Line #18 YMMV/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E2TheCrystalEmpirePart2


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Some fans have interpreted King Sombra as having been DrivenToMadness by his previous defeat and imprisonment, thus explaining his animalistic personality when it's made very clear he was TheChessmaster a thousand years ago.
2	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
3	** Three songs! Well, two songs and a TriumphantReprise.
4	** King Sombra's overall {{Leitmotif}} (a repetitive, droning blast), but especially during his advance on the Crystal Tower, is both awesome and terrifying.
5	* BaseBreakingCharacter: The fandom is fractured over whether King Sombra is a bad GenericDoomsdayVillain because of his untapped backstory potential and how one-dimensional his portrayal was, a decent villain because of how uber-prepared and savvy he was in the past, or a great villain because of his Sauron-esque physicality and aura of mystery unfortunately relegated to an episode already overfull with characters.
6	* EnsembleDarkhorse: An object, not a character. Sombra's door is easily his most-popular trap; it's rigged with multiple complex and interesting magics at once (thus proving Sombra's might as an evil [[TheArchmage Archmage]], PresentAbsence or not), and it causes the SignatureScene where Twilight and Spike are {{Mind Rape}}d to near-DespairEventHorizon. Some fans even see it as a MouthOfSauron to Sombra's, well, [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]].
7	* FanficFuel: An entire nation is introduced, including another ancient conflict involving Celestia and Luna, and King Sombra has so much left unrevealed about him he's prime material for expansion.
8	* GeniusBonus: The idea of a divine spark/light within everypony responsible for maintaining love and unity in the world is a legitimate [[UsefulNotes/AncientGreece Hellenistic]] metaphysical concept, in keeping with the Crystal Empire's Greek flavor. Though it's pretty vague, it seems Hermetic[[note]]which had a lot of sun, moon, and stars symbolism and also introduced the idea of "As Above, So Below", i.e. that changes in one place, like the Crystal Empire, are reflected everywhere[[/note]], Stoic ([[TheStoic not that stoic]]), [[UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}} Valentinian]], or Neo-Platonic ([[http://www.overthinkingit.com/2012/11/08/my-little-pony-plato making this article]] HilariousInHindsight).
9	* HesJustHiding: Some think Sombra's horn surviving his destruction is setting up a future plot, possibly as a way for him to come back in some way. [[AscendedFanon This comes up in]] ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFiendshipIsMagic''.
10	* HarsherInHindsight:
11	** Spike's greatest fear makes a scene particularly harsh in "Spike at Your Service".
12	** Applejack's comment below about things being better when they're a Rarity is either hilarious or harsh considering that Rarity got no focus episode in the third season. It's made even more better/worse considering that she ''had'' a spotlight episode, but ExecutiveMeddling resulted in Applejack to take her place instead.
13	* HoYay:
14	** AJ states "All good things are better when they're... a Rarity." and winks at Rarity, [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments who awws]], and the ending song provides some for Rarity and Twilight
15	** The jousting match between Dash and Fluttershy. Freud would have interesting theories about two females charging at each other long spears in hand...
16	* MemeticMutation: Epic Wife Tossing.
17	* NarmCharm: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsmJ81SXE4M Throwing Your Wife Always Works]], right Shining Armor? [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments It was pretty awesome, though]].
18	* NightmareFuel: ''King Sombra''.
19	** The implications behind his reign imply it was absolute hell.
20	** He enchanted a door that shows your worst nightmares and plays on your deepest fears.
21	** He [[EvilTastesGood licks his lips]] in anticipation of [[NothingIsScarier whatever]] it was he intended to do to Spike if he'd gotten his hooves on him while in the process of aiming a jagged crystal pillar moving at high speeds directly at the little guy.
22	** Just how thorough he is. Even when Celestia and Luna defeated him in the past, his backup curse on the Empire negated that and gave him the last laugh. And he gets a NearVillainVictory in the present, too - courtesy of his MortonsFork traps. Minor screentime or not, he's TheDreaded for a reason.
23	* QuestionableCasting: Sombra's few lines are not provided by a traditional voice actor, but by storyboard artist Jim Miller. While the show's staff have sneaked in by voicing background ponies before, this is a major villain, regardless of [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter how many lines he had]].
24	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: King Sombra was an EvilOverlord and so powerful that Celestia and Luna had to team up just to banish him, not to mention the most-CrazyPrepared villain in Equestrian history. We don't know much else about him and he dies at the end of the two-parter.
25	* VindicatedByHistory: Despite King Sombra's underwhelming reception at first, more and more fans would come to appreciate him as a unique NoNonsenseNemesis compared to the [[VillainBall other villains]]. This would come to a head in the Season 9 premiere, "The Beginning of the End"... While it did see him come BackFromTheDead and finally get more lines and screentime - it also saw him get a sudden overhaul in the form of a LaughablyEvil new personality that many criticized as too [=clichéd/stereotypical,=] and too inconsistent with his actions here. Many were also displeased with his new role as a BigBadWannabe (which certainly did no favors for his MemeticLoser reputation among some), arguing that at least this premiere treated him as a proper [[TheDreaded Dreaded]].
26	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome:
27	** King Sombra's shadow form.
28	** The Crystal Empire.
29	** The true form of the crystalline ponies.
30	* TheWoobie:
31	** Cadance, just like in the last two-parter. She hasn't been able to sleep at all or eat much of anything since coming to the Crystal Kingdom.
32	** Twilight is put through the wringer thanks to her {{Adorkable}} nature. She's constantly stressed out over Celestia's test and by extension the well-being of her friends and brother, has to witness her worst fear of Celestia disowning her and losing all her companions, and when returning to Canterlot, is absolutely crushed because of her apparent "failure".
33	** A lot of fans see Spike as this given his reaction to the "Worst Fears" door. After only a few seconds, he's driven to tears and pleading towards the image of Twilight, which told him she didn't need him anymore and was sending him away.
34	** The Crystal Ponies in general! Spending all of King Sombra's reign as a SlaveRace under such horrible conditions they're absolutely ''terrified'' of him. Then to make it worse, he's made it so that's ''all'' they can remember about ''their entire lives!''
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Context YMMV / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E2TheCrystalEmpirePart2