Maud Pie is probably my favorite episode in the series.
"What's out there? What's waiting for me?"
I liked it overall, and I think it might be the most solid finale so far. But the conclusion did seem too easy. Truthfully, all of the main bad guys have been beaten pretty much by the main characters getting an instant win button. But it's more noticeable this time, because of how much power the bad guy had accumulated, and because nothing is explained about the Rainbow Power. I guess that's a drawback to being a kid's show. Complex problems get simple solutions.
I've noticed a number of fans who feel that Twilight is getting too much focused. I don't know if there's been a backlash yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if some are angry that it isn't until the very end that Twilight's friends get to help.
I liked Lord Tirak, but he wasn't quite as memorable as I'd hoped. It's probably because the first part of the episode mostly focuses on Twilight's problems, and even when Tirak is present he has to share screentime with Discord. I just think it's a shame that none of the show's villains have ever seemed as memorable as Discord, either in personality or threat.
Glad to see people aren't sucking this show's dick anymore - that shit has been making me sick since I realized what hot shit this show is just not!
Even if I had different face, I AM STILL DISGRACED.
@Shop Soldier: Have you read, like, any of the other reviews on this site? There are quite a few that are anything but unabashed praise.
Anyway, I don't think the finale was perfect, mainly due to the noted poor decision making and the obligatory instant-win button, but those come with the territory, and outside of that it was really entertaining, so on the whole I enjoyed it.
I'm not sure why everybody complains about Twilight getting too much screentime, though; from the very first episodes of the show it's been clear that she was the de-facto protagonist and the one who brings out the special abilities of her friends. Whether making her the "special" one was a good call or not is up for debate, but it's certainly not something new.
Reaction Image Repository
So, if a flaw was present from the beginning, no one can complain about it? I'm not sure I understand.
"What's out there? What's waiting for me?"
@Doctrain: It's more the fact that most of the complaints I see about it are along the lines of "The show was awesome until Twilight became a princess and everything started to revolve around her!", despite the fact that it's clearly been about her from the very first episode. What confuses me is that they're not complaining about Twilight being the protagonist (which could be valid), it's that they're complaining that recent seasons turned her into the protagonist, even though she always occupied that role.
Reaction Image Repository
I thought the complaints were that more often than not, the protagonist was the aforementioned "I Win" button in the review. And that Twilight's ascension caused more problems when it came to explaining why certain conflicts were actual problems. Bats fucking up AJ's farm? Looks like she's got a spell! Then fucks it up. She can light a fire for Spike to start the Equestrian Games? Great! Now sit on your princess ass while an ice cloud of death descends upon a stadium. Twilight's proclivity for making stupider and stupider decisions and actions doesn't quite sync up with the increase in responsibility... That she suddenly wants, compared to way back when she was actually freaking out about being a princess. It may favoritism, that the critics are fielding from all of this, and the lack of importance in scope that the five other ponies (who're given generous amounts of screentime between world-ending crises as well as the intro sequence), as well as the way they shit all over the lore in that godawful movie.
I have to disagree with the idea of Twilight getting too much focus. If you actually go back and look through the 4th season, the only episodes that really give her the spotlight are the two-parters. She spends most of the season in the background, really. But yes, plot holes do come up frequently in this episode. There aren't nearly as many as there were in "A Canterlot Wedding", but they're easily noticeable. Still, it had some good fight scenes, and some good character development, so I like it.
I'm a geek.
It's still probably the best MLP season finale so far, to be quite honest. The Gala episode was ok but it didn't have anything that truly shined about it, except maybe Fluttershy's freakout. A Canterlot Wedding had absolutely everybody holding on to the Idiot Ball with a death grip, from Chrysalis to the Mane Six to Celestia and even Twilight herself, to the point that it makes the few Idiot Ball moments in Twilight's Kingdom feel like brilliant writing by comparison. The S3 finale, meanwhile, could clearly have used more fleshing out - it felt very rushed to me.
Leave a Comment:
Mein Thoughts (Season 4 finale review, minor plot points)
Warning: this review contains a vague opinion.
I'll be honest about what these episodes get right. The villains receive some respect, with detailed backstory and nice design, as always. Two of them even get a private rapport, passing the Inverse Bechdel Test rather nicely. I was surprised by the animation quality during the one notable fight scene; for a brief moment, I felt I was watching the Avatar finale, but with more rainbows.
And now for some gripes. The plot is lubricated by blind and stupid decision-making by just about everyone; this previously established trend is taken Up to Eleven. You could write an entire review about the painfully obvious things that nobody thought of doing. On that subject, it seems that every character with a single notable exception merrily juggles away and proves themselves to be hopeless incompetents so that said notable exception can shine without any spotlight-getting competition. Okay, she deserves a central role, but as we watch multiple powerful characters be tossed aside to make way, I began to wonder. And then they decide to forgive someone...
Don't hope for side character development. We witness none of the god-like abilities of the Alicorns, but they do hang out in the same room. Equine society seems to sit there and roll over as the most powerful threat yet just rocks up and strolls around wrecking everything. Also, a central character loses something important - explosively. Yet, she doesn't care because it is replaced with a magic doll's house. In this way, the characters often don't act like thinking beings, but plot devices strung along a 'story' like puppets. Like in most shows for kids.
And the ending just happens. It's not complicated, but there are some pretty lights. It is good for Sailor Moon/Power Rangers nostalgia, though.
The Season 4 finale was an excellent double episode of a children's cartoon series. So far I've felt like I was watching something that I wouldn't usually enjoy but exemplifies how quality is a quality of its own - like a golden age Pixar movie, back in the day. But here, I watched an okay show for younger kids; I was just very conscious of being grown up the whole time. Honestly, I was probably unreasonable to expect more.