S03:E13 - Magical Mystery Cure

[Rhodeana 17]

Did anyone else feel this episode was a little rushed?

[GreyScholar 1,584]

Did anyone else feel this episode was a little rushed?

Rushed, I am willing to give as true... the rest can be either subjective and/or argued.

[Scoots and Dash 208]

The episode was alright, I can definitely say it's probably at the bottom of the list of Season Finale's but I can't say it was "bad" or anything. I enjoyed the music and in general the plot was alright. It just wasn't as awesome as the changeling finale for example. I never regard any episode of MLP:FIM as "bad". Some are just better than others.

[Larkybird~ 734]

Did anyone else feel this episode was a little rushed?

Yeah it felt rushed to me too. I hated it at first but when I watched it again whole watching season 3 on netflix I kind of really liked it. It still felt rushed but I didn't hate it anymore really. But yeah it seemed a bit rushed at times.

[Justin_Case001 4,889]

Just finished watching this.  I loved it.  My only complaint, and this goes for the whole show in general, is the speed at which things happen and get resolved.  Time and again, that is really the only complaint I ever have.  Just the rushed nature of it.  I mean, sure, there's lots of continuity errors you can pick at, but I can overlook all of that stuff as long as I like the way the characters act and respond, which I typically do.  But I'm always a little disappointed at how important storylines are rushed and wrapped up so quickly.  But this is where one just has to accept the nature of the show.  It's a kids show, and I'm guessing that the makers feel that children wouldn't be patient enough to follow complex story arcs that take a whole season to complete.  They need to consider their target audience.  And, of course, I don't want the show to cater to adults.  That would ruin it.  But hypothetically, from a completely selfish standpoint, yeah, I kinda wish it would.  Basically, I wish that each episode was 40 min instead of 20, and that we'd have complex, full season story arcs.  Celestia should have given Twi the unfinished spell book at the beginning of the season, and Twi should have spent months trying to make sense of it.  And the actual finale should have been at least a two-parter.  And I mean two 40-min episodes, mind you.  So that would mean a 4-part by actual MLP standards.  But, like I said, I don't actually want the show to cater to adults.  But I think they could stretch these important storylines out more and do them a bit more justice, and kids would still be fine with it.

 

So, to sum up, I love most everything about the show, I just wish we could have multi-episode story arcs for the important stuff so it doesn't feel so rushed.  Oh yes, and "I've Got to Find a Way" was absolutely spectacular.  Probably the best song in the entire series.  Not nearly long enough.  Need moar!

 

Oh yeah, and sorry to break it to you, Celestia, but Twilight is a much better singer than you.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Justin_Case001

[Zoraxe 546]

Celestia should have given Twi the unfinished spell book at the beginning of the season, and Twi should have spent months trying to make sense of it.

 

What Celestia should have done was give Twilight free will over her own life, that if Twilight is to become a alicorn/princess than its because she made the decision to do so. What Twilight should have done in 'Magical mystery Cure' was leave Celestia like Sunset Shimmer did. (Minus the turning into a villain part).

 

Oh well, no sense even thinking too much of the most stupidly written episode of MLP yet.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Zoraxe

[LZRD WZRD 1,929]

The first time I watched this episode, I really disliked it. Not because of Twilight becoming an Alicorn or the conflict. No, it was the fact that it was a musical and the fast pacing were really disorienting. Maybe because I had marathoned most of season 3 the same day. But looking back on this episode now, it is one of my favorite in the entire series! I love the songs (I have the soundtrack for this episode on my iPod) and the episode as a whole. Even the pacing doesn't bother me anymore. I think it's because this is so fast paced compared to other episodes that drag their plots. I really don't have any complaints about this (you can nitpick some plot points, but I think MrEnter did a good job rebutting them). I actually like Twilight becoming an alicorn too. I think this was the perfect time to make a fundamental change like this to the series. The whole episode feels like a series finale, and it is in a sense. This is essentially the end of part 1 of the FIM series. Overall, I love this episode. 10/10

[Pastel 7,630]

