S04:E25+26 - Twilight's Kingdom

[Thrond 3,257]

"But what is the princess of friendship without her friends?"

 

I'm kinda surprised that this hasn't grown any worse for me on re-watch. If anything, it's grown better - I think I'm finally able to grok with Twilight's internal conflict here. It's not just that she doesn't know what her role as a princess is, but that her life has changed so much since her coronation, to the point that she no longer knows what to do with it. Before, she was a student - but now, everyone's telling her that she's not just become the master, but that she's become a princess of Equestria. But why? What does this mean? She can't go back to her studies and forget about it, as now she has to attend diplomatic functions, and everywhere she goes people look at her differently. She'd probably be happy to return to her old life, but if this is her life now, what does that even mean? Her life has been upended, and the purpose she once found in it is lost. 

 

One thing I've forgotten after S5 strained against its own constraints and S6 has been so low-key and personal is just how high the stakes can get in this show. This episode is almost purely dramatic, with the comedy being the exception rather than the norm, and not only does it grapple with Twilight feeling adrift after life changes, but it also reiterates the show's main themes of friendship through contrasting Twilight with Tirek. Tirek doesn't care about anyone else. All he cares about is making himself more powerful. He doesn't need friends. Twilight, meanwhile, does. She's told not to inform her friends that she holds the power of all four alicorns, but she's also left without a concrete plan to defeat Discord, and keeping her friends out of the loop ultimately does her no good. The alicorn power doesn't help her, and it's only through her friendships that she finally defeats Tirek. Giving up the alicorn power in exchange for her friends is what gives her the final key, and as a result, it's that friendship which is finally able to save Equestria. 

 

Caring about others does not make us weak. In fact, it makes us stronger. It enables us to make hard decisions, as well as emboldens us to protect those who we car about. Most importantly, it lets us work together, and it's together where we're strongest. Tirek didn't get that - no matter how much power he accumulated on his own, he was defeated by six ponies, whom he had thought defeated, working together. As cheesy as it is, he was defeated by the power of friendship - and, honestly, I think that's kind of powerful, especially given how essential that power of friendship is to the entire show. For all four preceding seasons, Twilight increasingly found strength and even purpose in friendship. What she once didn't even care for has become so important to her that it defines her new direction in life. Without her friends, the Princess of Friendship is highly intelligent, magically adept, and a complete dork. Without her friends, Twilight Sparkle isnt nothing. But while once she might have gotten by without friends, that time is long past, and trying to find her purpose as a princess all on her own leaves herself with nothing. It's not until she works together with her friends to defeat Tirek that she finds the purpose which had eluded her. 

 

Without her friends, the Princess of Friendship is lost. 

 

Anyway, on a less deep note, this is some really well-written stuff. The plotting is tight, the stakes are high, and everything resonates with the depth I've outlined above. It's pretty fun, but at the time it felt like largely unexplored territory for the show. One of season 5's biggest mistakes was to try and push this level of emotional resonance and this kind of climactic tone more often, which ultimately did quite a bit to cheapen the finale. All of the action here, all of the drama - it's purposeful, and it's so damn controlled. After the messiness of the premiere, this is a breath of fresh air. It's also delightful how the show introduces just the right amount of lore to make the villain more compelling without introducing too much for this show to handle. My Little Pony thrives on its fantasy world, but its lore is still the stuff of fairy tales rather than the stuff of epic novels. It's not The Lord of the Rings, and if it tried to expand its lore that far, it would probably collapse under its own weight. What we have is just enough to give the stories flavour, when the characters which inhabit said stories hold much more importance. 

 

A lot of this might have been stretched out over a season of a more serialised show, but somehow this show makes it all work in under an hour - perhaps by scaling back the character development slightly. This isn't the episode to showcase some of the personality which Twilight had sorely lacked in season 4, but she's given enough depth here to offset that, even if it took a while for it to fully click with me even on this watch. If I listen to "You'll Play Your Part" again, I might enjoy it more, as I appreciate the soaring harmonies and finally understand Twilight's internal conflict, but it didn't quite work for me on this rewatch. Took me a while to figure out why I should care about what initially appeared to be (and, admittedly, could still be argued to be) Twilight's first world problems. It's all a bit on the intangible side, as Twilight is more or less having a sort of existential crisis, but I really appreciate how the episode is actually considering how she feels about being a princess after so many episodes in season 4 shoved her into a bland mentor role. 

