King Sombra (aka Lord Donut Steel) [spoilers]

[Volt]

I feel like my words and message is being completely misinterpreted

[weesh]

Discord steals the show in Return to Harmony, which is ok because the episode works well being centered around him.

Crystal Kingdom was about Twilight, and a villain that made a bigger impact would have distracted from the themes.

Both are fine.

We need to remember the show is directed at any audience you'd pick randomly from world's population. I can't see how introducing slavery, strict will of destruction, tortures and all these kind of stuff is directed at children. This villain is a complete mistake to me in terms of show age categories. Along with the way he finished, which was also quite controversial. That's why I cannot accept Sombra, Some Bro, Sombrero as a villain worthy of MLP.

The 6, 5 and 3 year olds that I watched the episode with did ok. I may need to watch it again when it comes out on iTunes, but it didn't cross the line for me...but I'm a special case. I never shy away from the topic of slavery because I keep running into people that are surprised that slavery still exists in the world, or are shocked that it exists in this country. People won't do anything about an issue for which they have no knowledge.

Yet when asked what she thought about the episode, the 6 year old said it was alright. She did not connect to it anywhere near as strongly as she connected to the pilot or Return to Harmony.

[Bellosh]

That, and that. We need to remember the show is directed at any audience you'd pick randomly from world's population. I can't see how introducing slavery, strict will of destruction, tortures and all these kind of stuff is directed at children. This villain is a complete mistake to me in terms of show age categories. Along with the way he finished, which was also quite controversial. That's why I cannot accept Sombra, Some Bro, Sombrero as a villain worthy of MLP.

I think you're making out King Sombra to be more grimdark than he was actually portrayed in the show. We adults know full well just what horrors that slavery can create..... but kids don't. All the little ones saw was a bunch of sad ponies all chained up. As for Sombra's death scene, I thought that was pretty clean and ungory too.

[SonicRainboomGirl]

Just asked my cousin what she thought slavery meant. She said "The crystal ponies were really sad when they were slaves, and they were all chained up. Is slavery when you're sad and all chained up?"

It's not too bad a representation, I suppose, but those kids really wont know what slavery is until they are MUCH older. Sad and chained up isnt a horrible way to think of it.

[Rosewind]

Sombra was a disappointment, especially since we're used to villains with personality and richer motives after two seasons. Was he a plot device? Of course. Could it have been done better? I think so, but there was also lot to squeeze into two episodes, and as others have said, the villain wasn't really the focus here.

[Chapien]

He didn't honestly talk much. I kinda liked that about him, made him a bit more mysterious and up to more interpretation.

That being said, his name always makes me think this:

[weesh]

He didn't honestly talk much. I kinda liked that about him, made him a bit more mysterious and up to more interpretation.

Agreed.

Villain monologues are weird. As far as I can tell, they are a device designed to impart important information to the consumer, rather than the characters that they are talking to. But in real life, the bad things that happen to us often leave us with lots of questions. And what answers we can get, are often unsatisfying. When confronted with a person who has just experienced loss, it is natural to try to answer the hard questions that they have, but this is not typically helpful.

Chrysalis was not improved by her monologue. Why was it necessary to halt the progress of the episode to give us all that info?

[Rabukurafuto]

He didn't honestly talk much. I kinda liked that about him, made him a bit more mysterious and up to more interpretation.

That being said, his name always makes me think this:

It's no coincidence; the word sombrero evolved out of the word sombra because a hat provides a useful shadow to keep the wearer cool.

[TotalEcplise]

I don't think the writers did all that terrible with Sombra, considering that he's essentially Sauron of LOTR-fame in a unicorn's body. If J.R.R. Tolkien got away with using an undeveloped villain as a plot device, why can't DHX?

Anyway, I don't expect Sombra will come back anytime soon. Aside from maybe Discord, I bet the writers will stick with conjuring up new villains as their stories require.

Somepony else actually thought about this...

Same thing I was basically thinking.

[Chapien]

I don't think the writers did all that terrible with Sombra, considering that he's essentially Sauron of LOTR-fame in a unicorn's body. If J.R.R. Tolkien got away with using an undeveloped villain as a plot device, why can't DHX?

Anyway, I don't expect Sombra will come back anytime soon. Aside from maybe Discord, I bet the writers will stick with conjuring up new villains as their stories require.

Someone's only read LOTR and not the the Simarillion, which actually develops Sauron and makes him a very very well developed villain. Tolkien wrote books other than LOTR, you know, most of which were actually better than LOTR.

[Bellosh]

Someone's only read LOTR and not the the Simarillion, which actually develops Sauron and makes him a very very well developed villain.

I own The Simarillion too actually, but I assume most people haven't read any Tolkien books other than LOTR and The Hobbit.

[Volt]

I agree with above. Although it's Silmarillion. You've lost 'L'.

