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My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Season 4 |OT| Twilight Princess Returns
- Thread starter DrForester
- Start date
Frantic Fanatic
Neo Member
This part is one of the strongest redeeming parts to this episode. Discord's heel face turn in Keep Calm and Flutter On felt so forced in the last few seconds due to how much they had to pack in that episode. His actions here make it feel more tested and believable.
Edit:
I understand that the whole point of the finale is to give Twilight a purpose and make her a princess of something, but it answers a question many people already assumed. That's why I'm not complaining about the premise as a whole, and why I'm not saying Twilight is a Mary Sue, because if she didn't do it on her own, it undermines the whole point of the finale.
I wouldn't know how to change the episode to make the main character not be a main character and still retain the message. If it was Twilight and Cadence, it would just be another 'Three's a Crowd'.
Edit Edit: And wouldn't Celestia immediately die if all her magic was taken away because she's lived for thousands of oh god Forester I need 50ccs of MST3K Mantra stat.
SparksterMeta0
Member
Never expected the
fight to be escalated to
. I kind of hoped the same would happen when
, but we were too pressed for time for a final battle.
Nice finale, though I was surprised
.
Even more surprised that
was mentioned. The fact that the G1 special "Rescue at Midnight Castle" aired 30 years ago made this seem too big a coincidence.
Twilight vs Tirek
DBZ levels
she and her Rainbow of Light powered friends soon defeated him
Nice finale, though I was surprised
Discord made a heel turn so quickly just to be betrayed himself
Even more surprised that
Scorpan/Skorpan
Well, I pretty much echo the same thoughts as everyone here. The episode was ok, the fight was pretty good imo, and I actually liked Tirek as a villain. He felt like a dangerous foe. However, I don't understand something... If he so powerful that the princesses feared him, how exactly was he beaten the first time? The episode said that Scorpan warned the princesses about Tirek and the next scene implied he was thrown into Tartarus. Did the princesses throw him into Tartarus right away before he gained power?
Fluttershy isn't necessarily an idiot just because she trusted Discord. Like UberTag said - it's her nature. She is the Element of Kindness and is a naive pony. We saw that with the Breezies and Iron Will.
Fluttershy isn't necessarily an idiot just because she trusted Discord. Like UberTag said - it's her nature. She is the Element of Kindness and is a naive pony. We saw that with the Breezies and Iron Will.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
No it wouldn't It's supposed to be about Twilight needs her friends, and all they did in this episode was turn a key. How much better would it have been if they got Rainbow powered, then the big fight with Tirek happened. With all six of them actually contributing.
Celestia and Luna are basically gods, and their longevity has nothing to do with magic.
Rhomega Beta
Member
Finale was epic stuff, but...I don't know. It was good, I guess.
Owlowiscious
Member
Fight scene was nice, but you can tell they aren't experienced with that stuff. But still looked food enough I really enjoyed the finale. Rainbow power mode looks so dumb tho. I hope it sells enough toys to be worth putting that terrible design in the show.
There were a lot of things sad bothered me.
"Its About Time", when Cerberus escaped happened in Season 2. And people only now remember that a prisoner escaped during that time? No checking everyone, when Cerberus returned, no notification at all, until he started to absorb ponys.
And for that matter if he started absorbing power a bit earlier, nobody could've stopped him, since the Mane 6 conveniently got all of her powers, save for Twilights, earlier in this season. He was ok at the beginning, when he was sinister and mysterious. But later he was just plain strong. And the way to beat him? Tactics, Trickery, Friendship? No, stronger Magic. Yeah, its the magic of friendship, but friendship isn't an energyblast that cleanses all evil, thats not how friendship works.
Oh and Discord. I really hated his face heel turn. It was far too easy and naive. He would betray a friend to get another friend. But its ok, he is sorry.
I would be far happier, if they had a build up to this. No, not the keys, that was just stuff that was added to some stories. No, I mean like seeing him early here and there absorbing lesser creatures and later Ponys. A mystery that evolves in the show until he is finally strong enough to being more daring. He could've "befriend" and turned Discord along the way. With Discord first just keeping silent about him and later starts to help him out a bit, until he finally help a bit too much, after he maybe is in a quarrel with Fluttershy.
