My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season Two Thoughts
I finally started watching the second season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I have to say I think the second season is almost just as good as the first. The music, animation and episode plots (though somewhat cliche') are still good. There were a few writing gaffs in this season I didn't care for though.
The second season has endeared me a bit more to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, whom I didn't care for much in Season One. They get a lot more screen time this season but the episodes they're in are actually pretty decent (ie Cutie Pox, Gabby Gums, Hearts and Hooves Day). They have more to them than JUST getting their cutie marks this season, which is nice. While I did notice like a few others did that the Mane Six were sort of "out of their element" at times, with the exception of "honest" Applejack ditching Pony Ville in The Last Round-up, nothing struck me as too off the wall (and even concerning Applejack, she withheld the truth more than she actually flat-out lied). I really liked the Baby Cakes and Sweet and Elite episodes. I think the idea of Nightmare Night forming around the former legend of Nightmare Moon was creative, even if it was a blatant attempt to make an Equestria version of Halloween. That Nightmare Moon statue was pretty creepy, and I did like how they tried to work Princess Luna back into the plot. She has a pretty big fan following so dropping her entirely would have been a big mistake IMO.
However I think the episode with the salesponies Flim and Flam had a really crappy conclusion. I also don't think the names Flim and Flam suited the twins since "flim-flam" is an expression for something like a lemon, a vehicle that doesn't work. It's basically an expression for swindling, which the twins didn't do. Their cider-making machine DID work, and almost put the Apple family out of business. I don't understand how them turning off the quality control option on their machine qualifies as "cheating" in the speed contest either. But even though they did win, they just give up and leave after making the mistake of serving their bad batch of cider from the contest? Why not just throw that batch out and serve the good barrels they made before they shut the QC option off, or just make a new batch of cider entirely? That was just stupid. Nobody learned anything either--Applejack said it herself. To me the whole episode just felt like a snub towards business in general from people who favor mom and pop/small businesses hidden under a "your work will speak for itself" message. But even that fell flat. The problem in the episode wasn't the cider quality, it was the fact the Apples weren't making enough to meet their supply and demand issue. Rainbow Dash even says "Who cares how good the cider is if I never get to drink any?" Flim and Flam invented a machine that created good cider without any of the speed and quality control problems, so that makes them bad? Sure you can argue they were jerks for trying to take over Sweet Apple Acres, but that's pretty flimsy for an argument. During the contest Applejack and her family actually make more barrels of cider than the twins do, which also begs the question: why didn't they just hire more ponies to help them make cider in the first place? DURRR. So yeah, the episode had a neat musical number but really cluttered and nonsensical writing.
I actually liked the second season finale with Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding. Was it perfect? No, not at all. I thought the way they defeated the Changeling Queen was pretty lame and rushed. The Mane Six beating up a small army of changelings was cool, but they're still overpowered in the end so the whole attempt to get the Elements of Harmony was pointless. The pacing of the entire second half was pretty clunky. I also didn't think the changelings as a whole were significantly developed in the way Nightmare Moon and Discord were. Exactly how does one "devour" love? The changelings just seemed to fly around the city doing a lot of nothing after the protection spell was broken. Their powers seem more appropriate for stealthy trickery and leeching power from others, not a tremendous city takeover. The Changeling Queen's name is apparently Chrysalis, but I don't remember them ever saying it in-show (note: I'm writing this on the assumption that Chrysalis is not just another fan-made name like Derpy Hooves). Yeah, she didn't get a lot of development either. Nightmare Moon and Discord were a little more well-rounded, not just really really evil! Blargh, power of love and all that jazz.
The second half of the finale also introduced some pretty big plot-holes: why did Queen Chrysalis make a threat towards Canterlot to begin with? If Shining Armor's shield spell was a result of them bulking up security after the threat, why did she even bother if the security was so flimsy? One would assume that as captain of the Royal Guard Shining Armor would have the power to make such a spell, so I don't think she did it to find out if he could stop her. If Shining Armor had the power to keep all the changelings at bay, why was Chrysalis still able to remain inside the barrier while it was still up? Was it because of her magical influence on him, or because she already weakened him? When did she get the opportunity to attack, kidnap and take the form of Princess Cadence? Did Chrysalis really think no one would eventually think to look for Twilight after she trapped her in the caves, or would she just have a changeling take Twilight's place to avoid suspicion? If Shining Armor's love for Cadence was so strong, why was he never just a teensy bit suspicious of Chrysalis' doppelganger act? What is Cadence the princess OF, anyway? Why would she be babysitting Twilight if she were a princess? Does she have some relation to Celestia and Luna? How did Cadence know Chrysalis was a changeling at all when Chrysalis never talked about her plans to even Twilight? Why were there no vows in the actual wedding when they were mentioned in 'This Day'? Why did Twilight think confronting the fake Cadence in front of her brother was a good idea in the first place when she's supposed to be the smart one? Why am I putting this much thought into this?
Honestly though, all of the plot holes aside, the finale has some really nice music and it was never boring. Princess Luna at least makes an appearance this time (unlike at the Grand Galloping Gala finale, which happened at night). Some people have complained that there's too much music in the show now, but it's not as if there's a number every episode. Also all of the music thus far has been very good. It's one consistent thing about this series I've never had a problem with. (Pinkie Pie's Smile, Smile, Smile song was just adorable, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's song about Rainbow finding a pet was awesome. Fluttershy should sing more.) So overall, this season was pretty good. I just hope the few problems with the writing in a few of the episodes this time around will disappear in season three.
~Lotus~