YMMV / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S5 E19 "Crusaders of the Lost Mark"

• Alternate Aesop Interpretation: If you don't like the Cliché "A bully will become a friend with a bit of kindness and convincing" moral, try looking at the episode as trying to speak to abuse-victims-turned-bullies rather than the bullying victims themselves, in which case the moral becomes "It's not right to take your pain out on others, and with the support of friends, you can overcome the struggles and influences that led you down that dark path."
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Was there really not enough money in the budget to fix the school's playground equipment, or did Spoiled Rich (who we know is on the School Board) refuse Pip's request as an act of petty revenge for him beating her daughter for president?
  • Is Filthy Rich too busy making money, thus leaving childcare completely to Spoiled Rich (possible, given her wedding ring cutie mark) and only seeing Diamond Tiara for short amounts of time to notice her tendencies, or is his niceness just a front and his true personality something he passed down to his daughter? (Though this one is heavily debatable if we count the Friendship Forever comic where Diamond Tiara hides her nastier personality from her dad.)
  • Spoiled's reaction to Diamond Calling the Old Man Out. Was she really intimidated by her daughter, or did she never realize that Diamond Tiara saw her that way until now? Her expressions could be read either way.
  • Cheerilee has gotten some flak for not doing anything as Spoiled Rich verbally abuses her daughter and insults the CMC, but considering Diamond Tiara fires back fairly quickly, she might have felt she didn't have to.
  • Has Cheerilee not been punishing Diamond Tiara sufficiently because she's afraid to do anything to Diamond Tiara because of her mother (sadly Truth in Television), or does she perhaps think Diamond Tiara having a mom like Spoiled Rich is enough punishment already and lets her get away with her behavior out of pity?
  • Diamond Tiara saying how lucky the CMC are to be able to experiment with different paths while her mom railroads her gives the impression that jealousy might have been a factor in her treatment of them. Backed up by the fact that the comment mirrors what Twilight said to Di way back when the CMC were founded.
  • Similarly, considering how strict Spoiled Rich appears to be about who her daughter is allowed to hang out with, some of Diamond Tiara's harsher Kick the Dog moments could have been a "Fox and the Grape" kinda ordeal—she was trying to convince herself she hated those that she wasn't allowed to be friends with so her limited social circle wouldn't seem so bad, and to that end was trying to come up with ways to put them down or otherwise treat them as inferior so she would believe that her mother was right about them being unworthy of being her friends.
  • Did Silver Spoon vote for Pipsqueak just so she can get back at Diamond Tiara for not listening to her, or did she realize he would make a better class president?
  • Was Silver Spoon calling out Diamond Tiara for being fed up with her actions, or because Diamond's loss in stature meant she was no longer worth sucking up to?
• Ass Pull:
  • Diamond Tiara's Freudian Excuse for bullying the Crusaders. We never had even the slightest hint that she had any qualms about what she was like and what kind of things she was doing.
  • Diamond Tiara being easily forgiven by the Crusaders comes across as this, especially considering the hell she put them through every time they interacted (which includes mocking Scootaloo for her inability to fly).
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • This episode cements Diamond Tiara as such. One side views her Backstory and reasons for being like she is sympathetic and found that her more positive actions have redeemed herself and are interested in seeing what plots can develop from this, and feel having an Abusive Parent is punishment enough. Others find her Freudian Excuse flimsy and Cliché, especially for her character type, and, as a result, got off way too easily for her terrible behavior over the course of the series.
  • Similarly, by proxy, Silver Spoon is also this, especially considering her reasoning for acting so terrible to the CMC is never brought up. Some are interested in this plot being explored and her calling Tiara out for acting terribly to her to be redeeming, while others still want to see her face some serious comeuppance for her actions so far.
• Broken Base:
  • The fact that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were Easily Forgiven has caused a rather big stir in the community. Some don't mind since it fits the theme of the show and helped the CMC finally get their Cutie Marks^note a sub-plot that was already a point of contention in the community, while others, after more than four seasons of the duo being complete Jerkasses to them, including them infamously mocking Scoot's inability to fly, felt they deserved far more comeuppance instead of getting off scott free. The other side argues that Diamond Tiara at least did get a huge Break the Haughty moment before getting her redemption, and points out having Spoiled Rich emotionally abuse her (with heavy implication this happens FREQUENTLY) was comeuppance enough.