Myke Greywolf
Ambassador of Goodwill
Despite all the arguable plot holes and Twilight's disproportionate presence, I thoroughly enjoyed this, if not for anything else, then for the hint at Discordlestia seconds before the end, which probably ruffled quite a few of Dr. Forester's jimmies. 
It can be argued that no-one knew about Tirek escaping Tartarus until this episode, when he started absorbing pony magic.
Twilight's fight against Tirek was pretty awesome, too.
This episode also confirms that magic is necessary for pegasus flight, and that it gives earth ponies superior strength, as some fan theories had speculated. That was interesting to have confirmed.
It can be argued that no-one knew about Tirek escaping Tartarus until this episode, when he started absorbing pony magic.
Twilight's fight against Tirek was pretty awesome, too.
This episode also confirms that magic is necessary for pegasus flight, and that it gives earth ponies superior strength, as some fan theories had speculated. That was interesting to have confirmed.
Sorry, I am reading the Comics. Celestia has a Love Interest.Despite all the arguable plot holes and Twilight's disproportionate presence, I thoroughly enjoyed this, if not for anything else, then for the hint at Discordlestia seconds before the end, which probably ruffled quite a few of Dr. Forester's jimmies.
Beware the Spoiler, once you read it, you never can turn back. Celestias Love Interest is
King Sombra from another world. http://i.minus.com/jot6uIoQnwMMu.jpg
Myke Greywolf
Ambassador of Goodwill
I know, I read it too. Unfortunately, it has been stated by the powers that be that the comics are only canon insofar as they don't contradict the cartoon. If Discordlestia becomes a thing, then
Sombralestia takes a back seat
I hope not. Then just say, that both are two different things.DC Comics internal defective and inconsequent canon is worse enough for my brain.
I was like "woah" when the beam battles started. Fun stuff.
Despite all the arguable plot holes and Twilight's disproportionate presence, I thoroughly enjoyed this, if not for anything else, then for the hint at Discordlestia seconds before the end, which probably ruffled quite a few of Dr. Forester's jimmies.
Yeah, I loved the episode. Kinda odd to know that Tirek was out for so long, but otherwise, episode felt great and appropriately epic.
Something I've had on my mind. Original Evil Discord is like "Encounter at Farpoint" Q, purely pushing the buttons of the ponies to try and set off a ticking timebomb. Reformed Discord is like midseason Q, ultimately mostly harmless, but does have the good of the group on his mind even if he goes about it in strange and confusing ways.
Myke Greywolf
Ambassador of Goodwill
In regards to Discord's betrayal, the thing I think that must be takien into consideration is that Discord didn't really "fail" - he was just being faithful to his "element" of chaos. He did fail on friendship, but then again, he was never THAT committed to it (one may even say that Fluttershy got him addicted to it, and he just decided to quit it cold turkey), and he still loves chaos, as shown in "Three's a Crowd", so he was vulnerable to the temptation of subversion of the status quo. His failure was used as a contrast to the mane six's victories against the challenges of their elements, which earned them the keys. He learned the lesson that he needed: chaos without restraint is self-destructive. I loved that ultimately it was Discord that offered Twilight her key. It was neat.
Yeah, he was easily forgiven, but ponies ARE a really benevolent, forgiving bunch. He'll still be distrusted, even more than he was until now, and now also by Fluttershy. I do believe that he won't be getting a third chance, and he knows it.
Yeah, he was easily forgiven, but ponies ARE a really benevolent, forgiving bunch. He'll still be distrusted, even more than he was until now, and now also by Fluttershy. I do believe that he won't be getting a third chance, and he knows it.
Well that was fun. And a much more satisfying way to handle the whole princess question that's been hanging in limbo for the whole season.
