Season's End - My Thoughts [MLP]
Hmmmm well. I just posted saying I don't use this LJ anymore. But eh, there's a post I wanna do for an episode review, so might as well dump it here.
Before we jump into it, just wanna say these are initial reactions-- I might change my mind after further mulling or rewatching, who knows-- and also, this isn't spellchecked or anything.
So, finally have seen the hotly anticipated season finale. How was it?
Eh.
It was OK. It had its pros and cons, to be sure. We'll start with the pros.
I really enjoyed the first half. The whole everypony-switches-their-cutie-marks-around thing was cool. Just a really cool idea, and fun to watch. It was nice to see Twilight flat-out despairing for a while, feeling overwhelmed and convinced she couldn't fix it, because that's definitely a reaction folks can have, and you don't want your heroes always perfectly confidant. It was nice to see Spike bucking up her spirits, because it showed what a friend he was, and how his role is important too. And it was cool to have each of the Mane 6 singing. :D
Once they solved that problem, though, the episode kind of felt like it . . . drifted from that point. The climax of the episode had already been reached and the rest was spent on all the princess hoopla. It felt like kind of an anti-climactic way to end it.
Other cons. Well, OK, kinda related to my point above, not much seemed to happen in the episode. Obviously there was no major villian to overcome in this episode, no huge foe to defeat. That doesn't mean it still can't be good, of course-- the season 1 finale didn't involve a major foe to defeat either and was still good. But, well, it felt like a bit of an uneventful episode to me.
I think part of that was because there were so many songs crammed into the episode it burned time that otherwise could have been spent on plot. I mean, I love the songs in MLP, don't get me wrong!, and they were all very good songs. But boy, there seemed like a lot in one episode, maybe too much for one ep to handle? Maybe it's just me. (All that said. Celestia got a song of her own. In anyone's books that must be considered a good thing.)
OK, and now for the elephant in the room. Or should I say the alicorn? To explain my thoughts on Twilight going alicorn will require a minor digression I guess.
When I first heard of how popular My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was among older audiences, I was very curious, but still a little reluctant to watch it myself. Curiosity eventually won out, and it took me a few episodes to warm up to it. The main reason for my reluctance was because of how incredibly girly it seemed. But once I got past the name of the main character, Twilight Sparkle, and I got past how cheesy the intro music seemed, and I got past the fact it was about a bunch of colorful talking magical ponies, I realized it wasn't mindless frilly fluff. It had real substance to it. A lot of substance, in fact. Unlike a lot of stuff (shows, toys, etc.) aimed at young girls. Here was a show that took something that seemed exceedingly, exceedingly girly, and yet it still managed to be a show all about breaking all sorts of stereotypes (Break ALL the stereotypes!). And a show that was truly good.
But here's the thing that makes it a little more complicated. MLP is a show for a toy company. And that defines one of the basic tensions that I've always perceived to exist in the show. There are two forces at work here-- the folks in charge of writing, acting, animating, etc. the program, and the desires of the toy company, who are the "bosses" of these content creators. In an ideal world, the relationship between the two is mutually beneficial and perfectly hunky-dory, I guess, but they don't always have exactly the same goals. Let's be honest, of course their goals or preferences are going to differ at times.
Hasbro as a toy company is of course going to push for what they think is going to sell product, what they think young girls want most. And unfortunately this means pushing for the same, tired stereotypes that have been culturally constructed and have existed for a while now. On the other hand, the show's crew have clearly been working hard to make a quality program that breaks that mold. I can think of no better example than Season 2's season finale.
OK, so Hasbro wanted a royal wedding episode with a new pretty pink princess pony and her handsome stallion husband. And what did the folks making the show do with that basic requirement? They somehow managed to make an awesome two episodes out of it. Princess Cadence was not some pathetic helpless character waiting to be rescued by her Prince Charming. She was strong, and had some character to her, and she was the one singing about coming to her fiance's rescue. The episodes were about two equal partners, when they combined forces, being more powerful than the sum of their parts. The episodes were not just about a wedding and all the wedding preparations and all that fluff; they were packed with awesome villains and action. The episodes had substance to them, characters with actual personality and motives, intriguing plots both action and character-driven (about friends, family, AND romance, not just romance), and were just overall high-quality. Everybody wins. Hasbro gets their wedding and their pony princess, and the rest of us get an excellent story that doesn't teach young girls that the only thing that matters is growing up and finding their prince.
