***** Also check out the oldies but goodies: Harrison Bergeron, Anthem, Animal farm, 1984. You can find at least some of them on TH-cam; the first two are quite short, give them a listen :) The most recent phenomenon this episode mocks and warns against is the far-left SJW identity politics. More broadly, it's a warning against enforced equality and the totalitarian nature of communism; I especially liked the scene where normal people have to be imprisoned and brainwashed to go along with the cult's crazy scheme. I guess it also mocks and warns against cults by pointing out the cult-like nature of Cutie Marxism ;-)
Andrew Meyer I know, but then again, i should of said the third creepiest, Remember the party of one episode and the lesson zero episode, when both pinkie pie and twilight went insane.
And one of the episodes with real inspiration .... like .... It's kind of more like a verison of 1984 from Goerge Orwell, but there are countries out there with same principles and so on ....
Huzzah! I enjoyed the reaction. Keep up the super-fun work! As for a few of my more specific thoughts: I've mentioned it elsewhere, but I really like how the intro stays pretty consistent from season to season. For me, it feels like it ties the who show together. As I see it: the intro starts with season one Twilight arriving in Ponyville, shifts to show us the important friends she made in the other Mane Five, then shows us her transformation to an Alicorn and her taking her new place in Equestria (previously at Golden Oak Library, now in the Crystal Tree Castle) ... then a photograph, a snapshot that captures the sense of community and harmony in Ponyville, with the Mane Six at the center of it all, which is sent to Celestia and Luna who, from afar, watch over with joy and delight the happiness and good works done by the ponies. To me, the opening feels like a montage that sums up all of seasons one through four -- and it gives me the same feeling of overarching continuity that makes every episode feel almost like it has a "Previously, on My Little Pony ..." tag with it. If they ever do shake up the intro in a big way, I'll be fine with that! And I know there are folks who would rather they do so. But I do quite like how they have handled it thus far. 8:26 -- Worse than "someone normal" -- that's someone very, very _broken_ on the inside. The Kafka-esque-ly messed up leader of this Orwellian Dystopia. Before this premier, I never thought I'd be using the adjectives Orwellian or Kafka-esque to describe an episode of My Little Pony. 11:50 -- "A Giant Monster would have been way easier to deal with" -- too true! And that's one of the things that makes these episodes so horrifyingly creepy! 39:33 -- "I wonder how she got her cutie mark?" I don't know. At a guess, Starlight's 'special talent' isn't just magic, but apparently whatever sort of magic powers the Equalization spell -- making it sort of her signature spell, and not something that can simply be taught to other unicorns. Well, unless she's dealing with a unicorn with a powerful talent for 'magic use' capable of replicating anothers' personal magic. That might explain why Starlight had the power to blind-side Twilight with the Equalization spell. And, if so, it could go a long way towards explaining Starlight's Cult-Leader style of madness -- if she really believes that the only way to be happy (that the only _real_ friendship) is to be equal ... then it seems likely that she can never truly share in the 'gift' she seeks to bring to all of Equestria. I don't think she can target herself with that spell and have it work, even if she wants it to. If so, then to her own view, she can make everyone happy ... except herself. That's dark. Even for an Orwellian Dystopia! When did My Little Pony start in with the psychological horror? Oh, right -- in season five. Also I love how the background ponies aren't just fodder to be rescued -- that in this episode it's not just "the Mane Six come in, do everything, and save the day." The villagers are full participants in their own rescue, and -- having been rescued -- they then go on to return the favor by striving to help save their new friends. 43:55 -- Pinkie Pie Fourth Wall Senses, Activate! Also -- kudos to your recording set up! It's great to have that back-up camera for the occasional "technical Derpyculties!"