And yeah, the Dragonball Z fight seemed a bit out of place, but on the other hand, you give the main character a temporary quadrupling of her magic power and have a powerful villain, well... you gotta have a beam war. It's, like, a law or something. Also, Twilight totally stole one of Goku's signature moves in that fight. The Warp-Kamehamha. I think the camera angles were even the same as when Goku used it on Cell. Only Twilight didn't blow Tirek's head off with it. Now wouldn't THAT have been a surprise? Head blown off, magically recovers. Probably a little bit over the top for My Little Pony. Even if Sombra got blown to bits on camera.
Actually, I think there might be a lot of references in these episodes. The Library got blown up much like Aldreaan in Star Wars, same angle, too. I'm gonna miss that library.
And Discord has so much to learn in the ways of friendship still... Free tip, when a known supervillain offers you a very good deal for helping him become more powerful than you, he's already planning to doublecross you. Still, once burned, twice Fluttershy, I'd imagine. I suppose Discord is the kind of draconequis to need to learn things the hard way. The really hard way.
The Rainbow Power designs look kind of silly, though. I wonder if they can change at will now? I kind of hope it at least has the same limiter as the Elements did. All six must be present. Also, a totally missed opportunity to do a Magical Girl transformation sequence. Guess they used that for Equestria Girls.
All in all, it's a good action-finale. I was actually surprised when the first episode ended, it went by so fast. That final shot could have ended the series, too. But we get a 5th season, so lets' see what they'll do with that Rainbow Power thing there,
And yeah, the Dragonball Z fight seemed a bit out of place, but on the other hand, you give the main character a temporary quadrupling of her magic power and have a powerful villain, well... you gotta have a beam war. It's, like, a law or something. Also, Twilight totally stole one of Goku's signature moves in that fight. The Warp-Kamehamha. I think the camera angles were even the same as when Goku used it on Cell. Only Twilight didn't blow Tirek's head off with it. Now wouldn't THAT have been a surprise? Head blown off, magically recovers. Probably a little bit over the top for My Little Pony. Even if Sombra got blown to bits on camera.
Actually, I think there might be a lot of references in these episodes. The Library got blown up much like Aldreaan in Star Wars, same angle, too. I'm gonna miss that library.
And Discord has so much to learn in the ways of friendship still... Free tip, when a known supervillain offers you a very good deal for helping him become more powerful than you, he's already planning to doublecross you. Still, once burned, twice Fluttershy, I'd imagine. I suppose Discord is the kind of draconequis to need to learn things the hard way. The really hard way.
The Rainbow Power designs look kind of silly, though. I wonder if they can change at will now? I kind of hope it at least has the same limiter as the Elements did. All six must be present. Also, a totally missed opportunity to do a Magical Girl transformation sequence. Guess they used that for Equestria Girls.
All in all, it's a good action-finale. I was actually surprised when the first episode ended, it went by so fast. That final shot could have ended the series, too. But we get a 5th season, so lets' see what they'll do with that Rainbow Power thing there,
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
And now that I've seen the finale, I will say it. I hope Meghan never writes another two part episode again. Her one off episodes in S1 and S2 were great, but i am tired of her falling back on the same tropes in her finales. In 3 of the 4 finales Celestia and Luna have been captured (I'm counting Canterlot wedding for Luna, because being totally written out of the episode to me amounts to pretty much the same thing). And you know what, if it hadn't been done before, I thought them getting captured in this episode worked. The one time they weren't they gave some exposition in the first 5 minutes and then were forgotten about. As it is though, I don't mind saying that Meghan has no clue what to do with the other Princesses. Even in In Canterlot Wedding and The Crystal Empire, it's all Twilight till the last 30 seconds when Cadance shoots the love beam.
The other 5 were once again there to be present. They amount to little more than the fuses for Twilight's laser. They had no role in this episode beyond just being there. The final fight, while impressive, would have been better if the other 5 had participated and it been done after the box is opened.
And that's not to say the episode didn't have it's positive. I really did like the set up from episode 1. Episode 2 just fumbled the ball. it was like the season 3 Doctor Who finale all over again. The fight was cool, and I really didn't mind the rainbow power designs too much (Twilight's Castle screws up the Feng Shui of Ponyville though).
