Talk:Equestria Girls animated media/@comment-10390252-20170528194518

As Mega Sean said below, the trio of 2017 specials, taken together, pretty much follows the formula used in Equestria Girls, Rainbow Rocks and Legend of Everfree. That said, it isn't bad. I particularly liked Sunset's fears about what the future might have to hold. I also think that the one part of this where Starlight was used in a good way was her being an "outsider's perspective"; someone who could look on Sunset's fears and address whether they really are reasonable and how she should respond to them and have extra credit because Sunset has no reason to believe that they are 'sparingh her' out of friendship.

The villain of the piece was all the more pitiable for the shallowness of her motivations (I'm talking EqG1-level Sunset here in her vanity and the degree to which she was easily twisted by it). That said, the mirror is a real classice magical trap. We've seen it before (specifically in the My Little Pony Annual 2013. Indeed, it is so similar to the effect that set Sunset Shimmer off on her rampage that, ultimtely, brought her to the Human World that I must believe that it is the same spell and, possibly, that there may be the same ultimate malignity behind it.

The particular solution, as Mega Sean noted, was part of the stereotype, with Starlight Glimmer this time acting as the deus ex magica. It wasn't the only possible resolution but, given the limits of having to tell the story in just 63 minutes, we can give the writers a degree of forgiveness for not elaborating on it more. For me, at least, Starlight did what she could and showed that she is, indeed, learning how to be a good friend and how to extend empathy to the unhappy.

All in all, not a superb complete story. The orginality of Dance Magic was not followed up. Whilst I enjoyed the whodunnit aspect of Movie Magic, Mirror Magic was bit of an anticlimax. I guess I was hoping that Starlight would solve a bit of the riddle of Equestrian magic on Earth and be able to rescue the girls who would then go on to free Juniper with their Elements. Overall, if DHX want EqG to have more longevity, they need to break the formula next year.

BenRG's Rating for the episode: 7/10 - Pretty average but with lots of great little moments like Juniper's mental disintegration and Pinkie openly knocking on the Fourth Wall.

BenRG's Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - About level with Friendship Games.