Tag Archives: exposition sequences

Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 41: Twilight’s Kingdom, Part 1 + 2

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Introduction

< Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 >

Season 4, Episodes 25-26

Well, this is it. My last post going over season 4, and my last post going over episodes I had seen before my six-year hiatus from being a brony. Once I’ve finished this post, I’ll take a break from making MLP posts for the rest of June to focus on other projects and get some rest before I begin my epic journey through season 5, my favorite season of the show. Besides, it would feel SO weird to jump straight to The Cutie Map when my first time watching it wasn’t until 2020.

I have EXTREMELY fond memories of watching the season 4 finale for the first time: my reaction to it can be summed up as “mind blown”. My reaction to watching the season 5 premiere for the first time wasn’t too different, except it also included a lot of “I can’t believe I kept telling myself I only liked MLP ironically” plus a splash of “I love MLP:FiM so much and I always did”.

(By the way, I accidentally scheduled this post for 9 PM instead of 9 AM, which is why it came out a little late. Sorry about that!)

Season 4 Episode 25: Twilight’s Kingdom, Part 1

In five words: Season 4’s plot comes together.

Premise: While Twilight Sparkle feels doubtful about her princess role, a once-banished villain named Tirek begins a rampage across Equestria and convinces Discord to join his side.

Detailed run-through:

Is it just me, or did Spike’s statue get bigger after the Equestria Games?

Much like the season’s premiere, season 4’s finale begins on an innocuous note addressing Twilight Sparkle’s role as a princess. Spike goes off about how cool it was to have rescued the Crystal Empire and get honored so heavily, and he and Rainbow Dash trade jabs for bragging about themselves. Then Twilight Sparkle reveals her minimal role in this upcoming event:

Twilight Sparkle: I’m glad you all wanted to come, but I don’t think it’s gonna be that exciting. I pretty much just have to smile and wave as the dignitaries arrive.
Rarity: Yes, but you get to smile and wave like a princess.
Applejack: How exactly is that different than smiling and waving like not a princess?
Twilight Sparkle: It isn’t.

At this point, it’s clear that as humble as she is about her new princess role, and as often as she insists she isn’t better than anyone else, there is a part of Twilight Sparkle that wants to do something cool and exciting as a princess, making use of the things she’s good at. Her character has started to develop in a direction where she gets increasingly confident with her role and even a little haughty sometimes. I won’t go on a tangent about the way she treats Starlight Glimmer here, since I’ve already gone on too many tangents about her and she still doesn’t exist yet. But she will soon.

Twilight Sparkle continues discussing with her friends how she feels her princess role doesn’t amount to much, and though they keep telling her otherwise, she still isn’t convinced. There’s only so much that kind words from friends can do for you, and she’s going to prove her worth herself.

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Cookie Fonster Reviews Every MLP Episode Part 22: The Crystal Empire, Part 1 + 2

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Introduction

< Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 >

Season 3, Episodes 1-2

NOTE: I published this post about an hour early so that I could get it out and update the previous MLP post and introduction post before going off to do convention things.

How appropriate for my first MLP post of 2022 to be number 22. Well, I actually wrote this post in 2021, but I held off publishing it until 2022 to give my posting schedule some breathing room. 2022 is a complete open book for me; aside from me attending MAGFest at the start (as of this post’s publication, I’m at the convention right now), only time will tell what experiences I will go through as the year progresses.

Also, here’s how season 3 will be divided up. Season 3 consists of 13 episodes, so each post will take up two episodes, except for Magical Mystery Cure, which will get a post all to itself. Not because I expect my review of that episode to be extremely lengthy, but simply because the season has an odd number of episodes and I had said I wasn’t going to do posts covering three episodes anymore. Because of this, one episode of season 3 has to get a post all to itself, so I went with the obvious choice. On the other hand, when I go through later seasons, there will probably be plenty of times where I decide to give an episode a post to itself solely because I expect its review to be lengthy, like Slice of Life or Amending Fences.

But as much as I adore both of those season 5 episodes, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. Instead, it’s time to start season 3!!!

Season 3 Episode 1: The Crystal Empire, Part 1

This review has spoilers for up to the season 4 finale!

In five words: Twilight Sparkle begins unexpected test.

Premise: Celestia puts Twilight Sparkle and her friends to the task of protecting the Crystal Empire, which has returned after a thousand years, from the wrath of King Sombra, who has also returned after a thousand years.

Detailed run-through:

Who is this nerdy-looking unicorn girl and what’s her deal?
(I wouldn’t be surprised if fans have a common consensus on what her deal is.)

Season 3 of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic begins with a short scene where a royal guard informs Celestia that “it” has returned. This scene is quite a strange way to begin the third season, but it serves a clear purpose: loosely hinting at a new villain, matching the pattern of every two-part episode so far introducing a new villain. First Nightmare Moon, then Discord, then Queen Chrysalis, and now… it. (I’m talking about King Sombra, of course.)

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