I'll (very quickly) chat about the episode first, then touch on some of the many happenings over the past two or so weeks of the fandom threatening to implode / explode / spontaneously combust and any other disaster that might occur.

I found this episode to be a bit lacking then usual. The animation was top-notch as always, but the one thing that let it down was the plot. I've always accepted that this show has fairly simple plotlines, and that's okay, considering the target demographic, but it doesn't work when the plot makes no sense and/or has gaping holes in it. I'll let this summary of the episode fill you in with the rest of my thoughts, as the guy behind these videos has a near identical take on this week's episode to mine. [link] (Check his other videos too. They're worth a watch if you like to analyse the show.)


Now onto drama.
First thing I'll talk about is the elephant in room, or more correctly the soon to be Alicorn in the room. I'll admit that I'm slightly apprehensive over the intended changes, though I shall reserve judgment until I've seen the episode. Remember back to the end of season two, a lot of people didn't like the idea of the wedding episodes. What did we get? An epic showdown with one of the more interesting villain designs we've seen for some time. So I won't damn this upcoming episode until I've seen it. Though I fear that people will still dislike the change even if it's handled perfectly. I do understand people's fears though. However, the writer behind it, M.A. Larson, has always written great episodes.

Second thing to talk about, is the Brony documentary. Mainly about the piracy complaints that are being made. I donated to the Kickstarter campaign, so I got the download that way. However many people did pirate it, as many people do of damn near everything these days. I feel that I'm in the ever-dwindling minority of people who still pay for stuff . But seriously, I feel like both sides of this debate have acted in the wrong. The assumption that this documentary wouldn't be pirated, or at least not in the extent that it was. And on the other side, the portion of the pirates who felt like because the film has been made, they are entitled to watch it for free. (I fear that I've worded that horribly, but at the moment I can't think of a better way to put it. So I do apologise. I'll try it clarify it in the comments if you want me too.) The Kickstarter funding was to get the film made; they still need the sales to pay their bills.

Finally, Hasbro and the taking down of "Fighting is Magic" and other fan made content. It is a bitter pill to swallow, but we have to remind ourselves that we are playing with someone else's toys, and they can take them away if they think we're not playing 'properly'. Though the eternal debate is what is 'properly'? How far can one infringe copyright before the cease and desist letters start coming? Such is the nature of copyright and trademark legislation. Plenty of people are shouting down Hasbro for their decisions, though I reckon it's just their legal department just going through and doing their job. I doubt the "higher-ups" sit back and target specific fan-works. There is another reason why they do this however. Hasbro is a public company, meaning they have shareholders that they have to look out for first and foremost. Perhaps the "higher-ups" didn't mind "Fighting is Magic" or whatever fan work, but they knew that their the shareholders would freak if they saw it, thinking that the intellectual property was under threat. I think this all stems from them covering themselves just in case something big happens, and they want to play it safe. Again, no one likes to acknowledge it, but we are guests at Hasbro's pony house. They can and do (sadly) have the right to ask us to leave. It's a balancing act, keep the shareholders happy and keep the fans happy. It just is more weighted to the former.


How about some good news to finish? Season four is confirmed, (albeit not officially) and at the full twenty-six episodes at that. Daniel Ingram is still doing the songs, and Amy Keating Rogers is making a return to writing for the show after missing this season.
There are actually still a lot of other things I want to talk about, mainly the announcements about the upcoming TV Movie, spinoff IP, toys and more, but this is long enough as it is.
A couple of Reddit links if you want more info.
My Little Pony: Drama is Magic: A Recap. [link]
New IP and TV movie announced for MLP. [link]
The assistant editor talks about losing his job on the Brony documentary. [link]

As always, these journals are written at around 1:00 in the morning, and are provided as is, with no guarantee to be free of spelling errors, grammatical mistakes and other flaws.

Cheers.