1. A good choice.
    
2. And I made the effort to respond in full because I thought at the very least you would still listen to what I have to say. Not only did you disprove that, but apparently you were so unwilling to listen that you even outright told me that I’d be wasting my time no matter what I write. I’ll admit, I might be staunch in my beliefs, but clearly you aren’t guiltless here either.
    
3. As I clearly stated in my previous comment, I have not disregarded everything you said. There are most definitely points that I still agree with you on. Even if I was, don’t pretend your not guilty of that as well. You’ve also ignored many of the points I’ve brought up.
    
   The thing is, you haven’t given me a reason to believe otherwise. If you are personally are not a fan of Starlight and you enjoy those kinds of sposts, so be it. But that doesn’t make them any less pointless and immature. Anyone who isn’t dead set on depreciating Starlight could explain to you how factually incorrect many of them are.
    
   I have explained multiple times why Starlight sposts are just as dumb and childish as these recent Spike s***posts. You just keep refusing to listen. If you don’t want to be thought of as a hypocrite, then you need to back up your stance with more than just personal opinions.

1. There’s a reason I haven’t attempted a single conversation in 4chan since before I was even 18, which is well over 10 years go. AKA: I’m not an idiot.
    
2. I bothered writing all that because, above all other reasons, I thought you willing to listen. You’ve now proven that wrong.
    
3. You’ve watched your words, you avoided insults, you’ve remained civil. All that is true, but if you think it’s respectful to ultimately just disregard what everything that the other person said, and then just insist they’re hypocritical like it’s just a fact, well, if that’s your idea of respect… I’ll leave it there, because I can’t give you an answer that’s both honest and respectful at the same time.
    
   What you did there is just throw the word as an insult without being willing to back it up, and if I were to guess, I’d say you’ve found yourself unable to at this point. I don’t care anymore, though. Believe I’m a hypocrite all you want. I’m not bothering to address you anymore.

@Alexlayer

As I illustrated above, that tends to happen more often than you’re willing to admit. Again, though, if the writers had, let’s say, “eased” Starlight into us by having her shine along the main cast first, and then maybe give her her own adventure, it might have worked better, but they went about it in the worst possible way instead.

And as I’ve said before, that happens less than you think it does.

I will admit, though, that having a “Shadow Play” like story before a TWABA story might make more logical sense for Starlight’s character.

It’s not that on itself (though I’m not sure what “key part of her character growth” you’re referring to here), but rather, it’s moments like Discord implying she’s practically ready to be an Alicorn now, Twilight apparently having way too many Friendship Lessons that Starlight outright mastered even though we as the audience have only really seen her stumble with those over and over, and that they’re presented her as something like “Friendship Graduated” after only one season (when the arguable equivalent for this for Twilight (aka, when she became an Alicorn) took about three seasons), much of it filled with stumbles on Starlight’s part, and that the conclusion wasn’t even an adventure that highlighted friendship, only Starlight’s bravery and resourcefulness.

Don’t tell me you actually thought Discord was being serious. He was just messing with others, as he always does. I think saving all of Equestria would have covered a lot of the friendship lessons Twilight had planned. Starlight graduating does not imply she’s a master at friendship, let alone worth of alicorn status. She came up with her ideas in TWABA because she learned of their strengths by communicating and working with them.

Yes, that much is all technically right, but like I said before, give me a Premiere or Finale where her role is completely interchangeable with that of the ReMain 5 (aka, not a Key role), and then I’ll believe they’re done trying to shove her down our throats.

If there was a role that both she and one of the mane six could play and she was picked, wouldn’t that just mean the staff are playing favorites with her?

Shouldn’t she have a role that highlights the strength of her own character?

Maybe, but truth be told, I don’t buy it that they were going with this because it was the most realistic/believable response, but because they wanted to shrill Starlight yet again, otherwise they wouldn’t have ended the episode with Twilight walking up to Starlight to validate her on her role like they did.

Maybe you would if you didn’t automatically assume any appearance of Starlight means she’s going to be shilled.

And your opinion is yours, and it’s not anymore factual than mine.

There’s a clear progression with her magic use though. It goes from using it for personal benefit, to using to spare the feelings of a friend, to using it selflessly to solve a worsening split between two friends, and to advising against it.

