probably for the best considering the guy misses the point on character development, thinks a kid show cant have a good structure or you know any growth
I like to think that choking hazards are the number one cause of death of ponies in this universe. Cardiac disease has nothing on the siren call of small, brightly-colored objects that look deceptively like candy.
"You see those Xs on her eyes?!" "Those could be +s" LOL "It means she's DEAD!" "Could mean she's drunk." I love how the Xs are actually seen in universe and Trixie is the voice of reason while Glimmer is like some oblivious sociopath! Very true to the original Starlight.
You can also be turned to stone, which is implied to keep you awake, banished to limbo, where everyone you know will die as you are not effected by the passage of time, or sent to another dimension, where you will be someone elses problem.
B'ars NI Twilight was away for like 2-3 days getting Cerberus back to the gates (during which time, Tirek escaped). It takes more than a couple of hours to visit The Illusive Man. Though yeah. Civilization was constructed a little too close to the gates.
B'ars NI "Tartarus (/ˈtɑːrtərəs/; Ancient Greek: Τάρταρος Tartaros)[1] is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans." It pretty much is...
Starlight: "I can't use my magic that way!" Also Starlight: *uses magic that way as a first instinct* Yup... you got her character down pat. Nice vid; have a like and some positive reinforcement
It's perfect. Saying she can't use it that way gives her plausible deniability and erasing their memories means they can't prove she did anything wrong.
I never noticed until the intro that Rainbowdash, Rarity, and Twilight have moved so far. Pinkie, Fluttershy and Applejack have pretty much stayed the samein their personal and professional lifes
All these people who apparently can't comprehend the notion of change are upset about the addition of a pink pastel pony to a cast of other pastel ponies like it's some kind of travesty. Nevermind how forced and awful almost every episode starring Spike the Dragon is or how weak CMC episodes have gotten. "A new character? Heresy!"
To be fair, when it comes to talking to people, Starlight IS smarter than Twilight. By a lot. Sunset Shimmer too, for that matter. Watch the EQG ep where they meet. It's priceless, Starlight plays her like a fiddle. I like that they made Starlight a regular character, it shows that friendships even bring benefits to those with... psychopathic tendencies.
Starlight's now friends with the elements of harmony, all of the rulers of equestria, she staged a coup to place one of her friends at the head of one foreign nation, she's friends with the vizier of yet another foreign nation, she's friends with the local god of chaos, and we still think she has no ambitions of world conquest? Because she stalked Twilight for months, enacted a plan that allegedly used magic beyond the skill of any pony ever (which hasn't been used since,) a plan which could not possibly succeed as it gave Twilight infinite retries to stop it. All of these plans done by an expert in mind control magic, who could simply _cast a spell to make Twilight and Spike hallucinate the whole thing, and come out of it not only believing her reformed, but thinking they'd forgiven her._ And we don't think she has plans of world conquest. Starlight, you snarky, clever, manipulative horse.
Bill lupin That’s actually a theory I have and hope for that Starlight never was really reformed that it was all a trick,and if not that then she ends up betraying Twilight in the long run.....these thoughts only show her redemption wasn’t believable to me
actually the only tiem she used mind control magic was by complete accident and after she reformed. she ruled the town by genuinely, somwhat realistically brainwashing the townsponies into agreeing with her through mundane means.
Considering Starlight has the explicit trust of _all_ the princesses, and can manipulate their cutie marks at will, I fear for the entire world, for soon it shall feel the wrath of Glimglam, yes. Or is that actually Glimglam at all? We don't even know whether it's the same pony who came out of the cave system. If it was somepony else, that could explain why her magical prowess is so much higher than before, and why most of her spells also seem different from before. I'm pretty sure Starlight zapped at least Double Diamond with a mental whammy. Look at how he reacts when he finds his skis, as well as how his attitude changes almost immediately. And then we have that moment in 'All The Things She Does' where Starlight calls a mind control spell 'safe,' like she has lots of experience using it. As in, on the ponies of Ourtown. Insidious is Starlight Glimmer, yes! She must be stopped, before the endtimes!
HOLY CRAP that was great! I t was better then episode 1 and funnier! I also was very pleasantly surprised at the chemistry between Trixie and Glimmer. The straight man and idiot works really well here, and it brought back that classic MAS character banter that I love so much. :D Great job dude. Fantastic work!
