Ding ding. Round two.
The Summer Sun Setback
Written by Michael Vogel
Up to this point this season, all they've done with Twilight is have her freak out over unimportant things. Constantly. And yet here, they say she's finally "over it", and it feels like a slap to the face. No, no, not a slap - a punch.
"But at least it's character development from her! That's a good thing, right?"
Well... no. Because this episode aired the week after A Trivial Pursuit, an episode where Twilight behaved like a petty bitch. And both that episode and this one were also in the same season that gave us her portrayals in Sparkle's Seven, The Point of No Return and Between Dark and Dawn. It's also in the same season where she manipulated Rainbow Dash in 2, 4, 6, Greaaat and was painted as being in the right for it, although that episode was forgettable in the long run.
This, however, feels less like character development and more like an attempt at excusing Twilight's behavior in the aforementioned episodes, which just makes it feel even more insulting when you consider that she backpedaled to how she behaved in the first two seasons. And that's not even mentioning how much it does a huge disservice to those seasons. At least they actually tried to develop their characters!
So no, Twilight hasn't changed. Not to me, anyway. The writers screwed up her character purely for the sake of a character arc that didn't need to happen! As far as I'm concerned, she is dead to me. Season nine had outright murdered her (metaphorically speaking) and A Trivial Pursuit was the final nail in the coffin.
Sure, she was more rational here than she was in previous episodes, but it's too little, too late. The damage to her character arc and good name has already been done, and it's something that she'll never fully recover from. Even if the finale turns out to be amazing, the fact remains that Twilight would have had to go through a character arc that deliberately regressed her character just to allow the arc to happen. That is something that the finale just can't shake off.
Taking that out of the equation, it's yet another episode where the story leaves me with nothing to work with. It's just the Mane Six trying to clear up a mess caused by Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow before Twilight finds out about it. There's nothing new here in regard to the story or the theme. At least this time around, Vogel knew how to write the villains as villains and not criminals who are supposedly "misunderstood", but how did that Pegasus with the necktie not recognize Cozy Glow and her crimes from School Raze? Heck, why didn't he think about reporting her to the Princesses?
Adding on top of the ponies' stupidity is that no one noticed something off about some ponies' eye colors or how all those mishaps happened. Considering Canterlot's tight security, you'd think they'd be smart enough to figure out that there's something going on behind the scenes! This is like The Mean 6 all over again, also by Mike Vogel.
Also, Discord is just there. He felt almost like a plot device to inspire the Legion of Doom to cause trouble at the final Summer Sun Celebration when they overhear him and the Mane Six. You could've easily cut him out, maybe have the Mane Six take over his lines, and nothing would change.
As for The Summer Sun Setback as a whole, it's terrible, plain and simple. As I said, it almost feels like they're trying to excuse Twilight's behavior from past episodes, which is rather insulting considering they treated her paranoia like it was her only character trait in this season alone. It's like I said when I reviewed Between Dark and Dawn; when Twilight takes over, Equestria's fucked.
"But at least it's character development from her! That's a good thing, right?"
Well... no. Because this episode aired the week after A Trivial Pursuit, an episode where Twilight behaved like a petty bitch. And both that episode and this one were also in the same season that gave us her portrayals in Sparkle's Seven, The Point of No Return and Between Dark and Dawn. It's also in the same season where she manipulated Rainbow Dash in 2, 4, 6, Greaaat and was painted as being in the right for it, although that episode was forgettable in the long run.
This, however, feels less like character development and more like an attempt at excusing Twilight's behavior in the aforementioned episodes, which just makes it feel even more insulting when you consider that she backpedaled to how she behaved in the first two seasons. And that's not even mentioning how much it does a huge disservice to those seasons. At least they actually tried to develop their characters!
So no, Twilight hasn't changed. Not to me, anyway. The writers screwed up her character purely for the sake of a character arc that didn't need to happen! As far as I'm concerned, she is dead to me. Season nine had outright murdered her (metaphorically speaking) and A Trivial Pursuit was the final nail in the coffin.
Sure, she was more rational here than she was in previous episodes, but it's too little, too late. The damage to her character arc and good name has already been done, and it's something that she'll never fully recover from. Even if the finale turns out to be amazing, the fact remains that Twilight would have had to go through a character arc that deliberately regressed her character just to allow the arc to happen. That is something that the finale just can't shake off.
Taking that out of the equation, it's yet another episode where the story leaves me with nothing to work with. It's just the Mane Six trying to clear up a mess caused by Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow before Twilight finds out about it. There's nothing new here in regard to the story or the theme. At least this time around, Vogel knew how to write the villains as villains and not criminals who are supposedly "misunderstood", but how did that Pegasus with the necktie not recognize Cozy Glow and her crimes from School Raze? Heck, why didn't he think about reporting her to the Princesses?
Adding on top of the ponies' stupidity is that no one noticed something off about some ponies' eye colors or how all those mishaps happened. Considering Canterlot's tight security, you'd think they'd be smart enough to figure out that there's something going on behind the scenes! This is like The Mean 6 all over again, also by Mike Vogel.
Also, Discord is just there. He felt almost like a plot device to inspire the Legion of Doom to cause trouble at the final Summer Sun Celebration when they overhear him and the Mane Six. You could've easily cut him out, maybe have the Mane Six take over his lines, and nothing would change.
Final Thoughts
Taking Rainbow Roadtrip out of the equation, this marks eight episodes in a row ranging from mediocre to downright awful. It further affirms my beliefs that the writers seem to have stopped caring about the show and just want it to end. I heard that Jim Miller said that the MLP crew were proud of their work, and if episodes like Frenemies and The Last Crusade are what they're proud of, regardless of any unfortunate implications and poor storytelling, then I shudder to think what the finale will be like.As for The Summer Sun Setback as a whole, it's terrible, plain and simple. As I said, it almost feels like they're trying to excuse Twilight's behavior from past episodes, which is rather insulting considering they treated her paranoia like it was her only character trait in this season alone. It's like I said when I reviewed Between Dark and Dawn; when Twilight takes over, Equestria's fucked.
Rating: Terrible (-5/10)
I remember someone saying that the Royal Guards suck at their jobs, and once again, Vogel can't write for shit.
ReplyDeleteFrankly I don't think people are going to look back at past seasons/episodes like this one in a good light five-ten years from now, or I'm afraid FiM is going to age poorly.
This whole episode should have been renamed, The Emotional Manipulation setup!
ReplyDeleteTook the words out of my mouth.
Delete