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| Until Starlight fixes it later, that picture is hanging not quite right |
4 Apr 2015
My original rating (for the whole premiere): ★★★★
IMDb score: 8.9
Thoughts: At almost 11 months, the S4/S5 hiatus was the longest in Friendship is Magic's run. Luckily, we got Rainbow Rocks in the gap... and a superb start to the new season when it finally arrived. Although its Hugo nomination came via controversial means, I think Starlight Glimmer's debut really is perhaps the most interesting episode FiM ever did. After a relatively normal opening scene introducing us to the titular map – which turned out to be largely just a plot device – we're into... "whatever the name of this village is that we're in right now" (thanks, Pinkie). Our Town starts off a bit unnerving and gets ever creepier as we go along. Rewatching and knowing the story, I pick up more on side details, such as Double Diamond's warning body language as Sugar Belle chats to the Mane Six. The eventual cliffhanger trap is teased, then seemingly over, then actually there. (Plus it only happens because of the Mane Sixers' own plan, which makes you wonder whether Starlight anticipated that.) Starlight herself starts out friendly, but there's always that hard edge – and she doesn't have the washed-out colours of her, frankly, cult members. The song, which Daniel Ingram consciously based on WW2 propaganda, contains the full-on terrifying lyric, "You can't have a nightmare if you never dream." By the end it's clear that we are in... it's often called a dystopia, and it is, but perhaps "false utopia" might be a better description. It is legitimately chilling, an extraordinary feat for a cartoon for six-year-olds about talking horses. This episode gets better with age, and as such I'm bumping it up a point to the maximum. I can't wait to see part 2 again in a few days.
Choice quote: Sugar Belle: "Is your friendship ending?"
New rating: ★★★★★
Next up, of course, is "The Cutie Map, part 2" – and I really hope I like it as much as I liked this!
This remains one of, if not the, greatest openings of the show. :)
ReplyDeletePost is reminding me I think it's time to go rewatch S6. c.c But do I really want to?
And you're back! Oh, it's been a while.
ReplyDeleteI'll start out by saying the worst thing I can about this episode: everything prior to arriving at "Our Town" is going through the motions. The episode knows this, and thus includes only the bare minimum to send our ponies on a quest while keeping the scene flowing organically (as we'll see later in Production Changes, tons of lengthier setups were tossed around, most delving into the seasonal arc and the aftermath of "Twilight's Kingdom" more, and even in animating, most cuts came from here). It's still enjoyable and perfectly fine, but I am glad it lasts not even 4 minutes to first see the town, once you omit opening titles.
But this also speaks to what, especially in retrospect, may well be one of the great strengths of this two-parter - it functions so wonderfully as its own thing, on top of doing unobtrusive work setting up threads for the season going forward (most of which wouldn't be followed up on, but I digress). Unlike many serialised episodes in this show and others, it is so engrossing as its own thing, not just as a part of a larger whole.
Good, now I can gush. "The Return of Harmony" is, I think, incrementally better. But I prefer "The Cutie Map".
While I would say I prefer Part 2, more for simply having more of the most engrossing scenes, that's no slight against Part 1 (more then can be said for "A Canterlot Wedding", where Part 1 is enough of a drag as to deserve its own, far lower ranking). It truly is astonishing how much psychological creepiness this one's able to get away with. All the points people have praised over the years - the context-effectiveness of the song, how intriguing and ultimately menacing Starlight is (forget future episodes' retconning - here, you're never fully sure how much of her beliefs is just manipulative lying, and how much is true, and they thread that angle beautifully), the oppressive visual designs and colour schemes making everything land harder - all hold true. Rather than repeat those, I want to acclaim some other things.
Most two-parters struggle mightily with character balance. We all know that, especially after Season 4 had the Mane 5/Spike as Glorified Extras (justified with "Twilight's Kingdom", given they'd had their map episodes which came into play there). Yet this one doesn't, because it ISN'T trying to juggle that alongside a Twilight character arc. I'm reminded of a Steve Jobs quote about A Bug's Life: "Flik doesn't change much, he changes everybody else". More than that, this doesn't feel the need to also toss in typical Despair Event Horizon moments. It solves the plot the best way possible - tossing the Mane 6 into a situation and watching them solve it. Granted, it gets a leg up from the prior 91 episodes of affection we have for them.