Loquacious of Herd I actually don't think by "different" David really meant "completely different". I mean, you'd have to ask him, but my guess is he was more referring to the subtle changes that have been typically done between seasons in the past. (With characters being added, backgrounds changing, etc.) Personally I wouldn't mind them changing things up a bit, but I don't think a complete makeover is really necessary. This isn't an Anime. ;-) 8:26 Yeah, well she was _kinda_ normal. Personally I was on the look out for the resistance movement. It became clear pretty quickly though that Starlight didn't fit that mold, hence the "uh oh" vibe we started picking up shortly after she was introduced. 11:50 Yup, this episode tackled some pretty serious issues. (Gotta love MLP for that.) I guess the really scary part is that Starlight isn't a villain confined solely to the world of MLP. Starlight's philosophy is something which is alive and well in our world today (in varying degrees). 39:33 Yeah, I'm pretty convinced that the cutie mark removal spell is something unique to Starlight. Or at least it's something she herself invented. The fact that Twilight had never heard of it makes that scenario seem pretty likely. No idea on what Starlight's motivations might be, but I'm not so sure I share your psychological horror theory. In my experience, people in real life with philosophies similar to Starlight's have a tendency to be very hypocritical. My guess would be that Starlight hadn't really thought that herself giving up her cutie mark would be necessary for her idea of a utopian society to work. Honestly though there isn't a lot of evidence available to help us nail down Starlight's motivations, so anything we could come up with is purely speculation at this point. For all we know she could have been planning to use all those cutie marks she was amassing for other nefarious purposes completely unrelated to the philosophy she claimed to hold. (Tirek-style world domination by theft of cutie marks and magical talents.) And yes, interesting new background ponies! Heck, we even got a new party pony out of all this. 43:55 Yup. Gotta love Pinkie. And yeah, camera 2 has really come in handy several times now. Initially the idea was to make it possible for viewers to see when we point at the screen, since that was something we did a lot before we started recording these commentaries, but it hasn't actually seen much use for that purpose. Still good to have a back up though, and having a visual reference to what's currently playing on the computer does make it a lot easier to sync the audio and video across all our cameras, mics, and the video overlay when putting everything together.
I'm going to be honest, even though this comment is two years old, and I do love your reaction, but communism isn't exactly like the village Starlight built, at least, I lived in China, and I'm really offended that something like Starlight's village is being called something the same as somewhere I live, I honestly don't think the life there is too different from here in the U.S. since I do the same things that I always do within the two countries, I honestly think that the supposed "equality" is only a facade, I'm pretty sure we all know that the governors and middle class people are not equal, the promised equality is not always true. In fact, it's written that some government officials are pardoned for minor crimes(even though it's unlikely anything of the sort would ever be committed by a government official), but can you tell me that's equal? If you can convince me because I'm ignorant and I missed something important, please do try to tell me otherwise.(Sorry for possibly being mean, I'm just sort of offended)
Actually, never mind, I just remembered that China is no longer Communist, it's Socialist, it's different as Socialist has similarities to Capitalists, sorry for being mean.
her name is starlight glimmer my idea was that she found spthese ponies they were lost in lofe i guess and she said theres a baetetr way ,her cutue mark spell then she got her cutie mark in being that glimmer of hope fir them that their life woild be better
Double Diamond reminds me of Prince Rilian from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair...except Double Diamond isn't enchanted lol. But the fact that he was the first one to accept the concept of equality and help create the town of sameness as Glimmer's right-hoof stallion is like how the Green Witch found Rilian and enchanted him, using him as her right-hand man.
From what I understand starlight's magic can stop others magic at the time and she couldn't do it after because it took away years of special talent she had learned.
Andrew Meyer After you said that I though oh god Equestria is doomed. Also finally someone else noticed Twilight changing and her hair changing would look awesome.