He gave her some flowers, hardly a ringing endorsement for a ship, unlike the comic which spelled it all out.
The other 5 were once again there to be present. They amount to little more than the fuses for Twilight's laser. They had no role in this episode beyond just being there. The final fight, while impressive, would have been better if the other 5 had participated and it been done after the box is opened.
And that's not to say the episode didn't have it's positive. I really did like the set up from episode 1. Episode 2 just fumbled the ball. it was like the season 3 Doctor Who finale all over again. The fight was cool, and I really didn't mind the rainbow power designs too much (Twilight's Castle screws up the Feng Shui of Ponyville though).
Despite all the arguable plot holes and Twilight's disproportionate presence, I thoroughly enjoyed this, if not for anything else, then for the hint at Discordlestia seconds before the end, which probably ruffled quite a few of Dr. Forester's jimmies.
It can be argued that no-one knew about Tirek escaping Tartarus until this episode, when he started absorbing pony magic.
Twilight's fight against Tirek was pretty awesome, too.
This episode also confirms that magic is necessary for pegasus flight, and that it gives earth ponies superior strength, as some fan theories had speculated. That was interesting to have confirmed.
He gave her some flowers, hardly a ringing endorsement for a ship, unlike the comic which spelled it all out.
Show trumps comic. The comic has to adhere to the show, but the show has no such obligations.
Also, Celestia is both wise and dumb at the same time here.
- Concealing the Alicorn Magic from Tirek? Smart!
- Using the newcomer princess that Tirek might not know of as the hiding place? Smart!
- Waiting for Tirek to come in a room with a gigantic stained glass window showing Twilight's coronation? Uh... not smart.
But that bucket of flowers might just have been a way to say "I'm sorry." But, you know, nothing stops the shippers.
Also, Celestia is both wise and dumb at the same time here.
- Concealing the Alicorn Magic from Tirek? Smart!
- Using the newcomer princess that Tirek might not know of as the hiding place? Smart!
- Waiting for Tirek to come in a room with a gigantic stained glass window showing Twilight's coronation? Uh... not smart.
But that bucket of flowers might just have been a way to say "I'm sorry." But, you know, nothing stops the shippers.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Princess Celestia and Luna stole Blythe's bike and gave it to Discord.
Frantic Fanatic
Neo Member
To be fair, each of them already had their own episode in which they earned a key. Having Twilight earn her key and defeat the big bad at the same time adds more Twilight screen time.
I'm also wondering if having two large fight scenes would be much for a little girls show.
Also, they already defined intrinsic magic (Earth Pony strength, Pegasai flight) as being stealable. How would Alicorn longevity be different?
Of course, we can't prove either of our cases anyways. Where has it been stated where Alicorns get their agelessness from?
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Ive always thought that Celestia and Luna were beyond whatever Cadance and Twilight are. Even after becoming and Alicorn, Cadance has aged normally. Celestia and Luna looked the same 1000 years ago.
LOTR terms, I see Cadance and Twilight as characters like Thorin and Aragorn, who are brought up to lead, where Celestia and Luna are basically the Wizards.
Uh...
Best Night Ever: Celestia's fine; Luna is... somewhere
Canterlot Wedding: Celestia fights Chrysalis, loses; Luna is... somewhere
Magical Mystery Cure: Celestia talks to Twilight; Luna is... somewhere; Cadance is... somewhere
Twilight's Kingdom: Everybody gets captured.
I do agree that them getting captured worked in this episode.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
sorry, 3/4 Meghan McCarthy episodes.
Canterlot Wedding. Celestia captured. Luna forgotten about.
The Crystal Empire. Not captured, but written out of episode in 5 minutes.
Princess Twilight. Kidnapped
Twilight's Kingdom. Captured.
Meh episodes. BAD songs, oh god the alicorn song was cringeworthy. Epic Dragonball Z fight.
I warned you about Meghan bro i told you dog
It'd probably make sense to give all the power to Celestia or Luna instead of a rookie.
