Hi Everypony, new guy here! I'd like to get a nice in-depth discussion going, so here's a topic I've been putting a lot of thought into since Season 4 ended. I believe that after the completion of Season 4, it's safe to say that the concept of Princess Twilight has failed completely. Now I'm not anti-AliTwi, I'm not looking for reasons to think that her transformation and coronation were awful and the writers should be ashamed. I mean, the way it was handled in the Season 3 finale was awful, a completely terrible way to force such a change on poor Twilight. But even not liking how the change was handled, I had no ill regards for the change itself. I was actually quite optimistic that now that it's over with, they'd at least be able to do good with it. I didn't want it undone, I looked forward to seeing what they would do with this new dynamic, and let's face it, that's exactly what Season 4 is meant to do. As much as they try to pretend that what happened in Magical Mystery Cure totally made sense and that Twilight earned her place as an alicorn princess, it's obvious to everyone that Season 4 (and Equestria Girls, which I will just implicitly include in "Season 4") existed to prove it. The season is essentially a big sign saying "THIS is why Twilight is a princess!" And yet, it failed. It's a bit funny, in my old pony hangout everyone was predictably up in arms about the transformation. The biggest fear was that this would change everything, but to me, my biggest fear, the worst thing the writers could possibly do, is not change anything at all. And of course, that's what we get. Nothing Twilight does in season 4 needed her to be an alicorn princess. None of the things she does "as a princess" are anything she couldn't, or wouldn't, have done normally as Celestia's star pupil. Even though they tried in the premiere and finale to pretend that it meant something, the truth we're faced with is that Twilight's ascension, for the characters, the stories, and Equestria at large, meant absolutely nothing. Okay so there are many reasons behind all this, but in this post I'm going to go over what I feel is the biggest one, which is also the simplest solution. The one thing Princess Twilight really needed. (Whew, FINALLY getting to the meat of the post...) From my continued analysis, there is one thing that makes Twilight's "struggle" as a princess utterly and fundamentally unbelievable. The one thing I believe makes it impossible to buy into the idea that Twilight is a princess, is that no one is telling her she's not. Twilight's change is sudden, it's something she never asked for, and something even she doesn't believe she deserves. This is the correct, reasonable stance to take. So why is everyone else so on board with it? And I'm not suggesting everyone should be against her here. What I'm questioning is that no one, not even the villains, take even one moment to call her right to rule into question. If Twilight's struggle as a princess is a "story", then it needs an external antagonist, someone she can prove wrong and demonstrate, to them, to her, and to us, that there is no doubt. But this never happens, and through the whole season she's the ONLY one who even thinks about it. This mysterious acceptance, not just by her friends, but even by the villains, makes it impossible for us as viewers to take her struggle seriously. The strangest part about that however, is how many opportunities they actually had to call it into question. Sunset Shimmer, a former student of Celestia's who was seeking power to rule Equestria and likely still revered her old mentor? How do you think she would feel learning that this... kid who took her place actually became a princess? I think she'd have a few choice insults to throw at a wannabe princess like Twilight. Or Tirek, who covets and fears the princesses' magic. The immortal princesses locked him up once, and now he's beaten them! But there's another princess now, a whelp? Carrying the power of those infinitely superior? Surely he'd have something to say about her not knowing the meaning of true power as the REAL princesses do. Doesn't even have to be villains! Calling Twilight's place as a princess into doubt doesn't have to be out of jealousy or spite, it can just as easily be out of concern for her. How about Princess Luna? Celestia may have orchestrated Twilight's ascension, but would Luna really be on board with it? Remember, Luna knows first-hand what it means to fail as a princess. Would she really trust Twilight to be a better princess than she was 1000 years ago? I think she'd certainly at least ask Twilight if she truly believes she's ready for this burden. Even closer, how about somepony like Applejack? Of course she wouldn't be trying to hurt Twilight's feelings, but they're close friends and AJ knows Twilight isn't good with stressful situations, nor is she ruler material. In fact, Applejack would be the perfect candidate to ask the obvious questions. "What are you a princess of, exactly?" "Just how did this happen again?" "Why you and nopony else?" Finally, there's an even closer character to Twlight that could act as the "antagonist" to her princessdom. Spike, her number one assistant and oldest friend. He knows Twilight better than anyone else. He knows she's spent her life working hard and doing her best, and that none of that was to become some princess. Twilight had a life, she had goals, she almost certainly had a plan (it is Twilight after all). But one day, poof! All that's brushed away when Celestia says "You're a princess now!" She never asked Twilight, she never suggested this would happen. Spike would know that deep down, Twilight doesn't WANT to be thrust into a life of royalty. He would tell her that this isn't her, that she can do something about this. The sheer number of possibilities there were to put the slightest bit of doubt on the issue makes it quite baffling how not a single character even suggests there's something to doubt. And remember, all of this would be for the express purpose of being proven wrong by Twilight in the end, by her showing that she truly is a real princess and has earned it. It's not just calling her ascension into question, it's giving it an answer. Any one of these could give her the challenge she needs to overcome, but it has to come from outside. Twilight can't be driven to prove herself wrong, she has to believe in herself as a princess. And yet, while she questions herself, literally everyone around her is constantly shutting her down, telling her not to question it or worry about it. It more or less invalidates her entire arc as a princess, essentially denying that there IS an arc going on at all. WHEW, so that's my opinion on how Season 4 failed to make Princess Twilight a believable concept. Agree or disagree, tell me what you think below! I want to get to know you guys and how you think, and I'll definitely keep discussing with you! Thanks for reading!