The first time I watched this episode, I really disliked it. Not because of Twilight becoming an Alicorn or the conflict. No, it was the fact that it was a musical and the fast pacing were really disorienting. Maybe because I had marathoned most of season 3 the same day. But looking back on this episode now, it is one of my favorite in the entire series! I love the songs (I have the soundtrack for this episode on my iPod) and the episode as a whole. Even the pacing doesn't bother me anymore. I think it's because this is so fast paced compared to other episodes that drag their plots. I really don't have any complaints about this (you can nitpick some plot points, but I think MrEnter did a good job rebutting them). I actually like Twilight becoming an alicorn too. I think this was the perfect time to make a fundamental change like this to the series. The whole episode feels like a series finale, and it is in a sense. This is essentially the end of part 1 of the FIM series. Overall, I love this episode. 10/10

You're tempting me to watch it again, because I really didn't like this episode too.

[LZRD WZRD 1,929]

You're tempting me to watch it again, because I really didn't like this episode too.

I would say watch it again when you're in a good mood or trying to find a MLP episode to rewatch. It got so much better for me after subsequent viewings

[Washougal_Otaku 1,020]

My sides were hurting when I saw this episode.  There have been many shows to have done stuff like this, but this is the best animated attempt since Chip n' Dale's Rescue Rangers.

[Guest90210 3,568]

I take back my original view on this episode... Magical Mystery Cure is AWESOME!  I can definitely say that I'm pleasantly surprised after watching it again. I forgot how fantastic this episode was in terms of pure entertainment value. On it's own, Magical Mystery Cure is one of the best episodes in the entire series, and provides scene after scene of enjoyment. In the grand scheme of things, it falls short of it's humongous potential.

 

 

The Good:

 

- The animation and visuals in general are superb across the board. I just love huge scenes that take place on grand stages, and this episode delivers in that regard.

 

- The music and simultaneous visual pieces that accompany it are also amazing. From the opening "Morning In Ponyville" song, to some of my personal favorites "What My Cutie Mark Is Telling Me", "Celestia's Ballad", and "A True, True Friend", all of the tunes are awesome, catchy and serve their purpose.

 

This is both a good and bad thing. If you're looking at it from the perspective of Magical Mystery Cure as a single episode and what it was trying to accomplish, the songs taking up a large portion of the episode isn't a problem. It may have even been a much better idea than trying to cram more story/dialogue into a single episode when the concept calls for something longer. If this had been a two part episode, songs taking up this much story space may have been a bigger problem. Although one could argue that later on in Season 4, Pinkie Pride did the same idea, yet still managed to provide much more interesting and fleshed-out story progression in the same amount of time. But to me, both episodes were paced well and while Pinkie Pride did pack more ideas outside of the songs, that still doesn't make Magical Mystery Cure's execution of it any worse.

 

- The montage of Twilight's life chronicled with Celestia was a very touching moment. Not only is it reminiscent for Twilight, but I see it as a bone thrown in by Hasbro to remind the fanbase about how far we've come. I've always been a fan of montages, call-backs and memories in shows. In fact, I think it's my favorite scene in the entire episode.

 

- For the most part, the dialogue was solid. I enjoyed the few takes on humor as well.

 

 

The Bad:

 

- Why in the world would Hasbro even fathom shoving the biggest change, innovation and overall biggest spectacle in the entire series history into A SINGLE EPISODE? This absolutely should have been a two-parter. As a result, the story in wrapped up and resolved extremely quickly. On top of that, practically the entire solution was done via songs. Again, the songs themselves were incredible & fit perfectly with what they were trying to convey, but I really wish they would have expanded on this whole "Swapped Cutie Marks" idea. Imagine the interesting scenes that could take place if Magical Mystery Cure was split into two parts with the songs spread out, giving more room for character and story development.

 

- Since the Cutie Mark Switch arc was done & over with sooner than you may expect, the end seems a bit rushed and padded.

 

- Princess Twilight Sparkle. I still don't really like the idea, but it definitely isn't a series-breaker. Maybe if they waited another season to pull the trigger on it, then the idea might have had a warmer reception. It simply happened too soon, and for no apparent reason other than to sell toys. And maybe if they would have actually followed up on this idea in Season 4, it might have been worth it.

 

- It's a minor complaint, but when Twilight "revived", now with wings, no one even questioned how or why it happened until Celestia showed up. They were just all "Oh hey, you have wings! Cool.". It's just some illogical dialogue.

