Sugarcube Corner

8:00 AM

Watched EP2

Weird.

First: does this mean that Trixie is officially "main cast" now and she will appear in more episodes? If that is the case, I am looking forward to a scene in a future episode when you can see in the background that Trixie has taken one of the room in the castle (without asking) and no one has even noticed it yet.

Second: song + free hugs + all six main ponies singing = happy.

Third: Starlight trying to restrain herself? Did someone in the staff see all the ranting about "Mindcontrol again! YAY!" or is this really due to the incident in last season and the main staff boss leaving (many fans weren't exactly happy with his ideas and even came to the point of claiming he was purposely hurting the show)?

Fourth: episode story matches headcanon. Trixie wanted to study magic but never got the opportunity to do so. The "poor family, jealous of Twilight since she had 'all given to her by Celestia'" theory seems somehow confirmed.

Yet.... not perfect.

Good idea, nice to see Star for once trying to do the "right thing". The moral is somehow fitting and the idea that she choose silence and self restrain over talking matches the background she has.

What I am not really a fan of is the other implications.

Basically, they are now saying that Starlight is a emotional-bomb incapable of self-restraining without risking to explode?

It may be acceptable, but only if you assume "cartoon logic" and "exaggerating the problem for the sake of making the scene more fun"

this may work, but also risk to generate scenes like 28 Days Later, Filly Vanilly, The Mare Do well etc....

also, it obviously has long term plot implication.

As now, they basically said that Starlight is walking on a thin line and risk to turn into a "Nightmare Starlight" at any second.

IF this is the plot for the season finale... it could work and finally close the "Starlight becomes good" arc. If it is left lingering in headcanons works... not going to help the character

Oh, btw....

an option that came to me watching the episode.

We never saw what happened between Sunburst leaving and Star "enslaving" the village.

One can claim that she must have researched some magic book at the library to become more powerful. It would be easy to add in some plot elements and have her use some dark magic books without realizing it.

Basically, you could very easily turn the plot so that Starlight has been "haunted" by some entity in Tartarus since she was a filly and never realized it.

Would provide:

a) a new foe in the finale, a plot that centers on the mane 6 + Trixie saving Star (both a reversal of season 6 finale and a way for Trixe to be the one giving something to Starlight)

b) an easy "excuse" for the weird behavior of the Starpony and the repeated same errors that she made.

c) an ever easier excuse to change her dull "depressed crystal pony" color to a brighter one. Just pretend that it was an effect of the magic (yep, currently she seems "watered out" like a depressed Pinke). Maybe change the mane style too if you feel generous.

b_jonas

11:32 AM

@Derpy I'll have to rewatch, but I'm not sure how this episode proves that.

Derpy

12:03 PM

@b_jonas So far, they had rewrote Trixie in a character that can't perform real magic but only uses tricks and illusions (strange, the original episode "Boast Buster" implied that she DID use magic to compete with the other ponies). Now, in this episode you can see that:

a) she wants to learn "real magic" instead of "just playing tricks"

b) see seems somehow capable of doing so, probably a little over the average unicorn too.

Since she is both capable and willing to learn magic, one could ask why she didn't learn it before.

considering she lives in a van and goes around the town with her show, and considering that when she "lost" the show after Booas Buster she had to work in a rock farm even if she hated it, it seems that she:

- doesn't have much money

- doesn't have someone to back her up (for example, a sister living in a cottage she may decide to visit...)

Also, even if she now shows sign of a character change, she still feel the urge to "compete" with Twily. While this may be due to their original conflict when they meet, add the "Great and Powerful" third person self references in and you get the Dashie Syndrome.

"They said I was a failure, I will show them that I am good"

Now, since I already said that there is no specific reason to think that she studied magic but failed while instead there are some elements that could indicate that no one taught her before now...

I somehow headcanon that she is jealous because she wants to learn to but didn't get to go to the "School for promising unicorns"

b_jonas

12:42 PM

I see.

And yes, the retcon where she's suddenly worse in magic was strange.

Derpy

1:06 PM

@b_jonas Basically, they claim that she is an illusionist instead of a mage, but then some of the original tricks she did can't be really explained by illusion/trick.

b_jonas

@Derpy Yes, that's what I said too. She thundered Rainbow Dash.

Derpy

also, admitting that she used trick would mean that she is pretty competent at using the tricks she has to overcome any challenges the audience may come up with.

b_jonas

(Which is strange by the way, because Rainbow Dash is a weather pony, she frequently makes thunder from clouds, so she should have shock resistance, but maybe she was too low level back then.)

Derpy

In Rainbow case, it would mean that she already had some "chemicals" she could use to produce a thunder before even knowing she would face Dash.

b_jonas

Of course I can believe that she does do illusions too. Those can be useful for a magic show.

@Derpy you've seen scifi.stackexchange.com/a/152732/4918 , right?

Derpy

1:14 PM

5 hours ago, by Derpy

c) an ever easier excuse to change her dull "depressed crystal pony" color to a brighter one. Just pretend that it was an effect of the magic (yep, currently she seems "watered out" like a depressed Pinke). Maybe change the mane style too if you feel generous.

I hereby summon the dark demons of toys marketing.

b_jonas

Yeah. That's one of the things where I disagree. I like Starlight's look.

Derpy

Hear my plea, forgotten ones that dwell in Hasbro headquarters.

Take my idea and use it as yours. Change the Starpony color.

So that you may sell a new toy and make more money

increase the color saturation, move the color temperature slider but give the depressed pony a brighter look.

The dull color was good for the depressed equality town. Ponyville requires brighter coloring.

If a change in color is not possible, give her permanent rainbow power status.

b_jonas

Oh, different color for just toys is totally possible.

Derpy

1:30 PM

@b_jonas yep just for the toys but you get to enjoy it in the show too :P

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