Episode Re-Review: Crusaders of the Lost Mark · 6:21pm May 5th, 2021
When Season 5 rolled around, Diamond's VA (Chantel Strand) put out a rather vague social media statement about how we would "See a different side of Diamond Tiara". Most long time fans (myself included) were quite skeptical of this considering what Diamond Tiara had been like up to this point, especially after "Flight to the Finish" and "Twilight Time". But Season 5 had managed to surprise everyone before and already had a lot of hits under its belt (though arguably just as many misses). Amy Keating Rogers was penning this episode, her penultimate episode of the show (she had something else in mind for her big finale). And it was a Cutie Mark Crusaders episode in a season that had so far not been too kind to them given how "Bloom and Gloom" and "Appleloosa's Most Wanted" turned out. Considering what happened in this episode and how it impacted the show, much time has passed and what it did and failed to do is now under greater scrutiny. Has time changed the perception of this episode, and if so is that for the better or for the worse? Well, let's find out.
Oddly enough, despite the episode title being a reference to the first Indiana Jones movie there is no direct or even indirect reference to the franchise. As far as I know this episode never had a working title that was different, but I have to wonder if Amy was either not an Indiana Jones fan or just couldn't come up with a better title that wouldn't give away too much? It doesn't detract from the episode but it is kind of odd. It's just like how "Castle Mane-ia" didn't reference the series it drew its title from even though said series is quite harmless.
Anyway, the episode begins with Apple Bloom telling Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo that it's time to get back to the business of looking for their cutie marks (as if they weren't doing that before). Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo however lament that they've tried just about everything, and yet they have nothing to show for it. Apple Bloom convinces them otherwise as we get the first song "We'll Make Our Mark", establishing that this episode is a musical not unlike "Magical Mystery Cure" and "Pinkie Pride". In terms of a first song it feels more in line with "Morning in Ponyville" than "Pinkie Pie, the Party Planner" in that it just seems to serve to kick off the plot. As soon as the song is done, the CMC are approached by Pipsqueak who is running for student president and asks the CMC to be his campaign managers. Since they've never tried that before, the CMC decide to take up Pip's offer and it's off to the campaign trail.
Well, not exactly. As it is a school based election, the campaign is more or less confined to the playground. The CMC set up a little box for Pip to stand on and encourage him to give a speech about what he'll do for the school if elected. Pip declares that he wants to fix up the playground equipment since it apparently was a victim of the battle between Twilight and Tirek. Odd that this and the Golden Oak Library are the only known instances of collateral damage from such a battle. I mean yes, the majority of the battle seemed to take place out in the open, but it still feels odd that only two things for sure got damaged or destroyed when all was said and done.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon then interrupt, saying that Pip's idea is stupid. Diamond then mentions the time Discord broke a window and Twist wanted to repair it like normal, but Diamond convinced the school to replace it with a stained glass display like in a castle. Apple Bloom then mentions how Diamond's mother is Spoiled Rich, president of the school board. It's kind of odd since this was never brought up before, and it's not made clear how Apple Bloom or anypony else found it. It's treated as if this was always common knowledge, at no point was there any foreshadowing. However, Spoiled Rich being mentioned now is foreshadowing in a sense. Silver Spoon then openly declares that when Diamond Tiara wins, a statue of her will be erected in the school yard. But Diamond complains to Silver about how that was supposed to be her announcement, and berates Silver for "trying to help".
The CMC rightfully rib Diamond over her skewered priorities, which leads into "The Vote Song a.k.a Vote for Pip". Although calling it a song might be misleading since it feels more like little snippets of different songs all hastily combined into one. In particular it seems to be a villain song of sorts for Diamond Tiara, how she resents the idea that she's not receiving support and soon resorts to blackmail to try to get votes. During the second Diamond interlude, Silver Spoon briefly sings and suggests that Diamond try to show compassion. But Diamond simply shuts Silver up verbally in front of the whole school, leaving them horrified. The song soon ends and Cheerilee declares that Pipsqueak is the winner. Immediately, Diamond pulls an Al Gore and demands a recount. She reacts with shock to find just one vote, though the episode doesn't clarify that this is because it was the only vote for her and not the one vote that decided the election. Diamond Tiara was the only one to vote for herself, even Silver Spoon abandoned her.
But this is because Silver resents having been shunned by her supposed "best friend" and coldly taunts Diamond for not listening to her. Diamond then snaps and runs off as Silver Spoon declares that she doesn't need to be Diamond's follower anymore, which is the extent to which she appears in this episode in a significant role. Then, out of the blue, the CMC worry about Diamond Tiara and decide that they should go check on her. It is nice to see them be the bigger ponies, but at the same time the election just concluded. Now, if say the next day Diamond didn't show up to school that would probably be a better justification for the CMC to be worried. Anyway, they tail Diamond back to town and we meet Spoiled Rich who quickly berates her daughter for having lost, even revealing that she had party supplies in place for what she assumed was the inevitable victory.
