S04:E01+02 - Princess Twilight Sparkle

[null123456 759]

discord wore a french maid dress........oh myyyy

That was one of the only times I've actually had to pause the show because it made me laugh so hard..

[Static 27]

 I will rematch it when I am less tired and grumpy and see if my opinion changes.

 

My thoughts exactly...it's too early in the morning for me to feel anything. The premiere sorta just...happened for me.

 

My feelings, eh?

 

My parents (who have only seen S1 E1 and E2) watched it with me so the stress level for me was elevated and I had to remain stone-faced and silent the whole time. Felt like I had a  freakin crosshair on the back of my head the whole time. They're not opposed to me being a brony but I think they still don't fully understand it.

 

Didn't like Twilicorn. Too different. Even if she's the exact same pony, seeing her flying around, like with Spike in the air, instead of on the ground was...no bueno. 

 

The history part of the episode was intriguing and I found it interesting that Alicorn magic includes dark magic.

 

Discord was great, even if he is "reformed."

 

Gonna let everything simmer for now and I'm definitely going to watch the premier again. It's freezing cold outside and drably overcast. Mirrors my feelings on the matter so far.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Static

[Nulln 755]

It was a fabulous premier!  I loved it.  

[Hive King 2,001]

discord wore a french maid dress........oh myyyy

I wonder how long it'll take for Rule 34 to get its claws on that one.

[Scootalove 10,689]

That was a pretty solid two parter for the beginning of Season 4, I know some say that the two episodes weren't exactly great but you've got to say that they were decent. A pretty solid episode.

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

So, uh, where to begin. It’s been a long time since I did one of these . Far too long, really.

 

For starters, the animation was noticeably better and really nice in some parts. As some of my friends probably know, I tend to focus mostly on story bits and how characters interact when I watch things, so it says a lot when I actually notice that there are some spectacular visuals.

 

As for characters, dunno. Spike and Discord were much more memorable than anything involving the Mane Six for me, and I’m not sure if that says the best things about this episode but there was still plenty of fun to be had from both of them. It was definitely nice to see the rainbow pony again as well

 

The backstory and flashbacks were kinda more noteworthy than a lot of the present time stuff too, which again, I’m not sure whether that says the best things about the episode, but they were still nice to see regardless. Lotsa lasers. Kinda felt more like some kind of fan animation at that part . Still, that moment with Twilight crying over the fallen Celestia was a very feelsy one, even if it kinda got its thunder stolen by what happened next and we all knew it was a flashback anyway.

 

Also, I can’t help but feel a little sense of loss after they lost their elements. Yeah, it’s showing that everything is moving on and they’re finding new plot elements to focus big episodes around, but still. Part of me will miss them coming together and using them, even if they probably felt a little cliché and outdated to a lot of fans. Guess we’ll see how that’ll affect things in coming episodes.

 

Overall, I think I liked it about as much as the S3 set of premiere/finale episodes. Fun, but still leaving something to be desired and having more Twilight than I’d prefer. Still, it whet my appetite for the coming season and it did its job as a premiere well in that.

[yayayayayala 1,668]

ASDFSHUOAFYHSROUGHAEUTHJRWIAOPHTJOIARHY THAT WAS FREAKIN AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ASDUGHROSUT THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY ARE GONE, WE FINALLY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WHEN CELESTIA BANISHED HER SISTER AND WHEN THEY DEFEATED DISCORD, AND OMG UIHETOAUTEH UOAHTOUAIEHTJ I'M SO EXCITED!!!

 

 

...ahem...let me just say...BEST. EPISODES. EVER.

[LED Dasher 228]

I am impressed so far. It seems to me that the show will take a different approach than it used to take in the previous seasons. I will just have to wait for more episodes.

 

 

I guess it was okay that they didn't introduce a villain during this opening and instead focused more on the lore. The box with six keyholes at the end was quite interesting, as it will open up more possibilities later on. I still want this to remain a slice-of-life cartoon like it was in previous seasons, and I don't want Twilight's princesshood to take that away.

 

 

I don't have that much to say right now, but it was a great two-parter overall. I thought the artwork and animation this time was better than in previous seasons. I loved the character development as always.

[Shanks 10,816]

I wonder how long it'll take for Rule 34 to get its claws on that one.

