Welp, it was only a matter of time until this topic reached my inbox and needless to say, its one filled with controversy. So naturally, being the opinionated person that I am when it comes to the quality of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and animation in general, people have been dying to know my opinions about the announcement of Twilight becoming an Alicorn princess in the upcoming Season 3 Finale.
Let me just say something straight up: get over it. Seriously people, I do not see this as THAT big of a deal. This was something I just ultimately knew was going to happen and I know that a ton of people are not happy with this. But its initially the same response I had when it came to the Brony documentary: do not knock something off and judge it for its quality before you’ve actually seen it. For all you know, the writers actually could make this idea work. Yes, the idea of Alicorn Twilight is ridiculous and its been done to death, no thanks to the work of fanfiction. But these are professional writers we’re talking about. Even the silliest of ideas can be made into something unique and entertaining. What people have to understand is that we are not the target demographic. This is a show made for children. Its made for THEM. Not us. What made Friendship is Magic special though is the fact that it had actual quality and depth to it that made it entertaining for both adults and children. So yeah, I can understand why something like this would be a huge concern to people.
But here is something that I think people should take into account. Twilight becoming an Alicorn princess does not mean that her personality will change nor does it mean all of her trials and tribulations are completely out of the picture. Far from it. This only means that Twilight will have a whole new set of challenges to face. Have you tried ruling a country and or actually try to make thousands of people happy? Its not easy! In fact, its practically impossible to do on your own! Just because Twilight is going to have to write her own magic and become a Princess does not mean that she is going to be perfect! There have been thousands of terrible rulers and what not in history’s past! By having Twilight become a princess, that just means she’ll have a new group of people to prove her worth to. She’ll continue to make mistakes.
Twilight and the rest of the characters on the show are NOT perfect. Lauren Faust made them that way. Because the characters have their flaws, it allows us as the audience to actually connect with them. They, in turn, become more human. Hell, I don’t necessarily like Meghan McCarthy’s writing but even she acknowledges the fact that Twilight’s personality cannot change even when she becomes a Princess. The writers ALL know this. If that were to happen, then she isn’t Twilight anymore. So what do I think? I think a ton of people are blowing this out of proportion when really there’s nothing to get all pissed off about. I mean, don’t you think people getting really pissy about this contradicts the reason why this fandom even exists?
This show and its fandom has thrived for years because we as individuals actually opened our minds and broadened our senses. We’re here because we decided to look past the fact that this brand was made for little girls and actually gave this little show a chance because it actually had redeeming qualities. Yet when something like this pops up, people throw a fit and say that the show is going to go downhill. YOU DO NOT KNOW THAT!!! You can’t predict the quality of an episode, or an entire season for that matter, just from a single screenshot! Not only is that unfair, its just flat-out ignorance in my opinion.
So you’re probably wondering at this point: well then Eric, what do you suggest we do? Well, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to continue to do what I’ve done for EVERY episode for the last three Seasons now. Continue watching with an OPEN mind. When that moment in the finale comes when Twilight is made a princess, I won’t kick or scream or yell. I’ll just wait until the credits roll and then give my judgement.
I still think this show has legs. I believe in the writers’ ability to still tell a good story despite the direction they might be heading in. I believe in M.A. Larson and I think you should too.
So bring it on Hasbro. Bring it on Friendship is Magic team. I’m ready for whatever you throw at me.