  • Tiara's mother being a massive Jerkass Rich Bitch perfectionist has caused a rift for those who found it a fitting justification for Tiara's behavior to those who found it a massive Ass Pull to have the Crusader's easily forgive her for all she's done. This is especially jarring when compared to her father, which causes some to wonder why he would even be with Tiara's mom in the first place.
  • As with "Magical Mystery Cure", whether the songs were a good way to fit the plot into the half hour time slot or a poor use of time.
  • The design of the Crusaders’ cutie marks. Some find it to be a creative decision to have all of their cutie marks look similar with only minor differences, considering how close the CMC’s are, while others find them to be too colorful and busy to be appealing.
  • Related to the above point, the reveal of the CMC’s special talent being helping other ponies find their talent. Some find it to be fitting and point out how the CMC’s have showcased this exact thing before, while others see it as a cop-out and feel it completely ignores and contradicts what the Crusaders’ special talents were showcased to be several seasons prior.
• Character Perception Evolution: Diamond Tiara was originally seen as going from hated to popular for her Freudian Excuse and epic redemption. But the series next redemption was a tipping point for G4's frequent reductions being criticized as too left-field and abrupt which also applied to Diamond, who's never having a story role since meant she never got a chance to further earn it. Nowadays Diamond's divisive with many seeing her as just another poorly-done, undeserved redemption.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Unlike Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon's Heel–Face Turn has been fairly uncontested. While she did finally stand up to Diamond, it's due to them mistreating her and ruining their campaign as opposed to any regret over her actions. And she lacks Diamond's Freudian Excuse or effort into redeeming themselves.
• Esoteric Happy Ending: While the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally got their cutie marks and Diamond Tiara stood up against her mother, no one knows how Diamond Tiara's life will be after she called her mother out for actions. Whether Spoiled Rich admits her wrongdoings or decides to punish her daughter more severely is anyone's guess.
• Fanfic Fuel: The way in which the Crusaders get their cutie marks plays out like a Transformation Sequence, with them rising into the air and glowing brightly for several seconds. We've seen other characters get their cutie marks, and it usually happens with the mark just appearing on their flanks. This has led to some speculation that the unusual way the Crusaders got their marks means something, and inspired fanfics to that effect. This is also backed up in the season finale, where Twilight says that the implications of the sequence are still being investigated, and brings up that the last time she's heard of several ponies getting their cutie marks all at once, it was her and her friends, who went on to wield the Elements of Harmony.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • This poster crossing with Raiders of the Lost Ark comes in mind.
  • This episode is rather timely for American and Canadian fans, seeing as it aired in the midst of their respective presidential races. The former's GOP front-runner at the time of airing was famous for coming from a family of successful businesspeople and even had the same initials as Diamond Tiara, while the former's was despised for being mean-spirited and petty, and he lost to a young up-and-coming politician who was noted for having a famous father. That Diamond Tiara shares her initials with the American GOP candidate and future President makes comparisons even easier.
  • After all the fuss made over people seeing Diamond Tiara as a Donald Trump stand-in here, the comic later featured two spoofs of Trump via Filty Rich running for mayor and a Brainwashed and Crazy Applejack.
• I Knew It!:
  • Many suspected this would be the season when then the CMC get their cutie marks, since it had cutie marks as the big theme, its CMC focus episodes pulled a Decon-Recon Switch, and them being blacked out on the season five poster. Some even narrowed it down to this episode, due to the title and it airing on the five year anniversary of the premiere. After all that, yes, they do.
  • After Diamond Tiara's father was shown to be a nice guy, many thought her mother was where she got her unpleasantness from. There's little doubt now.
  • The idea that the CMC's special talent was helping other ponies realize theirs was postulated since at least season 3.
  • The CMC's secondary talents (apples, speed, and singing) had also been long figured out.
  • The Apples' parents were widely considered to be dead because of just how totally absent they are. AJ pretty much confirms it with her So Proud of You moment, as there's little else such a statement could mean.
  • A theory video on YouTube suggested that, to get a cutie mark, a pony not only had to perform their special talent but realize that that was their talent in some way, shape or form. The CMC did this kind of thing before, so the fact that they only get their marks after they realize they do better at helping others find their talents than finding their own might confirm this.
  • Some speculated that Diamond Tiara's Cutie Mark, being a, well, diamond tiara, meant that she was meant to be in a sort of leadership position. This is indeed confirmed by the end of the episode.
