Do you Feel like the Villains don't get enough Screen-time?

[Dreadmallon 353]

   Recently I've been pondering the question of whether or not the rest of the fandom believes that the villains deserve more than two parter episodes. So, what do you all think?

[Princess Periwinkle 3,777]

Well... it's a kids show.

 

To be honest, the episodes with the mane villains are my favorites. But at the same time, we can't just have Discords and King Sombras popping up all over the place. A big villain needs to be rare, or he's not big anymore, and it's just a show about getting rid of the bad guy.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,837]

The villains don't get enough screen time because it's hard to keep them both competent and keep the show view-able for little girls. It's not exactly a show specifically based around darker topics.

[~Squishy Skies~ 756]

Yes.

 

No real need for any more explanation, but since I need 100 characters, I'll continue to ramble on.

 

I feel that the villains spontaneously show up out of nowhere, with little information about them. I would definitely appreciate a bit more back story on some of the villains. 

[Orablanco Account 3,708]

I love villains, so I always hope we get some more cool ones, or development that make old ones better.

 

The focus should always remain on the protagonists, of course.

[Sweet Dreams 1,893]

I think the longest a villain should have regarding screen-time is up to 3 or so episodes. To elaborate-

 

Villains don't require a lot of screen time. As simple as that. The theme of this show is Slice of Life, so most episodes don't have any need for a villain. Antagonists like Diamond Tiara are good recurring characters, as they don't really have a prominent role, and aren't really 'evil'. 

[Zygen 6,066]

I guess I'd be ok with a bit more explanation on some of the villains, but it doesn't take a whole ton of explanation typically on villains. So they don't take a whole lot of episodes, and alot of the show is based around slice of life and the such, and it being a kids show I guess they can't make villains to dark, thus less backstory I guess.

 

I wouldn't mind a little extra, but at the same time I'm not totally dieing for extra or anything really, so i'd be fine really if it didn't change a whole lot.

 

Although I do think sombra had way to little screentime personally, even if its a bit hard to fit him in that episode, he was still pretty short lived on screentime.

[~StatesTheOblivious~ 1,795]

It's not just about the screentime, it's also about how it is used.

 

Discord had a bunch of it. And he was really well characterized.

Chrysalis had enough to explain her intentions.

But Sombra...

 

I mean, we saw him, but his character was as flat as a pizza. A villain should at least have enough chances to prove his "evil". To be someone. 

 

So, yes. Not just more screentime, but even more important, well used screentime.

[Nohbdy 4,108]

I don't think villains need that much screen time, considering the nature of the show. MLP's primary focus is on the Mane 6 and their interactions. Villains exist as a means of adding external pressure, and to test the strength of the main characters' friendship. While it's important to develop the villains, it's far more important to develop the protagonists. I feel that, in this regard, MLP does a great job. The villains (aside from Sombra) aren't completely neglected, but they don't take the spotlight away from the Mane 6.

 

Moreover, since MLP is primarily slice-of-life, giving the villains more screentime doesn't fit with the show's premise, especially because it would probably necessitate multiple episodes devoted to that villain. Now, it could work through compromise. "Keep Calm and Flutter On" did a good job developing a villain and giving him more screen time, but it did so by removing Discord as a villain.