I didn't think that any premier episode could be worse than The Crystal Empire. I was wrong. Princess Twilight Sparkle was an unholy combination of meaningless plot twists, deus ex machinas, and gratuitous flashbacks, with a moral that came out of nowhere, regressed character development, and a lack of any underlying plot that made any sense whatsoever. I was particularly annoyed by Discord's flip-flop. I have to admit that seeing Celestia banish Nightmare Moon was pretty epic, although Discord's defeat was rather lackluster. The revelation at the end, while not the worst hidden plot twist I've ever seen, seemed very manufactured, with the villain's backstory not even making an appearance until the second episode. It was far inferior to what I'd hoped was the villain: the nightmare forces from the comics. It would have reprised an interesting villain, provided payoff for comic readers, and linked the episode to the overall mythology.
And the random box at the end...God, don't get me started.
Rating: 2/5.
~dlgn