 

I'd also like to comment on how much I love the role Twilight's friends play here. She couldn't have defeated Tirek without them, and in part that's so satisfying to me because it flies right in the face of the pedestal that "Magical Mystery Cure" and even "Princess Twilight Sparkle" seemed to place her on. After being separated so much from the others, they are finally shown to be just as important, and even get their own thrones in the end. I wonder if that means that they, too, are nobility of a sort. This isn't the organic conclusion of their arcs, but to an extent, neither is it the natural conclusion of Twilight's. It shows how far she's come, but this isn't what she's been working towards, and a large part of her internal conflict here comes from how unprepared she was for becoming a princess. She had never considered the possibility, so she had no idea what she'd do when it happened. 

 

"Twilight's Kingdom" works because it deals with the consequences of Twilight's life changing so much so suddenly, and while it does encapsulate how far Twilight has come - partially because she finds her "purpose" as a princess through friendship - I still think that the beginning of season 5's finale, where she's lecturing about friendship at the magic school in Canterlot, does a much better job of concluding her arc by showing us what she's actually been working towards. She never asked to be a Princess, and while that ultimately worked out, the fact that "Twilight's Kingdom" manages to finally make it feel like an organic part of her character arc is a minor miracle considering how forced and out of place it really is. 

 

Of course, her story is far from done - the feeling I got from this episode wasn't of an ending but of a new beginning. There's a lot of possibilities which the show still hasn't explored for what to do now that Twilight is comfortably a princess, and she still has plenty of room for growth. We haven't seen a lot of it, but if the writers figure out what to do with her - which, as of season 6, they still haven't, particularly - then they have a lot of untapped potential to draw from. 

 

Honestly, being so satisfied with this episode makes me more excited for the season 6 finale. Might actually be interesting. 

[Dawn Darkness 217]

Princess Twilight and Tirek were equal? I'd disagree there. Because friendship is stronger than being alone.

[Spider 1]

I couldn't come up with a better example of a deus ex machina than this episode if I tried. Seemed kinda lazy.

[leonbrony17 1,216]

I'm really really sorry about that. Because all those funny memes i'm watching right now i wanna post them.

[GoddessRarity 48]

​Tirek is easily my favorite antagonist thus far. He was threatening, memorable and menacing.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and his fight with Twilight at the end was, for want of a better term, FREAKING LEGIT!!

 

 

 

 

Engage the Tirek motherfacker.

 

 

[Sovereign Leader Rarity 12,000]

This episode. Truly the finest the show has to offer. Great story telling, great visuals and 

 

FANTASTIC FIGHT SEQUENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guy above me knows what's up.

This episode really set a new standard for not just season finales, but for mlp episodes in general. That fight scene between Twilight and Tirek was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GoddessRarity 48]

My reaction upon seeing Tirek for the first time:

 

 

That means that I was happy.

[Sovereign Leader Rarity 12,000]

YOU MESS WITH THE BOOKS, YOU GET THE HORNS MOTHERFACKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Twilight Sparkle 2012

 

When you burn too many books, the only way to go is forward.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Rarity the Supreme

[Sovereign Leader Rarity 12,000]

IN THE LEFT CORNER, YOU KNOW THEM, YOU LOVE THEM- THE MAIN 6!!!!!!!!! PREPARE YOURSELF TIREK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GrimGrimoire 4,970]

This episode. Truly the finest the show has to offer. Great story telling, great visuals and 

 

FANTASTIC FIGHT SEQUENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This episode really set a new standard for not just season finales, but for mlp episodes in general. That fight scene between Twilight and Tirek was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I agree. However I fear it may be the only and last one we see. S5 & 6 did not even come close to that. I am hoping we see a step up towards it in the film and maybe in some ways in S7.

[Sovereign Leader Rarity 12,000]

Tirek: Do ya wanna have have a bad time? Cus if you take another step forwards, you are REALLY not gonna like what happens next.

 

Twilight steps forward.....

 

Tirek: Welp...............

 

[Sovereign Leader Rarity 12,000]

This episode was......... FREAKING AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And they said My little Pony was just for kids......

 

 

[Thrond 3,257]

Not a perfect episode, but it's probably the most impressive of the two-parters, even if I don't know how often I'd want to re-watch it. I wrote a massive wall of text above dissecting this, so I'm just gonna point out what I don't like as much in this one. 