This basic tension is something I think has always existed in the show and you see it every episode more or less. Usually they do a fantastic job not letting the requirements/desires of the toy company compromise the integrity of the show. (And I'm not trying to villianize Hasbro, by the way. I don't think they're creatures of pure evil. I think they're a corporation trying to sell toys, and they're naturally going to go for what sells. Those are simple facts. It's true I dislike corporations for doing that, but it would be too simple and extreme of a statement to call them flat-out evil for that. After all, they've allowed the show creators great artistic freedom in making a great show. There are plenty of positives for Hasbro, and that can't be forgotten.)
That brings us (finally) to alicorn Twilight. Once again we have something that clearly is a wish of the toy company. I believe MA Larson put out a tweet saying the team chose to make Twilight go alicorn, and it wasn't "forced on them by Hasbro." Well, it may be true they chose to go the alicorn route. But there's no denying Hasbro also very much wished for this turn of events. This was a huge plus for these guys, the chance to make a new princess toy. Like last season's finale, it's an element that could potentially be mindless "girly" fluff-- taking the main character and making her "destiny" to become a princess. And the job of the team is, as usual, to take this and somehow make it something with substance and awesomeness.
Did they?
As frustrating at this is going to seem, I think it is STILL too soon to tell. If we judge based just on this season finale, then no, they failed, IMO. It felt very surface and shallow and her friends all accepted it so darn FAST, and suddenly wham, bam, thank you m'am, I've got wings and we're off to our coronation. And, apparently, Twilight knows how to FLY ALREADY as seen in the last few seconds of the episode (WHAT?! No flying lessons?!)
But, BUT. We've been told that future episodes will further explore the whole "I've suddenly got wings and a princesshood now" thing. Specifically there was a tweet from one of the writers (amy keating rogers I think?) that said they considered this episode part one of three. So we do have to reserve our judgment still.
And that kinda sucks, because the next season won't be for a while, but these guys have definitely earned some faith and some patience! So while I found the season finale a bit 'meh,' that doesn't mean I expect the next season to be bad.
OK then. tl, dr; first half was really enjoyable and I was feelin' it, second half I was not really feelin' it, guiz. Great music as usual, a little too much in one episode though. And also, I don't think the fandom is going to end/the show is going to suck in the future, it just wasn't the strongest of finales.
G'night!
Before we jump into it, just wanna say these are initial reactions-- I might change my mind after further mulling or rewatching, who knows-- and also, this isn't spellchecked or anything.
So, finally have seen the hotly anticipated season finale. How was it?
Eh.
It was OK. It had its pros and cons, to be sure. We'll start with the pros.
I really enjoyed the first half. The whole everypony-switches-their-cutie-marks-around thing was cool. Just a really cool idea, and fun to watch. It was nice to see Twilight flat-out despairing for a while, feeling overwhelmed and convinced she couldn't fix it, because that's definitely a reaction folks can have, and you don't want your heroes always perfectly confidant. It was nice to see Spike bucking up her spirits, because it showed what a friend he was, and how his role is important too. And it was cool to have each of the Mane 6 singing. :D
Once they solved that problem, though, the episode kind of felt like it . . . drifted from that point. The climax of the episode had already been reached and the rest was spent on all the princess hoopla. It felt like kind of an anti-climactic way to end it.
Other cons. Well, OK, kinda related to my point above, not much seemed to happen in the episode. Obviously there was no major villian to overcome in this episode, no huge foe to defeat. That doesn't mean it still can't be good, of course-- the season 1 finale didn't involve a major foe to defeat either and was still good. But, well, it felt like a bit of an uneventful episode to me.
I think part of that was because there were so many songs crammed into the episode it burned time that otherwise could have been spent on plot. I mean, I love the songs in MLP, don't get me wrong!, and they were all very good songs. But boy, there seemed like a lot in one episode, maybe too much for one ep to handle? Maybe it's just me. (All that said. Celestia got a song of her own. In anyone's books that must be considered a good thing.)
OK, and now for the elephant in the room. Or should I say the alicorn? To explain my thoughts on Twilight going alicorn will require a minor digression I guess.