I am going to post more later, but I'm away from my computer until tomorrow. It's hard to type long posts on my phone.
I like this angle, and I think a lot of people neglect that the true test of a character's qualities in the narrative is what it adds to the art of the story. I think that it it were more conclusive that there is no obvious additional conflict gained by making Twilight a Princess, there would be no reason for her to be one and we could basically sit down as agree on that point. But that conclusion might be a larger point of contention than you showed here. Consider another avenue: perhaps the show has gone a different route with showing the difficulties of being a princess (and thus, advancing the believability of Twilight's princesshood). If it is true that a challenge to her status as a princess is the only way to validate her as a character (and there is a decent argument for this, as you have shown) then the very next question becomes, "In what ways may Twilight's princesshood be challenged directly?" I would like to submit that Twilight's princesshood may be challenged in a number of ways, not only in the one that you described, and that it is not the case that she must be challenged in every way at once. This possibility is the key. If Twilight were to be combating multiple internal and external threats, it would be reasonable to say that, based on what we know about her friends and acquaintances, they would not question her status as a Princess very closely so long as they were engaged in in solving those other disputes. If this seems like rather shallow character development, that's because it is, however that is the type of story that is being told, which appears to advance its characters either in almost invisible baby steps or in massive lunges. Whether or not this is a preferable style is debatable, but if we are to hold this show to the same standard of quality that it has set as a precedent, the nature of its style cannot be disputed. I look forward to other future advances in Twilight's character. I would note that one of the hallmark traits of the series is that, in spite of its theme, many of the characters are written to be largely static over the course of their presences in the series. This can be seen when, as many fans have noted, a character will learn something in one episode and seemingly forget that lesson or new personality trait in the next episode. I do not see this as a criticism of the show, unless that criticism is specifically of whether a certain instance of static characterization doe snot fit a particular character. Most people on the internet will tell you that static characters are bad characters, and that all characters ought to learn and develop over the course of the story. I would dispute this claim, as static characters are an important part of any story. However, even characters who, on the surface, do not change drastically, may change their place in the story, thus embodying both static and dynamic elements. I think this is the strongest, and if we are being quite honest, the only, direction Twilight can move in. Holding fast to the static and dynamic elements of her character is what maintains her believability in the story.
My question is: Why does it matter? If Twilight's coronation has had no effect on the show, why worry about it? The show goes on with the same characters we know and love, and Hasbro sells more toys. Everyone wins, right?
Feh, those are usually the same people that think Dragonshy was about Fluttershy overcoming her fear of dragons. Well, I'm not specifically saying "this is something you should dislike", I'm just pointing out something that I think people should think about and be aware of when thinking about the show's methods. I think it's valuable to have these things in your awareness when, for instance, we see Twilight worrying about being a princess and others actively shutting down her worries, when no one in the show has actually gotten any explanation for her becoming one. Speaking of which, try watching Magical Mystery Cure and looking at it from the perspective of the ponies that aren't Twilight. They're totally miserable, everything's going wrong all day, Twilight moves them around like pawns without a word of explanation, they never come to understand what happened, they never find out Twilight caused it, they're never told about the book, they see Twilight explode for no reason in front of them, and hours later the next thing they see is Twilight as a princess, and that's it. Could you imagine living a day like that?
I appreciate the different perspective on Twilight; I don't think I can recall anyone on this site bringing up that specific point before.