I mean, you’re totally right there, but just because there are other “Starlight Defenders” that are far more aggressive and rabid than you, that doesn’t mean that what you’re doing is any less of “Starlight White-Knighting”. Besides, while you’re definitely more eloquent than others, you’re also the most persistent one in this endeavor, so I’d argue you’re actually White-Knighting her the most, just not as aggressively as others do.

White-knighting implies I’m rushing to defend her without even thinking about if she needs to be defended. If that were the case, I would be responding to every piece of anti-Starlight sentiment I come across. That’s clearly not the case.

1. Could have fooled me.  
2. You’re still doing it more than anyone else I know.
    

Mh, well, I guess that’s a fair point. Thing is, though, where have you seen shitposting for Starlight of the sort that Spike has been getting lately, which is basically just saying “I don’t care what good episode he just had, he still sucks because I say so”? There have been posts about Glimmy that are exaggerated (and only to some extent), like the ones I illustrated before, but like I pointed out right there, they all stem from real criticism on the writing, which has shrilled Starlight in ways I simply can’t agree with.

That honestly describes most Starlight s***posts. For instance there was this post which tried to insinuate that Starlight’s role in “Shadow Play” was the exact same as her role in TWABA:

This image is blocked by your current filter - click here to display it anyway

your current filter.

There was also this one which bashed Starlight’s role in Uncommon Bond before the episode even came out:

This image is blocked by your current filter - click here to display it anyway

your current filter.

You call it hypocrisy, I call it just treating each character by what they’ve each earned. You may disagree, but like I said before, your view isn’t anymore factual than mine. It’s true that shitpostings tend to be exaggerated, but I honestly couldn’t equate the recent Spike shitposting with Starlight’s.

Of course you couldn’t. Because your bias against her somehow let’s you excuse the stupidity and immaturity of Starlight s***posts.

That has nothing to do with what we were just talking! I think this that you’re doing is what they call “Moving the Goalpost” thing.

The point I was trying to make is that her suffering anxiety issues does not redeem her. It doesn’t even count as punishment as far as I’m concerned because it’s completely self-inflicted. She can have her anxiety issues all she wants and all the justifications for it, but this does not neglect the nepotism she gets from the writing, which is what we were talking about. On the contrary, even.

Of course the anxiety issues themselves do not redeem her. Finding the strength to overcome them is what redeems her.

Again, what nepotism? Only a fraction of the episodes have her as the focus, and she’s not being constantly played up in the rest. In fact, she practically didn’t even exist in season 6 episodes that weren’t focused on her.

“She’s not just a new main character, she’s now the most special character. She’s the one who will save the day in place of the previously established main characters. She’s the only one the writers care about, to the point they won’t hesitate to make others look bad, unreasonable or incompetent if it means they can make her look better. She’s also the only one whose narrative and development the writing cares about. She’ll be the voice of reasons where everyone else is oblivious. She’ll be a key part to the solution in every special episode there is, Premiere or Finale! Isn’t she just AWESOME?”

Like I said, this is the writing blatantly trying to get you to feel sorry for her.

Because being able to sympathize and relate with a character is such a terrible thing.

Still happened and it’s another stain in “Starlight’s record”.

Sure, it’s certainly a low point for Starlight, but this one special hardly defines her entire character. Even you’ve admitted this was a more extreme example.

I wouldn’t mind her being the hero so much if it wasn’t because near every time this happens, it’s at the expense of others. Specially this, you know, this show is called “FRIENDSHIP is Magic”, and has continuously presented that factor – friendship – as the key to victory for the protagonist. Not with Starlight, though. Even with her little gang in “To Where and Back Again”, Trixie’s the only one that actually feels like her friend, whereas the others are just acquaintances at most.

As we’ve seen in the show, friendship comes in many forms. For instance, the “friendship” between Shining Armor and Cadence that proved key to victory in “A Canterlot Wedding” is certainly not the same kind of friendship between Twilight and her friends. As for TWABA, The “friendship” aspect comes from the four of them being able to look past their differences and work together to achieve a common goal. None of them would have made it very far if they were just working on their own.