When I first heard of how popular My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was among older audiences, I was very curious, but still a little reluctant to watch it myself. Curiosity eventually won out, and it took me a few episodes to warm up to it. The main reason for my reluctance was because of how incredibly girly it seemed. But once I got past the name of the main character, Twilight Sparkle, and I got past how cheesy the intro music seemed, and I got past the fact it was about a bunch of colorful talking magical ponies, I realized it wasn't mindless frilly fluff. It had real substance to it. A lot of substance, in fact. Unlike a lot of stuff (shows, toys, etc.) aimed at young girls. Here was a show that took something that seemed exceedingly, exceedingly girly, and yet it still managed to be a show all about breaking all sorts of stereotypes (Break ALL the stereotypes!). And a show that was truly good.
But here's the thing that makes it a little more complicated. MLP is a show for a toy company. And that defines one of the basic tensions that I've always perceived to exist in the show. There are two forces at work here-- the folks in charge of writing, acting, animating, etc. the program, and the desires of the toy company, who are the "bosses" of these content creators. In an ideal world, the relationship between the two is mutually beneficial and perfectly hunky-dory, I guess, but they don't always have exactly the same goals. Let's be honest, of course their goals or preferences are going to differ at times.
Hasbro as a toy company is of course going to push for what they think is going to sell product, what they think young girls want most. And unfortunately this means pushing for the same, tired stereotypes that have been culturally constructed and have existed for a while now. On the other hand, the show's crew have clearly been working hard to make a quality program that breaks that mold. I can think of no better example than Season 2's season finale.
OK, so Hasbro wanted a royal wedding episode with a new pretty pink princess pony and her handsome stallion husband. And what did the folks making the show do with that basic requirement? They somehow managed to make an awesome two episodes out of it. Princess Cadence was not some pathetic helpless character waiting to be rescued by her Prince Charming. She was strong, and had some character to her, and she was the one singing about coming to her fiance's rescue. The episodes were about two equal partners, when they combined forces, being more powerful than the sum of their parts. The episodes were not just about a wedding and all the wedding preparations and all that fluff; they were packed with awesome villains and action. The episodes had substance to them, characters with actual personality and motives, intriguing plots both action and character-driven (about friends, family, AND romance, not just romance), and were just overall high-quality. Everybody wins. Hasbro gets their wedding and their pony princess, and the rest of us get an excellent story that doesn't teach young girls that the only thing that matters is growing up and finding their prince.
This basic tension is something I think has always existed in the show and you see it every episode more or less. Usually they do a fantastic job not letting the requirements/desires of the toy company compromise the integrity of the show. (And I'm not trying to villianize Hasbro, by the way. I don't think they're creatures of pure evil. I think they're a corporation trying to sell toys, and they're naturally going to go for what sells. Those are simple facts. It's true I dislike corporations for doing that, but it would be too simple and extreme of a statement to call them flat-out evil for that. After all, they've allowed the show creators great artistic freedom in making a great show. There are plenty of positives for Hasbro, and that can't be forgotten.)
That brings us (finally) to alicorn Twilight. Once again we have something that clearly is a wish of the toy company. I believe MA Larson put out a tweet saying the team chose to make Twilight go alicorn, and it wasn't "forced on them by Hasbro." Well, it may be true they chose to go the alicorn route. But there's no denying Hasbro also very much wished for this turn of events. This was a huge plus for these guys, the chance to make a new princess toy. Like last season's finale, it's an element that could potentially be mindless "girly" fluff-- taking the main character and making her "destiny" to become a princess. And the job of the team is, as usual, to take this and somehow make it something with substance and awesomeness.
Did they?
As frustrating at this is going to seem, I think it is STILL too soon to tell. If we judge based just on this season finale, then no, they failed, IMO. It felt very surface and shallow and her friends all accepted it so darn FAST, and suddenly wham, bam, thank you m'am, I've got wings and we're off to our coronation. And, apparently, Twilight knows how to FLY ALREADY as seen in the last few seconds of the episode (WHAT?! No flying lessons?!)
But, BUT. We've been told that future episodes will further explore the whole "I've suddenly got wings and a princesshood now" thing. Specifically there was a tweet from one of the writers (amy keating rogers I think?) that said they considered this episode part one of three. So we do have to reserve our judgment still.
And that kinda sucks, because the next season won't be for a while, but these guys have definitely earned some faith and some patience! So while I found the season finale a bit 'meh,' that doesn't mean I expect the next season to be bad.
OK then. tl, dr; first half was really enjoyable and I was feelin' it, second half I was not really feelin' it, guiz. Great music as usual, a little too much in one episode though. And also, I don't think the fandom is going to end/the show is going to suck in the future, it just wasn't the strongest of finales.
G'night!