More specifically, the character balance is great, so that even when a character is doing very little, it barely registers (I had to use the wiki to realise Rarity gets 8 lines and 4.3% of the dialogue, for instance). I'd single out Pinkie And Fluttershy as the best here, using a great range of dialogue and visual expressions/gags, just on the level of their reactions to everything, and which have ultimate story purpose (both got major boosts from script to storyboard, as we'll see). And while Twilight isn't AS entertaining as she would be with her Early-Season Snarky Personality, she's acquitted fine. Really, the whole script is like that, free of waste and remarkably efficient at having gags, characters moments and plot overlap and intertwine. Honestly, if I were recommending any FiM episodes to study the writing of, these two would be top of the list.
One last thought: how wonderful to have an episode that is properly about its villain (Starlight gets the most dialogue even in Part 1, not just Part 2). They always make things more dynamic and interesting.
Great to be back with these!
ReplyDeleteI have production notes prepared through S5E4, and will post them as such. After that, I intend to scale these back. Rather than being comprehensive, I will restrict them to what I feel are the most interesting facts, though I may make the full notes available via my Fimfiction blog. When a plan is reached, I'll share it here.
"The Cutie Map - Part 1" - Production Changes
All new characters had different names until the locked polish - for simplicity, their final names are used here, and the original names are noted later.
PREMISE
There are actually two separate Premise documents, weirdly. That never happened in Season 4. The second just splits the prior two-episodes-in-one up and adds some extra paragraphs, so only that one will be recounted. Either way, compared to Season 4 Premises, there's a lot more here, two full pages at a small font size (1,500 words in the Revised Premise).
Premise 1 starts with Twilight exhausted from answering letters on friendship problems all day, so much so she collapses into bed despite being out-of-place in the castle. Rumbling wakes her up, and she and Spike find the map. The 2nd Premise instead has Rarity with new Representative outfits for the group inside the throne room. Both converge at everypony finding the map sprouting up, which includes the following along its base: “Across Equestria and beyond friendship problems big and small, when your Cutie Mark appears, be prepared to heed the call.” Spike also comes along. On the trip, the group discussed how they should act as representatives of the Princess of Friendship, with Rarity stressing it's all about decorum.
Starlight is the first to greet the group (she is Glimmer Twirl in the Premise and Outline), and she is specified as middle-aged. Only in the Revised Premise is her backstory given, a dead ringer for the one in "The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2", but for Starlight finding a magical orb later in life that allows her to remove cutie marks.
The group doesn't really notice the cracks in the utopian society until after her solo song (Starlight tries to send them on their way, but Twilight insists on staying a while, certain they were called for a reason). To Starlight's vexation, other ponies get curious at the Mane 6 being such tight friends despite their differences. The cracks in the utopian society really start to show as the group wanders around - the false smiles are super creepy to Pinkie and Fluttershy, Applejack can't wrap her head around the identical food, and Rarity is appalled at the uniformity of the outfits. Spike also accidentally discovers that Starlight has her own cutie mark, something he doesn't bring up this episode for some reason (this is sensibly omitted in the revised Premise).
Several ponies confer with Twilight about wanting their marks back, explaining how great Starlight's words sounded at first, but how monotonous life is for them now - most have accepted or embraced it, but not them. Since Starlight moves the vault constantly to keep it guarded, one of them suggests the Mane 6 pretend to give up their marks to get in there. Waiting outside as the group enters the vault with a delighted Starlight, Spike overhears the pony that gave them the plan conferring with Starlight's right hand pony - she was a spy of Starlight's, and it's a trap! Spike is held back from warning them by those two and other "true believers".
The episode is broadly the same, but the plot logistics towards the end differ quite a bit, with a planned trap of the Mane 6's getting double-crossed. And Spike is along for the ride, and given something to do, though at the cost of making the episode a little less focused. The equalising magic at work is much more visually direct, a motif that continues through the following documents.
[continued below with outline]
[continued from above]
Delete1ST SCRIPT
The episode 1st script is one of those "what happens carries over, but none of the actual text does" drafts. Buckle up! This is quite close to the outline, so most differences there carry over.
