Wayoshi wrote:Can you clarify what is in your 10%?

I've went over it exhaustively in the spoiler thread but :
1. I think the antimagic throne is stupid, and an example of bad writing - they wanted to use Discord, but can't have Discord save the day, so contrived a reason to nullify basically the most powerful character in the show. Like, that literally only exists to neuter him (And to a lesser degree Starlight).
2. The Alicorn Uselessness Effect - It started with Celestia, spread to Luna, then Cadance, and now it's hitting Twilight too; basically, that the characters in the show who should be the most capable have become to the least, to the degree it's a fandom joke now and has been for years. This episode was an especially egregious use of it.
3. Characters becoming objects rather than possessing agency - This is more of a social commentary bit, but the show is also resorting to tropes it avoided in the past. None of the characters abducted do anything meaningful to save themselves. You could replace them with an important magic artifact and have the same degree of necessity in the end. The only role any of them play is Luna who gets to deliver the 'Bad guys are here, we're kidnapped, save us!' plea. And it's okay to utilize 'X is captured and needs assistance' from time to time but this one crosses a line for me.
4. All of the above is ultimately in service to one thing : letting Starlight Glimmer shine. I like Glimmy. A lot. She's awesome. But this episode is a shining example of the Mary Sue effect, where every other character is struck with crippling uselessness syndrome so that the burden of salvation falls on Starlight. The Mane 6 & Princesses are kidnapped; Discord can't do magic; Sunburst stays home for some reason and only sends Thorax. And Starlight? She's crippled by 'What if I turn evil again? I shouldn't lead anybody!' when everyone else both in & out of the world recognizes her capabilities for leadership and is constantly begging her to step up. Use Starlight as a protagonist, totally, but don't do so in a way that forces everyone else to be mere props.
So yea. That's the 10% I talk about, where there's all this effort dedicated to creating a 'Now Starlight and the Suicide Squad save the day!' scenario, at the cost of everyone else.