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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Live Reactions & Discussion)

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A thread to discuss My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and the tie-in media.

All of the usual forum rules apply. In addition, please remember that the thread is discussing a kids' show, and it's primarily focused on the work itself, not the fanfic — in particular, we don't want to see lewdness creeping in.

     Original OP text 
I don't know WHAT the Hell happened (I blame shenanigans) but we're going to start from scratch. Post your feels for this awesome show again! Naow!

Edited by Mrph1 on Aug 26th 2024 at 10:24:26 AM

MousaThe14 Writer, Artist, Ignored from Northern Virginia Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Writer, Artist, Ignored
#50576: Feb 18th 2014 at 7:37:22 AM

This episode and the Friend In Deed episode are ones where Pinkie Pie needs a long severe and stern talking to.

The Blog The Art
kyun Since: Dec, 2010
#50577: Feb 18th 2014 at 7:37:42 AM

I feel like drawing a comic about the 4 ponies sitting Pinkie in her house and just explaining to her, clearly, WHAT she did wrong. :D I bet a ton of bronies would love to read that.

JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#50578: Feb 18th 2014 at 7:38:40 AM

Yeah, and I can see Pinkie freaking out when she realizes how badly she messed up. She's nothing if not well intentioned, but she sucks at realizing that what others enjoy isn't always what she enjoys.

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edvedd Darling. from At the boutique, dear. Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: We finish each other's sandwiches
Darling.
#50579: Feb 18th 2014 at 7:40:02 AM

Hey, if they did that, then I think everyone would calm down about it.

Provided it sticks. tongue

Visit my Tumblr! I may say things. The Bureau Project
storyyeller More like giant cherries from Appleloosa Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: RelationshipOutOfBoundsException: 1
More like giant cherries
#50580: Feb 18th 2014 at 7:40:07 AM

Well Pinkie has never been one to let other's desires or personal feelings get in the way of what she wants/ having a good time

Except Pinkie Pride of course

Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#50581: Feb 18th 2014 at 7:44:14 AM

@J Teeth: It doesn't help that things usually work out to where she doesn't suffer consequences from anyone else in the end. You could make the argument that in the end of some of her episodes (A Fi D) her behavior is rather enforced rather then learning to mitigate it.

[up]Meh, Rainbow Power made her do it.tongue

edited 18th Feb '14 7:44:47 AM by Mio

edvedd Darling. from At the boutique, dear. Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: We finish each other's sandwiches
Darling.
#50582: Feb 18th 2014 at 7:46:57 AM

They just need to find a zone where Pinkie can be Pinkie without irritating folks.

AJ and Pinkie seem to have opposing problems in that AJ is written in less interesting ways when whole episodes are devoted to her, and Pinkie tends to be more well-rounded and... human when an episode is all about her. AFID... not so much, I'll agree.

edited 18th Feb '14 7:47:54 AM by edvedd

Visit my Tumblr! I may say things. The Bureau Project
MsCC93 Since: May, 2012
#50583: Feb 18th 2014 at 7:55:09 AM

To be fair, Pinkie's worst episodes were "Luna Eclipsed," "A Friend In Deed," and "Filli Vanilli." Now I understand she can be Innocently Insensitive, but some episodes show she has her limits.

storyyeller More like giant cherries from Appleloosa Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: RelationshipOutOfBoundsException: 1
More like giant cherries
#50584: Feb 18th 2014 at 7:59:09 AM

I'd list LE and AFID. I found her more tolerable in FV, though she was admittedly still pretty insensitive.

Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play
JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#50585: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:02:01 AM

@Mio: That's exactly why I don't like the end of AFID; it let Pinkie get away with it. At least this episode showed the other cast members getting mad at her over it.

[up]I think she was at her worst in AFID. I honestly don't think she was that bad in LE because until the end she had no clue that Luna wasn't being scary on purpose. And given Luna's entrance, I don't think it was that unfounded of an assumption that Luna wanted to terrify everyone, so Pinkie acted accordingly.

[up][up]The problem is that people tend to forget that a character's overall personality is based on the entirety of the show up to that point rather than just the most recent episode.

But really I think the main issue with Pinkie isn't necessarily her insensitivity. The problem is that out of the entire cast, she's probably the least self-aware. All the other characters are similarly flawed, but most of them recognize their own flaws, whereas Pinkie never seems to get it. And it doesn't help that she's arguably the most flawed cast member due to her childlike tendencies.

edited 18th Feb '14 8:03:19 AM by JapaneseTeeth

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MsCC93 Since: May, 2012
#50586: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:07:56 AM

The problem is that people tend to forget that a character's overall personality is based on the entirety of the show up to that point rather than just the most recent episode.

Thank you.! I find it annoying how some fans base a character's personality off of one episode or incident, and ignore/forget their Character Development.

