For all two of you who actually read my reviews, I apologize for the lateness of this review. I was golfing early today and then immediately went to Epcot. I didn't get back until about 7:30 PM my time, so the first thing I did was watch the episode. So what do I think about it? Well, let's do something different for once. I'll talk about my preview thoughts on the episode.
When I first heard about the episode, for some reason I thought it would focus on the Cutie Mark Crusaders, probably because of the premise that was revealed at the time, which had to do with cutie marks. But then I saw something that made me startled for a few moments: a picture of Alicorn Twilight as the episode's main picture. At that point, on this wiki alone there were a good 400 comments on the topic. As the weeks went by I saw more and more information about the episode being revealed and the comments section piled up quickly. As the info continued to increase, people began to speculate about whether the situation could possibly be handled correctly.
And in my opinion, I believe it was. Well, enough stalling: now to get into the moment that you all (both of you out there) have surely been waiting for! Here is my honest opinion on the highly controversial episode: Magical Mystery Cure.
Spoilerific from this point on: turn back now unless you watched the episode already
Twilight Sparkle's role: Well, for the most part, the situation was handled well on her end. A slight, for the lack of a better term, "dun goof" moment by this episode's main character ended up changing the destinies of all of her best friends. She ends up realizing that she was the cause of this problem and decides to take matters into her own hands after pondering whether this mistake she has made is irreversible. She decides that she will try anything she can to reverse the spell and hopefully change everything back to normal. Obviously, everything does get fixed (why else does the title have the word "Cure" in it?) and everyone cheers for Twilight. This shows that Twilight truly cares whether her friends are happy with what they experience and tries to allow everyone to have as much joy in life as possible. This is a great lesson or friendship: to bring good moments to all that you meet. And Twilight demonstrated this really well. Also, she did not want to give up her life to become a princess willingly, but she took it rather maturely in the end. This episode shows Twilight as she was meant to be. (But her new wings are kinda stupid, they look awkward to me.)
Twilight Sparkle's perfomance: 9.5/10
The plot: Well, what you have here is either something you really like or extremely hate. To be honest, I liked the premise, although I didn't enjoy every single part of the episode. Most of it works really well for what it tries to do, but the whole princess thing still bugs me. The actual problem they face is pretty satirical (is that a word?) and it comes off as trying to be humorous in a way as well as tragic. I don't know how they do it, but I don't feel bad for experiencing both feelings at the same time. The episode is quite likeable, but I feel that I will never get over Twilight having wings. Actually, after I see some episodes from the upcoming season 4 (that hopefully follow the same characters and timeline), I will lighten up to Twilight Sparkle's alicorn form. Also, for the future, I hope that the whole Twilight Sparkle being a princess thing is more metaphorical than a physical thing. If not, hopefully it won't be too overplayed. Other than that, the cutie mark switching was well done. The funny thing is, they still retained some of their natural impulses; for example, Rarity seemed to still have an interest in patterns and arranged the clouds in a checkerboard fashion across the sky. That little attention to detail made it seem like they had a subconscious idea of what their natural talent is, but expressed it in a different way in their current field. Also, they gained a new bit of the personality they had been assigned to by Twilight's accidental spell. Am I the only one that thinks Pinkie Pie was speaking with Applejack's accent? And Rainbow Dash seemed to have gained a more modest side after the switch. She didn't act aggressive at all in this episode, which also makes it as if their memories have been switched around as well. This gives a sense of conflict to the episode, which creates a feeling in which Twilight Sparkle has to prove her love for her friends. All in all, the plot is really well developed, but there are still a few issues.
The plot: 8.5/10
The songs: To be honest, most of the songs are pretty forgettable. They're not bad songs in terms of quality, but they just don't stick out in my mind. The only song I remember is "A True, True Friend." Even then, it's no "Winter Wrap Up" or "Babs Seed." It ranks just below "Raise This Barn" with me. (Honestly, I'm just using this last section as an excuse to have 3 sections, but since there are several new songs in the episode, might as well give my opinion; they took up half of the episode's air time.
The songs: 6.5/10
So what's my final score, you may ask? Well:
Magical Mystery Cure Final Score: 8.5 / 10
If you don't agree with me, tell me your thoughts. I'd love to hear what you all think of the episode. Also, if you have any other episodes that you would like to see me review, please ask away. Otherwise, I'll just have to go in order, starting from the beginning. There's no new episodes coming out for a while, so I'll need something to keep me occupied until then. Don't be shy, speak your thoughts. I will try to respect all of your opinions as best I can. And any requests are greatly appreciated. I will give my honest opinion on any episode that you choose.
Anyway, hopefully Season 4 will bring great times and leave great memories. Here's to a bright new future for MLP:FiM! See you all again whenever season 4 begins! (Unless you want me to do an earlier episode, that is.)