MLP:FiM S3E12 - "Magical Mystery Cure" Grading & Discussion

[J. Allen]

I posted this at BK, but I figure it works here, too. Plus, why type it all out again when it's just what I'm going to say anyway?

When I sit down to watch the show, I expect nothing. All I plan on doing is watching the episode, and savoring the time I have with my ponies. Every new episode is a new adventure. Now, are there episodes I like less? Sure, just as there are episodes I could watch over and over again. That comes down to taste, but the show itself is innocent, lacks heavy cynicism, and allows that friendship is truly a powerful force in that universe. I can be hard and cynical when I want, but I don't want it. I eschew the need to be pessimistic, because pessimism leads nowhere, and it sours what may be a delightful experience.

Of course, it all comes down to an old axiom that says, "to thine own self be true". A classic take on "to each their own", as it were. This will definitely be a love/hate episode. I just don't want the hard work of the studio, the actors, the creative minds who had to make this all happen in a pleasing way, I don't want that hard work to be lost or forgotten, and sometimes I feel like there are fans who demand things their way. Well, it won't always be like that, and while I understand the desire to keep Twilight Sparkle as a unicorn (I adore her as a unicorn), her becoming an Alicorn does not change who she is inside, which is a lesson of the show, that no matter what changes outside, and what circumstances create around us, deep down inside we are still the very same people, the same personalities, the same thoughts and feelings by which others have fallen in love.

That's nothing against people who hate the episode. They have the right to do so. Everyone is different and looks for different things. I just want the drama to stay low key. No needless proclamations that the fandom is dying, or that anyone who likes/hates the episode isn't a "real" Brony (an absurd statement if there ever was one). Be different, be happy that you're different, celebrate those differences, so that we can celebrate the things we have in common.

[Chemahkuu]

Watched it a third time with my Skype brony group, still good.

[brian577]

Gep Malakai wrote:

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Ha! You're usually so down on things I was sure you were going to hate this one. Shows what I know, eh?

I have been pretty down on this season. Between the neutering of Discord and various other ideas that fell on their face this season has been mediocre at best for me.

[J. Allen]

Chemahkuu wrote:

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Watched it a third time with my Skype brony group, still good.

Love the avatar.
I'm going to make one to put up for tomorrow.

[Count Zero]

Since I didn't watch it live I missed all the princess coronation bits in the breaks (except for the last one). Were they any good?

[Chemahkuu]

J. Allen wrote:

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Love the avatar.
I'm going to make one to put up for tomorrow.

Thanks, I just loved that moment. The Celestia/Twilight scene still steals the whole show though but I'll make one for it too at some point.

[Gep Malakai]

Count Zero wrote:

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Since I didn't watch it live I missed all the princess coronation bits in the breaks (except for the last one). Were they any good?

Less painful than the wedding special bumpers, but not great either. They were very short. Best part was a little bit of new voice work for the mane 6, but it was just one or two lines per character. The character animation was largely reused from other episodes and pasted into the shot with miss America.

You're not missing much by not having seen it.

[Mark_Nguyen]

Whole thing was great. Yes, rushed, but the individual character and story beats were there. There was absolutely no time for padding in this episode but there was little time for fleshing it out either; I wonder if this was planned for a two-parter but wasn't working out as one?

As this would arguably have been the series final had the show not been extended for a fourth season (cartoons are often contracted for up to 65 episodes so they can be "stripped" five days a week for 13 weeks or one quarter of a year, which is how advertising is often sold), I would've been happy if it had ended here. Everything from this point on is pure gravy, so I hope that the producers will feel less pressure from Hasbro and really craft some good episodes next year.

Thing is, as we've seen with Transformers movies they NEED to sell toys to keep moving. So going forward I fully expect to see some new characters added (at the expense of the Mane Six) but hopefully they will expand the world while respecting what's come before, versus just abandoning the old cast and dynamic. We've seen this done well and poorly in other cartoons; this finale practically sets up some main cast changes coming next year.

So yes, I loved it; and I hope that the harbinger of sweeping change I expect to happen will be mitigated by the awesome creative team behind the show. We've got so much more Pony to love coming!

Mark

[Chemahkuu]

After the episode aired Meghan said on Twitter this will be followed up by 'parts two and three' in Season 4, probably the opener.

