S01:E01+E02 - Friendship is Magic

[LonelyYugi 59]

Meh. It was ok.

They wasted Nightmare Moon. It would have been better to have Luna stay as Nightmare Moon till the end of the season. Then have Luna be restored in the season finale.

I hated how after "Friendship is Magic" Luna disappeares from the show till season 2.

[CypherHoof 26,482]

On 2022-01-02 at 12:02 AM, phantompone1148 said:

This was a good way to start off such an amazing show. We are introduced to the characters we would eventually come to know & love. It’s predictable but still good in my opinion.
 

7.5/10

Sorta. The character introductions worked well to give you an impression of the various new characters, but the transition from that to "team Twi take on the quest" isn't really smooth; the AppleDash dynamic there is fair enough - and as for Pinkie, this is clearly where it is happening, so of COURSE Pinkie would be there. but there really isn't any explaination for why Rarity or Fluttershy would throw their hats into the ring this early.

[Cash In 22,220]

It does feel weird going back to this, but here we are. Looking back on it, I don't actually think that these episodes are that great, but they were a good hook. It was enough to think "Huh, this show actually isn't that bad," which honestly, was more than enough. I think part 1 is stronger than part 2, but they're both okay overall. The main cast was introduced fairly well and were given enough substance to be likeable. Nightmare Moon is an interesting villain, but she gets defeated way too fast and in a way that was far too predictable. I know she basically spends the entirety of part 2 screwing with Mane 6 behind the scenes and I know they probably didn't want to overwhelm any young kids that were watching this for the first time, but I wish there was a greater struggle in the final battle. They probably were just trying to play it safe.

Anyways, I'll give part 1 a 6/10 and part 2 a 5/10.

[Scarlet02 493]

@Cash_In I really like season one's first two episodes but I do wish it was a bit more stretched out and that Nightmare Moon was more of an actual threat. I agree with you since she got defeated a bit too quickly for my taste but the show is intended for younger audiences unfortunately. Don't get me wrong... I enjoyed watching the seasons the first time but I couldn't see myself watching through them again. I do enjoy watching fan made animations though hehe but the first two episodes were pretty enjoyable for me.

They also made the first two episodes decently well in my opinion. They introduced the mane six which are basically the main protagonists through the series and introduced a villain who they were able to reform using the Elements of Harmony and the power of their friendship. I don't normally rate stuff but the first two episodes were pretty good by my standards. 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

It's funny and refreshing to look back upon the pilot. Say what you will of the later seasons; the very first season was rough in its own right and the pilot is no exception.

It's not bad by any stretch. Heck; it's what got me into this fandom from the start. The fact that it's an actual adventure against a decent villain was what sucked me in. Heck; I even called Nightmare Moon "Maleficent Horse." Truth be told; it's a decent introduction to Twilight, Spike, and the Ponyville Five and it's an overall fun good time.

That said; it also feels disjointed and the feeling of intimidation one initially gets from the Everfree Forest goes away after the Manticore fight. Not to mention I was never a big fan of Pinkie's song there. Not bad, but not my thing.

I'd probably give this ep a solid 5/10 taking into account G4 as a whole and how far it really came.

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

I found the first two episodes to be weak at some aspects.

Like why didn't Twilight throw the intruding ponies out of the Golden Oaks Library?

Anyway, I like it for how it greatly introduced our characters.

And I can just hope that the premiere of any MLP show in the future could be just as great as I found this one to be.

Edited April 1, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[mlploverlizzy 291]

How could I not love it! It introduced me to the show when I was younger and I've loved it ever since

[CypherHoof 26,482]

7 hours ago, Rosy Moonlight said:

Like why didn't Twilight throw the intruding ponies out of the Golden Oaks Library?

Because it is literally a public space?

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

2 hours ago, CypherHoof said:

10 hours ago, Rosy Moonlight said:

Like why didn't Twilight throw the intruding ponies out of the Golden Oaks Library?

Because it is literally a public space?

Yes. The Golden Oaks Library is a public place, but Twilight had the right to kick intruders out of her library, especially since the place wouldn't even have been opened.

