The first part of Season 4's premiere "Princess Twiight Sparkle" was a hugely impressive start to a mostly solid if not always consistent season (a general standard of pretty much all the seasons of 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'). Despite Zecora's unnecessary appearance and some forced humour from Pinkie Pie, it succeeded brilliantly everywhere else. Primarily the animation, the character development of Twilight, the emotional impact, the voice acting and Discord.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle: Part 2" is even better than the first part, though it is also not quite perfect. While everything that worked so brilliantly in the first part is present here, "Princess Twilight Sparkle: Part 2" is even more touching, the character interaction shines even more, the character development is deeper, the visuals are even bolder and the writing is even more mature. Not quite one of my favourite episodes of 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' but has more than enough of the show's many great things and executes them brilliantly.
Still did find the writing for Pinkie Pie forced and on the irritating side, there have been worse representations of Pinkie Pie certainly but also far better.
Also felt that the opening was a touch over the top to a silly degree and, on a more nit-picky note, that Rainbow Dash's quick conclusion jumping occasionally felt abrupt.
However, the animation is amazing. Always did like it throughout the show's run, but this aspect has advanced quite significantly over-time and the "Princess Twilight Sparkle" two parter is one of the finest examples of the early seasons. The colours are gorgeous on the eyes and have a lot of atmosphere, the backgrounds have such rich attention to detail and the character designs are a good deal more refined. Nightmare Moon's character design is genuinely creepy. The music is typically quirky and dynamic. The writing is for a vast majority of the time excellent, missing only with Pinkie Pie, with the sprinkles of humour elsewhere balancing well with the mostly mature tone. The moral is another great and relevant one, delivered with force yet sincerity.
Really loved the storytelling, which has even more intrigue and foreboding and just as many touching moments. Twilight is very well fleshed out here and feels genuine. As does the character interaction in general. The rest of the Mane 6 are true to character and all serve a purpose, my favourites here were Applejack because she is no-nonsense but tender and also Rarity for her confidence and how invaluable she proved in action and as a friend. The chemistry between the two could have been too much of an odd couple but gelled well. Discord steals every part he's in, he is hilarious and one of my favourite supporting characters on the show. Nightmare Moon is a great antagonist and her defeat is one of the most powerful moments of Season 4. The voice acting is dead on again, with powerhouse turns from an even more nuanced Tara Strong and Tabitha St Germain sounding as if she was enjoying herself immensely as Nightmare Moon.
In conclusion, very, very good and even better than Part 1. 8/10
"Princess Twilight Sparkle: Part 2" is even better than the first part, though it is also not quite perfect. While everything that worked so brilliantly in the first part is present here, "Princess Twilight Sparkle: Part 2" is even more touching, the character interaction shines even more, the character development is deeper, the visuals are even bolder and the writing is even more mature. Not quite one of my favourite episodes of 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' but has more than enough of the show's many great things and executes them brilliantly.
Still did find the writing for Pinkie Pie forced and on the irritating side, there have been worse representations of Pinkie Pie certainly but also far better.
Also felt that the opening was a touch over the top to a silly degree and, on a more nit-picky note, that Rainbow Dash's quick conclusion jumping occasionally felt abrupt.
However, the animation is amazing. Always did like it throughout the show's run, but this aspect has advanced quite significantly over-time and the "Princess Twilight Sparkle" two parter is one of the finest examples of the early seasons. The colours are gorgeous on the eyes and have a lot of atmosphere, the backgrounds have such rich attention to detail and the character designs are a good deal more refined. Nightmare Moon's character design is genuinely creepy. The music is typically quirky and dynamic. The writing is for a vast majority of the time excellent, missing only with Pinkie Pie, with the sprinkles of humour elsewhere balancing well with the mostly mature tone. The moral is another great and relevant one, delivered with force yet sincerity.
Really loved the storytelling, which has even more intrigue and foreboding and just as many touching moments. Twilight is very well fleshed out here and feels genuine. As does the character interaction in general. The rest of the Mane 6 are true to character and all serve a purpose, my favourites here were Applejack because she is no-nonsense but tender and also Rarity for her confidence and how invaluable she proved in action and as a friend. The chemistry between the two could have been too much of an odd couple but gelled well. Discord steals every part he's in, he is hilarious and one of my favourite supporting characters on the show. Nightmare Moon is a great antagonist and her defeat is one of the most powerful moments of Season 4. The voice acting is dead on again, with powerhouse turns from an even more nuanced Tara Strong and Tabitha St Germain sounding as if she was enjoying herself immensely as Nightmare Moon.
In conclusion, very, very good and even better than Part 1. 8/10
