I wrote up this for another forum and I think it explains my problem with Luna Eclipsed well. Note that I really do like this episode (it's pretty high up there; a tick below Sonic Rainboom and such), but not top tier... because of this:
Yeah like I said [about Luna's hairstyle change], we can make up plausible theories like [Luna growing older], or Lauren Faust's explanation (though whether her word matters anymore is really a matter for debate). The other [inexplicable things] can be patched up with various theories too. The problem is, the show itself leaves it unexplained and it's jarring.
Retcons (adding/changing something in canon history that wasn't originally intended) are not inherently bad things. The existence of Nightmare Night and all that entails is fine. We all know the writers hadn't thought up nightmare night yet when they were writing episode 1 and 2. That's the real reason Nightmare Moon didn't talk in ye olde englishe and no one recognized her as anything other than "an old pony's tale." However, good retcons leave you unaware there was a retcon in the first place. They could've fit nightmare night and Luna's new characterization/design in much better by just dropping a few lines of explanation (which is exactly what they did for the royal we and loud voice. Note that no one complaints about those particulars). If time's a concern, there were plenty of Pip's scenes to cut!
The example I use for a good retcon (precisely because I didn't realize it to be a retcon until years after) would be from Star Wars. Watching episode 4, it's pretty obvious that Obi Wan wasn't lying about Vader killing Luke's father. Fast forward to episode 6, and he throws out the "certain point of view" excuse. This worked because it was handled more like a reveal than a retcon; he really WAS lying, and the audience (and luke) wasn't supposed to realize it. It adds depth to Obi Wan's character and shows that no one's pure good (and by extension, neither is anyone pure evil), even if that wasn't the original intent of the writer, and thus is a pretty damn good retcon. Who knows how many retcons exist in season 1 of MLP that we don't even notice; the writers have shown sufficient skill in other areas that I don't doubt there's at least a few, and the show's probably better off for it.
That's kinda a long explanation of why these are plot holes and why they shouldn't need to be plugged up by us, but yeah.
That's not to say stop throwing plausible theories out there; I used to think Twilight was pretty out of character in Feelin' Pinkie Keen until someone pointed out Twilight's pretty darn prideful and would probably abandon scientific reasoning to prove herself right in the face of uncertainty. The difference is whether I and/or others are missing something obvious, or are we pulling theories out of midair. Feel free to hit me with the obvious 
This was a reply to someone, hence the weirdness with the first paragraph's brackets, but you should get the gist of it.
I love digging deep into this show. Most (not all) of season one's episodes I couldn't make complaints of this magnitude, and that's one of the BIG reasons I love it; instead of fridge logic, I get almost nothing but fridge brilliance. The new showrunners have yet to prove to me that they're capable of making a show of the same caliber, but they've got plenty of episodes to do it. I'm much more confident after Luna Eclipsed than I was after Lesson Zero.
Also I'm staying out of your rarity debate
She's not really my favorite so I don't have any emotional attachment to any interpretation of her. I will say the couch thing was pretty... bad, and definitely broke my suspension of disbelief, but
only when she was stressing about plates. The ribbon thing, and the last one, flew by with me unscathed.
Author
Topic: My Little Pony, Friendship Is Magic (Read 229013 times)