The episode insert on your vids is WAY too small. Check out kickassreaction or Flaming Shark's MLP reaction vids. It should be at least that big, and none of their MLP vids have been taken down. Would have liked to watch you guys, but yeah, the episode screen is just unwatchably small 😞
Holy shit, a reaction with 2 camera angles and 2 more people! Just feels like I'm watching "Dysfunctional Equestria" all over again. Wow, I'm surprised you caught that detail during "Rainbow Rocks"! I thought I was the only one! Seriously, other bronies need to know more about this! Saves them from complaining about that little detail. Funny how you guys say "angle" yet the cartoon (however, well animated in Flash) is not filmed with a camera. Ladies and Gentlemen, "The Town With No Name" th-cam.com/video/WeV18bZGMqc/w-d-xo.htmlm20s I love the reaction the guy on the right side! He has most of the laughs! It's not "communism", it's "Egalitarianism". Seems like Tommy Oliver is right. xD If Twilight was to teleport the rest of the Mane 6 away, it would require a LOT of magic power, wouldn't it? Think about it, the last time I remember her teleporting other people with her was in "The Ticket Master", way back in Season 1 and from there, we've only seen her teleporting herself. For 6 ponies, a lot of magical power would be too much to handle and thus, she would've got caught anyway. Hey, you guys have a Yeti microphone too!! I guess I'm not the only one. This premiere is such an interesting premiere, really setting it apart from all of the other premiere with god-like villains and Twilight or the mane 6 saving everything. Keep doing more of those reactions! I would LOVE to see more of them! :)
Zangor warrior Thank you so much for the feedback! Glad you're sticking around for more. Also, about the teleporting, she probably could have done it. I mean even before she was an alicorn, we saw her teleport herself, and three other individuals in "Dragon Quest" all the way from a to ponyville. But I guess it's not that big of a deal. Thanks again!-David
Discorded Brony Yeah, not very easy to come up with a decent strategy on the spot there, especially if you're completely unprepared and don't know the capabilities of your enemy. It's pretty clear that Starlight caught everyone by surprise. Later in the episode we see Twilight react much more quickly and effectively in countering Starlight's magic, proving that she probably could have stopped Starlight earlier if she hadn't been caught off-guard.
Every time they said 'communism', my pedantic instinct kicked and I blurted 'That's not what communism is!' aloud. Every damn time. It's like a reflex at this point.
In theory, you're right. In practice, this is pretty much what communism turns into. Conformity above all else. No dissension allowed. Brainwashing to ensure total obedience.
Just let me clear this up: 1. Communism provides equal RIGHTS, not equality in general. It still provides opinions and choices. It has nothing to do with Starlight's philosophy. 2. Equalizing everyone and not allowing them to have differing opinions and choices is what Starlight is doing.
Too bad none of the countries that've tried communism work that way. Unless you consider out of control poverty while the ruling faction confiscates anything of value 'equality.'
Maybe North Korea is like that(of course, I'm not sure, since the government's words I never trust completely), but understand, I've lived in China, and there is choice, and you say that the ruling faction has all things of value, people out of the ruling faction has wealth too, in fact, I honestly don't think life in the U.S. and in China is that different, maybe you think everyone is equal, but how do you know everything? Can you honestly say that the government of U.S. doesn't control the amount of truth we see? Please, you are just one of the people who has never seen what some things are like, and contain a brain filled with information the government tell you.
Technically "God" is swearing too, if you're Christian, because you're saying God's name in vain. Want to repeat what you said with that information in mind?
![[Blind Commentary] MLP S5E3: Castle Sweet Castle](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yd7RvtWssEM/mqdefault.jpg)
![[Blind Commentary] MLP S5E3: Castle Sweet Castle](/img/tr.png)
![[Blind Commentary] MLP S5E25&26: The Cutie Re-Mark](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FNQB7nh9l_s/mqdefault.jpg)
"Even tweets don't make sense anymore." Get it?
24:17 Glad I'm not the only one who noticed the episode was similar to The Giver.
***** Yeah, or Divergent. Really the whole episode just gives off a generic Dystopian vibe that reminds me of all sorts of different movies.
***** Yeah, it does have that same kind of feel to it.-David
***** Also check out the oldies but goodies: Harrison Bergeron, Anthem, Animal farm, 1984. You can find at least some of them on TH-cam; the first two are quite short, give them a listen :)
The most recent phenomenon this episode mocks and warns against is the far-left SJW identity politics. More broadly, it's a warning against enforced equality and the totalitarian nature of communism; I especially liked the scene where normal people have to be imprisoned and brainwashed to go along with the cult's crazy scheme. I guess it also mocks and warns against cults by pointing out the cult-like nature of Cutie Marxism ;-)
Jonas Kölker Haha, Cutie Marxism? That's awesome, I'm totally calling it that from now on.
I must admit to have copied that from someone else, but I can't remember who. But yes, that is *very* awesome 😃
out of all the episodes of mlp this is by far the creepiest
darkqueen gem Heh, probably. I mean, those smiles...
