dynamicv
My review of The Good, the Bad and the Ponies: it sucked, but perhaps not for the reasons most people are braying about.
Why did this story arc suck? The two halves do not mesh well together, they seem to each be meant for a different kind of story.
Issue #26 by itself did not have any major story flaws. It was a comedic tale, and the villains were defeated using an appropriately silly method. However, everything falls apart because of how we are introduced to the Cattle Rustlers in Issue #25. The tone of that issue is far removed from the Looney Tunes-esque second half.
If the Cattle Rustlers were nothing more than a bunch of bullies instead of outright criminals, then the silliness of part two would not feel so out of place. Twilight Sparkle’s refusal to stop them for fear of breaking the law wouldn’t feel so bizarre if she didn’t have to witness King Longhorn commit arson, assault, destruction of property, and robbery right in front of her. Especially since in part two, his destruction of a barn is considered enough of a crime to warrant action from Twilight (but burning down a similar barn in part one isn’t?).
And for that matter, both issues stress how seriously the Cattle Rustlers take property laws. Why should these hardened criminals care if they can get away with crimes far worse than trespassing? If they instead took care to commit no crimes until the very end of the story it would make Twilight’s reluctance to act a lot more believable.
What do you all think? Would downgrading the Cattle Rustlers to a bunch of mean jerks being a major nuisance (while not strictly breaking any laws) instead of a gang of monstrous criminals make this story less horrible?
Why did this story arc suck? The two halves do not mesh well together, they seem to each be meant for a different kind of story.
Issue #26 by itself did not have any major story flaws. It was a comedic tale, and the villains were defeated using an appropriately silly method. However, everything falls apart because of how we are introduced to the Cattle Rustlers in Issue #25. The tone of that issue is far removed from the Looney Tunes-esque second half.
If the Cattle Rustlers were nothing more than a bunch of bullies instead of outright criminals, then the silliness of part two would not feel so out of place. Twilight Sparkle’s refusal to stop them for fear of breaking the law wouldn’t feel so bizarre if she didn’t have to witness King Longhorn commit arson, assault, destruction of property, and robbery right in front of her. Especially since in part two, his destruction of a barn is considered enough of a crime to warrant action from Twilight (but burning down a similar barn in part one isn’t?).
And for that matter, both issues stress how seriously the Cattle Rustlers take property laws. Why should these hardened criminals care if they can get away with crimes far worse than trespassing? If they instead took care to commit no crimes until the very end of the story it would make Twilight’s reluctance to act a lot more believable.
What do you all think? Would downgrading the Cattle Rustlers to a bunch of mean jerks being a major nuisance (while not strictly breaking any laws) instead of a gang of monstrous criminals make this story less horrible?