Episode starts on Applejack assuring her family nothing’s changed even as royal representatives, despite the castle, though her Rainbow Power form appearing puts a stop to that notion. When they all gather in the castle, their rainbow beams spiral off, their forms disappearing, into the chest, which bursts into pieces as Spike drops it, going off to form the map. It sports different words on its bottom now: “From sky to earth to sea below, When friendship’s dealt a mortal blow, Your Cutie Mark upon the map, Means a problem to unwrap.” The scene at the Tree is basically the same, as is the journey (Spike still comes), though replacing "Are we there yet?" with Pinkie playing I Spy with herself. Weirdly, the villagers are all unicorns in this draft only, and Starlight is specified as the same age as the Mane 6.
The song plays out a bit differently - after Starlight's material (which includes acting out a friendship disagreement, to the villagers' horror), the Mane 6 have their own verse, rattling off their differences. Starlight tries to twist this to her advantage. The back-and-forth continues until Starlight notices the increasing interest of some villagers in the Mane 6's friendship as they group hug, so she ends the song, quickly putting on a Stepford Smile.
Twilight names herself as the Princess of Friendship and her friends as the Guardians of Friendship (another thing present in other episodes' early drafts). Unlike the final episode, Starlight has never heard of Twilight on their exploits. Starlight gets Double Diamond (still a mare here) to keep an eye on them, as she can't have anypony getting the wrong idea. She and another get the wrong idea from the Mane 6's argument outside the cafe, leaving to tell Starlight that her reasoning is true before the Mane 6 resolve it. Inside the cafe, there is no double-cross - the ponies just ask for their marks back, and the Mane 6 ask Starlight and she agrees. Spike enters with the Mane 6, but he plays no part. The Mane 6 easily hold off the villagers inside, but when Twilight tries to blast the vault, her magic is sucked off (Starlight waxes poetry about her plan to turn the ambushing around getting turned back on her). Rainbow Dash loses her mark trying to retrieve Twilight's, and the others lose theirs, with villagers literally affixing equal signs to their flanks, making them equal and easily overpowered.
Some elements from the outline are ditched, like the double cross and Starlight having a spy, as well as Spike's separate business. But the difference in the thematic focus remains. And, as stressed before, virtually no dialogue is shared with the next draft. Enough that it was basically a page-one rewrite.
OTHER SCRIPTS
Spike is totally absent from the 2nd draft. Everything prior to the Mane 6 arriving at the village still shares no dialogue or beats with the final episode. The Mane 6 have more prolonged castle silliness across multiple rooms before the map appears. Following a train station scene, the journey takes them across multiple different terrain types (train, ground, boat, ski, etc.) to Twilight narration and funny gags (Rarity skiing effortlessly, while Applejack struggles). Once at the village, most of the rest of the script matches the final episode quite closely. There is some differing dialogue, but not too much, and some missing lines, mostly to do with clarifying points more clearly. Only in the episode's last few minutes (midway through the basement scene) does it start to differ - it's still more openly about the three villagers directly asking for their cutie marks back.
[continued and finished below]
[continued from above]
DeleteThe Polish draft is where M.A. Larson takes over writing from Scott Sonneborn, who had done enough work to remain credited (the Premise and Outline were all Meghan McCarthy, of course). Since Larson was Story Editor, he had been involved already, of course. Mostly expected changes here, tossing out the dialogue of the first few and last few minutes to match the final episode, and incidental dialogue changes through, virtually nothing worth recapping. A few more tweaks happen in the following draft, and only in the final script are the new characters' names finalised (presumably following legal approval) - previously, they were Aurora Glimmer, Snow Drift, Bubble Burst, Sugar Sprinkles and Night Flight.
ANIMATIC & OTHER CHANGES
As the script was kept to just over 30 pages, only a few cuts were required:
* Instead of an establishing shot of Ponyville and the castle fading to the Mane 6 inside the throne room, we have the Mane 6 being in stunned silence at various rooms in the castle (only broken by Rarity to note that Twilight could put a chair in the library).
* The journey had a short scene at Ponyville train station, Twilight showing up in the nick of time with directions on her scroll. Narrated dialogue accompanied the multi-day journey, until they reached a rocky bluff. Twilight was confused as they should have been there, until Applejack pointed the village out. The final episode shortened this to a few dialogue-less shots.