I get that the writing can present legitimate reasons for writing the rest of the protagonist off the action and leave things up to Starlight, but like I said before, I don’t care for these justifications because whether they’re viable or not isn’t the problem. The problem is that they decided to make Starlight look good at the expense of other characters, and they do this way too much, whether it’s subtly or centerstage.

I won’t deny the staff have tried to make Starlight more favorable in the eyes of the viewers. But as I’ve said before, that’s only happened at the expense of other characters a few times at most.

If something like this had taken place instead of “To Where and Back Again”, the reception wouldn’t have been so bad, but instead, this episode came way too late, when the damage was already done and many of us didn’t want to see Starlight shine alongside the Main Cast anymore because we were just sick of her already and didn’t want to see her shine at all.

For diehard haters like you, sure. But the vast majority of viewers already took no issue with Starlight by the time Shadow Play rolled around.

It’s because of your own bias that things are major issues for you to begin with.

Oh, so now my views are bias, but yours are facts?

I admit I have my own biases, but everything I’ve been bringing up is taken directly from what is presented in the show. At very least, your interpretation of events is not the only one.

And Starlight has in multiple times done whatever she could to avoid her friendship lessons, and has simultaneously managed to both set Twilight’s house on fire and flood it at the same time, that’s without even mentioning brainwashing her friends, yet she’s always getting away with not even a slap on the wrist.

All those things you mentioned happened on one incident (ELTSD) which she did express genuine remorse over.

• She was also trying to avoid her Friendship Lessons in “The Crystalling” (trying to get Spike distracted so he wouldn’t push her towards it) and in “No Second Prances”, she ditches her Friendship Lesson when it’s getting though for a Spa Session, and lo and behold, she lands exactly where she needed when she ain’t even trying. Not to mention in that same episode she also willingly and consciously ditched her appointment with Twilight in favor of Trixie.
   
  But lord forbids she suffers any consequences for that, right? And don’t pretend she did. All the pain she suffered there was because of Trixie revealing her intentions. Twilight let her go for her lack of compromise with nothing of consequence.
   

For all her mistakes, Starlight has still made far more of an effort to be friends with Twilight than Discord or Trixie ever have.

@Alexlayer

However you want, but don’t go putting words into my mouth. I never claimed there was a justification for the shitposting, just a reasoning at best and that shitposting, by its very nature, doesn’t really need justifications to exist.

What reasoning is there that makes Starlight sposts more acceptable than Spike sposts, when both are equally pointless and immature?

Uhm, then why exactly? What, is it your royal duty to correct me or what? Seriously, sarcasm aside, I’m really curious about what compels you to do this at this point.

A large part of why I keep running into you is because you yourself arguably are one of the more vocal Starlight critics on this site (at least as far as commenting goes).

I respond because you keep parading around your bias like it’s a fact.

I speak because I feel there is something worth saying. Having the last word doesn’t matter to me.

The Crystalling: It was Cadence who intructed Starlight to seek Sunburst’s help. And she did it under the expectation he would just assist Twilight. She had no knowledge or belief that he actually had the entire solution. Also, the remane 5 weren’t just “dicking around”. They were trying to get the crowd to safety, but the ponies in the crowd were too stubborn to listen.

To Where and Back Again: This was the one time in the show where Starlight was actively thrust into the spotlight at the cost of the other protagonists. Even then, there was still good reason for the capture of the mane 6.

Mirror Magic: Admittedly an egregious example, but it was part of the EQG-verse and so far the events of that special do not appear to have any impact whatsoever on the show proper.

Shadow Play: Twilight was clearly under the effects of hero worship (as were the other 5). She’s been fawning over him since season 2. Of course Twilight is going to head over heels in the presence of one of Equestria’s most powerful sorcerers and one of her personal idols.

Starlight’s ability to read Starswirl’s notes might have been helpful in that particular moment, but it’s not exactly a boon for her character in general. Given what is said in the dialogue, her own handwriting is very sloppy would likely be illegible to most ponies.

School Daze: Starlight was able to motivate Twilight using her own special technique. I doubt any of the remane 5 (maybe Applejack) would be as blunt and forward as she was.

And of course only Starlight could relate her own personal experiences to Twilight’s predicament.

Also, as I mentioned before, while Starlight did kickstart her, it was Twilight would kept the momentum going.