 

• I don't think the show really benefits from being this serious. With other episodes I love, I usually have a blast every single time through, but watching this one makes me impatient every once in a while now that the shock and novelty has worn off. It's still gripping, don't get me wrong, but at this point I just wait for the big emotional beats. In that regard, I think the first half is better, because it has more humour and digs deeper into Twilight's confusion about her life changes, but the second half pushes stronger on the contrast between Twilight and Tirek, so it's important too. 

 

• This is the one episode where I understand why people complain about the mane six being shoved to the sidelines. The entire point of the episode is that friendship is powerful, and Twilight ultimately needs her friends' help to defeat Tirek, but they're not given anything to do except stand around and get captured. Twilight needing to hide the alicorn magic is a pretty solid excuse for this to happen, and it serves the theme of Twilight standing by her friends (when she sets out alone, her friends get captured. When she gives up her magic, she gets the last key. One outcome is clearly better), but it's a shame that there isn't enough space for the mane six, let alone Cadance, who after the first few minutes gets almost entirely neglected. At least the episode makes good use of most of its running time. 

 

• I'm sorry, I'm still not convinced that Twilight becoming an alicorn was entirely justified, so "You'll Play Your Part" doesn't have as much impact on me as it could. Twilight's search for meaning and validation is still pretty powerful, but the whole sentiment of her belonging as a princess doesn't particularly ring true to me, because I'm not entirely convinced she does. Maybe I'm forgetting something, but I'm still left feeling that it wasn't so much Twilight's decision making or leadership skills as her alleged progress in friendship which led to her coronation, and I don't buy that she's experienced that so much more significantly than anyone else in Equestria. The ending of this episode does help a lot, though, and this is perhaps the only episode where I genuinely feel that her becoming a princess was a worthwhile decision on Hasbro's part. 

 

• There are a couple minor plot hiccups which I don't think are a very big deal. Did the princesses not think to conceal Twilight's existence at least a little? Why did Twilight think directly confronting Tirek would be a great idea? Wouldn't she have thought it better to just run away? Really not that big of a deal, but these are things I thought about this time. 

This is still probably my favourite two-parter, even if it's not the one I find most fun to watch, simply because I find what it accomplishes to be so powerful and impressive. I honestly think there's something for everyone in here. Watch it for intense storylines? This is the most intense of them all. Constantly hoping for cool action? There's that fight scene everybody likes to rave about. Interested in emotion and thematic depth? This episode has that in spades. Prefer the show for its humour? There's less of that, but Discord still delivers. And for those who don't care about how they're entertained, the intensity and action of this are more than enough. Twilight doesn't show much of her personality in this, but her internal conflict is so powerful that it hardly matters. Such a great episode. 

 

Score:

Entertainment: 9/10

Characters: 9/10

Themes: 10/10

Story: 10/10

Overall: 95/100

Edited February 27, 2017 by AlexanderThrond

[Stickman, The Legend 303]

3 seasons late, but I gotta say that this episode was great. I loved You'll Play Your Part and Let the Rainbow Remind You. In fact, Let The Rainbow Remind You almost made me cry! Keyword: ALMOST.

[Hierok 11,829]

Just watched Smurfvlogs blind reaction to these episodes. And I thought of something.

What if Discord made a sacrifice? That he was planning against Tirek all along. He hinted at the keys and probably knew that Twilight hadn't got her key. The only way for her to unlock the ultimate power is to betray them. I think Discord sacrificed himself to defeat Tirek for good. 

[Moony the Cat 3,697]

Like i was disappointed with Friendship is Magic, after so many said, that it was so much better than all of the older Generations, i was disappointed with this Episode, after all the comments, that this Episode has a Dragonball Z like fight.

I liked it, it was good. But nowhere as good as i heard. First of all, i like the G1 Tirek more, this one...i didnt liked his Voice, i didnt liked how he talked, i wasnt really frightened by him...he acted like a normal power seeking villain and not like a very old Villain who should have been way more angry trough all of this, considering he was basically destroyed by the Ponys in G1. I didnt saw G1 Tirek...i guess hes different because its a reboot of sorts, but he wasnt as good as i hoped. He smiled way to often, he was douchy, instead of being serious and dark, with his heart of darkness and everything.