* The climax has the Mane 6 struggling against advancing villagers, weakened by the equalling magic enough to be unable to resist (the equalling magic was a much more direct visual motif in the script).
Things changed or added at the animatic include:
* Pinkie’s “Hi Mom and Dad!” gag didn’t have Spike walking over the map or stamping down on it.
* The thrones of the Mane 6 lighting up as they got on them was a storyboard addition.
* The song lyrics were, as per usual, substantially revised by Daniel Ingram. Little of the script’s visuals were retained either. The original visuals mostly showed off the equalising magic making ponies be literally equal at everything (running, etc.).
* The cafe scene originally only had one “Welcome!” from a villager at its start. A few more were added.
* Nearly all of Pinkie’s non-dialogue suspicion, as well as Fluttershy looking happy at the village, were added in the storyboard. Both funny additions that also play into their characters and reactions.
* Twilight teleporting before trying to attack in the climax was a storyboard addition.
Animatic feedback is quite light - the main point is concern over the cold open, which led to a few revisions, like cutting the extended wide shots in the castle described above (Meghan rationed that they didn’t play well, being wide shots where the Mane 6’s reactions weren’t super clear). Most other points were about visual designs not yet fully locked, or the occasional “dial back the intensity here” bit.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
It took some time to fully nail the thematic focus, plot specifics and what the Mane 6 would do in the late going. Most other interesting changes revolve around overarching elements getting withdrawn as said arcs get scaled back. Happily, this two-parter is mostly its own thing. The loss of Spike is a bit sad, but the episode was a little more unfocused in those early versions, and the time trimming helps, allowing for material for the new villagers. Plus, it probably makes the Cutie Mark theme ring truer when everyone is a pony. And hey, Fluttershy gets stuff to do next episode!
Overall, while the many changes are an early sign of the rough development that would plague Season 5 (not least tossing out the 1st script), this episode evolved and improved pretty much the whole way. McCarthy, Sonneborn and Larson did good: this is a two-parter that really, really works, no "yeah, but" attached.
Glimmer Twirl, eh? Makes her cutie mark make more sense. Also makes that joke from the one about Thorax and Ember way funnier. :D
DeleteI feel so vindicated that she was first envisioned as middle-aged.
Glimmer Twirl, eh? Makes her cutie mark make more sense.
DeleteAnother thing clearer from the scripts' indications of the equalising magic is that Starlight's special talent, what she got her mark for, is literally removing marks. Hence why she could get the jump on Twilight and take hers. Easy to forget given the rest of the show made Starlight Twilight-level powerful, but in this two-parter alone, there isn't any strong indication of that. She's strong, sure, but not a superhero. Frankly, I far prefer that.
As for the name, given they switched from Outline to Script, Glimmer Twirl didn't sit well with higher-ups, or even just the writing team. Aurora Glimmer, as we know, was a no-go since Disney had a trademark on Aurora from the Sleeping Beauty princess.
I feel so vindicated that she was first envisioned as middle-aged.
It goes further - in the outline (which I couldn't post here, the comment keeps removing itself after posting, for whatever reason) she was specified as elderly. They were trying lots of things for the character, that's for sure.
Anyway, should I take that to mean you felt she should have been clearly older? Maybe said that vocally to others? Used it in a fic? Or was it just an internal thought?
In any case, it makes a lot more sense, and I can only guess they withdrew it after deducing she'd come back later and (possibly) be a recurring character, so they made her the same youthful look as the Mane 6. Can't sell the kids on a character that old, no siree!
I always write her as being significantly older than the Mane 6, which not everyone seems to appreciate or agree with. Usually no less than 35, which isn't exactly middle-aged, but definitely older than youth culture finds acceptable.
DeleteI can't remember offhand if I've read a fic of yours prominently featuring Starlight. But I sure do appreciate that age headcanon as an angle! Though I do understand why many writers and readers don't agree with it, it's hard to reconcile with the more youth-ish way here character is portrayed once she becomes a regular.
Delete…I may have a problem with reconciling Starlight Glimmer in this two-parter with the way she is in the rest of the series. But darn it, it's a justifiable problem!
In any case, 35 isn't so far away for myself now. Doesn't feel that old at all anymore, heh…
This comes up in one chapter of The Princess's Captain and that might be about it so far?