Andrew Meyer I know, but then again, i should of said the third creepiest, Remember the party of one episode and the lesson zero episode, when both pinkie pie and twilight went insane.
those were hilarious, not creepy
And one of the episodes with real inspiration .... like .... It's kind of more like a verison of 1984 from Goerge Orwell, but there are countries out there with same principles and so on ....
Huzzah! I enjoyed the reaction. Keep up the super-fun work! As for a few of my more specific thoughts:
I've mentioned it elsewhere, but I really like how the intro stays pretty consistent from season to season. For me, it feels like it ties the who show together. As I see it: the intro starts with season one Twilight arriving in Ponyville, shifts to show us the important friends she made in the other Mane Five, then shows us her transformation to an Alicorn and her taking her new place in Equestria (previously at Golden Oak Library, now in the Crystal Tree Castle) ... then a photograph, a snapshot that captures the sense of community and harmony in Ponyville, with the Mane Six at the center of it all, which is sent to Celestia and Luna who, from afar, watch over with joy and delight the happiness and good works done by the ponies. To me, the opening feels like a montage that sums up all of seasons one through four -- and it gives me the same feeling of overarching continuity that makes every episode feel almost like it has a "Previously, on My Little Pony ..." tag with it.
If they ever do shake up the intro in a big way, I'll be fine with that! And I know there are folks who would rather they do so. But I do quite like how they have handled it thus far.
8:26 -- Worse than "someone normal" -- that's someone very, very _broken_ on the inside. The Kafka-esque-ly messed up leader of this Orwellian Dystopia. Before this premier, I never thought I'd be using the adjectives Orwellian or Kafka-esque to describe an episode of My Little Pony.
11:50 -- "A Giant Monster would have been way easier to deal with" -- too true! And that's one of the things that makes these episodes so horrifyingly creepy!
39:33 -- "I wonder how she got her cutie mark?" I don't know. At a guess, Starlight's 'special talent' isn't just magic, but apparently whatever sort of magic powers the Equalization spell -- making it sort of her signature spell, and not something that can simply be taught to other unicorns. Well, unless she's dealing with a unicorn with a powerful talent for 'magic use' capable of replicating anothers' personal magic. That might explain why Starlight had the power to blind-side Twilight with the Equalization spell. And, if so, it could go a long way towards explaining Starlight's Cult-Leader style of madness -- if she really believes that the only way to be happy (that the only _real_ friendship) is to be equal ... then it seems likely that she can never truly share in the 'gift' she seeks to bring to all of Equestria. I don't think she can target herself with that spell and have it work, even if she wants it to. If so, then to her own view, she can make everyone happy ... except herself. That's dark. Even for an Orwellian Dystopia! When did My Little Pony start in with the psychological horror? Oh, right -- in season five.
Also I love how the background ponies aren't just fodder to be rescued -- that in this episode it's not just "the Mane Six come in, do everything, and save the day." The villagers are full participants in their own rescue, and -- having been rescued -- they then go on to return the favor by striving to help save their new friends.
43:55 -- Pinkie Pie Fourth Wall Senses, Activate!
Also -- kudos to your recording set up! It's great to have that back-up camera for the occasional "technical Derpyculties!"
Loquacious of Herd I actually don't think by "different" David really meant "completely different". I mean, you'd have to ask him, but my guess is he was more referring to the subtle changes that have been typically done between seasons in the past. (With characters being added, backgrounds changing, etc.)
Personally I wouldn't mind them changing things up a bit, but I don't think a complete makeover is really necessary. This isn't an Anime. ;-)
8:26 Yeah, well she was _kinda_ normal. Personally I was on the look out for the resistance movement. It became clear pretty quickly though that Starlight didn't fit that mold, hence the "uh oh" vibe we started picking up shortly after she was introduced.
11:50 Yup, this episode tackled some pretty serious issues. (Gotta love MLP for that.) I guess the really scary part is that Starlight isn't a villain confined solely to the world of MLP. Starlight's philosophy is something which is alive and well in our world today (in varying degrees).
