Fans, bronies, and pegasisters are getting jazzed up as the clock continuously counts down towards the debut of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 3. However, I personally am not looking forward to seeing it, even if it's for the sake of doing these critiques that pick each episode apart. From doing them, I have learned how going in-depth can really help see the bigger picture of things and why I believe the series can't keep going on its current course.
For starters, King Sombra is described as a monstrous creature who so far doesn't even speak. Wired has declared that the series is taking a dark twist with the debut episodes because of the new villain, meaning that it's quite clear that the staff has all but forgotten the intended original demographic of the show. Quite frankly, it seems that director Jayson Thiessen doesn't seem to have any concerns that little kids who watch the show (he does know they exist, right?) could get freaked out, regardless of the characters. If I may bring up an example of something that had to be done for another show watched by kids, let's discuss Lord Zedd for a minute. Zedd is the first American-made villain for the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers series and when he was first introduced, he was considered so dark and mean that parents of viewers filed complaints demanding that the character be toned down in some way, which of course happened. Zedd gained a more lively personality and a sense of humor to boot, but for all I care it could have been because he teamed up with Rita Repulsa, the first villain of the show, who became his wife.
Now I'm not insinuating anything, but something similar could happen with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. As cool of a villain as King Sombra is, if he ends up scaring the little kids watching the show and if there's even a death in the series, however unlikely, it could affect the ratings of the show and everything. If bronies are to be the new targeted demographic, then the series might as well be rated PG like Star Wars: The Clone Wars. That CGI series is one thing because they recommend parental guidance. And King Sombra isn't the only reason why Season 3 could suck. It seems that throughout the series, several antagonists make it seem like the land of Equestria has characters who are only black and white. In other words, they are not likely to change their ways. Examples include Gilda, Trixie, and Diamond Tiara, and being black and white basically goes against the whole "Friendship is Magic" thing. Wasn't it supposed to be the whole point of series? To show how "magical" friendship can be?
So you see, as much as the older audiences of fans are hyped up, in actuality I really don't think Season 3 is gonna go over well. At least not for me and for anyone who's in the same boat as me. Well, I suppose I should just wish the staff good luck... getting out of a ditch they're getting themselves into!
