This Could Have Been Better... Make Your Mark Review

[@ROBJAMBRE]

I'm starting to think that in terms of animation why the first episode of G5 was so bad it was because it was a rushed job due to it having to come out 4 months ahead of schedule and is not the animators fault is Hasbro's fault 3D animation has a longer processes to get done due to each frame needing time to render which could take around 30 hours for each second of animation the time for that can be less depending on how many computers are rendering it at the same time With this much time needed it was a bad move by Hasbro to release the first episode so early before the September release date also the only reason for this was to promote the Maretime Bay Adventure game This would explain why some scenes look better then others like opening where you can see the individual feathers of Zipps wings moving and with fluid wing flaps but in later scenes she moves a lot more stiff. They had to rush some parts which means some frames got less time to render which made the animation look bad due to the tight deadline they had to release it I feel sorry for the animators who had to get over worked to get this out too soon But if this is all true that would mean the animation will be better when the whole series comes out on the time it was suppose to like was w planned to be

[@Penaz_s_world]

Wow You’re amazing

[@somerandomdude7785]

Meanwhile, some guy with a single computer successfully created a perfect 30 minute animation. Explain that.

[@prettycuree]

Is this your opinion? I don’t think the first episode of g5 isn’t bad

[@AngelVazquez-vs9xp]

This makes sense because the animating process takes the most time so they had to quickly write down the story for the movie before animating everything. This is what caused the story of the movie to sound so confusing, because the writing process was the most rushed part of this special.

[@kaisertrinityt.m.i.s1607]

i am surprised by your words. i thought that 2D animations take much more time than 3D animations

[@sproutglob7126]

The moment they said "Earth Ponies Never had Magic before!" I began to think back to Tirek's attack. If Earth Ponies never had Magic, then what was Tirek, a Being that Steals Magic, stealing from the Earth Ponies if it wasn't magic??

[@PeacePetal]

Don't forget that many years of pony have been erased, replaced by racist pseudohistory. Hitch in the movie honestly believed that the three tribes had always lived separately. If they were wrong about that, they could be wrong about earth pony magic.

[@me2552]

Earth ponies had strength and uh are good at farming But now then can grow flowers with their hooves

[@mohdghazali3473]

That's probably what they believe is the truth. You really can't trust this pony with history subject (especially the history that Earth Ponies never had any magic). Remember what Sprouts said the school teach them? "Earth Pony kicked Pegasi and Unicorn because they want to eat Earth Ponies in an epic battle". Are we supposed to believe that, it maybe only half truths or false at all

[@me2552]

@@mohdghazali3473 imagine kicking ponies with sharp horns and wings

[@buriedinbooks881]

Considering the lore set up by the first G5 movie I actually think this isn’t that fair to the new series. Back in the first movie they spent quite a bit of time letting us know that what happened in G4 was something the new ponies basically knew nothing about and their own history was censored. And, in the first movie, the earth ponies of G5 in fact didn’t seem to have any magic at all. I don’t think it’s a stretch for the earth ponies to be shocked that they do have magic in this world especially considering we don’t know how many of them, or if any at all, we’re able to relearn their history (what happened in G4)

[@DaylightTwinkle]

Also the new villain looks like she just coated herself in glow in the dark paint, I just now thought of that LOl!

[@zerowolf4051]

Bro she looks like a deviant art Mary Sue oc XD

[@DaylightTwinkle]

@@zerowolf4051 at least she looks kinda hot 😅, though I do not want tamatoa vibes from her LOL.

[@zerowolf4051]

@@DaylightTwinkle omg yess! 😂😂😂 ya I do love her voice ngl the voice does sound amazing 😳

[@mohdghazali3473]

To be honest, I think the reason she looks terrible is because the bad lighting. I think her colour scheme should resembles Radiant Hope, considering her horn probably not her but who knows, maybe Radiant Hope is the inspiration for her colour scheme

[@zerowolf4051]

@@mohdghazali3473 that’s what I thought a little bit too but I’m not so sure I hope they can either update it a little or just hopefully it’s the lighting.

[@jupiterjsc]

I thought it was ~okay~ but my biggest issue was honestly how the main characters interacted with each other. I get they're all supposed to be besties, but they literally just met. There should be far more conflict and getting to know each other than what was shown. It would be so much more interesting if they had to work through their friendship issues and learn how to work together as a team than having everyone agree with each other with 0 discussion or doubt or literally anything that would make a good friendship authentic. Out of everyone there, Zipp has the most character detail because we actually see her doubts and other good aspects to her. Maybe Hitch, too, because we got to see what he does when he's alone.

[@PPEFwatch]

physical strength? Oh wait no! It's their ability to walk :)

[@AngelVazquez-vs9xp]

The most we can do is let the creators know that they don’t need to overwork themselves and that they should take their time to make a good quality story and not rush the process, because as far as I can tell this is the result of rushed production to make up for demand.

[@DragonfoxgirlThals]

I feel the overall tone is a bit harsh but I also agree with like 99% of what you stated. So glad you could put it into words. I'm a drawing person not a writing person LOL

[@RhapsodyHC]

Well said. The biggest problem with G5 is that it takes place after G4, so it has to keep explaining why things are the way they are while at the same time, staying true to G4’s canon. That is very hard to do for new writers who never wrote for the old show and understood how things works. That’s the same reason why Season 8 and 9 of FIM were the weakest seasons because newer writers took over and retconed a lot of things. Also, doing this raises fan hype and expectations. Fans want all these questions and theories to be answered/confirmed, and if they aren’t, then fans will be disappointed and move on to something else. I’ve been worried about this since the G5 movie, and it looks like it might be coming true. Now it seems they’re just using G4 as a stepping stone to generate hype, but do they care about it enough to properly explain things? Time will only tell now.

[@dustyrose192]

It should have been its own thing, like how G3 is different from G4

[@elusivenarwhal1996]

@@dustyrose192 Agreed 👍

[@XFizzlepop-Berrytwist]

Honestly, I never had a problem with S8 and S9. Aside from Discord doing something semi dumb. But ehh, its still a kids show. Sometimes they do have to make a character be dumb for plot. Like they did for Twilight in the movie, thought the movie was great, but dont like how they wrote Twilight for one scene.

