The Crystal Empire Parts 1 and 2 Review

Credit Where Credit is Due

Well, friends, it looks like all the waiting we’ve done has finally paid off. After months upon months, we’ve finally reached the season premiere. So, how was it? It was all right. But how was it, in more than a sentence? Well, for that, you’ll need to keep reading past the break.


The episode starts with Celestia sending Twilight on a mysterious mission to the crystal empire, which has been missing for many years now, due to it being cursed by the evil unicorn, Sombra.  So why is it back, now?  And how did Sombra escape from banishment?  ...It’s pretty vague.  In fact, a lot of the mythology of the crystal ponies remains vague for most of the episode.  Where the crystal ponies came from, what they are, and why the crystal heart failed to protect them the first time is never really addressed.  Even Celestia herself admits she knows next to nothing about the backstory of the Empire.  But she knows enough to tell Twilight that her academic success depends on saving an entire civilization.  So, after a musical bout with self doubt, Twilight gathers up the gang and they head over to the arctic, where they encounter Shining Armor. He barely manages to escort them inside the empire, but not before they run into the Season premiere villain...King Sombra!  What did I think of him?  Well, I’ll cover that later.  For now, you just need to know that he’s a particularly malevolent, grunting cloud that gives Shining some trouble.

RARGL ITS MINE RARGL

Once inside the walls, the ponies learn that Cadence is struggling to keep up city defenses, and that the only way to save the town, and make the ponies remember their past is... with, well, a carnival.  So, apparently, Sombra’s curse is only weak to cheap caramel apples and flugles.  Once again, why the ponies need a carnival to be happy... isn't really addressed.  But, the ponies are apparently so overjoyed at Rarity’s straw arts-and-crafts, that they remember their past, and are transformed into ponies with haircuts.  But they aren't sparkling yet, so Sombra's still a problem. Twilight soon learns that the reason the Crystal Empire is so vulnerable (and so much less sparkly than advertised) because she doesn’t have the real crystal heart. So, like any good student, she goes on a quest to find it.  And I’ll admit, this was my favorite sequence in the episode.  Between the black magic, the gravity-bending, and the dark illusions, there was a lot to like.  But as Twilight tries her hardest to find the crystal heart, Sombra... makes a few crystals, growls a little, and once again turns the ponies into a race of Eeyores.  Which is enough to put a damper on any carnival, Straw baskets or not.  

But to be fair, the baskets are still sweet as hell.

Twilight finally decides to sacrifice the success of her test to let Spike save the day, causing the crystal heart to banish Sombra, and giving everyone haircuts and a sparkly finish, including the mane 6, only making what the crystal ponies are actually supposed to be even more confusing.  At the end, Celestia informs Twilight that by sacrificing her education to save hundreds of innocents, she’s passed the real test, which only really manages to prove that Twilight’s not a sociopath.

Most of the Time, Anyway.

The ponies then sing about their Twilight's successes, and the episode ends on a high note...

What did I think of it?  Well, I’ll hit a few points.  First, I’d like to say that Sombra is my absolute least favorite villain so far.  His character felt like a bit of an afterthought.  Why is he so obsessed with making crystal ponies feel bad about themselves?  How exactly did he get so powerful if he’s not even an allicorn?  Is there a personality behind all that grunting?  None of those questions are ever answered.  I just feel like he could've been more engaging if he just, well... said something.  The moment he finally takes his true form, rather than fill us in on his backstory, he blankly stares at his arms as the power of friendship blasts him to atoms.  But at least the deus ex machinia wasn't so heavy-handed this time.

"Huh?"

The songs, on the other hand... I really liked the songs.  Both of them were well done, catchy, and a worthy addition to the mlp musical library.  While none of them were “This Day Aria”, they were good, and I’ll definitely be listening to them again.

Visuals are where this episode really hit its stride.  From the cool black magic effects, to the now famous wind-blown mane, this episode really showed how the animators have been consistently improving from episode to episode.  Despite Sombra’s issues, I did really like his design, and the general design of the crystal ponies.  Really, most of my issues with this episode come from...

Plot. Yeah, my biggest problem here was the lack of backstory.  While the episode had some really good gags, and some cool moments, as a narrative, it falls apart. Still, it’s probably due to the time constraints two episodes provide, so it’s at least an understandable omission.  I can only hope they’ll be able to address some of the backstory in later episodes.

Overall, this episode seemed...average to me.  It had some pretty high highs, but also some really low lows.  The plot didn’t quite ruin it for me, but it definitely brought it down.  That and that Sombra guy.  Poor guy was a few speech therapy classes away from being interesting.

It's not like he'd be the first king to seek help.