Okay, so I was going to tackle Honest Apple following Hard to Say Anything, but the latter made me remember that I had a bit of unfinished business regarding a certain "shipping". Now I must point out from the get go that in no way am I saying why you hate this shipping; this is why I personally hate it. So here goes.
(Yes, I put the word dynamic in quotation marks; I'll get to that.)
Out of all the MLP shippings in the fandom, the one I absolutely loathe the most involves Flash Sentry and Sunset Shimmer (though Sci-Twi and Timber Spruce is a close second). The first movie stated that he was dating her before they broke up, a few weeks before the main events of the first movie. Right off the bat, there is a problem; it's only stated once and has no tie-in either with Flash's small role or Sunset's villainous ambitions. Hell, Twilight doesn't even bring her up when she and Flash are interacting, and the scene when he clears her name would've been a great opportunity to show what their relationship, but... nope.
The only hint of their past that we got in the next two films was that in Rainbow Rocks, Sunset said she used Flash just to gain popularity. Fair enough, except again, it's never brought up at any point after it's said, it's just... there. They don't even bother bringing it up at any point during Friendship Games! I know that there were more important matters at hand, but at least an acknowledgement would've been fine!
And then we come to Legend of Everfree. A lot of people are saying this is one of the better scenes of the film, but I honestly can't see it. If anything, it's the worst scene of the worst film in existence, and you better believe why that is.
First, Flash tries and fails connecting with Sci-Twi. We know, but he doesn't (at first), that they're different Twilights, and yet Sunset doesn't even bother explaining that to him! Even if she looked like she was helping him get over Princess Twilight, she comes off as extremely condescending and rude. And before you comment, just because it doesn't look like that, it doesn't mean it isn't plain as day! We were given no indication that she told Princess Twilight about how Flash feels about her, and it implies that she doesn't care, especially when she had no problem with them being together two movies ago!
Secondly, there's their dynamic. Or lack thereof. Neither Flash nor Sunset display any character in their second scene and they come off as incredibly bland. Not only that, all they even talked about was Twilight. Flash gives Sunset compliments, but that's literally as far as it went, and it's never brought up again for the ending. Hell, she just half-heatedly agrees to be friends again and just leaves him hanging there, not giving a second thought for his feelings! You see the problem with their dynamic? It's as shallow as a puddle on the ground.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I said that Sunset seemingly doesn't care for Flash's crush on Princess Twilight/Sci-Twi (and he and Sci-Twi seemed to have interacted on a semi-regular basis), and yet she's perfectly okay with Sci-Twi being with Timber, a person she's only known for a few days, and who practically behaved and acted irresponsibly in regards to his sister's actions?! I'm sorry, but if you feel your ex-lover is less worthy for your best friend than a person he or she has only just met, then your priorities are clearly skewed, especially when Sunset was suspicious of Timber to begin with!
Which leads me onto the unfortunate implications; would Flash seriously think about restarting a relationship with Sunset after she (unintentionally, I'll admit) behaved like a jerk to him? What if she decided to return to Equestria (yes, I know she lives in the human world, but she's an Equestrian native, much like Princess Twilight, which is laughable since she told Flash to get over her) for good? This could potentially lead to Flash going down a dark path, and honestly? I wouldn't blame him! As much as I'm a Sunset fanboy, I legitimately wanted to slap her for being so cruel like that.
That's another bullet point to the current problems with Equestria Girls; everything feels like it's been poorly planned and instead pulled out the backside. But do I blame Joanna and Kristine for how poorly written Flash and Sunset's "dynamic" was? No. I feel much of it, shockingly, goes to Meghan for not giving it much thought in the first two movies. You have 70 minutes to work with, so there's no excuse for not giving that development. Say what you want about Starlight Glimmer's roles during season seven, but at least right now, the writers have given her a bit of charisma (unless you consider Mirror Magic), and it almost feels... like she actually belongs.
But Flash and Sunset? Their past relationship has no effect on the series at all; if they were going to make it relevant, they should've outlined how an Equestria Girls trilogy would go before they wrote one line for the first movie. As it stands, it feels like an afterthought.
Another unfortunate implication is what would happen if they actually did get back together. Think about it; Sunset dated Flash back when she was a school bully. The way I see it, Flash is a representation of the old Sunset. If she even thought about dating him again, it would actually end up making things worse for both of them (as if her carelessness in Everfree didn't do so already), and would lead to depression at best and (potentially) suicide at worst!
In layman's terms, it's a lose-lose situation, and even more so from the fandom; Sunset will get flack from the TwiSentry fans (again, as if her actions in Everfree wasn't enough), and Flash will get flack from the Sunlight (that is, Twilight and Sunset, either Twilight doesn't matter) fans as well as those who ship themselves with Sunset. No matter which way you look at it, and regardless of all the fan art and fan fiction (those that occur post-Everfree, at least) you make...
They cannot get back together again. The relationship is dead.
Without proper planning or pacing to it, as well as the unfortunate implications surrounding it, this is why Flash and Sunset are the worst shipping in the MLP fandom. They can try and give Flash as much character as they like in the digital series, but it will mean nothing to me if the shorts are less than five minutes in length, are as appealing as wheat flakes, and that it took four years to try and get him to that point.
Now then; let's move on and look to the future than constantly harking on about a "relationship" that should stay well and truly buried.