With how much material there is to work with in this episode, not long. Thorns (tentacle rape), Pinkie Pie having what looks an awful lot like an orgasm face thinking about "frosting" and Twilight drinking a ahem white potion.

Edited November 23, 2013 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Buttonmash1973 1,026]

This had been months of worth waiting for. Flashbacks, Nightmare Moon vs Princess Celestia a mysterious box and so much more.

[Hive King 2,001]

With how much material there is to work with in this episode, not long. Thorns (tentacle rape), Pinkie Pie having what looks an awful like an orgasm face thinking about "frosting" and Twilight drinking a ahem white potion.

I just had the mental image of a Cragodile and a Timberwolf doing it...  God, all we need now is for there to be a joke about Discord being in the shower when they summon him

[yayayayayala 1,668]

EPIC. EPISODES. I would have loved a song, but still...AEHUTOHYSROUIOJAEUTHOAUETH BEST FREAKING EPISODES EVER

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,350]

I am pretty tired right now so I am not going to go on some long review or anything, but I have to say, I LOVED the premiere. They did so many great things in it that it is hard to keep count. They showed Twilicorn in a great light, they showed that they are willing to move forward even further with the series and I respect that, they gave us a good backstory, Discord was awesome, just, WOW. Also, the animation seems to be getting a bit better too.

 

All of the worry I had before about the writers backing out of the Twilicorn thing and whatnot, that has washed away entirely. They have given me such a positive outlook for the future of the show and it was already positive to begin with, I just had some slight doubts. I just cannot believe season 4 has begun, after this horrendous hiatus, it feels so relieving seeing the premiere and the fact that it was fantastic.

[Molecular Kogwheel 37]

This episode supports furthermore develops my headcanon of Elements of Harmony!

I always thought elements of harmony did not well described each pony's personality. So my headcanon was that each elements are not an ultimate description of each mane six thus should not be a tool of defining each characters, but are just like a portion task provided to mane six not neccessarily relating to each character's general personality traits.

 

I mean, as for Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, their elements were limited to partial aspects of each of them's personality(Fluttershy is kind nearly only for animals, as shyness prevents her from approaching other ponies, Rarity being generous mostly only with fashion items, and Pinkie Pie, although is happy most of the times, can feel utter depression from time to time), and AJ and RD are normally opposite of their elements(AJ tells white lies and RD are lazy and self-centered), but are willing to stick to their elements in desperate times. Their personality traits do not match up with each characters' elements most of the times.

This episode(s) have confirmed that extra five ponies are not necessary to activate the magic of elements of harmony, but appears to require high level magic. In 'Magic Duel', there are magics which are high in level that alicorns are the one that can perform such magic, and is further confirmed by this episode with Zecora's potion.

So, my belief is that Elements of Harmony require high level of magic to fully unleash its magical potential, and for Unicorn Twilight, that level is achieved by aids of Friendship(equation:Friendship=Magic), and distribution of each elements to each ponies allowed easier activation of magic of Elements of Harmony, therefore Twilight is the one that distributed elements of Harmony to each mane six, and her method of distribution are highly biased to what Twilight perceived each of her friends to be on that night.

 

 

P.S. This headcanon is completed only ninety minutes after the show, and it's 6:30 in the morning here, so this headcanon might need more polishing.

Edited November 23, 2013 by SuperMarioKingdom

[Blue Bay 1,027]

I liked it, that's for sure.

My problem with the premiere though was, that it was rather...flaccid. It just hadn't that extra portion of threat, like the previous season openers. I mean, some seeds Discord casually planted centuries ago turned into tendrils wich tried to overgrow Ponyville? That's not even as much of a thread as a Ursa Minor. It's just like the end of season 3. There was a lack of a villain who represents a grave threat.

Though I liked the scene that showed Celestia, banning Luna to the moon. That was some fine piece of knowledge we already had, but now we could actually see it.

I give the whole thing a "nice", but the other seasons started better in my opinion.

[n1029 227]

I think everyone can agree that the others ditching Twilight was really unnecessary. Feels like they just wrote that in there because they couldn't think of anything else to fill five minutes with.

 

Other than that a very solid start to the season. Incredible effects, interesting backstory (which I suspect was the main purpose of this episode), Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, and teases good things to come for the rest of the season.

Edited November 23, 2013 by n1029

[Molecular Kogwheel 37]

I got one question to Meghan McCarthy;

Why couldn't you write the same epic story for Equestria Girls?