As I illustrated above, that tends to happen more often than you’re willing to admit. Again, though, if the writers had, let’s say, “eased” Starlight into us by having her shine along the main cast first, and then maybe give her her own adventure, it might have worked better, but they went about it in the worst possible way instead.

It’s not that on itself (though I’m not sure what “key part of her character growth” you’re referring to here), but rather, it’s moments like Discord implying she’s practically ready to be an Alicorn now, Twilight apparently having way too many Friendship Lessons that Starlight outright mastered even though we as the audience have only really seen her stumble with those over and over, and that they’re presented her as something like “Friendship Graduated” after only one season (when the arguable equivalent for this for Twilight (aka, when she became an Alicorn) took about three seasons), much of it filled with stumbles on Starlight’s part, and that the conclusion wasn’t even an adventure that highlighted friendship, only Starlight’s bravery and resourcefulness.

Yes, that much is all technically right, but like I said before, give me a Premiere or Finale where her role is completely interchangeable with that of the ReMain 5 (aka, not a Key role), and then I’ll believe they’re done trying to shove her down our throats.

Maybe, but truth be told, I don’t buy it that they were going with this because it was the most realistic/believable response, but because they wanted to shrill Starlight yet again, otherwise they wouldn’t have ended the episode with Twilight walking up to Starlight to validate her on her role like they did.

And your opinion is yours, and it’s not anymore factual than mine.

I mean, you’re totally right there, but just because there are other “Starlight Defenders” that are far more aggressive and rabid than you, that doesn’t mean that what you’re doing is any less of “Starlight White-Knighting”. Besides, while you’re definitely more eloquent than others, you’re also the most persistent one in this endeavor, so I’d argue you’re actually White-Knighting her the most, just not as aggressively as others do.

Uhm, thanks? But at the same times, those posts do also come from other human beings, they aren’t being generated by some shitposting AI or something like that. ^^U

Mh, well, I guess that’s a fair point. Thing is, though, where have you seen shitposting for Starlight of the sort that Spike has been getting lately, which is basically just saying “I don’t care what good episode he just had, he still sucks because I say so”? There have been posts about Glimmy that are exaggerated (and only to some extent), like the ones I illustrated before, but like I pointed out right there, they all stem from real criticism on the writing, which has shrilled Starlight in ways I simply can’t agree with.

 
That honestly describes most Starlight s***posts. For instance there was this post which tried to insinuate that Starlight’s role in “Shadow Play” was the exact same as her role in TWABA:  

This image is blocked by your current filter - click here to display it anyway

your current filter.

 
There was also this one which bashed Starlight’s role in Uncommon Bond before the episode even came out:  

This image is blocked by your current filter - click here to display it anyway

your current filter.

 

You call it hypocrisy, I call it just treating each character by what they’ve each earned. You may disagree, but like I said before, your view isn’t anymore factual than mine. It’s true that shitpostings tend to be exaggerated, but I honestly couldn’t equate the recent Spike shitposting with Starlight’s.

However you want, but don’t go putting words into my mouth. I never claimed there was a justification for the shitposting, just a reasoning at best and that shitposting, by its very nature, doesn’t really need justifications to exist.

Uhm, then why exactly? What, is it your royal duty to correct me or what? Seriously, sarcasm aside, I’m really curious about what compels you to do this at this point.

You can respond all you want, but at this point it just feels like you’re just speaking for the sake of speaking (or to have the last word), at the risk of sounding like a broken record.

– The Crystalling: The ReMane 5 just dick around accomplishing nothing while Starlight finds the solution via Sunburst.
– To Where and Back Again: Everyone gets kidnapped off-camera so Starlight and her group can save the day.
– Mirror Magic: Do I even need to go over this again?
– Shadow Play: So like, why would nobody but Starlight – not even Twilight, who you previously championed as the forgiving type – attempt to reason Stygian’s cause and see that maybe the issue isn’t so black and white? Also, that whole thing with only Starlight being able to read Star Swirl’s writing… man, did I face-palm there.
– School Daze: The ReMane 5 and Spike all together try to get Twilight out of her depression and fail, only for Starlight to accomplish that very same thing singlehandedly right after.

