The possibility of tonight's episode being your last?

[Bucky McGillyCuddy 956]

I don't exactly want this to be a discussion as much as I'd like it to be a simple poll because I know just about everyone has said all they need to about where they stand in the divide that the season 3 finale left us in. I would simply like to know how many of you all are going into tonight's episode with the thought:

 

"If tonight's episode doesn't fix the issue season 3 left me with. I'm done." 

 

I read on a lot of different online forums earlier in the year people's comments explaining that if the starting episodes of season 4 weren't up to par they would opt out of the fandom. Are you one of those people? If so then there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Like I said before you don't have to give a lengthy explanation why but I'd appreciate it if you took 15 second to leave your answer on the poll. 

[Mywas 687]

What was wrong with season 3? How is season 1 any better than season 3?

Its like this fandom sees things in a half empty point of view.

[James 302]

I think anyone who says something like that is just a big crybaby who thinks they're entitled to what they want. Why on earth would you stop watching a show you love because you don't like one or two episodes? I don't like Boast Busters, but that doesn't do anything to the fact that I love the show.

[Moonlight 7,291]

I REALLY enjoyed season 3 and I still love the show, so I'm obviously not in the "season 3 sucked, boo!!1111" group. There's no way in hell that today's episodes will be my last...there's just no way. The new episodes sound like they're going to be enjoyable. 

[Bucky McGillyCuddy 956]

 

 

What was wrong with season 3

I was talking about the Twilicron split but didn't want to talk about it directly for fear of it being moved to the Twilicorn corner (or whatever it's called) It left a lot of people unhappy. 

[Rough Pathway 157]

I was orginially going to decide whether or not to keep watching the show depending on the first and second episode, but I've changed my mind. After having so much time to think about it Twilicorn isn't so bad, and I doubt she'll completely take over the show. I overreacted a bit to Twilicorn back in February.   I love the show and fandom too much to stop watching it anyway.

[Mywas 687]

I was talking about the Twilicron split but didn't want to talk about it directly for fear of it being moved to the Twilicorn corner (or whatever it's called) It left a lot of people unhappy.

I will never know why people are so angry about ONE character having her status quo changed when Anime like Naruto, one piece, Attack on Titans have changes for the entire main cast every saga.

 

My opinion is that Twilicorn does not bother me and unless they turn everypony and their dogs into alicorns i don't see that changing

[MorningFlash 214]

I highly doubt this. Seriously, I love the show too much to just give it up at one episode :')

[DaReaper 1,945]

They would really have to do something extremly bad like come out and say horrible things about bronies for it to be my last

[SasQ 1,380]

I would simply like to know how many of you all are going into tonight's episode with the thought:   "If tonight's episode doesn't fix the issue season 3 left me with. I'm done."

 

Well, that's not my exact thought on it, but somewhat similar:

What was done cannot be undone. And when I became a Brony, I knew why I have chosen to be one. These motivations are still there, that is, a huge burst of creativity in the fandom, impulses to try some new activities that I've never done before, the positive influence it all has upon our world, and of course the episodes emitted so far, which I mostly love very much, with few exceptions.

 

But... if we limit ourselves only to the show, then I definitely won't stop watching MLP:FiM because of one or two bad episodes. But, you know, if this disease will spread, then it's whole another story. But this won't stop me from watching the episodes already emitted, which I still love and enjoy. Or writing my own fanfics with alternative storylines than the original show (a.k.a. "let's see what could have been done better").

 

Also see my answer to @@James below.

 

I read on a lot of different online forums earlier in the year people's comments explaining that if the starting episodes of season 4 weren't up to par they would opt out of the fandom.

 

For me, this fandom is something much more than the TV show. So I definitely won't leave the fandom when the show will get worse or stop being emitted at all (which someday will come, this way or another; nothing is forever).

 

Are you one of those people?

 

Not to that point. I had some mixed feelings about the Season 3 finale, but that's all.

 

I think anyone who says something like that is just a big crybaby who thinks they're entitled to what they want.

 

Well, there were certain features which have drawn me to this show. One of these was good storytelling. And if these features start to lack, then it's one reason less for watching the show. And I don't know how is it related to being a crybaby: if I don't find what I'm looking for there, why should I watch it? Simple as that. I stopped watching "Sliders" from the same reasons, when, after the quarrels between the main cast and the producers, and after two important actors being replaced by someone else, the storyline started to deteriorate gradually, I just have lost the interest in the show. This was sad for me, because I very enjoyed it before it became that way :-( But... such is life :-/

 

Why on earth would you stop watching a show you love because you don't like one or two episodes?