[@autumbreeze1129]

Honestly, when the Alicorn villain showed up I had 3 immediate thoughts. 1. Eww that design is awful. 2. Who the heck is this and why is she and Alicorn? And 3. Wait. So, this evil Alicorn is aware friendship needed to be restored between the tribes on order for magic to return, meaning she's fully aware destroying friendship would get rid of magic again... even though whatever evil plan she clearly has in mind will likely require destroying friendship and doesn't seem to realise that will get rid of the magic again? As for the multitude of plot holes and lore issues, it's another reason why I consider G5 to be happening in an alternate timeline, one where the events of The Last Problem never happened, since it literally makes no sense we could go from The Last Problem to what's been established in G5 so far. The comics are doing a slightly better job than the special... but not by a lot. As for what you said about a follow-up show retconing the original and then retconing itself to try fixing the problem and only making it worse, I immediately thought about Ben 10 Omniverse, where the first season retconed so many things from both the Classic Ben 10 as well as Alien Force and Ultimate Alien that it made no sense, so they then retconed their retcons, but only made things even less coherent than before, to the point they even started to retcon stuff specifically established in Omniverse itself until it was a completely unfollowable mess. I fear G5 is going to go down the same path.

[@jeshuarestituyo284]

I'm honestly more intrigued about the minion of the bad guy becoming part of the mane 6 as the second unicorn than the bad guy itself. I really hope they do that and write it well. If most of our criticism is heard I hope the next specials will be touched if they are done already or something cuz I don't mind waiting longer for them if it means to have quality content

[@EaglesMan710]

Well, the fact that Zipp literally asks questions that the audience have been asking since the end of A New Generation has me cautiously optimistic about the future of the MLP G5 series. Looking back at FiM, the first season wasn’t all that great. I think very few bronies consider that season their favorite. I think more fans need to be patient with the MLP staff.

[@freeexcitin6933]

But like, at the same time FIM was a whole brand new thought which wasn't planned out or anything which was way different to g3 and g2 (the first episode of fim is still better than the make your mark episode). And when you look at g5 the creators already had some back story of what went on in g4 and they just messed it all up given with all the lore they had to follow up on I just don't get how they did and their biggest problem was to try to make g5 as popular as g4 ( friendship is magic) by staying in the same universe of equestria.

[@VivianaSilverback]

Actually.. S1 is literally the most loved season out of them all. Go ask around, lots of bronies prefer S1 over anything, some even considering anything after S1 not canon. But i gotta agree (sorta) while i do think it's great as a season, i think it was the weakest. But it's ok to me because 1st seasons aren't meant to be filled with action.

[@EaglesMan710]

@@freeexcitin6933 Well, we still don’t know how long it’s been since the era of G4. For all we know, the separation of ponykind could have happened long after Twilight and her friends have passed away. Nothing lasts forever, after all. There’s also a possibility that history has been written differently from what actually happened, due to prejudices developed overtime; that’s my theory, at least.

[@moviesmemesandstuff2759]

@@EaglesMan710 I've been patient with these people, ever since ANG first came out. I didn't like the movie that much, but I figured: "Hey, they're just starting to get the hang of it, so maybe we can expect good things down the road"..... Then, Tell Your Tale came out, and it's nothing but useless filler aimed at toddlers that has no reason to exist. And yet, I *STILL* stuck around, holding on to that final thread of hope that maybe - just fucking MAYBE - good stuff can still happen in this gen. Then, we got this special..... and that was the last straw for me. I don't trust this gen or anybody behind it at all. If anything, I feel like a moron for ever supporting G5, when it's been on its death bed since day 1. I can't do it anymore. I'm done!

[@82dorrin]

@@EaglesMan710 Half of writing history is hiding the truth.

[@yondaime500]

About the crystals failing when ponies argue, I thought the same as you, and even wrote a few comments about that before the special, but it's not as bad as I thought it was. We see them feeding the crystal when they work together, and depleting it when they fight, so technically they just need to cooperate more than they fight. It's not like "A pegasus dies every time you use a negative word". It also seems to be the reason why their cutie marks keep glowing in Tell Your Tale. Based on the questions Zipp asks at the end, it looks like we will also get an answer for why the crystals work the way they do, and why they're needed as a magic source in the first place, i.e., why ponies lost their innate magic, so that could be interesting. What if they are not actually the source of magic? I mean, they do give out random superpowers like the Equestria Girls artifacts, but what if they're primarily meant to be a shield against something else that is suppressing pony magic? Like the changeling throne from the season 6 finale? I don't know, I think it's still fun to theorize about this stuff. No story is perfect, but I'm still interested in this one.

[@AngelVazquez-vs9xp]

I think the pony negativity was supposed to be happening at a much larger scale, but there was a limited amount of space to be worked with because there are currently 3 pony cities. It is implied that they are supposed to be larger with bigger populations, but adding many more different buildings along with crowds of hundreds of more ponies would be REALLY difficult to animate in time, so they have to make everything look smaller for simplicity. That’s my theory.

[@mrsisimlp8469]

i agree with you, I’m still interested in this story

[@JonnyManz1]

@@AngelVazquez-vs9xp Makes good sense to me - probably had to scale back due to not only budgetary concerns, but COVID-induced disruptions overturning the workflow.

[@DaylightTwinkle]

Honestly if the G4 production crew stayed, then I’m sure G5 would be a lot better for most bronies…even though I still like it the way it is.

[@BuizelCream]

I can point out something fundamentally missing in the writing of this special: While I actually like the ambitious ideas and enriching concepts of external plot points and conflicts this special introduced (Zipp concerned about becoming the next queen is my favorite), but do you know why this special feels like it's just "stuff is happening"? Because very little in the writing indicates any form of intriguing internal conflict coming from the main characters. None of what's happening here is causing us audience to feel why all of these matters to Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, and Hitch . . . Maybe Zipp has it? But we don't really get to understand why the loss of magic worries her, aside the external fact that she might lose the ability to fly, or maybe being proven wrong. That's why it feels like it's just stuff happening to them. Hence . . . they became the plot's punching bag. Without internal conflict interwoven into the writing, we don't get invested with the characters and their journey. That's causing us to look over to the worldbuilding instead, cause it's all about stuff happening anyways . . . and even that's failing us to get hooked into it too.

[@JonnyManz1]

I can see that - there are threads there (such as Sunny being concerned about her Alicorn powers, Hitch wanting to protect that abandoned egg, Izzy wanting to do something nice for her best friend, what you mentioned with Zipp) but it feels like they were left as threads, rather than being woven into a cohesive whole. So, like, I enjoyed what we got, but I’m not blind to the fact that there’s plenty of room for improvement.