I’m aware not all these cases are as offending as “To Where and Back Again” and “Mirror Magic”, but the issue presented is here is far more recurrent than you might be willing to admit due to your own bias, even if it’s not always as center stage as in those two episodes.

Oh, so now my views are bias, but yours are facts?

And Starlight has in multiple times done whatever she could to avoid her friendship lessons, and has simultaneously managed to both set Twilight’s house on fire and flood it at the same time, that’s without even mentioning brainwashing her friends, yet she’s always getting away with not even a slap on the wrist.

That has nothing to do with what we were just talking! I think this that you’re doing is what they call “Moving the Goalpost” thing.

The point I was trying to make is that her suffering anxiety issues does not redeem her. It doesn’t even count as punishment as far as I’m concerned because it’s completely self-inflicted. She can have her anxiety issues all she wants and all the justifications for it, but this does not neglect the nepotism she gets from the writing, which is what we were talking about. On the contrary, even.

Like I said, this is the writing blatantly trying to get you to feel sorry for her.

Still happened and it’s another stain in “Starlight’s record”.

I wouldn’t mind her being the hero so much if it wasn’t because near every time this happens, it’s at the expense of others. Specially this, you know, this show is called “FRIENDSHIP is Magic”, and has continuously presented that factor – friendship – as the key to victory for the protagonist. Not with Starlight, though. Even with her little gang in “To Where and Back Again”, Trixie’s the only one that actually feels like her friend, whereas the others are just acquaintances at most.

I get that the writing can present legitimate reasons for writing the rest of the protagonist off the action and leave things up to Starlight, but like I said before, I don’t care for these justifications because whether they’re viable or not isn’t the problem. The problem is that they decided to make Starlight look good at the expense of other characters, and they do this way too much, whether it’s subtly or centerstage.

While I do have some issues with Shadow Play, I’ll admit that at least it does way better than the others by having Starlight play a unique and key role but not quite overshadow the whole rest of the cast. The ReMane 5 are basically just reestablished as their best and their roles are downright interchangeable, but they aren’t made useless, and Twilight also gets her own arc and narrative by having her clash against her idol.

If something like this had taken place instead of “To Where and Back Again”, the reception wouldn’t have been so bad, but instead, this episode came way too late, when the damage was already done and many of us didn’t want to see Starlight shine alongside the Main Cast anymore because we were just sick of her already and didn’t want to see her shine at all.

Yet they’re always key roles.

So? As long as she isn’t coming off as contrived or making anyone else look bad, I don’t see what’s the problem.

Maybe, but the whole episode revolved around talking about Starlight and shrilling her to the audience. I don’t need to explain how that’s “key role” material, right?

How is addressing a key part of her character growth shilling her?

It wasn’t minor, it was “short”. Learn the difference. Twilight did not regain her will to fight for what she wanted until Starlight set her on the right path, thus the happy ending completely hinges on Starlight’s role, making it yet again key to the premiere.

I do know the difference. It is her most minor role in a two-parter to date. Yes, Starlight gave back Twilight her will to fight, but it was Twilight herself who kept it going.

That still doesn’t change the fact that having her go to other characters, even if it required more courage, would have had the same result.

Sure, but going to the guidance counselor is the most realistic (and believable) response. I can’t think of a kid who wouldn’t act the way Cozy did in that situation.

Yeah, but as far as I’m concerned, I never felt like they were really properly addressed to show an organic development. More like she was just “pro-solving shit with magic” in one episode and then the opposite in the next for the sake of making her look like the rational one in contrast of everyone else.

The development is more subtle, but it’s definitely there.

Again, this was never done right in my eyes, and here they had the perfect opportunity to actually do it right and they threw it away.

That’s your opinion then.

Fair enough. Try as you might to “not tolerate it” if you must. Just know that “getting it to stop” is the least likely result.

Of course. I never had the expectation of actually stopping those kinds of s***posts. That’s never going to happen.

We’ll have to disagree on your stance there, because while I know there are “other cases”, you’re easily the one I’ve seen coming to argue with me the most about Starlight, and that speaks volumes in and on itself. Besides…

I know we often butt heads over Starlight, but I’ve also seen you come across defenders far more aggressive and hostile than I.

If you find me worth the time to argue against, but not that even a bit, then it doesn’t really feel like you’re living up to what you claim.

