One cannot not be excited in seeing "Magic Duel", with such an appetising title and interesting concept. Also to see Trixie back, was not crazy about Season 1's "Boast Busters" but her character development was one of the main things that made that episode watchable at least. Wasn't as excited seeing Snips and Snails back, am not a fan of those two. Thought to myself that it has got to be a step or two above the underwhelming previous episode "One Bad Apple".
Luckily, "Magic Duel" was a big improvement over that episode. It is not quite one of the best episodes of Season 3, but nonetheless this is how to make the most of having a long-absent returning character and making them a dominant character without losing what made them memorable before. If you didn't like Trixie in "Boast Busters" this won't be for you, if you did and considered her a bright spot (like me) this won't disappoint and for me her appearance was better here.
Will start with what wasn't done quite as well. Didn't find all of the dialogue great, actually found Zecora's rhyming dialogue rather groan-worthy. Snips and Snails are somewhat annoying and don't serve an awful lot of purpose here.
"Magic Duel" would have been even better if it tried to do a little bit less and slowed down a little, so that a couple of the more complex parts of the plot were elaborated upon more (not everything is as clear as it could have been).
However, the animation is colourful and meticulously detailed. Trixie Town looks great and is almost dystopian, the world building also wonderfully immersive. The music is an ideal fit mood-wise and adds to the action without ever being discordant with it. Zecora's dialogue aside, most of the writing is intriguing and entertaining, with some clever and affectionate references to films and even previous episodes too for continuity reasons. Have seen criticisms from some thinking that there was too much fan service here, that wasn't a problem to me. The moral is a relevant and important one sincerely handled.
The story really does make the most out of its magical atmosphere, the magic duels are very creative and stand out in an episode filled to the brim with hard to forget moments. The character writing is spot on, as is the character interactions. Moving forward in a way that not many of the previous episodes did as effectively. Twilight is a character of many shades (really liked what the episode did with her this season) and Zecora is the most interesting she's been in a long time (being more than a plot device this time), lacking dialogue aside she makes one of her best appearances characterisation-wise. The star here though is Trixie. It was so great to see her back and she proves herself to be much more than just a standard villain. The voice acting is without fault too, with Kathleen Barr giving it absolutely everything as Trixie.
Summarising, very nicely done episode and an improvement. 8/10
Luckily, "Magic Duel" was a big improvement over that episode. It is not quite one of the best episodes of Season 3, but nonetheless this is how to make the most of having a long-absent returning character and making them a dominant character without losing what made them memorable before. If you didn't like Trixie in "Boast Busters" this won't be for you, if you did and considered her a bright spot (like me) this won't disappoint and for me her appearance was better here.
Will start with what wasn't done quite as well. Didn't find all of the dialogue great, actually found Zecora's rhyming dialogue rather groan-worthy. Snips and Snails are somewhat annoying and don't serve an awful lot of purpose here.
"Magic Duel" would have been even better if it tried to do a little bit less and slowed down a little, so that a couple of the more complex parts of the plot were elaborated upon more (not everything is as clear as it could have been).
However, the animation is colourful and meticulously detailed. Trixie Town looks great and is almost dystopian, the world building also wonderfully immersive. The music is an ideal fit mood-wise and adds to the action without ever being discordant with it. Zecora's dialogue aside, most of the writing is intriguing and entertaining, with some clever and affectionate references to films and even previous episodes too for continuity reasons. Have seen criticisms from some thinking that there was too much fan service here, that wasn't a problem to me. The moral is a relevant and important one sincerely handled.
The story really does make the most out of its magical atmosphere, the magic duels are very creative and stand out in an episode filled to the brim with hard to forget moments. The character writing is spot on, as is the character interactions. Moving forward in a way that not many of the previous episodes did as effectively. Twilight is a character of many shades (really liked what the episode did with her this season) and Zecora is the most interesting she's been in a long time (being more than a plot device this time), lacking dialogue aside she makes one of her best appearances characterisation-wise. The star here though is Trixie. It was so great to see her back and she proves herself to be much more than just a standard villain. The voice acting is without fault too, with Kathleen Barr giving it absolutely everything as Trixie.
Summarising, very nicely done episode and an improvement. 8/10