  • Many also figured that the CMC's cutie marks were going to appear due to some connection to Diamond Tiara. Sure enough...
• It Was His Sled: The first thing anyone remembers about this episode is it being the one where the CMC get their cutie marks.
• Jerkass Woobie: Diamond Tiara, first seen as a conceited, stuck-up Spoiled Brat who belittles Apple Bloom and the other CMC for not having a cutie mark. However, her Freudian Excuse of being emotionally abused by her mother tried to paint her in a more sympathetic light and her "I Want" Song being one of the saddest in the series, has made at least some fans forgive her.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Diamond Tiara's class presidential campaign was compared to a certain real life person running for president.
  • During the scene where Diamond Tiara visits the CMC clubhouse, she briefly imitates her mother's upturned snout. Derpibooru calls this the "Arin Hanson face◊."
• Narm:
  • The CMC running backwards at full speed.
  • One of Diamond Tiara's lyrics has an awkward bit of grammar: "No matter what be the cost of the path I take." Especially since it could have easily been "Whatever may be the cost" instead.
  • Diamond Tiara's choice of light and dark paths is pretty nonsensical. The dark path is caused by things being really dark around the school for no reason (and which promptly goes away after the commercial break), while the light side is just a random gazebo under a rainbow, with no indication of what she'd actually be doing once she got there.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Diamond Tiara was meant to to hated, but many found the other villains more interesting and those supposedly eviler being more redeemable, while she was just shallow, nasty and only remained a problem since Status Quo Is God, causing her to outstay her welcome. Here, she finally gets a reason for her actions, sympathetic depth to her character, and a Heel–Face Turn. Even those whom object to how Easily Forgiven she was think this is an improvement.
• Shocking Moments:
  • Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are redeemed, Diamond gets her own song, the two become friends with the CMC, and oh yes, the CMC get their cutie marks! Cue the Flying Pigs. All this in an episode that, from the summaries and previews released before it aired, looked to be a completely normal "Diamond Tiara has some scheme and the CMC try to stop it" episode. To say people were blindsided is an understatement.
  • To a lesser degree, the Apple family's parents being absent is acknowledged In-Universe, with the heavy implication being they're dead as long-standing Fanon had presumed.
• Signature Scene: This is the episode where the CMC get their cutie marks at long last.
• Spoiled by the Format:
  • It's unknown how many people guessed exactly what would happen at the end of this episode, but the fact that Diamond Tiara pulls her Heel–Face Turn about three quarters of the way through should be a tip off that there's still something big to come.
  • It didn't help that like another episode that left major changes in the characters, this one was also a Musical Episode.
  • There was a character poster released in the middle of Season 5, with every character that appeared in the season present, but all of the characters who hadn't shown up yet were blacked out. This poster had the CMC's silhouettes blacked out right in the front, suggesting that there was going to be a change to them.
  • On the other hand, this was one of the least-previewed episodes prior to its broadcast and left many to guess what exactly was going to happen: at that point, all that audience knew was that the CMC were going to help Pipsqueak win the election against Diamond Tiara, and less than a second of footage in various ads from Discovery Family. The amount of Wham revelations surprised much of the fandom due the expectations that this was going to be another boring CMC episode.
• Tear Jerker: "The Pony I Want to Be" is by far one of the show's saddest songs to date, especially for those who had to deal with emotionally abusive parents in their lives.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: In an identical fashion to "Magical Mystery Cure": a Wham Episode with very little foreshadowing for the status-quo-shattering event of its finale, and most of the runtime eaten up by musical numbers.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: While the episode did its best to portray Diamond Tiara with a Freudian Excuse and wanting to change for the better, several people still felt that it didn't excuse a lot of the mean-spirited, selfish, acts she's done of kicking the dog on her own accord.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?: The first act seems to have an implied message about the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, especially about Donald Trump, and generally about billionaires who try to make their accrued wealth and personal triumphs a selling point in their campaigns in American politics, and using underhanded techniques that have nothing to do with benefiting voters in general. On the flip side, it might also be a message on a genuine candidate going against the establishment, such as an outsider like Bernie Sanders vs. established politician like Hillary Rodham Clinton during the primary. However, due to Production Lead Time, this was likely unintentional. Apparently, there was An Aesop for such people regarding using their power and influence where and how they're needed.

---