That’s because you’re a real, breathing human. Even if I disagree with you on most things, I would never consider you worthless like those posts.

I don’t condemn them because I don’t mind them and most of the time, I can see where they’re coming from, so I relate to the sentiment, and that empathy just wins against the basically non-existent need I feel for defending Starlight.

Then the issue is that you can relate to them at all. Regardless of what you feel about Starlight, those gross exaggerations of her character are no more valid than all the hate Spike has been getting.

Interesting thoughts, but there are still too many what-ifs here. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Can’t really say I care anyway.

So be it. Just don’t be surprised if you get called out for hypocrisy again.

@Alexlayer

Yes, you did:

No, I did not.

Jumping to that conclusion there was it.

How else was I supposed to interpret that response?

And yet, you still try. You keep trying to defend/explain/justify her actions before me. I honestly oughta wonder why you do it then…

I don’t actively seek to do so. If you haven’t noticed, I respond to comments you make; I don’t call you out just because I decide I want to.

Congratulations for that, then, I guess! Here, have a cookie!

The sarcasm is not lost on me. Am I not allowed to respond to you?

Enough episodes have.

Despite what your bias tells you, there have been only a few instances at most where Starlight has been promoted at the expense of other characters.

• The Crystalling: The ReMane 5 just dick around accomplishing nothing while Starlight finds the solution via Sunburst.  
• To Where and Back Again: Everyone gets kidnapped off-camera so Starlight and her group can save the day.  
• Mirror Magic: Do I even need to go over this again?  
• Shadow Play: So like, why would nobody but Starlight – not even Twilight, who you previously championed as the forgiving type – attempt to reason Stygian’s cause and see that maybe the issue isn’t so black and white? Also, that whole thing with only Starlight being able to read Star Swirl’s writing… man, did I face-palm there.  
• School Daze: The ReMane 5 and Spike all together try to get Twilight out of her depression and fail, only for Starlight to accomplish that very same thing singlehandedly right after.
   
  I’m aware not all these cases are as offending as “To Where and Back Again” and “Mirror Magic”, but the issue presented is here is far more recurrent than you might be willing to admit due to your own bias, even if it’s not always as center stage as in those two episodes.
   
  And speaking of bias…
   

I can’t believe we’re doing this.

Not my fault if your bias blinds you from facts.

Twilight has good reason to be wary of the later two. Discord continues to be a troll to everyone not Fluttershy, and Trixie is still very much a braggart. Starlight for the most part treats Twilight with more respect than either of them.

Her sudden anxiety issues post the 180 in personality has nothing to do with her getting redeemed. Suddenly overcoming that would not be grounds for earning redemption. That whole thing they gave her was just a desperate attempt to get the audience to feel as sorry for her as possible.

Do you honestly expect her to not have anxiety issues after her entire worldview has been torn down and she’s forced to start from square one?

Are you seriously forgetting “Mirror Magic” now?

I’m talking about the show proper. “Mirror Magic” might be canon, but it’s still technically part of the EQG franchise.

I don’t care what justifications there are. Even if they dedicated an entire episode to showing precisely how they were captured to perfectly ease any wonders about that, that’s still just the lesser problem. The main one is precisely that they went with this writing decision: To make the protagonists useless so that she could shine.

That’s not good writing. That’s shrilling your favorite new OC.

Now you’re just being closed minded. Why can’t Starlight be the hero for one time if there are perfectly legitimate reasons for the other protagonists to not be around?

Fair enough. Try as you might to “not tolerate it” if you must. Just know that “getting it to stop” is the least likely result.

We’ll have to disagree on your stance there, because while I know there are “other cases”, you’re easily the one I’ve seen coming to argue with me the most about Starlight, and that speaks volumes in and on itself. Besides…

If you find me worth the time to argue against, but not that even a bit, then it doesn’t really feel like you’re living up to what you claim.

I don’t condemn them because I don’t mind them and most of the time, I can see where they’re coming from, so I relate to the sentiment, and that empathy just wins against the basically non-existent need I feel for defending Starlight.

Here’s the thing, though, and I know this is just theorizing, but hear me out.

