What villain should be redeemed next?

[Thespian 78]

If there had to be a redemption episode, Gilda. Definitely not Chrysalis or Tirek.

[nami438 90]

I'd like to see the Flim Flam Brothers be converted to good, especially now that Leap of Faith has painted them as outright liars and cheats.

I can't believe I forgot about DT and SS! Those two are antagonists that, while not evil, could afford have a few layers of additional depth added to them.

 

Woops, almost forgot about them too. I'll be surprised if they aren't shown up somehow by the series finale.

[hawkflame 3,310]

MAYBE Gilda or Lightning Dust. Other than that... No. No, no, no, no, no.

 

Seriously, why can't we let evil badasses stay evil badasses? They already neutered Discord, I don't want Chrysalis suffering the same fate.

[truth is life 76]

MAYBE Gilda or Lightning Dust. Other than that... No. No, no, no, no, no.

 

Seriously, why can't we let evil badasses stay evil badasses? They already neutered Discord, I don't want Chrysalis suffering the same fate.

I agree, but at the same time I don't see any reason why minor antagonists like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, Gilda or Lightning Dust, Trixie, or the Flim-Flam brothers shouldn't get a chance at redemption (or in Trixie's case a reappearance). Their crimes are often quite minor in the greater scheme of things, and you could do some interesting things with them to bring them beyond merely being one-dimensional bad guys.

[hawkflame 3,310]

I agree, but at the same time I don't see any reason why minor antagonists like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, Gilda or Lightning Dust, Trixie, or the Flim-Flam brothers shouldn't get a chance at redemption (or in Trixie's case a reappearance). Their crimes are often quite minor in the greater scheme of things, and you could do some interesting things with them to bring them beyond merely being one-dimensional bad guys.

The thing is, you could flesh them out without necessarily reforming them.

 

Perfect example is Diamond Tiara in Ponyville Confidential. Here she wasn't just a bully, she was egotistical, cunning, manipulative, full of bluster, and absolutely loved wielding her power. This kind of J Jonah Jameson-esque side of her was something new. Yes she was still being mean, but in a different and more entertaining way than usual.

[GreyScholar 1,584]

In my honest opinion...

 

NO! No, no more redeemed villains! With how poorly and unevenly Discord's redemption went I do not want to see any other villains redeemed. Trixie is one thing, as while she had her flaws (and like a drunk driver taking the wheel using the alicorn amulet) she is not evil or even truly a 'villian'.

 

Discord though, he had it all. Dangerous powers that allow him to control all of Equestria, a deceptively silly demeanor which hides well a certain cruelty, the means to break and twist the minds of ponies... utterly destroying the life and friendships they have. All this while seeing it as a game, as fun, turning Equestria into his playground to selfishly do as he pleases.

 

 

Now don't get me wrong, it was not so much Duscoird redemption itself that I don't like... it is how the writers did it. His initial redemption should have taken more the one episode, proper character development instead of 'oh, wait, Fluttershy's friendship all of a sudden means something to me even though I have been manipulating her this whole time'. Then there is Three is a Crowd, where Discord goes from threatening to merely annoying... getting his kicks from trying (and failing) to ruin Twilight's day. Finally, there is his heel face turn (and turn again) in Twilight's Kingdom and how Twilight was finally expected to befriend him even though he had given no real reason for such an action. There even being the unfortunate consideration that Twilight did it to get the jey, not so much because of honest friendship.

Edited May 20, 2014 by EquestrianScholar

[truth is life 76]

The thing is, you could flesh them out without necessarily reforming them.

 

Perfect example is Diamond Tiara in Ponyville Confidential. Here she wasn't just a bully, she was egotistical, cunning, manipulative, full of bluster, and absolutely loved wielding her power. This kind of J Jonah Jameson-esque side of her was something new. Yes she was still being mean, but in a different and more entertaining way than usual.

That is true, but at the same time there are decent stories you could tell that do involve them being reformed.

 

I had in the back of my mind a story with the aesop of more or less "Just because someone was a jerk to you in the past doesn't mean they're always going to be bad." Yeah, that was Discord, some, but his reformation was a little rushed, especially how evil he was implied to be. If you're dealing with a petty villain like Gilda or Lightning Dust, it works better. Have them reform off-screen (maybe Lightning finally gets a clue-by-four to the head, or the Flim-Flam brothers finally realized they're horrible at business) and then come back to apologize or get advice, or both, only to be rejected by Rainbow/Applejack due to suspicion that it's all a front and they're actually looking to get something out of them. But it turns out they're not, of course, and they honestly wanted to make amends/learn. Sort of an anti-Aesop, actually, taking that term literally...

 

Anyways, my point is that "reformations" of such minor villains are essentially neutral. You can use them to tell good stories, and someone like Gilda (who was just a jerk, no worse that Fluttershy herself was later!) or the Flim-Flam brothers (who are just con artists, not Equestria-destroying threats) is obviously not past realizing they're wrong and changing their ways--reforming wouldn't really be like cheating justice or anything, the way it might/would be for Chrysalis or Tirek.

Edited May 20, 2014 by truth is life

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

 

 

Sombra, Tirek, and Chryssie wouldn't work   My vote goes to Gilda

Unlike Gilda the rest are villains... we are talking about villains not antagonists. Also people deny villains redepmtion because they are villains is like denying someone correction because he is wrong... it's ironic and bigoted.

 

No, no no. No more villain conversions, it gets lame after awhile, and it's been done in other places that's its lame. Villains need to stay villains.   Maybe some antagonists, sure that could work. Maybe remove the log out of Diamond Tiara's ass...

