An episode a day

[Rares]

S4E2 Princess Twilight Sparkle Part 2



This one genuinely makes me angry. In fact, I actually dislike it a lot more upon rewatch than I first thought. This episode was honestly just offensive with what it does to the show, and this is the point where I feel like a lot of stuff got ruined. Crystal Empire may have been a bad premier for sure, but this absolutely takes the fucking cake for sure, and definitely blows Flurry Heart out of the water. My original problem with the episode without thinking too much was the most obvious bit: The disregard for the elements, how they're literally thrown away for no good reason. I loved the elements, and especially knowing how poor they are with it later, and how they're practically never thought of again, and the tree is forgotten about after a table, this is really awful. Not to mention, after Twilight gets a massive power boost, they knock the Mane 5 down a tier by getting rid of them. Oh and I know this is a minor thing that many other people probably never noticed it, but why does Meghan McCarthy freaking retcon the Elements of Harmony in a way to make Twilight look even more special by again knocking down the Mane 5 a peg. It's a subtle thing, but notice how Twilight's element of Magic was the only element that was shaped as her cutie mark before she was born? All the others are just generic shaped crystals. Now I know you could say "Well that might not have been McCarthy's doing" except for if you actually watch the original pilot:

The Elements were always pre-destined for the Mane 6 together, not solely Twilight And okay, really I know it's small and honestly no big deal. It makes it feel like the Mane 5 were just lucky to be with Twilight at the time. The idea that it feels like all she did was just direct this season as "Isn't Twilight just better than everyone", especially when this episode basically treats it like the Mane 5 are somehow aimless without her, but even then makes them look horrible when they make her leave to go do princess things, when she clearly wants to be with them more than anything. And the tree needing the elements! Why! Why not instead explain why the elements were dead after Celestia used them? Why waste time with that crammed in "Oh yeah Discord planted evil plants but other plant magic stopped it". Like, I guess this isn't the worst written episode or something, but with what it does, it treats everyone who isn't Twilight as dirt, and then goes on to treat Twilight awful by making her friends treat her as something else when she clearly wants none of that.
Just:


Okay that's all out of my system now.