None of the leaked synopses make a reference to Chrysalis again, so what’s with all the stuff that happened in “The Mean 6”? It’s clearly building up to something, but I don’t buy it that they might be leaving it for next season. Plus, whatever it is, it feels like it would be Season Finale material.

And the Finale’s summary is vague as fuck (almost like they anticipated these getting leaked and having made them as vague as possible in order to keep some sort of surprises in store for all of us), and all we know is that it apparently involves Cozy Glow in an antagonistic role (which is weird as fuck in and on itself), so it wouldn’t be that out there that maybe it involves Chrysalis in some shape or form.

And if it involves Chrysalis, then that means Starlight’s gonna have a “key role” one way or another. Not to mention, because of the Cozy Glow situation, it makes me wonder if giving Starlight that part in “Mark for Effort” was actually meant to establish a connection between Starlight and Cozy ahead of time because it’s meant to play a part in whatever happens in the finale.

It’s just a theory, but one that I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it turns right.

But if it is, then that’s just gonna further perpetuate the very “fun” trend of having Starlight play key roles in every Premiere/Finale since her introduction.

Can’t really say I care anyway.

Yes, you did:

Jumping to that conclusion there was it.

And yet, you still try. You keep trying to defend/explain/justify her actions before me. I honestly oughta wonder why you do it then…

Congratulations for that, then, I guess! Here, have a cookie!

Enough episodes have.

I can’t believe we’re doing this.

Yet Sunset, Discord and even Trixie were treated with animosity or, at best, reluctant trust from Twilight. And that’s without mentioning the enemies that were outright condemned like Sombra, Tirek, and even Discord originally. People seem to forget this, but “forgive and befriend everyone” did not use to be this show’s policy. It’s so now, and I believe that the good reception that Sunset’s redemption arc had in Rainbow Rocks might be what streamlined this path (it came around between Season 4 and 5, after all, and from there onwards, it’s become practically the norm), but bottom line, Starlight is the only one that Twilight forgave and treated so nicely like this, and even gave said person (pony) a place to live and her own personal pupil.

Did she even give Trixie a new wagon after hers got destroyed? Don’t bother answering to me, just do so for yourself.

Her sudden anxiety issues post the 180 in personality has nothing to do with her getting redeemed. Suddenly overcoming that would not be grounds for earning redemption. That whole thing they gave her was just a desperate attempt to get the audience to feel as sorry for her as possible.

Are you seriously forgetting “Mirror Magic” now?

I don’t care what justifications there are. Even if they dedicated an entire episode to showing precisely how they were captured to perfectly ease any wonders about that, that’s still just the lesser problem. The main one is precisely that they went with this writing decision: To make the protagonists useless so that she could shine.

That’s not good writing. That’s shrilling your favorite new OC.

Yet they’re always key roles.

Maybe, but the whole episode revolved around talking about Starlight and shrilling her to the audience. I don’t need to explain how that’s “key role” material, right?

It wasn’t minor, it was “short”. Learn the difference. Twilight did not regain her will to fight for what she wanted until Starlight set her on the right path, thus the happy ending completely hinges on Starlight’s role, making it yet again key to the premiere.

That still doesn’t change the fact that having her go to other characters, even if it required more courage, would have had the same result.

Yeah, but as far as I’m concerned, I never felt like they were really properly addressed to show an organic development. More like she was just “pro-solving shit with magic” in one episode and then the opposite in the next for the sake of making her look like the rational one in contrast of everyone else.

Again, this was never done right in my eyes, and here they had the perfect opportunity to actually do it right and they threw it away.

Even if the hate lacks any and all coherent reasoning, that doesn’t mean we have to tolerate it.

I understand that there will always be sposts no matter what. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept them without question. We can point out how immature and wrong they are, as you have with these recent Spike sposts. Also, there are certainly characters in the show I can’t stand, yet you don’t see me ranting about them all the time.

I am not whiteknighting Starlight, nor am I one of her most hardcore defenders. If you want to see what that looks like, go check out MegaAnimationFan. Or any of the BP’s that post pro-Starlight s***posts. I see some of the same flaws that you do with her character, and I would happily list them out to anyone who asks. Unlike you, I just don’t force myself to always view her in a negative light.

While I applaud the sentiment, I do feel inclined to point out that I can’t recall a single instance of seeing you show up at one of those pro-Starlight shitposts to call out OP on it.

