My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episodes 401-02 - Princess Twilight Sparkle

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One may consider it a certainty that a Meghan McCarthy penned episode will contain retcons and easy button solutions, so the fourth season premiere Twilight Princess Princess Twilight Sparkle doesn't disappoint in that area.  However, the introspective moments found in Equestria Girls also receive development here, and for the first time it appears that McCarthy is learning something as a writer on My Little Pony.  Eschewing a villain takes a page out of my book, and letting Twilight do a bit of time travel shows some Larson influence.  But like Equestria Girls, McCarthy's model for Princess Twilight is clearly the pilot, although the first half deals more with the potential splitting up of the mane six rather than their coming together.  Sticking rigidly to this format means the two-parter has pacing issues, with their big quest and many revelations coming only in the second half.  These problems plagued McCarthy and her story editing staff last season as well, and her writing again relies too heavily on clichés.  However, focusing on the three princesses and avoiding her other problems (the royal couple was not missed) has produced McCarthy's most successful episode in a long time.  She's not quite able to match Larson’s epicness despite clearly trying, but unmistakably pushes a feel of trying to make the fourth season bigger and better than the previous three.  Even if it doesn't last very long, Princess Twilight Sparkle is as good of a start as could have been expected.

Twilight finally receives clearly needed flying lessons as the episode opens, despite Magical Mystery Cure suggesting otherwise.  Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash is either supposed to be a poor teacher or McCarthy had little idea how to write this scene, because Dash’s advice is rather unhelpful.  The secret to improving your flying skills?  Flap harder.  Later, she will follow this gem up with “you’ll get the hang of it eventually”.  And that’s literally all Dash ever says to Twilight about the subject she’s supposed to be an expert on.  Considering how little time is spent on this, it’s doubtful McCarthy was really trying to make a point.

Dash’s lesson is apparently only happening because Twilight has been tapped to help in the upcoming Summer Sun celebration.  Preparations mean that the other mane six are needed back in Ponyville, so this marks the first time Twilight will be separated from her friends because of duties.  Despite Pinkie Pie’s surprisingly quick letters, Twilight is still melancholy about the situation.  Fortunately for her, she doesn’t have to wait long before finding an excuse to see them again.  That night, Celestia and Luna are both kidnapped by some menacing looking roots, which unexpectedly leaves Twilight in charge.

These roots originate from the Everfree Forest, but their overgrowth is now spreading into Ponyville.  Each forest inhabitant has been flushed out, and the mane six are completely unsuccessful in trying to destroy any roots.  With the sun and moon both up and spiked clouds threatening to change weather patterns, everyone knows who is obviously behind the invasion.  After doling out the elements, Twilight and company summon a showering Discord, who surprisingly doesn’t claim responsibility.  He suggests they ask Zecora what’s going on, and the zebra offers Twilight a magic potion to discover the answer.

She soon finds herself transported to an unfamiliar palace and is greeted by Luna.  Although “greet” is the wrong word since Luna begins a fierce tantrum.  Declaring herself the only princess in Equestria, she creates an impromptu solar eclipse and transforms into the dreaded Jument Séléniaque.  Twilight flees as Nightmare Moon destroys some of the castle before turning her attention to Celestia.  Their familiar-looking epic battle soon fells the lord of everything, but then Celestia remembers her immortality and stands up with no injuries.  She retrieves the Elements and uses them to send Luna to a cold rocky prison.

Twilight probably should have realized it sooner, but the Elements’ appearance tip her off that she is viewing the past.  This is how that fabled night from the pilot went down, but Twilight’s acid trip soon ends with no pertinent revelations.  Since her real life bawling certainly wasn’t cause for alarm, they decide Twilight should give the drug potion another go.  She sees another apparently unhelpful scene when the sisters turned Discord to stone, but the second part proves more useful.  Before imprisoning Discord, Celestia and Luna visited the Tree Of Harmony to yoink its elements, but Twilight witnesses a familiar shape on the trunk.  Her cutie mark dominates the tree, which obviously now needs saving.

