of Ponyville ground to a halt. Sweet Apple Acres fell apart in a day, the town went into manic depression without Pinkie cheering them up, and the herbivore animals were going to eat pony-flesh because Fluttershy wasn't there... 

 

But hey, lets forget the sunburn and freezing and winds destroying your homes, Pinkie Pie is back! Musical time!!!

 

My five year old niece turned and looked at me after that episode was finished and said, "That was dumb." and I have to agree.

That was without a doubt the most pandering to stupid people and their children I have ever seen crammed into one TV show.

 

Hasbro should apologize to parents for exposing their children to that much mind-numbing crap. 

 

On the plus side, I liked the animation. They seemed to step it up a notch.

 

The singing was good, the animation was good, they tried new things and they worked. I really like how Applejack added the country twang to the song. 

 

It's just who ever approved this script should be stomped in the crotch. 

Wow this is the most ridiculous post Ive seen in some time. Seriously? To say this is an over reaction would be understating it. If you didnt like the episode fine but man you really need to find a more reasonable way to express your opinion. Expressing the wish that members of the production team should come to bodily harm isn't the way to do it. Also finding a round about way to say those who like this are unintelligent is never a good thing to do. How about laying down your criticism in an for everyone to see as to add to discussion. 

 

Also five year olds tend to say a lot of things are "dumb". Its almost never a legitimate criticism. 

 

 

[Appetite4Democracy 452]

My safari window crashed when everyone on bronystate was commenting VYNL SCRATCH! Was she in it, I didn't see her?!

Yeah, she was on screen for a few seconds, and she was in the front of a crowd. It wasn't hard to see her at all, since she took up a quarter of the screen.

[DrOphthalmos 497]

I found Derpy!!! I found her I found her! And she's not just some wisp of hair either - she is standing there with her beautiful beautiful eyes plain to see! Everything really will be alright.

[GenderIsAnIllusion 2,177]

Wow this is the most ridiculous post Ive seen in some time. Seriously? To say this is an over reaction would be understating it. If you didnt like the episode fine but man you really need to find a more reasonable way to express your opinion. Expressing the wish that members of the production team should come to bodily harm isn't the way to do it. Also finding a round about way to say those who like this are unintelligent is never a good thing to do. How about laying down your criticism in an for everyone to see as to add to discussion. 

 

Also five year olds tend to say a lot of things are "dumb". Its almost never a legitimate criticism. 

 

 

 

 

I couldent agree more. I had to watch it twice to get it fully.... but once i did get it it wasnt THAT bad. Just a little rushed. Its not their best work, but its certainly not their worst... Just look at the episode where they gave Rarity Wings.... It Wasnt planned very well, and was very sloppy if you look at it more closely.

[Kitty Cat Moonshire 629]

UGH!

 

So let me get this straight. For 3 entire seasons twilight has been in training to become the 4th current princess of Equestria, and of all the things that could have happened, bang, poof, she's a princess in 5 minutes.

I am sorry if you liked this episode, but seriously, it could have been so much more!

There was one final conflict, an incredibly immense problem, the messing up of everything that made them special, their destinies, and it's solved in a 4 minute song. 

They could have done so much with that! It could have been a two part episode in and of itself! It could have been hilarious! It could have been dark, but no, no, they just sing a song and twilight suddenly knows what to do. *Poof*. problem solved.

Biggest buzzkill in the history of the show.

 

But wait, the disappointment isn't over yet! Hasbro is still here to mess things up!

Problem being solved, twilight re-writes the spell (forgetting, of course, to explain what she changed) and what happens next? She teleports to some random place (that they failed to explain what it was), talks with Celestia, and with no warning, no plot twist, no test, no challenge, no conference, and not even asking twilight, transforms her into an Alicorn.

 

Well F***. That escalated quickly.

 

So now that the two major parts of the show have been crammed into a tiny space, been poorly explained, and the plot line has been rushed faster than a Nascar driver, Habro still wants to mess even more things up! 

 

So, without further ado, not adding anything fun into the mix (such as getting ready, or whatever, fill in the blank) Twilight is crowned a princess it what has to be the LEAST formal ceremony I have ever seen.

Short speech. Twilight walks in. Crown is placed on her head. TADA!

Wait what? No vows? No royal ceremonial promises, like "I solemnly swear to abide by whatever...," nothing? 

Worst. Coronation. Ever.

 

She did give a pretty good speech at the end, and the fact that Derpy was in it made it 20% cooler, but really the only good part of the entire finale was shining armors quote about 'liquid pride.'

 

Oh, and then suddenly twilight knows how to fly likes she's been doing it her whole life. Couldn't we at least have a funny scene where Dash tries to teach her or something?

 

Come on, Hasbro, you're better than this. You have produced some pretty fantastic MLP episode's, and made a show that has gotten me addicted unlike any other show I have ever seen. I have c.ome to expect great things from you.

Please, please, please don't get lazy on us now. 

 

We love the show the way it always has been. That's why we watched it. Don't mess it up now.

 

Sincerely,

A concerned brony.

 

Babe out.

 

 

 

[Up From The Ashes 56]

I think an hour long special would have evenly paced it all out, a 30 minute run time was way too short for everything they had planned in my opinion.

[Helix Prime 2]

OK when i watched this i went ERMAHGERD and was just pure joy filling the room.  Problem: I think that the show was rushed but having the cutie marks switched around like that was perfect, it had everyone doing the opposite of who they were.  something i could have lived with was a LONGER EPISODE I'm serious it went WAY to fast for there to be a plot that matches the previous episodes.  being a writer i know that if you start off a story with a fast timeline then it must continue as such otherwise keep the speed the same.  And no I'm not done, when she finished the spell it was ready to end but it looks like the writers did what my editor makes me do and put two chapters into one so that its longer but also faster.  but i think that there were a lot of things that went well, the memory downloads the transformations and the coronation (still want it to be longer and with more detail) but the whole thing was awesome and i cant wait for season 4.  MAY THE WAITING MUSIC COMMENCE  

Edited February 17, 2013 by Helix Prime

[NavelColt 22,879]

UGH!

 

Reactions to specific episodes should be done within the official episode discussion thread, not as separate topics ^^ Topics merged.