[Gep Malakai]

Truth right here.

Edit: And confirmation that Sibsy was behind getting Derpy in this episode.

[Chemahkuu]

[Gep Malakai]

I hope she stays. Really. It's a bright spot for me in a season that's otherwise taken the show directions I'm not sure I want to follow.

[Saito S]

Well, I loved it. The funny thing is I don't like musicals, but for some reason, the songs in this show just... work, more often than not, and this episode, which was practically wall-to-wall songs, was a lot of fun to me. Don't ask me to explain that.

If we could sort of take the feel of the end of the episode to be a precursor of what's to come in s4, then I'd have to say I get the feeling that the rest of the mane 6 won't simply be overshadowed by the "new" Twilight. Everything in that final sequence was so inclusive, so about them instead of just being solely about her. Put it this way: it seems like Twilight won't be completely overshadowing everyone else if she herself has anything to say about it.

Okay, yes, slightly rushed. Probably would have worked better as a two-parter, but honestly, I felt it was a very minor thing. Usually when I identify "it felt rushed" as the main flaw of an episode (of anything, not just FiM), it's a pretty glaring sense that this was two episodes worth of story crammed into one. But somehow, it worked anyway, despite feeling... sort of quick. Maybe that's even a better word than "rushed"; things moved quickly, but I was having so much fun watching the ep that I didn't care, so it's hard to seriously call it a major flaw.

The swapped cutie mark parts made me laugh, especially Rarity's "Oh my, what a terrible dream I had... Or, maybe I'm still having it...", and the part where Twi and Fluttershy start singing and Dashie has to remind them that she is still stuck in the kettle!

Count Zero wrote:

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This is a society where your lot in life is assigned to you in some way at a very early stage in your life and then you're supposed to stick with that for the rest of your life and be happy with it

I dunno... I never saw it that way. In my view, nothing is being "assigned".

The cutie mark - that is to say, a symbol that appears out of nowhere one day on your body to reflect your special talent - is clearly a reflection of the inherent magic of their world. But I don't believe it's, I'm walking along, a cutie mark appears - it's, say, a quill. Oh, huh, I guess I'm supposed to be a writer. Um, ok then, guess I'll go write.

Rather, it's - I like writing, it's a hobby of mine. Now I'm not a kid anymore, you know, I REALLY like writing! Maybe I'll try to write a book. Oh hey, a writing cutie mark appeared.

The cutie mark appears based on the existing predilection for - and some skill in - a given craft, as opposed to the cutie mark just appearing and then the character having to shrug and say WELP, GUESS THAT'S MY LOT IN LIFE. Note that the mane 6 all got theirs in relation to something they were truly passionate about - in all of their cases except Twilight, it was something they didn't realize they were that passionate about until just that moment, but it was still clear that their enthusiasm and ability in whatever area is what caused the cutie marks to appear when they did.

That the characters were basically acting like their cutie marks had been "assigned" in this ep was one of the consequences of the spell gone awry.

That's my take anyway. Though it doesn't at all address another aspect you brought up, which is the possibility of simply wanting to pursue something else instead later in life. For that, I got nothin'; maybe it just doesn't happen in this world, haha.

Overall I've been pretty happy with this season - a few mediocre eps but also a few that I thought were truly fantastic, and a great finisher. Really looking forward to s4!

Oh, and of course, YAY DERPY!

[Peach Wookiee]

I'll say it again, I'm glad they brought Derpy back. Hasbro, you're wrong on this!

[J. Allen]

Gep Malakai wrote:

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Truth right here.

Edit: And confirmation that Sibsy was behind getting Derpy in this episode.

Why is this making me tear up? Why?!

Chemahkuu wrote:

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Yay!

Saito S wrote:

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...

The swapped cutie mark parts made me laugh, especially Rarity's "Oh my, what a terrible dream I had... Or, maybe I'm still having it...", and the part where Twi and Fluttershy start singing and Dashie has to remind them that she is still stuck in the kettle!

Yes! This!

Rarity's comment after seeing Applejack's "outfits", Rainbow Dash stuck in the kettle, tied up while the other girls are singing. Oh, classic stuff, and it reminds me of some of the best of Season One. I just think they nailed this, I really do.