I’ve never been great at giving my opinion, and I’m sure what I’m going to say has been said a million times, but I want to get this completely out of my system.
Yes, I’m a little disappointed with the change in “The Last Roundup.” Derpy’s scene was a shout-out to the older fans that I was very surprised and pleased to see. After the edit her eyes are now not derped in that scene, the name Derpy no longer spoken, and her voice is different. Heck, I’m fine with the first two changes, it’s not like we’d heard Derpy’s name or hadn’t seen her eyes underped in the show before. But I really thought Tabitha’s original Derpy voice, though gender-ambiguous, was cute and unique. The new voice is rather uninspired.
Yes, I am disappointed. Mostly, though, I’m disappointed and embarrassed by the reaction from the fans. I’ve seen people say they aren’t bronies anymore. On Ponibooru, a drawn picture of Derpy hanging herself and many posts saying Derpy is dead or even declaring war on Hasbro or Apple. I think worst of all are complaints/hate comments on the profile pages of people tied to the show. I know Kreoss, an animator of the show, who came out and said Derpy would be fine and in all likeliness would still appear in the background, has been getting spammed like crazy with bomb threats to Hasbro. And it’s disgusting that Lauren Faust is being subjected to it too despite not being any part of MLP anymore.
Yes, I’m not a fan of the changes, or the response to it. But I think what I hate most of all was all the arguing that was going on in the first place, when the episode first aired. Cries of ableism were heard from the people who disliked the original scene. “She’s disabled, and through her slapstick the world is laughing and making fun of her,” they said. And with this edit, they’re now basically saying “we won!” Now some of the people who dislike the edit (my side, I’m ashamed to say) are complaining by saying “By changing the scene, Hasbro has made a statement that being handicapped is not okay and should be hidden.”
Well I’m sorry but this is bull, to both sides of the argument. Yes the episode was edited because of all the complaints, but Derpy is not handicapped, nor has she ever been. Derpy is just a silly pony. Remember that “Who’s a Silly Pony” song that popped up on Youtube, referring to G1 Applejack? ”Bumping into gates and knocking over fences.” (I love that song, by the way. Very catchy.) No one was offended by that song, and that’s pretty much all Derpy is guilty of, canon-wise. And the word “derp” has no official meaning; it wasn’t intended to indicate Derpy’s mental condition. So to those people making ableism arguments, stop that. Stop being PC and actively looking for something to be offended by.
Slapstick humor from a dopey character has been around for a long time. I’m certain that’s all the writers of “The Last Roundup” were going for in that scene, nothing else. Just enjoy ponies and be happy Derpy got a scene like this. It’s not like they edited Derpy out and substituted her with another pony, she’s still right there in the scene with Rainbow Dash, saying that lovely Derpy quote, “I just don’t know what went wrong.” Yeah, I liked the old voice, and I might get the Friendship Express DVD since I believe a season boxset might have the edited episode, but really, it’s not like the world’s ending. We’re still months away from that.
