So I Saw Dragon Games
First of all, let's take a moment to discuss the dolls. We got: Raven, Darling, Holly, Poppy, Apple & her dragon, and Mira. All I'm saying is, were Holly and Poppy one thousand percent necessary? I would have much preferred to get dolls of Lizzie and Melody. Or, the twins could have been an exclusive two-pack, and we could have also gotten DARING.
An Ashlynn doll would be really pretty, too.
This is easily the best special yet. They keep getting better: Spring Unsprung was fantastic, but then Way Too Wonderland came out and swiftly & surely surpassed it. I am now wondering where they're going to go from here, and hoping it can still be just as epic. The next one better be the start of something a little bit different, since Apple & Raven & Destiny: The Dance is done now.
The forest pixies don't speak human, so Ashlynn is the only one who can understand them. This is the only reason she needs to be in the movie at all. Every other scene she was in felt forced. She helped Lizzie design the dragon armor and signed up for the dragon riding team, both of which seemed more like something Briar would do. Not that Ashlynn shouldn't be doing them or anything, but, well, Briar is one of my faves, so I'm sad that she's virtually absent from this movie.
Except not really, because the story focuses on a) Apple's relationship with herself, b) Raven's relationship with herself, c) Apple & Raven's relationship, d) Apple's relationship with her mother, e) Raven's relationship with her mother, f) Apple & Raven's relationships with each other's mothers, and g) Apple's mother's relationship with Raven's mother. That's six different connections between four female characters. Plus, Raven & Apple go through so much, alone and together, that you're ultimately not watching it and going, "Why is this about The Heroes and not The BFFs?"
Mattel keeps trying to act like the twins are super interesting, but they're just boring. This special did more to make me like them than anything else has so far, but they're still boring. Every time I see them shoved in the spotlight I roll my eyes.
The final fight reaches MLP levels of epic. No one says so, but The Magic of Friendship is what saves the day.
Daring is one of my new favorite characters, but I am SO GLAD Darling was the one to wake Apple. It obviously would have been great if she had given her a True Love's Kiss (TM)*, but it's sort of even better that she's clever enough to breathe some air into her mouth and get her to cough out the last of the poison.
*All of them are queer in my head.