Immediately, we see how Spoiled is very much a dreaded presence for Diamond and a toxic influence. She calls Pipsqueak a "Transplant from Trottingham" and it's implied that she's the one who came up with the term "Blank Flanks". She tells Diamond that she needs to be mindful of her social status and verbally berates her for failing.
Now, many complain that the existence of Spoiled Rich (who has an upturned snout by the way) is just a cheap ploy to make Diamond look sympathetic and pin all the blame for her behavior on another. But Silverquill puts it best in his review of this episode, Spoiled Rich's existence doesn't absolve Diamond Tiara of the blame for actions she willingly undertook before when Spoiled wasn't around. But it does put what Diamond did then into context. I could easily see Spoiled engaging in blackmail and mocking others for their disabilities, thus encouraging similar behavior in her daughter on top of being verbally (and possibly physically) abusive. And it's a proven fact that many kids who are bullies often are bullied themselves by their parents, or witness their parents bullying others. Young children especially can believe that if grown-ups behave in such a way that must make it okay, even though it actually isn't. Granted, this could've been at least hinted at earlier, instead of suddenly thrusting a bad influence onto Diamond now when she had crossed lines and faced no real consequences. This in turn leads to the song "The Pony I Wanna Be" as Diamond Tiara laments about how she's always wished she could be someone else, and that all her life she's been told what to say and do and no one has truly shown her a better way.
It's definitely the highlight of all the songs in the episode and it feels very much like "Pinkie's Lament" from "Pinkie Pride", even down to having the character cry on a bridge. But I lean towards the former a bit more since in that one Pinkie Pie herself seemed unwilling to truly dwell on her sadness and no one was around to hear her. Here though, Diamond is pouring her heart out in front of other ponies but there's no acknowledgment because it's operating on musical logic (no one but the singer can hear what they're saying).
As the song ends, Sweetie Belle asks the question "Is it weird if I feel bad for her?" and the CMC all decide that they need to try to reach out to Diamond Tiara, hoping that they might be able to show her that better way. The next day, after class, they invite her to hang out with them at their clubhouse and she gives a typical tsundre response (it's not like I wanted to hang out with you or anything). She then reveals how she's secretly jealous of the Cutie Mark Crusaders because they're free to do what they want, they're not pressured into something they don't really understand. But Diamond not so subtly insists that she doesn't have a cutie mark problem, before snapping when she learns that the CMC were spying on her the other day.
Before the CMC have a chance to explain themselves though, Pipsqueak shows up and reveals that the school board refused to give him the money for the playground equipment because they claimed there wasn't any money in the budget. It's not made clear if Spoiled Rich played a role in this as retaliation for Pip defeating her daughter or not (I could easily see her doing it out of spite even if there was money), but the CMC promise to meet him back at school to come up with another plan. However, Diamond overheard the whole thing and has decided that she'll tell on Pip to get him kicked out of office, also claiming that she'll be "reinstated" (which I guess means she was running for re-election earlier and lost). The Cutie Mark Crusaders then give chase as we get "Light of Your Cutie Mark". It's a good dramatic song, though the CMC's second line about how "We know you're better than this" feels entirely out of left field. At this point they don't know for sure that Diamond Tiara is above petty revenge (and in fact, given what they've seen prior to this episode they would be more likely to think she isn't). It would work better if it were a plea to be better, to be above it the way they were. Thankfully, the rest of the song is really good as Diamond rightfully argues that the CMC don't know her. And she comments on what her family would think if she ever "failed at anything", which could imply Filthy Rich is a bad parent too (but more likely, given what we've seen he's not aware of the pressure he's putting on Diamond).
The Cutie Mark Crusaders try to plead with Diamond to stop what she's doing and make a fresh start, acting not unlike her shoulder angels compared to Spoiled Rich being arguably a shoulder devil. But Diamond Tiara runs back to the school house anyway to make an announcement.
Before she can make it, however, Diamond is greeted once again by Spoiled Rich. And in full view of everyone (including Cheerilee) she berates her daughter for being with the CMC. This is enough to make Diamond Tiara stand up and say no, telling Spoiled off for the way she raised her. And she mentions that she wants something her mother doesn't have, friends.