The Fight seen with the Magic was pretty cool, but for a Dragonball Z fight, it was way to short and with how a lot of People said, it was epic, i was disappointed that it wasnt even the final fight and ended on a simple draw and then they just defeated him instantly.I also was disappointed that Tirek didnt even got destroyed like in G1, despite the fact that the same happened to Sombra. In all honesty, if Tirek would have been more like Sombra, i would probably liked this Episode more.The Rainbow Form looks kinda dumb for some of them and cool for others, so i guess its a half half.

And i also didnt understand, how Discord was still allowed to even be present in Ponyville, after he almost caused the death of pretty much everyone, i mean Tirek would be the most evilish Villain in all of Mlp, what would have happened? Why is Discord still considered a Friend? I mean sure, this time he seemed to be truly reformed, but not even a punishment?Why does Twilight still dislike Trixie kinda and had more problems forgiving her, than Discord? Trixie wasnt even half as bad, she didnt want to destroy the world or anything, she was just facking Tricks and telling lies.

All in all, it was a good final for a Kids Show, but nothing phenomenal, like some Bronys wanted to sell me this Episode.Oh yeah, i also liked the Songs from the Season 3 final more. I dont even remember the Songs from this Final anymore, despite the fact, that i just watched it before writing this.

EDIT : Okay, the fight scene with the magic was awesome and its not simply " good " for a kids cartoon, it was special. I guess i just had to high expectations and then was angry as i wrote this. It was a cool final, even though it was not my favorite.

Edited January 16, 2018 by Luna Moon

[Nye 1,652]

This episode has an epic battle which is fun to watch!

[Twilight Luna 30,940]

Twilight’s reaction to Tirek stealing magic = concern

Twilight’s reaction to Tirek abducting her friends = mad

Twilight’s reaction to Tirek destroying her home and books = Super Saiyan kamehameha to the face

[bigbertha 410]

I don't like this finale and here are some reason why:

-Twilights's arc is not interesting. It's uninteresting because Twilight as a character feels so dull. At least Twilight had a personality in "A Canterlot Wedding" outside of being sad or mad.

-The fight scene has no stakes. We know that neither of them are going to lose.

-The finale is really boring with a lot of it being Twilight moping around and Tirek being generically evil.

-Tirek is such a boring villain. He doesn't have enough depth to be interesting and isn't over the top enough to be fun.

-The songs are not good. "You'll Play Your Part" would've been much more emotional if it was just a heart to heart between Twilight and the princesses.

-There's barely any comedy. This would've been fine if the drama was interesting enough to make up for it, but it wasn't.

One thing I do like is Discord's reformation. I think it was handled pretty well and makes sense for how unconvincing his reformation was up to this point. I also don't think this is a bad episode. Just a very dull one.

Score: 4/10

 

[Sunlight Glisten 368]

On 1/12/2017 at 4:22 AM, Supreme Leader Rarity said:

This episode. Truly the finest the show has to offer. Great story telling, great visuals and 

 

FANTASTIC FIGHT SEQUENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Guy above me knows what's up.

 

 

This episode really set a new standard for not just season finales, but for mlp episodes in general. That fight scene between Twilight and Tirek was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Awesome graphics. GO Twilight!!! You my girl!!!! 

[Meushell 52]

While we know that the bad guy is going to be defeated, this method didn’t really work for me. I knew the box would be needed weapon to defeat Tirek, but I wish they had to do more than just open it. We had a great fight scene with Twilight vs  Tirek, but she wins in the end, after losing her powers because she opened a box. I would have loved to see that battle being  Tirek vs. the Mane Six (powered up by the box) and Discord (powered down).

@Nanotek You said a lot of what I was thinking. I was reading all the other posts and thinking, “Am I the only one?”

On 1/16/2018 at 12:56 PM, Nanotek said:

First of all, i like the G1 Tirek more, this one...i didnt liked his Voice, i didnt liked how he talked, i wasnt really frightened by him...he acted like a normal power seeking villain and not like a very old Villain who should have been way more angry trough all of this, considering he was basically destroyed by the Ponys in G1. I didnt saw G1 Tirek...i guess hes different because its a reboot of sorts, but he wasnt as good as i hoped. He smiled way to often, he was douchy, instead of being serious and dark, with his heart of darkness and everything.