Out of all the MLP shippings in the fandom, the one I absolutely loathe the most involves Flash Sentry and Sunset Shimmer (though Sci-Twi and Timber Spruce is a close second). The first movie stated that he was dating her before they broke up, a few weeks before the main events of the first movie. Right off the bat, there is a problem; it's only stated once and has no tie-in either with Flash's small role or Sunset's villainous ambitions. Hell, Twilight doesn't even bring her up when she and Flash are interacting, and the scene when he clears her name would've been a great opportunity to show what their relationship, but... nope.
The only hint of their past that we got in the next two films was that in Rainbow Rocks, Sunset said she used Flash just to gain popularity. Fair enough, except again, it's never brought up at any point after it's said, it's just... there. They don't even bother bringing it up at any point during Friendship Games! I know that there were more important matters at hand, but at least an acknowledgement would've been fine!
And then we come to Legend of Everfree. A lot of people are saying this is one of the better scenes of the film, but I honestly can't see it. If anything, it's the worst scene of the worst film in existence, and you better believe why that is.
First, Flash tries and fails connecting with Sci-Twi. We know, but he doesn't (at first), that they're different Twilights, and yet Sunset doesn't even bother explaining that to him! Even if she looked like she was helping him get over Princess Twilight, she comes off as extremely condescending and rude. And before you comment, just because it doesn't look like that, it doesn't mean it isn't plain as day! We were given no indication that she told Princess Twilight about how Flash feels about her, and it implies that she doesn't care, especially when she had no problem with them being together two movies ago!
Secondly, there's their dynamic. Or lack thereof. Neither Flash nor Sunset display any character in their second scene and they come off as incredibly bland. Not only that, all they even talked about was Twilight. Flash gives Sunset compliments, but that's literally as far as it went, and it's never brought up again for the ending. Hell, she just half-heatedly agrees to be friends again and just leaves him hanging there, not giving a second thought for his feelings! You see the problem with their dynamic? It's as shallow as a puddle on the ground.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I said that Sunset seemingly doesn't care for Flash's crush on Princess Twilight/Sci-Twi (and he and Sci-Twi seemed to have interacted on a semi-regular basis), and yet she's perfectly okay with Sci-Twi being with Timber, a person she's only known for a few days, and who practically behaved and acted irresponsibly in regards to his sister's actions?! I'm sorry, but if you feel your ex-lover is less worthy for your best friend than a person he or she has only just met, then your priorities are clearly skewed, especially when Sunset was suspicious of Timber to begin with!
Which leads me onto the unfortunate implications; would Flash seriously think about restarting a relationship with Sunset after she (unintentionally, I'll admit) behaved like a jerk to him? What if she decided to return to Equestria (yes, I know she lives in the human world, but she's an Equestrian native, much like Princess Twilight, which is laughable since she told Flash to get over her) for good? This could potentially lead to Flash going down a dark path, and honestly? I wouldn't blame him! As much as I'm a Sunset fanboy, I legitimately wanted to slap her for being so cruel like that.
That's another bullet point to the current problems with Equestria Girls; everything feels like it's been poorly planned and instead pulled out the backside. But do I blame Joanna and Kristine for how poorly written Flash and Sunset's "dynamic" was? No. I feel much of it, shockingly, goes to Meghan for not giving it much thought in the first two movies. You have 70 minutes to work with, so there's no excuse for not giving that development. Say what you want about Starlight Glimmer's roles during season seven, but at least right now, the writers have given her a bit of charisma (unless you consider Mirror Magic), and it almost feels... like she actually belongs.
But Flash and Sunset? Their past relationship has no effect on the series at all; if they were going to make it relevant, they should've outlined how an Equestria Girls trilogy would go before they wrote one line for the first movie. As it stands, it feels like an afterthought.
Another unfortunate implication is what would happen if they actually did get back together. Think about it; Sunset dated Flash back when she was a school bully. The way I see it, Flash is a representation of the old Sunset. If she even thought about dating him again, it would actually end up making things worse for both of them (as if her carelessness in Everfree didn't do so already), and would lead to depression at best and (potentially) suicide at worst!
In layman's terms, it's a lose-lose situation, and even more so from the fandom; Sunset will get flack from the TwiSentry fans (again, as if her actions in Everfree wasn't enough), and Flash will get flack from the Sunlight (that is, Twilight and Sunset, either Twilight doesn't matter) fans as well as those who ship themselves with Sunset. No matter which way you look at it, and regardless of all the fan art and fan fiction (those that occur post-Everfree, at least) you make...
They cannot get back together again. The relationship is dead.
Without proper planning or pacing to it, as well as the unfortunate implications surrounding it, this is why Flash and Sunset are the worst shipping in the MLP fandom. They can try and give Flash as much character as they like in the digital series, but it will mean nothing to me if the shorts are less than five minutes in length, are as appealing as wheat flakes, and that it took four years to try and get him to that point.
Now then; let's move on and look to the future than constantly harking on about a "relationship" that should stay well and truly buried.
I don't know if you've seen these, but I think they'll be right up your alley. Please sign and promote. If you've already signed, please promote. They're starting to stagnate.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.change.org/p/hasbro-make-flash-sentry-a-better-character
https://www.change.org/p/hasbro-equestria-girls-give-flash-sentry-a-song
https://www.change.org/p/hasbro-make-flash-sentry-a-better-character
Why should I bother? Equestria Girls had reached stagnation by this point, and singing "petitions" for a minor character is meaningless.
DeleteI'm just trying help other Flash fans show how much Flash means to us as a character. Of course, if you'd rather write off the entire Equestria Girls franchise altogether and quite possibly Flash along with it, well, it was fun having Flash around while it lasted. "dramatic crying face" Okay, I'm being dramatic, but I'm not ready for Flash to get phased out. I want to see more of him, and the people who started those petitions want that too.
Delete