[@BuizelCream]

@@JonnyManz1 True. The threads you just mentioned outright highlights the lack of internal conflict that's missing in Make Your Mark, which is what's disabling these threads to interweave together cohesively, actually 😬 Sunny being concerned about her Alicorn powers is technically external conflict, not internal conflict. Same goes with Hitch being concerned for the egg, as well as Izzy doing something nice for her best friend. These are characters going out to do something for the external plot. It's about the 'stuff happening'. Internal conflict reveals the themes of the character arcs, which makes us understand the reasons behind the character's decisions and why it matters to the character and to the story. And it's very important even for the subplots and threads to reflect this, or else... no matter how interesting and fun the external conflict of these subplots get, they won't thread back cohesively to the main plot of the story because they're just left free to tell whatever story it wants 😬

[@lightningflame2082]

Honestly I agree, it seems as if the new Studio didn´t even watch the mlp g5 MOVIE to begin with

[@GabiShy]

Honestly when Gen 5 first came out. I had this feeling of that this Generation might be killed off sooner than expected and after that this feeling has kinda grown. Not saying it will be killed off but it’s just a feeling.

[@XFizzlepop-Berrytwist]

I know this is old, but, I’ll say, I like art of gen 5, buts thats kinda about it? I like Zipp as a character, and neat design. But the show as a whole just feels kinda dumbed down to me? Like Gen4 had dumb moments of course, or predictable episodes, but they also had a few that werent, some that kept you guessing about how this unique problem would be solved.

[@andrewshearsby8125]

Hey Chrysalis is not ugly. She's evil hot.

[@morganbrick9837]

You know, Mlp G5 shouldn't have been connected to the friendship is magic universe, it should've had it's own universe in my opinion

[@JakeThehedgehog-m1x]

yeah it would've give the writers a much more freedom.

[@Spritefightman]

The biggest complaint I have with this special is how they say that earth pony’s have never had magic. Even though they did in G4! They needed magic to use super strength, strength to throw bolders 3x bigger than them over a hill. I agree with your point

[@SilverSpoonRiche]

Soooo basically in the movie they Force Awakens the MLP Universe we knew, totally destroying everything, all the world building, character development and lore that came before in an attempt to raise the new Mane5 up and are now set to make their Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker in the coming two seasons. That about right? Yeah, no thanks.

[@sacrificiallambchop3333]

If the villain is named blacklight, I will die.

[@sweetdreams1028]

Hasbro: *gasp* Yes! Let's go with that!

[@BennieBunfox]

honestly to me, this is like the first episode in gen 4- it will hopefully get through these tough stages and get better. i really wanna get into the lore i also don’t like the colors of the alicorn lady but i pray her design gets better overtime, again- this is the first episode so of course they’re gonna introduce stuff like this.

[@YB-zx9uf]

This show is an insult to mlp, there are so many gaps I'm mad 😡, like: 1.What happened to Twilight, and her friends, and Discord 2. What happened to Celestia and Luna, if this villain says she was feeling outshined by them when they were young, and we saw the flashback, we can't say they died because she's here, and they're not. 3. What happened to the tree of harmony 4. What is wrong with the geography of Equestria, where is Ponyville, where is Canterlot, the everfree forest, the Castle of the two sisters, the school of friendship, Twilight's castle, and the other lands beyond Equestria 4. Where are the other creatures, the yaks, griffons and other dragons 5. What happened to becoming an alicorn is that you have to earn them by completing a difficult test, yet this girl only got it by taking three crystals and mixing them together 5. Where is the crystal empire 6. Isn't it told in hearts warming eve that when the earth ponies, unicorn and pegasus didn't get along, that the Tartarus took over all the land and caused everlasting cold and freezing, where did they go 7. How is the weather functioning by itself, where is cloudsdale, the pegasus are in control of the weather, it's only in the everfree forest that weather functions by itself 8. What happened to the magic of friendship, and how did it come to be that caused all pony kind to become separated, what caused the separation This show destroyed everything in mlp so quick, why didn't they make another pony show instead of ruining the good ones 😭😭😭

[@salestouchworld6904]

The tree of harmony was destroyed

[@82dorrin]

LOVED the Stormblazer moment. Zipp wanting Hitch to read her a story? Adorable and quite "shippy."

[@Theonly_z_Official]

I can point out that Twilight sparkle DID point out They can only acces magic once they acces HARMONY. Aka, Laughter, kindness, loyalty, Honesty, Generosity & Magic/Headleader.

[@Defaultnoobisme]

Imagine that evil character being twilight

[@brandonwilliams6221]

Can’t answer all the questions but, The weather, and the sun and moon, need no explanation in G5. Celestia and Luna haven’t always been there to control them, they only showed up when Equestria was founded. After who knows how many generations of ponies. The sun and the moon can operate well enough without their input, even when Celestia and Luna lose their power the celestial objects don’t go haywire and spiral out of control. It would seem Celestia and Luna merely speed up the process. They don’t control those things because they MUST, they control them for the convenience of Equestria; most likely for agriculture. The same goes for weather. Places like the Everfree Forest have weather and an ecosystem that isn’t managed by ponykind. It’s not that weather can only exist with ponies controlling it. It’s that ponies controlling the weather is extremely helpful to them. They get to control when, where, and how much it rains, storms, or shines. The usefulness of this much control over weather cannot be understated. Yet I don’t remember them ever mentioning that weather goes out of wack without ponies stepping in. Lastly, I don’t think the show is insinuating that Twilight and her friends “failed” or what they built crumbled in a lifetime. The sheer fact that the ONLY evidence of Twilight Sparkle’s existence is her cutiemark, speaks volumes. Celestia and Luna lived *at least* 1,100 years if we assume they died the very second they go off screen for the last time. Meaning that it has to have been more than a thousand, if not thousands of years since g4 for everypony aside from Sunny’s historían dad to forget she existed. So it’s not that Twilight and her friend’s work has crumbled, it’s just been a very long time without Twilight. And an even longer time without the living elements of harmony. A couple thousand years of relative harmony is nothing to scoff at in my opinion. And that’s assuming alicorns *only* live a little over 1000 years. If they live longer or are virtually immortal then we could be looking at several millennias of peace and harmony before the chasm between the pony races. The sheer amount of diversity ushered in by Twilight and her friends would not be easily maintained without her presence. And in a realistic sense, is completely untenable in the long term. Twilight’s reign wasn’t just a lifetime ago. As far as I can see, It’s *ancient history* for Sunny and her peers. A period of time long forgotten by the majority of pony kind. Now as for how cutie marks still worked even when magic was supposedly gone, I have no clue. Maybe not *all* the magic wasn’t gone? Maybe it didn’t vanish but was merely limited; blocked up like some kind of pony chakra.