Naturally the mane six set off together, although another action sequence/encounter changes their plan.  Twilight survives a rocky alligator attack, but this near-death experience causes the others to send her packing.  As a princess now, they can’t afford to lose Twilight too, especially since Cadance is doing jack shit to help things.  Such a development could last for most of an episode or at least an act, but Discord’s pep talk resolves the thread in less than two minutes.  Now Twilight is in time to help her friends restore the tree by returning its elements.  Celestia and Luna are freed while a lock-box flower with six keyholes in it sprouts.  Thus begins a season-long arc which doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with these events.

Of course, Discord can’t be returned to stone now, but Fluttershy’s friendship will have to hold him in check instead.  Figuring Twilight could use a cigarette another drink of the potion after her difficult ordeal, Discord discloses that those seeds he was chowing down on in the flashback were actually responsible for all the overgrowth.  They had lain dormant until now thanks to the tree, but Discord played dumb to let Twilight learn a lesson.  Oh, and Twilight performs some lame ripoff of a sonic rainboom at the summer sun celebration.

Although ancillary to the plot and presumably filler, Princess Twilight excels in its use of flashbacks.  Luna’s first appearance is worded just well enough that she possibly kidnapped Celestia, and seeing these moments helps make them feel real instead of something the lord of creation made up to protect her power.  While we view key parts, Luna’s anger is not entirely explained, which theoretically leaves room for future delineation.  However, if the Tree Of Harmony was not a part of the original bible, its addition helps explain why Twilight is considered so important and deserving of her promotion.  Rather than just a random adventure, the overall series arc starts to coalesce here.

Unfortunately, many surrounding parts are not quite as strong.  Especially problematic is the section with our ponies desperately trying to fend off those attacking roots.  This mostly appears to be for slapstick comic effect, but it takes up too much of the first episode’s time without providing anything interesting.  Additionally vexing is the opening flying lesson, which is extremely disappointing and apparently the only instruction Twilight will ever receive.  “Really flap ‘em hard.”  Most of the potion scenes are also strange since everyone just stands around while Twilight does drugs with no concern for her health at all.  There doesn’t seem to be any logical reason other than “it’s time for more plot points, so here, take this”.  The action sequences also feel out of place, as they’re either forced or darker and more violent than My Little Pony should probably be.

Not that everything else is poor, though.  Having the mane six ponder and then remove Twilight teased a huge change of direction for the series, which did make sense given her recent ascension.  Although why McCarthy chose to resolve this after literally two minutes is unexplainable and weakens what was a weighty point.  Thankfully Discord is in top form, as his actions actually help the mane six without seeming annoying.  Princess Twilight will perhaps be a peak for him, since his later fourth season appearances find the beast gradually regressing.  For now, offering a warped but thoughtful lesson makes for Discord’s best moment so far, and is also reminiscent of de Lancie’s better Star Trek: TNG shows.

Honestly, it’s amazing how much better McCarthy is when she removes her typical tropes and actually focuses on established characters.  Yes, the plunder seeds almost count as a retconned villain, although McCarthy easily could have made some new forgettable baddie responsible instead but chose to resist temptation.  With the top two princesses gone for most of the episode, Cadance had every reason to be shoehorned in, so this will probably be the only time I’m thankful budgetary concerns prevented it.  Princess Twilight Sparkle instead shows a commitment to focus and pushing forward with its story, and this feel resonates to at least the better episodes in season four.  The script still probably needed a drastic rewrite, with important events happening all over the place and not lasting for their proper length of time.  But McCarthy unquestionably demonstrates a level of growth equal to the subsequent season.  Everything teased in Princess Twilight may not ever pay off as expected or at all, but the series needs these kinds of stories to improve.  Even if not what Lauren Faust originally envisioned, Princess Twilight is more of a landmark episode than McCarthy’s earlier attempts at producing one.  Hopefully she will mirror Twilight’s growth into maturity.