And
so unlikely but undeniable Internet hit My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic got through its second season. Not without those typical second-season bumps
and hiccups - particularly as head creative honcho Lauren Faust took a back seat
and served only in a supervisory role - but overall with enough of its
idiosyncratic charm to entertain, amuse and guarantee itself another season,
and probably several more. As well as keeping most of its bloated, bizarre
fandom on-board.
And
never have I seen a show so influenced by its fandom. Sure, Avatar had
scenes and whole episodes noticeably affected by the writers discovering online
fandom and shipping debates, and Lucky Star’s director even got
dismissed as a result of fan pressure in Japan, but MLP has been a whole
new level. The most obvious example is Derpy Hooves, a fan-character based on a
cross-eyed animation error, actually getting a speaking role and
characterisation in this season, but more than that, it was the way staff
members actually involved with the production would respond directly to the
fans – including one animator expressing disappointment that the fandom
detested an episode he liked.
And
with that sort of powerful fandom has come analysis just about no other cartoon
comes up against. Each individual writer is given a great deal of attention:
Meghan McCarthy and M.A. Larson emerged as favourites (something I’d agree
with), while a new writer named Merriwether Williams – whose previous work had
been on SpongeBob Squarepants and Angry Beavers – got totally
savaged after one episode the fandom hated.
I
didn’t think the hate was justified, but I fear my emotional response to My
Little Pony isn’t as ardent as that of some fandom members (and I don’t mean
that in a disparaging way); I was willing to imagine an off-camera scene
that made the episode work, but which the writers really ought to have included.
With the much-hated episode ‘The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well’, for example, most of
the more vitriolic complaints could have been solved with one scene where the
gang actually try to talk to Rainbow Dash about her going too far.
Similarly, ‘MMMystery on the Friendship Express’ would be vastly improved with
a single scene showing the Cakes were actually pleased with the outcome,
because it felt like a significant omission, and while at least the falcon got
a moment of acknowledgement in ‘May the Best Pet Win!’, I wouldn’t have minded
a line showing why Rainbow Dash couldn’t have had two pets, after that
much hard work.
But,
despite what the fandom may wish for, this isn’t a show that cares much about
continuity or consistency. Last season, trains were pulled by stallions; now
they’re steam-powered. It’s not quite clear why ponies thought the Sonic
Rainboom was a myth when it was seen by so many the first time it happened. Indeed,
there’s an amusing image showing that every single story told by the main
characters in the season 1 story ‘The Cutie Mark Chronicles’ contradicts
something else established in another episode. Continuity is just not that important, and if a
joke works on a reference to something in the real world that probably doesn’t
exist in magical pony land – or if a reference to James Bond or I
Love Lucy will be funny – they’ll include it.
However,
characterisation is. In this sort of sitcom – for it is indeed a cartoon
sitcom – that is paramount. I don’t mean that characters ought not to have
their foibles exaggerated: that’s to be expected, and very much in-keeping with
the first season’s writing, in which the ponies tended to obsess over a problem
to the point of having mental breakdowns. That continues very nicely here, most
obviously in the hilarious ‘Lesson Zero’, in which Twilight wholly loses the
plot and pulls some of the scariest faces you’re likely to see in a cutesy
animation. But it’s the little issues that bugged me – and totally ruined the
show for others. Would Fluttershy really go behind her friend’s back, ruin
something another person worked hard on because it seemed tasty, then deceive
her friend? Would Pinkie really bug a stranger who wants to be left alone so
much that she is loathed, only able to fix the problem because she just so
happened to know the right people? And while I can totally accept that Rainbow
Dash could go on an ego trip that makes her lose touch with what’s important,
that doesn’t mean she’s some kind of stroppy stereotyped jock: before, she was
insensitive, even cruel, but it was balanced by gentleness, kindness and a
desire to see her friends improve themselves. Here, most writers got it (see
‘Hurricane Fluttershy’), but Williams definitely didn’t.
The
two-part specials that bookended this season were highlights, although both
felt a little disconnected from the larger season. The first two, centred on
mischievous god Discord, voiced with aplomb by John de Lancie essentially
repeating his role as Q in Star Trek, were very entertaining but with
their randomness and fast-paced action seemed rather different from the usual
character-based situations, while ‘A Canterlot Wedding’ suddenly introduced two
very important characters to Twilight who it seemed ought to have been
mentioned before. In itself, that is no bad thing, but for all its awesome
payoffs and satisfying conclusion, it felt a bit poorly thought-through: trying
to imagine the baddie’s plot makes her seem not to have thought through the
best way to accomplish her aims at all.
On
the other hand, the songs in those last two episodes were great, and indeed,
songs have been a strong point this entire season. Though they moved away from
the Sondheim reworkings of the first season and were generally simpler and more
pop-based, they were also catchy, charming and adorable.
Season
2 has had its faults and difficulties, but it was still remarkably strong and
it remains entirely comprehensible to me why so many adult males would without
irony express love and admiration for this show.
Season 3: link
Season 3: link
I finished season 2 last night so I can finally read your post here =)
ReplyDeleteI liked this season better than the first as far as consistently good episodes. I didn't think "Mysterious Mare-Do Well" was a particularly good episode, but I didn't think it was awful either. But maybe I don't analyze the episodes as much as some fans XD
I can certainly agree with some of the problems with the episodes you mentioned in your fourth and sixth paragraphs. But personally I thought the episode with Pinkie trying to make friends with the old cranky donkey was hilarious.
I liked the two bookending two-parter stories, but "Canterlot Wedding" especially since I enjoy when the show gets more dramatic. Discord would have made for a more dramatic story too if the things he did with his powers weren't so...silly XD
And is there any way I can see a larger version of that second image there? It's too small for me to read the text.
Anyway, I plan to write about the show on my site soon so I won't say much else here ^^ I look forward to your season 3 review.
That poor, poor donkey. She was so lucky she could fix it - and I've always wanted to know what would have happened if she couldn't.
ReplyDeleteLike all pics on Blogspot it only pops up a small version if you click it. Right click and open in a new tab/window for full size.
Ah, I didn't know that about Blogspot images XD (I'm so used to Wordpress, LOL). I'll remember it for next time. But actually, I think most of the inconsistencies in that picture can be explained away somehow (for example, maybe Spike just didn't remember what color egg he was and assumed it was green and purple since that's what color he is now).
ReplyDeleteBut I did remember a couple of things in season 2 that made me scratch my head. One was in the "The Last Roudup," where I couldn't figure out why Twilight or any of the other unicorns could have just used their magic to fix town hall and Applejack wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble XD And the other was in "Sweet and Elite" where I wanted to see how Rarity got out of the lie she told FancyPants that Rainbow Dash is the Wonderbolts' trainer.