 

If only it were some minor episodes unrelated to the main storyline, such as "Just for sidekicks" or "Diamond Dogs" (for the second one: although I liked the storytelling in that episode, I very dislike the design of Diamond Dogs characters and their graphical design, because it doesn't fit the rest so much), it would be fine for me. But not if we speak about the very grand finale of the season! Messing with the main characters' story arcs and introducing a huge imbalance in the team without enough justification and mixing two unrelated storylines into one, and then rushing the whole episode beyond all recognition by wasting precious time for making it a musical without any reason just to lick some rich sponsors' plots (I mean the whole Miss America thngy) and sell more toys, is a big no-no, and a big sign that something wrong is going on. When I watched "Equestria Girls", I could see how even the writers know very well what they have screwed up, and how much try to justify it somehow after the fact (well, better later than never). I just hope that they learned their lesson and such thing will never happen again, and that they have found some way out of this pitfall in Season 4's opening two-parter. Damn, I pray for it to Celestia!

 

Meghan McCarthy once said that Season 3 finale will be the first part of a three-part story, ended with a cliff-hanger which will leave us Bronies hanging until Season 4 will start. And I know that Season 4 actually starts with a 2-parter, which (according to Meghan) will be a continuation of the events from Season 3 finale. So I hold her to her word in this case. Well... 3 hours left, let's see if she wasn't lying.

 

I was talking about the Twilicron split (...) It left a lot of people unhappy. 

 

and

 

Twilicorn isn't so bad

 

Yeah, I think that people confused several things together and that's why the whole anti-Twilicorn thing came out. Blame the writers, though, because it started there: they confused two (or even three) unrelated storylines into one episode (which I guess originally was meant to be a two-parter, or two separate episodes).

 

One thing is the story about their cutie marks being switched through a bad spell, and Twilight has to fix this mess somehow. This was a great idea for an episode, and I'd enjoy it very much even if it were a musical, providing it was separate from other things. And if it weren't the season finale, because finales beg for some more epic-ness ;-J (Unless Discord were involved in it ;-> I waited for him to pop out somewhere saying "What a nice chaos we have here!" when I saw the familiar checkerboard pattern made of clouds. With him, it could be a good season finale ;-J Unfortunately he didn't appeared :-/ ).

 

The second thing is how they used the Starswirl's memoirs prop, the thing with an unfinished spell which, after figuring out the important thing and finishing it, can transform one into an Alicorn. This was again a good storyline if done separately (though I had more expectations about that book; it could be used for more epic stuff for several episodes, with Twilight studying new kind of Magic she was never done before: the forbidden Dark Magic). And the whole Alicorn transformation as a reward for studying the Magic of Friendship for a long enough time to figure out its true power is also a very good idea, but again: when done properly, with enough justification. This is what lacked in Season 3's finale, and which just spoiled the whole idea. If you were feeling bad after watching that happen, then you were right. This was a signal from your subconscious that something doesn't fit well enough. And this something was that Twilight's character is not ready yet for being an Alicorn. It's not justified enough. One doesn't become an Alicorn by screwing up one spell and then fixing it by realizing how much one cares about one's friends. If that was the case, she would became an Alicorn in Season 1 opener, or Season 2 opener, since these moments didn't differ much from Season 3 finale.

 

The third thing is the whole coronation stuff, that is, making Twilight to be a princess in the very same episode (as if changing her into an Alicorn weren't enough surprise :-P ), because it is completely ouf-of-character for her. Being a royalty is a whole different goal than being an adorkable bookworm who wants to become a great magician and study Magic whenever she can. I continue to ask: "A princess of WHAT?" This is the least fitting part in the whole finale, and guess what: it's the only one which has been forced by Hasbro to connect it with the events of Miss America coronation, where they had their business.

 

When you consider all three of these elements separately, you'll see how none of them (except the last one perhaps) is bad in itself. It's how they were mixed together, rushed, and introduced without enough justification which spoiled them all. That's what I call bad writing. But I understand that they hadn't much choice when the "corporate overlords" from Hasbro forced them to shoehorn these elements in the story somehow. They did pretty good job nevertheless in introducing them in a way that it doesn't ruined the show totally.

 

I don't like Boast Busters, but that doesn't do anything to the fact that I love the show.

 

What's wrong with Boast Busters? ;-J From the storytelling point of view, this was a very good episode. Well-structured and fun ;-) And Trixie's character is adorable  Whoever dislikes this episode is a crybaby  (just joking  ).

 

I REALLY enjoyed season 3 and I still love the show, so I'm obviously not in the "season 3 sucked, boo!!1111" group.

 

Me neither. The Season 3 opening 2-parter (The Crystal Empire) was epic, and there were several episodes which I very enjoyed in Season 3. Especially unfreezing Discord from stone  and the big transformation of his character (well played, Flutters!  ). This was very surprising plot twist, and it turned many things upside down, but in a good way, because it was pretty well-justified, especially from the psychological perspective (which I enjoyed the most; I like when deep psychology is employed in kids shows).

Edited November 23, 2013 by SasQ

[Super Derpy 535]

This poll is utterly pointless. That's like saying If I see one bad episode of MLP I will just stop watching it. Even if this premiere doesn't meet my expectations heck, even if I hate it! I am still going to watch ponies.