Delete35's getting further away from me now. D:
This is where I came in. This was the first episode I watched "live", having caught up during the hiatus (by the skin of our teeth - I believe we watched Rainbow Rocks the previous day and the accompanying shorts that morning.)
ReplyDeleteWatching this right after Twilight's Kingdom and Rainbow Rocks, I remember that this felt not only like their equal but actually the best of the three, with its new premise, genuine menace (amply paid off in the second part!) and some really excellent jokes. It's still one of my favorite episodes, and I can't imagine a time when this wouldn't be a cast-iron 5 for me.
Welcome to the present day! Well, sort of. ;)
DeleteThis was the first episode I watched "live"
DeleteLucky. And here I had to make do with "School Daze".
In all seriousness, it must have been really special to have this one as your first new episode. Your mention of the jokes reminds me of deftly it strikes a balance of using them to keep the episode fun without undermining the seriousness and menace of the situation - a delicate feat for any show, much less a kids' cartoon aimed this young. I'd be very surprised if this episode (and the one following it) wouldn't be in my top 5% of the whole show, honestly.
I remember when the Fascist Faction of the Fandom™ decided this episode was some sort of warning against the evils of communism,* despite it having strong, direct parallels to Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House.
ReplyDeleteAnd then the variously emotionally-compromised puppies got involved, inextricably linking bronies with right-wing lunatics forever more.
Yeah. Good times.
But it was a fantastic episode, though.
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* Y'know, like they think Squid Game is supposed to be, despite the creator explicitly saying it's about the evils of capitalism.
What makes this two-parter special to me (apart from some of the cleverest intentional moral horror in the franchise) is the shift in focus from physically imposing mega-threats to more anti-villainous ideological challenges to the concept of friendship. This isn't a black-and-white conflict with friendship as the superweapon solution: it's the show presenting a distortion of the relationship itself. And I honestly wished it did this more often, because it's such a bold move.
ReplyDeleteEvil Starlight Glimmer encapsulates a very satisfying half of that ideological challenge. It's ambiguous (at this stage) whether she's in this for a self-serving power grab, or if she really believes the delusional extremism she advocates, but the mere fact that we can pose the question shows how much more incisive she is as a threat than the likes of King Sombra and Tirek, who were basically Juggernauts so evil that no one questioned the need to stop them (except Discord, who explicitly ends up fooled as a result).
(And while I'm singing Evil Starlight's praises, she's a fantastic mashup between sugary malice and creepily awesome opponent. One moment talking like an overbearing, patronizing schoolteacher, the next lording her power and authority over anyone who defies her. It's like an unholy fusion between Harry Potter's Dolores Umbridge and The Legend of Korra's Amon, and she captures the best of both in only two episodes.)
But what really sells it for me is the role played by the bystander villagers: Sugar Belle, Double Diamond, Party Favor, and Night Glider. They are certainly underappreciated. Unlike Starlight, whose motives are sketchy, their commitment to the Equalist cause is a lot more sympathetic and sincere. They've been seduced by the promise of no more fighting or conflict, but still miss the talents and identity their cutie marks gave them. Rewatching this, it struck me just how much of the two-parter's argument centres around their gradual ethical awakening and their different yet complementary approaches to it (most obviously, how Double Diamond starts out as the most committed and acts as an informal police force, then later is openly confused by Starlight's special interest in the Main Six's cutie marks and ends up being the one to liberate the cutie marks from the vault).
With the exception of the unremarkable Night Glider, all of them are used well to remind us that these aren't bad ponies, and that (challenging, this!) a sincere desire can be corrupted into something dangerous. Top notch stuff!
And that is one major reason why I appreciate this two-parter so much.
Really hit the nail on the head, there. :D
DeleteI did rather like this episode, and Starlight is one of my favorite characters from the series. Her problem isn't that she's evil, it's that she's dealing with her problems in all the wrong ways, which, surprise surprise, is also what defines my other favorite villains (Sunset Shimmer, Tempest Shadow). I also like the way every one of those characters always comes across as not being so far from a relapse, Starlight in particular. One of the best things about Starlight (and it'll be a while before the best example of this comes along) is that she's absolutely right about some things. She manages to twist the logic about them, but at its core, she's based in reason. And I also have always envisioned her as older than the others by 10-15 years, or human-to-horse equivalent.
ReplyDelete