[@yaemikoishot]

The new villain looks like a worse version of Chrysalis.

[@MewDenise]

The lighting made the villain look like she had lipstick

[@AmericanUnionState1824]

Frist time seeing that Alicorn villain was like: Holy Jesus! What is that? WHAT THE F**K IS THAT!? WHAT IS THAT HASBRO!?!?!?!?

[@sniputin]

I liked watching the special because it was nice to see these characters again, but this gave A LOT of more questions. But I'm hoping they answer them in the series. G4 gave us questions that didn't get answerred, like the whole thing with alicorns and thats why I am so excited for this new villain and the unicorn next to her. This special had so much going on that I wish some of the things were removed and turned to episodes for the series. Like the Mane Melody part had no purpose but just Pipp telling Zipp that she worries too much (they could have just not include that part and then have a episode in the series with Pipp starting the salon business) and Hitch finding the egg. It would have been so much nicer to see him caring for the egg for few episodes time and then having the egg hatch for the season finale or something. I really hope the series will surprise everyone positively, I really do, because I like G5 and it has so much potential. They can do so many amazing things with it, I just really hope the writers will improve.

[@ButterflySimmer]

Yeah too many plots were put in this special. They should've stuck with the magic glitches and zipp plot.

[@LycanMOON]

I couldn’t even watch it till the end because they kept throwing in our face lines about “friends ship and magic” like ok we get it you don’t need to remind us every line

[@kindergarten-yo1]

Surely the evil Alicorn wants to steal the crystals to unite their magic to become powerful. Either way, she would conquer Bridlewood, Maretime Bay, and Zephyr Heights. will send the unicorn there as a spy so that it can observe.

[@alexjewett7455]

I think their biggest mistake was trying to connect it to g4. A lot of the biggest problems stem from the shows not fitting together in any way.

[@hopepaul4078]

Wow I was not expecting that crazy pot twist that was my reaction when I saw the new villain for the first time

[@legionbeast]

This all screams to me that it CAN'T be the same world as G4. We had10 years of lore development and very specific rules applied to the world. G5 has shown ignorance or blatant disregard for G4's ruleset so far and I honestly feel the only potential here is that G5 only uses easter eggs in regards to G4 and tells it's own story. But it's floundering even at that. Besides, if this is the G4 world, then what is the point of anything? All the work Twilight, Spike, the Elements, and all the species and nations accomplished meant nothing because friendship failed and everything fell apart. Worse, what does this say about G5? Well it says that friendship and establishing a harmony is completely pointless since it'll just crumble and die anyway. It just looks bleak.

[@TheSultan1470]

No

[@JonnyManz1]

It’s called “Ancient Equestria” for a reason - there’s clearly been a *significant* time skip.

[@legionbeast]

@@JonnyManz1 There was over a thousand years between the pillars of equestria and G4's present day, and at the crux all of the universal rules still applied. G5 blatantly ignores them.

[@thetableofelements4472]

My opinion is that they're just going off of what is cool. Like many kid shows, writing is horrendous, little effort into animation, and terrible character design. They attempt to bring a new generation of viewers in exchange of the loyal fanbase they had before. As a writer, I can't imagine ever making a kid suffer through terrible writing as it is the words we choose that can change and shape minds. It's either the writers, or the people who hired them. I am inclined to believe that both parties are fault. Edit: I agree with the pinned comment.

[@TheSultan1470]

No

[@demonevolpe]

Opalines design is absolutely horrendous. I honestly think her coat color could be changed to purple instead of magenta and that would work. And definitely not an overly saturated purple tho

[@sweetdreams1028]

I myself am pretty nervous but still cautiously optimistic about G5's future. For the Alicorn, I would agree that she could look better. Chrysalis I do agree is a character that balances creepiness and appeal in her design. But I wouldn't say she's a hopeless successful villain. We have yet to really see her as a character. The Earth Pony magic is what I'd call a new level of magic. They have had magic of course, just not the same level as Unicorns and Pegasi. For the Crystals I would say since magic and the crystals are still adapting they where very fragile with the tiniest of conflicts between the races causing it to glitch. Zipp even said it needed practice at the start of the special. I myself am mostly concerned that it could be like you said a Star Wars Sequel Trilogy situation. Where we had a okay continuation but great first product (The Force Awakens and A New Generation, IMO) but went downhill with everything (Last Jedi and possibly Make Your Mark) Where the sequels undermined what Luke and his pals did for the galaxy for their new cast. That's my main concern for G5 at the moment. But like I said, still cautiously optimistic. But no matter what G5 does to G4, FiM will still be my favorite show. Much like how I still love The Original Star Wars Trilogy.

[@mylife-23]

I'm not mad bout G5. I was excited bout the evil alicorn.

[@cyanideflowers4338]

Despite all this Zipp is a pretty good character to me she happened to be the only character I’ve been able to relate to in a long time and I mean a long long time

[@Gnarrkhaz]

I hope G5 crashes and burns ASAP. It's beyond saving as far as i'm concerned, and the sooner they start G6 and come up with actual new ideas, the better.

[@Langou_MLP]

I really love the new backgrounds ponies designs especially the unicorn pink one with purple/black mane at the beach, the blue one at mane melody, the pink pegasus rescuing Posey and the one next to the new villain she has a great mane style! But I agree the storyline was disappointing, I felt the dialogues and conflicts very poor considering how better it was from the 90mn movie, I think they refocus their target audience towards children and remove all things that would entertained adults, and i don't like what direction they're taking with this special, we need to make them think again on what they're doing, we don't need another show with brainless storylines

[@molo3517]

Ok I think people are rushing their opinions on G5, like yeah this special might not be that good but the series still hasn’t started, not to mention so many shows start off bad or decent then gradually got better over time, I personally don’t feel like we should judge everything and say anything about the plot holes yet since zipp literally asked the same questions we had while watching the special, same thing with the villain, we don’t know anything about her so why say she’s bad? But who knows, I might eat my words and this series might crash down hard

[@darkdragon1943]

I only have one simple question. And that is how the Pony feathers does the Pegasus dog know what a dragon egg look like?

