Hello!

[StarSwirl05]

Nov 13, 2015 23:02:05 GMT -5 bobdude said:

And really, StarSwirl, the mane six being threaten by way of crushing brainwashing was 'boring'? Seriously? Or was it just something else altogther? Granted, its been a while since I've watched the episode myself, so maybe it is as boring as you say it is.

I never said it was boring. Just not an episode I really enjoyed.

[yoshi89]

I'm in agreement with the Troubleshoes episode which could have been handled a lot better. The buildup it took to get there took a wrong step with cutie marks being heavily discussed earlier in Season 5.

Nov 13, 2015 23:02:05 GMT -5 bobdude said:

As for political references, I thought that the Season 5 opener (aside from being a very refreshing change of pace villain/threat wise) was more a reference to Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron then anything specifically political like communism (which itself is often very misinterpreted by American society as is and probably doesn't even fit in the case of the Cutie Map).

...

And yoshi89, in regarding " "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" tried to preach that money can't buy office, as if to say, "We're looking at you, Donald Trump." 1. The election plotline took up such a small amount of the episode, as to basically be a hook for the overall major plot (DT standing up to her mother and starting the journey to becoming a better pony, and the CMC finally getting their marks in CMCdom, which is very What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader now that I think about it... 2. "while promoting freedom of expression." ... AND? I fail to see how a theme such as the idea that money can't buy elections is a bad thing, given the idealistic nature of FIM and Pony as a rule. Is it realistic? Course it's not. But considering the first episode opened with the sun and moon needing to be raised and lowered, realism has never been one of FIM's strengths, I'd say. As for promoting freedom of expression? HOW is that a bad thing? Because MLP has pretty much ALWAYS had 'universal' themes like that (which are not to be confused with themes such as the works of Robert Heilened and Ayn Ran)

You interpreted the "promoting freedom of expression" part from the wrong episode. That came from "The Cutie Map", not "Crusaders of the Lost Mark". While, other two-parters were strictly good vs. evil, "The Cutie Map" battled ideologies with both sides saying "I believe what's right for my ponies isn't right for yours". Starlight Glimmer told Twilight, "Look how happy my town is without cutie marks and with no competition, everypony is equal." She imprisoned Twilight simply because she and her friends thought ponies should be free to seek their own destiny, therefore disagreeing with her leadership.

That said, the election part of "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" did only take up a sizable minority of the episode but it's easy to interpret that as en election-buying campaign based on Diamond Tiara's background.

[StarSwirl05]

I am happy that Diamond Tiara is good now but it's amazing how you can go from hating a character to feeling sorry for them in one episode.