[James 302]

@@SasQ, 

 

You make very good points, and the writing taking a turn for the worst would be a good reason to stop watching the show. However, we have seen nothing to suggest that the writing isn't as great as it's always been. What I meant was that someone would have to be a crybaby to see one episode they don't like, even a season finale, and then decide that they hate the show and it's fandom. Even if the first two episodes aren't to everyone's liking, who's to say that the next 24 episodes of this season won't be great? You can't judge the writing of a show on just one or two episodes, no matter how significant they are. We have seen that the writing for this show is consistently good, even if some episodes aren't to everyone's tastes.

 

Don't forget that not everyone hates the season 3 finale. I loved it, obviously I can accept that there was a lot wrong with it, but all of those were most likely due to it being rushed, by Hasbro most likely. They did only have 13 episodes to work with, I bet no-one would complain about the finale if it had been a two-parter. The only problem with it was that it was only one episode, there just wasn't enough time.

Edited November 23, 2013 by James

[Red Diamond 549]

0%

 

People are curious about new episodes so they just keep watching. But they are going to quit the fandom, they're still going to be curious, or their interest of the show will decrease.

[Megas 28,100]

I've always been more excited for episodes after the premiere than the premiere itself, so I'll most definitely stick around

[lomk 20,666]

I didn't think season 3 was all that great; however it was still good. Just because I didn't like the ending, that doesn't mean it sucked. And season 1 was awesome! I mean, it was the first season that started the fandom in the first place, right? You can't ignore that. Season 1 was great because it full of My Little Mental Breakdowns. 

 

Anyway, season openers aren't the episodes that determine the season as a whole for me. The season 2 opener was freaking amazing and the closer was almost as good. I really think that's what made season 2 so awesome to so many people. Season 2 hit the ground running and went out with a bang and that's always awesome. I used to play music in high school and our band director always stressed the end of a song because, in her words, "that's the part that the audience has just heard when it's over and that's the part that's going to leave the biggest impression."

 

So no. Just because I didn't care for the ending of Magical Mystery Cure (although the rest of the episode was pretty awesome, though it felt like it could easily have been a two-part episode but that's for a different thread), and even if this season opener is lackluster, I'm not leaving the fandom. I hate it when people bring this up because it's like if you like the show, then great! If you don't, well then I'm not going to tell you you're wrong as long as you stay respectful and don't launch personal attacks. If you're leaving the fandom, then that's your deal. You don't have to make a big deal of it. 

 

But I'm not going to prejudge a whole season based on its opener. The rest of the season could turn out to be better than season 2.

 

Let's take our own advice and keep our minds open. 

[Wingnut 7,018]

Well, no matter what they do, it's impossible to please everybody. 

 

I stand by my original assertion that making Twilight an alicorn should have been saved for the series finale.  But I'm too curious to stop watching and I have so much fun talking about new episodes with everybody here that I'm staying put.  In order for me to quit the fandom, they would have to screw up in a huge way and I don't see that happening.  Despite occasional mistakes, the creative staff is too talented to do that. 

 

I'm looking forward to posting my thoughts on today's episodes and the season 4 finale several months from now. 

[Grumpy Enchantress 587]

What was wrong with season 3? How is season 1 any better than season 3?

Its like this fandom sees things in a half empty point of view.

It was poorly written and unfunny and cringe worthy and stuff, in my opinion. Barely any good episodes at all and even the good ones were really flawed.

[Bucky McGillyCuddy 956]

 

 

This poll is utterly pointless.

So pointless it validates a response haha?

 

 

That's like saying If I see one bad episode of MLP I will just stop watching it.

At the end of season 3 that's exactly what people were saying. I just want to know how many people still feel that way.

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

Said simply, I'm a brony till the end.

[Winona the Dog 1,984]

I'm only watching the episodes so I'm well equipped to discuss anything about MLP, Can't analyze stuff without seeing it right?

[Nature's Spell 526]

No show is perfect and even the best series have episodes that are sub par and MLP is no different. Based upon what I know I'm sure some ponies will hate the season premiere, but that's life and you have to accept that not everybody can be happy. But, and this is a big but, you can't take your toys and go home, trash the room, just because your head canon explodes. You have the right to be unhappy, but not to spread your FUD to those who do enjoy it.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Nature Spell

[Renon Strike 67]

I never decided that the premier episode was the deciding factor because i have other character episodes to look forward to.

[Adente 1,000]

I'm fairly sure that all the people who left the fandom over Alicorn Twilight did so months ago. They wouldn't have stuck around to wait and see. But seriously, I was a little miffed about Alicorn Twilight, but after watching the premier, I don't really care!

[SCS 7,537]

I love all of the seasons. I saw the season 4 opening earlier today, and I loved it. Even if it had turned out to be something I did not like - which would have been extremely unlikely - that would never cause me to stop watching the show.

[Ianpiersonjdavis 514]

I'm fairly sure that all the people who left the fandom over Alicorn Twilight did so months ago. They wouldn't have stuck around to wait and see. But seriously, I was a little miffed about Alicorn Twilight, but after watching the premier, I don't really care!

 

Same here.

 

After MMC I was really angry and disappointed about all of the points that Alicorn/Princess Twilight would affect the show and relationship with her friends that it failed to address.

 

After the premiere I'm in a much better mood and more confident for the future, now that I finally have some closure.