[@Star_Strike]

That was actually on my list as well :P

[@SmokeTheHorsehog]

I think that at least some of the problems would be fixed if they didn't make all of these events happen at once. The crystals are malfunctioning (and are also the most inefficient magic source in fiction, if they stay the way they are now) because of pony conflict, Izzy "fixing" Sunny's CAROUSEL, Zipp not wanting to leave Maretime Bay, and Hitch finding and trying to hatch a dragon egg after dragons being long gone. If these events happened in separate, shorter episodes, the plot wouldn't feel so contrived, but maybe even that wouldn't have saved it. I don't know, but I think it would have helped.

[@Star_Strike]

I think it is actually possible to have all these things happen in the same episode, they just needed to do a better job of tying the different plot lines together and telling them at the same time rather than jumping between stories. I kinda want to make a video where I rewrite the special, but I have so many other projects I don't know if I would ever get to it.

[@ButterflySimmer]

I honestly agree, too much was just shove in that many of plots were undeveloped.

[@freeexcitin6933]

Once again i'll say that it was worst that i expected but i'm looking forward to hear the lore of g4 story from the rest of the episodes. I was excited when I heard sunny ask the question "Who made the crystals?" But I know now that this may never live up to the legacy of friendship is magic

[@Oak_Eggar]

3:15 zipp is only worthy character atp 💀

[@PokemonkaDub]

I feel EXACTLY the same as you do. I'm just sad and dissappointed with the story. It's not good as a G4 sequel and it's not goos on it's own.

[@seiki32]

I got a theory so remember in the beginning of the movie they show all the og characters and how I this one sunny says there has not been dragons in equestria for generations that seems like this takes place way way in the future right but there's a theory that alacorns live forever so what if that evil alicorn we saw was twilight and she's under a spell or got mad with power cuz we don't actually see the ponys cutie mark right and we have seen proof that when something bad happens or some magical force happens the ponys can change their appearance. Could something drastic have happened long ago to make her go crazy ?

[@lakaylaporter6322]

For now the series doesn’t bother me yet but if it gets there I’m going to treat it like the lion guard (the lion king sequel/mid-quel) and dragons: the nine realms (httyd sequel series) As a non-canon alternate universe

[@pastorcodymitchell1456]

I really admire your optimism mate

[@yondaime500]

I've been trying to stay positive. It looks like a lot of people around the web are excited about the new alicorn, and I'm excited as well, even if her design is atrocious and she acts like the most generic villain. It shows that the new cast is not alone and the knowledge of the past is not lost forever. There are still some folks who know what's up, even if they are not necessarily willing to cooperate. I also like the detective angle for Zipp, and all the questions they ask at the end. If it means that there will be lots of clues around that we can gather and try to piece together the story before it is revealed to the characters, that could be fun. I mean, we've already been doing that obsessively for the past 11 years or so, but now the show actually expects us to do it? Sounds promising to me. Hopefully Gillian can pull it off well.

[@HighlandHellboy]

I don’t mind things being retconned from G4, I’ll always love G4 but from as far as I am aware, most generations have retcons and largely exist inside their own bubble. However what I don’t get is how contrived so much of this was, I literally enjoyed the youtube shorts more than this. Also is it just me or was Sunny given some of the least time in this? When she’s the Twilight of this gen, she’s the central pony, why wasn’t she given attention. Additionally I felt the animation was really off, like I understand that it wasn’t going to be the same quality as the movie, but a lot of moments reminded me of the old cgi fan videos rather than a tv production.

[@roni_macaroni6179]

How dare you do our girl queen chrysalis so dirty😭😭

[@0hvist]

On the subject of the villains introduction and... everything, and you can add in two other reactions to her appearance to the series, which I will quotate. The "Father" Reaction: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXzcqouFfquaea8 The "Kirito" Reaction: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJybqKWJgpt8jrM Seriously, they could have cut out these wasted 20 seconds and place a reveal scene at the end where the viewers are treated to a panning shot of the Legion of Doom Statue as a golden light is seen nearby. As the Camera pulls away from the statue towards the source of it ala _Fallout_ Intro style, it's revealed that the golden light is actually coming from a recently-freed Cozy Glow as she isn't manifesting her own Magical Horn or Wings like Sunny Starscout does but now sports her own as an actual Alicorn. Cozy then pulls up her hood as the Golden Light at the end of her hoof dissipates as her eyes begins to glow with that same power. All without saying a word, and the sight of Cozy having Golden Eyes would make fans recall the final scene from "Castle Mane-ia": kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJy3c3acYt1kr5Y I swear, people would be clambering over the implication that Sunny Starscout and her friends might have a chance of running afoul of Cozy Glow along with wondering what exactly her motive even is now or why she became an Alicorn, along with the possibility that because Sunny restored the Magic again it brought back Cozy Glow...

[@LynPhoenyx]

Zip is asking the questions so we will get answers. I think the villain is Flurry Heart. We never got her story from the stained glass window. She’s a born alicorn. Many ponies will grumble she didn’t earn it. She’s going to have imposter syndrome. So even when she does whatever it is to get her window, she gets a splinter of corruption from I’m guessing Sombra shadow. Magic is corrupted and has to be taken away from the realm. Of course Discord takes all mostly magical creatures like dragons, changlings, breezies, windigos, etc because a world without magic can’t be created with magic still in it. Twilight and the other princesses sacrifice all their magic to create the new friendship crystals. The sisters will age up immediately and die off screen. Twilight and Cadence will age up to their friends or maybe just slightly show age. Twilight and all of her intelligent friends, especially Starlight and Sunburst will be the ones to figure out how to make the new crystals and make the sun and moon function without Celestia and Luna. The void that opened is very Discord realm like. The dragon egg turning up around an obvious descendant of Fluttershy, totally Discord doing that in memory of his beloved. Now Discord keeping all the magical creatures safe in his realm is going to wear on him and them. Keeping order makes him sick. They’re going to eventually forget they are there for their safety and think they are imprisoned and put there by ponies. Season 3 will be them coming out swinging not believing ponies or Discord. Flurry heart will be redeemed or revealed as herself end of this season. Definitely redeemed by end of 2nd and omg the guilt. Luna coming back from Nightmare moon will be a pleasant foreshadowing. I want to see Spike! It’s possible with the way dragons age.