I barely remember watching MLP when I was young, and I don’t really remember it. However, I saw a clip of an old version of Tirek on YouTube, and that was intense. Creepy. Scary. Heartless. Pulled no punches in just how evil this guy was.

This new version bored the crap out of me. I get entirely what they were going for, but it just didn’t work for me. 

On 1/16/2018 at 12:56 PM, Nanotek said:

And i also didnt understand, how Discord was still allowed to even be present in Ponyville, after he almost caused the death of pretty much everyone, i mean Tirek would be the most evilish Villain in all of Mlp, what would have happened? Why is Discord still considered a Friend? I mean sure, this time he seemed to be truly reformed, but not even a punishment?Why does Twilight still dislike Trixie kinda and had more problems forgiving her, than Discord? Trixie wasnt even half as bad, she didnt want to destroy the world or anything, she was just facking Tricks and telling lies.

Yeah. He needed to prove himself. Make him choose between his powers and his friends, and he chooses his friends this time. He really is too powerful to be one of the good guys anyway. 

Poor Trixie. She responds to jeering at her own show, but she’s treated worse than the guy who nearly destroyed Cantorlot twice. These ponies have strange priorities. 

[Steve Piranha 28,778]

You know, Mary Poppins Discord could end in Hilarious in Hindsight

 

why? ‘cause of this

Portrayed by Emily Blunt, AKA: best edgy horse 

[qwerE 95]

Sadly, I didn't find the finale as good as some people said it was. I was actually quite hyped from everyone saying how great it was, but was kind of dissapointed after seeing it myself. I had my expectations up too high, I guess.

I liked the first part. The fact that the keys to the boxes were things the mane 6 got for standing up for the element that they each represent, was surprising and beautiful. It really felt heartwarming, seeing flashbacks of touching moments of the show. I loved that part so much, and it got me even more hyped about what will come next. 

However, the second part was what ruined the episode for me. I get that Discord had to betray the mane 6 for the plot to work, but he didn't show any sign of guilt at all! He was being evil to the extent of being out of character. This was really uncomfortable to see, and when the mane 6 forgave him as if it was nothing, it seemed extremely unnatural.

Plus, I didn't like the action scenes too much. They were of good quality, for sure. But did they mean anything? No. I wanted the scene where the mane 6 fights together against Tirek to be cool. That scene was over so quick, and was a bit of a letdown. The show writers instead decided to focus more on the scene where Twilight fights Tirek on her own. It did look cool, but was also pretty much pointless. 

[bigbertha 410]

This two parter is so bleh. There's nothing too wrong here but everything is just so bland. I think this episode takes itself too seriously for its own good. There's barely any humor and the little that there is comes from Discord, who is really annoying. Twilight's arc isn't exactly bad, but it's done is such a uninteresting and boring way. Just like everything else. Tirek is one of the least interesting antagonists I've seen and Discord's arc is dull since the show hasn't given my any reason to care about him.

On top of that, there are some story issues, though they aren't too bad. My biggest one is why Twilight has to get all of the princesses' magic. I get why the princesses are giving away their magic, but why push it all on Twilight? Shouldn't Celestia and Luna split their magic between Cadence and Twilight? They say that Tirek doesn't know that Twilight is a princess so how does he know that Cadence is one? If Tirek escaped during season 2, he was there for both Cadence becoming a princess and Twilight becoming a princess. If anything, it makes more sense for Tirek to not know that Cadence is a princess since she's stuck in the Crystal Empire while Twilight is in Canterlot. So if Tirek doesn't know Twilight, he definitely shouldn't know Cadence. And there's the stained glass window of Twilight that isn't taken down for some reason. You could say that Discord set it up to eventually get Twilight her key, but the episode doesn't give a good indication that Discord is playing the long con. His emotions are played pretty straight from when he gets betrayed onward.

Overall, I'm just not a fan. It's like the episode is trying to recapture the magic of A Canterlot Wedding while forgetting that A Canterlot Wedding had some fun with its story and didn't take everything so seriously.

Score: 3/10

[Rushing cash 824]

The fight against tirek was amazing, I never thought I would see something like this in MLP. But, the princesses were really useless here, didn't help at all, and unless discord planed this, he was not as smart as I expected and fooled easily. Twilight not telling her friends that discord betrayed them was disappointing to, I mean why not to tell them? None the less, it was still a great episode with the most threatening villain, that for a small amount of time actually won, but you could see the ending a mile away. 8.5\10