[Discount_Flunky 75]

I thought the new episodes were very good.  We got to see were the elements came form which has been a question for like forever.  The pacing was pretty solid too which has been the biggest problem with most of the plot driven episodes.  Although I have to say overall I think the rewatchability of this episode is lacking.  There's just nothing that makes me want to rewatch it.  Honestly this isn't really a problem though.  It's a solid opener all round, very well executed.   

 

I do have some gripes which are worth mentioning.  First off what the hell happened to Nightmare Moon's voice?  I'm sorry but Luna's normal voice is as about as intimating as a box of kitten's who were born without spines.  It really ruined the quite frankly scary transformation sequence and battle.  They really should have brought back the voice actor from the first episode.

 

Also AJ's southern catch phrases were so forced in this it was mind numbing.  I hope they write better for her later on because if she keeps talking like that form now on I'm going to start pretending she doesn't exist. 

 

And finally I found the lack of jokes in this to be whether weird.  Yes there were jokes but they weren't nearly as common as they normally are.  FIM has always been able to weave in jokes throughout episodes without over powering the more serious bits, but in these episodes you have whole segments without a single joke.  Since they were trying to make these episodes more serious I'll give them a pass on this one, but I expect them to go back to their more wacky approach next episode.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Discount_Flunky

[n1029 227]

This was definitely a more story-driven episode than usual, but that was kind of what I was hoping for. I expect they'll be back to their usual slapstick hijinks next week.

Edited November 23, 2013 by n1029

[Stellafera 3,836]

I... didn't like it. 

 

The shading was great and I loved the day/night sky, so that was nice. Discord was the highlight of the episode and Spike was the voice of reason. I liked Twilight's flying fails. 

 

However, my main thought on this episode was that it was stupid. I found most of the flashbacks narmy and unnecessary. I got no pathos from what happened, just "Oh, so the point of this episode was to get rid of the elements of harmony, okay". 

 

The idea of keeping Twilight away from danger had some merit, but they were rather cold towards her. And leaving Twilight unprotected on the way back which defeated the whole purpose? And the fact that they still needed her which defeated the whole purpose? And Spike just ABANDONING Twilight. And Twilight taking a really long time to figure out she was in a flashback. And the fact that Zecora just had that around for no reason. And everyone's unhelpfully vindictive attitude against Discord that wouldn't help matters even if it was his fault? And them TELLING Discord that he no longer has any obstacles stopping him from wrecking havok? And the inconsistent strength of the vines? And the fact that Twilight's horn worked but not Rarity's? 

 

I suppose a lot of my problems with it did have reasons behind them, but the way they were presented made them leave a sour taste in my mouth. My least favorite two-parter.

[Nature's Spell 526]

I was very pleased and I'd actually read all the spoilers before hand and I still loved it. I need to watch it again, and maybe blog about it, but over all I am so excited about the new season.

[Chacobos 160]

This was probably already taken note but do you guys think there is a good chance Discord will return to his chaotic ways in the future? It was quite apparent when he heard the elements of harmony were "gone" he was contemplating to start again only with Fluttershy to keep him in line. 

Overall though this was a great season premiere, better than 1 & 3 for sure(in my opinion anyways)

-Tied up the stories behind the other villians

-Better animation

-Story driven which always great

-Hilarious dialogue

-Marked the beginning of a new adventure

-other things I probably forgot

 

I am hyped for what this season will offer. 
 

 

I wonder how long it'll take for Rule 34 to get its claws on that one.

 

A little bit after the first episode it popped up

Edited November 23, 2013 by Captain Variance

[crazitaco 596]

Evertree forst has no personality- no one bats an eye

King sombra has no personality- hurr durr wurst villainz eva

The evergreen forest isn't a pony >:| no one expects it to behave like one. Sombra IS a pony. He's a character, the forest isn't.There's a clear difference between the two.

[Mywas 687]

The evergreen forest isn't a pony >:| no one expects it to behave like one. Sombra IS a pony. He's a character, the forest isn't.There's a clear difference between the two.

well then. i guess that broly is also a terrible villain. top lel

[Diamond* 531]

That was the most amazing thing i have seen in a while!

 

And also, I told you it was a flashback kinda deal!

 

Oh and incase you missed it, go here: http://www.mlp-episodes.usr.me/#epi1s4