[@me2552]

My theory about the new villain is she's one of the old crystal holders who got corrupted or something

[@DaylightTwinkle]

I looked at it last night…and I guess I’ll just say…that mlp g5 as a whole is at least the only good reboot we had so far from how I’m looking at it right now, so yeah my hopes for it are still up, animation movement has changed a little but still oddly satisfying LOL, the new baby dragon was very cute, that’s it from me I guess, plus it is gonna be an eventuality series so I’m guessing each episode is 44 minutes long, so yeah if it felt rushed I probably wouldn’t mind it.

[@traciestreet4019]

Nope each episode is 22 min.

[@DaylightTwinkle]

@@traciestreet4019 never mind then lol

[@Subject_Keter]

Someone was like "You know how 2 clashing neon colors hurts people eyes? Lets do that!"

[@Deathclaw-lh5tl]

The voice acting and the writing made this hard to watch. Speaking of alicorn OCs I had a headcanon that explained the history in why every race separated that doesn't involve saying that the Mane 6 failed. However, as I've said in your headcanon video: Your idea was better.

[@cajunking5987]

Was I the only one waiting for wendigos to show up?

[@cajunking5987]

3:25 Ah.

[@Star_Strike]

Yeah, I thought for sure when the storm started brewing they were about to make an appearance.

[@uwuskettit3101]

Imo a genius way to redesign the alicorn is in an episode, she gets caught by some of the mane 5 for whatever evil doing she was planning and then the alicorn needs to disguise herself in a way so her full identity. For example, if the Everfree still exists, she finds a book of spells & potions and makes a potion to "permanently" change her appearance. Then this could bring in a plot point later in the shows run time where the Alicorn would interact with the mane 5 and get close to them but then someone in the mane 5 would get suspicious about her motives and down the line break the spell and she gets revealed as the villain.

[@SingleHoof]

To each their own and I guess you’re not wrong… but let’s not forget this is just a kid’s cartoon that we decided to love for it’s wholesomeness. For me the lore was never that important.

[@diddles3383]

Just because "it's a kids show", doesn't mean that poor writing is okay. Kids deserve good and well written stories, and this really isn't it.

[@DexylRoadkill]

I dont even refer to mlp g5 as my little pony. I call it 'pony show'

[@parycartoons6840]

Anyone else feel like G5 was falsely advertised a bit as it stands right now? I though they said it was going to be more action oriented and marketed for everyone. This feels like G4 Season 1-2 territory, back when it was strictly a show for little girls.

[@renamon5658]

So star strike were you right? Is opaline a bad villain?

[@chinaspence2334]

Imma go on a bit of tangent here but I have to say: This new G5 of MLP just isn't doing it for me. Like, at all. The movie, shorts and even the first episode wasn't enough to keep me invested. Now I'll admit that there are a few things that I do like about G5, BUT that's just a few. And to this day (And I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who thinks and feels this way) I still STRONGLY believe that G5 would have been better if they just made a dope spin off series about the young six. Like, continuing off of G4 and passing the torch off to the young six being the new generation and elements of harmony. For example: Gallous: Heart or Trust Sliverstream: Happiness Yona: Teamwork (I know I didn't spell her name right) Oceleous: Understanding Sandbar: Patience Smolder: Confidence I mean it was plenty obvious throught season 8 and 9 that they were going to be next in line but I feel like this is some straight up cop out BS. We could've learned more about them, where they're from and see their friendship progress up to their actual graduation day from the school of friendship and after. They had SO much to work with and yet they shoved it ALL out the window! SO much potential, Wasted! But that's just my opinion.:/ Also: They turned being an alicorn ( The most highest and powerful status in MLP fim) into a temporary Mario power up. So disappointing.

[@NazzyDragon]

Seriously. They built up the young six at the end of FiM so very much & well, only to cut it short & leave us with this... mess? The pacing is terrible and I really don't like the new characters, nor do I like all of the obnoxious references to social media and all that crap. Honestly, this just feels like Legend of Korra all over again, a spit in the face to the original series. Hot take for some, but idc. The movie was okay but this short was horrible. I found it hard to finish. Not like I even grew up with FiM either, so no nostalgia or childhood bias.. I'd already graduated by the time I started watching it.

[@JonnyManz1]

With how much I loved the Young Six, you’d think I’d agree with you - but honestly, I’ve really been enjoying G5 so far. Weird.

[@trooperstallion]

I’m still struggling with understanding this alicorn, let alone the plot for the special. Felt rushed along with seeing how the quality of graphics were really cheap upon close inspection. The movie had better quality control, with minor animation errors, but it was still good regardless. Now, I hope that by September, Netflix and Hasbro don’t royally mess up the G5 series when it comes to it being a sequel to G4. Because honestly, this could break the old guard of the fandom with the new guard taken it’s place. However, with how early we are into this era, I can’t come up with a decisive conclusion on how G5 will go. The only thing I ask is that G5 will allow the community to enter a renaissance period where it’ll revitalize its heart and usher in a new era for us all.

[@katiehansen5931]

The new comic book series is looking amazing and it’s involving G4 characters twilight is in the first comic

[@beanerjeffreys9667]

I'm just gonna pretend like g5 is a completely different universe so I can still enjoy g4

[@Sauce_0]

I totally had a *heart attack* once I saw this trailer. I'm like a teen and watched my beloved My Little Pony when I was *six-seven* Like...WHAT IS THIS?! This is a whole art of a horse TV show and their faces! WHY to they look so like people and human?? This should a furry horse TV show I don't know. 100% not watching that. Like I was gonna 😖😥

[@theponytheorist2109]