Because to me, those aren’t even worth the time to look at. I choose to just ignore them, as I also now do with most anti-Starlight s***posts.

The problem isn’t me here; the problem is that you refuse to condemn them like you have with s***posts of other characters. It’s makes no sense to me why one should be denounced while the other condoned when both equally trashy.

Alas, taking into account some of her latest appearances, I’m starting to suspect that she’ll also play a key role in this season finale, so if you were hoping for the drama to die out, I’d advice you to get ready for disappointment.

The leaked synopses don’t make any mention of Starlight in the finale. If she does still make an appearance, the most she could have is a supporting role.

Either way, though, even if you’re right and I’ve got my own bias, so what? Does that make my view any less valid? Your own perspective isn’t lacking in bias either.

The point is that for many she as already reached that milepost. So you personally not believing she has (which you are entitled to) doesn’t hold much water as an argument against not condemning Starlight s***posts and Starlight hate.

I made no mistake here.

which led me to believe you might have some sort of justification for it.

I know I will never change your mind;

I just think there’s a fair counterargument to be made against your claims, even if you yourself will never buy into it.

 
Congratulations for that, then, I guess! Here, have a cookie!  

 

“Mirror Magic” proves them right. That fiasco of an episode all but states that this is the mindset that someone in Hasbro with a say on how the show is run actually operates and/or thinks this way!

That one special–which I will readily admit was one of Starlight’s poorer showings–does not define her entire character. Even you can’t claim that all her episodes have played out that way.

I’m not seeing anything that’s outside of the norm for this show.

As I said above, forgiveness is a common trait of Twilight’s.

Even so, Starlight’s path to redemption was hardly a walk through the park.

Among other things, she had to fight through crippling confidence issues and the constant fear of sliding back.

There has only been one time where protagonists were sidelined so she could play the main hero (“To Where and Back Again”),

and even then there was a reason for their capture (we’re talking about creatures that can shapeshift into anyone and anything).

Her roles have been less prominent with each premiere and finale;

but she was only a supporting character (albeit an important one) in the season 7 finale.

And she only had an active role in half of the season 7 premiere (although the first part was about her future, she had no involvement wasn’t the one learning the lesson).

If she appears in the episode and has no particular influence on the plot, it’s to show she’s a natural addition to the world. Would you rather they go back to the season 6 style where she only exists when the plot needs her to?

When there’s at least one Season Premiere or Finale past her introduction where she doesn’t play a key role more important or unique than that of the ReMane 5, then I’ll start to believe that.

While she did play a crucial role in “Shadow Play”, she was not anymore important than the mane 6. Her instincts alone obviously could not have completely resolved entire the conflict.

She had a minor role at best in “School Daze”. All she did was give Twilight some words of motivation.

I just established before that Starlight had no business being in “Mark for Effort” to begin with. Cozy Glow could have confessed her fucks up to Twilight, any of the Mane Six, the Student Six, or just the CMC themselves, and that could have just as easily led to the same narrative conclusion.

Cozy didn’t know what to do in that moment, and she was probably too afraid to approach Twilight (whom she had just witnessed harshly rebuking the CMCs) and crusaders, who very well might react angrily at her. The guidance counselor’s office–a warm environment she would be able to calmly discuss what happened–was the best place she could go.

Heck, when you think about it, because of Starlight’s occasional inability to see past her own wants and shortsightedness (as illustrated by “Every Little Thing She Does”) and her “Crutch” about relying on magic to twist things in a way that makes her more comfortable (illustrated in too many episodes to bother counting), you’d… fuck…

Starlight has largely moved past both of those flaws (she was even anti-magic in “Shadow Play”).

But instead they just went with this cheap mini-arc in an episode that was totally unnecessary and served just to validate her without doing any real progress on her character. Her only “struggle” is that she’s not getting any students needing counseling (which is hard to believe considering the school has so many students and so many are from outside Equestria and are bound to need some counseling), then she gets the one case which she can fix as easily and serving as a messenger, and voila, she gets validated! Here, Starlight, why don’t you have a cookie while you’re at it!?

This is because she’s already made significant progress; as I said above, she gotten much better at keeping those flaws in check. “Marks for Effort” was proof of that progress.