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[CypherHoof 26,482]

On 2022-04-01 at 2:03 AM, Rosy Moonlight said:

Yes. The Golden Oaks Library is a public place, but Twilight had the right to kick intruders out of her library, especially since the place wouldn't even have been opened.

By the looks of things, Twi had a private space with a bed and so forth; she retreated there away from all the strange friend-making ponies, until Spike came and got her to attend the summer sun celebration.

Unsure that "opening times" apply on the eve of the SSC though; its probable that, as a public space, you could organize a party there just by asking.

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

2 hours ago, CypherHoof said:

On 2022-04-01 at 9:03 AM, Rosy Moonlight said:

Yes. The Golden Oaks Library is a public place, but Twilight had the right to kick intruders out of her library, especially since the place wouldn't even have been opened.

By the looks of things, Twi had a private space with a bed and so forth; she retreated there away from all the strange friend-making ponies, until Spike came and got her to attend the summer sun celebration.

Unsure that "opening times" apply on the eve of the SSC though; its probable that, as a public space, you could organize a party there just by asking.

I'm not sure who the Pinkie Pie would have asked permission from in order to have a surprise party in a library where the librarian hasn't even been inside of yet. But I think that confusing aspect goes along with Twilight's phrase of "EVERYPONY IS THIS TOWN IS CRAZY!" including the part where Twilight doesn't even think to kick everypony (expect Spike) out of the library.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

These episodes set a strong and open foundation for a world that eventually grew beyond what anyone could've imagined when they first aired.

Big open shots, simple but strong moments, and a funny yet awesome change-of-hearts.

Edited May 26, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

Steve Magnet! You are a GEM!

Edited June 24, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[FloppyPony 1]

Yeah I'm not the first one to do this and it isn't super complex or well written but I felt like reviewing episodes and sharing my opinion as I rewatched the show from the beginning just for funsies. Posting per episode so I don't have a post too long. Some may be longer than others depending if I have something to say or not. Hope you enjoy and remember its just my opinion and if you disagree its ok. I would love to discuss in the comments about what you think to. <3 Also bare with me as I might have grammar issues here as I do have some learning disabilities.

Not sure if it needs to be said but obviously SPOILERS FOR MLPFIM SEASON 1.

 

season 1 ep 1 and 2 - elements of harmony part 1 and 2

EPISODE SUMMARY

Twilight Sparkle is a purple pony which lives in the fancy city of canterlot and is a direct student to the princess Celestia. She reads an old story which explains the back story of how Princess Celestia is a pony god of the sun and her little sister Luna is the pony princess god of the moon. Celestia is in charge of the day and Luna is charge of the night but Luna becomes bitter due to ponies not appreciating her night so she becomes an evil form called Nightmare Moon and Celestia is forced to seal her in the moon for a thousand years.

After reading more about this story Twilight learns that Nightmare Moon is soon going to break out from the moon and plunge the land in eternal night so she tries to warn Princess Celestia ahead of time. Celestia however, seems to ignore her and tells her to go to a small rural town of ponyville to make friends and see over the preparations for the summer sun celebration (a major event to do with celebrating the raising of the sun).

Twilight is not keen however, and continues to blow off friendly ponies to try to study more but they keep interrupting her so she doesn't get the chance. she starts to doubt herself but then when the celebrations start it is found she was right about it all as nightmare moon appears before everyone (im not saying everypony. I hate that phrase) and threaten to make the night last forever. Now Twilight and her new bunch of ponies she met must venture into a scary forest called the Everfree Forest to find an old ruin which holds some items called the Elements of Harmony which are said to be the only thing which can stop the evil Nightmare Moon.

They go through various trials and each pony solves one problem each in their unique way. They end up at the ruins but nightmare moon is already there. Twilight tries to cast a spell to make the elements work but it fails but then she realises the Elements of Harmony were actually the ponies she has made friends with and came with her all along and not the items they were searching for. They then use the power of friendship and magic to turn Nightmare Moon back into Luna and Celestia turns up to ask that they put their differences aside and rule together again. Luna agrees and all is well. Celestia then tells Twilight to study friendship and report to her her findings and Twilight will live in Ponyville from now on. This sets up everything for the rest of the season.