Spoiled is rendered speechless, and Diamond takes advantage of the opportunity to order her mom to go home and deliver a message to Filthy Rich. Spoiled agrees (perhaps to try and save face) and Diamond Tiara reveals that her cutie mark was in leadership, and she's decided to use it to ask her father to donate the money for the new playground equipment. And she gives Pipsqueak a knowing wink as she reassures him that everything will be just fine. Then we get a triumphant reprise of "The Pony I Wanna Be" as Diamond puts her newfound confidence to good use, now encouraging others to help out and patching things up with Silver Spoon (literally mending a fence). A shame that this isn't given more weight behind it, like when Twilight was apologizing to Moondancer.
However, the episode isn't done yet. Apple Bloom realizes that the CMC are pretty good at helping others figure out their cutie mark problems and proposes taking a break from finding their cutie marks for a while. When Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo agree, there's a surge of light and when it fades the CMC have gotten their cutie marks. They're all shields based on their capes, but each shield has a different symbol inside (Apple Bloom has an apple with a heart, Sweetie Belle has a musical note and Scootaloo has a wing with a lightning bolt). And this in turn leads to the reprise of "We'll Make Our Mark" as the CMC insist that the journey isn't done, it's a place to start again. Though I do have to deduct points for the repetitive use of "Fillies" instead of "Ponies" or "Foals", as well as the clip show of sorts near the end cutting Babs Seed out from the clip from "One Bad Apple". Interestingly, we know now that there was going to be a Diamond Tiara verse during this reprise (entitled "You've Made Your Mark") but it was cut. No reason has been given for it, though if I had to guess I would say time constraints. And I can't really think of anything in the episode that would be cut or trimmed (aside from maybe parts of "The Vote Song") to include that verse here. The episode ends with a photo outside the CMC's clubhouse that's then sent to Celestia and Luna, but it won't be part of the title sequence in this or any other season.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, it's definitely in the same boat as "Magical Mystery Cure" in that it really deserved to be a two parter. There were so many things that they had to cram in, and they clearly did the best they could within the twenty two minute time frame. But a second part could've given so many things more weight than they already had. Spoiled Rich is kind of an out of left field addition, though as I said earlier she's not there to absorb the blame for Diamond's previous actions but put them into a new context (it's a case of explain versus excuse and show, don't tell). While we could've and should've gotten hints about these developments earlier (at least within Season 5 when they would've had to know about what was coming here), I think what's shown here is good. With the exception of "The Vote Song" (which feels more like a bunch of short songs cut and merged together) and "You've Made Your Mark" (which gets repetitive very fast, "Life in Equestria" at least was thankfully short for a reprise) the songs here were really good. It's unfortunate that when this episode made Diamond Tiara more popular and more beloved than she had been in prior episodes and seasons, this is the last time she would have a speaking role because Hasbro decided her story was complete (which was a huge disservice and spat in the face of the likes of Discord and Luna who got plenty of episodes after they were supposedly reformed). But I don't hold that against this episode, I hold that against future episodes just as I hold future episodes at fault for not doing more with the cutie marked CMC. They more or less peaked here.
Still, it might just be me but I feel like this episode did so much right. The cutie marked CMC was just the icing on the cake (it really felt like the CMC's quest would either be doomed to failure like Ash never being able to win a league until Alola, or would've occurred when the show was wrapping up. And it was of great joy to see them achieve it when the show was still going strong), Diamond Tiara's focus and redemption were rather enjoyable, and even Silver Spoon got some development for the brief time she was on-screen in a speaking role. I do think Spoiled Rich is done a little too well in regard to the "Hate Sink" character, to the point where I feel like she's a bit too unrealistic. Most abusive parents are careful not to show their true selves in public, and even the nastiest of people usually try not to show it outwardly. And what's interesting is that when she returns for future appearances (likely as a way of making up to Chantel for not being able to give Diamond anymore roles) she hasn't learned her lesson (which begs the question of what Filthy sees in her or what she does for a living). In a way that sort of gives this episode another moral in that not everyone is capable of change, though that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to help them (in the end, however, that individual must be the one to take that first step towards changing). And that combined with all that I've said above is enough to give this episode an A+, it's topped only by "The Perfect Pear" for the show's greatest episode!
Well, even if the rest of Season 5 can't hope to top this episode that doesn't mean it has to stop trying. Up next is another episode bumped out of order in the form of "Hearthbreakers", a combination of both the family reunion episode and a Christmas episode.
For me, this IS the show's greatest episode.
Parent Map gave it a run for it's money for a bit, but I ultimately had to settle on this one as the winner.
Given this is Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's final speaking appearance in the entire series, I thought it'd be fun to share their first and last lines ever spoken.
Diamond Tiara
Silver Spoon
The moment in the finale where the big sister figures serenade the CMC never fails to completely wreck me.
One of the better episodes in season five, the only thing I dislike is Diamond Tiara never have a major appearance after this episode on the show, very disappointing.
Well at least the comic series didn't completely forgotten about her.
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