I keep misreading the name of the series as "Neopolitan" and I'm sitting here like an idiot thinking "What does any of this have to do with ice cream?"
why can't the actual MLP series opening be as interesting as this one's? Just Twilight getting yanked from her friends by a giant hand, watching her treehouse get blown u and replaced with a castle, and the same hand throwing Starlight at her. also....Trixie freaking out and flipping over the desk all ninja-like. what the bloody buck? XD
The series opening makes sense in the context of the show. It basically sums up the first few seasons. The opening for this shows the creator's thoughts on recent seasons, particularly regarding the editorial mandate. We start off with the show, Twilight meets her friends, but then Hasbro comes in from the left, and slaps wings on her. Twilight's house is destroyed so they can put her in the friendship castle ($64.99 at wal mart,) all of her friends have already completed their arcs by now, and because of the popularity of Sunset Shimmer, Hasbro introduces a new toy, Starlight Glimmer (Best horse btw,) and at the end, the factory is churning out pony after pony, each just like the last, a commentary on the new characters- they'll either be someone whose friendship problem got solved, or a villain redeemed.
Calling it now, marbles are the main villain. Also I kinda agree with you about Starlight. I'm trying to let her grow on me, but a part of me still thinks her redemption was rushed and that the writers are trying to force her into the show.
I like to think that she hasn't reformed, and the whole time travel thing was Starlight using mind control to get Twilight and Spike to let her into their social circle. Such clever manipulation!
I like the role she has, because there's no-longer anyone else but Spike to really fill it, but she was very rushed and requires quite the suspension of disbelief. In all honesty, it was probably safer to bring in a fairly unknown character, rather than trying to force into the role a background pony the fandom already has ideas about.
In some ways, she's still very morally off. I mean, it's not like she seems to understand why things are considered good or bad by others, but understands that she is supposed to try and follow their norms. She still wants to solve her problems through evil means like mind control, and the others are just trying to inform her that's a faux pas. She'll take their word for it at the end of an episode, but I think she lacks inside of her whatever would prevent other ponies from considering it.
The argument could be made Starlight wasn't evil, exactly. She did what she thought was a good thing, taking away everyone's talents and making them the same, so no one was better than anyone else. Kind of like OriasRofocale said, she doesn't seem to understand morality as a normal person would. Though I agree her introduction was rushed, overall I like the character.
basically, Starlight's a sociopath who everyone tries to pretend ISN'T one, including Starlight herself. its just the rushed and VERY sudden, consequence free redemption and her very abrupt characterisation change mixed with just how HARD she's pushed on us as viewers makes it VERY HARD to swallow it. hell, she;s even appearing in equestria girls for some reason. Starlight is undergoing what we in the tropes biz call Character SHilling.
Is it strange I find this more interesting than the show itself these days, because it has consequences and peril? Really points out the new _logic overlook because this pony was meant to be a toy you love, not hate, Forgive-Beams at 10000% power!!!_
The best kind of villain is the one who was arguably justified in their actions. A sympathetic villain is a far greater character than a "misunderstood" one. Now that I think about it, we have yet to see a villain that is truly hard to condemn. Every one we've had so far has been rather selfish (except maybe Nighmare Moon and the Pony of Shadows, but even they could be said to have taken it too far).
I guess that's why fan fiction writer try to project character depth onto the villains who's motives weren't as clear cut in the show, e.g. Chrysalis and Sombra.
Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that. He's definitely a very sympathetic villain in that. I guess I just kinda put it off to the side because the comics aren't technically considered canon.
plus lauren faust did say nightmare moon was the result of a possession or soemthing, which comics aside still hasn't been addressed in the show proper.
Glimmer was the best villain pre-season finale. Her motives were believable at least. To each according their need from each according to their ability. That seems fair, right?
Hey guys, great new video! I had one serious problem with it, though: the text at the end was short enough that I could actually read it without pausing. That is simply unconscionable; I expect better from you guys. ;D
Khyrberos ige's you and me and let's not forget your fans are going to have a lot of fun together buddy lots and lots of fun, this is for showing up on my recommendation list how dare you invade my holy sanctum of badassitude with your smart also do you know who invented that word badassitude it's truth look it up copyrighted and owned infringement
The best reformed "villain" is discord in my opinion. Its more like his nature is chaos and he relishes in it. The fact that it inconvenienced others around him is... bad fate? i guess. It took him a while before he truly was reformed and now it really is just some sort of understanding that he can't just do as he pleases. Truly evil is probably only Tirek and King Sombra, even Chrysalis is bound by her species to seek out and steal love.