39:33 Yeah, I'm pretty convinced that the cutie mark removal spell is something unique to Starlight. Or at least it's something she herself invented. The fact that Twilight had never heard of it makes that scenario seem pretty likely. No idea on what Starlight's motivations might be, but I'm not so sure I share your psychological horror theory. In my experience, people in real life with philosophies similar to Starlight's have a tendency to be very hypocritical. My guess would be that Starlight hadn't really thought that herself giving up her cutie mark would be necessary for her idea of a utopian society to work. Honestly though there isn't a lot of evidence available to help us nail down Starlight's motivations, so anything we could come up with is purely speculation at this point. For all we know she could have been planning to use all those cutie marks she was amassing for other nefarious purposes completely unrelated to the philosophy she claimed to hold. (Tirek-style world domination by theft of cutie marks and magical talents.)
And yes, interesting new background ponies! Heck, we even got a new party pony out of all this.
43:55 Yup. Gotta love Pinkie.
And yeah, camera 2 has really come in handy several times now. Initially the idea was to make it possible for viewers to see when we point at the screen, since that was something we did a lot before we started recording these commentaries, but it hasn't actually seen much use for that purpose. Still good to have a back up though, and having a visual reference to what's currently playing on the computer does make it a lot easier to sync the audio and video across all our cameras, mics, and the video overlay when putting everything together.
I'm going to be honest, even though this comment is two years old, and I do love your reaction, but communism isn't exactly like the village Starlight built, at least, I lived in China, and I'm really offended that something like Starlight's village is being called something the same as somewhere I live, I honestly don't think the life there is too different from here in the U.S. since I do the same things that I always do within the two countries, I honestly think that the supposed "equality" is only a facade, I'm pretty sure we all know that the governors and middle class people are not equal, the promised equality is not always true. In fact, it's written that some government officials are pardoned for minor crimes(even though it's unlikely anything of the sort would ever be committed by a government official), but can you tell me that's equal? If you can convince me because I'm ignorant and I missed something important, please do try to tell me otherwise.(Sorry for possibly being mean, I'm just sort of offended)
Actually, never mind, I just remembered that China is no longer Communist, it's Socialist, it's different as Socialist has similarities to Capitalists, sorry for being mean.
her name is starlight glimmer my idea was that she found spthese ponies they were lost in lofe i guess and she said theres a baetetr way ,her cutue mark spell then she got her cutie mark in being that glimmer of hope fir them that their life woild be better
Double Diamond reminds me of Prince Rilian from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair...except Double Diamond isn't enchanted lol. But the fact that he was the first one to accept the concept of equality and help create the town of sameness as Glimmer's right-hoof stallion is like how the Green Witch found Rilian and enchanted him, using him as her right-hand man.
Actually strictly speaking he _was_ enchanted. What else did Starlight do to him to make him her right-hoof stallion?
I don't believe someone else has read this wonderful book!!
When I look at sugarbelle now she looks so much better with Big Mac
Dang can't believe this was 5 years ago
9:44 A Unicorn turns into an Earth pony here. Animation error. I've never noticed that before
From what I understand starlight's magic can stop others magic at the time and she couldn't do it after because it took away years of special talent she had learned.
I just got a full length marvel movie as an ad? What?
All I can say about Party Favor is party pony...just...party pony.
Supermonaman SuperMonaman Yup, now there are three of them...
Andrew Meyer After you said that I though oh god Equestria is doomed. Also finally someone else noticed Twilight changing and her hair changing would look awesome.
You guys literally shared the exact same reactions to this episode that I had.
CrazyChippy Heh, great minds think alike I guess? ;-P
Andrew Meyer Couldn't agree more!
I think they dont notice the springtrap easter egg
It’s the old battle between feminism and egalitarianism.
PARTY FAVOR IS THE MALE VERSION OF PINKIE PIE
I SHIP IT.
+Jeffrey Stanley ME TOO
I thought Cheese Sandwich was?
You know you would think sense twilight the princesses she would be last but I guess not
i've been wondering if you 3 are family
+josh smith Yes, all three of us are siblings.
i kind of figured coz you all look similar that is sweet i don't think my brothers like mlp like i do
Andrew Meyer omg siblings that actually get alonb and like each other thats crazy to me at least
The episode insert on your vids is WAY too small. Check out kickassreaction or Flaming Shark's MLP reaction vids. It should be at least that big, and none of their MLP vids have been taken down. Would have liked to watch you guys, but yeah, the episode screen is just unwatchably small 😞
Holy shit, a reaction with 2 camera angles and 2 more people! Just feels like I'm watching "Dysfunctional Equestria" all over again.