I think she was at her worst in AFID. I honestly don't think she was that bad in LE because until the end she had no clue that Luna wasn't being scary on purpose. And given Luna's entrance, I don't think it was that unfounded of an assumption that Luna wanted to terrify everyone, so Pinkie acted accordingly.

What made me upset with Pinkie was how she admitted to pretending to be afraid of Luna. Had Pinkie been genuinely afraid of Luna an apologized for ruining her night, then her actions would have been understandable.

edited 18th Feb '14 8:11:06 AM by MsCC93

JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#50587: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:18:39 AM

[up]See, the thing is that until Luna explicitly told her otherwise, Pinkie thought that she was trying to be scary. Her train of thought was "Holy Crap! Luna showed up with thunder and bat ponies and a black cloak in order to terrify everypony! I better act scared!" Yes, she was pretending to be terrified, but she had no reason to believe she wasn't supposed to be doing that.

edited 18th Feb '14 8:19:13 AM by JapaneseTeeth

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Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#50588: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:19:21 AM

But really I think the main issue with Pinkie isn't necessarily her insensitivity. The problem is that out of the entire cast, she's probably the least self-aware.

This is the crux of it. It's what makes her character seem worse then it likely is, and what makes her character development. . .disingenuous.

JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#50589: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:22:46 AM

Yeah, she really needs an episode that features her learning that she can't be funny all the time and occasionally needs to act serious. It would do wonders for her character development.

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Sydxelia Are you into... Vinyl? from Cranberry World Since: Nov, 2010
Are you into... Vinyl?
#50590: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:24:38 AM

The moral of Luna Eclipsed was a big "Wait, what?" moment for me.

I put my friend in a coconut! He lives in my hat! Hey, come hang out!
JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#50591: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:26:34 AM

Yeah, the end of that episode didn't make any sense. It was like "Oh no everyone is scared of Luna! Therefore she must... be scary... on purpose..." and that somehow solved the problem. That's the one issue with an otherwise spectacular episode.

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Rainbow Pomeranian Lover from Central Illinois (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded)
Pomeranian Lover
#50592: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:36:11 AM

On a very different subject, I realized something about Discord and his relationship with Princess Twilight. He's the one who is the most likely to bring up the subject that, yes, Twilight is a princess now, and challenge her with "do you think you're better than others because of it?" It made me wonder if Discord being someone who could give these bluntly honest kind of questions to Twilight might have been part of the reason that Celestia wanted him to be released and tamed, so that Twilight would learn how to deal with those who might think she's a snob or simply how to deal with those who are obnoxious but she can't get rid of them (such as snooty nobles like Prince Blueblood).

Not that Celestia would have released Discord for that reason alone, but I was thinking that it might have been a factor because Discord is someone who would be able to say things to Twilight that she might need to get used to hearing from other ponies, things that her friends wouldn't say to her because they're her friends and are used to thinking of her as such. And also situations like in Twilight Time where Twilight has to deal with other ponies using their connection with her to boost their own social status, as well as possibly dealing with snobs like Diamond Tiara.

I also think that rather than needing Discord's magic (although she may have also wanted to study it, having been a teacher of magic I would guess that Celestia might be interested in magical studies herself), Celestia may have also wanted Discord to be tamed so that the Elements of Harmony wouldn't be needed to keep him in check in case they were to disappear. I don't remember if she knew that they would be needed to be taken back to the Tree of Harmony, but she may have noticed that its magic was weakening and wanted to make sure that Discord wouldn't be a threat if they did have to give up the Elements for any reason.

Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#50593: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:38:12 AM

@Rainbow You mean Celestia released Discord so he'd be Q?

Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#50594: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:39:09 AM

[up]He's not a very good Q if so.

IkeAndMike Exists for some reason from Earth Since: Jan, 2013 Relationship Status: Love is for the living, Sal
Exists for some reason
#50595: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:43:23 AM

Luna Eclipsed- despite being a Luna episode, the ending really bothered me. Luna is having difficulty connecting with her subjects after 1000 years because she keeps scaring them. And the solution is to scare them more, on purpose. How will they interact with Luna the other 364 days of the year if she comes for a visit?

http://h0useb0und.tumblr.com/
Sereg Since: Jun, 2010
#50596: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:44:00 AM

She was only trying to make Fluttershy feel better,

Again, I see no evidence of this.

I don't think you can call someone who's well-intentioned, but ignorant a bad person, really.

No, I can’t. But Pinkie didn’t display any good intentions at all. And she was too lazy, negligent and inconsiderate to try find out what the problem was and fix it.

You can try to inform them of the right way, but it's not like anypony stopped to try and explain to Pinkie why joking was a bad idea here.

She also never asked after they told her. Ignorance is understandable. Wilful ignorance is infuriating.

With no conception of Stage fright

Except that she clearly demonstrated that she did have a concept of stage fright and even if she didn’t, it would be her responsibility to find out.

there was simply no way she was going to figure it out on her own,

She didn’t have to. All she had to do was ask. She didn’t even do that. No effort. None at all. I respect a desire to be a better person. I see none of that here.

so while she's certainly not free from the consequences of her actions she's hardly a terrible person for not being able to overcome her own inherent thought process, any more than you're a terrible person for not being able to understand her.