What if the villains didn't get redeemed just became antagonists? Also it's lame for you... you are the one bored... not all share your opinion.

 

The thing is, Chrysalis and Sombra have only been seen ONCE, and are the only villains to be shown as real villains (not counting Tirek, since he's pretty much evil since G1).

 

Discord wasn't really evil, as much as just goofing off as mentioned above. The other two, were flat out trying to enslave, or destroy life without a care about what happens to anyone but themselves really. Plus, you can get oversaturated with villains, then it becomes stupid there too.

Discord was evil exactly because doing evil seemed like goofing off to him.

[Orablanco Account 3,707]

I dunno, Gilda? Probably makes the most sense, seeing as she started out as Dash's childhood friend and all, but I'd prefer the writers not shoehorn her into an episode for the sake of redemption. We need to know more about Chrysalis and her subjects before any redemption takes place, and Tirek and Sombra are complete and utter monsters who beyond the point of redemption in any form.

Edited May 20, 2014 by CITRUS KING46

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

 

 

Gilda

 

Flim-Flam brothers

 

Lightning Dust

Why are those names even here? Why!!! They are ANTOGONISTS NOT VILLAINS!!!  

[Orablanco Account 3,707]

 

 

Why are those names even here? Why!!! They are ANTOGONISTS NOT VILLAINS!!!

 

Than whatever the buck, but my other points still stand.

[Buttonmash1973 1,026]

I hope that Flim and Flam will be redmeed in S5 .

Edited May 20, 2014 by Ulrik Raben

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

Than whatever the buck, but my other points still stand.

Sure i guess so... you know what i'd like to see? Her not wanting to be redeemed because she thinks she doesn't deserve it!!!

I hope that the Gilda redeemed fics will be canon in S5 .

Not a villain but antagonist.

[MLPFanatic34 3,235]

To be honest, I don't want to see anymore get reformed at least for a while. Discord and Trixie were more than enough.

 

I would like to see Trixie return though, fully reformed and all.

I agree with you, I hope Trixie does return in season 5, considering we only saw her in Seasons 1 and 3. Yeah no more reforming villains.

[Dattebayo 2,850]

NO

NO ONE

NOT A SINGLE SOUL

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

I have a feeling Gilda will reconcile with what she has done. It's been several seasons now. DO IT MEGHAN!!!

 

For Chrysalis and Sombra, I don't think they'll be redeemed.

[Jeric 46,869]

Flim and Flam need to go the other way. Their first appearance was barely antagonistic. Yes they were self aggrandizing pricks, but the most evil thing they did was cut corners when they thought they were going to lose. Hell .. Rainbow Dash did that in Fall Weather Friends.

 

The second appearance had them actively swindle with false advertising. They got worse.

 

Another appearance should continue that trend. Make them evolve in the other direction.

[SparklingSquirrels 21,366]

Yeah, I have to agree with those that say Lightning Dust or Gilda. Unlike Chrysalis and Tirek, they aren't downright evil, they just... "over-do it" a little, and thus I think it's possible they could be reformed and become allies of the mane 6. Me, personally, I would prefer to see Lightning Dust come back, since I think there's so much more that could be done with her character.

[windy_prance 114]

Gilda would seem like a good idea for some redeeming. Maybe use this as a way to talk more about Griffins in general. (like how about why griffin don't have their own kingdom?)
 

 

Also...maybe Diamond Tiara? Seriously if the CMC is got some good character development in Season 4 so their "villains" should grow as well.

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

That's it... i am fed up with people saying Gilda is a villain and Lightning Dust as well as Diamond Tiara. This is RIDICULOUS!!! THEY ARE NOT VILLAINS! JEEZ!

[Dawn Wing 113]

That's it... i am fed up with people saying Gilda is a villain and Lightning Dust as well as Diamond Tiara. This is RIDICULOUS!!! THEY ARE NOT VILLAINS! JEEZ!

Not nessicelery, they are just antagonist. PS. Nessicelery wasn't a typo.

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

Not nessicelery, they are just antagonist. PS. Nessicelery wasn't a typo.

I don't get it... the typo thingie... and if we count villains the only true one deserving a chance is Queen Chrysalis. She's far better suited.

[Dawn Wing 113]

I don't get it... the typo thingie... and if we count villains the only true one deserving a chance is Queen Chrysalis. She's far better suited.

Yeah, I want Twilight to use a spell and change her into a regular pony, so she has no need to feed off love, and she won't be considered a "monster" among regular ponies, so she can feel accepted by society.

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

@@Dawn Wing,Know what "I" want? I want a self-conscious villain that is aware of the choice she/he made and actually tries to make ammends for things he did. 

[Spinelspike 78]

Ehhh, honestly, I don't think they need to convert any more villains. I didn't really consider Trixie to be a villain in the first place, but I found her return and resolution to be enjoyable enough, and I think they've fully realised the potential of having discord being reformed. At the stage we are at now, I don't really see what reforming another villain would do for the series. They've already explored the concept of reforming a villain and teaching friendship to any one regardless of shape or soul, so doing that again would just be repeating the same formula. True, the characters would be different, and some may require different methods of conversion, but the essential message and plot line would be similar. Also, we'd then have too many reformed villains running about the place. I'm fine just with Discord for the moment.

I think the series should just focus more on finding new villains now, and giving Twilight even harder challenges to face. While I didn't think Tirek was perfect, I was still impressed by him and how they could still find ways to present a threat to Twilight, so I look forward to what other villains can be introduced in the future.