What's up with all the sub plots?

[Winona the Dog 1,981]

After seeing all the episodes thus far I have to say the writers seem to be trying to implement quite a few sub plots during this season.

 

Let's take a look. First off we the box from episode 2 which hasn't even been mentioned since the beginning of episode 3. Nor has any keys been found. (I guess they're saving those episodes for the very end but I wish they'd find the first one already)

 

Secondly We have the castle which many speculate will be Twilight's future castle.

 

And third we have the Equestria Games.

 

Now the next ones are a bit less ominous since they end on cliffhangers. We have the ominous shadow figure at the end of Castle Mania (and so you know we will meet it again if Twilight is going to make it her castle.) The enchanted comic book store and more recently .....

 

Fluttershy and her little Bat Pony transformation which after seeing the cliffhanger of Bats we can only assume that she isn't fully normal.

 

(Note I'm unsure about the first two being sub plots as they haven't been mentioned yet in the show but Flutterbat seems to heavy to ignore and I'm certain that we will see her turn again or at least see some influence)

 

Not ever have I seen so many sub plots in a show before. What do you guys think? Can the writers deal with all these sub plots going on? (And they may not stop here.)

[Quilled Inc 161]

On the one hand, it provides a lot of suspense for future episodes, seeing these sub-plots addressed, continued and (hopefully) concluded satisfactorily.  However, as you said, it could become borderline unmanageable...

As an individual who is fond of speculation I cannot help but enjoy each new sub-plot thrown our way, since it gets the little gears in my head turning, which results in added enjoyment in the show as a whole.  I can just hope that the writers know what they are doing and will deliver a satisfying conclusion at the end of the season for all of them; unless, of course, some of them span across seasons (which would be an odd and probably not a good decision on their part, but who knows, really?)

[~StatesTheOblivious~ 1,794]

I think that things like Fluttershy's teeth in the end of "Bats!" or the comicstore mentioned in "Power Ponies" will not necessarily be a thing in future episodes. I think they're probably just for teasing the viewers, you know.

 

But the Box, the Equestria Games (the actual games, not the preparations), the castle and that mysterious Pony of Shadows will probably be things that will be important in the end of the season as parts of one massive showdown-super-finale-thingy. When everything will be connected, brought together, or something like that. That's at least what I expect.

Edited December 28, 2013 by Tender Voice

[Doctor XFizzle 8,651]

As for the lock box, I really hope the keys are collected individually throughout the season, not all at once in the season finale. That would be lame.

[Aerial~Shot 177]

I like to think all the sub-plots (or at least most of them) will somehow connect in one way or another.

[Jangocoolguy 433]

Though I see the endings of "Power Ponies" and "Bats!" more as non-sequitors than "foreshadowing"...  

[BalanceBrony 259]

Though I see the endings of "Power Ponies" and "Bats!" more as non-sequitors than "foreshadowing"...  

But there are plenty of people who can only take so much trolling. Like me.

Edited December 29, 2013 by BalanceBrony

[Jangocoolguy 433]

But there are plenty of people who can only take so much trolling. Like me.

It's only trolling if you set yourself up and think it means more than it actually does

[Jammo 986]

A two part finale of Season for will take the ponies to the Dimension of Unanswered Questions where the Shadow Pony will be reading the comic and flutterbat tries to stop her because comics are for dorks.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Jammo

[FNGRpony 655]

It's only trolling if you set yourself up and think it means more than it actually does

So it's imposible to be trolled by only understanding a fraction of what it is?

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

http://cheezburger.com/7976169216

 

That's my response to the box sprouted out of the Tree of Harmony with the 6 keyholes, anyway I hope they do discuss all these sub plots later on, but as of now I'll have to wait and see.

Edited December 30, 2013 by MLPFanatic34

[Philocleon 27]

I totally saw the bat teeth at the end of Bats! coming miles away.

[Princess Lona 381]

I think the comic and the teeth were just little jokes that we'll never see again, but I also think there's a reason for them that isn't directly related to the show. They are artistic gifts to the fans from the writers. It was subtle but clear in season three that the writers had become well aware of the older fans and were putting little references and jokes into the show just for us. In season four, it is blindingly obvious that the writers are not only aware of us, but are probably reading these and other forums to get an idea of what we want to see. We drew fan art of humanized ponies, they gave us Equestria Girls. We loved Discord, they gave us more Discord. We wondered about the origins of the princesses, the entire season opener was dedicated to building cannon lore. We said we were sick of the Elements Ex Machina, they put the elements to bed and opened up a new quest. We wondered about Scootaloo's lack of flight, they addressed it. We hated Sombra as a character, it doesn't look like he's coming back.

What does all of this have to do with the comic and the teeth being "artistic gifts"? This fandom is built on fan art. We speculate about everything and write our own fiction, so I think the writers just want to give us ideas of what to write about and draw. I'm sure there are already a few fanfics about the enchanted comic book store and everyone already loves to draw tricked out Fluttershy so the possibility of Flutterbat's return could make for some great future art. Maybe the writers are even putting some of these endings out there as feelers to see which ones we like best and what they should carry into season five.