That’s not the problem. She ignored her responsibility to try.

Ignorance isn't the same as malice.

The problem isn’t ignorance but wilful ignorance and lack of effort.

Pinkie did a bad thing, but she did it for a good reason

Again, I see no evidence of this.

and I think that warrants forgiveness.

I forgive everyone. I also recognise that some people are not safe to be around.

It simply also warrants like, sensitivity training, maybe.

Agreed. Pinkie should have asked for it. She didn’t.

but I don't think it's a basis for saying she's a horrible character.

I said that she’s a horrible person. Not a horrible character. They’re different. For example, Chrysalis is a better character, but a worse person.

Yeah, if anything my complaint is more that no one ever tried to sit Pinkie down and explain why what she did made Fluttershy miserable. She recognized that she screwed up the first time, and just didn't know how to fix it, and without anyone to explain it to her, she made it worse. If anything, it's the rest of the cast's fault for not pulling Pinkie aside after the first incident and telling her not to do that because it makes Fluttershy uncomfortable. Pinkie's default response to anything painful is to try to defang it by making light of it. And it just doesn't work here.

Again, she didn’t. Ask. I’m not asking for perfection. I’m asking for effort. That’s why I appreciated her in A Friend in Deed.

Well Pinkie has never been one to let other's desires or personal feelings get in the way of what she wants/ having a good time.

Exactly. That’s my problem with her. Cranky and the Cake twins are the two notable exceptions. Ah! Storyyeller has mentioned Pinkie Pride as another good exception. Note that these are all episodes where I love Pinkie.

EDIT: The thing is, she goes, "Oh! I upset Fluttershy! Instead of finding out how to fix this, I won't bother!"

edited 18th Feb '14 8:46:44 AM by Sereg

Rainbow Pomeranian Lover from Central Illinois (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded)
Pomeranian Lover
#50598: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:48:53 AM

@ Luminosity: I don't really know what Q is like because I've never watched Star Trek. If you mean a Trickster Mentor or a Stealth Mentor, possibly. I would imagine that it would have been a secondary motivation, though, having Discord tamed in case something happens to the Elements would probably be a bigger concern for Celestia. I just noted that Discord is the one who tends to challenge Twilight with questions about how she feels about being a princess and how that affects her relationship to other ponies.

If Celestia and Luna were not always the rulers, and that seems to be the case, given the Hearth's Warming Eve play, perhaps they may have once been ordinary ponies who had to learn the hard way that some ponies might be jealous of them or accuse them of being snobs. And also because Celestia wouldn't want Twilight to lose the ability to keep her friends as her equals and so it's good for Twilight to have someone who reminds her to not be a snob, even if it's in the most obnoxious way possible.

JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#50599: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:49:08 AM

@Rainbow: That's definitely an interesting way of looking at it. I'm not sure how intentional it was on Celestia's part, but the fact that Discord continually brings up the princess thing when everyone else seems to ignore it raises some interesting questions.

@Sereg: All I'm going to say is that while she's horribly insensitive sometimes, I just can't consider Pinkie a horrible person. For that she'd need to be actively malicious, and she most definitely isn't. And yeah, while it would've been smart for her to ask what she did wrong, the fact that she didn't just shows how oblivious she is. Like I said before, it goes back to her lack of self-awareness; she can't ask for help with a problem that she doesn't realize she has. At that point, the other characters need to step in and help her, because she simply can't get on the right track herself.

The thing is, she goes, "Oh! I upset Fluttershy! Instead of finding out how to fix this, I won't bother!"

I don't think this is quite how it played out. As Kegisak as pointed out, she does try to fix it, she just gets it wrong and makes it worse. And since there are only two scenes where she does it, we don't know what she would've done after the fact. My point is that you're making it out like she's refusing to seek help, whereas I think it's more the case that she doesn't know she needs it. It's not "I won't bother trying to fix this", it's "I must not have done it right the first time so I'll try again". Which is still wrong, but not for that reason.

edited 18th Feb '14 8:52:05 AM by JapaneseTeeth

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kegisak Element of Class Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: In Lesbians with you
Element of Class
#50600: Feb 18th 2014 at 8:51:37 AM

Like I said, the evidence that Pinkie was trying to make Fluttershy feel better is giggle at the Ghostly - she responds to fear by laughing at it, and trying to make light of it. When Rarity told her not to be silly she claimed to be good at it, implying it was intentional, implying she was trying to make light of the situation - to remove the fear.

Also, when admonished both times her first exclamation was, "What!?" - implying she wanted to know what she had done wrong. The episode simply didn't have time to go into actually teaching her the problem, because that wasn't the focus of it. She did express a desire to figure out what she had done wrong, but wasn't provided with it.

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