I thought the fight scene was the most well done part.
The rainbow thing really was just terrible and offered no explaination whatsoever. Is it Elements of Harmony v2? Can they use it again if they need to?
Technically if he had tried to take over in season 2 or 3 the Mane 6 still had the Elements at that time. In fact, why did noone try to take and use the Elements this episode? Those black vines would do little damage compared to Tirek. Just put them back after he's defeated!
I warned you about Meghan bro i told you dog
It'd probably make sense to give all the power to Celestia or Luna instead of a rookie.
I thought the fight scene was the most well done part.
The rainbow thing really was just terrible and offered no explaination whatsoever. Is it Elements of Harmony v2? Can they use it again if they need to?
Technically if he had tried to take over in season 2 or 3 the Mane 6 still had the Elements at that time. In fact, why did noone try to take and use the Elements this episode? Those black vines would do little damage compared to Tirek. Just put them back after he's defeated!
She is broken.
I am imaging during the writting its like
" what will luna do"
" You mean Pysche-delving, gravaton, moon spacial rend horse? Nothing, there would be no plot, have her just be busy."
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
The songs were weak. I can't even hum a few bars off the top of my head.
Welp, I guess I'm sitting at the back of the class with Myke, Tenumi and McNum, cos I had a great time with this. No, the plot wasn't watertight, and yes, the Rainbow Power stuff was a load of old nonsense. Still dug it. Loved the first song, second song not sure about yet. Twilight's big fight scene was undoubtedly the most badass fight between a pony and a centaur ever dedicated to digital film.
For all we know, Cadance has been a Princess since before S1 began though, right? I can believe he might be aware of an existing Princess but not an up-and-coming student.
I loved Discord's betrayal. If they're set on reforming the guy, at least show him why his previous path needs to end. This episode did that beautifully.
And even though I know it'll fall on deaf ears, there's a difference between being a Mary Sue and being the main character of a show. Twilight is the main character. Twilight is the main character. TWILIGHT IS THE MAIN CHARACTER.
She's trusting to a fault, and that's perfect for the character IMO.
I liked that little bit of lore with the magic. I guess it demonstrates that "magic" can mean a lot of different things in their world.
I liked that actually. It felt like a reasonable oversight, even for a God-Princess.
Perhaps I'm stating the obvious here, but if you don't put the Celestia and Luna (and arguably Cadance) out of the equation, what the hell do you do with them? They're basically plot-killers for being so bloody powerful.
For all we know, Cadance has been a Princess since before S1 began though, right? I can believe he might be aware of an existing Princess but not an up-and-coming student.
I loved Discord's betrayal. If they're set on reforming the guy, at least show him why his previous path needs to end. This episode did that beautifully.
And even though I know it'll fall on deaf ears, there's a difference between being a Mary Sue and being the main character of a show. Twilight is the main character. Twilight is the main character. TWILIGHT IS THE MAIN CHARACTER.
She's trusting to a fault, and that's perfect for the character IMO.
Despite all the arguable plot holes and Twilight's disproportionate presence, I thoroughly enjoyed this, if not for anything else, then for the hint at Discordlestia seconds before the end, which probably ruffled quite a few of Dr. Forester's jimmies.
It can be argued that no-one knew about Tirek escaping Tartarus until this episode, when he started absorbing pony magic.
Twilight's fight against Tirek was pretty awesome, too.
This episode also confirms that magic is necessary for pegasus flight, and that it gives earth ponies superior strength, as some fan theories had speculated. That was interesting to have confirmed.
I liked that little bit of lore with the magic. I guess it demonstrates that "magic" can mean a lot of different things in their world.
I liked that actually. It felt like a reasonable oversight, even for a God-Princess.
Perhaps I'm stating the obvious here, but if you don't put the Celestia and Luna (and arguably Cadance) out of the equation, what the hell do you do with them? They're basically plot-killers for being so bloody powerful.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Main character does not equal do everything. There hasn't been a real team effort in these finale's/openings (well, Meghan's ones) for a while. I know some of you don't like me bashing her, but this isn't a big problem except in her episodes. I loved her single ep stuff in S1 and S2.