FinalplayerRyu Discord is more of an anti-hero, neither good nor bad as he could help out the ponies but chooses not to(when the plundervines became a threat, he decides to tell helpful information at the end of the episode and lets the ponies get harmed by them, until one of the Mane 6 comes along)
You're bringing up a good point, I also dislike how Starlight said she was being "totally evil" before. That's such a black-white thing to say. She wasn't just evil when she had her own cult, no, she was thinking that she was doing the right thing and was trying to help ponies in her own extreme way. Just labelling it all as "evil" is a weird over-simplification that I really don't like.
especially since 1) starligth still wouldn't actually think she was being evil (aside from her insane time travel plan) and 2) there's actually no reason for her to STOP believing in her anti-cutie mark agenda. in fact, its not even ADDRESSED after her 'tragic backstory', the show just kinda ignores it and hopes we forget how she was never actually convinced her agenda was wrong.
It's kind of adressed when Starlight starts to break down after her backstory is revealed. She starts to groan and get furious that Twilight and her friends are so important to the fate of Equestria itself. She tries to dismiess their connection as a cutie mark bond, but ultimately she blurts out: "How can a group of ponies who are so different be SO IMPORTANT?!" Her belief hinges on the ideal that differences inherently tear friendships apart (Sugar Belle assumed a random disagreement was a sign the cast would soon no longer be friends in Cutie map), but The mane 6 act as a living disproof of her beliefs. Starlight's redemption WAS rushed, but there was still more to it than just "Lol, sad backstory." Twilight was slowly grinding Starlight down. She showed her the consequences of her actions. It all accumulated until Starlight was weak enough to put her faith in Twilight.
+ khfanboy666 Agreed, Starlight's beef is with the concept of Destiny, from the branding of Cutie Marks, to the idea that some people will be famously beloved above all others.
Allegedly. Tell me, which seems more likely; that Starlight improved on the time travel spell of the greatest mage of Equestrian history, and demonstrated a hitherto unseen prowess of magic capable of matching an Alicorn, and the very best plan she could come up with gave Twilight infinite retries to stop her? Or that Starlight, already established as a master of mind control, and who HAS performed mind control since, cast a spell to make Spike and Twilight hallucinate the whole thing, coming out of it believing that Starlight Glimmer was now on their side? Revenge is a sucker's game. -David Xanatos Starlight has more to gain from becoming Twilight's friend, than stripping her of her destiny. Just saying. That's why her backstory seems lame, that's why her redemption was rushed, because it's just there as a placeholder, to convince Twilight she's been redeemed. It holds up just fine, as long as you don't stop to think about it. No, I'm not saying Starlight is "still evil." She is, and was, something of a psychopath. But now, she's better learning to blend in; the value of doing things the "right way," the benefits of not being "the bad guy." Starlight is an odd case of a psychopath being "redeemed;" she's able to see tangible benefits in being a good pony.
Bill lupin She's not a psychopath. She's a sociopath who suffered a violent psychotic breakdown. An actual psychopath would have been quite happy to see the world destroyed such as it was in the Ashlands timeline. She would have delighted in her ability to ruin everything for everyone.
Almost 4 years later. I wonder why he stopped making these. It could have been such a good series, and in the previous end cards it sounded like he had ideas for it. I don't know anything about his personal life so maybe something happened or he got busy with other life things and he had to stop, I don't know.
To be fair, the whole "accidentally steals magic talents" is part of shows contradictory handling of cutie marks. Logically when Starlight stole cutie marks it shouldn't have made everyone be bad at everything since blank flanks still have talents (we even had "Marks and Recreation" state ponies can have talents outside their cutie mark). Starlight's evil cult should have just been stealing cutie marks not talents since the town shouldn't have been functional without people having skill sets, i.e how did they build the town without ponies having basic skills in construction?
Well the town people would be effectively blank flanks when she removes their cutie marks yet blank flanks still have skills. There really isn't a reason for Starlight to strip talents not without also deskilling jobs like Flim and Flams Super Squeezy 2000, as Starlight's town still requires work to get done.
I think the idea is that the cutie marks were the visible symbol of what was being removed, not that they were the source of the talents. Blank flanks still have their talens, or the potential for them, but they also have their latent cutimarks and the potential to manifest them.