It was a really tough book to read, but quite entertaining. Yet, I still consider Sombra to be a poor villain. If any at all.

EDIT: Correction, both of users above me lost "L" xD

[starswirlthebearded]

I loved the Silmarillion. It's on my list of rereading after the Hobbit (in preparation for December). I can't wait until I hear how they do all the songs.

[Lerian]

"You weren't willing to risk the future of the citizens of the crystal empire in an effort to guarantee your own. Far better that I have a student who understands the meaning of self sacrifice than one who only looks out for her own best interests,"

Twilight: risks her hearts desire and future to save a group of strangers

Sombra: Enslaves his own subjects in an effort to get his desire

Reaching.....

Twilight is a 'mix' of daylight and nights darkness, you can't have twilight without both.

Sombra - Shadow is a 'mix' of (day)light and (nights)dark you can't have shadow without both.

OMBC! - Sombra was a previous student! Twilight v1.0 !

EDIT:

Name: canno foddah Sombra

"My OC is as good at magic as Twilight Sparkle and was personally taught by Princess Celestia AND Princess Luna and he now rules a kingdom and he is going to take over teh world!!!!!!!!'

Not helping the "That's a canon character?" case, am I?

[Rabukurafuto]

"You weren't willing to risk the future of the citizens of the crystal empire in an effort to guarantee your own. Far better that I have a student who undertands the meaning of self sacrifice than one who only looks out for her best interests,"

Twilight: risks her hearts desire and future to save a group of strangers

Sombra: Enslaves his own subjects in an effort to get his desire

Reaching.....

Twilight is a 'mix' of daylight and nights darkness, you can't have twilight without both.

Sombra - Shadow is a 'mix' of (day)light and (nights)dark you can't have shadow without both.

OMBC! - Sombra was a previous student! Twilight v1.0 !

Ooh! I like this guess! Now I hope it's true!

[Bellosh]

OMBC! - Sombra was a previous student! Twilight v1.0 !

Hmmmm........ that's one Sombra backstory I could get behind. It's not the one I would have created for him, but yours sounds just as legit given what we know.

[Rabukurafuto]

If it doesn't turn out to be true then at least it makes great fan-fiction fodder. I wouldn't writing that at all.

[kamerad]

>Sauron

>three books

EX TER MIN ATE

[elsporko]

Do people complain that Godzilla doesn't talk or that The Predator doesn't give Arnold a monologue about his motivations?

A villain doesn't need to have a personality when it isn't required. A villain can tell a story through actions, which Sombra did well. I think the episode showed him to be not fully sentient, but more of a residual force of power that remained behind. This makes him different and uniquely dangerous compared to other villains on the show since there was no way to distract, trick or appeal to him. When looked at in context Sombra works for the episode plus you get enough of his backstory and old personality to get an idea of what he was.

[NoGiantRobots1983]

What Elsporko said.

Also, I really don't see why people are harsh on Sombra but are somehow okay with Discord, who was pretty much a stock example of "being evil for the sake of being evil."

[Clockwise]

Developed, undeveloped, the thing that bugs me the most about King Sombra is his character design. Nightmare Moon and Queen Chrysalis did the black = evil thing so much better, without resorting to.... well.... black and red. Also, if he's just a unicorn, why on Equestria does he have fangs? It's like every single cliche evil trait was piled on to him, all the way down to glowing eyes, and a special horn. I just don't understand why they would design a villain like that when every single other character in the show, right down to the background ponies, displays visual harmony and only rarely resorts to painfully cliche colour choices.

As a villain, he's okay, but his awful design makes it that much harder to take the episode seriously.

[TotalEcplise]

Too each his own, Sombra looked significantly BA, exactly how I would expect a dark magic master to look. Black red green gray and purple...why not? Honestly Sombra was the most visually intimidating villain on the show. His entire purpose and design was to be intimidating. If you put every villain's mug shots up in a row, you'd think Sombra was head honcho.

[elsporko]

Developed, undeveloped, the thing that bugs me the most about King Sombra is his character design. Nightmare Moon and Queen Chrysalis did the black = evil thing so much better, without resorting to.... well.... black and red. Also, if he's just a unicorn, why on Equestria does he have fangs? It's like every single cliche evil trait was piled on to him, all the way down to glowing eyes, and a special horn. I just don't understand why they would design a villain like that when every single other character in the show, right down to the background ponies, displays visual harmony and only rarely resorts to painfully cliche colour choices.

As a villain, he's okay, but his awful design makes it that much harder to take the episode seriously.

It does make look different from the other ponies who haven't been corrupted by evil, but I do see your point

[Rabukurafuto]

It just occurred to me while watching the season 3 premiere again that one reason I might like Sombra so much is that back when I played with the G1 toys I liked to imagine the ponies having to go up against a vast dark overlord that was enslaving ponies until only a few remained to fight back. They made one of my childhood dreams come true!