And again, it wouldn't be a big issue if it wasn't a constant thing. If Celestia and Luna weren't constantly captured and neglected as characters, I would think today's episode worked well. Tirek was a powerful bad guy. But that was Meghan's card for making Chrysalis a threat. That was Meghan's card for making a bunch of plants a threat.
He didn't know that the Elements vanished, he somehow didn't even know that Twilight existed, despite her being the new big thing in Equestria. So he was always at the risk of being attacked with the Elements, and despite that he is going around telling his non-dead victims his name and his goal.
Rhomega Beta
Member
Looking back at the episodes, I've noticed that Flutterfang lead up to nothing, and the Shadow Pony may have just been a last minute "There really was a ghost" note, it could've gone somewhere, but didn't.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Do what the comics do. Chrysalis is attacking. Other forces are also at play. Twilight goes after Chrysalis, Celestia defends Canterlot (along with Spike). Nightmare Rarity arc. Twilight and co go to the moon to get Rarity back, Celestia and Luna organize forces back in Ponyville. Heck, the new arc looks to have both Celestia and Luna feature prominently in the final showdown.
And the whole thing with Celestia fighting in Canterlot was about 6 pages of a four volume comic. They hardly took the focus away from Twilight and the others.
Canterlot Wedding: Honestly, Celestia being defeated never bugged me. Chrysalis was pumped up on PEDs and seemed as surprised as anyone that she won. But have Celestia at least show some suspicion about Cadance. Maybe even have Luna be the lead Princess in this episode, as she would likely have had far less contact with Cadance.
The Crystal Empire: Send either Celestia or Luna to TCE with Twilight to help Cadance with the shields while Twilight finds the Crystal Heart. Too close to the action? Have one of them take over for Shining Armor and patrol the perimeter.
Princess Twilight Sparkle: Honestly. Drawing a blank here. The whole evil plants thing was stupid, and I think the episode would have been far better served to be more character driven with the Elements losing their power. Twilight and the others trying to find out why. There didn't need to be a big bad this episode.
Twilight's Kingdom: Have Celestia, Luna and Cadance go down fighting. Have them in Ponyville to distract Tirek and buy time for Twilight to open the chest. He certainly was set up well enough to be a threat to the. Don't just stick them in the throne room and wait to be captured. Save the big fight scene for after the box is open and let the Rainbow Power power up, and let all 6 participate in the fight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VixQ8whExOo
So was this supposed to be Tirek? I had forgotten about this guy completely.
So was this supposed to be Tirek? I had forgotten about this guy completely.
The last two series have been much more focussed on Twilight's journey than the earlier ones, so I can't be surprised that she's been given a much larger slice of the action than the other characters. She's trying to find her place in the world, and giving other characters too much of a role in that prevents her from standing on her own to any degree.
I like Celestia. I like Luna. I want to see more of them on-screen in Season 5 and I want to see more of them in the comics.
That being said, they're just too damn powerful to be kept around. Unless you're doing a "Celestia/Luna saves the day" finale, you have to put them out-of-action or you're making nonsense of the rest of the story. Sucks, but there it is.
Do what the comics do. Chrysalis is attacking. Other forces are also at play. Twilight goes after Chrysalis, Celestia defends Canterlot (along with Spike). Nightmare Rarity arc. Twilight and co go to the moon to get Rarity back, Celestia and Luna organize forces back in Ponyville. Heck, the new arc looks to have both Celestia and Luna feature prominently in the final showdown.
And the whole thing with Celestia fighting in Canterlot was about 6 pages of a four volume comic. They hardly took the focus away from Twilight and the others.
Canterlot Wedding: Honestly, Celestia being defeated never bugged me. Chrysalis was pumped up on PEDs and seemed as surprised as anyone that she won. But have Celestia at least show some suspicion about Cadance. Maybe even have Luna be the lead Princess in this episode, as she would likely have had far less contact with Cadance.
