SlateSlabrock wrote:On one hand, Trixie was able to come back as a legit supervillain and still be forgiven, even though she barely changed after her apology.
On the other hand, she was then shipped off to Dougworld to be a villain all over again, so I guess it evens out.
The only time EqG!Trixie ever did anything straight-up evil was during a time when the entire school had been brainwashed into being evil jerks. Everything outside of that still has her being a jerk, but on a much smaller scale.
I generally felt for Trixie more than Gilda, especially now that we know what happened to each of them afterwards. Trixie was a braggart and lied about her accomplishments to make herself look and feel better than everyone else, but she was also putting on a show, the Mane 6 were heckling her (including Dash, who is just as egotistical as Trixie is), and the episode ends with Trixie's wagon destroyed and her running off. Gilda was initially just visiting an old friend, but she then proceeded to steal, frighten the elderly, and essentially assault ponies that got in her way. We knew less about Trixie as a character, but there was enough ground to judge Gilda, and she just was not a good person.
Fast forward to their return episodes. Gilda apparently went back to Griffonstone and began selling griffon scones in order to get enough bits to move away. Trixie got to watch as her career was ruined because of her Ursa Major lie, to the point where she was forced to eke out an existence on a rock farm. She eventually gave in to revenge, and apologized afterwards. Both Magic Duel and Lost Treasure of Griffonstone had rushed endings and redemptions, but Trixie at least took the initiative and said she was sorry; Gilda had to be guilt-tripped into it by Pinkie
and had to wait until Dash's life was in mortal peril before she changed her ways.
What I'm more interested in is how they'll handle Gilda now. The episode ends with her behaving quite differently from the grouchy, confrontational griffon we know and, for lack of a better term, love. One of the most important things about redeeming a villain character is that you don't make them unrecognizable once they change alignments. Trixie is no longer bragging to elevate herself, but she's still egotistical and hammy to the extreme. Discord is no longer attempting to take over Equestria, but he's still a jerk and willing to throw a pony into another dimension if he thinks they're jeopardizing his only friendship. Sunset Shimmer did a personality change, but Rainbow Rocks sidestepped this by focusing on how everybody else wasn't willing to forgive her. Hopefully they'll find something they can fit Gilda into, even if it's only in expanded universe content, without drastically rewriting her.