The reasoning would be that independent of a pony, the talents are visualised as cutimarks, but the ponies lost their marks because their source was removed, not that their talents/magic were lost, because their marks were removed. Makes sense?
Your spiel at the end perfectly summarizes why I feel Tyrek was such a great and underused character. Philosophical tenets of the validity of the word "evil" aside: He was without doubt an unrepentant antagonist with goals running counter to the ponies. Even in defeat He was u willing to bow and reform, unlike so many other "villains" in the show.
Am I the only one that still thinks it's weird that Twilight never addresses that she and Sunburst probably went to school together? They're both probably the same age so more than likely she had to at least know the name Sunburst even if she know him personally. Then again the continuity on how she went to Celestia's school always confused me. The first 5 seasons made it sound like Twilight was getting personally tutored by Celestia because her magic was powerful enough to increase the size of a newborn dragon enough to break a roof. And in the first episode we see she has her own room at the castle with a library. But when she went back to Canterlot to make amends with her old friends we see them all in the same classroom..??? But then in the Season 7 premiere none of those ponies are in the same classroom with Twilight and she's reading by herself. Why??? god the continuity in this show really pisses me off.
"...Oh my GOD, Starlight, why did you do that?!" "Why did you put a marble in her coffee??" "I thought it was a MINT! WHY DID YOU TWIST HER HEAD OFF!?" I can't - words can't describe - so much laughter
Awesome song. Love your take on Starlight Glimmer. Probably not the only one who thinks she's a thick, sociopath. Can't help wondering, with this focus shift in the show, whatever happened to Trixie's fans? How would Snips & Snails fit into the Startrix dynamic? Part of me is sure they'd both do terrible things to keep their attention, and probably get just have to clean up after it once it all goes to crap.
i just found this series and was ready to spiral into a session of back to back watching it for hours. but it seems there are only 2 episodes? what happened?
Daniel V2 I feel like I know a lot of people here most of them girls or should I say woman I just want to put this on the table on some random commenter that I did sleep with a couple of the female here
Zmishi Ymishi hey dude I remember you nice to meet you again baby thanks for the little favor you did for me that ended up being a big one am I right or just your face line
I know that you are not really liking the show as much nowadays and I get that but it makes me so happy that you are continuing these regardless. Like this is some of my favorite and most incisive parodying in the fandom. So thanks for the constant effort.
I know it's been a year but I really wish you continued these! they are my favorite thing on youtube!! I'd still like to see content from your whether it's ponies or not. on another note self contained parodies with fully realized characters and the plot studying and revolving around them is what you do best in my opinion. in comparison to simple critique I mean..
I'm so glad that you are making these; the deconstructiveness put into action really gives your work a unique charm. I like where this series is going. But also Starlight should've been exploded like Sombra.
I have to admit that I miss the old mentally advanced series. Rest in peaceful slumber. But the Nepotism series is very entertaining and love that your keeping it friendly an upbeat. Keep up the good work!
The more I watch it, the more I realize how appropriate it is that Applejack is the only one to show any kind of concern about the giant hand taking Twilight.
I think the idea of saying "I used to be a villain." isn't meant to be taken as a statement of low self-esteem, but rather a statement that they are now making from a more healthy perspective that allows them to see that all of the ways they attempted to convince themselves that they were a victim to excuse the vile acts and mentality that they held to were wrong. After all, they aren't finishing the phrase with "- and now I'm a Saint.", in fact, they're buddying up with Princess Twilight to get a deeper understanding of friendship and derive how to be a continuously better person throughout the process, even if they stumble a bit here and there. (And while I give leeway that it may have been made in jest, I would have to correct you in the supposition that Luna got off easy. There is a reason why 'solitary confinement' is a punishment in a place where you have already stashed prisoners. It's worse.)
I'm so glad im still subscribed to you guess. Your humor carries across all of your works, so it doesn't matter if it's ponies or whatever at this point
Trixie, under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet, enslaves Ponyville = Villain Starlight, upset by growing up, enslaves an insignificant, remote village = Misunderstood _yeah..._
Not to mention: resisting arrest, stalking the Element bearers, *breaking the space/time continuum, switching the cutie marks of the Royal Sisters without their consent,* and endangering the changelings by going behind their leader's back. Anything else I missed out?
