Crystal Empire Discussion

Well we obviously had some large world building along with some implications of larger plot arcs. So what are your thoughts, questions, and favorite moments of the Season 3 Opener.

I think Sombra was kinda underwhelming. He was pretty lame as a villain and did almost nothing. I liked the episode but, the discord episodes were better. My opinion though is the episode is not about Sombra though, and more about twilight and her lesson and that is why he is so pathetic compared to the other villains.

EDIT: I think the episodes would have been better if aired separately because the cliffhanger effect would have complemented Sombra more.

Sombra was definitely a pretty weak character, but it doesn't bother me too much given that the episodes weren't actually focusing on him. (No painfully generic evil monologues at least!). The villain could have been a faceless malevolent cloud of darkness and served the same purpose.

Liked the rest of the episode a lot though. The humor, characters, and animation were spot on for me.


Not sure if spoiler but random aside about commercial break preview we saw:

Spoiler:

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Sombra-
I agree that he doesnt really need to be a strong character. (although it might be nicer if he was), i think what they had worked

Shining Armor and Cadence
For getting some flak last season i really loved their role in the episode and think it was a huge improvement from a Canterlot Wedding

Humor-
I felt that it was much improved since last season, don't know why but it seemed to work (my prime example is AJ and RD trolling rarity) I guess its good because its fueled by character as opposed to just random gags.

Animation-
improved magic, cool camera movement (right after the intro to part1), dat shading

plot-my head cannon is exploding so i'll tackle this once at a time.
Twilight's training- I think it is heavily implied that training phase 2 will be with luna which is F*cking epic
I also like how Luna always gives almost a skeptical/judging aura towards Twilight in this episode, adds a new dimension both to Luna's character, and to twilight's destiny

Dark Magic-
made Celestia even more badass and was cool how twilight picked it up
**--I think it would be really cool if using dark magic started hurting twilight or infecting her or something (but i dont think they will explore that)

twilight's destiny
- the episode along with the commercials implied that twilight has a higher purpose...which has been part of my head cannon for a while and totally glad they are taking the show in that direction
-will she be next ruler?
-will she be an alicorn(dont know how i feel about that though)

Quote :

Humor-
I felt that it was much improved since last season, don't know why but it seemed to work (my prime example is AJ and RD trolling rarity) I guess its good because its fueled by character as opposed to just random gags.

I was surprised to still be hearing complaints about the mane 6 going out of character / being too exaggerated. Even as someone who found some season 2 characterization kind of off, I thought the interactions in the premiere were hilarious. I'll have to watch it again later and see if it's a symptom of my marathon induced sleep deprivation or just the Internet being the Internet.

Sombra seems alot better if you look at him like this.
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I dont look at sombra as depression, I just see him as a power hungry unicorn that rose to tyranical power. Some people think he was a weak villian and I can see why, but really i dont think the show needs too many big bads. Discord is kind of the highest echalon of bad guy...he is the core opposite of celestia/ wielders of elements. Chrysalis was just an enemy race and sombra was kind of a generic bad guy. It would be confusing for discordd to have a deep routed mythology and rivalry with Celestia and Luna and for them to have one with sombra. I feel like they would always counter themselves with..."no no no ...<b>THIS</b> guy is the big bad" (next 2-parter) no <b>THIS</b> chick is the big bad. I think that sombra was a moderate power villain which is why celestia sent Twilight to do it as a test. I don't think its right to compare him to discord or nightmare moon, because he simply isnt on their level

**humor/character
not that the humor or character was bad in season 2, I just saw a trend moving towards making them too extream and the gags were moving towards (hey pinkie pie did something crazy) and away from character based gags...not that PP didnt do random crazy awesome stuff (fluttershy suit had me rolling on floor) but they balanced it out better.

AGGG i've seen so much art im gonna die...i need to see corrupted Twilight in an episode at some point, the drawfriends on EQD are just littered with evil badass twilight

Game Related
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So I came up with a wacky theory while riding my bike last night.

Twilight's test wasn't getting the heart to Cadance, it was finding the heart, which required using Dark Magic. Celestia showed her how to do it as a clue, knowing it would be needed to find the Heart. However, the true specialist in dark magic is Princess Luna, and that is what is involved in the next level of Twilight's studies. That is what was in that book Luna had near the end, and Luna is going to be taking over as Twilight's instructor.

I could see that being the case...i feel it is more likely that neither of them like to use dark magic, but if it had to be one, it would be luna