You missed a spot. The dragon egg hatches after only using a heat-lamp instead of literally lava. If it hatched because of Hitch, then he just ACCIDENTALLY did the thing filly Twilight almost failed at. The only satisfying answer would be "the crystals did it", but that drives even more questions; did they know about the egg? Are they sapient (is Twilight awake in there)? Why did that void form? Maybe the dark alicorn did it when the crystals lost power, but if losing their power causes her to have that level of control in an area, then why were they designed to fail so easily? And literally the only way they fail that quickly is if it's an intentional design, since magic doesn't work like that in G4. As for my own take: The overall plot was meh, I was even wondering how long was left in the first 15 minutes or so. At least they got a pretty catchy song in there... There's a little lore to pore over and talk about, but most of it came in the last minute or so of the movie, leaving us with at least something to think about. I was at least quite interested in the shadowy alicorn - not gushing, but enough to look over messageboards to see what others were saying about her, and start trying to use her to explain parts of the lore that don't fit (as I said above). If she's able to mind control ponies who have used dark magic, my theories will pan out. To be honest, I came into Make Your Mark with low expectations, and while a lot of things bothered me (why tf were they all keeping secrets from each other for no reason?), at least there was enough material to theorycraft and try to patch the holes, which was half of the fun for me - even in G4. Zipp's investigative side implies she'll push for more lore-dumps, which gives me hope, but... Well, let's hope they handle it well. I'd give it somewhere in the range of 4-6/10. If not for our shadowy alicorn, it'd be significantly lower... My hope is that the writers will mature into their new roles over time. I'm half expecting them to just start to figure things out at the start of S3... Which, considering the average kids' show ends after 3 seasons unless it takes off like FiM, is concerning. Question is what Hasbro will do if G5 flops - abandon pony, or get spooked and retcon the whole thing, returning to the G4 timeline and characters with a S10 or something?

[@theponytheorist2109]

KZbin keeps deleting my posts, so i'll just say rapidly: google trends. Twi still exceeds Sunny by far, and MLP hasn't recovered from the rut it was in pre-movie. If this doesn't improve Hasbro may try a return to G4 or pull the plug... We'll see how things change in a few seasons.

[@SukaNekoto]

What a bummer... I really wanted it to be a nice sequel to G4. I was hoping the writers would have the love to care about G4 so much that they would have nice consideration for it when making G5. I was hoping if they went full 3D, it meant Hasbro is giving a lot of budget and hope toward the series to make it great. But other than maybe the movie, it seems to have turned into a cheap cashgrab. What a shame... would rather watch Filly Funtasia at this point, there is so much more care into the story there.

[@martahoremska3729]

you're the first person i've seen that mentioned filly funtasia, were you a fan of fillys as a child

[@martahoremska3729]

you're the first person i've seen that mentioned filly funtasia, were you a fan of fillys as a child

[@martahoremska3729]

you're the first person i've seen that mentioned filly funtasia, were you a fan of fillys as a child

[@SukaNekoto]

@@martahoremska3729 No, I am American so I didn't see the Filly brand in my country. But I have been a fan of Filly since Filly Funtasia's first announcement a long time ago.

[@martahoremska3729]

@@SukaNekoto that's sad, but glad you at least got to experience filly funtasia

[@eliminature]

I'm really disappointed in how g5 is looking so far. I actually enjoyed the movie for what it was, but now with the new voice actors and after Make Your Mark... I am sad. I feel like the creators are trying so hard to live up to the legacy of FiM, instead of just creating a whole new story. It's like they tried to create a new story, but are obviously still relying heavily on g4... Sunny is such a dry character and gives Mary Sue vibes. I loved Izzy and Hitch in the film, but in MYM they seemed so different from the movie. Especially Hitch.

[@Mintstar_Oceanpop]

Something I noticed on rewatching this episode. At the start of Pipp's 'Gonna be Okay' song, she does some kind of twerk dance. I don't know why, but I laughed for nearly 5 minutes afterward.

[@Rumors.-.]

Don’t forget if you compare the animation with the movie animation the movies was better the animation in the special was hard to watch some of the characters felt stiff at times and felt like they were robots

[@ixiahj]

Make Your Mark missed its mark. It doesn't even have a good lesson, if it has one at all. Remember the build up when Pipp was going to sing? Where Zipp had to get her favorite mic and stuff? It never happened. Just when they were about to sing, it just ended. We never heard a song. That's the whole pacing of the movie. Its like silent thunder. A big nothing. You should review and compare the story in the Maretime Bay Adventure game. That one feels like the actual continuation of the movie complete with proper story resolution AND character development on the side. I feel like Make Your Mark is gonna be a disaster.

[@moviesmemesandstuff2759]

Oh, it will. It absolutely will. Because it's made by people who DON'T CARE! You know everything's gone to shit when THE GAME does a waaaay better job at continuing the story than this piece of shit ever did. And mind you, the game isn't great either! This entire gen is DOOMED!

[@PeterPan12411]

5:30 I feel like if they use the Mane 6 in G5, the Mane 6 would be a lot more like the 2D version Sprout made them into in the movie, rather than their ACTUAL characters from Friendship is Magic. Side note: anybody think the picture he keeps using of the Mane 6 (i.e., at 5:47) looks soulless and/or creepy? Or is that just me? Also, thanks Star Strike for the compliment! (7:05) I'm feeling a bit like crap physically, so I appreciate it!

[@everythinggirly916]

As much as I hate to say it, this special was a waste of my time. I actually liked the G5 movie but I haven't watched Tell your Tale simply because of the 2D style. I was more excited for this new 3D special. However, the story was so shallow I almost couldn't finish it. Even if the creators are trying to appeal to a younger audience, they still need a decent plot. Like you said, it was predictable, and the only time I was intersted was at the end. I liked what they did with Zip in the special, but Hitch didn't feel like his movie-self at all. And I'm sorry but I found Pip annoying sometimes. I'm trying to like these new characters and world but it seems like we won't get nearly as much world building as in FIM...

[@anavalant1934]

"I never so the more empty story..." Nine realms exists

[@TECH-wg9uc]

I think i know what took place in between g4 and g5 So long ago, Twilight ruled equestria. The world was thriving full of magic and harmony it was like no other and the harmony between them got stronger and stronger so this caused a new magic to happen the earth ponies got their magic . I think celestia and luna would just have passed away . Discord after fluttershy passing he might go back to the chaose roam again . After the death of shinning armor furry fell bitter she darkened and maybe she spread rumors to separate the tribes just like chrysalis did but not only the tribes but also the other species and maybe the other species left far away then the 3 tribes had some kind of war you mentioned and then twilight sparkle couldn't take it anymore she put all her magic into the crystals and gave it to each of the tribes before that she made sure the world would work without magic and she recorded a massege in the 3 crystals as we saw weakened by the loss of magic she faded away. Idk if this is actually the case but its my theory and i think furry heart is opaline and I think that this happen after twilight and maybe laster dawn ruled because I think Twilight could have handled it . Furry might be a the age of cadance and i think when twilight came to save equestria it was already too late and then maybe thats how the crystals where made .