 

MY THOUGHTS

I have to say considering this is a kids show, this premise for the very start of a show is pretty complicated and it explains it pretty well with its short time frame. However, this may seem contradictory but this IS a complicated plot for the start of a kids show and so it is not going to be perfectly explained in such a short time. It is pretty obvious from anyone who has seen cartoons before that these episodes are a bit rushed. The thing it lacks the most in my opinion is the build up to the elements of harmony reveal.

We unfortunately don't get much time to understand our characters before it is told to us their significance; only just giving us enough time to figure it out and even directly saying it at times to make it easier to understand which makes the whole episode come off as a little too strong on the morals and plot reveal. This is a pretty small gripe in the whole scheme of things tho as we obviously get more time with the characters in later episodes and this episode is mostly just to set the scene and characters so this isn't too distracting.

I could go on a long time about how I don't like how some of these friendship lessons are taught such as why Applejack wouldn't just TELL twilight she would be caught by Rainbow and Fluttershy instead of purposely being a d##k and just telling her to trust someone she just met yesterday for no reason but we would be here all day so I'm just gonna leave it at this for now. Feel free to ask me if you want to know more of my opinion on this episode or any episode in these posts in more detail by asking me in the comments.

Overall, I think this was handled well for the short time it had giving just enough time to get everything it needed across. Can't say much more than that considering this episode is literally just a set up and not much else. A little complicated and hard to follow but a good start.

[StarHeart333 1,763]

I liked these episode and a great intro for the show and they way portrayed Nightmare Moon was great just enough to show her power but not so much she feels op. Oh, fun fact there's a mistake with the "Kindness" scene.

[RDDash 19,163]

I think the first two episodes were okay for the show that was made over what feels like 12 years ago. Nowadays, it's not really necessary for the show to include the intro song at the very beginning. We always knew that the main characters are going to be the white pony, the purple pony, the yellow pony, the orange pony, the pink pony, and the rainbow pony. And the big white one was their queen.

Edited May 22, 2023 by RDDash

[golden_dash 29]

the first season is a fun season and its my 3rd favorite season but it was a little slow 

[Twitchy-Tremor 297]

Honestly I didn’t care for the first two. It took the next few episodes after it to really get into mlp at first.

[HeavenSunset 1,867]

I found this as a really good introduction to the show and characters, and the main plot

I don’t like how they fixed Derpy’s eyes on the Netflix version though, Makes her lose her uniqueness, although it was an accident to begin with

[snowstreak04 8]

When I started watching MLP, a few months ago, It felt like I entered a new era because I had never seen a kid's show, that has actually good screenwriting, and charismatic characters. I'm glad to watch a glimpse of it and ever since I always watch it every day.

[Hadrien 950]

As pilots goes, I think this works really well. It establishes the Mane Six and their individual characteristics nicely, we know who they are and what they represent. It also establishes the foundation of what we know of the world. The pacing is a bit weird, we spend half a day knowing every Mane Six, and they all immediately come together when Nightmare Moon comes back ? It would make sense for like AJ and Rainbow, being more adventurous, but Rarity and Fluttershy ? Right off the deep end ? Not convince.

Overall, it does the job, it's the first episode, first adventure. 6.5/10

[Comrade Friendship 436]

I ain't gonna complain . It's got poni that Lauren Faust decided wouldn't just be tea parties. That makes it a banger in my book 

[Hadrien 950]

On 2023-10-20 at 8:44 PM, Comrade Friendship said:

I ain't gonna complain . It's got poni that Lauren Faust decided wouldn't just be tea parties. That makes it a banger in my book 

Somewhere, in an alternate universe, Bronies are reaaaaaaally into tea parties for some reasons.

[Pascalle 62]

I think it's a good introduction to the characters.

[Hadrien 950]

3 hours ago, Pascalle said:

I think it's a good introduction to the characters.

It does establish itself really well. Everything is nicely paced, you learn about each and everyone in their own place at their own time. It helps that the Mane Six have such different and distinct personnality and deisgn, it really helps cementing them as their own characters, instead of just being Twilight's friend.