The Crystal Empire: Send either Celestia or Luna to TCE with Twilight to help Cadance with the shields while Twilight finds the Crystal Heart. Too close to the action? Have one of them take over for Shining Armor and patrol the perimeter.
Princess Twilight Sparkle: Honestly. Drawing a blank here. The whole evil plants thing was stupid, and I think the episode would have been far better served to be more character driven with the Elements losing their power. Twilight and the others trying to find out why. There didn't need to be a big bad this episode.
Twilight's Kingdom: Have Celestia, Luna and Cadance go down fighting. Have them in Ponyville to distract Tirek and buy time for Twilight to open the chest. He certainly was set up well enough to be a threat to the. Don't just stick them in the throne room and wait to be captured. Save the big fight scene for after the box is open and let the Rainbow Power power up, and let all 6 participate in the fight.
You can have Celestia/Luna/Cadance "off doing something" for sure, but people will still watch the episode and question why the most powerful beings in existence weren't helping out where the action was.
I'm not going to try to address your individual alternate-episode suggestions, because frankly I don't think the plotting holds up to scrutiny if I start doing that. I agree that in certain scenarios the Princesses could've been put to better use, but in most cases they still ultimately need to be put-down so the other characters get a chance to do something. You can wrap that fact up in different things (Celestia goes down in battle/is off helping someone else/is defending something, etc) but it amounts to the same thing at the end of the day.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
I think the comics have proven that's not the case.
The latest arc is a different story for sure, but the previous two both amount to just putting Celestia and Luna out of the way. I'll agree that having them off fighting somewhere rather than off kidnapped somewhere is a lot cooler for their characters, but it also leaves them active enough that I'd question whether they're focussing their energies on the most significant crisis at hand.
I wouldn't say they are too powerful to keep around, however they are too powerful to actually do a thing.
The entire fate of equestria is reliant on luna not getting really miffed one day.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
It's been done in fiction just fine before. Gandalf and Dumbledore didn't solve all the problems.
Harry Potter in particular, one particular detail I always loved was the in the end, all seven of Voldemort's horcruxes were destroyed by seven different people (well, in the books. The movie screwed it up). Harry didn't even destroy one in the last book, the only one he ever got was the diary in the second book.
I'd say any time those characters are "active" (as in they're healthy and in possession of their regular powers and abilities) they're a threat to the plot. Unless you've set up a really, really good secondary threat for them to deal with, the viewer will always wonder why they're not helping with the primary one.
Woah, nice! I'd totally forgotten about that too.
Ok, sure, but let's remember for a moment that Rowling and Tolkien weren't working to a crushing TV schedule with toy executives breathing down their necks. A great writer can fix just about any problem given enough time and freedom to do so.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
I thought Faust found a good balance. Pilot it made total sense for Celestia to hide as she was the object of Luna's resentment. By just being her, she was the one person who couldn't save Luna. Defeat NMM, sure, but not save Luna. Return of Harmony, it showed that Discord can't really be killed, only captured, and the elements are needed to do that. Having given up her ownership of the Elemements, Celestia could not stop him.
And if Meghan finds it too hard, get someone else to write the finales and openings. Not written down that she has to do all that. She's the head writer and likely assigns the team to various stories.
The Celestia and Luna micros would both make wonderful stand alone episodes. The Luna one alone would make a good episode for both of them. The Celestia and Spike comic would also make a fun episode (watching the trollestia fans rage lone would be worth it).
Faust's episodes were definitely great stuff, and uncommonly well-plotted. I think there might definitely be some advantages in handing off either the premiere or finales to other writers, though. I loved Magical Mystery Cure, so I'll nominate Mitch Larson. Given that McCarthy is currently in control of the overall direction of the show though, I won't hold my breath. I can understand her wanting to write the more arc-heavy stuff where possible.
Absolutely. The Luna micro might be my favourite MLP comic yet, so I'd love to see some episodes like that on the show.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Is it just me, or was this the most devastating loss in the series so far?
I really, really hope they rebuild the library rather than have Twilight live in that godawful Tree Palace.