[@ravannah5187]

The movie is as far as I'm going to go for MLP G5. I honestly hoped that the continuation wouldn't have come to this. Just the fact that it takes away all the progress that G4 made is a mock to the MLP: FiM show AND their own shows. Honestly, if they wanted to conitnue G4, why not make a story that conitnues the progress of G4? If there isn't anything else to do with G4 then make an entirely new world that doesn't have the same concept as G4 because they just broke a whole show of 9 seasons for this crappy movie and future series. it saddens me, i used to be a very big MLP fan but I am done with this. I'll still watch your reviews about it tho! Just won't be watching it any longer. I think it's really sad that I have to come to this not to break my hype about G4. What a shame. Keep up the good work tho!

[@amead78]

This was at best a 15 minute episode spread out way too much. The plot is so basic and paper thin yet it managed to undo what we knew from G4 about how magic worked. People were mean to each other in G4 but magic didn’t go away and no storm clouds appeared that shot lighting bolts that opened portals. Yes, windigos appeared but that was before Equestria was founded and at the of the series when everyone in the land were being jerks, not just 5 ponies. G5 can only ride on the nostalgia of G4 before for so long. It needs to stand on its own four hooves and do some serious writing and world building.

[@funnykitty1427]

I think you might be right but I still like the movie they did try

[@Star_Strike]

Hey- if you enjoy it, more power to you! Glad you enjoy it!

[@Starry-eyed_Samantha]

Really is ashame they decided to go this route for gen5 mlp. Even if i fell off, i would have been interested in seeing an entirely new series made from scratch, with some older mlp characters [I.E. starcatcher, starsong, firefly, etc.] and maybe revamping all the magic stuff as a whole for a bit of a "throwback." ...I don't know how well that would work, but anything would have been better than needlessly continuing a story that's already been told.

[@Castformsupremacy]

What I hate most about Make Your Mark is that how high quality the quality is to this The Animations in the movie are beautiful, the Lighting is done properly and the voice actors were given proper voice directions for their performance And it give me a false impression of G5’s quality They were probably like: “Oh this is for kids so we should make the animations ugly as hell, no Lightning at all and give our phenomenal voice actor no directions so they would get criticize, and if the old fans are not on board, just throw in the Mane 6”

[@Star_Strike]

Pretty good summary of how so many feel right now. -_(\

[@MexicanShirouEmiya]

M.A Larson !!!!! Where are you!!!!!

[@Pyro7693]

Perhaps we treated him too harshly.

[@robumf]

I think the BIGGEST problem is lack of a decent show bible. At the time of writing. I think just basic character personalities, and how they interact with each others was defined. They still working on the other characters when they are needed and the world dynamics. This is what Lauran Faust brought to G4 and LUCKILY that staff of G4 continue. I don't think there was a discussion asking basic questions on how we get from there to here to next year. "IF" that is the case we can only hope for that each single story is good. A bunch of short stories in a book, instead of chapters. We, bronies, may want to think that we are the targeted audience but I'm sure that's not the case. Unfortunately we may have to lower our expectations and compare the show to other programs, instead of G4.

[@TheSultan1470]

G4 didn't either

[@robumf]

Search for MLP Show Bible by Lauren Faust. I think it was taken from a very earlier source then fabricated after the fact. It's probability 65% made up.

[@widesunny3456]

I really agree on that,

[@ShineyDoesStuff]

1:04 Me watching this in a nutshell. Not gonna lie, alicorn horse looks sus

[@djkittyartzetr]

ok i sorta agree with this. And the fact that g4 is literally so exiting and new things have been made, there's how everything works like the day and night cycle etc but g5 is completely different. g5's day night cycle is probably normal, like what? I'm pretty confused though it's like the sun and moon poofed and the earth suddenly became normal and rotating. It's like after all they did in g4 everything fails? I actually expected an epic comeback from Grogar, or Luster Dawn being an alicorn. I didnt rlly realize but i'm starting to realize how dissapointing this is. Like small arguments are just getting bigger and it costs the crystals to lose their magic? When the windigos came the ponies literally stopped talking to eachother 100% had a full - sized argument that was really bad from the start. ? I'm sorry if this was sorta harsh but really i actually hoped for more lore, theories, and actual emotion / drama. I'm used to g4 when they actually teached big friendship lessons that aren't rlly noticed and solving them, but in g5 everything is "normal". Like so we can't disagree at all irl? So fighting is wrong? Overmore.. is disagreeing wrong? I'm just sad about this, sorry if im coming of harsh but im just rlly sad abt this. I was literally raised in mlp..

[@Bluegirl6269]

I think that they made g5 more for little kids because most People think that all the mlp generations are for little kids because they think that all the generations is just a show about talking magical horses.

[@moredac2881]

All valid critiques. I liked the plot, or at least didn’t hate it. Be honest, do you really watch MLP for the plot? I watch it for the characters and banter. But lets not be too harsh. It is the first episode. Especially with animated series, the first episodes can be “meh”. I mean, personally, season 1 episode 1 and 2 of FiM are the worst. Let’s give it a shot. Let them work out the kinks. If it’s still irritating after episode 3, then tear it to shreds.

[@ryleejam]

Hopefully that as a series goes on some of our questions will be answered maybe this day and night question would be answered today maybe two-parter as sawtooth waves has suggest a story idea that the sun just stopped and The relic that controls the data and night cycle after finding it in a loose paper in one of Sonny's dad's book talking about how Twilight made a world clock with the relic(from that one episode in season 9 where Luna and Celestia went on vacation) in it

[@OpossumNotPossum]

I think the plant magic earth pony stuff is dumb. I'm not gonna bring up how earth ponies already had magic because most every g4 fan know that, but plant magic isn't new, unicorns have been doing it forever. Mist Mane for example.

[@summerproductions7699]

4:56 And the FairyOdd Parents (and winx club if your a fan.)

[@theponyguys-t.p.g-music]

I miss Friendship is magic. I wish they could bring it back again but nah… this show came in unfortunately. And also it feels like a rehash.

[@SunIsLost]

0:20 I waited until I finish series to watch your videos.

[@twomadmans7109]

I have one BIG pretension to this video. Chrysalis is not ugly.

[@elrien591]

Alicorn zipp sounds cool