Wow, I'm surprised you caught that detail during "Rainbow Rocks"! I thought I was the only one! Seriously, other bronies need to know more about this! Saves them from complaining about that little detail.
Funny how you guys say "angle" yet the cartoon (however, well animated in Flash) is not filmed with a camera.
Ladies and Gentlemen, "The Town With No Name" th-cam.com/video/WeV18bZGMqc/w-d-xo.htmlm20s
I love the reaction the guy on the right side! He has most of the laughs!
It's not "communism", it's "Egalitarianism". Seems like Tommy Oliver is right. xD
If Twilight was to teleport the rest of the Mane 6 away, it would require a LOT of magic power, wouldn't it? Think about it, the last time I remember her teleporting other people with her was in "The Ticket Master", way back in Season 1 and from there, we've only seen her teleporting herself. For 6 ponies, a lot of magical power would be too much to handle and thus, she would've got caught anyway.
Hey, you guys have a Yeti microphone too!! I guess I'm not the only one.
This premiere is such an interesting premiere, really setting it apart from all of the other premiere with god-like villains and Twilight or the mane 6 saving everything. Keep doing more of those reactions! I would LOVE to see more of them! :)
Zangor warrior Thank you so much for the feedback! Glad you're sticking around for more. Also, about the teleporting, she probably could have done it. I mean even before she was an alicorn, we saw her teleport herself, and three other individuals in "Dragon Quest" all the way from a to ponyville. But I guess it's not that big of a deal. Thanks again!-David
PonyWatch She had like 1 second to think. I dont think you can blame her for that
Discorded Brony Yeah, not very easy to come up with a decent strategy on the spot there, especially if you're completely unprepared and don't know the capabilities of your enemy. It's pretty clear that Starlight caught everyone by surprise.
Later in the episode we see Twilight react much more quickly and effectively in countering Starlight's magic, proving that she probably could have stopped Starlight earlier if she hadn't been caught off-guard.
I actually thought the same thing while watching this (Equality=Communism)
It's a cult!
Am I the only one that tends to call Double Diamond by Diamond Dust?
Every time they said 'communism', my pedantic instinct kicked and I blurted 'That's not what communism is!' aloud. Every damn time. It's like a reflex at this point.
In theory, you're right. In practice, this is pretty much what communism turns into. Conformity above all else. No dissension allowed. Brainwashing to ensure total obedience.
Yeah, it's obvious that she is running a cult of sorts.
Just let me clear this up: 1. Communism provides equal RIGHTS, not equality in general. It still provides opinions and choices. It has nothing to do with Starlight's philosophy.
2. Equalizing everyone and not allowing them to have differing opinions and choices is what Starlight is doing.
It's called having a cult. Or "colt" XD Srry not srry.
Too bad none of the countries that've tried communism work that way. Unless you consider out of control poverty while the ruling faction confiscates anything of value 'equality.'
Maybe North Korea is like that(of course, I'm not sure, since the government's words I never trust completely), but understand, I've lived in China, and there is choice, and you say that the ruling faction has all things of value, people out of the ruling faction has wealth too, in fact, I honestly don't think life in the U.S. and in China is that different, maybe you think everyone is equal, but how do you know everything? Can you honestly say that the government of U.S. doesn't control the amount of truth we see? Please, you are just one of the people who has never seen what some things are like, and contain a brain filled with information the government tell you.
Never mind, China is no longer Communism, so say what you want.
Maybe it’s a feminism vs egalitarianism themed episode. (Depicting egalitarians as communists)
Hi
Hi im a new subscriber
Gabriel DÍaz Hello. Welcome to our channel. Got lots of new content coming out in the coming months so stick around.
Andrew Meyer thanks dude
Hey stop fricken swearing god
Technically "God" is swearing too, if you're Christian, because you're saying God's name in vain. Want to repeat what you said with that information in mind?