 

 

Random Notes,

 

- How was Twilight able to speak to the massive crowd of ponies from atop that huge balcony without the use of magic or a microphone?

 

- A duo of clones are introducing & singing for Twilight at her corination. Lazy animating there DHX 

 

- This was the last time Pinkie went into Pinkamena mode. It would have made sense for this to occur again in Pinkie Pride but for some reason they just don't want her turning into Pinkamena again.

 

- I liked the scene where Spike was listing out the potential cures for Twilight's mishap with Starswirl's spell. I like when characters are rational and try to fix a problem at hand using call-backs and such.

 

 

Don't get me wrong:

 

Now it may seem like I despise this episode, as the "Bad" list outweighs the "Good", but this is absolutely not the case. I put heavy emphasis on the positives. I stress the fact that the good things about this episode are an absolute blast, and make up for most of the episode's weaknesses. It's so visually and audibly pleasing that I sort of stopped caring about the potential for a two-parter and just enjoyed the hell out of what we got instead. I gave the "potential" of the episode a rating, but it's mainly a shot in the dark as who knows what they could or would have done if they decided to stretch it into two parts. Overall, Magical Mystery Cure is great.

 

 

All In All: 9.5/10 (as a single episode), 6/10 (factoring in the potential)

[Faolan 7]

Am I the only one who's actually kinda steamed that Twilight became a Alicorn and not Rainbow Dash?

This is just to attach a WHY?! picture to my post

 Seriously I actually was kinda mad that this happened.

[Guest]

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Edited June 7, 2018 by ,,,

[Guest]

I love this sequence so much, I can't stop pressing play all over again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ3FDYPxw4k

[CinnamonSwirl 90]

Am it he only none who LOVES magical mystery cure? I thought it was so awesome!! I loves that they switched talents. Just shows how special each pony is and that no one can do their special jobs. Why do others hate it? That's my favorite episode in the season.

[Dead account67902568 119]

its actually quite turamatising if you see it from the pony's point of view

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

Am it he only none who LOVES magical mystery cure? I thought it was so awesome!! I loves that they switched talents. Just shows how special each pony is and that no one can do their special jobs. Why do others hate it? That's my favorite episode in the season.

 

DigiBrony in his analysis for the episode practically gushed over the episode, and honestly, I liked it as well. I didn't see much wrong with it.

[baba_booey 4,302]

Ah, I remember this episode. The first time I ever watched it I cried at "I have to find a way" and "A True, True Friend"

and by the time I got to Celestia's Ballad I burst into tears.

 

One of the best episodes ever <3

Edited June 25, 2014 by Rusty5

[Old Fluttershy 349]

Does anypony else feel that this episode would have been better if it was a two part.

I mean basically Twilight found out her friends cutie marks had changed as well as their destinies. 5 minutes later she sais I can fix this.  5 minutes later everything is fine then she becomes a princess.

 

I just feel that the whole changed destinies and changed cutie marks was underplayed and could have been really cool if they executed it better. What does everypony else think about this?

Edited July 6, 2014 by Old Fluttershy

[Pastel 7,630]

Does anypony else feel that this episode would have been better if it was a two part.

Maybe, because the end was rushed.

[Zoraxe 546]

Still the worst episode of MLP, hands down.

[GreyScholar 1,584]

Still the worst episode of MLP, hands down.

In your personal option, not fact.

[Zoraxe 546]

In your personal option, not fact.

 

I'm pretty darn sure my complaints have merit to them. Comon, it makes both Celestia and Twilight look bad.

 

Doesn't help that many people who defend Celestia have come off as illogical and don't provide good arguments to validate their opinions.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Zoraxe

[LZRD WZRD 1,929]

Still the worst episode of MLP, hands down.

What!? I respect opinions usually, but how is THIS the WORST EPISODE?

 

Care to elaborate a little?

Edited July 17, 2014 by LZRD WZRD

[SCS 7,537]

@@CinnamonSwirl, @, @@PathfinderCS
 
You guys originally posted about the Magical Mystery Cure episode in the Season 5 Preview & Info topic. As a result it was off-topic, so I moved your posts into this thread for discussing the Magical Mystery Cure episode.